Chapter 166: Reverse Fairytale
"A Patronus Charm!" Percy answered. "Professor, happiness can dispel worries; we just need to—"
"A Patronus Charm won't work," the simple-minded Crabbe suddenly interjected, cutting off his lengthy explanation.
"Hm?" Percy couldn't help but look at Crabbe.
Crabbe carefully waved his torch, feeling the shadowy parts amidst the flickering light. "Happiness can't completely dispel worries. Happiness is happiness, and worries are worries. Even a dummy like me knows that happiness doesn't solve worries."
"Yes, that's true," Lockhart nodded at Percy. "Happiness can only mask worries, occupying your mind. However, once happiness leaves your thoughts, the Doxy will crawl back in."
Having been deeply involved in the compilation of "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them," Crabbe had indeed learned a few things, even if his performance wasn't as eye-catching as Harry Potter's.
Of course, Crabbe's prolonged immersion in the perception brought by the Soul Fire (spiritual bonfire) also contributed to his heightened and more direct grasp of emotions.
It turns out that when it comes to understanding one's own inner self, intelligent people aren't necessarily better than simpletons.
"Then do you have an answer?" Lockhart asked Crabbe.
Crabbe shook his head. "I can't solve worries either, but I know how to make my mind empty and not think about anything, so the Doxy can't crawl into my head."
A fool has no worries.
That's also a blessing.
Percy, however, couldn't do that. His mind was full of unhappiness, making him most susceptible to Doxies.
So, how to solve it?
They both looked at the professor.
Lockhart casually tossed an apple core. Before it even hit the ground, it vanished under the influence of the Scouring Charm's magic. "You can only find the answer in life. The magic for solving it is within life itself."
"The reason Doxies are classified as Dark creatures rather than mere household pests is that they never have a fixed state, nor a fixed solution."
It's perfectly normal for ordinary mortals to have myriad worries.
He gently drew his wand. The Doxies before him were clearly beyond what these two young wizards could handle; naturally, he had to intervene.
With a gentle wave of his wand, long, shimmering, oily black shadows drifted out from the corner of the wall. They looked as if a large patch of hair had grown from the dark corner, making Percy and Crabbe both gasp in fear and take a step back.
This was an instinctive human fear response.
Dark creatures often provoked such fear.
"Vanish and ascend to the heavens!"
A light tap of the wand.
Surges of orange-red embers flowed. These slender black shadows suddenly twitched and writhed, as if wailing in silent agony.
Soon, they were all violently destroyed.
"I saw it!"
Crabbe suddenly gasped, and seeing Professor Lockhart and Percy looking at him, he quickly gestured with the torch in his hand, frantically waving it. "Over there! I don't know how to say it! But there are many monsters there!"
Lockhart raised an eyebrow, waving his wand again. "Mind Link!"
Whoosh!
Percy, standing beside him, felt as if the back of his head had been struck by a heavy pillow. He floated lightly, pulled forward by a great force.
He wanted to scream in terror, but then saw Professor Lockhart appear amidst the chaotic light and shadows beside him, instantly feeling relieved.
Soon, they appeared in a completely black space.
It was a very eerie, murky space filled with mist, with no sense of up, down, left, or right, and strange, irregularly spinning vortexes everywhere.
"Watch closely."
Lockhart's voice pierced through the mist.
Percy quickly tried to calm himself, finally seeing a faint glimmer in the chaotic mist. The more he focused, the closer the glimmer became, eventually transforming into a gigantic bonfire, like a raging forest fire.
He felt no heat, neither warmth nor cold, yet he could feel soft breezes flowing within the bonfire.
Looking through the bonfire, he finally saw a corner of the room they were in again.
In the corner, strange black shadows were cast on the exterior wall of the small building. Countless eerie black threads constantly wriggled and fell from these black shadows.
Those black shadows had huge goat horns and hooves, their bodies burly and grotesque.
"Demons!"
Percy gasped. Before he could get a good look, he suddenly saw a gigantic werewolf shadow, illuminated by the bonfire, stretch larger and larger, pouncing on these so-called 'demon' shadows.
Its eagerness was as if it had found something delicious.
Whoosh!
His vision returned. Before he could adapt to this strange visual shift, a ball of fire suddenly exploded beside him.
Turning to look, it was Crabbe's torch, now appearing twisted by immense force, covered in broken and damaged marks.
Crabbe seemed startled. After a moment of stunned silence, he looked at the professor, swallowing. "Professor, I'm sorry, I couldn't maintain the Soul Fire."
