allendalepharm Chapter 131 The Stolen Soul
Chapter 131 The Stolen Soul
Chapter 131 The Stolen Soul
Lockhart didn't confront Cobbant for one important reason: he knew the real enemy was Voldemort!
He might deal with a classically trained wizard today, but he'll have another one tomorrow. With Voldemort's current influence over pure-blood families and even more groups, he can easily find powerful wizards willing to risk their lives for him.
Most importantly, Dumbledore had warned Lockhart that Cobben might be bait thrown out by Tom, waiting for them to take the bait.
In the real world, the game isn't about killing one enemy today and another tomorrow, persisting until all the enemies are gone.
Doing so might actually have a negative consequence: it could whitewash Voldemort, because if you oppose Voldemort, you are the real villain.
No secrets stay hidden forever. Killing one person after another will eventually be made public and the perpetrators will be condemned by everyone.
No one can guarantee that they will be awesome every single moment. Even if they are awesome until they die, what about their family? What about their descendants? What about their friends? What about their career? If they are not awesome in any aspect, they can easily be turned around and attacked.
Humans are ultimately social animals. Whether one should be like Dumbledore, where everyone bows and scrapes to him wherever he goes, or like Voldemort, who can only live and watch from the shadows despite being feared by all, is a matter that needs careful consideration.
Such calculations are clearly too frustrating.
Lockhart was unhappy; he felt uncomfortable at all, so what was the point of living? He might as well kill, kill, kill.
Dumbledore just smiled and chewed on the pile of cockroaches, saying, "You have to become a 'hero,' a hero who fights the great evil!"
Heroes in the context of fairy tales.
Just like the werewolf attack on the Ministry of Magic building last time, Lockhart stood up as a hero and won a lot of benefits.
Fame, a smooth entry into the Ministry of Magic, best-selling books, more fans and influence.
But those with formal training began to become the opposite of humanity, turning into werewolves.
Before Lockhart even had a chance to intervene, reporter Rita excitedly picked up her quill and began her attack, and it was even expected that more people would follow suit.
Honestly, the process was quite enjoyable.
So what should we do next?
He wasn't quite sure yet; he wasn't Dumbledore, lacking the composure of an old artist who could handle things with ease. It required more wisdom from life.
Lockhart was undeterred; he heard the call of adventure and excitedly stepped inside, ready to face the challenges that would bring glory.
He even started to get a little excited.
Ultimately, Voldemort was still too far away for him; formal training was just right, making him feel excited, restless, and full of passion.
Formalist, my wand is itching for a fight.
Lockhart retrieved his wand.
He spit out a curse as he looked at Vincent Crabbe, who resembled a corpse.
A tense Harry Potter standing nearby quickly asked, "Professor, is he really dead?"
He was almost frantic with worry, but Professor Lockhart still had the leisure to guide him, smilingly gesturing for him to draw his wand and beginning to teach him how to check a wizard's condition, while also giving him a mini magic lesson.
"This is the most basic and practical examination spell at St. Mungo's Hospital for the Injury and Wounds. It is said to have been invented by a witch nurse during the First World War in Muggles, and it is called the 'Whispering Charm'."
He instructed Harry on how to cast spells and explained the principles in more detail according to his own understanding.
"The wand is the most important medium. It helps wizards communicate with the world, including nature and other living beings. Of course, if you pay more attention to the wonderful state when casting a spell, you will find that your magic has actually transformed into the most primitive chaotic state of childhood to touch the spirituality of the world."
"Specifically, this magic's function is to allow our magic to sense the rhythm of life and listen to the voice of life."
Honestly, Harry had absolutely no interest in studying right now, but seeing Professor Lockhart's encouraging gaze and expectant gestures, he finally calmed down and tried to cast the spell.
This magic feels very, very strange.
He felt as if a cold hand was grabbing his ear and pulling it outwards with force.
Harry instinctively thought he would feel pain because he had too many experiences of his uncle and aunt pulling his ears.
But as a result, I did not feel any pain.
