The slacker professor at Hogwarts

Chapter 112 Protecting Loneliness and Me

Chapter 112 Protecting Loneliness and Me

Tom's view of blood magic is different from Snape's.

Or rather, on a broader level, he undoubtedly viewed blood magic from a higher perspective and explored the essence of this magic more deeply.

A magic that explores love, blood ties, home, loneliness, happiness, betrayal, severance, and the inability to sever ties.

Look at his description; it's completely different from the kind of lovelorn men and women that Old Si described.

Sixteen-year-old Tom was still cautiously exploring this power, full of anticipation, and so determined to confront this power that touched the wounds in his heart.

Fortunately, at this point he was still willing to believe, unlike later when he completely dismissed this thing.

Next, Tom's Little Classroom will begin.

Lockhart listened as Tom shared all his explorations and thoughts on the magic, recounting the contents of the materials and his own judgments, pointing out which materials and books were wrong, which were narrow-minded, and which were even foolish arguments.

Listen to this, Lockhart even finds himself having a rather absurd idea.

The curse attached to the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is actually a blood curse? Or is it actually the "love" that Tom intensely pursued and then completely relinquished?

So later, Voldemort kept targeting Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, not because Dumbledore was there, but simply because it was the home he had completely severed from love and thus cursed.

The connection was severed, but we found it to be so strong. The power of love sometimes appears in such an absurd way, full of the irony of fate.

Lockhart couldn't help but recall the content of the original book about the professors of Defense Against the Dark Arts throughout the ages.

Oh~

Merlin's lace-trimmed wide-leg pants!

He seems to have discovered something incredible.

It seems that all the professors who died from the curse in the original books were related to Voldemort!

Quirinus Quirrell, Harry's first-year student, died—Voldemort possessed the back of his head.

Lockhart, in his second year, and Lupin, in his third year, neither died in office.

Barty Crouch Jr., a fourth-grader, was killed after his soul was sucked away by a Dementor—he was a loyal Death Eater.

Dolores Umbridge, a fifth-grader, did not die in office.

Sixth-year student Severus Snape did not die in office. Although he was also a Death Eater, he had completely betrayed Voldemort.

Amycus Caro, a seventh-grader, was sent to Azkaban for life imprisonment, with the execution of a Dementor's kiss uncertain—he was also a loyal Death Eater.

Oh my god~

Lockhart gasped. Was Old Voldemort's curse aimed at him?

She had completely severed ties with this "home," yet deep down she yearned for it intensely, clinging to it with unwavering attachment.

Unable to obtain what one desires, unable to grasp it, unable to let go, suffering excruciating pain, one ultimately begs to return, only to perish and vanish.

So it really is blood magic?

Is the school my home? Is the principal the patriarch, and the professors the elders?

Feed~~~

Lockhart couldn't help but shrink his neck, rubbing the goosebumps on the back of his hands. So now he had inexplicably become Voldemort's 'blood relative'?

Oh my god~

This is so exciting!

Lockhart's eyes lit up. Looking at Little Tom in the diary, he chuckled and said, "I'm your elder now, come on, call me Uncle Lockhart, okay? This isn't the time to be playful."

He also needed this magic to protect his original blood relatives, but he didn't want to end up like Snape and Voldemort.

Old Si also said that Lily's approach was more restrained, which in turn enhanced the effect of the magic.

Loving too intensely will only bring pain.

For this, you can't go wrong asking Tom.

He began asking questions about the magic he cared about, in a tone befitting a professor's assessment, and before he knew it, he had gained a deep understanding of the spell.

Great, let's get to work!

He suspended his communication with Tom, citing urgent matters to attend to. This was necessary; he needed to put what Tom had taught him into practice and reflect in order to have more to influence Tom.

Proud Tom was unwilling to listen to the guidance of a professor who couldn't say anything, especially in the area of ​​"love," which was a particularly cautious subject for him.

Outside of fairy tale books.

The sky was bright.

Hogwarts was once again blessed with a rare, bright and sunny morning.

Lockhart was about to ask Snape to borrow the Slytherin headmaster's fireplace, but Snape advised him to be more careful, saying, "You must make sure there's no trace of it."

He was somewhat puzzled. "Clean up the traces?"

Snape shook his head. "Since no one else knows how you do it, it's very difficult for other magical forces like Conqueror to detect it. In fact, that's the reason why the magic of safe houses is so effective."

understood.

