Chapter 120: Turns Out I Already Knew
Lockhart had always been hands-off when it came to teaching. For instance, he almost entirely delegated the ordinary classes for sixth and seventh years to the N.E.W.T. accelerated students. The results were good, and by now, he hardly ever taught regular students himself.
The incident Hermione referred to was related to the test run of the "Chamber of Secrets at Hogwarts" adventure.
The initial venue was set in a small hollow near the Forbidden Forest, where there was an abandoned small tower, perfect for the professors to arrange into the necessary scenes.
Since it was just a test run, Lockhart only put a single Vengeance Fairy into this scenario. For the members of the Duelling Club who had mastered the Patronus Charm, and for the excellent senior students in the sixth and seventh-year N.E.W.T. accelerated classes who were nearing graduation, it shouldn't have been difficult at all.
So how could something have gone wrong?
He followed Hermione and the others, puzzled, to the edge of the Forbidden Forest. He soon saw a group of young wizards sitting blankly in a corner, their faces pale as if they were about to die at any moment.
Dark magic erosion—a very obvious characteristic.
Lockhart looked at these academic underachievers with a strange expression, then rolled his eyes at Draco Malfoy beside him. "Didn't I say to let you excellent students participate in the test run of the adventure first? Where did these ones come from?"
Draco sneered. "That's just how foolish Gryffindors are. These arrogant blokes thought the professors' arrangements were discriminatory, and they strongly demanded to participate. Professor McGonagall approved of their courage and decided to let them try."
Oh-ho, so you're mocking Professor McGonagall too?
Young Master Malfoy, you're quite brave!
They say that when you speak ill of someone behind their back, that person is most likely to appear right behind you—sometimes fate enjoys arranging such maliciously coincidental moments.
Draco, seeing Professor Lockhart's meaningful glance, suddenly stiffened and looked back in horror, only to find an angry Harry and Hermione, and a stern-faced Professor McGonagall.
"It was clearly because they drank Professor Snape's Weakening Potion, and the antidote they brewed themselves had no effect, that they were affected by the Vengeance Fairy!" Harry Potter retorted unhappily.
In other words, the current situation was caused by Snape's mischief, not Professor McGonagall's approval.
Then Harry felt Hermione secretly tugging on his sleeve. He quickly turned around, stiffening, to find a grim-faced Professor Snape.
Heh~
Lockhart was highly amused watching this scene.
Alright, now wasn't the time for schadenfreude. Ultimately, this problem occurred because he, the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, wasn't there watching.
The problem fell within his purview.
"This matter isn't difficult to resolve." Professor Snape gave Harry Potter a cold glance. "A potion to remove dark power from the body, I can brew it overnight. As long as someone watches these idiots tonight to keep them from seeking death, they'll be bouncing around tomorrow morning."
Lockhart had a bottle of such a potion. Snape had prepared it for him back at Urquhart Castle to remove the Vengeance Fairy that had attached itself to his body.
Lockhart had never used it, because it was very precious. Snape said it could be casually brewed, but trying to get a bottle of such a potion outside Hogwarts would truly require a great deal of effort and expense.
"No need for such trouble."
Lockhart smiled and stepped forward. "Potion ingredients are quite expensive, don't waste them. It's just a matter of a spell."
Removing dark power from the body was a common thorny issue for Defense Against the Dark Arts experts; many masters had their own solutions.
The most common method was actually quite simple: using the power of the Patronus Charm to expel it. This spell had the perfect ability to protect the mind and provide positive emotions to counteract darkness.
But "simple" was only true for Lockhart.
At least for young wizards like Harry, Draco, and Hermione, they hadn't yet reached the point of using the Patronus Charm to defend the minds of others beyond themselves.
He drew his wand, sensing the abundant information transmitted by the gentle breeze and insect chirps in the Forbidden Forest, and pondered what power he should use to enhance this Patronus Charm.
This was the most consistent point in Dumbledore and Grindelwald's respective ideas in Controlling Lightning: "Observe everything around you, looking for factors that can assist the magic you are about to cast."
For the two great wizards, this approach had even become instinctive, belonging to the "magical tricks" Dumbledore had previously mentioned to Lockhart.
The reason a master is a master is reflected in all the differences in their spellcasting details compared to other wizards.
Lockhart had been immersed in this magical notebook during this time, and naturally followed this line of thought.
He soon saw the dark clouds in the sky.
