An ominous feeling—it's truly a difficult power to put into words. It's like that strange mist that always hangs in the Department of Mysteries' Hall of Prophecies, constantly filled with a mysterious force. It's not a force; it's the very power of 'mystery' itself.
Lockhart discovered that performing 'mysterious' acts or conducting magic experiments leaning towards the mysterious within this mist always brought forth some imperceptible benefits, ones that were hard to directly pinpoint. Especially when he was casting his Memory Charm.
As he waved his wand, Bellatrix, floating mid-air, suddenly convulsed. Her twisted, deranged aura abruptly vanished, and her face became completely serene. She floated quietly, and from all over her body, numerous silver threads began to sprout. This was something Lockhart couldn't achieve anywhere else—extracting memories from places other than the head. It was only then that he realized, "Oh, so every part of the body holds its own memories, they just aren't summoned to the brain for thought." Like muscle memory, for instance; he had previously relied on muscle memory to replicate the original Lockhart's handwriting.
Soon, vast amounts of silver threads writhed and swayed in the air, actually beginning to emit a hazy glow. If you listened closely, you could even hear faint, indistinguishable whispers and babbling.
"It's reacting!" Madam Mary, managing the Time-Turner nearby, reported her discovery to Lockhart with a hint of awe. Memories, it seemed, had some unique connection to the Time-Turner; she could feel the Time-Turner stirring excitedly.
Lockhart nodded, continuing to wave his wand. "Clearly, we always lack understanding of what the Time-Turner can truly do." Perhaps in eras past, before Time-Turners were restricted, wizards, through extensive practical exploration of such magical artifacts, discovered many other uses for them. Who knows? Even if there were, the Ministry of Magic would have sealed them all away, forbidding their dissemination.
"It's going to be a bit dangerous now." Lockhart turned to Madam Mary, instructing her, "If you don't know what to do, just walk towards a faint light. That will be me." Or rather, that faint light would be his 'Life Fire.' Lockhart had seen it before when he'd entered past times and mental pathways with Snape. He hadn't understood then that it was the Life Fire, but now he was mostly certain.
"What about me?" Tonks asked nervously from the side. She hadn't even realized she had pulled out her wand and was clutching it tightly, as if it could bring her some sense of security. The scene unfolding before her was so terrifying, making her heart clench.
Truth be told, a witch like her, who embraced the modern magical system and hadn't ventured into deeper magical realms, rarely encountered 'more wizardly' situations in her life. Ominous, mysterious, eerie matters seemed distant from most modern wizards and Muggles. The most fantastical scene she had ever witnessed was Aurors swarming out, casting Repairing Charms to mend a street blasted by magic, watching it revert to its original state as if time were reversing. That had been magical enough. Things on the level of Horcruxes were simply impossible, and she'd never had the chance to encounter them. Modern wizards even rarely used Pensieves to sort through their memories; the daily mental clearing that was extremely common among ancient wizards now seemed so sinister to modern witches and wizards.
"You?" Lockhart looked at Tonks in mild surprise. "You just watch from the side. Scrimgeour sent you here to keep an eye on me, record everything I, the Special Envoy, do, and then file it away. Simple as that."
Simple? Tonks felt her composure slipping. How was she supposed to record something when she had no idea what Lockhart was doing? She wanted to ask, but seeing the terrifying scene of Lockhart casting spells, she just wondered if speaking up during his dangerous magical experiment would sound more like an interrogation. And she certainly didn't dare interrogate him.
No one knew how truly shocked and fearful she had been last time, when she escorted Lockhart to the Ministry and they were attacked by hundreds of dark wizards on the way. She had already resigned herself to dying in the line of duty, then watched Lockhart wield powerful and terrifying magic, snuffing out one living soul after another. People get scared. After witnessing a scene where you could be casually crushed like an insect, with just a slight misstep leading to your own demise, genuine fear sets in. In fact, many Aurors felt a profound dread of Lockhart. In that situation, many Aurors even despairingly wondered if Lockhart would just kill them all too, since criminals killing Aurors was perfectly normal, wasn't it? 'Dangerous fellow' – that's what many Aurors would secretly call Lockhart afterwards.
"R-right…" Tonks swallowed, nervously grabbing the nearby file, but with no intention of actually writing anything.
"However, your question did remind me," Lockhart said, sizing Tonks up. "Care for a magical adventure?" He was used to the Hogwarts way, eager to share his magical escapades and give others a chance.
"Huh?" Tonks instantly regretted speaking.
