allendalepharm Chapter 114 I am a thief of life!
Chapter 114 I am a thief of life!
Chapter 114 I am a thief of life!
Tom ignored Lockhart; in his eyes, these magic masters who were engrossed in their studies were the most harmless.
He looked up at the basilisk, raised his hand to stroke its cheek as it leaned closer, and chanted an ancient runic incantation, "Sophists can always get help from snakes!"
The basilisk suddenly turned its head, revealing sharp fangs, and pierced Tom's palm with its fangs. A stream of venom with a sweet smell, accompanied by a powerful life force, was rapidly injected into Tom's body.
Gradually, all the humility and obedience in Tom's eyes vanished, leaving only his scarlet snake eyes, filled with the cold aura of a predator.
This injection caused the basilisk to visibly weaken, while Tom became increasingly realistic.
"Thank you!"
He gently rested his head on the basilisk's limp head, stroking it and soothing it.
Tom also has a tender side, but he bestows it all upon snakes that will never betray him; this is his gift to these loyal animals.
"Go back and recover quickly," he murmured to the basilisk, hissing. "The power of the Guardian Charm might harm you, so don't get too close to me right now."
The basilisk nodded, twisting its body as it climbed towards the top of the Slytherin statue. Halfway up, it looked at Lockhart, who was intently flipping through his lab notebook, with some confusion. Finally, it burrowed into the hole inside the statue's mouth, ready to burst out again at any moment in case of any unexpected events.
Or rather, its return to the cave was actually to guard the only unstable element on site—Gidero.
Professor Lockhart.
Tom can't completely trust anyone.
He looked at everything with satisfaction, then closed his eyes to recall everything Lockhart had told him about the Patronus Charm.
And arguments such as "the bonds of love bring sociality and shape our reality".
He was an extremely intelligent wizard. By the age of 16, his knowledge of magic surpassed that of many magic school professors, and he had his own judgment on many magical matters.
He knew Lockhart wasn't talking nonsense; this was a profound understanding of the power of love and the Guardian Charm.
He also thought it was feasible.
So·
Mother.·
You will protect me, right?
He waved his wand gently, his eyes unusually tender. This was the softest spot in his heart, and the only one. As he embarked on his own magical path, he became increasingly afraid to touch this soft spot.
A dazzling, mesmerizing silver light burst forth from the tip of the wand, swirling around like a dreamlike mist, gently swaying as if in a mother's embrace.
Tom's path of magic has always been focused on studying life, and he saw through the essence of this magic in an instant.
What you see before you is a scene of life being conceived.
This is the time when a person feels the safest and most well protected in their life—while they are in their mother's womb.
Therefore, the silver light before our eyes is still not the most complete state of the Guardian Spell.
You could even say it's simply the womb that nurtures the guardian deity.
Inside the womb, life is burgeoning, and a powerful force is emerging from within one's own soul.
Oh~
Oh, I see.
A guardian spirit is the spirit that nurtures you, constructed with the power of "love as the foundation of life," "joy as the color of life," and "innate spiritual talent to resist the erosion of evil forces in the environment."
Yes, Professor Lockhart is right.
The Guardian Charm can indeed bring one the reality of life, but that's just a side effect. Tom carefully felt the power of this magic, and the beauty on his face gradually turned into a cold smile—self-protection, the joy of one's own life, and spirituality, this is the true power of this life-giving spell.
It simply touches upon the magical power of love, incidentally involving the power of "being willing to love oneself, and being willing to be loved by the other person."
If no one else is watching you, then love yourself. It's that simple.
With a flick of his wand, a silver figure quickly emerged from the smoke, rapidly becoming real and solid, eventually transforming into a coiled snake shadow.
Just then, a sigh came from the side.
"You still ran away."
Turning his head, he saw Professor Lockhart. He examined the snake-like figure and shook his head slightly. "I know snakes have always protected Parsley, but snakes can never bring you socialization. Tom, you have to take this step bravely, otherwise you will never be able to experience the true meaning of life."
Tom was starting to get impatient. He was about to retort with a sneer when the professor gestured for him to look. To his surprise, he saw the silver guardian spirit turn its head and radiate a subtle hostility towards him.
"We often hear that dark wizards cannot cast Patronus Charms, and if they do, they suffer terrible backlashes." Lockhart's voice was very gentle, guiding the conversation softly. "Believe me, I have also experienced the power of cruelty. It's exhilarating, as if life is filled with carefree joy simply by submitting to it."
"But that's wrong. You'll find that your heart is resisting this version of yourself. That's why the Guardian Angel Curse backfires. It's a very simple principle."
