allendalepharm Chapter 137 Mysterious Agency: Brain Hall
Chapter 137 Mysterious Agency: Brain Hall
Chapter 137 Mysterious Agency: Brain Hall
Dumbledore was a very busy man and left soon after.
In fact, Lockhart carefully reviewed the original information in his memory and found that even Harry Potter, the "savior" on whom the Order of the Phoenix placed high hopes, did not actually have much interaction with this headmaster.
Even when he discovered the 'telepathic' connection between Voldemort and Harry, he didn't consider teaching them himself, but instead instructed Snape to do so.
Many people may not realize just how much Dumbledore did for the entire wizarding world after defeating Grindelwald and taking over the reins of change.
Once he confirmed that the Department of Mysteries of the Ministry of Magic had a way to treat the students who had problems and that a school professor was overseeing them, he stopped interfering.
Next, Lockhart was received by Umbridge, the Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Magic.
Her attitude was unusually kind; her tone, which carried a hint of flattery and obsequiousness, made Lockhart feel like he was the Minister of Magic.
She is so passionate.
On the way to the Department of Mysteries with Lockhart, he kept talking.
But unfortunately, she knew nothing about the Bureau of Mysteries and had very little to say, so she just kept making awkward small talk.
This is normal; most people in the Ministry of Magic are not even allowed to approach the floors of the Department of Mysteries. Kingsley, who was with them, was told that he did not have permission to enter.
"Minister Umbridge, you—"
Lockhart wanted the guy to shut up; he didn't want to hear any flattery and didn't like it.
"You can call me by my first name, Professor Lockhart." Dolores Umbridge tried her best not to appear too humble. She knew that her value was actually the power of the deputy minister, and being too humble would only weaken that value, but she obviously didn't know how to act properly.
Lockhart smiled and shook his head. "Alright, Minister Umbridge, I think you've misunderstood some things. For example, the name 'Department of Mysteries' doesn't come from its top-secret work, which makes it seem mysterious to the public. I think its true meaning should be to interpret magic."
Umbridge paused, looking somewhat bewildered.
"Mystery is the most interesting characteristic of magic. It is only when magic is in a state of mystery that it is most powerful." Lockhart steered the conversation to the academic realm, successfully silencing Umbridge, who had forgotten all her knowledge after graduation.
"Oh, you are so knowledgeable," she said dryly, unsure how to continue the conversation.
Lockhart was actually full of curiosity about this place, but he also found it a bit strange that he was allowed to enter.
Could it be that Umbridge brought him in against the rules?
He felt a sense of unease.
The only way to enter the Department of Mysteries is via a special elevator, which leads to a circular room.
The house has twelve doors inside, unmarked and indistinguishable from one another. In fact, when Lockhart tries to distinguish the doors, he gets the illusion that the circular house is spinning rapidly.
"The Mysterious Agency has a total of twelve rooms, but I found that many of them have not had Zang Mo working in them for a long time and are in a state of being empty and sealed off."
Umbridge couldn't help but whisper as she explained, "As you know, Gellert Grindelwald's war of change against the Secrecy Act and the First Wizarding World War brought about by the Voidman have resulted in a significant loss of talent in the high-end wizarding field in Britain."
And so, they passed through one of the doors and entered the brain room.
Inside the Brain Hall was an extremely spacious and bright room. There was a huge table in the room, and on the table was a tank filled with dark green liquid, which contained many brains covered with tentacles.
Lockhart immediately put the fish tank on the door as soon as he came in.
This thing was so incredible to him; it emitted a magical aura that was completely opposite to that of the Pensieve, practically taking a path to the other extreme of Pensieve craftsmanship.
If the Pensieve is a simulation of the human brain to hold memories, with the idea of "holding", then this thing in front of us is a complete simulation of "society", allowing thoughts stripped of all biological instincts to be thoroughly exposed in "society", with the idea of "blooming".
Interestingly, instead of turning into a silvery liquid, the thought itself developed biological characteristics, transforming into a brain and then sprouting many "thought tentacles."
These tentacles, resembling human nerve networks, swayed in the water, and some even took on the shape of human silhouettes.
Could it be—
The existence of thought can completely forge a complete human being, encompassing all innate bloodlines, ailments, talents, and the influence of the acquired environment.
This is Lockhart's association based on some theories of resurrection art as described by Tom Riddell.
He had a multitude of ideas popping into his head in a short time.
For example, if he stripped away all his magical memories and relied solely on his pre-transmigration mindset, could he create a physical body that possessed his past life's bloodline and a series of other characteristics?
For example, Tom's desire to sever the Muggle bloodline of the Riddle family and retain only the Gaunt family bloodline that extends from Slytherin is also following this path.
Thinking about it more deeply, when Voldemort finally began to show the bestial features of a snake face, was it at this time that he was conducting some magical experiments on himself, and the basilisk was involved in some of them?
