Chapter 54: I Think I Can Still Be Saved
Based on Lockhart's understanding of Alecto, she should now be desperately trying her best, unleashing the Killing Curse at him, her close-range enemy.
He had already prepared to dodge.
But no, Alecto actually bit her lip and stared at him blankly for a moment, her figure flickering, beginning to collapse into a thick smoke filled with traces of straw.
Trying to escape?
How could that be her reaction?
Clearly, even her brother Amycus, whom she had grown up with, didn't understand his sister that well.
Lockhart relied on these memories, but didn't depend on them, making his own judgments. He reacted extremely quickly, waving his wand and casting a spell different from what he had just planned—the Memory Charm.
Not the extremely high-level memory extraction he usually performed.
But the most basic, standard Memory Charm.
The technique used was still something the original Lockhart had learned from an old Auror's magical notes through some connections. Aurors were very skilled at doing this.
It would make Alecto instantly forget everything about her brother, about their master Voldemort, and forget her current motive for attacking him and Dumbledore.
Dark magic ah...
Lockhart understood it too well; it required immense malice to sustain.
But if dark wizards didn't even know why they were attacking when they waved their wands, how much malice could they possibly have?
Of course, Lockhart knew that Voldemort could easily solve this problem and restore Alecto's memories.
Or if other powerful wizards were present, they could also do it.
So this was also a test, to see if the enemy they currently faced was only Alecto alone, or if there were other powerful wizards present.
"Aaaaaah~~~~"
Alecto screamed in pain, completely turning into a cloud of thick smoke that exploded and disappeared without a trace.
Escaped!
Lockhart made the judgment immediately. The Memory Charm he had just cast was also successful—this was his second judgment.
Hehehe~
He stood on the meteorite that was about to fall to the ground, raised his hand, and the Winged Horse flew down, carrying him back into the sky.
"Come on~"
Lockhart licked his lips, looking around somewhat excitedly, waiting for Alecto's third attack.
He knew that this crazy woman had an extraordinary obsession and would definitely cling to him relentlessly until she killed him. That was her style.
He remembered one operation where, knowing that pursuing a desperate enemy could lead to an ambush, she still insisted on killing the opponent regardless. Her brother Amycus tried to stop her, and they had a long argument because of it.
But it was very strange.
He waited for a long time, until Dumbledore came close, but Alecto still didn't appear.
Was Voldemort present?
Directing her not to continue?
This crazy woman who fanatically worshipped the strong would probably choose to obey orders.
He couldn't help but have this guess, his brow furrowing slightly.
It shouldn't be, Old Albus had arrived. Voldemort should have already slipped away. After all, Voldemort's current wraith-like state was his weakest period.
But in any case, this confrontation had finally come to an end.
Dumbledore was like a cheat code, burning everything with his fierce flames, completely ignoring the Inferi's resurrection mechanism or the adventure steps stipulated by this storybook magic item, simply burning his way straight to the destination.
Lockhart kept guiding him with the conch shell from the side.
"Kalibu's Gem is guarded by a terrifying demon..." he narrated while listening to the guidance from the conch shell, "We need to find old man Yuriel's lost key, the sighing withered leaves from the frost-condensed land, and the confession letter of Anka, the human possessed by the demon, to deal with the demon and open its lair..."
Dumbledore only asked, "Where is the demon?"
Lockhart put down the conch shell, shrugged somewhat helplessly, and pointed to the low, dim sun in the distance. "Just keep walking towards the setting sun, and you'll see it."
Then he witnessed what it meant to have overwhelming power.
Old Albus was simply too strong.
The so-called powerful demon hadn't even finished reciting its lines before Dumbledore waved his magic, crushed it, retrieved the key, and opened the door to exit the fairy tale scene.
Tsk~
No sense of immersion at all.
You didn't even want to follow the process!
Lockhart was somewhat regretful, wondering if he would have the chance to carefully experience this interesting magical item in the future.
Then he saw the storybook.
He and Dumbledore walked outwards along the door, only feeling their bodies growing larger step by step. When they felt completely stable and free from the influence of some kind of magic, they looked back and saw a thick storybook lying open on the ground.
They had returned to the hall of the Carrow family's ancestral home.
It didn't look as dilapidated as they had seen it before, but it wasn't much better either. The air was filled with the scent of decay everywhere.
One wall of the hall even had a huge tear, and sunlight streamed in through the crack.
Dumbledore raised the Elder Wand and tapped it. A cloud of light mist floated out, and a witch holding a book sat on the floor, chanting incantations. It was none other than Alecto Carrow.
She opened the book and placed it on the floor, walked to the distance, turned back, and walked towards the book. Her body rapidly shrank, and finally, she completely entered the pages.
After a while, she was flung out, lying on the ground convulsing all over, struggling to get up, taking out a healing potion and drinking it. Panting heavily, she angrily cursed Lockhart loudly with vicious words in the hall.
Then she walked back in.
