Chapter 184: You Come Along Too
"Omen of Ill Fortune" was a power very difficult to describe in words.
It was like the strange mist that perpetually permeated the Hall of Genealogies in the Department of Mysteries, always filled with a mysterious power.
Not a specific power, but simply the power of "mystery."
Lockhart discovered that conducting "mysterious" affairs or mystery-oriented magical experiments within this mist always brought some subtle, hard-to-discern benefits from the unseen.
Especially when he cast the Memory Charm.
As he waved his wand, Bellatrix, floating mid-air, suddenly twitched. Her twisted and deranged demeanor abruptly vanished, her face completely calm. She floated quietly in mid-air, and a large number of silver threads began to grow all over her body.
This was something Lockhart couldn't achieve elsewhere—extracting memories from outside the brain.
Only then did he suddenly realize, oh, it turned out that every part of the body held its own memories, though they weren't processed by the brain for thought.
For example, muscle memory; he had previously relied on muscle memory to reproduce the original body's handwriting.
Soon.
A large number of silver threads writhed and swayed in mid-air, even beginning to emit a faint, shimmering glow. If one listened carefully, they could even hear some indistinct, murmuring whispers.
"It's reacting!" Madam Mary, operating the Time-Turner nearby, reported this discovery to Lockhart with some astonishment.
Memories, it seemed, had a unique connection with the Time-Turner. She could feel the Time-Turner stirring.
Lockhart nodded, continuing to wave his wand. "Clearly, we always lack understanding of what Time-Turners can truly do."
Perhaps in an era before Time-Turners were restricted, wizards, through extensive practical exploration of such magical artifacts, discovered many other uses. Who knew? Even if they existed, they were all sealed away by the Ministry of Magic, forbidden from being disseminated.
"It's going to be a bit dangerous next."
Lockhart turned to Madam Mary, instructing her, "If you don't know what to do, walk towards a faint light; that will be me."
Or rather, that faint light was his Flame of Life.
Lockhart had seen it before when he followed Snape into past times and mental pathways. He hadn't understood then that it was the Flame of Life, but now he was largely certain.
"What about me?" Tonks asked nervously from the side. She hadn't even realized that she had already drawn her wand and was gripping it tightly, as if it could give her some sense of security.
The scene before her was so terrifying, making one's heart tighten involuntarily.
In truth, for a witch like her, who had accepted the modern magical system and hadn't continued to explore deeper magical fields, she rarely encountered "more wizarding" situations in her life.
Ill omens, mystery, strangeness—these things seemed far removed from most modern wizards and Muggles.
The most wondrous scene she had ever witnessed was merely Aurors deploying in large numbers, casting Repairing Charms to fix a street destroyed by magic, watching the street return to its original state as if time had reversed.
That was already wondrous enough.
Things on the level of Horcruxes, for instance, were simply impossible for her to encounter or have any opportunity to.
Even modern wizards rarely used Penseives to sort through their memories anymore. The daily routine of mind-cleansing, so common among ancient wizards, seemed so sinister in the eyes of modern wizards.
"You?" Lockhart looked at Tonks with some surprise. "You just watch from the side. Scrimgeour sent you here to keep an eye on me, to record what I, as a special envoy, do, and then file the report. It's that simple."
Simple?
Tonks felt a little overwhelmed.
Because she had no idea what Lockhart was doing. How was she supposed to record this?
She wanted to ask, but looking at the terrifying scene of Lockhart casting spells, she only felt that speaking up during his dangerous magical experiment would sound more like an interrogation.
And she wouldn't dare interrogate him.
No one knew how shocked and terrified she had been the last time she accompanied the team escorting Lockhart to the Ministry of Magic, when they encountered an attack by hundreds of dark wizards on the road. She had been prepared to die in the line of duty, and then she watched Lockhart cast powerful and terrifying magic, killing one vibrant life after another.
People would be afraid. After witnessing a scene where one could be casually crushed to death, with even a slight deviation leading to one's own demise, it was truly terrifying.
In fact, many Aurors felt fear towards Lockhart. In that scenario, many Aurors even despairingly thought, would Lockhart just kill them all too?
After all, it was normal for criminals to kill Aurors, wasn't it?
"Dangerous fellow"—many Aurors would use this term when discussing Lockhart privately afterward.
"Alright… okay." Tonks swallowed, nervously grabbing the file bag beside her, but she had no intention of recording anything.
"However, what you said did remind me." Lockhart scrutinized Tonks. "Interested in a magical adventure?"
He was accustomed to the ways of magical schools, eager to share his magical adventures, eager to give others an opportunity.
"Huh?" Tonks somewhat regretted asking earlier.
"Come a little closer." Lockhart beckoned with a gentle smile. "Come and see. This is an exploration of the Black family's magical bloodline. You also have Black blood, so I imagine you'll gain something from it."
