For a good long while now, Gilderoy Lockhart, since his unexpected arrival, has been grappling with three rather sticky predicaments.
There was the lingering shadow of his original self's misdeeds, the subtle tug-of-war with Dumbledore's narratives, and, of course, the rather significant matter of standing against the formidable You-Know-Who.
Now, at last, all of it has drawn to a close.
In a flash, it felt like a heavy burden lifted, like a thick, choking fog finally dispersing.
The very next day, during lessons, everyone could feel the sheer lightness and relaxed air radiating from him, much like a contented cat dozing in the sun, its tail lazily twitching.
Yet, despite this newfound serenity, Hogwarts was shrouded in rather dismal weather. The rain was relentless, as if this never-ending wet season had clung to the castle for an entire academic year.
As Lockhart soared on his broomstick towards the edge of the Forbidden Forest, ready to teach the sixth-year students, Professor Kettleburn was embroiled in a rather troubled discussion with Percy, who stood beside him.
"Professor Lockhart, you've arrived! This is simply splendid!" Professor Kettleburn exclaimed with a joyous relief, pointing towards the Chamber of Secrets adventure area. "Today's lesson requires the young witches and wizards to learn to contend with flames. I've prepared some Ashwinders, but you see, the rain just won't cease! Everything is utterly drenched, and the Ashwinders perish far too quickly to be of any real use."
Lockhart didn't speak immediately. Instead, he turned to Percy and inquired, "Do you have any thoughts on the matter?"
Compared to Harry, our 'Boy Who Lived,' Hermione, the brightest witch of her age, or even the wonderfully inventive Weasley twins, it was Percy who had always been the apple of the professors' eyes.
He was an exceptionally gifted young wizard, and his straight 'Outstanding' marks didn't signify a lack of specialisation, but rather that the standards set by Hogwarts and the Examinations Authority simply couldn't truly measure Percy's talents.
There had been students like him before: Albus Dumbledore, Tom Riddle, Barty Crouch Junior, Bill Weasley. And among the current students, Percy Weasley was undoubtedly the most brilliant.
Speaking of which, one couldn't overlook the significance of Lockhart's own 'Fairy-tale Romantic Adventures.' The Weasleys had produced two top-tier geniuses, but alas, neither had participated in truly legendary events, leading them to fade into obscurity and never quite reaching the level of a true Master of Magic.
The gap between Bill and Percy and a wizard like Barty Crouch Junior was simply enormous, a terrible waste of their inherent talent.
Bill had already graduated and was working as a Curse-Breaker at Gringotts, so Lockhart couldn't influence him much. But Percy still held a glimmer of hope.
Among his N.E.W.T. accelerated class, it was Percy whom he held in the highest regard.
"I tried using a Drying Charm," Percy replied, quickly standing to attention respectfully when his professor addressed him. "But it wasn't effective. After a short while, the area simply became drenched again."
Professor Kettleburn seemed rather disdainful. "That's utterly useless! If you ask me, we should cast an enormous Bubble-Head Charm over the entire area, encompassing everything!"
"Seeking solutions based on specific characteristics, that's the approach I've taught you, quite right," Lockhart assessed Percy's solution. Then, he continued, "However, you've also discovered that what you need to deal with isn't merely drying the ground, but the rain falling from the heavens."
"Precisely!" Professor Kettleburn grumbled. "We must address the rain from the sky!"
"But..."
Percy's brow furrowed. "The Bubble-Head Charm is meant to be cast around one's head; theoretically, it's impossible to conjure a bubble of such immense size. I also attempted to use a Weather-Modifying Charm, but it had no effect whatsoever."
In truth, if Professor Kettleburn himself could have solved it, he wouldn't have been standing there complaining.
"Insufficient desire, leading to insufficient willpower," Lockhart pronounced his judgment.
"?" Percy looked rather bewildered.
"The very essence of a Weather-Modifying Charm lies in individual interference with nature. It demands an exceptionally strong personal will, and this self-will springs from an uncontainable, fervent desire deep within one's heart."
Lockhart gently drew his wand and gracefully pointed it towards the sky. "You must be powerful enough, a power far beyond that of one individual against another, far beyond an individual against society. You must defy fate itself, and force nature to bow at your feet!"
No wonder everyone speaks of Dumbledore's greatness.
The path to the pinnacle of magic demands an incredibly strong mind, a domineering will that can bend everything to one's desires. With such a mindset, the fact that old Dumbledore could exhibit such gentleness, such kindness to everyone around him, such pity and tolerance for those who strayed, truly spoke to the greatness of his character.
Lockhart's approach to Weather-Modifying Charms differed somewhat from Dumbledore's.
Old Dumbledore's was an ultimate, powerful "Word-is-Law" approach, rooted in Transfiguration.
Lockhart placed more emphasis on the communion between man and nature: erosion, influence, balance, endurance, negotiation... his path was akin to the path of Defence Against the Dark Arts.
When instructing the younger wizards, he didn't delve too deeply into these aspects, stripping away the distinctions of his own unique path, and only taught the most fundamental principle: power, an incredibly strong self-will.
"Vanish!"
He gave his wand a gentle flourish. High above, the thick clouds swiftly churned, tearing themselves apart and scattering. The murky, dark clouds burst and expanded rapidly, like corn kernels in a pressure cooker, resembling black petals unfurling, until they completely dissipated.
"~Brilliant Sunshine!"
*Swoosh!*
Warm sunlight streamed down, painting the entire world in a golden glow. Hogwarts Castle, the endlessly stretching Forbidden Forest, seemed to burst into life in an instant, becoming vibrant once more.
Birds chirped, beasts roared, and people cried out in astonishment.
