"Then why are you staring at me?"
Lockhart found Andrews' reaction somewhat hard to understand, but he didn't think too much of it.
Andrews simply brushed it off with a perfunctory excuse.
"It's a matter of politeness, isn't it? When talking to someone, maintaining eye contact shows sincerity."
His explanation seemed reasonable enough, and Lockhart didn't dwell on it. Instead, he continued chatting enthusiastically with Andrews, telling him how close he was with his cousin Angelo and how they had traveled together in Albania for a long time.
After receiving Andrews' letter, Angelo, who had other matters to attend to, was temporarily unable to meet him. So, he had asked Lockhart to find Andrews and pass on his greetings.
"Did you build all these houses?"
Seeing the row of brand-new wooden houses, Lockhart's face was full of amazement.
Before Severus left, he had clearly warned Andrews not to reveal anything about their presence here to Lockhart.
Therefore, when asked this question, Andrews simply nodded.
"Yes, with Lulu's help, I organized this group of trolls and assisted them in building these houses."
"Lulu?" Lockhart used a curious smile to mask the greed hidden deep in his eyes, "Is that the troll Angelo mentioned, the one who traveled across Europe with you?"
By then, Andrews had already called Lulu over and introduced him to Lockhart.
Lulu just scratched its head. It had been reminded beforehand not to say too much, so it didn't engage in further conversation with Lockhart.
After night had completely fallen, Andrews finished preparing dinner and invited Lockhart to join him, which Lockhart gladly accepted.
Having found Andrews, Lockhart was in no hurry to make his move.
His specialty was, without a doubt, the Memory Charm. However, no matter how powerful a Memory Charm was, it couldn't completely replace Legilimency in extracting memories directly from a wizard's mind.
Therefore, in the meantime, he had to coax all of Andrews' travel and adventure experiences out of him. Once these stories were substantial enough to be compiled into a book, he would launch a surprise attack, using the Memory Charm to erase his memories and weave an entirely set of false ones.
During dinner, Lockhart continuously tried to cozy up to Andrews, claiming that he himself was quite accomplished in the study of trolls.
Yet, with just a few simple sentences, Andrews gauged the level of the wizard before him, realizing he was just boasting.
This lowered Andrews' opinion of Lockhart considerably, leading him to believe that this so-called famous adventure novelist wasn't all that he was cracked up to be.
But Lockhart clearly didn't care what Andrews thought of him. He just enthusiastically expressed his desire to hear Andrews recount how he met Lulu, how they traveled across Europe, and all the various adventures they had during that time.
This request raised Andrews' guard.
Because Lockhart's seemingly ordinary requests were all within Severus's predictions, and how to satisfy Lockhart's demands was also one of the key techniques Severus had taught him.
Soon, Andrews organized his words and began telling Lockhart about how he and Lulu met in Norway.
But he had barely started when Lockhart excitedly interrupted him.
"Please, wait a moment, Pique!" He had been calling Andrews by his name since they first met, and now he pulled out a thick notebook and a quill from his suitcase.
That quill was clearly no ordinary tool… it was a Quick-Quotes Quill capable of automatic writing.
"You don't mind if I record some of the exciting parts of your story, do you? You know I'm a highly talented writer! Your experiences will become inspiration for my writing. Of course, when I turn these stories into text, I will definitely cite their source and settle the copyright issues with you beforehand."
Lockhart acted as if he had considered all the follow-up matters and wouldn't let Andrews suffer any losses.
Hearing this, Andrews didn't see anything wrong with it. He was, after all, an adventurer, not a writer, and had no concept of so-called creative copyright.
He didn't pay much attention to Lockhart's note-taking either and simply continued recounting how he and Lulu met.
Hearing that it was Lulu who had saved him and that they had together discovered the unusual nature of that lake, Lockhart grew more and more excited. He keenly felt that this was an excellent opening for a story.
It wouldn't even need much embellishment from him to be turned into an eye-catching work!
However, just as he was getting more and more absorbed in the story, which had reached the point where Andrews and Lulu were about to follow the clues and find the dark wizard's lair, the narration suddenly stopped.
This left Lockhart feeling like a starving man who could only smell the food but couldn't eat the real thing… his whole body became uncomfortable.
"Why did you stop? Pique, what happened next? Where did you find that dark wizard? How did you capture him!"
But Andrews didn't tell him the ending of that story. Instead, he deliberately started being evasive.
"Don't be impatient, Mr. Lockhart. How about you first listen to another adventure Lulu and I had? It's even more exciting and perilous. I remember it was in Iceland..."
He almost seamlessly switched to telling a second story. At first, Lockhart was still itching to know what finally happened in the previous story, but the new tale Andrews began telling recaptured his attention.
The Quick-Quotes Quill swiftly moved across the notebook, also began recording this brand-new adventure.
But just like with the story of how the man and the troll met, Andrews stopped again at the most critical juncture of the story.
This was more than Lockhart could bear.
"Pique! You can't play with me like this! I'm a very good listener, aren't I? You need to tell me the complete story, not keep me in suspense like this!"
Andrews observed his reaction. He pretended to ponder for a moment, then used the words Severus had taught him to say to Lockhart.
"Of course you're a great listener, Lockhart. I'd really like to tell you the whole story, but... it's not that I'm unwilling now, it's that I've encountered a problem and need someone to help me."
Lockhart was no fool; on the contrary, he was a shrewd man. He certainly understood Andrews' implied meaning.
