Chapter 160: Clouds Disperse
Since his transmigration, Lockhart had actually been facing three dilemmas: the hidden dangers of his original body's past misdeeds, the tug of Dumbledore's narrative, and standing opposed to Voldemort.
Now, all of this had come to an end.
Suddenly, a sense of relief washed over him, like a dense fog finally clearing.
When he taught classes the next day, everyone could feel the ease and laziness radiating from him, like a cat napping in the sun, its tail lazily swishing.
Yet, Hogwarts' weather that day wasn't good at all. It was raining continuously, as if this long rainy season would never cease, having affected Hogwarts for an entire school year.
As Lockhart rode his broom to the edge of the Forbidden Forest to teach the sixth-year students, Professor Kettleburn was currently discussing something with Percy, looking quite troubled.
"Professor Lockhart, you're here! This is excellent," Professor Kettleburn exclaimed joyfully, pointing to the Chamber of Secrets adventure ground. "Today's lesson requires the students to learn how to deal with fire. I've prepared some Ashwinders, but as you can see, the rain won't stop, and everything is soaked. The Ashwinders die too quickly; they're completely ineffective."
Lockhart didn't say anything directly. He looked at Percy, who was standing nearby, and asked, "Do you have any ideas?"
Compared to Harry, the "Savior," Hermione, the straight-A student, or the highly creative twins, Percy was actually the child whom professors consistently praised.
He was an exceptionally outstanding young wizard. His straight-A grades didn't mean he lacked special talents; rather, the assessment standards of Hogwarts and the Examinations Authority were no longer adequate to judge Percy.
Such students had existed before: Albus Dumbledore, Tom Riddle, Barty Crouch Jr., Bill Weasley. And now, among the current students, Percy Weasley was the one who shone with such excellence.
Speaking of this, one couldn't help but mention the importance of Lockhart's "Fairy Tale Romantic Adventures." The Weasleys produced two top-tier geniuses, but both, by not participating in legendary events, ultimately faded into obscurity, never reaching the level of a magical master.
The gap between Bill and Percy and Barty Crouch Jr. was simply enormous; one could say their talents were greatly wasted.
Bill had already graduated and was working as a Curse-Breaker at Gringotts, so Lockhart couldn't influence him anymore. But Percy still had some hope.
He valued Percy the most in his N.E.W.T. preparation class.
"I tried using the Drying Charm," Percy replied respectfully, quickly straightening up when the professor asked him. "But it wasn't effective; the ground would get wet again soon after."
Professor Kettleburn seemed somewhat disdainful. "That's no use at all. If you ask me, we should cast a huge Bubble-Head Charm over the entire area, covering everything!"
"Finding solutions based on characteristics is indeed the approach I taught you," Lockhart commented on Percy's solution, then asked, "But you also found that what you need to solve isn't the dryness of the ground, but the rain from the sky."
"Exactly!" Professor Kettleburn grumbled. "We need to deal with the rain from the sky."
"But..."
Percy's brows furrowed. "The Bubble-Head Charm is meant for covering the head; theoretically, there's no way to cast such a large bubble. I also tried using weather charms, but they had no effect."
In fact, let alone him, if Professor Kettleburn himself could solve it, he wouldn't be muttering beside them.
"Your desire isn't strong enough, hence your will isn't firm enough," Lockhart remarked.
"?" Percy looked somewhat bewildered.
"The essence of a weather charm lies in the individual interfering with nature. It requires an extremely strong self-will, and this self-will originates from an intense desire that cannot be suppressed within the heart."
Lockhart gently drew his wand and gracefully pointed it at the sky. "You must be dominant, a dominance that far surpasses individual over individual, far surpasses individual over society. You must defy fate and make nature bow at your feet!"
That's why everyone called Dumbledore great.
To reach the pinnacle of magic required an incredibly strong will. Only a defiant dominance could make everything bend to one's will. With such a mindset, Dumbledore's ability to show sufficient gentleness, kindness to everyone around him, and compassion and tolerance for those who erred was truly a testament to his great character.
Lockhart's approach to weather charms differed somewhat from Dumbledore's.
Dumbledore's was an ultimate, commanding Transfiguration-based approach, where his words became reality.
Lockhart focused more on the interconnection between man and nature, on erosion, influence, balance, endurance, and strategic interplay, following the path of Defense Against the Dark Arts.
When instructing the young wizards, he didn't delve too deeply into these aspects, stripping away the differences in individual paths, and only taught the most fundamental thing: dominance, an extremely strong self-will.
"Vanish clouds and disperse~"
He gently waved his wand, and the thick clouds high in the sky rapidly surged, tearing apart in all directions. The dim, dark clouds burst and expanded like popcorn in a pressure cooker, like black petals blooming, finally dissipating completely.
"~Brilliant sunshine!"
Swoosh!
Warm sunlight poured down, golden and brilliant, spreading across the entire land. Hogwarts castle and the endless Forbidden Forest seemed to instantly spring to life, becoming vibrant.
Birds chirped, beasts roared, and people cried out in surprise.
At the Chamber of Secrets adventure ground on the edge of the Forbidden Forest, the surrounding young wizards watched the scene before them in awe, unable to emerge from their shock for a long time.