Cut off the social aspect of this matter.

Magical domains such as fate, occupation, and rituals have always been collective magical forces derived from human society. It is impossible to know anything about them if they are separated from the collective.

Lockhart couldn't help but think of the Pensieve, where one could see the surroundings unknown to the memory's owner, but some things and people would quietly disappear from it, which seemed to be the same principle.

Given this, how should he travel?

Lockhart approached the Autobots again. He seemed to dislike staying at the Tower Observatory, but was afraid of the Great Demon's revenge and dared not return to the Forbidden Forest. He looked somewhat sullen.

Lady, let's set off on an adventure.

By the way, I'll keep my promise and get my skilled relative to fix your car body, which was smashed to pieces by the willow tree.

Lockhart's house is easy to find.

In his autobiography, "Me Who Has Magic," he detailed his origins and claimed to be proud of his intelligent and wise Muggle father.

Frankly, it is extremely unwise to steal the memories of powerful figures everywhere, especially some of whom are such dangerous wizards, and to blindly write about one's origins in books and spread them widely.

But his mother liked it anyway.

Gilderoy's mother loves it when her famous son's fans come to visit, and she always excitedly shares interesting stories about Gilderoy with them.

Lockhart's mother knows how to manage a reputation. She wouldn't show fans photos of Lockhart as a naked child, but she knows how to promote how warm and loving Lockhart's family is, thus laying a solid foundation for Lockhart's fame.

But in reality, Lockhart's relationship with his two older sisters wasn't very good.

This is also because of his mother.

Unlike Lily's older sister Petunia, who comes from a Muggle family and whose wizarding bloodline is barely perceptible, the two older sisters, born into a mixed-race wizarding family with a witch mother, should strictly be considered "Squibs."

But Mom always referred to them as "Muggles".

My mother doesn't discriminate against Muggles, otherwise she wouldn't have married Mr. Lockhart, a Muggle, and loved him so much that she bore him three children.

But the older sisters didn't see it that way. They could clearly sense their mother's favoritism towards Gidero, and thus felt somewhat resentful.

But this resentment didn't turn into hatred. After all, they both had loving parents and celebrity brothers who tried their best to please them, so their relationship remained neither too close nor too distant.

Lockhart arrived at his parents' house soon after.

Yes, very quickly, it became second nature.

It's not far from the Ministry of Magic building, just across the Tays River, less than two kilometers away.

The Lockhart family didn't actually live here before. Thanks to their mother's skill in managing the household and their outstanding son, they came into contact with many figures in the wizarding high society. Through the Anti-Dark Magic League and the Merlin Guild, they also got to know some pro-Muggle people. The result of their efforts was that the father was promoted to a position at the newspaper headquarters, and the families of the two older sisters also managed to blend into the Muggle high society. One of the brothers-in-law even started a sizable internet company here.

The Muggle nobles who knew of the existence of wizards were actually quite willing to offer some assistance to these pro-Muggle wizards.

A mere glimpse of something at their fingertips is enough for them to easily leap from the bottom of society to a respectable middle-class life.

This is the benefit that Lockhart, an internationally renowned author, has gained from diligently cultivating her reputation.

In this situation, blindly following Snape's methods to completely distance the blood relatives from wizards would be tantamount to completely cutting off the Lockhart family's path to advancement, and the consequences would most likely push these blood relatives to the point of hating Lockhart.

If one has never experienced the wealth and glamour of high society, then the simple and warm life of an ordinary reporter's family can be tolerated.

As skyscrapers rise and fall, resentment becomes almost inevitable.

Lockhart had to be careful about this.

He had a hearty lunch at his parents' house and then went to see his brother-in-law. After more than a year, his brother-in-law, who was a skilled sheet metal worker in his memory, had become quite overweight.

He was dressed in a respectable three-piece velvet suit, wearing a gleaming silver pocket watch, and smoking a cigar, looking quite dignified.

He was no longer the diligent and handsome young worker I remembered. He was now in the automotive trade. When Lockhart referred to the car as "ladies," I don't know where he found it, but he called over a group of female mechanics dressed in bikinis and baggy denim overalls to serve the car.

Of course, he also suggested that Lockhart get a better car, arguing that the Ford Anglia, a classic model that was affordable and popular back in the day, had too many units on the road and was not good enough to be considered a vintage car, but its performance was not good enough as a new car.

My brother-in-law said he'd be willing to give me a Lockhart; I'll go to the garage to pick one out later.

