Chapter 142: Madam Marie
It wasn't easy for Lockhart and his group to track down Corban Yaxley.
The Ministry of Magic was also searching for the fellow with all their might, deploying wizards skilled in tracking magic, yet they still hadn't managed to catch the slippery individual.
Lockhart and Snape weren't proficient in this area. Both of their current magical specializations leaned towards combat, and they didn't have any particularly effective methods for locating people.
Harry and the young wizards were equally stumped.
Perhaps "the Boy Who Lived," Harry Potter, always managed to stumble upon clues from villains like NPCs when dealing with Voldemort, but this clearly wasn't his adventure; fate wasn't lending a hand.
However, since he intended to find Corban, Lockhart wasn't completely unprepared or relying on mere luck.
Tom Riddle's memories provided him with a tracking spell from the Dark Arts.
The prerequisite was a bit of the enemy's blood, using the unique magical properties of a curse to provide the necessary guidance.
This was why Lockhart had extracted and kept some of Corban's blood when he got his severed arm.
"We have three chances."
This spell could only be used three times.
Besides the fact that Corban's blood was only enough for three uses, Lockhart was also wary of the Dark Art itself. He dared not cast it too many times without mastering it, lest it cause him harm.
Tom Riddle's Dark Art was called "Bloodline Tracing."
Strictly speaking, it wasn't meant to pinpoint a specific person but was a spell used for finding relatives.
The first time Lockhart cast it, they took the flying car to Knockturn Alley and burst into a Dark wizard's lair. After a brief fight, they confirmed that Corban had indeed been there.
The unlucky Dark wizard tearfully claimed he hadn't provided any help to Corban and hoped Lockhart would let him go, even invoking Mr. Borgin's name, saying he actually served that important figure.
The second time he cast it, Lockhart and his group tracked the trail all the way to Gringotts, where they apprehended a person no one had expected: Bill Weasley.
Yes, that's right, Ron's older brother.
Bill, working as a Curse-Breaker at Gringotts, looked somewhat bewildered, and Ron found it utterly ridiculous. Snape, however, sneered a response that was likely closer to the truth: "pure-blood family intermarriage."
The pure-blood wizarding families of Britain were more or less the same. Over centuries of intermarriage, they were all connected by bloodlines in the modern age. Ron's father was from the Weasley family, and his mother from the Prewett family, both Sacred Twenty-Eight pure-blood families, making such intermarriage even more common.
It wasn't entirely unpredictable for Bill to show some Yaxley family blood.
But such a discovery almost condemned Lockhart's "Bloodline Tracing" spell as unfeasible.
"Unreliable Gilderoy"—Snape maliciously coined a nickname for Lockhart right in front of the students.
....
Ultimately, Lockhart had to seek outside help, approaching Kingsley, who had previously offered assistance.
Kingsley provided a list, which included the Yaxley family's global properties and some safe house addresses, as well as a list of individuals he couldn't disclose to the Ministry of Magic.
Madam Marie was one of them.
Lockhart wasn't actually very keen on seeking out Madam Marie.
Because she was one of the powerful witches whose memories his original self had stolen, the true protagonist of the adventurous account in the book Break with a Banshee.
She was a witch with a somewhat pitiable background.
Her grandmother was a Haitian Muggle who fell in love with a member of the Yaxley family. She was cursed by Mr. Yaxley's wife to never receive anyone's love, a wicked curse that even extended to her descendants.
Her mother was also abandoned, and then she was.
A fan who had become madly infatuated with Lockhart, a half-blood who had fought his way up from the bottom, seeing him as an idol.
His original self had been that scoundrel. Though he had a clear boundary by not deceiving her body, he had stolen her memories.
Lockhart felt a bit awkward facing this witch.
But fate sometimes loved to play tricks. The third attempt at casting "Bloodline Tracing" led them here. Fortunately, they really did find traces of Corban Yaxley!
This powerful witch clearly had some mental vulnerabilities. When Crabbe cast a Soul Bonfire directly into the fireplace, she was forcibly subdued, simply staring blankly at the fireplace flames, unmoving.
However, when Hermione tried to cast a spell to completely incapacitate her, Madam Marie emitted a large amount of purple dust, blocking the attacks.
Everyone else was successful. Even though Harry's group and Draco's group had their various conflicts, under Lockhart's training, they still cooperated well, successfully dealing with the wizards from the community who had arrived.
"Perhaps your 'fairy tale adventure' truly does work," Snape said, looking at the two young groups fighting, his expression complex. Amidst his surprise, he seemed to recall those from his own youth, feeling a little lost. "Their performance was quite excellent."
Lockhart didn't reply, simply looking silently at Madam Marie in front of the fireplace.
He could feel Madam Marie's gaze fixed on him in the light of the Soul Bonfire.
"Oh~"
Snape let out an unreadable sound. Hearing Harry and the others shouting, "He's right here!", he left Lockhart there and rushed inside.
"It's you, isn't it?" Madam Marie looked at Lockhart with a hazy expression. "I can feel the spiritual guidance; it's you, isn't it?!!!"
Lockhart looked at her with a complex expression, taking a deep breath. "I'm sorry."
Madam Marie sneered, "Sorry?"
"Yes," Lockhart gently raised his wand. "Yes, I am very sorry."
"!!!" The sneer on Madam Marie's face turned to terror. She stared directly at the wand. "No, don't, you can't do this to me again!"
"I have to do this. Perhaps when I'm able, I'll find a way to compensate you, but not now," Lockhart said apologetically, looking at her, but still quickly waved his wand.
"Obliviate!"
Madam Marie's gaze became vacant. As the Soul Bonfire next to her extinguished, she sat dazed on the sofa in front of the fireplace, falling into a deep slumber.
Pitter-patter, pitter-patter, pitter-patter~
Footsteps faintly appeared by her ear, yet she seemed to be in the deepest sleep, unmoving.
Lockhart looked down at her, gently shaking his wand to confirm the Obliviate Charm had been properly cast. Only then did he let out a long sigh.
A dozen powerful wizards... who knew what great variables this would bring in the future.
"Completely erase all her memories, turn her into an idiot!" The fireplace flames shone on him, casting a dark werewolf shadow on the floor. A voice roared beside him, "She's helping Corban! This is a good opportunity! Have the Ministry of Magic lock her up in Azkaban as an accomplice, so she never gets out!"
"No, you can't do that!" Silvery light shimmered. A horse appeared beside the witch, persuading Lockhart. "Those wicked deeds in the past weren't done by you. Your future depends on you!"
"This witch is a Dark witch! She's not a good person!" The werewolf roared. "She's not some law-abiding, kind soul! If she figures things out again, you're dead!"
"Ha~" The horse chuckled. "Are we afraid? Let her come. We'll see who dies then!"
Lockhart said nothing, merely taking a deep look at the witch, his gaze obscured.
"Professor, hurry! We've got Corban!" Just then, the nearby curtain parted, and Hermione excitedly yelled to Lockhart.
"Oh? You've done very well." Lockhart looked up, a warm smile on his face.
The fireplace flames churned, twisting the werewolf and the horse into an unrecognizable mess.
....
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