allendalepharm Chapter 132 This time I guessed right, didn't I?
Chapter 132 This time I guessed right, didn't I?
Chapter 132 This time I guessed right, didn't I?
The hallway outside Professor Lockhart's office at Hogwarts.
Amidst gasps of surprise, the magical escort carriage, pulled by four Thestrals, came to a steady stop in front of the door.
Professor McGonagall was furious. "It's just suspicion now, Scrimgeour! How dare you take Professor Lockhart away with the protocol for escorting prisoners!"
Honestly, she almost couldn't resist pulling out her wand and knocking all the Aurors down.
Professor McGonagall has a rather bad temper. To many young wizards, she often appears with a stern face, rigid and rule-bound. But most of the time, she is simply suppressing the restlessness in her heart.
In the era when Grindelwald was bringing about world change, her battles with those saints were all typical Gryffindor style, charging forward again and again, incredibly fierce.
Dumbledore once jokingly called her a wildcat that could never be calmed, always baring its teeth and claws.
However, McGonagall eventually calmed down and curled up all her claws.
It wasn't because she was old, but because she had a mission to uphold Hogwarts and provide stability for Dumbledore.
The war has never stopped, not even for a single day.
She clearly realized that Grindelwald's imprisonment in Nurmengard by Dumbledore did not mean that the world had been at peace. On the contrary, the contradictions in wizarding society were surging, the problems between wizards and Muggles were becoming increasingly acute, and some things were bound to happen eventually.
Even without Voldemort, other wizards would have stepped forward.
She and Dumbledore were simply relieved that Voldemort had appeared just when they were in the prime of their lives.
However, even if Voldemort were to be utterly defeated, the war was far from over.
With the internal problems within the wizarding world resolved, all eyes will now be on wizards and Muggles. Grindelwald's opposition to the Law of Secrecy will be brought up again.
In fact, she and Dumbledore agreed that Voldemort's chaos was merely an interlude in Grindelwald's opposition to the Act of Secrecy.
Even without Dumbledore (who first proposed "for the greatest good"), there would be Grindelwald, and even without Grindelwald, there would be someone else.
Throughout this long war, regardless of how wizards ultimately choose to face Muggles, the magic schools responsible for training and educating more wizards to fight will be the last bastion of wizarding society!
Just like the four founders of Hogwarts when they established the temple to fight against Muggles' witch hunts.
But reality is sometimes so absurd. Magic schools never consider the Ministry of Magic to be the last bastion of wizards, and the Ministry of Magic doesn't consider magic schools to be the last bastion of wizards either. Everyone considers themselves, not the other.
In the power struggle between magic schools and the Ministry of Magic, Umbridge, who clearly declared her intention to extend the Ministry of Magic's authority into magic schools, is just a microcosm; far too many people think this way.
This is already the case in many places; for example, the Magical Congress of the United States has suppressed the Ivermony School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
When the bureaucrats in Congress decided to cede some wizarding authority to Muggles for political gain, Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was no longer able to put up any effective resistance.
Hogwarts absolutely cannot be like this!
Professor McGonagall sometimes had to suppress her agitation to prevent things from getting worse.
Dumbledore's prolonged absence made her sense a conspiracy, and she knew she couldn't act rashly before she had a firm grasp of the crux of the matter.
This made her feel so depressed that she was about to go crazy.
Do you really think shapeshifting can't kill people?
Yes, she can't kill anyone, she has no offensive power, she's completely useless, because she's the vice-headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
She stared coldly at Scrimgeour, pointing at the transport carriage. "You have to give me an explanation!"
Scrimgeour clearly respected her, but remained steadfast in his decision. "I'm sorry, Professor McGonagall, the magic carriage will ensure we only bring back Professor Lockhart. Everyone knows he possesses many terrifying dark magical creatures. We can no longer allow magical creatures to wreak havoc on the Ministry; that would utterly destroy its prestige."
ha~
The authority of the Ministry of Magic?
Does such a thing exist?
Professor McGonagall wanted to laugh, but her gaze turned cold. Just as she was about to say something, she suddenly noticed a commotion coming from the magic carriage.
She quickly pushed aside Scrimgeour and strode forward, only to be caught off guard when Professor Lockhart, who was entering the carriage, suddenly turned into a puff of black smoke and darted left and right in pursuit of the Aurors.
"Don't let him get away!" an Auror shouted, his magic dodged by the black smoke, and he attacked the young wizards watching, causing many to scream in terror.
Snape, with a calm expression, casually waved his wand to deflect the attacks, and looked at these idiots with a cold laugh.
"You idiots!" Scrimgeour couldn't take it anymore, yelling as he grabbed an Auror who was about to unleash a powerful spell. "This is a Boggart, can't you recognize him?"
emmm"".
