allendalepharm Chapter 104 Death Arrives Silently
Chapter 104 Death Arrives Silently
Chapter 104 Death Arrives Silently
The looting of the corpse yielded a considerable amount of items, including a magic wand, an invisibility cloak, Felix Felicis, a crystal stone imbued with luck, and a whole host of other odds and ends.
But what pleased Lockhart most was the magical items this group brought that were specifically designed to counter his dark magic creatures.
One is a jar covered in strange paint, specifically designed for golden retrievers.
He also had a jar like that, but it was of a much lower quality. The previous jar could only barely seal the little blondie, and it would easily be pushed open. When Hermione first received it, the little blondie ripped out her eyeballs because of it.
The difference is like the difference between a regular wand and the Elder Wand. This little jar creates a world full of eyeballs, the kind of jar that would make a little blondie willingly, or even eagerly, run into it.
The other one is a huge harp, which Lockhart doesn't know what it's for, but compared to the phonograph that the fairy who was wrongfully killed and sealed away, it's obviously the same solution.
The issue with these two magical items isn't whether they're expensive or not; the problem is that even if Lockhart brought out a ton of Galleons, there would be almost nowhere to buy them.
The monopoly of wizarding society resources by pure-blood families, especially the Twenty-Eight Holy Pure-Blood Families, is not just a monopoly on economic, commercial, and political resources; it is comprehensive.
Otherwise, why would the young wizards in magic schools work so hard to pass the "Ultimate Wizarding Rank Exam"? It's all so that they can join various organizations that can bring scarce resources after achieving excellent results.
Take Hagrid for example. If he had left Hogwarts, he might not have become the kind of "..." people jokingly say he is.
For the "hidden millionaire," the idea of using unicorn tail hair to weave a cushion is simply out of the question.
Getting into magic schools isn't easy. Hagrid got in because he had Dumbledore as his backer, but it's not easy for other wizards to get into such an organization.
In contrast, the Ministry of Magic, St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Injuries, the League Against the Dark Arts, and various newspapers would have a slightly easier time.
But it wasn't exactly easy either.
Not to mention, these organizations have more or less connections with the Twenty-Eight Holy Pureblood Families.
In the Ministry of Magic, for example, Arthur Weasley, a member of one of the Twenty-Eight Holy Pureblood Families, could freely write wizarding laws that the Wizengamor Inquisition and the Auror Office had to strictly adhere to. Most wizards could never reach that level in their lifetime; being an ordinary Auror or other Ministry of Magic employee was already the limit.
What is the glory of a pure-blood family?
This is!
Everyone knows that Dumbledore is the most powerful wizard of our time, so why do so many people still choose to stand against him and choose Voldemort's camp, who only sees himself as a tool?
This is the reason.
Dark magic creatures, which are terrifying to many wizards and even many pure-blood families, are really no problem to these twenty-eight holy pure-blood families.
They have accumulated a wealth of coping strategies over their long history of inheritance.
Even the Dementors, the fearsome jailers of Azkaban, have their own ways of communicating with and even controlling these dark magic creatures.
The droppings of the Moon-obsessed Beasts can cause magical plants and herbs to grow rapidly and become robust. The Axley family, one of the Twenty-Eight Holy Pureblood Families, owns a forest farm somewhere in this primeval forest, which produces such a product.
In contrast, even a well-resourced organization like Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry had to patiently wait for the mandrake cultivated by Professor Sprout to mature, a process that took nearly six months.
Thinking of this, Lockhart narrowed his eyes and suddenly remembered Coban Yaxley of the Yaxley family, a high-ranking official in the Ministry of Magic and a Death Eater.
He easily thought of this person.
After all, when the Anti-Dark Magic Alliance's "We're Not Dead" club first contacted him, they showed him great malice from the very first meeting.
He strongly suspected that Old Fu had approached this person, which led to the attack.
This seasoned veteran of the bureaucracy is clearly different from many Death Eaters who appear to be in a brain-dead state. Lockhart's trip with his students was intended to announce that Dumbledore would also be present. Even if he discovered through some means that Dumbledore was not in the group, he obviously wouldn't bring his own people to start a fight.
Finding a way to control Fenrir Greyback, a werewolf living at the bottom of society, and some dark wizards is undoubtedly an extremely clever approach.
These people won't even know who ordered them to launch this attack.
