allendalepharm Chapter 154 The Night of the Full Moon
Chapter 154 The Night of the Full Moon
Chapter 154 The Night of the Full Moon
The lecture was not long. The study of the mind is an extremely complex and conceptually vague subject, and it is difficult to explain it clearly in one or two lectures.
Needless to say, this actually requires a very deep understanding of life to truly comprehend.
There are actually many interesting distinctions regarding the mechanisms of the mind's operation. For example, there are three major categories that are most closely related to the id, and seven major categories that are related to life activities. The content derived from these categories is even more complex.
The ghosts that wizards become after death, the souls that enter the realm of death, the guardian spirits that emerge from emotions, how blood magic influences the society in which a soul resides through the connection between different souls, and so on, are all extremely in-depth topics.
Lockhart's explanation can only be described as guiding the young wizards through the threshold of the mind, memory, soul, and existence. If they are willing to experience these aspects in their future lives, they will naturally understand the rest of the knowledge.
Because this knowledge is not defined by humans, but is a function that the mind inherently possesses, all names, if taken too seriously, will have errors and omissions. It cannot be spoken or fully described; it can only be experienced.
"Your hearts already possess all information; if you are willing, enter into your hearts, and it will naturally be revealed to you."
Lockhart concluded the short lesson.
For now, he only needs the young wizards and Lady Mary to know this much knowledge, which will help everyone find the lost life of Lady Mary from the minds of the classically trained.
Next, the young wizards and Mrs. Mary were led by him to the stairs in the corner, past the misty second floor, through a vertical ladder and a trapdoor, and finally to a wide third-floor laboratory.
No one even knew how wide the third floor was, because it was still shrouded in a thick fog.
Only in a small area next to the trapdoor was there a strange-looking old-fashioned torture chair, on which Coban Yaxley was strapped.
He didn't look well; his pupils were vacant, and his head was tilted to one side. Surprisingly, everyone could see a mix of emotions on his face at the same time.
"His mind was opened up."
Lockhart explained, "This is what I just told you: the brain and the mind are very different, but they also have a lot in common."
"We can enter the depths of his mind through his thinking to explore the part he stole."
As he spoke, he looked at Ms. Mary and said, “I must ask you this seriously. I think I have just explained the dangers of the mind. Memory is not a simple combination of information; it is a trace of life. When we enter into the traces of other people’s lives, our own life traces will also be affected.”
"This will be an extremely dangerous journey!"
Ms. Mary hesitated for a moment. She had thought that some of her memories were simply obscured by a fog, and that once the fog was cleared away, they would naturally return to her memory, or that, like using the Pensieve, the memories could be pulled out and put back in.
But Lockhart just explained the dangers of this matter in detail in class.
When these memories become traces of someone else's life, inevitably tainted with that person's information, and then reintroduced into one's own life, it can lead to some terrible things.
膨~
Beside the torture chair, Crabbe lit a soul bonfire in the fireplace. He was becoming more and more proficient at the magic and began to perform it with considerable skill.
"This soul flame will protect our souls from the corruption of our minds by external forces," Lockhart explained to the somewhat ambitious young wizards beside him. "In addition, you are all good at using the Patronus Charm, so I think as long as you don't covet other people's memories, you won't be affected in any way."
Well, this doesn't include Goyle, who is the only one among the six who can't yet cast the Patronus Charm. He's been given a potion and is nervously standing by, ready to help everyone at any moment.
Crabbe has already begun to release some faint silver light from the Guardian Charm, but he needs to maintain the Soul Campfire to be in optimal condition and has no intention of entering the traces of a formal life together.
Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Draco were all a little nervous, gripping their wands tightly.
"So I have to ask you one last time."
Lockhart looked at Ms. Mary with a deep gaze. "Do you really want to find the life you've lost? If it's just because you're unwilling to accept what's missing, then I'm willing to help you write it down and show you everything you've experienced in words."
"I have no idea-"
Mrs. Mary's face was somewhat pale as she watched Coban murmur weakly, "A terrible curse flows in my blood..."
This prevented me from ever receiving love in my entire life. (Mentioned in Chapter 141)
"I know I must have fallen in love with someone in the past, but I don't remember who I fell in love with. All I know is that this love did not have a good ending. It was cursed, and it left me completely."
Ms. Mary stared blankly ahead. "I just want to know, who did I love back then, and why did it all end up like this? Did he not love me, or did he die or something happen to him that prevented him from continuing to love me—"
"I don't necessarily need to know about that wonderful period of my life. My spirituality told me that I lived a very tiring and depressed life during that time, and I found relief from losing that memory."