Instead, it felt strangely like my ears were being stretched into an extremely bizarre shape, like clay, getting longer and longer until they were stuffed into the wand. Then they extended along the wand's thin channel and finally emerged from the tip of the wand like a flower.
I even flicked it once.
"Give it a try," Lockhart continued to encourage.
Harry swallowed hard. To be honest, this magic felt so strange to him, as if his whole body was being twisted and deformed.
He tried pressing his wand against Crabbe's chest, listening carefully for any sounds that might be coming from it.
"Did you hear that?" Professor Lockhart asked.
Harry shook his head, then nodded. "It's a bit like when I was a kid and you'd put a bottle to your ear and all you'd hear was a hollow 'whoosh' sound."
"Accurate!" Lockhart gave a thumbs up. "A very accurate assessment—it's a hollow sound. Harry, you have a remarkable talent for perception. Now, tell me, what does this mean?"
Harry didn't understand, but he tried to think about it and asked uncertainly, "Does that mean there's no soul in his body?"
slap~
Lockhart snapped his fingers. "That's right!"
He looked at Harry with a smile. "We've been informed by the Ministry of Magic officials that this is the work of dark magical creatures. So, as a co-author of 'Where Are the Dark Creatures?', Mr. Potter, please tell me, what kind of dark magical creature could cause such an effect?"
"Hint!" the professor narrowed Harry's thoughts, "Common dark magical creatures."
Harry quickly found the answer. After all, this was the result of everyone's hard work in compiling the information, and many of the details were things that everyone would discuss and debate repeatedly in the "Duel Club," so it couldn't be clearer.
"Dementors!" Harry exclaimed excitedly, then turned pale, looking at the professor with some fear. "Dementor's Kiss?"
"The Dementor's Kiss" is the highest form of punishment in Azkaban, a prison under the Ministry of Magic. Wizards whose souls are sucked away by Dementors will be left with only an empty body, looking as if they are dead.
The effect is similar to that of "Sleeping Beauty" in the fairy tale.
Although a wizard's body will retain some activity under normal circumstances, it can basically be buried directly in the ground.
“Yes.” Lockhart confirmed his guess, stroking his chin as he looked at Crabbe. “A more sophisticated method of using Dementors, where his soul isn’t being sucked away, but rather completely ripped off.”
Seeing Harry's puzzled look, he reminded him of a key point: "The characteristic of dark magic creatures that corrupt the wizard's mind!"
Understood. Harry was quick-witted enough to immediately observe the details of Crabbe's facial muscles, as well as the condition of his fingers and toes. He even touched Crabbe's back to check if there were any taut muscles.
The power of dark magic brings damage from extremely negative emotions. When this damage completely wounds the soul, the victim will have obvious traces of dark magic erosion, or physical characteristics that show when the wizard's negative emotions reach their extreme.
"The Dementor's Kiss is extremely fast, but it also involves a process of extracting the soul. In fact, the wizard can still resist at that time, but very few people can do it."
"And Crabbe's current situation is more like someone using the power of the Dementors to directly rip his entire soul off."
As for why they would pull this stunt when they were already planning to kill Crabbe to frame Lockhart, the most likely reason is that the mastermind was after Crabbe's family's valuable wealth.
In Europe, many once-glorious ancient pure-blood families have fallen into decline, such as the Gaunt family, who eventually lived in a small, dilapidated house.
Even so, the Gaunt family still kept many treasures, one of which was the Slytherin locket.
The Crabbe family, a family that has always been glorious, has a longer history in Europe than the Malfoy family. When it was declining in the later stages, it wisely chose to stand by the Malfoys to maintain its family glory. No one knows how many good things are hidden in their family.
The "Book of Blood" tablet that Lockhart casually touched back then can sometimes really change many people's lives.
"Crawb can still be saved," Lockhart concluded. After all, not every wizard in the world could be as accurate as him in finding the information they needed from a wizard's memories.
If they truly possessed such capabilities, the Ministries of Magic in various countries wouldn't need the Wizengamor Inquisition.
"But who exactly took Crabbe's soul?" Harry frowned.
Lockhart shrugged and looked towards another corner of the room. "Draco, you tell me, who could it be?"