Then he got splashed with car wash bubbles all over his face.

The car lady is angry.

"It—it's that kind of—" The brother-in-law was obviously quick-witted, knowing that the repairmen wouldn't dare to criticize him, and then he realized the problem.

Lockhart nodded with a mysterious smile.

"Oh, I'm sorry~" he apologized sincerely to the car lady, and then hurriedly pulled Lockhart away from this magical creation that seemed to have a bad temper.

Not long after Lockhart arrived at the office with his brother-in-law, another brother-in-law arrived as well. Lockhart overheard their conversation and learned that they were planning to start a car information website together.

In 1992, the British Internet began to reach its commercial peak, with countless hot money pouring into this emerging industry. Anyone with an idea could easily attract a lot of investment.

Not to mention they also plan to bring in their father-in-law, Mr. Lockhart, who works in the media industry, to create a car information website that combines "travel information" with the goal of boosting car sales.

That's a great idea.

Once the dot-com bubble bursts in ten years and countless internet companies go bankrupt, the Lockhart family will be able to successfully return to poverty, perfectly complementing the effects of blood magic.

Okay, just kidding.

Lockhart didn't participate much in their discussion, but simply smiled and quietly stayed to the side, pondering the possible impact of bloodline magic.

In the evening, the Lockhart family hosted a lively family gathering.

Lockhart's parents, two older sisters and their husbands, and three playful children, all relied on the fame Lockhart cultivated to gain a foothold in society, and also began to climb to higher peaks through their own abilities.

The lively scene began with the sheet metal worker brother-in-law's quirky performance that made the children laugh out loud, while another brother-in-law dragged his sister into wearing strange wizard robes and clumsily battling against werewolf suits. The noise and excitement were so great that it felt like a dream.

Lockhart quietly drew his wand from a corner of the crowd and waved it gently.

Magical power quietly unfolded.

He didn't go as far as Old Man Spielberg did, showing more restraint than Lily Potter and Tom Riddle. The effect was similar to that of Harry's family, except that he severed social ties with Voldemort and his men.

This magic was amazing; he couldn't sense any changes in these blood relatives, yet he could clearly perceive that the magic was in operation.

Because it seems to be working on itself.

To be precise, it's the caster.

Magic surged, and in the unseen sight of the family, silver light billowed like smoke, the guardian horse galloped merrily among them, dark blackness rolled like flames, and a wicked werewolf howled beside Lockhart.

Yes, it was blood magic, but it unexpectedly triggered the power of the guardian horse and the vicious werewolf.

Protecting family, living in solitude —

He watched the increasingly noisy figures at the family gathering, and while he was among them, he felt as if he were being swallowed up by the shadowy corners he hadn't noticed, filled with a strange and peculiar state of alienation yet also vaguely connected.

Oh~

understood.

So that's what blood magic is.

guard!

lonely!

And me!

These three elements together form the foundation of this magic!

The magic rapidly circulated between "protection," "loneliness," and "me," eventually stabilizing and disappearing completely.

"Gidero, Gidero, come here quickly, it's your turn to perform for the children!" the brother-in-law called out excitedly.

Lockhart smiled and stepped forward, looking at the horses galloping merrily under the lights and the werewolves lingering in the shadows behind them, and suddenly had a strange realization.

The bloodline magic Old S described lacked "I"—yes, that's crucial; he mistakenly stood on the side belonging to "I."

In the position of 'loneliness'.

Voldemort's blood magic, on the other hand, lacked "protection," so "I" began to grapple with "loneliness," ultimately leading to a societal rift.

From this perspective, Lily's bloodline magic is the most complete, but it also has a huge problem—her death leaves the magic without "me," and "protection" and "loneliness" begin to tug at each other, ultimately leading to a tearing apart within the bloodline.

What a wonderful and interesting state!

Magic can be that simple sometimes. He waved his wand and cast a spell, and Voldemort and his minions could no longer harm his blood relatives.

Magic can sometimes be so complex that it can erode the spellcaster's own power in a more fundamental way.

So, how can this magic be improved?

As Lockhart's performance made the children laugh, a huge, pale ghost, as if devoid of all life, appeared, grabbed the lonely werewolf, stuffed him into its chest, and disappeared again.

Lock loneliness in a cage, don't destroy it, just lock it up.

Then, the silver protective light shone forth, and the air was filled with beautiful and joyful laughter, bustling and lively.