Chapter 50: I want to participate in this operationI Want to Participate in This Operation
The Carrow siblings placed the bloodied bundle on the chair, respectfully retreating and kneeling on the ground, uttering words of repentance for their flight at the end of the First Wizarding War, hoping to receive the Dark Lord's punishment.
A series of eerie tones came from the bundle. "Rise, I need you now."
"That's it!" Lockhart exclaimed, pointing to a painting on the wall in the background of the image.
However, as he spoke, the smoke emanating from his mouth ceased, and the image completely dissipated.
Clearly, the effect of this spell wasn't very good.
Dumbledore had previously created alchemical devices with similar effects for Gellert Grindelwald to use. Now, merely simulating the original effect with a spell naturally had many limitations.
"That painting is the problem!"
Lockhart looked at Dumbledore somewhat urgently, gesturing for him to try again.
Dumbledore nodded and waved his wand once more.
This time, Lockhart didn't rush to exhale smoke. Instead, he waved his wand and stepped forward, directly pressing the tip of his wand against Amycus's forehead, closing his eyes and delving into the deepest memory retrieval.
After a long while, he suddenly opened his eyes, turned his head, and exhaled a long stream of smoke forward.
Scenes flickered within the smoke, showing all of Amycus's memories related to this painting, from his infancy to adulthood.
Along the river of time, everyone could clearly see in these listed images Amycus gradually growing into middle age.
They also saw the changes in the Carrow family's ancestral home, from prosperity and bustle to the deathly silence and desolation of the present day, all within a few decades.
This was almost the norm for many pure-blood families. To ensure the continuation of the magical powers within their bloodlines (such as the Gaunt family's Parseltongue talent and the Dumbledore family's phoenix companionship), they had always only married within their own ranks. Newborns often included geniuses who were envied by the heavens and prone to early death, as well as intellectually disabled individuals who were difficult to raise, leading to a decreasing population.
Sometimes, due to bad luck, a branch or even all descendants of a direct line in a certain generation were intellectually disabled, naturally leading to the decline and even extinction of the family.
Maintaining pure-blood glory was becoming increasingly difficult. This couldn't actually be blamed on Muggles; the essence was that the pure-blood wizard population was dwindling.
The Weasley family, with their large number of talented descendants, was extremely rare in the wizarding world. But even so, the Weasleys, who were still a standard pure-blood family, were actively embracing Muggles and half-bloods, not wanting their family to completely die out like several other pure-blood families.
Of course, that wasn't the focus now.
Dumbledore and the others all focused their attention on the images.
Just then, a cloud of black smoke flew out of Lockhart's wizard's robe pocket, crashing to the ground and bursting open, transforming into a strange humanoid wizard wearing tattered robes, with a dark, faceless void beneath its hood.
It was the Boggart. It gestured towards the images, and a narrative voice came from within its hood. "This painting was Amycus's mother's favorite possession. When Amycus was a child, he and his sister played and dirtied the painting, making their mother very sad."
"Their father sent it for restoration, but their mother ultimately didn't wait for the restoration shop to return the painting and died of illness, making it a regret before her death."
"From then on, Amycus never dared to face this painting in his life."
"You see, starting from this image, the existence of this painting begins to become blurred in his memory, and the contents inside are completely unclear."
"Generally speaking, when we enter a memory, we can indeed see the surrounding environment of the time when the memory scene occurred. However, these surrounding details will actually have omissions. This is because the memory owner deeply and strongly rejects recording these details in their heart."
"You can consider this situation as the instinctive self-modification of memory."
"But you see, in the final memory of the Carrow siblings bringing Voldemort back to the ancestral home, this painting suddenly becomes clear again."
"So I would conclude..."
"This memory must have been modified, and it was modified by other wizards who had no emotional connection to this painting."
Bang~
The Boggart transformed back into black smoke and flew back into Lockhart's pocket.
Lockhart waited for them to carefully observe the abrupt parts he had pointed out. He turned back and began to wave his wand, causing all the Amycus's memories floating in the air to return to his body.
While Dumbledore, Snape, and McGonagall were all carefully observing the memory images, he quietly extracted another part of Amycus's memory.
All memories related to his sister Alecto and their master Voldemort.
Since it was inevitable that he would stand on the opposite side of these two, he would try every possible way to increase the chances of defeating them.
Knowing yourself and knowing your enemy leads to victory in every battle. He had always believed in this.
Especially his sister Alecto. The person who knew her best was undoubtedly her brother Amycus, who had lived with her all along.
What were her behavioral habits, what were the characteristics of her combat instincts, what magic did she use most often and habitually, what were her instinctive reactions to events, and so on.
This memory was extremely useful.
As for Amycus completely losing all memories of his sister and Voldemort from now on, heh, he didn't care at all.
Soon, Dumbledore waved his wand and dispersed the cloud of smoke, frowning in deep thought.
Snape stood beside him, hesitating to speak, his fists clenched tightly in his sleeves.
Professor McGonagall was also rubbing her hands vigorously. She glanced at everyone and finally shook her head at Dumbledore. "It's a trap!"
But even knowing it was a trap, it was the only trace they had of Voldemort's whereabouts.
Perhaps exploring it would lead to some important clues.