"Stand a bit closer," Lockhart said with a gentle smile. "Come and see this. It's 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 unquestionable authority. She opened her mouth to say something but ultimately just shuffled her feet closer.
"Good, just stand there." Lockhart raised his wand again, turned to Madam Mary, and nodded. "You may begin."
Boom!
A silent, expanding soul shock resounded. The swirling, writhing silver threads before them rapidly expanded, bursting forth with a multitude of thought-lightning, surging wildly and aggressively throughout the room.
Creak, creak~
Tonks seemed to hear the strange creaking of broken wooden windows being buffeted by an outdoor gale, echoing from deep within a long corridor. Then her heart pounded as if it would burst from her throat, her entire mind twisting into a chaotic mess, ultimately dragged in by an irresistible force.
In the instant she was pulled, she faintly heard Lockhart's excited shout, "Haha, that's it! That's it! The power of Apparition! So it's not spatial movement, it's time displacement caused by mental distortion!"
What did that mean? Tonks didn't understand.
But she soon felt it.
She saw a pale, strong arm reach out from a voluminous wizard's robe, lightly gripping a wand, and with a gentle flick, stir the chaotic, twisted mass.
Boom!
Her world suddenly went silent. When her mind recovered enough to process what her eyes were seeing, she was startled to find herself facing dark, chilling bars.
This was… Azkaban! And inside a cell, at that.
She quickly looked around, somewhat horrified, carefully discerning her surroundings. Finally, she confirmed from the faces of several prisoners in the opposite cells that her location was precisely the cell where Bellatrix had been imprisoned!
How could this be possible?! Apparition was absolutely forbidden in Azkaban! This had to be an illusion!
Indeed, she saw a very abrupt shadow appear in the corridor ahead, something that couldn't possibly be in Azkaban. A shaggy black dog, walking with light steps.
"What is this…?"
Before she could ask, her mind twisted again. She felt as though she was in an extremely chaotic but somehow orderly vortex. This really did feel a bit like the power of Apparition, but there were some differences from how she usually Apparated.
Just then, the arm holding the wand reappeared before her, waving gently again.
Boom!
Her vision cleared enough to distinguish objects once more, and she gasped, instinctively taking a step back. She had just appeared at the edge of a towering battlement, nearly 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 another illusion! Yes, she was absolutely certain. Hogwarts did have places where Apparition was allowed, but that was the Covered Bridge. Apart from there, there was no way to Apparate directly to other locations; it simply wasn't permitted!
Just then, she seemed to hear someone speaking behind her.
—"I worship you so madly…" This was an excited girl's voice.
—"Prove it to me!" This was a wizard's voice, deep and carrying an indescribable wickedness.
She turned to confirm, seeing Madam Mary, who was holding the Time-Turner, also looking utterly bewildered. They exchanged a glance, but before they could say anything, her vision plunged into chaos again. This time, the confusion began to feel truly disorienting.
"Professor Lockhart…" Tonks seemed to hear Madam Mary's exclamation, "The Time-Turner can't withstand this magic anymore!"
After a long while, the chaotic distortion suddenly halted.
An arm waved the wand gently again, and Lockhart's calm voice came through, "It's alright, we've arrived at our destination."
Her mind rapidly revived, constantly analyzing the information from her body, thoughts, hearing, sight, and all other senses, and the entire world became still once more.
Beep, beep, beep~
Tonks found herself by a window. Hearing a sound, she looked outside to a Muggle street. A traffic accident seemed to have occurred, and many cars were stuck, honking frantically.
"Blast them, blast those Muggles! They'll disturb Master! Kreacher hates them!" A house-elf grumbled, approaching the window from deep within the corridor.
"Shhh~" A quiet voice shushed her from behind. She felt a hand suddenly grab the back of her collar, pulling her swiftly backward.
Pop~
A very strange, sticky sensation washed over her. Tonks felt as if her entire body had sunk into a quagmire, sticky and sluggish. Or rather, she felt like she had become a twisted, vaguely human-shaped shadow on the wall. She wanted to struggle, but seeing the house-elf quickly approaching, she immediately stopped moving.
Soon, the house-elf walked past. It seemed to notice nothing; in the dark corner of the corridor wall nearby, three eerily twisted human figures mottled the wall, looking so strange and inconspicuous.
This was a Dark Arts spell Tom had taught Lockhart, capable of sealing people into walls—one of the more common combat techniques used by Aurors during Grindelwald's time. Now, due to political reasons, this Dark Arts spell had been banned by the Auror Office.
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