Chapter 157: Your Journey Ends Here
The Diary Horcrux, Tom Riddle, was an interesting existence.
As his communication and understanding of Tom Riddle deepened, Lockhart couldn't help but wonder: given Voldemort's personality, why would he tolerate the existence of a Horcrux that could devise its own resurrection, and even entrust it to his subordinate, Lucius Malfoy?
Wouldn't that simply create trouble for himself?
Lockhart honestly asked himself: if he had created such a thing, he would absolutely not willingly leave it with Hermione or Harry to guard; he'd guarantee sleepless nights.
Now, he had an answer.
The decision to entrust the Diary Horcrux to Lucius was not a decision made by Voldemort's brain, but by his mind.
He did it subconsciously, and it deceived his self-preservation thought mechanism, preventing him from feeling any anxiety or having any negative thoughts about this decision.
Lockhart called this "the mind's self-redemption."
The ancients said, "Knowledge and action are one." Such behavior is consistent with the mind's awareness. The only problem is that many people only stay at the level of intellectual awareness, not the mind's awareness.
Voldemort's continued retention of the Diary Horcrux was precisely his mind's self-redemption.
Before he completely plunged into self-destruction, he left himself a "regret pill."
This "regret pill" was the self that still held a glimmer of fantasy about love, was full of longing for the future, and was still willing to open its heart to this world—the self that had just created the Horcrux.
Lockhart was unsure if the current Voldemort, having experienced death, failure, loss of power, and over a decade of dormancy, had realized this point.
It was hard for him to guess what Voldemort was thinking, observing the Diary Horcrux Tom Riddle releasing the basilisk and manipulating Ginny on his path to self-redemption from the shadows of the Hogwarts Forbidden Forest.
Perhaps it was a positive thought, retaining some hope for himself, secretly hoping that Tom Riddle could successfully revive.
Perhaps it was cowardice, unable to make a choice himself, thus taking no action, waiting for his past vibrant self to successfully revive and kill his current failed self, or waiting for Dumbledore to detect the problem and help him destroy his past self.
Perhaps it was malicious, hoping that the so-called "Savior" Harry Potter would deal with Tom Riddle according to the prophecy, so he could observe whether the prophecy was still effective after he had died once, and whether the prophecy would finally end after Harry killed him again.
He didn't know.
The human heart was so complex.
Lockhart stopped pondering such questions. He only knew that Voldemort's mental tail, Tom Riddle, this "regret pill," this save file of himself before embarking on his life's magical path, was now in his hands!
Understanding these things was very significant.
Because, on the dimension of the mind, a more complete Tom Riddle was clearly superior to Voldemort.
This meant that if a Tom Riddle supported by a Horcrux existed in material reality, then the disappearance of Voldemort's soul would truly be a permanent disappearance.
See, once you understood the fundamental nature of how magic works, some things seemed so simple.
Just like a Boggart, which couldn't be killed by the Killing Curse or any other powerful magic, actually only needed one spell: "Riddikulus."
Lockhart had no interest in saving either Voldemort or Tom Riddle.
He knew Tom's inherent coldness and cruelty; both versions would ultimately lead to destruction.
But a 16-year-old Tom Riddle was undoubtedly easier to deal with than the extreme and powerful Voldemort, not to mention that he now held him in the palm of his hand.
What did it mean to find solutions based on characteristics?
This was it!
Revive Tom Riddle to a ghostly state, then find an opportunity to kill Voldemort. Because of the Horcrux's protection of the soul, Voldemort's soul would autonomously choose to protect the more complete soul of Tom Riddle, allowing Voldemort's soul to dissipate.
Self-redemption often leads to a better path.
But sometimes destiny is so cruel—better means weaker, means easier to kill.
By then, even if Lockhart messed up and Tom Riddle escaped, such a 16-year-old Dark Lord fledgling, unrefined by life's trials, wouldn't stand a chance against Dumbledore, who would hunt him down and finish him off in minutes.
Expect Dumbledore to still have a shred of warmth for Tom at that point? Ha, you might as well expect Dumbledore to release Grindelwald from Nurmengard.
Of course, messing up was impossible.
No one understood Defense Against the Dark Creatures better than Lockhart; he knew how to deal with Tom Riddle, a being with dark creature characteristics.
Blood Pacts.
Ancient wizards casting spells through blood as a medium were countless. Interestingly, he now controlled Tom Riddle's "body."
For whom the bell tolls?
Madam Mary once again saw her mother, her mother who had begun to exhibit banshee traits, drawn by the scent of death, appearing outside the wooden hut, sitting solemnly on a wooden chair under a large tree beside the hut.
