Chapter 126: Soul Bonfire and Warm Healing
On the way back, Lockhart proactively inquired about Crabbe's current mastery of magical abilities.
Even though he practically adhered to an elite education, recruiting the few young wizards he favored into his "Duel Club" for individual instruction, it had only been a few months, and he hadn't had the chance to delve deeper into each young wizard's specific characteristics to unearth their abilities.
He had originally paid more attention to Draco and Harry, and occasionally held hope for the more ambitious Hermione, but the timing was so fortuitous that it was Crabbe who first approached him.
Perhaps this was fate.
Lockhart believed in fate, a definition of human relationships that was almost impossible to translate accurately in Europe and required lengthy explanations.
A second-year young wizard, having lost all his family, entrusted his family's most precious wealth to him. Such trust immediately elevated their relationship to a closer atmosphere than with his other students.
Teaching anyone was still teaching. Lockhart did not discriminate against any student in the Duel Club; every student allowed into the club, in his eyes, possessed full potential.
So, let's start with Crabbe.
He didn't mind Crabbe's portrayal in the original novel. The original novel was no longer the original novel. If, despite his involvement, Crabbe remained the same Crabbe, then he, the teaching professor, could only blame himself for not teaching well.
His mindset in this regard sometimes resembled Dumbledore's. Even a Death Eater leader like Snape, or a memory thief like Lockhart, Dumbledore was still willing to give them chances.
Crabbe's academic performance was not good.
Or rather, it was quite terrible.
Not to mention a magical discipline like Potions, which required both extreme rationality and extreme sensibility, he hadn't even mastered the most basic spellcasting class content for wizards.
But this didn't mean he was useless. Crabbe, in the area of family tradition spells taught by old Crabbe,
had actually mastered them quite well.
It seemed the Crabbe family had a certain understanding of their own condition and had also been contemplating their path forward.
Scourgify, Reparo, Descendo, Engorgio, Reducio, Sectumsempra—a uniform set of spells that tested control ability.
And not control over others, but spells that controlled objects.
"Oh," Crabbe thought for a long time, somewhat slowly. "Recently, Professor Snape taught the 'Extinguishing Charm' in the Duel Club, and I've mastered that quite well too."
What an interesting line of thought.
Lockhart stroked his chin, observing Crabbe with interest. "Anything else? Did your father ever mention anything you'd need to master in the future?"
Crabbe shook his head. After a while, his eyes suddenly lit up. "Apparition! My mother told me about it. She said the Crabbe family has long sponsored the Ministry of Magic's Department of Magical Transportation's 'Apparition Test Center.' We have a dedicated area there, and every Crabbe needs to go there for extensive practice."
"My mother mentioned that after I graduate from the magic school, I would take a position at the Apparition Test Center and then undergo at least three years of training in that area."
Apparition?
Training Apparition could improve one's control over magic?
Lockhart mused. "When did this arrangement begin?"
Crabbe shook his head, looking confused about the matter, only vaguely replying, "I don't know. My father couldn't explain it clearly to my mother either, but I heard it's been sponsored for at least several hundred years."
Several hundred years? The British Ministry of Magic is less than three hundred years old, my friend.
Seeing Lockhart's keen interest, he quickly said, somewhat ingratiatingly, "I can have Tu-tu take you to the Ministry of Magic Apparition Test Center for training. She knows how to get into the Crabbe family's area."
"Tu-tu?"
"Ah? Oh, oh, she's my family's house-elf. She's been helping me arrange the family's asset inheritance lately, and she mentioned the Apparition Test Center."
This was quite nice.
Lockhart couldn't help but look at Crabbe with some emotion. This kid had already given him too much, making him feel a little embarrassed.
However, he did have some ideas regarding Crabbe's problems.
"It's clear that your Crabbe family has been dedicated to improving its control over magic, in order to better control the powerful force of Fiendfyre."
"That's a great approach. Instead of knowing a little about everything, it's better to master one thing."
"Perhaps I can have a good chat with your house-elf... Tu-tu, right? I can talk to her properly and confirm whether doing this actually has an effect, or if it's just a futile struggle within the curse."
He wasn't in a hurry to define this matter, but continued, "Finding solutions based on characteristics, Crabbe, I've taught you that, haven't I?"
Crabbe nodded.
"Having a unique affinity for fire-type magic, leading to loss of control and backlash from fire due to the Norwegian Ridgeback's curse." Lockhart described the current characteristics of the Crabbe bloodline, searching for a solution. "If you ask me, perhaps you could try to stay away from magic that requires extremely high control, choosing spells where loss of control won't cause too much damage, or even spells where the greater the power, the more beneficial they are to yourself."
Saying this, he turned to the car's central console and said, "Madam, how about finding a quiet forest for me?"
The Beep-Beep Car Lady quickly turned in the clouds and flew in another direction.
Soon, they arrived in a primeval forest whose exact location was unknown. After they got out of the car, Lockhart found a clearing, stacked a small pile of dry branches he picked up, and cast a spell on it.
"Soul Bonfire!"
This was one of the Forest Witch's most commonly used spells in the Amazon forest.
Whoosh!
Flames rose, and within the orange-red fire, a faint, ghostly blue flame overlapped, constantly shifting apart and rejoining as the flames flickered.
"This spell can bring peace to the soul, soothe bodily pain, and provide excellent sleep. It's the best magic for wizards sleeping in primeval forests at night."
Saying this, Lockhart held his wand upright to his mouth. The wand tip quickly transformed into a thick bird's beak, emitting a crisp birdcall following his murmurs.