Yes, he was truly sorry.
He could perceive the previous scene, sensing that the professor had moved to deal with the source of the Doxies, but the Soul Fire he maintained clearly couldn't sustain such a strong magical power change.
"It's fine, it's not your fault."
Lockhart smacked his lips, stroking his chin, his expression shifting slightly. "These demons actually have a kind of Obscurus power?"
One thing could be speculated.
Gellert Grindelwald, in his later years, could teach Aberforth's son, Credence, how to use his own Obscurus power. In their early youth, the three powerful brothers could not help Ariana.
Gellert would search for a solution to Obscuruses, and Aberforth, who cared even more for his sister Ariana, was probably just as haunted by it.
The path of magic truly has no end.
Wizards who truly embark on the magical path might be called 'Magical Masters' by ordinary wizards, but in reality, the gap between them is still immense.
At least Lockhart didn't know how to deal with an 'Obscurus' power. Not to mention the demons the werewolf was about to devour, even the Obscurus-like Patronus energy ball he had created using Tom, he still didn't know how to handle it.
"We are all just on the road."
Lockhart smiled as he looked at the two young wizards. "Never underestimate your own power, and always remain humble, because there are too many things in this world that we cannot do."
He didn't intend to create an image of omnipotence in front of his students; at least, he wouldn't do so now.
Taking a deep look at the outer wall affected by the dark power, Lockhart motioned for the two students to continue working.
In the afternoon, he took the two young wizards to the Muggle world to buy various daily necessities.
Using the cottage's fireplace, they traveled through the Floo Network to a public service fireplace in London. The three walked into the bustling Muggle streets.
"Professor, why aren't we buying these in Hogsmeade Village?" Percy, feeling a bit rushed on the Muggle street, quietly asked.
In the eyes of young Hogwarts wizards, the shops in Hogsmeade Village had everything a wizard needed.
"For anything unrelated to magic, Muggle things are the best," Lockhart said, buying two bottles of soda for the young wizards. Watching them tentatively try to drink, he smiled and asked, "What do you think?"
"Delicious!" Crabbe carefully took a sip, and without being taught, pulled out the straw and drank directly from the bottle. He finished one bottle in a few gulps, let out a loud burp, and eagerly asked, "Can I have another bottle?"
Lockhart laughed and shook his head. "I'll take you to eat Muggle food tonight; you need to save some room."
Crabbe immediately looked forward to it. He no longer feared the surrounding Muggle street filled with people and vehicles; instead, he was full of curiosity.
After all, even if wizards harnessed spiritual power to mature faster, Crabbe was still just a 12-year-old child.
Percy was more reserved. Though he said nothing, he sipped his drink slowly, reluctant to finish it all at once.
He walked a few steps, hesitated for a while, then leaned closer and quietly asked, "Professor, could you buy me another bottle? I want to take it for my sister; she'll definitely love it."
Of course, preferably two bottles.
Well, not because there was also a brother, Ron, or to split with the twin brothers, but for his girlfriend, Penelope Clearwater.
"Me too, me too!" Crabbe immediately raised his hand. "I want to buy some for Draco and Goyle too."
Lockhart burst out laughing, pulling out a wad of pounds from his pocket and handing them to them. "Of course, you can, when we go back. But you'll have to buy them from the Muggles yourselves."
Interacting with Muggles was quite difficult for them.
Let alone Crabbe, who had probably never spoken to a Muggle in his life, even Percy, who grew up in a village mixed with Muggles, never really had the chance to interact with them.
Even though the Weasley family claimed to be Muggle-friendly, their understanding of Muggle things was extremely limited.
For wizards to completely change this terrible state, it would likely require more Muggle-born and half-blood wizards who grew up in Muggle society to reverse the common perception.
The ensuing shopping trip was undoubtedly a cognitive upheaval for the two young wizards.
Muggle technology was developing rapidly; even Muggles themselves might not keep up with the times, let alone these two pure-blood young wizards living in more primitive environments.
Professor Lockhart bought too many varied items, many of which sparked their curiosity and amazement.
They had never imagined that the world had such another interesting side.
Perhaps for Muggles, falling down the magical rabbit hole and arriving in a magical world full of wonders was an interesting fairy tale adventure.
But for these two young wizards, stepping into Muggle streets filled with cars and pedestrians, looking at all sorts of electrical appliances and Muggle creations, was equally an interesting fairy tale adventure.
.....
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