He looked at Tom meaningfully and said, "We can wear masks in life and live hypocritically, but we can't treat our own hearts like that. We have to clearly feel our own truth, otherwise life will lose its authenticity."
"Tom, don't you even have the courage to appreciate the beauty within yourself?"
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"Or is it—" his gaze was deep, "that you've never believed, nor dared to admit, that you are actually capable of happiness and joy? Are you afraid of happiness happening to you, feeling it's not something you deserve? Feeling that happiness is a sin?"
"If that's really what you'd think, then you're being incredibly cruel to yourself. Happiness is a right every life should have, provided you don't resist it." Before he could finish speaking, Tom suddenly roared, "Stop talking!"
Powerful magic surged, turning into black smoke that instantly shredded the guardian spirit that was about to attack him. Suppressed power surged, with streaks of red lightning faintly emerging from the smoke.
"Suppressing your magic will turn you into Obscurity, and suppressing your joy will turn you into what?" Lockhart's voice came unaffected as he raised his hand. "Give me back my wand. If you continue like this, you'll never feel the reality of life."
The magic wand is waved.
An extremely strange force sent Lockhart flying backward rapidly. He was as if he had been squeezed into a small, distorted space. When he was squeezed out again, he was already standing in the corner of the secret room.
This magic
Lockhart had experienced it before; when he first met Snape, Snape had used this method on him.
Now, experiencing Tom's spell again, he finally understood what this magic was—the Flight Spell.
So amazing.
Tom is a real treasure trove; I wonder how much powerful magical wisdom he possesses in his memories.
"I'm sorry, Professor," Tom apologized hastily, gripping his wand tightly and closing his eyes again. "Let me try again!"
He stood there silently for a long, long time.
The magic wand was waved gently.
"Call upon God to protect you!"
Silver smoke billowed and shone brightly. Within the smoke, a blurry figure was rapidly coalescing, but it was no longer in the shape of a snake.
"Haha~" Lockhart laughed, waving his arms excitedly. "That's right, exactly!"
But just then, Tom suddenly opened his eyes in terror, "Oh no!"
He struggled to let go of the wand, but he couldn't. It was as if the wand was stuck to his palm. The swirling silver light around him seemed to be intertwining and colliding with some unique force that was everywhere.
Sixteen-year-old Tom had no idea that at the age of 41 he had placed a powerful curse on Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, a curse whose power was so peculiar that it subtly clashed with his own.
His only source of information was Ginny, but Ginny had long been deprived of this information due to Lockhart's Oblivion Curse, not to mention that Ginny herself didn't know much, only a few words heard from others.
Now, this powerful force seems to sense the power of the guardian spell he cast, violently and stimulatingly affecting the silver light he releases.
"What is this?" he cried out in terror.
"The rebalancing," Professor Lockhart answered his question earnestly from the side. "The curse is becoming active."
I can feel it making up for what was lost in the past.
Tom's gaze turned icy. He now realized he'd been tricked. He silently urged the basilisk to come down and help, while feigning panic to try and buy the professor time. "What's missing? Professor, what are you talking about?"
Lockhart smiled and glanced at the basilisk crawling down from the statue, ignoring it. He simply looked up with interest at the ever-surging sea of silver light, marveling, "The three elements that construct bloodline magic are 'I, Protection, and Solitude.' It doesn't lack 'I,' which is Voldemort. But it lacks 'Protection.' Tom, you've filled in the gap with 'Protection.'"
Tom's mind raced as he analyzed the professor's explanation. He was so intelligent and talented in magic that he was sure he could find a solution quickly. But he couldn't help but feel a sense of despair as he realized that his thinking was becoming increasingly sluggish, confused, and disoriented.
"What's wrong with me?" He was truly panicked and hoped to get some clues from Lockhart.
"You know about Obscurus, right? Suppressing one's own magic ultimately leads to the self being consumed by magic." Professor Lockhart actually told him, "Dumbledore said that he was not happy to be corrupted by dark magic, nor was he happy to be corrupted by magic that could bring positive emotional power. He was just himself."
The basilisk finally arrived on the ground, and Lockhart had to regretfully end the lesson. "To put it simply, Tom,"
You're going to be incredibly happy!
Overjoyed?
What an outrageous description.
Tom soon felt it; endless beauty and joy were rapidly washing over his soul. The emotions that arose in his soul could change the nature of magic, and conversely, the nature of magic could also affect the emotions of his soul.
he.-
I'm so happy!
He looked into the distance with a sense of despair, only to find that a red cloak had somehow appeared overhead, making it seem as if the basilisk could no longer find him!
