76 Expecto Patronum! (Part 2)
Lockhart had never pondered the question of where Voldemort had gone after being forced to flee when his possession of Professor Quirrell's body backfired due to Lockhart's own curse on the Defense Against the Dark Arts position.
Had he returned to Albania?
Or was he being sustained by some loyal Death Eater?
The former was possible, the latter highly unlikely.
The reason Lockhart designed a scenario where Little Tom needed to purge traitors, believing Voldemort would find it plausible, was because he had gained a comprehensive understanding of Little Tom through the memories he had acquired from Ginny.
Tom Riddle truly couldn't tolerate even a speck of dust in his eyes and hated traitors even more than opponents.
Moreover, Tom was inherently not the type to easily trust others.
This was his nature, and it was unlikely to change even when he grew up to become Voldemort.
Old Voldemort might be willing to trust Bellatrix or Barty Crouch Jr., but it was absolutely impossible for him, in his weakest state, to seek shelter from those traitors who had openly or secretly distanced themselves from him.
Now, Lockhart had the answer.
—The safest place is the most dangerous place.
There was no better choice in this world than Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Peter Pettigrew could brazenly run to the home of a core member of the Order of the Phoenix as a pet and then be brought to the school, remaining undetected under Dumbledore's nose for over a decade.
So for Voldemort to do something similar was even easier.
At such a crucial moment, in such a magical standoff, it was absolutely necessary to be distracted by the frantic churning of thoughts in his brain, trying to unravel this matter.
Because Lockhart was very clear about one thing—in the original story, Harry seemingly faced danger every year, but in reality, Voldemort only appeared once in the first year. His next appearance wasn't until the Triwizard Tournament final at the end of Harry Potter's fourth year.
Which meant!
Even if Voldemort was indeed hiding in the Forbidden Forest of Hogwarts, recuperating and regaining his strength, and had been watching Harry coldly for the next three whole years without making a move, it was definitely not because he didn't want to, but because he couldn't.
Just as Dumbledore had said—"At least I know he is at present in a condition of such weakness that he is unlikely to be able to do anything... utter powerlessness."
But even in such a state of utter powerlessness.
At this moment, he couldn't even actively break the magical standoff he was engaged in!
Just how powerful was this Dark Lord?
He now had a complete and clear understanding.
Of course, this was also because he had happened to cast the Obliviate Charm, and had happened to aim it directly at the head of the Acromantula leader, Aragog, striking Voldemort's wraith.
The power of the soul was always somewhat different from other levels of magical duels.
Lockhart felt a bit regretful.
If he had used a banishing charm or other attacking spells against Aragog, it was hard to say whether old Voldy, quietly hiding and sleeping in Aragog's head, wouldn't have woken up!
Damn it!
Being the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was a pitfall everywhere.
This disgusting curse could flare up at any time, bringing waves of trouble. He really didn't know how the previous professors had endured this one year of teaching.
No wonder Dumbledore couldn't find a professor to take the job and had to turn to someone he looked down upon, like his original self.
If it were him, if Dumbledore dared to mention rehiring him, he would definitely fight Dumbledore to the death.
"Chirp!"
The Snidget on his shoulder wanted to help, recklessly charging towards Aragog. It was sure it could do it, pull Aragog's head out of its shell!
Dark magical creatures with three hands had such magical abilities.
But Lockhart shouted for it to come back. He wasn't sure if pulling old Voldy out of Aragog's head was a good thing or a bad thing.
Not only that, but he began to call all his companions back.
He was waiting for an opportunity, a possible opportunity, and then he would seize it and run immediately. But he couldn't possibly abandon his companions and run alone. Calling them all back now was the best way to arrange things.
Such an opportunity would definitely come!
He knew that Voldemort's current situation didn't seem to be good either!
Old Voldy's state looked so terrible. The face on Aragog's head was sometimes blurry and sometimes more solid, clearly indicating that the Dark Lord's weakness had reached a certain level.
Finally, Aragog moved!