Of course, the other person is also suspect.
Lucius Malfoy!
That's less likely, since Lucius's only son Draco is also there, but it's not impossible that Voldemort himself would come to threaten them.
Not to mention they came in through the Crabbe family’s secret Flynet fireplace, where old Crabbe said he and his wife would be keeping watch for them.
If it really is Lucius who takes action, he might face another ambush the moment he steps out through the fireplace.
Old Si had somehow returned to normal and sat silently to the side, listening to Lockhart analyze these possibilities, his expression shifting.
He could smell the gunpowder of war!
After more than a decade of silence, it spread again, allowing him to feel it so clearly.
Voldemort
He gripped his wand tighter, finally turning to the young wizards drawn to the colorful fish in the deep lake. "I think you should reflect on some of your actions. Bringing students out so blindly, especially with both you and Harry being targeted by him, is incredibly unwise!"
He had been strongly opposed to Lockhart taking the young wizards out for Christmas.
"Talk, don't do that." Lockhart said dismissively, flipping his hand to present Snape with a delicate little teapot. "Look what this is?"
Snape's expression flickered as he keenly sensed the extremely stable magical fluctuations emanating from the teapot. "A Portkey?"
Lohatt nodded. "It was made by Dumbledore. I confirmed with him several times before we left. Even in a place like Crabbe's Rainbow Fish Farm, which is protected by magic, this door key he made himself is still valid."
The implication was that he could take the students back to Hogwarts at any time and avoid any unexpected events.
Snape nodded in agreement. "Then let's get the students back quickly."
Lockhart, however, saw it differently. "Hey, Severus, we can't always choose to run away. You have to let your students take some risks, otherwise they'll never grow up."
He shrugged. "I must reiterate, I'm not a babysitter for these students. I train them so they can be useful in the present adventures and even in the future. I don't want them to be like hothouse flowers, unable to handle anything!"
In this respect, Lockhart lacked the gentleness of an academic wizard.
It's more like the old-fashioned martial arts master in a past life, who hopes his apprentices can all be competent, and then he can just sit on the side making tea.
Again!
adventure!
Damn vocabulary!
Snape, suppressing his inner resistance and unease, said, "Then tell me, what if, when we go through the fireplace to the other side of the unknown, a Killing Curse is suddenly shot at us?"
Lockhart chuckled, stood up, put his hands on his hips, and looked at Old Severus with a smug expression. "Severus, remember this: I am the professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts. I always have a way to deal with these kinds of professional problems."
Snape's face was as sour as a cesspool.
Lockhart reached up and grabbed, tearing off a red cloak. He immediately felt as if he were truly touching the breeze and grass of this primeval forest.
Then it dawned on them that the two of them had been hidden by this cloak the whole time.
"Dark magic creature," Snape stood up, sneering, "Looks like you've forgotten how your pets were all easily countered!"
"Targeting this cloak is so simple, just a Guardian Charm—"
He couldn't continue.
Suddenly it dawned on me that whether Voldemort was truly waiting by the fireplace in person, or whether it was other Death Eaters or dark wizards,
There's really no way to unleash the Guardian Angel Spell!
Even if you were to bring a few helpers who could cast the Guardian Angel spell, no one would know how to cast this magic on a piece of thin air; that would be too absurd.
This dark magical creature, resembling a red cloak, has been at this rainbow fish farm for decades, yet no one can figure out what's going on, or even distinguish between the effects of the dark magical creature and the effects of a curse.
Boggarts are most terrifying when you don't even know they are Boggarts!
That would be an almost invincible existence.
Even with Voldemort's immense magical power, he couldn't harm a single Boggart with the Killing Curse!
Similarly, if the world were unaware of the existence of Horcruxes, Voldemort would be an invincible force in the wizarding world, capable of outlasting Dumbledore!
"This is definitely a lesson!"
Lockhart looked at the fluffy little head peeking out of his wizard's robe pocket, looking at him apologetically. He stroked its head and sighed, "I really shouldn't let anyone else know about the dark magic creatures around me anymore."
He needs to have his own trump card.
But this matter obviously needs to be planned slowly later. In the future, the black magic creatures and pets must be so unique that even their own students cannot recognize them.
You have to know when to hold back.
Lockhart was always methodical; once he had thought things through, he was no longer affected by them. He began to call on his students to come up with a way to catch the ichthyosaurs that had become somewhat rampant in the deep lake due to decades of neglect.