Tonks wanted to refuse, but looking at his encouraging, gentle smile, she felt an undeniable authority for some reason. She opened her mouth to say something, but ultimately just clumsily shuffled closer.
"Good, stand right there." Lockhart raised his wand again, then turned to Madam Mary and nodded. "You can begin."
Boom!
A silent expansion brought a soul-shaking resonance. The silver threads swirling and writhing before them rapidly expanded, bursting forth with a multitude of thought-lightning, surging menacingly throughout the entire room.
Creak, creak~
Tonks seemed to hear the strange creaking of a broken wooden window being blown by a fierce outdoor wind, coming from deep within a long corridor. Then her heart pounded as if it would burst from her throat, her entire mind twisted into a chaotic mess, and finally, she was pulled in by an irresistible force.
The moment she was pulled, she faintly heard Lockhart's excited shout, "Haha, that's it, that's it! The power of Apparition! So this isn't spatial travel; it's a temporal displacement brought about by mental distortion!"
What did that mean?
Tonks didn't understand.
But she soon felt it.
She saw a pale, strong arm extend from within a wide wizard's robe, gently holding a wand, and with a slight flick amidst the chaotic and twisted mess.
Boom!
Her world suddenly became quiet. When her mind recovered enough to process the information her eyes were receiving, she was astonished to find dark, chilling bars suddenly appearing before her.
This was…
Azkaban!
And specifically, a cell within it.
She looked around quickly, somewhat horrified, carefully distinguishing and observing. Finally, from the faces of several prisoners in the opposite cell, she confirmed that her location was precisely the cell where Bellatrix had been held!
How was this possible!
Azkaban absolutely did not permit Apparition!
This must be an illusion!
Indeed, she saw a very abrupt shadow appear in the corridor ahead, something that could not possibly exist in Azkaban.
A large, shaggy black dog, moving with light steps.
"What is this…"
Before she could ask, her mind twisted again. She felt as though her entire being was caught in an extremely chaotic yet subtly ordered vortex.
This really did feel somewhat like the power of Apparition, but there were still some differences from how she normally used it.
Just then, the arm holding the wand reappeared before her, and with another gentle flick.
Boom!
Her vision could distinguish things clearly again. She gasped and instinctively took a step back.
She had just appeared at the edge of a towering flagpole, almost falling off.
This was…
Hogwarts!
How could she mistake Hogwarts, where she had lived for seven years?
Looking down, she could clearly see the Quidditch pitch and the vast Forbidden Forest.
But this was clearly an illusion again!
Yes, she was absolutely certain.
Hogwarts did have places where Apparition was permitted, but that was the Covered Bridge. Apart from there, there was no way to directly Apparate to other locations; it was not allowed!
Just then, she seemed to hear someone speaking behind her.
—"I worship you so madly…" This was an excited female voice.
—"Prove it to me!" This was a male wizard's voice, deep and carrying an indescribable evil.
She turned her head to confirm, and saw Madam Mary, holding the Time-Turner, also looking bewildered. They exchanged a glance, and before they could say anything, her vision became chaotic again.
This time, the chaos began to feel truly chaotic.
"Professor Lockhart…" Tonks seemed to hear Madam Mary's startled cry. "The Time-Turner can't take this magic anymore!"
After a while, the chaotic distortion suddenly stopped.
An arm waved a wand again with a gentle flick, and Lockhart's warm voice came, "It's alright, we've reached our destination."
Her mind rapidly recovered, continuously analyzing information from her body, thoughts, hearing, sight, and all other senses. The entire world became calm again.
Beep beep beep~
Tonks found herself by a window. Hearing a sound, she looked outside; it was a Muggle street. There seemed to be a traffic accident on the street, with many cars honking furiously.
"Damn, damn Muggles, they'll disturb Master! Kreacher hates them!" A house-elf grumbled as it approached the window from deep within the corridor.
"Shh~" A shushing sound softly echoed behind her. She felt a hand suddenly grab the back of her collar and quickly pull her backward.
Pop~
An extremely strange, sticky sensation washed over her.
Tonks felt as though her entire body had sunk into a mire, sticky and sluggish. Or rather, she felt as if she had turned into a distorted, human-like shadow on the wall.
She wanted to struggle, but seeing the house-elf rapidly approaching, she quickly stopped moving.
Soon, the house-elf walked past.
It seemed not to notice at all that in the dark corridor corner beside it, three strangely twisted human figures mottled the wall, looking so eerie and inconspicuous.
This was a Dark Art that Tom had taught Lockhart, capable of sealing people into walls. It was one of the more commonly used combat techniques by Aurors during Grindelwald's time. Now, due to political reasons, this Dark Art had been banned by the Auror Office.
(End of Chapter)
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