The companions, who had been preparing to obey Lockhart's instructions, became vigilant again, all standing in front of Lockhart.
However, to everyone's surprise, Aragog actually crawled, little by little, towards another Acromantula on a nearby flat area.
Its massive pincers tightly clamped onto the other Acromantula, and the venomous fangs in its mouth fiercely tore into it.
However, the aged Aragog was too slow. The Acromantula held in its pincers struggled hard, dodging, and Aragog failed to succeed.
Lockhart looked at this scene with some confusion, and as he watched, he suddenly gasped.
He had been somewhat puzzled about why it was feeding at this time.
Then he quickly searched his memories of Little Tom and finally found the answer—killing! Killing brought powerful magic!
Voldemort had relied on this trick to create Horcruxes!
Think of a way!
Lockhart's brain was racing. He had to think of a way quickly.
He wasn't sure if Voldemort, relying on Aragog to create the power of killing, could possess the magic to kill him now, but it definitely wouldn't be a good thing.
Got it!
He tried his best to calm his emotions, looked up at the mysterious and tolerant forest, and called out loudly, "Forest, forest, help me!"
This was a very unique plea spell of the "Forest Witch."
Begging the forest to provide him with help. In return, he would also need to do something for the forest afterward, otherwise, the forest would no longer respond to him in the future.
The wind howled, swaying the trees and rustling their leaves, as if the forest was nodding.
Soon, the familiar sound of an engine running came from far away and approached quickly. Two bright headlights shone down from mid-air. It was the flying car.
Lady Car!
It had clearly received the forest's call and knew exactly what to do. After landing, it charged straight towards Aragog.
The powerful engine made its speed increase rapidly, and everything on the ground seemed to instantly turn into a smooth road.
Bang!
The enormous impact directly sent Aragog flying.
Bang!
The magical plasma between Lockhart and Aragog finally dissipated!
A powerful explosive wave swept over, directly knocking him off his feet and sending him crashing to the ground.
Lady Car had clearly noticed his situation. With a beautiful drift, it quickly came to his front. Click, the car door opened.
"Oh no, I'm not getting in!"
Lockhart supported himself on the car body to stand up, helped it close the door again, and instructed it in a very rapid voice, "You leave now quickly, don't stop, go to Hogwarts Castle, it won't dare to chase you there!"
At the same time, he quickly had all his companions return to him, flipped his palm, and took out a delicate little teapot from his ring.
Confirming that Lady Car had obeyed his instructions and turned towards Hogwarts Castle, he held the teapot in one hand. At the moment this Portkey activated, he glanced at the Acromantula Aragog.
It looked in terrible condition, covered in blood, struggling to crawl towards another spider nearby.
Lockhart didn't press his advantage. He knew that firstly, he couldn't possibly kill Voldemort at this opportunity, and secondly, he didn't know if Voldemort had any trump cards waiting for him.
The spatial movement of a Portkey was never comfortable.
Lockhart only felt one finger hooked around the teapot handle, feeling like he could fall off at any moment during the violent and rapid movement.
What made him even more uncomfortable was that it felt as if a hook behind his navel was suddenly and irresistibly pulling him forward, and then his feet left the ground, and he flew up. He flew forward like a gust of wind, unable to see anything in front of him.
Fortunately, the destination was too close.
Before he could exclaim, he had already fallen to the ground.
He didn't rush to pick up the teapot, but supported himself on the ground and quickly looked up at Dumbledore's office.
"Dumbledore? Dumbledore! Dumbledore!!!"
Dumbledore was not there.
But soon a flash of flame appeared, and old Dumbledore was already in the office, his half-moon spectacles filled with gravity, quickly looking at Lockhart.
"What happened? I sensed you used a Portkey!" he asked anxiously.
Too many things had happened recently. He had to pay more attention to what was happening in the school, especially on Lockhart's side.
"..."
Lockhart looked at old Dumbledore with some despair, suddenly realizing that he seemed unable to tell him any information about Voldemort.
He knew that as soon as he opened his mouth, the curse that had deceived death once would be activated again.