Yes.
Lockhart certainly knew.
The original owner was quite clever; stealing memories was partly due to magical abilities, but also due to her understanding of human nature.
The Forest Witch is filled with inferiority about her past as a savage in the Amazon rainforest and is madly infatuated with the prosperity of modern Muggle cities. She has no desire to recall that past life, which is the most appropriate way to steal memories.
Because the other party doesn't actually want it either.
Of course, this doesn't mean that taking without permission is right; it just means that such heinous theft is carried out more securely.
Mary's relationship with Lockhart was actually quite simple: she was a social outcast with some ambition who was a fan of a celebrity. Her infatuation with Lockhart was less a crazy obsession and more an infatuation with his success in climbing the social ladder and entering high society.
This was a dream that seemed somewhat unattainable to her: to become infatuated with the internationally renowned author Lockhart in a self-deceptive way, to get close to the author, and to hope that Lockhart would also serve as a stepping stone for her.
This is not a happy story.
Neither the swindler nor the thief will have a good outcome.
Ms. Mary was simply willing to give a little more; she didn't mind being the wife of the celebrity Lockhart, enjoying the fame and status he brought her, and was also willing to be a good wife and a good mother.
The human heart is sometimes extremely complex. It is difficult for people to judge whether love with ulterior motives is love. Many people are unable to face their own hearts. A self-deception can last until the moment of death, ending with the most beautiful love story.
You can live an inauthentic life, but you can live a beautiful one, like an actor on the stage of life, honestly playing your own role and never deviating from it.
"I'm sure!" Ms. Mary finally made her decision.
But she's likely to be disappointed. The Gilderoy Lockhart who existed in the traces of her past life is dead, and because of the current Lockhart who has replaced her, he has completely lost his connection with society. She simply cannot find that Lockhart in the traces of her past life.
"Alright, everyone, please sit around the students. We're about to begin."
Lockhart waved his wand, and lines drawn by vines began to appear on the ground. He instructed everyone to find a circle woven from vines to sit in and to take out some items and place them in other positions on these lines.
First, there was an antique clock, which Lockhart found in a safe house in the Cobbler's. It was an extremely powerful time converter that had been collected and preserved by the Axley family in some era and had never appeared in the Ministry of Magic's records.
He then pulled out a small clock with the alarm set; it was bought in Muggle Street and its purpose was to tell the time.
"Ten minutes left—"
Lockhart murmured, "The time for the full moon is approaching."
As he spoke, he deftly began fiddling with more things, finally looking at Crabbe, "Vincent, you can do this, right?"
Crabbe nodded vigorously, patting his chest loudly, "Don't worry, Professor, I've been practicing Soulfire all along."
He practiced very diligently.
Of course, this wasn't exactly the definition of "diligent" for him. Every night, he would sneak out of his dormitory, go to the common room, light a campfire in the fireplace, and stare blankly at his parents in the flames.
"Very good." Lockhart then looked at Goyle.
Goyle seemed a little nervous. Seeing the professor looking over, he quickly gestured to the medicine bottle in his hand, "If anyone starts shouting, put a drop of this potion in their eye!"
The ingredients of this potion are not complicated; it is actually the venom of the Winged Demon, which has a powerful forgetting spell effect.
It can erase and cover up some bad experiences in life's journey.
Lockhart was willing to give Goyle some trust, but there was also an alternative: the Winged Demon, who would watch over everyone from the mist and intervene if Goyle failed to perform his duties.
"very good."
Giving these two children some important tasks is more beneficial for their development than embarking on an adventurous journey that requires more shrewdness.
"Then, let's set off—"
Lockhart gently waved his wand, and a silver light quickly filled everything around him, within which a dense darkness faintly lingered.
Forget everything!
The silent spell quickly swept over the people around him, leading them through the mental portal opened by Tom Riddle and into the traces of Koban's life.
A few minutes later, the instrumental piece began to shake rapidly.
"Merlin's nose!" Goyle exclaimed anxiously. "What happened to him?"
Crabbe rolled his eyes. "Dude, relax a bit. The professor said before that students will turn into werewolves on the night of a full moon."
This is normal.
"Oh, oh." Gore swallowed hard, still somewhat nervous as he watched Coban begin to transform rapidly, quickly turning into a burly and ferocious werewolf.
"Werewolves are terrifying, aren't they?" he asked.
Crabbe didn't speak. He was immersed in the power of the soul campfire, and his whole being fell into an extremely peaceful and serene state. He felt the warmth of his parents' company, and his heart was filled with beauty and joy.
He didn't want to leave this wonderful feeling, and just kept gazing at the flames.