Chapter 152: The Sins of the Time Explorers
The young wizards flew high, looking down at the seemingly boundless and terrifying sea of fire above the clouds. They collectively swallowed, nervously flying closer to Lockhart.
Their arrival clearly interrupted the professor's magical experiment. After warding off the lightning and Fiendfyre for them, Lockhart didn't continue speaking, instead focusing on wielding his wand.
The magical fairy tale book floated before him, a golden light extending from its pages, opening a passage between Lockhart and the book.
Streaks of lightning, guided by his wand, struck into the passage, and the monsters formed by Fiendfyre rushed into the passage as well. They had no idea what Professor Lockhart was doing.
The young wizards quietly stood by, well-behaved.
Finally, during another pause in the magical experiment, Lockhart waved his wand to release Crabbe from the magical restraints that the young wizards had overlooked. He then summoned some withered firewood from the Forbidden Forest below and stacked it to float in the air before him.
"Vincent, help me ignite the Soul Bonfire. I need some extra magical power beyond my own."
Saying that, he looked at the other young wizards, his gaze sweeping over Hermione, Harry, Ron, Draco, and Goyle, finally deciding not to say anything more.
In fact, the young wizards all realized what this meant: except for Crabbe, none of them could offer Lockhart any help.
This greatly wounded the pride of the young wizards.
Lockhart, however, was in no mood to consider their feelings, focusing his attention back on the fairy tale book before him.
His magical experiment had entered its most crucial phase.
In truth, his magical experiment this time wasn't complicated: he just needed Tom Riddle to do to Corban Yaxley what he had done to Ginny previously.
But it wasn't easy.
Ginny was a first-year witch; no matter what talents she possessed, let alone her magical path, her magical school studies had only just begun.
Corban Yaxley, however, was in the first tier of Death Eaters, comparable in strength to Auror Kingsley, Professor McGonagall, and Professor Snape.
Not to mention, as a member of the Yaxley family, "Time Explorers," he possessed intentionally trained abilities concerning the mind from childhood, which elevated the difficulty to an extremely high level.
How exactly was he to proceed?
The answer was: find solutions based on characteristics.
So, this magical experiment became incredibly interesting. Lockhart would appear in the fairy tale book intermittently, occasionally playing the roles of Corban or Tom, intervening in the experiment's process and guiding them.
And thus, Corban embarked on a path of self-redemption.
He was guided by the mysterious diary into time, to find a way to reverse his transformation into a werewolf.
Tom was also attracted by the value Corban displayed, secretly influencing Corban's soul while helping Corban change his life through magical adventures.
This was an effective approach.
Corban was a powerful wizard, carrying all the experience of his family's "Time Explorer" heritage, and Tom Riddle, though still a young Dark Lord, had already revealed the wisdom of a top-tier wizard and his proficiency in magic and the realm of life.
Combined, Corban would ultimately find salvation from his time-traveling adventures.
The only problem was that the wicked Lockhart had joined in.
Lockhart added some fairy tale elements to their adventure, for instance, by inserting the memories of the dozen or so wizarding adventures from his own mind into the story, to add a bit of fun.
And so, something very strange happened.
Time was truly altered.
Or rather, reality was shrouded in a mist, truth was obscured, and mystery enveloped everything, making it inscrutable.
Mist of History—a fascinating term in the realm of time.
Many wizards would believe the past cannot be changed, but this wasn't so in the eyes of the Yaxley family's Time Explorers.
The past indeed cannot be changed, but it can be obscured, and thus reality becomes different. This effect is the "Mist of History."
And to make the "Mist of History" have the most real effect, one needs to create a certain influence in reality, thereby guiding the magic of time to erode reality, sealing the truth.
"Professor, what are you doing?"
Harry, who always couldn't sit still, finally couldn't bear the indefinite waiting and curiously asked Professor Lockhart, who seemed to have stopped and was deep in thought.
"Harry!" Hermione glared displeasedly at Harry. "You shouldn't disturb the professor now!"
The others also glared at Harry, including Ron.
"It's fine." Professor Lockhart was always so gentle and amiable, smiling as he soothed the young wizards' emotions. "I'm making an attempt, from a magical perspective, to find evidence of the Dark Lord's crimes from Corban."
