The Patronus Charm!" Percy offered as the solution. "Professor, joy can banish worries. We merely need to…"
"The Patronus Charm won't work," the simple-minded Crabbe suddenly stated, interrupting Percy's lengthy explanation.
"Hm?" Percy couldn't help but look at Crabbe.
Crabbe carefully waved the torch, sensing the shadowy parts within the flickering light. "Happiness can't truly banish worries. Happiness is happiness, and worry is worry. Even a dunce like me knows that happiness doesn't solve worry."
"Indeed, you're right," Lockhart said, nodding to Percy. "Happiness can only mask worry, occupying your mind. However, once that happiness departs from your thoughts, the Worry-Wasps will creep back in."
Having been deeply involved in the compilation of the book Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, even if his performance wasn't as striking as, say, Harry Potter's, Crabbe had indeed learned a thing or two.
Of course, Crabbe's prolonged immersion in the perceptions gifted by the Soul Fire also contributed, sharpening his grasp of emotions, making it more acute and direct.
It proved that when it came to understanding one's inner self, a clever person wasn't necessarily superior to a simpleton.
"Then do you have an answer?" Lockhart asked Crabbe.
Crabbe shook his head. "I can't solve worries either, but I know how to empty my mind and think of nothing at all. Then, the Worry-Wasps can't crawl into my head."
A simpleton has no worries.
That, too, is a blessing.
Percy, however, was quite the opposite; his mind was often filled with gloom, making him an easy target for Worry-Wasps.
So, how were they to solve it?
They both looked to the professor.
Lockhart casually tossed his apple core. Before it even touched the ground, it vanished, influenced by the magic of a Scouring Charm. "You must seek the answer in everyday life. The magic to solve this lies within your own experiences."
"Worry-Wasps are classified as Dark creatures rather than common pests precisely because they never have a fixed state, nor a fixed solution."
Mortal woes, a thousand threads of worry—how perfectly normal.
He subtly drew his wand. The Worry-Wasps before them were clearly beyond the capabilities of these two young wizards; naturally, he would need to intervene.
With a gentle wave of his wand, long, shimmering, oily black shadows drifted out from the corner of the wall. They looked as though a vast expanse of hair had sprouted from the dark recesses of the corner, causing Percy and Crabbe to recoil in frightened unison.
This was an instinctive human fear.
Dark magical creatures often evoked such terror.
"Vanish, ascend to the heavens!"
A light tap of his wand.
Ripples of orange, ember-like light surged forth. The slender black shadows suddenly twitched and writhed, as if letting out silent, piercing wails of agony.
Swiftly, they were utterly obliterated by force.
"I saw it!"
Crabbe gasped abruptly. Seeing Professor Lockhart and Percy look his way, he frantically gestured with the torch in his hand, babbling, "There! I don't know how to explain it! But there are so many monsters there!"
Lockhart's eyebrow arched, and he waved his wand once more. "Mind Link!"
Bang!
Percy felt as though the back of his head had been struck by a thick pillow. He was pulled forward, light as a feather, by a colossal force.
He tried to scream in terror, but then saw Professor Lockhart appear amidst the chaotic light and shadow beside him, and he instantly breathed a sigh of relief.
Soon, they found themselves in a pitch-black space.
It was an exceedingly strange, shadowy expanse, filled with drifting mists. There was no sense of up, down, left, or right; bizarre, irregularly spinning vortices were everywhere.
"Look closely," Lockhart's voice permeated the mist.
Percy hurriedly tried to compose himself and finally caught sight of a faint glimmer amidst the chaotic fog. As he focused more intently, the glimmer grew nearer and nearer, eventually transforming into a colossal bonfire, like a raging forest fire.
He felt no heat, neither warmth nor cold, yet he could perceive soft breezes within the bonfire.
Peering through the bonfire, he finally caught sight of a corner of the room they had been in.
In the corner, peculiar black shadows were cast upon the exterior wall of the small house. Countless strange black tendrils continually wriggled and detached themselves from these shadowy forms.
Those shadows had immense ram's horns and hooves, and their bodies were hulking and grotesque.
"Demons!"
Percy exclaimed, but before he could get a proper look, a colossal werewolf shadow, illuminated by the bonfire, suddenly stretched ever larger, lunging towards the shadows of these so-called 'demons.'
It looked so eager, as if it had discovered something delectable.
Bang!
His vision returned. Before he could adapt to the bizarre visual shift, a burst of firelight suddenly exploded beside him.
He turned to see that it was none other than the torch in Crabbe's hand, now twisted as if by immense force, riddled with shattered marks.
Crabbe seemed startled, staring blankly for a while before looking at the professor, swallowing hard. "Professor, I'm sorry, I couldn't maintain the Soul Fire."
Yes, he was truly sorry.