Before long, a fox was attracted by the birdcall and limped closer. It looked at Lockhart and Crabbe with some wariness, but was soon drawn by the two-colored bonfire. It narrowed its eyes and directly lay down lazily on a rock next to the bonfire, resting its chin on its crossed front legs, and quickly fell asleep.
"See, even injured wild beasts won't actively attack humans under the influence of the bonfire, because it calms the turbulent emotions in their souls, making them peaceful and enjoying its healing effect on themselves."
"Of course, our human minds are much more complex; it's difficult for such a bonfire to directly influence us. It can only do so after we fall asleep—"
Lockhart's words were not finished when he suddenly heard a snore. His expression became peculiar as he turned around and saw that Crabbe, the big simpleton, had already fallen asleep standing up, nodding off occasionally.
Kid, you're making yourself very vulnerable!
But then again, were these mentally deficient descendants of pure-blood families more susceptible to the influence of such natural magical forces?
Whether good enhancements or targeted negative attacks?
The Forest Witch knew countless spells with such calming effects. During the day, there was "Afternoon Slumber Charm," at night "Glowworm Song," on cloudy days "Comforting Breeze," and other spells that provided similar abilities.
Lockhart sometimes even wondered if the frequent mental deficiencies among these pure-blood descendants weren't primarily due to inbreeding. It might be that the damage from Dark Arts erosion had accumulated over generations, similar to a bloodline curse effect, leading to increasingly severe soul defects.
They were even, at one point, transforming in the direction of magical creatures.
This was quite an interesting speculation: some magical creatures were constantly changing into fantastic beasts due to wizarding life, while some wizards were gradually transforming into powerful magical creatures with common intelligence.
Lockhart couldn't wait here for Crabbe to get enough sleep. He still had to rush back to school to oversee the afternoon adventure activity.
He gently waved his wand at Crabbe, and a cold, chilling wind swept past. Crabbe jolted awake instantly.
"I—I fell asleep?" Crabbe looked very ashamed, his face flushed as if it might explode at any moment.
"Don't mind it, it's magical power." Lockhart said nonchalantly, motioning for him to also pick up some dry kindling and build a bonfire. He then began teaching him how to use this magic.
It wasn't difficult.
Or rather, it wasn't difficult for Crabbe.
He successfully cast it immediately. The blazing flames were even taller than the bonfire Lockhart had created.
This was not only due to Lockhart actively controlling the bonfire's size, instinctively aiming for a comfortable and appropriate size for humans, but also to Crabbe's innate affinity for fire magic within his bloodline.
"What do you feel from this fire?" Lockhart asked.
Crabbe didn't reply, just stared blankly at the bonfire. Soon, tears welled up in his eyes, and he mumbled, "Dad... Mom..."
After a good while, he finally turned back to Lockhart. Despite the tear streaks on his face, he had a touch more liveliness. "Professor, I suddenly don't feel so sad anymore."
Lockhart raised an eyebrow. "Tell me more."
Crabbe didn't know how to express it, just turned back and stared blankly at the bonfire. "I felt Mom and Dad's companionship in the firelight."
Are you The Little Match Girl?
Lockhart was amazed. He realized he might have truly found the right path. The Crabbes were suited for this kind of magic, rather than something as destructive as Fiendfyre.
If you don't have the ability to control it, then don't control it. Why not better leverage the advantages of this magical loss of control and make your own magic more powerful?
His expression shifted, and he signaled Crabbe to start trying a second spell. "Watch closely. This spell might be a little difficult for you, because its most fundamental principle is to use fire to release the vitality of the earth. It's magic where a wizard communicates with and receives help from the natural earth through fire."
He lightly tapped the bonfire. "Warm Healing!"
The two-colored flames before them once again emitted another color of flame, an indistinct hue, but it released a shimmering, sacred white light into the surroundings. Standing within the white light, Lockhart felt that the slight loss of energy from the journey had been replenished.
Making one energetic was merely an incidental ability of this magic; its most important aspect was healing. This was a healing charm.
This magic was indeed a bit difficult.
It required specific casting techniques, demanding that the wizard's wand movements conform more to the rhythms of nature. In this regard, Crabbe was truly somewhat clumsy, requiring Lockhart to correct his movements little by little to achieve even basic casting success.
At the same time, it also required a specific mental state from the wizard: the wizard's nature needed to be filled with affinity and gratitude towards natural fire. It was a very unique mental state; some could achieve it easily, while for others, it was very difficult.
But unexpectedly, Crabbe gave Lockhart a pleasant surprise in this regard.
"Warm Healing!"
Crabbe, somewhat bewildered, cast the spell at the bonfire before him. Instantly, a milky white light rapidly filled both their visions, quickly spreading outwards.
This unique magical firelight covered a radius of several hundred meters, seemingly dyeing that entire corner white.
The fox that had been resting and sleeping on the stone was startled awake by the commotion and bolted away warily.
But it hadn't run far when it surprisingly discovered that its bone fractures and bite wounds had completely healed. It couldn't help but turn back, yelping gratefully.
"Hahahaha!"
Lockhart's triumphant and hearty laughter echoed through the forest. "Yes, yes, that's it!"
"Crabbe, keep developing in this direction. Forget about terrible Dark Arts like Fiendfyre. You'll find that restoring the glory of the Crabbe family will be within your grasp!"
Crabbe said nothing, just foolishly felt the firelight massaging his soul. It was so warm, so pleasant.
A comfort that relaxed both mind and body filled his being.
It was so beautiful, so comfortable, so magical.
He wanted to sleep again.
.....
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