He wasn't in a hurry to leave at all; if there really was an ambush, it would be others who were anxious.
Catching the rainbow fish is fun and easy; everyone here is a skilled wizard and can always find a way using magic.
Cedric cast the Bubble Head Charm on everyone, which creates a bubble around the head for underwater breathing and to isolate the body from the surrounding air.
The Weasley twins enthusiastically recommended their invention, "snot bubble gum," which could store oxygen, but everyone refused. In the end, only the two of them jumped into the lake with two big bubbles on their nostrils.
After catching the rainbow fish, there was a lively bonfire feast. Everyone ate delicious grilled fish and also collected rainbow fish bone stones for other students in the school as amulets to protect them from monsters in the secret room in the future.
Lockhart then took the opportunity to give a lecture, asking everyone to share their adventures in fairy tales and their experiences fighting werewolves and dark wizards in reality. He also asked others to analyze and suggest what they should have done at the time, as well as the professional advice from the two professors.
They stayed there for a whole day.
Unbeknownst to them, a red cloak had once again transformed into a massive, all-encompassing shadow, looming over them and protecting them.
The next day, Lockhart told everyone about the potential dangers ahead, pretending to cast a concealment spell to make them overlook the role of the red cloak.
Only then did they return to the Crabbe family safe house on the other side of the fireplace via old Crabbe's crystal ball.
The young wizards exclaimed in surprise as soon as they stepped out of the fireplace.
Blood!
Blood splattered all over the wall, and the blood on the ground pooled like a lake. Old Crabbe's wife's head rolled to the side, and her body was blown to pieces and charred.
Draco gasped and anxiously pushed aside his classmates to go up and check the situation, but Snape pulled him back.
"This is a curse cast with one's own life!" Snape's eyes narrowed as he looked at the dead old Crabbe's wife, coldly warning the young wizards, "Corpses are the most dangerous things in the magical world. You never know what dark magic awaits you!"
They quickly found old Crabbe.
Some chubby, tall figures stood in front of the safe house's door, assuming a defensive stance and holding wands, their bodies as hard as stone.
Snape examined him for a while, then fell silent, looking at his former colleague and comrade-in-arms. Meeting Lockhart's questioning gaze,
He sighed, "I'm under a deadly curse; I'm as good as dead!"
Old Crabbe and his wife did indeed keep their promise to guard the fireplace for them; the only problem was that they couldn't keep it and they lost their lives in the process.
Draco cried, looking sadly at the two elders who had taken such good care of him since childhood. As he cried, he suddenly realized something.
She grabbed Snape's sleeve tightly. "Professor! My father, please, contact my father right now!"
He fears!
He was so scared!
He was afraid he would hear the news that his parents had also been killed.
The young wizards around fell silent. Even Harry, who hated Draco and wished all the Death Eaters were dead, felt uneasy watching the scene unfold before him.
Draco's father, Lucius, arrived quickly, accompanied by old Goyle.
Seeing the scene before him, Old Gao broke down instantly, hugging his friend's body and crying uncontrollably.
Lucius didn't speak, but just braced himself against his cane, his face pale and his whole body swaying precariously, his eyes filled with tears.
That's how Malfoys are; they can't cry, they can't fall down, otherwise their brothers behind them will have no one to rely on anymore.
His face was so pale at that moment, as if he had aged many years in an instant.
The Dark Lord purges traitors!
The Dark Lord is purging traitors!
He knew that he had already been attacked once before, but he didn't expect that old Crabbe still couldn't escape!
Snape sighed, patted him on the shoulder, and said softly and meaningfully, "You still have your son to protect. You can't act impulsively!"
Lucius remained silent, seemingly lost in a trance.
Snape pursed his lips and said nothing more, raising his wand to deal with the curse left by old Crabbe's wife's remains, to prevent others from accidentally touching it and causing unknown consequences.
Lockhart, who was feeling somewhat conflicted, suddenly spotted a very conspicuous and furtive figure in the crowd—Rita.
Rita Skeeter, a senior student, is a reporter for The Daily Prophet.
How did this thing smell the scent and come here?
Rita explained to him in a low voice, "I need to interview the parents of your book, 'Where Are the Dark Creatures?' and I just happened to be at Malfoy Manor—"