So·
Could it be inferred that Voldemort's desire to return to Hogwarts was also due to the Slytherin Chamber of Secrets, and that he hoped to continue using the basilisk for experiments?
Lockhart vaguely realized that the basilisk he had always regarded as an experimental consumable might not be so simple in Voldemort's eyes.
Voldemort was probably too weak, so he could only watch helplessly as his own image in the Horcrux of the diary was gradually exposed to Dumbledore through the basilisk.
If that's the case—
Lockhart strongly suspects that the Tom in the Horcrux of the diary may not be the complete Tom Riddle.
Little Tom's resurrection through the Basilisk might just be preparing a body for Voldemort's ghost to be resurrected.
Damn, he schemed against himself, how amusing.
"Oh, we can't stay here too long," Umbridge urged anxiously. "It's said that even the Mordi can't observe them for long, because they'll form a connection through thought, and then these brains will pop out and wrap themselves around people with those disgusting tentacles, turning us into idiots."
Lockhart raised an eyebrow, seemingly lost in thought.
As a memory master with extensive practical experience and having referenced Tom Riddle's more advanced methods for understanding Ginny Weasley's soul, he is incredibly sensitive to this kind of information.
"Yes, it will come when you keep it in your mind." Lockhart smiled slightly, looked away, and let Umbridge continue to lead the way.
It's a real shame that this fish tank could have opened up a deeper exploration of the Forgetfulness Curse, or rather, the realm of memory and soul.
They continued walking forward, entering one of the several indistinguishable rooms around them, and finally arrived at a room with a shallow pool in front of it.
This place looked very familiar to him.
Because that pool is a huge meditation basin.
Compared to the excessive brightness of the outer hall, this place was quite dark, so dark that it gave off a very strange, sticky, and fishy smell.
"Have we entered the skull of a giant?" Lockhart exclaimed softly.
Umbridge quickly gestured to him with her eyes, anxiously indicating that he had come here and could not speak.
Not far away, by the pool, a wizard wearing a black hooded robe was gesturing with his wand towards the water. Hearing this, he couldn't help but look up at Lockhart, his eyes revealing a hint of surprise behind his rustic wooden mask.
He met Lockhart's gentle smile, nodded slightly, and said in a slightly hoarse voice, "It's a giant dragon lizard, not a giant."
The giant dragon lizard is a magical animal that existed only in ancient wizarding societies. It is said to be a magical creature bred from a fire dragon and a lizard. It is extremely large, resembling a small mountain.
This enormous creature had a terrifying appetite, and eventually disappeared into the annals of history because wizards could no longer sustain its consumption.
Wow! Lockhart's eyes lit up. He moved closer to the somewhat arched wall and looked into the dim, bluish light of the flames.
I vaguely noticed that its material resembled cloudy crystal.
This was actually made using the skull of a giant lizard, and then crafted using the techniques of crystal skull making.
He wanted to exchange information with the wizard by the pool, but unfortunately, the Mo people couldn't talk to others about anything within their scope of work.
That response was actually against the rules.
Breaking the rules in front of Umbridge, the Deputy Minister of Magic.
Of course, this person was clearly not afraid of Umbridge. More than a hundred years ago, Radolfs, then Minister of Magic...
Lestrange had intended to close the Department of Mysteries, but his orders were ignored, and after some time he resigned citing poor health.
Vincent Crabbe was brought over quickly.
After the Aurors brought him there, they quickly left the strange place, leaving only Lockhart, Umbridge, and Scrimgeour behind.
The man took the severed arm bearing the Dark Mark from Scrimgeour, looked at the mark with some fear for a moment, and then placed it in a small, connected pool next to the surface swimming pool.
He poured a large amount of magic potion into the pool, which emitted a strong smell of burning and sulfur. Thick yellow smoke accompanied by tiny dark green electric currents made him exclaim "Werewolf!" and retreat several times.
He cast a spell to dispel the smoke, then had everyone lay Crabbe flat in the large pool. He took out a snakeskin drum, tied it around his waist, held it up and shook it with one hand, and sang and danced around the pool while patting the drum with the other.
He seemed to be chanting some kind of African tribal incantation.
The tone was full of desolation and vastness.
Soon, the pool where Crab was located began to bubble rapidly. A pale, blurry shadow quickly emerged from the broken arm of the small pool, passed through the sluice gate in the connecting ditch, and plunged into Crab's body.
"Kang ya ya NN~"
The silent man hummed a spell, and after an unknown amount of time, he suddenly cast a spell on Crabbe.
"~~"
Crabbe, who was in the pool, gasped for breath and sat up abruptly, panting heavily.
"Professor Lockhart!" He looked around in alarm at the unfamiliar surroundings and the strange old man who was still singing and dancing. He quickly scanned his surroundings and finally found Lockhart's figure, then relaxed.