After a while, a cloud of smoke flew out of the book, transforming into Alecto falling to the ground, lying there with vacant eyes and convulsing.
Then, not knowing what she thought of, she looked at the book in horror, screamed, cast a spell to tear through the wall, and rushed out.
"Alecto Carrow..." Dumbledore looked somewhat wistful, sighed as he looked at the figure in the scene, "Back then, she and her brother were outstanding students in Slytherin. The brother became a prefect, and the sister became the Head Girl. I personally guided them."
Speaking of which...
How many Death Eaters were once Dumbledore's students?
Such a topic was obviously somewhat cruel for an old man like Dumbledore who had dedicated his life to education.
Lockhart shrugged, only looking around the environment warily. "Do you think Voldemort will be here?"
Dumbledore shook his head. "He has been here, but he left long ago."
The wand in his hand gently swayed, clearly indicating that he had cast countless spells when Lockhart hadn't been paying attention.
"At least I know that he is currently too weak to do anything," Dumbledore narrowed his eyes. "Utterly weak."
Lockhart understood.
He rummaged through his memories of the web novels he had read in his previous life, knowing that Voldemort had possessed Professor Quirrell in his first year to cause trouble, and then had been hiding until the Triwizard Tournament in Harry Potter's fourth year when he returned to power.
In the three years after Quirrell failed to steal the Sorcerer's Stone in the original story, Voldemort hadn't done anything influential.
Lockhart didn't want to face Voldemort in three years, and he was even less inclined to simply follow the original story and let things develop naturally.
"Dumbledore, I must confess to you, I actually know Voldemort's secrets!"
He finally made up his mind. Since he had already stood on the opposite side of Voldemort, since he had already stepped into this muddy water, he had to find a way to completely deal with Voldemort.
"Voldemort currently has six Horcruxes!"
A flash of light crossed Dumbledore's half-moon spectacles, and his expression suddenly became extremely serious. He stared intently at Lockhart. "You will be responsible for what you have said!"
"Of course!"
Lockhart looked at him solemnly. "The ring passed down by the Gaunt family, which is actually the Resurrection Stone, one of the three Deathly Hallows; Slytherin's locket; Hufflepuff's cup; Ravenclaw's diadem; his own diary from his student days; and..."
Before he could finish speaking, a large amount of black smoke suddenly erupted from his body. The smoke rose and transformed into a huge wizard figure, looking down at the two of them.
"Gilderoy Lockhart!" the black figure roared angrily, suddenly transforming into a huge snake that opened its mouth and bit down at him.
"Tom!" Dumbledore's expression changed, and he waved the Elder Wand to stop the black figure.
But even though he was so powerful, wielding the Elder Wand, one of the three Deathly Hallows, he was still helpless against this black figure.
This was...
Voldemort's curse on the Defense Against the Dark Arts teaching position!
Voldemort was actually using this power!
Lockhart only felt his whole body sink into an icy chill, as if he had lost all his blood, cold to the bone, and he couldn't stop trembling.
Save me! Old Albus! Save me!
But just like facing the curse throughout his long tenure as headmaster, Dumbledore's spells had no effect this time, no matter how he cast them.
He wasn't the omnipotent being that the myths portrayed.
The old man could no longer maintain the demeanor of a magic master, his face filled with panic and helplessness, looking at Lockhart with sorrowful helplessness. "My boy, are you alright..."
His voice was hoarse, almost voiceless.
I...
Not...
At all...
Good!
Lockhart only felt the dozen or so voices in his mind suddenly become extremely noisy. Memories from his previous life and this life mixed together, churning wildly in his mind. Some sharp voices kept echoing in his brain.
Those were the words Professor Trelawney had said during her prophecy—
"You cannot escape!"
"This is the price you must pay for all your greed!"
"Do you want to break free from the fate of eventually sinking into the quagmire?"
"Do you want to become an important character in Potter's 'Birth of an Epic Hero' fairy tale chapter?"
"Do you want to continue walking forward on the path of magic?"
"The Dark Lord's curse has begun to take effect!"
"It has its eyes on you!"
"You will die! You will die!!!"
The icy chill rapidly swept through everything. Lockhart only felt that the strange snake shadow was rapidly drawing his flesh and blood, and his body was gradually turning pale and transparent.
That was the appearance of someone clinging to this world, unwilling to face death—finally transforming into a ghost!
He looked at the despairing Dumbledore in front of him and suddenly gave him a brilliant smile, even though his face was so pale it was beginning to glow. "Isn't it sometimes like this, we must bravely face death to gain the hope of living?"
Dumbledore sighed, closing his eyes sorrowfully. He had experienced too much death in his life, too many brilliant and talented people had lost their lives before his eyes. What a pity, what cruelty. He only lamented, "It has always been so."
Credence Dumbledore...
James Potter...
Lily Evans...
Too many.
However, before he could even sigh appropriately, Lockhart's voice rang in his ears again.
"Dumbledore, don't rush to mourn. I think I can still be saved. You have to help me."
"???"
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