Not only that!
A witch with a rabbit's head was singing on the stake, summoning layers of vines from the earth to bind the basilisk. The basilisk struggled, but a ridiculously large giant wearing a blood-stained sack pressed its head down and rubbed it against the ground.
A fluffy golden monkey jumped onto the basilisk's head and used its three arms to forcefully gouge a huge eyeball out of the basilisk's eye socket.
Hopeless!
Tom could tell that the basilisk had completely lost its ability to resist.
"Who are you?" He felt his thoughts collapsing in despair, and even felt his body rapidly disintegrating. A sea of silver smoke washed over his body, changing it and causing it to emit even more silver smoke.
Silently?
That is indeed a very vivid description.
He felt himself transforming into a surging, magical force.
"Me—"
Lockhart reached out and grabbed a wand, elegantly pointing it at him. "I'm the thief of life~"
What?
Tom didn't hear clearly at all; his mind had been completely shattered, and his entire body exploded, turning into eerie silver plasma. This plasma seemed to be alive, spinning rapidly in mid-air, sometimes converging, sometimes splitting apart.
"Forget everything, and all is emptiness!"
A black werewolf shadow appeared, attempting to tear at the silver plasma ball. It eagerly stretched out its claws but then withdrew them in fear, as if it were looking at its favorite fried pork, drooling with desire but afraid of getting burned.
A silver horse also appeared, neighing excitedly at the silver plasma cluster, and galloped quickly toward it.
Seeing how excited the horse was, the werewolf couldn't resist and rushed to be the first to take a bite.
However, before they could even touch this beautiful memory, a pair of huge, pale hands slapped them away. The enormous ghost looked down at the memory, grabbed it, and stuffed it into its chest.
"Screech~~~" The werewolf was furious.
"Hiss~~~" The horse seemed to resent this scene.
But they were quickly grabbed by a large hand, one by one, and stuffed into the chest, disappearing completely.
Get it!
Lockhart squinted, carefully sensing the immense power he had suddenly gained—an unparalleled power—and felt a surge of delight.
Of course, he doesn't dare to touch this power now, nor does he know how to use it.
He did know a powerful wizard who knew how to use this power—Gellert Grindelwald.
This expert guided Dumbledore's nephew, Cresten, on how to better control the Obscurial's power; perhaps I could seek his guidance sometime.
But this is just an extra bonus. If he really can't control it, he will simply take out this powerful magical energy again and discard it, although that would be a bit wasteful.
There were three major gains from this trip.
The first thing is that he digested Tom's memories so easily.
Dumbledore was right; he wasn't willing to change his mental state to accommodate the arrival of magic. This suggestion was clearly useful, and Lockhart, in turn, used a "fairytale romantic adventure" to have Tom change his mental and magical state, transforming it into a form he could easily digest.
The second benefit was that he was finally freed from the curse of being the professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts and instead gained the protection of that magic.
The third item is Slytherin's research notes and materials on breeding basilisks, which are undoubtedly extremely valuable. Now, along with all the experimental equipment, they have been stuffed into the ring.
A very fruitful harvest.
Nice!
Lockhart sighed contentedly, watching as the Oblivion Curse stripped away everything except the remnant of his soul, causing it to revert to black smoke and shrink back into the Horcrux of the diary. He couldn't help but marvel at the sight.
"Excuse me, Tom~"
"Uncle, I'm a bad person~"
He felt no guilt whatsoever about doing this. Voldemort was now wishing him dead and had even sent Coban Yaxley, such a troublesome Death Eater, to deal with him. Lockhart had no choice but to acquire even greater power as soon as possible.
Tom will pay the debt owed to Voldemort.
That makes sense.
He picked up the diary Horcrux from the ground, called his friends back into the red cloak, and gestured for the little golden retriever to put the basilisk's eyes back in.
The basilisk had other plans.
Next up is the plan to deal with Voldemort.
He smiled as he looked at the diary in his hand, humming softly, and left Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets with light steps, leaving behind only the bewildered Basilisk.
"Back to square one—"
The next day.
Fairy tale book.
A scene from Hogwarts, in the Gryffindor girls' dormitory.
Ginny reached out and pulled a very girly pink quill pen from the table, dipped it in ink, and began writing earnestly in her diary.
"Professor Lockhart has asked us to help him organize the manuscripts of his books again. How annoying! I just want to spend more time with Harry and don't want to do such troublesome things."
The writing quickly disappeared from the pages of the diary, but after a while, a string of letters reappeared.
"About the book he taught you to use the Patronus Charm? Right? He's obviously happy to brag about that!"