"What do you want me to help you with?"
Andrews looked at him earnestly.
"You're a celebrity in Britain, right?"
"Of course." Lockhart would never deny that.
"You've received the Order of Merlin, Third Class, you're a famous bestselling author, an honorary member of the Dark Force Defence League... so you must know many powerful wizards."
Andrews praised Lockhart's reputation.
Lockhart was thoroughly enjoying it.
"Ah, you're not wrong. Albus Dumbledore treats me as a guest of honor, the current British Minister for Magic, Millicent Bagnold, invites me to every gathering, and even Severus Snape, the prodigal son who's recently been making waves in Britain… we're very close. It was on my advice that he saw the light and decided to contribute more to the Wizarding World!"
Andrews showed no reaction to the first two names, but when Lockhart mentioned Severus, his expression clearly turned strange. He looked Lockhart up and down… from these statements, he had already formed a basic impression of the wizard before him.
A complete blowhard, someone who could lie without batting an eye!
But having an impression was one thing, Andrews still needed to finish what he had to say.
"In that case, could you help me find a wizard who is an expert in Memory Charms? It doesn't need to be someone on the level of Dumbledore or Se… er, Snape. Just someone with deep knowledge of the Memory Charm would do."
Hearing this, Lockhart's expression changed slightly. He didn't answer immediately but instead scrutinized Andrews with a cautious gaze.
Andrews appeared very frank, not avoiding his stare at all.
After staring at him for a while, the suspicion in Lockhart's eyes gradually faded.
He was certain he had never had any contact with Andrews before and had never let any rumor about his proficiency with Memory Charms spread publicly.
This adventurer suddenly asking him to help find a wizard skilled in Memory Charms was probably just a coincidence, not because he had sensed something.
Thus, a smile returned to Lockhart's face and he asked, "What do you need a wizard skilled in Memory Charms for?"
Andrews pointed honestly at the trolls who, having eaten their fill, were comfortably sleeping in the newly built wooden houses.
"Due to the expansion of the Dragon Nature Reserve, I just relocated them from the valley. But these creatures are stupid, so they still want to return to their old home and compete with the dragons for territory. I was hoping you could help me find an expert in Memory Charms to erase their memories of their old home in the valley."
"Wouldn't a regular Memory Charm work?" Lockhart asked.
Andrews shook his head.
"Troll brains are different from humans'. Their brains are very small. A regular Memory Charm would just turn them into idiots who remember nothing. It has to be a specialist in this field."
After understanding Andrews's need, Lockhart's reservations completely vanished. The smile on his face became even more genuine.
"Well, you've come to the right person, Pique! You don't need anyone else… I am an expert in Memory Charms myself!"
Hearing this, Andrews just looked at him skeptically.
This suspicion wasn't feigned. From the beginning until now, Andrews had heard who-knows-how-many tall tales from Lockhart. Who knew if he was telling the truth now or not?
Seeing the doubt in his eyes, Lockhart confidently flashed his perfectly white teeth.
"Ha! You can doubt me on anything else, but this, you don't need to doubt!"
Lockhart had clearly already made all his plans. After obtaining all the adventure stories from Andrews, he would directly ambush him, use the Memory Charm, and delete all of Andrews' memories of meeting him.
He didn't need to worry at all about Andrews later spreading news of his proficiency with Memory Charms.
"I can give you a demonstration right now."
Lockhart stood up, ready to get to work. He walked up to one of the wooden houses, and together with Andrews, went inside.
The conditions for the troll inside weren't good enough for it to sleep on a bed, and it was still lying on a pile of dry grass. The biggest advantage of the house was that it provided shelter from wind and rain.
"Besides deleting their memories of living in the valley, do you need to implant any other memories?" Lockhart inquired.
"If you can make them believe they've lived here since birth, that would be even better."
Hearing this request, Lockhart immediately raised his wand.
"It couldn't be easier!"
As he spoke, he pointed his wand at the small head of the troll and uttered the incantation.
"Obliviate!"
His casting of the Memory Charm was sustained. After the spell took effect on the troll, the creature seemed to be dreaming of something.
Its large feet shuffled restlessly, and then it turned over.
After a full twenty minutes, Lockhart finally completed the erasure of this troll's valley memories and weaving a new set of memories about growing up on this riverbank grassland since childhood, then he put away his wand.
"Success!"
Andrews, half-believing and half-doubting, called Lulu over and had it wake the troll up. Then, using Troll language, he had Lulu ask it some questions.
The troll seemed to have waking grumpiness when first roused, but after Lulu smacked it on the head, it became docile.
Lulu asked a question, and it answered one.
In the end, just as Andrews had requested of Lockhart, it now had no memory of ever living in any valley.
It only believed it had been by the river since childhood and had never left!
This made both Lulu and Andrews extremely happy.
Only by reaching this step could the migration be considered a complete success.
Andrews was unstinting in his praise and admiration for Lockhart. Never confident in his own magic and never having displayed his Memory Charm skills before others, suddenly receiving such praise gave Lockhart a peculiar sense of euphoria.
But he clearly still remembered his ultimate goal.
By this time, Andrews was already thumping his chest, guaranteeing that as long as Lockhart helped modify the memories of all twenty-plus trolls in the camp, he would definitely tell all about his adventures in Europe over the years!
This also filled Lockhart with motivation. That very night, he went on to modify the memories of five more trolls before finally resting under Andrews's arrangements.