Lockhart turned to Percy. "Do you understand? You must have enough desire; otherwise, you simply cannot possess enough will. Percy..."
"Yes, Professor," Percy quickly responded.
"You should seriously consider what you truly desire," Professor Lockhart's voice was gentle, yet it struck Percy's heart like a heavy drum. "If you merely live by the rules, without knowing why you live, your wand will not know what to respond to, and magic will never be able to blossom in your hands."
Percy stood rooted to the spot, but his eyes held more confusion.
"Oh, Merlin's hairy nose!" Professor Kettleburn excitedly gave Lockhart a thumbs-up. "A very powerful weather charm!"
This complex spell wasn't a simple magical trick. He could clearly feel that this weather charm contained a simple defensive spell, "Vanish clouds and disperse to the sky," which Lockhart promoted among younger wizards, yet its effect was so outstanding.
He could also feel that this magic contained the strong aura of Lockhart's personal mind, a sense of lightness and joy as if an old ailment had been lifted, so much so that nature was also willing to bestow its sunshine upon him.
He couldn't do this himself, but he had enough experience to perceive the beauty of this magic.
Yes, beauty.
It wasn't just any young wizard casting a few spells that could make one feel beauty.
Interestingly, every time Professor Lockhart cast a spell, it seemed to carry this delightful beauty.
Perhaps, this was why Professor Lockhart could embark on the path of a magical master at such a young age.
"Children, get moving!"
Professor Kettleburn turned and called out to the students. "Today's lesson theme is fire adventure. If you don't want to end up in the infirmary with burns all over, you'd better pay close attention!"
Soon after, Professor Snape also arrived.
He, too, expressed his astonishment at Lockhart's weather charm, then immersed himself in the fire adventure.
This was a combined lesson of Defense Against the Dark Arts, Care of Magical Creatures, and Potions. They had designed many adventure challenges for the young wizards to collect potion ingredients for burn-healing salve and fire-protection potions.
P.S.: Fire-Protection Potions are the kind Harry Potter drank in his first year to pass through magical flames into the Chamber of the Philosopher's Stone. Their effect is to protect the wizard from being burned by magical flames.
It must be said that Lockhart was quietly bringing some interesting changes to Hogwarts. These irregular, combined courses greatly shortened the professors' teaching time, yet significantly improved the young wizards' practical combat abilities.
Lockhart watched for a while. Seeing that the adventure-experienced Professor Kettleburn was fully capable of handling everything, he quietly left.
He was now the most relaxed professor at Hogwarts. He returned to his office, tidied up his final manuscript, and then headed to the Headmaster's office.
When he arrived, Dumbledore was contemplating two items on his desk.
—Hufflepuff's Cup.
—Ravenclaw's Diadem.
Evidently, on the night of the full moon, Dumbledore also had some good harvest.
"I've lived here all this time, working, living, performing magical experiments..." Dumbledore's expression was somewhat peculiar. He gestured towards Ravenclaw's Diadem, looking somewhat amused. "I never imagined he would place a Horcrux in the Room of Requirement, next to the Headmaster's office, right under my nose."
"No protective enchantments, no special hidden corner, just casually thrown among a pile of miscellaneous items, thinking no one would notice."
Lockhart curiously picked it up to examine it. It was said that this object carried Ravenclaw's wisdom. Ravenclaw's daughter, Helena (now the ghost, the Grey Lady), stole it hoping to become smart and powerful, but apparently she didn't. She was accidentally killed by the Baron, who wanted to bring her back (now the ghost, the Bloody Baron, the only ghost at Hogwarts with invisibility).
"Its wisdom was stolen by Tom," Dumbledore explained, seeing Lockhart's curiosity. "It used to indeed carry Ravenclaw's wisdom. You could consider it a more refined Pensieve. Of course, its purpose isn't limited to that."
He gestured to the Sorting Hat snoring on a shelf nearby. "Ravenclaw's Diadem and Gryffindor's Hat come from similar magical concepts, the difference being in their application in the distinct fields of alchemy and magical artifacts. But unfortunately, it was defiled. Now only a filthy soul remains within it."
Lockhart felt a pang of regret and placed it back on the desk.
"I actually don't agree with this method of crudely shoving others' wisdom into one's own brain; it only creates cognitive dissonance about ourselves," Dumbledore said, looking pointedly at Lockhart. "It will only make us unknowingly bear undeserved destinies, losing ourselves in the process."
Lockhart smiled faintly, leaning languidly back in the high-backed chair, basking in the sunlight streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows, his smile radiant. "So, you practice, digest, then discard and return it along the way."
Dumbledore pursed his lips, his long fingers tapping the open Daily Prophet newspaper report beside him. "Yes, I saw it. People are praising Gilderoy Lockhart for helping Madam Mary."
Lockhart shifted in his chair, as if his entire being wanted to merge with the sunshine. "Yes, sometimes mistakes just happen like that. Making amends always requires a lot, but thankfully, the ultimate outcome is beautiful, isn't it?"
Dumbledore's expression was filled with emotion.
He raised his eyelids, looking at Lockhart in the sunlight, and finally nodded. "Yes, I can feel it. You are always moving towards beauty. It truly is enviable."
....
For advanced chapters:
Get early access to 120 advanced chapters before anyone else!
👉 Join now: patreon.com/Chaos_God