Chapter 71 The Crabbe Family's Orb Fish
When the only person in the world who can protect you insists on staying in the place you deem the most dangerous, what do you do?
Lucius ultimately chose to compromise.
Of course, in Lockhart's more romantic terms: Lucius followed the guidance of fate and chose to embark on an adventurous journey alongside the strong.
He had to take this risk, betting that Dumbledore could truly protect the students in the school.
Even though young Goyle and young Crabbe lay on their beds as stiff as stones, their fates unknown.
No one could guarantee that Voldemort would remain solely within Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and would not appear elsewhere in the world. If the Dark Lord was truly determined to cleanse them, these traitors, then taking the children away from school now would actually harm them.
Thus, the wise Mr. Malfoy immediately set his sights on Lockhart, who was standing nearby.
He knew that Dumbledore was naturally reliable, but for those standing on opposing sides, even enemies, this reliability was questionable.
But Lockhart was different.
He was so powerful, rescuing the three of them from the clutches of the monster sent by the Dark Lord to cleanse the traitors.
And he was so kind and upright.
Yes, he couldn't forget how terrible the atmosphere between them had been at the beginning, so bad that it could even be described as hostile. Yet even so, Professor Lockhart still chose to put aside personal feelings and save them.
Not to mention that Lockhart truly loved his son Draco.
Lucius naturally knew that Lockhart had agreed to Dumbledore's invitation to teach at Hogwarts because he had his eye on the fame of the "Savior," Harry Potter. But when he chose to take the young wizards out to broaden their horizons, besides Harry Potter, he also took Draco along.
Perhaps…
He was the one who could protect his child in Hogwarts!
As Mr. Lucius Malfoy watched Professor Lockhart's shifting expression, Lockhart was currently gesticulating wildly, boasting about a very similar incident that had occurred in Ouagadougou, the capital of Upper Volta in Africa.
Old Goyle and old Crabbe, concerned about their children, listened with blank expressions.
"I have detailed records in my autobiography, Magical Me. I provided the locals with all sorts of amulets and solved the problem in no time." (Original text content)
"No one knows more about how to defend against dark magic than I do!"
Amulets were a vast industry in the wizarding community, permeating the daily lives of wizards.
After the news of the Chamber of Secrets being opened spread throughout Hogwarts, the first thing students did was rush to buy all sorts of amulets.
In one "Dueling Club" class, Neville showed his companions several he had bought: a pointed amethyst, a rotting newt tail, and a stinky large green onion.
Lockhart was extremely knowledgeable in this area. In his mind, the memories of over a dozen powerful wizards who had chosen to live in seclusion after leaving official institutions like magical schools and the Ministry of Magic showed that selling amulets was a major source of their daily income.
Just as he said, the power of a wizard lies not in "strength" but in "mystery."
All sorts of magical items truly possessed powerful magic, and this formed an inconspicuous yet ubiquitous, bizarre, and brilliant background color of the magical world.
Hearing Lockhart mention this, old Crabbe clearly had something to say.
His language expression was strange. He only had a kind of normal communication ability when he was emotionally excited. Usually, his voice was dull and he seemed a bit sluggish.
Old Crabbe tried his best to tuck the blanket around young Crabbe on the bed, but because young Crabbe had been laughing so hard when he was petrified, maintaining that posture always caused the blanket to slip off.
He finally gave up, slapping the bed in frustration, and looked up at Lockhart. "We, the Crabbe family, in the Białowieża Forest, have a…"
He clumsily gestured a large area with his hands, then made a fist and extended two fingers, shaking them. "Orb fish…"
Lucius walked over and gently patted old Crabbe's shoulder, signaling that he would explain. "The Crabbe family has been raising and breeding a mutated orb fish since the 16th century. This magical creature has a stone-like hard bone on its back, which can effectively resist systemic magical damage. It is a very high-quality amulet."
Orb Fish, ✕✕✕ danger level magical creature, with colorful scales, a spherical body, and two long webbed legs.
They generally live in deep lakes. Merpeople consider them pests and will tie their long legs into knots, letting them drift away with the current.
Lockhart knew about this magical creature because one of the wizards in his memories was good at making fish soup and fried fish fillets from several orb fish varieties.
As for the variety with curse-resistant bones in its back, he hadn't heard of it.
Ancient pure-blood families could always find good things in their long history.
Of course, the main point wasn't this. The main point was the "effectively resist systemic magical damage" that Lucius mentioned, which was remarkable.
The petrification caused by the Basilisk's indirect eye contact was a type of systemic damage. In contrast, the Sectumsempra spell invented by Senior Snape caused localized damage.
"You mean…" Lockhart raised an eyebrow, pointing at the two petrified young wizards on the bed, "The Crabbe family possesses amulets of this kind?"
Lucius nodded, then shook his head. "The bones of the mutated orb fish only retain their effectiveness for three to five years, and the Crabbe family's farm in the Białowieża Forest was abandoned by the family more than fifty years ago."
He spread his hands. "According to the elders, because they offended a Greek witch and were cursed, they have never been able to harvest even a single orb fish from there again."
"That's a pity," Lockhart clicked his tongue.
He was relatively unfamiliar with the Białowieża Forest, and there was no information about it in his memories. He couldn't help.
Who knew that old Crabbe would excitedly pat young Crabbe's shoulder and look at Lockhart. "Find bone, save him, farm give you!"
Lockhart blinked, not quite understanding his meaning.
Lucius explained from the side, "Old Crabbe is willing to give you the family's farm if you can break the curse and find orb fish in the farm. We only need two fish bones to save these two children."
This…
Lockhart wasn't sure if he could handle this, but he saw Professor Dumbledore beside him quietly nod at him.
There was a chance?
But he still tried to be cautious. "You know, the children actually just need to wait patiently for Professor Sprout's Mandrakes to mature, and then we can brew the Mandrake Restorative Draught…"
Lucius interrupted him. "I just consulted Madam Pomfrey. She said that batch of Mandrakes will take at least half a year. None of us know what will happen in half a year!"
They were about to be cleansed by the Dark Lord as traitors. Who knew when death would suddenly descend?
By then, the children would still be petrified and completely unconscious. Who knew how they would be treated?
Especially by some enemies who were from Gryffindor.
They would always say that the children of evil people also had dirty and dark blood flowing in their veins, and then, holding high the banner of justice, they would execute their children without any psychological burden.
He knew too well the evil in some people's bones!
Lockhart finally nodded. "Alright, I can try, but I can't guarantee success. I'm just more knowledgeable in Defence Against the Dark Arts. If it's a curse in the field of charms, then there's nothing I can do."
Saying this, he frowned again. "I might not have much time recently. The weekend…"
But at this moment, Dumbledore finally spoke, reminding him, "Christmas is in another two weeks, and we will have a continuous three-week holiday."
"!!!"
Lockhart looked at him with a somewhat strange expression upon hearing this.
Old Dumbledore, did I get the feeling that you want to take this opportunity to let me leave Hogwarts for a while?
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