■
In fact, among everyone present, from Ministry of Magic personnel to magic school staff, there were probably very few who could accurately determine in a moment of panic that the plume of black smoke was a Boggart, a dark magical creature.
The noisy scene suddenly fell silent.
A deathly silence.
Several Aurors blushed, and the young wizards watching suddenly burst into mocking laughter, which sounded extremely grating.
Finally, Boggart flew towards Scrimgeour at lightning speed.
Scrimgeour had no desire to deal with the Boggart. As the head of the Aurors and a high-ranking official in the Ministry of Magic, he didn't want to let everyone see the Boggart reveal his deepest fears in front of them; he'd rather kill him.
No way, he has to deal with this damn Boggart; he can't let things get any more chaotic.
Just then, a hand gently reached out from beside him and caught the flying Boggart.
Scrimgeour turned his head sharply and was shocked to find that it was Lockhart!
"No, no, you can't come to the Ministry of Magic with me. Be good," Lockhart whispered, trying to persuade Boggart to transform into a fluffy, adorable little dog, the very image that Scrimgeour feared most.
He was about to step forward and reprimand Boggart, and decide to arrest him for "obstructing law enforcement," but he stopped in his tracks and said nothing.
This is a threat!
A silent threat!
Scrimgeour knew this was Lockhart's silent threat, an extremely disgusting and terrifying threat.
He could only watch helplessly as Lockhart handed the puppy to Snape, who looked disgusted, then slowly straightened his clothes and walked past one Auror after another into the magical carriage.
"Let's go, guys, hurry up," Lockhart said, poking his head out of the carriage and urging the Aurors on.
Many Aurors' faces turned pale.
Looking at the young wizards of Hogwarts around him, Scrimgeour had a thought that came to mind with a sense of despair: the Ministry of Magic probably wouldn't be able to recruit any Aurors from Hogwarts for the next seven years.
How could these kids possibly want to work in such an embarrassing department after graduation? They'd be laughed at by their classmates.
Damn!
huh~
咻咻 咻 ~
One after another, Aurors rode flying broomsticks across the sky.
The Thestral flapped its wings, pulling the magical carriage behind it, and sped into the clouds.
The general location of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is in the Scottish Highlands of northern England, while the Ministry of Magic is located underground in London.
The straight-line distance between the north and south of the country is at least several hundred kilometers.
"Why are we using such a foolish mode of transportation? By the time we get to the Ministry of Magic, it will probably be dark."
Lockhart leaned lazily against the carriage window, wanting to look at the scenery outside, but could only see large swaths of clouds. After a while, he got bored and couldn't help but complain, "Apparition, we can appear directly in the Ministry of Magic."
"I'm sorry, no." Scrimgeour looked at him warily. At this moment, only he and Kingsley were in the carriage, guarding it with wands. "This carriage is to ensure that you are the only one in it. If your dark magic creatures show up at the Ministry of Magic and cause trouble, making a mess of everything, Fudge will definitely kill me."
Lohat nodded, somewhat agreeing with the reasoning. "Indeed, you can't even handle the Boggarts."
Scrinker almost lost his composure.
Kingsley, who was secretly enjoying the scene, was actually quite distressed. In fact, Kingsley did not believe at all that Lockhart was the murderer of Vincent Black. There were not many people who could be recognized by Dumbledore, and he trusted Dumbledore's judgment.
He actually quite approved of using this magical tool. Such a reliable but slow mode of transportation was enough to buy them time, allowing the Order of the Phoenix members to secretly begin their investigation and wait for Dumbledore to appear.
"Stop staring at me like that." Lockhart, somewhat exasperated by Scrimgeour's nervousness, gestured to Kingsley beside him. "My wand is with him. You don't really think I can cast spells without a wand, do you?"
"Hard to say!"
Scrimgeour remained vigilant. "Judging from what you've written in your dozen or so best-selling books, your abilities are even above Professor McGonagall's, and you're just a little short of reaching Dumbledore's level."
What?
What the hell?
(O_O)?
Lockhart blinked, finally realizing just how outrageous the original owner of this body had created for him.
As he reviewed the contents of the bestselling book, he suddenly realized that the original owner's repeated portrayal of the "magic master" was truly like inflating a balloon, expanding with each passing moment.
This is blatant fraud. No wonder those wizards with real skills don't show any respect for the original owner.
Just this one fake image, I'm going to spit it out!
"Scrimgeour, you don't understand. This is called literary imagination. We always need to make the story a little more fantastical to attract more readers," Lockhart explained. "As long as I can guarantee that the magical knowledge I write in the book is accurate..."
Making appropriate revisions to the content is something many authors do.