"Draco?" Harry gripped his wand tightly, looking around warily. He was certain that he and the professor were the only ones in the room, and that he had closed the doors and windows after entering.
He didn't trust Malfoy at all, thinking that the villain would definitely report the professor to the Aurors for being here.
He cautiously observed his surroundings, when suddenly he saw a figure quickly emerge from the corner of the left wall. It turned out to be someone wearing an invisibility cloak who had hidden there.
Not only Malfoy, but Goyle was there too.
At this moment, both of them, hidden in the invisibility cloak, were crying with tears streaming down their faces.
"What are you doing here!" Harry pointed his wand at them warily.
"We've always been here!" Draco tossed the Invisibility Cloak he'd ripped off onto Goyle, secretly wiping away tears, and strode up to Harry, looking at him coldly. "Don't pretend to care about Crabbe; you've always wanted him dead!"
"I'd rather he be in trouble, but I wouldn't rather he be dead!" Harry argued with a resolute expression, distinguishing between the two.
Just as they were about to start arguing, they suddenly felt a warm, large hand covering their heads.
Lockhart subdued one of them at a time, saying, "Kids, now is not the time to argue."
He looked at Draco. "Do you have an answer, Draco? Who attacked Crabbe?"
Draco shook his head. "I didn't see it, but Professor, I just heard your analysis and I have some guesses."
Lockhart nodded in satisfaction, signaling him to elaborate.
"Only the Ministry of Magic can control Dementors, and usually only Aurors can come into contact with them." Draco's thinking was very clear. "Also, you said that the other party used more sophisticated methods, so they must be wizards who have come into contact with and studied Dementors. I guess the other party must come from a pure-blood family with a long history."
Lockhart smiled slightly. "That's not enough. After all, you can hardly find a single Muggle wizard in the Auror office of the British Ministry of Magic. They are all from pure-blood families or are pure-blood half-bloods."
Harry was taken aback. He had always been against Draco's theory of blood superiority, but he never expected that the Ministry of Magic would also be like that.
How could this be?
He clearly did not realize that the Potter family was actually an ancient, pure-blooded family.
"I can't guess who it is?" Draco seemed troubled. In fact, his Malfoy family also possessed some skills in controlling Dementors, and this knowledge made him realize that this clue could not clearly point to anyone.
But that was enough for Harry. He glared angrily at the professor. "It was the Aurors who were doing the work, and now they're crying wolf and framing you!"
Lockhart shrugged helplessly, about to say something, when he suddenly turned to look out the window.
A magical carriage pulled by four Thestrals is descending from the sky, approaching Hogwarts Castle.
"Children, I have to go."
Lockhart has his own adventures to experience, and these two young wizards also have their own adventures to embark on.
Looking at Harry Potter, the new generation's savior launched by the "pro-Muggle faction," and Draco Malfoy, the heir of the Malfoy family, the most influential family of the "pure-blood supremacy" faction, he was somewhat expectant of what these two students, whom he had taught with all his heart, could do.
What they do may not change anything, but as long as they try to do something, it means their efforts are not in vain.
Harry, growing anxious, called out, "Professor, what should I do?"
Lockhart said with a smile, "Follow your inner voice~"
Following his inner voice, Harry seemed to understand something. He clenched his fist and said, "Professor, I will tell everyone about my discovery and bring people to rescue you!"
"You brainless brute!" Draco sneered. "Are you planning to lead a men to attack the Ministry of Magic? Savior?"
Harry gave him a cold look. "I knew you didn't want to save the professor!"
Draco rolled his eyes. "This world isn't just about fighting and killing, you stupid Harry Potter!"
He proudly recounted what he considered the only effective method: "I will bring enough students to protest to the Ministry of Magic and file a complaint with Wizengamor regarding the Auror Office's abuse of power and framing!"
He hoped to gain the professor's approval.
But Draco and Harry suddenly realized that Professor Lockhart had disappeared without them noticing.
Yes, even though the windows were tightly closed and the doors were locked, Professor Lockhart had vanished from the office without a trace, as if he had never been there at all.