At the edge of the Forbidden Forest, in the Chamber of Secrets adventure area, the young witches and wizards stood transfixed, gazing at the scene before them, unable to shake off their awe for a long, long time.
Lockhart turned back to Percy. "Do you understand now? You must possess enough desire, otherwise, you'll never have enough willpower. Percy..."
"Yes, Professor," Percy quickly responded.
"You should truly ponder what it is you yearn for," Professor Lockhart's voice was gentle, yet it struck Percy's heart like a resounding drum. "If you merely live by the rules, without knowing why you live, your wand will have no purpose to respond to, and magic will never truly bloom in your hands."
Percy stood rooted to the spot, but his eyes were filled with confusion.
"Oh, Merlin's hairy nose!" Professor Kettleburn enthusiastically gave Lockhart a thumbs-up. "What a marvelously potent Weather-Modifying Charm!"
This layered spell was no mere magical trick. He could clearly feel that this Weather-Modifying Charm contained a simpler defensive spell, 'Vanish, Go Up in Smoke,' which Lockhart had been teaching to the younger students, yet its effect was truly remarkable.
He could also sense the profound presence of Lockhart's personal spirit within this magic – a relaxed joy of burdens lifted, so much so that even nature was willing to shed its light for him.
He himself couldn't achieve such a feat, but he had enough experience to perceive the beauty of this spell.
Yes, beauty.
It wasn't every young witch or wizard who could simply wave a wand and cast a spell that would evoke such a sense of beauty.
Interestingly, Professor Lockhart's every spell seemed to carry this delightful charm.
Perhaps, this was the very reason Professor Lockhart had managed to ascend to the path of a Master of Magic at such a tender age.
"Alright, children, get moving!"
Professor Kettleburn turned and called out to the students. "Today's lesson is on fire adventures! If you don't wish to end up in the Hospital Wing with burns all over, you'd best pay keen attention!"
Before long, Professor Snape also arrived.
He too expressed his astonishment at Lockhart's Weather-Modifying Charm, then threw himself into the heart of the fiery adventure.
This was a combined lesson in Defence Against the Dark Arts, Care of Magical Creatures, and Potions. They had designed numerous adventurous challenges for the young witches and wizards to collect ingredients for Burn-Healing Paste and Fire-Protection Potion.
(P.S. Fire-Protection Potion is the kind Harry Potter drank in his first year to pass through the magical flames into the Chamber where the Philosopher's Stone lay; its effect is to protect a wizard from being burned by magical fire.)
One must admit, Lockhart was subtly bringing about some intriguing changes to Hogwarts. These impromptu combined lessons greatly reduced the professors' teaching time while significantly enhancing the students' practical and combat abilities.
Lockhart watched for a while, and seeing that the experienced Professor Kettleburn was perfectly capable of handling everything, he quietly slipped away.
He was now the most relaxed professor at Hogwarts. He returned to his office to organise his final manuscripts, then made his way to the Headmaster's office.
Upon his arrival, Dumbledore was deep in thought, gazing at two items on his desk.
—Hufflepuff's Cup.
—Ravenclaw's Diadem.
Clearly, during the full moon, old Dumbledore had made some rather splendid discoveries as well.
"I've always lived here, working, living, conducting magical experiments..." Dumbledore's expression was rather peculiar, as he gestured towards Ravenclaw's Diadem, a hint of amusement playing on his lips. "I never imagined he would place a Horcrux in the Room of Requirement, right beside the Headmaster's office, directly under my nose."
"No protective enchantments, no special effort to find a hidden corner; simply tossed haphazardly amongst a pile of cluttered objects, believing no one would ever detect it."
Lockhart curiously picked it up to examine it. It was said that this trinket held Ravenclaw's wisdom. Ravenclaw's daughter, Helena (now the ghost, the Grey Lady), had stolen it hoping to become clever and powerful, but it seemed she hadn't; she was accidentally killed by the Baron, who wished to bring her back (now the ghost, the Bloody Baron, the only ghost at Hogwarts with the ability to turn invisible).
"Its wisdom was stolen by Tom," Dumbledore explained, seeing Lockhart's curiosity. "It truly did once contain Ravenclaw's wisdom. You could consider it a more refined Pensieve, though its purpose extended beyond that."
He gestured towards the snoring Sorting Hat on a nearby shelf. "Ravenclaw's Diadem and Gryffindor's Hat arose from similar magical concepts, the difference lying only in their application within the distinct fields of alchemy and magical artefacts. But alas, it has been defiled; now only a vile fragment of a soul remains within."
Lockhart felt a pang of regret and placed it back on the table.
"I actually disagree with this crude and simple method of stuffing another's wisdom into one's own mind; it only creates a disruption in our self-perception," Dumbledore said, looking pointedly at Lockhart. "It merely forces us to shoulder an unearned destiny, causing us to lose ourselves in the process."
Lockhart offered a slight smile, leaning languidly back in the high-backed chair, basking in the sunlight streaming through the floor-to-ceiling window, his smile utterly brilliant. "So, one must put it into practice, absorb it, then discard it, and return it in due course."
Dumbledore pursed his lips, his slender fingers tapping a report spread open on the *Daily Prophet*. "Yes, I saw it. People are praising Gilderoy Lockhart for aiding Mrs. Mary."
Lockhart shifted in his chair, as if he meant to melt into the sunlight itself. "Indeed. Sometimes, a stumble is just that. Making amends always requires much effort, but thankfully, the ultimate outcome is beautiful, isn't it?"
Dumbledore's expression was filled with a touch of wistfulness.
He lifted his gaze to Lockhart, bathed in the sunlight, and finally nodded. "Yes, I can feel it. You are always heading towards something beautiful, and that truly is enviable."
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