Dumbledore's expression changed. He knew what was making Lockhart hesitate.
Just then, a large amount of black smoke suddenly erupted from Lockhart's body. The smoke rose and transformed into a blurry, somewhat shapeless snake shadow, lowering its head and hissing, "Gilderoy Lockhart!"
Holy crap!
I didn't even dare to say it, and you still come?
I really didn't say anything just now!
Lockhart suddenly realized why the Acromantula Aragog had gone to kill just now. Clearly, the current Voldemort, possessing this monster, had no way to cast any effective magic and could only resort to the old trick, intending to kill him using the previous method.
Seeing the snake shadow open its large mouth and bite down, he hurriedly waved the wand in his hand.
According to his understanding of magic, the Patronus Charm should be able to work at this time, after all, it was a magic that protected the soul and the existence of vibrant life.
Well, that was just theory.
But he couldn't care about anything anymore.
"Ex! PEC! TO! PA! TRO! NUM!"
He shouted even louder than Harry Potter when casting the spell, one could say he was screaming in terror.
Silver light instantly gushed out from the tip of the wand, the unique halo filled with mysterious colors, like an opened umbrella, blocking the snake shadow's attack.
It worked!
Lockhart's eyes lit up.
Perhaps Voldemort's power was truly weakened to a certain extent this time, or perhaps his mastery of the Patronus Charm had reached a certain level.
Anyway, whatever the reason.
It worked!
Ha!
I found a way to fight back!
He supported himself on the ground and slowly got up, raising the wand high in one hand, maintaining the spell to resist the curse.
The silver light drifted upwards wave after wave like water, looking light and soft, but it truly blocked the snake shadow above.
Nearby, Dumbledore hurriedly rushed to his desk and quickly rummaged through it, not even bothering with the lamp that had fallen to the ground. He grabbed a small vial and handed it over. "Quick, drink this. It's a potion I've been trying to make to counteract this force. Maybe it will work!"
Lockhart took it with one hand but didn't rush to drink it. Instead, he shouted anxiously, "Quick, Dumbledore, Voldemort is in the Forbidden Forest! He's possessing the Acromantula Aragog!"
Since the curse had already been triggered again, he could now say it without any hesitation.
Bang!
Before Lockhart's voice even faded, Dumbledore had instantly disappeared.
Old Dumbledore clearly had enough wisdom to make a clear decision in an instant, knowing that Voldemort was casting a spell to push the curse. As long as he dealt with Voldemort, Lockhart's problem would naturally be resolved.
Moreover, this was undoubtedly the closest they had been to Voldemort in a long time.
"Hurry up~~~"
Lockhart I struggled to cast the Patronus Charm. I didn't know why the snake in front of me was so powerful that it was even harder than when I was fighting Voldemort..
This curse was truly something!
He took a deep breath, trying his best not to let his nerves become too tense. Even a slight relaxation might allow the cursed snake shadow to pounce and kill him.
But he knew that the Patronus Charm shouldn't be cast like this.
He needed to relax, to immerse himself in the most beautiful feelings of life, and magic would bloom for it.
Finally, after calming his tense emotions, he couldn't help but laugh.
"Exciting!"
He exclaimed for no reason, "What a thrilling adventure!"
This...
Was this magic?
Lockhart looked dreamily at the silver light that completely obscured everything before him, entranced by the effect of such magic.
He seemed to be a wizard by nature.
Because he didn't need to delve into the joy in his heart much. Looking at the magic released from the wand in his hand, this magic that could resist the curse of the most powerful Dark Lord of the age, he naturally felt incomparable beauty, the beauty of magic.
Within magic was the passionate life he yearned for.
So marvelous.
Gradually, within the silver light gushing from the wand, a figure seemed to be emerging.
It was...
A tall, sturdy horse with flowing long mane...
A horse?
"My Patronus is a horse?" Lockhart exclaimed, looking up in amazement, his eyes full of affection. "I like it!"
This was a—passionate horse!
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