He casually cited several examples of historical magic masters, discussing their works that were used in magic schools around the world, and pointing out which pages and chapters featured such techniques.
It's perfectly normal.
Does exaggerating slightly count as a lie?
"Doesn't that count?" Scrimgeour retorted with a cold laugh, "If you're not a master of magic, who can guarantee that the magical knowledge you teach in your books is truly accurate?"
"If some of the content can be fabricated or exaggerated, then how many of the magic described in the book truly and accurately depicts its intended power?"
"Magic is no joke. If readers have the wrong idea about certain spells, people can really die!"
?
Scringer seemed to be intentionally steering the conversation, and Lockhart keenly noticed.
He chuckled, disliking all this beating around the bush, and said directly, "So you've launched a suspect investigation against me?"
Let me guess, was it Coban Yaxley who initiated this with the Auror office?
Scrimgeour paused for a moment, then said, "It wasn't him."
"Wow, the professional is really cunning. Even something like this is arranged so that there's no trace of their involvement," Lockhart scoffed.
Kingsley's expression shifted slightly. He gently pressed a button on the carriage, and a pinkish-purple light, like a transparent bubble, blocked out the sounds on both sides of the carriage. He then covered his mouth and reported to his boss, "The Ferdinand who reported him is indeed related to Coban Yaxley."
"Sixteen years ago, Ferdinand was almost imprisoned in Azkaban, and it was Coban Yaxley who secretly helped him."
Scrimgeour's expression shifted, and he nodded to Kingsley, secretly noting the information down.
He wasn't stupid; he knew that this investigation, besides being a normal police report, could also be a political struggle. He didn't want to become someone else's tool, especially not a tool of the government.
Moreover, the coincidence of the student murder case pointing to Lockhart occurring at Hogwarts shortly after the investigation began is too much to bear.
It was as if everything had been arranged.
Kingsley continued, "We all know that Coban Yaxley is very likely a Death Eater. There are many rumors about the return of the Man of Void, and Lockhart is the one Dumbledore has chosen to place in the Beast Office of the Ministry of Magic. We must also be wary of the possibility of him getting involved in this matter."
"!!!"
Scrimgeour's gaze sharpened, and his expression changed.
This is a terrible political vortex.
He was neither a pro-Muggle like Dumbledore nor a pure-blood supremacist like Voldemort. In fact, he could accept either Dumbledore or Voldemort controlling the Ministry of Magic.
If Voldemort hadn't acted like an evil leader, constantly making terrorist threats, he probably would have been more inclined to identify with Voldemort.
This bigwig is more in line with his idea of "centralizing the Ministry of Magic". If he really comes to power, he really has the ability to bring the power of "Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the Twenty-Eight Holy Pure-Blood Families and all other forces" under the Ministry of Magic, which many people desire.
No, no, no, I can't think about such dangerous things.
Scrimgeour frowned, wondering if he had inadvertently stepped into the vortex of this war between the two big shots.
He glanced warily at the languid Lockhart and whispered to Kingsley, "When we get to the Ministry, you'll be in charge of keeping an eye on Lockhart. You're the most reliable, you should know who we need to watch out for. Don't drag our Auror department into this, understand?"
Kingsley nodded.
Before they could finish their discussion, a sudden, violent jolt shook the entire magical carriage.
"Damn it!" Scrimgeour cursed, looking out the car window. How were his men guiding the convoy? How did they end up in the turbulent waters?
However, before he could see clearly, a beam of magical light suddenly pierced through the clouds, instantly severing half of a Thestral's body. Blood gushed out and poured onto the carriage, scorching the entire carriage and causing it to creak.
"Enemy attack!!!"
The Aurors gasped in surprise, and the group quickly split into two. One group formed a tighter formation to guard the area around the carriage, while the other group moved swiftly and agilely toward the direction where the enemy might be.
boom!
Suddenly, the blood covering the carriage seemed to bubble up like a thick arm, which pounded heavily on the top of the carriage.
Then one arm after another appeared, a total of eight arms, like spiders, hammering rapidly, as if to peel off the skin and eat the flesh.
"Everyone, charge together and rescue Professor Lockhart!" someone shouted from the clouds, and beams of magical light surged forth. Scrimgeour immediately looked at Lockhart warily once again.
Lockhart, who was leaning lazily against the car window, laughed, a very happy laugh. "It's here! The change I've been waiting for has arrived, haha~"
He then looked at Scrimgeour, "It was Coban Yaxley who suggested you use that stupid mode of transport, the Magic Carriage, right? I wasn't wrong this time, was I?"
Scrimgeour's expression changed, becoming extremely solemn.
Kingsley glanced at Lohart discreetly beside him, confirming the news.
hey~
Did Lu give himself away?
Lockhart stretched. "Get ready to get to work!"