He could perceive the scene from just moments ago, and it seemed the professor had already begun to contend with the source of the Worry-Wasps, but the Soul Fire he maintained was clearly insufficient to withstand such a powerful surge of magical energy.
"It's alright, it's not your fault."
Lockhart pursed his lips, stroking his chin, his expression shifting slightly. "These demons… they seem to possess a power akin to an Obscurus?"
One thing could be surmised.
Gellert Grindelwald, in his later years, could instruct Aberforth's son, Credence, on how to wield his own Obscurus power. Yet, in their youth, his three powerful older brothers couldn't help Ariana.
Gellert would search for a solution to the Obscurus, and Aberforth, who cared more deeply for his sister Ariana, was likely just as haunted by it.
The path of magic truly has no end.
Wizards who genuinely embark upon the magical path might be called 'Great Magical Masters' by ordinary wizards, yet the disparity between them is equally vast.
At least Lockhart didn't know how to confront a force like an Obscurus. Setting aside the demons the werewolf intended to devour, even the Obscurus-like Patronus he had created using Tom remained a mystery to him—he still didn't know how to deal with it.
"We are all merely on the journey," Lockhart said, smiling at the two young wizards. "Never underestimate your own power, and always remain humble, for there are too many things in this world that we cannot accomplish."
He no longer intended to cultivate an image of omnipotence before his students; at least, the current version of him wouldn't do such a thing again.
Casting a deep gaze upon the exterior wall that had been exposed to the dark forces, Lockhart called for the two students to continue their work.
In the afternoon, he took the two young wizards to the Muggle world to purchase various household necessities.
Using the fireplace in the small house, they traveled via the Floo Network to a public service fireplace in London. The three of them then stepped into the bustling Muggle streets.
"Professor, why don't we just buy things in Hogsmeade Village?" Percy, feeling a bit flustered walking on the Muggle street, quietly asked beside him.
In the eyes of Hogwarts students, the shops in Hogsmeade Village possessed everything a wizard could possibly need.
"For anything unrelated to magic, Muggle things are always the best," Lockhart said, buying two bottles of soda for the young wizards. Watching them cautiously try to get used to it, he asked with a smile, "What do you think?"
"Delicious!" Crabbe carefully took a sip, then, without needing instruction, pulled out the straw and drank directly from the bottle. In three gulps, he drained a whole bottle, let out a loud burp, and asked eagerly, "Can I have another bottle?"
Lockhart chuckled and shook his head. "I'll take you to eat Muggle food tonight. You need to save some room."
Crabbe immediately looked excited, glancing at the bustling Muggle streets around them. His fear vanished, replaced by sheer curiosity.
After all, no matter how much wizards might stir their inner spirits to mature early, Crabbe was still just a twelve-year-old boy.
Percy was much shyer. Though he said nothing, he sipped his drink slowly, reluctant to finish it all at once.
He walked a few steps, hesitated for a long while, then leaned closer, quietly asking, "Professor, could you buy me another bottle? I want to take it to my sister. She'll surely love it."
Of course, preferably two bottles.
And no, it wasn't because he had a younger brother, Ron, or needed to share it equally with the twin brothers, but because of his girlfriend, Penelope Clearwater.
"Me too, me too!" Crabbe quickly raised his hand. "I want to buy some for Draco and Goyle as well."
Lockhart burst into laughter, pulling out a wad of pounds from his pocket and distributing them. "Of course, you can, when we head back. But, you'll have to buy them from the Muggles yourselves."
Interacting with Muggles would be quite a challenge for them.
Let's not even mention Crabbe, who had probably never spoken to a Muggle in his entire life. Even Percy, who grew up in a village mingled with Muggles, actually had no opportunity to interact with them.
Even though the Weasley family claimed to be fond of Muggles, their understanding of Muggle affairs was exceedingly limited.
For wizards to completely alter this dreadful state, it would likely require more Muggle-born and half-blood wizards, raised in Muggle society, to overturn the prevailing perception.
The ensuing shopping trip was undoubtedly a cognitive upheaval for the two young wizards.
Muggle technology advanced daily, so swiftly that even Muggles themselves might struggle to keep up. How much more so for these two pure-blood wizards, living in a far more antiquated environment?
Professor Lockhart purchased an overwhelming array of items, many of which sparked their curiosity and astonishment.
They had never imagined that the world possessed another side so wonderfully captivating.
Perhaps…
For Muggles, tumbling down a magical rabbit hole into a world of wondrous enchantments was an exhilarating fairy-tale adventure.
And for these two young wizards, stepping into a Muggle street teeming with vehicles and pedestrians, observing all manner of electrical devices and Muggle inventions, was equally an enchanting fairy-tale adventure—a reverse fairy tale, indeed.
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