Mist drifted across the island, and a mysterious aura surged.
She heard a cry of pain and immediately focused her attention back on the wooden hut.
Apparently, "Voldemort" had fulfilled his earlier declaration. After his estranged friend continued to talk to him, he cut off his pinky finger and threw it onto the other person, signifying their break.
The events unfolding on this small island were incredibly bizarre and absurd.
Madam Mary once again saw Professor Lockhart's students.
The famous Savior, Harry Potter, was a very assertive sheriff. As someone who knew information from outside the island, he was flattered and fawned upon by many. He often enjoyed focusing on conspiracy theories, always telling sensational news, like a young man drowning, gaining a lot of attention. But he could never control his foolish son.
His foolish son was Ron, another friend of Professor Lockhart.
In fact, the sheriff wasn't the only one communicating with the outside world. Professor Lockhart's other student, Hermione, who was Professor Lockhart's sister on this island, finally received a letter from outside the island.
Professor Lockhart, sadly clutching his friend's finger, returned home and saw the letter, angrily arguing with his sister.
"Did you hear the cannon fire from across the sea?"
He was so angry, pointing into the distance, "There's a war going on there. This is the safest place in the world. Even so, are you still going? You know nothing about what's out there!"
"Yes, I'm still going," his sister Hermione shouted. "Even if I know nothing, I know there's nothing on this island. I long for a richer future. I can't stand the poverty here. I've had enough!"
Just like that, Professor Lockhart lost his best friend, his most cherished family member, and another somewhat foolish but always kind friend overnight.
Yes, the sheriff's son, Ron, drowned in the sea.
Heaven knew how desperate Professor Lockhart was, climbing the cliff to watch his sister sail away, and on his way home, seeing the body of his other friend floating by the coast.
Solitude, life, eternity, death—these topics were always so heavy.
Madam Mary sighed, watching the scene, and finally turned her gaze to "Voldemort," who might be the future Dark Lord.
She was actually a little afraid to explore the hidden information in this past.
Was she carrying the bloodline of the Dark Lord herself?
This was truly too absurd.
She didn't know how to exercise the abilities of a "Time Explorer." She had received no guidance from the Yaxley family and could only quietly observe everything as a bystander.
Fortunately, what happened next told her that this was not the case.
Corban discovered her mother's suspicious trailing. Voldemort, who was preparing to go out to sea to find something, didn't pay attention.
He merely ordered Corban to imprison the witch.
But precisely this arrangement allowed certain things to happen.
The imprisoned beautiful witch and Corban, a naturally flirtatious man with vast family power, eventually took a liking to each other.
Ha!
This was simply too ridiculous!
Madam Mary watched in disbelief. Corban Yaxley was actually her biological father?
No wonder he instinctively sought her out for help when he was at his wit's end!
So she did something a "Time Explorer" should not do: reveal her presence to others. She went to her mother, hoping to prevent the continuation of this wicked bloodline.
"Do you not think the cursed power within you is terrifying enough? Yet you still provoke someone from the Yaxley family?"
She tried to persuade her mother like this.
But such struggle was useless. What had already happened in the past simply could not be changed. All her efforts were in vain.
She even directly revealed to her mother that she was her future daughter, painfully recounting the tragic life brought by her bloodline identity, hoping to bring an end to it there.
However, the mad witch excitedly grabbed her, brought her before Corban, and, as if seeking praise, excitedly said, "Darling, look, look! This is our future! This is our future!"
They had such a wonderful outcome!
She tried to attack Corban Yaxley, but found that she couldn't defeat him at all, and he even took the Time-Turner she had used in the past from her.
"You will lose a part of your life." Corban Yaxley toyed with the Time-Turner, looking at her with regret. "Child, remember, those who attempt to act arbitrarily within time will surely bear all the evil consequences."
"This is the helplessness and curse of the 'Time Explorer.'"
"Perhaps one day I can teach you how to properly use a Time-Turner, but certainly not now."
"If Voldemort discovers that our family is so skilled at using Time-Turners, he will surely order me to do some particularly dangerous things, which would absolutely lead to the downfall of our family. I cannot bring such disaster to the Yaxley family."
"Your journey ends here."
Madam Mary looked at the man before her with a pale face, as if she now knew all the answers.
Boom!
As Corban drew his wand and wantonly destroyed the Time-Turner before her, a terrifying torrent of time swept over everything. She felt everything spinning.
In the swirling fragments of time, she seemed to see Professor Lockhart's figure, her own figure, and the figures of her mother, Corban, Voldemort, Harry, and all these others.
Then everything exploded.
....
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