"Corban! The Dark Lord!" Harry seemed to be activated by the keywords, becoming excited. He pointed at the fairy tale book. "Is that evil wizard in there?"
Lockhart nodded. "It's difficult for me to explain the specific process of the interrogation to you; it's very complex. But I can tell you some conclusions."
His gaze fixed on the golden-glowing pages of the open fairy tale book, as if trying to pierce through the limitations of time and space to the deepest reaches. His eyes were hazy as he said, "He has done many terrible things in the past."
"The Yaxley family possesses unique bloodline magic for traversing time. This generation's Corban Yaxley repeatedly went back to the past and plundered the lives of powerful wizards."
The young wizards collectively gasped. Even if they still didn't quite understand what "plundered lives" meant, it sounded incredibly evil.
"Yes." Lockhart's expression was very serious. "He took away many people's lives, leaving large blanks in those wizards' lives. However, time and the mind are so mysterious; many of these wizards won't even realize that a part of their lives has been lost."
"The river of time is filled with treasures that the Yaxley family can pluck at will. That's what these so-called 'Time Explorers,' full of sin, always say."
"They never realized the wicked acts of their thievery and robbery, always believing it was something they gained through their own ability, and thus rightfully their own wealth."
"Imagine, your happiest times were your childhood spent with your parents, but suddenly one day, you completely lose that part of your life. You forget the good times with your parents, and your feelings for them become distant, so distant that you feel like strangers."
"Because life, you see, it's full of emotions, experiences, and everything else that wizards need."
Lockhart looked at the young wizards with a sigh of emotion. "The wizarding world is sometimes so strange and terrifying. Those with good hearts see its beautiful side, while those with malice see its vicious side."
"That's horrifying!" Draco and Hermione, who cared most about their feelings for their parents, exclaimed.
"Neville!" Ron cried out. Seeing everyone looking, he quickly said to Harry and Hermione, as if seeking his friends' affirmation, "He said he forgot everything about his past!"
The young wizards discussed it, then collectively looked at Lockhart.
Lockhart, however, merely shook his head. "I don't know. The horror of the Time Explorers surpasses my imagination. He has done too many evil deeds, too many buried in the mists of history."
Help me spread this.
Young wizards.
Lockhart looked at them with a smile. These individuals were clearly the best medium to turn the mist of history into established reality, even if it was a false reality.
Harry the Savior's influence went without saying. Ron and Draco, who had good relationships with many classmates,
and the goofy, mimic-prone Goyle and Crabbe, and the anxious Hermione who heard bits of news—they would quickly spread the news among the school's student body, then rapidly through various social connections to the entire world.
"As an Unspeakable in the Department of Mysteries, I will submit an application to the Minister for Magic, requesting that any wizards who may have been harmed by Corban Yaxley, this Time Explorer, come to the Ministry to identify him."
Lockhart looked at the continuously changing images in the fairy tale book with an unreadable expression, sighing slightly inwardly.
Tom, Corban, I'm sorry.
Your Uncle Ji, I'm a bad guy.
"I, Gilderoy Lockhart, as an internationally renowned author, a master wizard, a recipient of the Order of Merlin, Third Class, an honorary member of the Anti-Dark Arts League, and a five-time winner of the 'Most Charming Smile Award' from Witch Weekly, assure you all that I will make Corban compensate these wizards!"
Hermione looked nervously at the floating fairy tale book. "Professor, is there a way for those wizards who lost their lives to regain them?"
Compared to punishing the wicked, she cared more about whether the victims could be helped.
"I'm not sure." Lockhart sighed. "There's a spell called the Memory Charm. It might help a little. No one understands this spell better than I do. If there's truly no other way, I'll find a way to write down his memories. You know, no one understands writing better than I do. I'll always find a way to write for those who lost their lives."
"But this is very dangerous. The magic of time is extremely terrifying. It might change reality."
Lockhart's expression was hazy. "I don't know what will happen after doing this."
"Perhaps I myself will be caught in the terrible vortex of time."
"But,"
"Since I have the ability to solve some things, then this is the mission destiny has given me, isn't it?"
For the first time, Draco didn't find Hermione's adoring and infatuated gaze so disgusting, because he realized that not only himself, but everyone else was looking at this great professor with the same expression.
....
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