The rainy season at Hogwarts this school year was simply too long. Lockhart knew from his previous life's memories that this gloomy rainy season didn't completely end until the Basilisk was dealt with.
He first waved his wand, performing the prelude to "Mind Communication Technique"(Telepathy) as an enhancement of his self-will. This was also a magical trick Dumbledore had taught him.
Then, with extremely fluid movements, he performed the Patronus Charm. In the end, he didn't even utter an incantation; his wand lightly pointed towards the sky.
No incantation needed; he was simply too familiar with the Patronus Charm.
This was partly due to his own integration into the fairy tale adventures that lent themselves to the Patronus Charm's magic, and partly due to the help of his favorite student, Tom Riddle.
Soon, a drizzling rain began to fall from the sky.
These raindrops were quite unique, shimmering with the silver streams characteristic of the Patronus Charm in the faint light from above.
From the perspective of natural magic, light rain has a very special effect on the human mind within nature. From ancient times to the present, across the globe, from Muggles to wizards, humans easily feel the wonder of walking in light rain.
If Lockhart were to describe this feeling, it would be: refreshing and stirring.
Such a characteristic was undoubtedly a perfect match for the Patronus Charm. With a deeper understanding of the power of natural magic and the Patronus Charm, Lockhart almost instinctively chose this most appropriate combination without even thinking.
The power of nature and the power of self-will perfectly merged!
It was his first attempt to do this, and his touch was a bit unrestrained. This light rain spread almost throughout the entire Hogwarts castle complex and the Forbidden Forest.
Hmm, not a big problem.
Soon, these silver raindrops drifted down, touching every wizard present with a slight coolness, permeating their hearts and stirring ripples within.
Even Hagrid, with his extremely strong magical resistance, who had rushed over, stood frozen in this light rain, gazing up at the sky with dreamy eyes.
Wonderful, happy, relaxed...
He instantly felt such a wonderful state of mind. The panic in his emotions was gently smoothed away, as if he had eaten a large scoop of delicious ice cream. He felt no restlessness in his heart whatsoever.
And he wasn't the only one experiencing this.
Everyone present involuntarily smiled. Professor McGonagall, Professor Snape, Harry, Draco, Hermione, Ron—the spell's influence even spread to every student in the school. Many young wizards cheered and ran out from the castle's shelter, rushing into the rain, experiencing such an interesting and mysterious effect.
Merpeople swam up from the bottom of the Black Lake, and centaurs and unicorns emerged from the depths of the Forbidden Forest.
Even the ordinary small animals in the Forbidden Forest came crawling out.
Beauty, thus, materialized.
Lockhart even felt cheers coming from the entire Forbidden Forest, as if the rain carrying the power of the Patronus Charm benefited the entire forest.
With a brilliant smile on his face, he looked up, enjoying the pleasant sensation of raindrops falling on his face.
How wonderful.
Turns out, he already knew Weather Charms.
He couldn't help but recall sage's saying from his previous life, "The unity of knowledge and action," and suddenly understood it more deeply—
Sometimes, without practice, you simply don't know that you already understand.
Of course, in the magical world, this saying should be interpreted as: he had actually been walking in the romance of a fairy tale all along.
Magic was always ready to bloom from his wand.
Lockhart also thought of the many spells Snape had invented in his youth, and the spells Tom had invented, and suddenly understood how they might have invented them.
The principle might be the same.
Nice!
This wondrous magical rain didn't last long. After all, it was Lockhart's first attempt, and he didn't have such deep and precise control over this newly invented spell.
But it was enough to free those unfortunate students from the Vengeance Fairy's dark magic influence.
After Snape examined the students and found them unharmed, he didn't take the opportunity to mock their foolishness in brewing the antidote. Instead, he rushed to Lockhart. "What was that spell just now?"
Old Snape could be said to have witnessed the Patronus Charm in Lockhart's hands gradually manifest its wondrous state, but he never expected it to be this wondrous.
He had just felt the rain's impact on his mind, and he even slightly perceived the difference between Lockhart's Patronus Charm and his own.
Or rather, his own Patronus Charm's peculiar characteristic of self-restraint was clearly laid bare before his eyes in this comparison.
"That spell, well—"
Lockhart thought for a moment, then decided to name it: "Mind Cleansing! Charm!"
.....
For 70 advanced chapters:
p_treon.com/Chaos_God
Thank you so much for your support and for reading