Facts proved that the power of magic wasn't only manifested in the realm of 'magical duels.' If the battlefield was limited to a dueling platform, ten Voldemorts wouldn't be enough for Dumbledore to kill.
But this was the real world. Voldemort knew too many profound and bizarre spells. Even someone as strong as Dumbledore found it difficult to locate his true hiding place.
This was a being who could make children stop crying, and even after being declared dead, most people in the world didn't dare to call his name directly, only referring to him as You-Know-Who.
His mysterious power was not just limited to combat.
Knowing clearly that the other party had dug a pit, was it really worth the risk to jump in?
McGonagall held a cautious attitude and rejected the suggestion—don't get lost in others' constant flattery of 'the greatest wizard in the world.' Were you really so powerful that no one could kill you? Don't be silly; everyone dies.
Snape, on the other hand, looked unwilling, his eyes full of resentment and struggle.
Lockhart didn't speak. He stood in the corner, lightly stroking his wand hidden behind his back.
His wand was currently emitting a faint light, and strands of silver light steamed from the tip, dissipating into the air.
This was him sorting through Amycus's memories. At first, he left the memories about dark magic alone, focusing on Amycus's memories of his sister and master.
Lockhart wasn't willing to keep this part of the memory in his head and let it affect him. After organizing these memories into data, he would strip out the corresponding parts again and discard them.
People had to progress. He couldn't just stay at the level of the original Lockhart's mastery of the Memory Charm. That was useless for avoiding the predicament of eventually becoming an idiot. He had to move forward and continue to explore deeper and more profound areas.
Tom Riddle's techniques used on Ginny had given him too many references, and Professor Kettleburn's explanation of the wand's key had completely opened a new world for his memory processing.
"I must go see."
Dumbledore finally made a decision.
His gaze meeting McGonagall's was so firm, hoping she would understand that a carefully considered decision wouldn't be changed.
Then he shook his head at Snape's expectant gaze.
Snape's gaze dimmed. He knew he had a greater use. Rushing there rashly would clearly put him in complete opposition to Voldemort, preventing him from playing a greater role as a spy in the future.
"Let me go with you!"
Lockhart suddenly proposed.
Seeing everyone look over, he gave his standard perfect smile, just like he had summarized the original Lockhart's characteristics in the past, displaying 'excessive confidence,' 'excessive knowledge,' and a 'confident smile that feared no difficulties.'
"I disagree!" Professor McGonagall objected, frowning at this young man who hadn't experienced the past cruel wars. "You have no idea how terrifying he is!"
Lockhart smiled slightly, gesturing towards Amycus on the chair. "What's meant to come will always come, right?"
"Sometimes avoiding danger only invites more danger. I choose to face it directly."
Afraid?
Of course, he was afraid.
But compared to dying in a sudden outburst of Voldemort's curse, or Amycus's sister Alecto suddenly jumping out from somewhere, it was better to take this opportunity to go and find out with Dumbledore, the strongest fighter of the current era.
He might not be able to provide much help in terms of combat power. In fact, Dumbledore didn't need help in that regard.
But in other aspects, his current understanding of Amycus, his sister Alecto, and even the Carrow family's ancestral home could provide Dumbledore with too much assistance.
No one understood better than him.
In comparison, he could actually help Dumbledore more than Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape.
Playing support for Old Albus—that was his self-positioning in this adventure plan.
This was self-preservation, not meaningless adventure.
His words quickly convinced Dumbledore.
Before departing, Dumbledore first returned to the Headmaster's office to make some preparations.
Unlike Lockhart, who was used to carrying all his belongings with him, Dumbledore kept many important things in the Headmaster's office.
So that after his death, these valuable items would become the school's assets.
Lockhart watched Dumbledore busily rummaging through things, hesitated for a moment, and said solemnly, "Professor Dumbledore, I must confess something to you."
Dumbledore stopped his movements, turned back, and smiled slightly. "Some things, if left unsaid, we can all pretend not to know, wouldn't you agree?"
"Oh, no, I wasn't going to mention those." Lockhart was a little embarrassed, knowing what Dumbledore was referring to.
He considered his words. "I suffered some injuries while capturing and dealing with dark magical creatures, which has caused some obstacles in my ability to cast certain spells, such as Apparition."
Old Albus, I'm going to help you, you have to look after me a bit then.
Dumbledore was taken aback, looked him up and down for a while, thought for a moment, picked up a small teapot from the table, and tapped it with his wand. "I'll turn this into a Portkey. If necessary, you can use it to travel back to the school."
Lockhart's eyes lit up. He quickly took it and carefully placed it in the inside pocket of his wizard's robe. This was a life-saving item!
A Portkey, a magical object that could quickly transport a person from one location to another.
Due to its extremely stable effect, it was far better than Apparition for intercontinental travel.
The Ministry of Magic's control over Portkeys was very strict. Every Portkey needed to be applied for and registered with the Ministry's department, and after use, it needed to be handed over to the Ministry for destruction.
But Dumbledore didn't bother with this regulation. He would do it directly in front of the Ministry, and no one dared to utter half a word of complaint.
Lockhart preferred to call Portkeys 'Return Scrolls,' and they were reusable treasures.
Departure!
Heading towards the fairy tale, to explore the evil cave, to find the traces of the great demon king, to kill the evil minions of that great demon king!
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