Chapter 169: Voldemort's Deal
"Corban Yaxley..."
Lockhart's previously languid expression tightened, his gaze sharp. "He tried to kill me!"
"Tom!" He stood up, looking directly at the other man. "You tell me, if someone tried to kill you, would you let them go?"
"Don't call me Tom!" Voldemort snarled furiously, emanating an incredibly agitated feeling for some unknown reason.
This might be because of vague, unclear images suddenly surfacing from the depths of his soul memory, imbued with intense, genuine regret, causing him great aversion.
Or it might be the anxious irritation of losing control over the future. Prophecy, time, destiny—these inexplicable magical domains made him, the 'most fearsome dark wizard in history,' somewhat unable to cope.
Of course, it could also be the Doxies, those Dark magical creatures that had quietly burrowed into his somewhat compromised transformed body from the corners of this room.
He tried his best to suppress the chaotic thoughts in his mind, emptying it to avoid their influence.
But such an approach was clearly futile.
No sooner had one worry left his brow than another entered his heart.
When his thoughts retreated from his conscious mind to his subconscious, he didn't even react. In the past, if anyone dared to call him by his given name, he would instinctively draw his wand and immediately make an aggressive, reflexive move.
He didn't.
He just stared coldly at Lockhart.
Lockhart spread his hands. "Alright, Voldemort, let's return to a peaceful atmosphere of communication, shall we? I think it would be very helpful for both of us."
Voldemort said nothing.
"You mentioned a deal earlier..." Lockhart's attitude was sincere.
In fact, Corban was of no use to him anymore. The only remaining "waste utilization" would be to research his lycanthropy, but that would be better done by Remus Lupin. He had left a backdoor in Corban's soul and actually hoped the fellow would return to Voldemort.
Corban was not frightening; Voldemort was genuinely dangerous.
As Lockhart actually lived in this wizarding world, he needed some contingencies against the Dark Lord, who possessed too many bizarre methods.
"What are you offering me in exchange?"
"I must remind you, Corban tried to kill me. You can't just offer me something insignificant to fob me off; I won't agree to that."
Voldemort slowly raised his hand.
Emerald green flames surged from the fireplace behind him, accompanied by an eerie, swirling flow and electric light resembling thought signals, rapidly filling the room.
The book "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" on the small round table floated up, rapidly transforming in the flames, then slowly drifted towards Lockhart.
"Wow~~~"
The Dark Lord in the flames was terrifying, but at this moment, Lockhart paid no attention to the intimidation the other was creating, staring in awe at the scene before him.
He had seen this scene before!
When watching the movie Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them in his previous life, the witch Queenie made an apple pie for the Muggle Jacob. That miraculous scene was, in Lockhart's eyes, the most magical magic in the Harry Potter series.
"Kitchen charms?!?" Lockhart exclaimed involuntarily. "Household magic can be used like this?"
Voldemort's mouth twitched. He really didn't want to admit that the Death Fire spell, which once made his Death Eaters cower in fear, actually had some kitchen magic principles in its internal workings.
Damn it, how did this guy see it at a glance?
"Gilderoy Lockhart, I understand people like you." Voldemort's face, wrapped in layers of bandages, showed no expression, his voice low. "You desire magic, you pursue magic, so the part of the deal I offer is also magic."
"A magic you cannot refuse!"
The book floated before him. Lockhart looked up and clearly saw the title on the cover: "Everlasting Flame of Life."
"It cannot extend your lifespan, but it can keep you eternally youthful, maintaining your physical functions in their most vigorous state until old age and death," Voldemort's voice was full of temptation. "Think of Dumbledore, growing increasingly old and slow, or Nicolas Flamel, who fears breaking a bone just by sneezing. You should know how precious this magic must be."
Lockhart swallowed, his expression very serious. "If it's truly as you say, Corban is utterly unworthy of being traded for such magic. Yes, he's nothing compared to magic like this."
Voldemort chuckled faintly. "This magic has always had a flaw since I invented it, but I won't tell you what that flaw is. So, do you still dare..."
Before he could finish his taunt, Lockhart had already snatched the book floating in mid-air. "Deal!"
This did not mean Lockhart's mind was clouded by greed, but rather because its flaw made the deal equal, thus he agreed.
This man...
Doesn't want to owe me?
Voldemort's brow furrowed. He was displeased with this inexplicably sudden 'old friend.'
He gazed deeply at Lockhart. "Take Corban back to the Ministry of Magic. Report to your superiors that you no longer need this criminal and have them send him to Azkaban."
The emerald flames surged, brightening, enveloping his entire body like a mist.
"You don't need to worry about the rest."
The flames dissipated with a poof.
Voldemort had vanished.
"Wow~" Lockhart exclaimed again. "It even combines the magic of the Floo Network fireplace?"
The ocean of magical knowledge seemed boundless, always containing places that fascinated him. It was so wondrous.
Lockhart clicked his tongue in wonder. After his hidden companions confirmed that no strange magic had been set up in the house and that Voldemort had indeed left, he picked up the book and opened it.
Everlasting Flame of Life
The book was thin. As a magical notebook, it didn't explain every knowledge point with the simple clarity of Lockhart's own books. It contained much obscure and difficult-to-understand content and vocabulary.
Some content that was hard to explain directly in English was even annotated with ancient runes and words from African tribes.
But this wasn't too difficult for Lockhart.
Because he had so deeply absorbed the wisdom of Tom Riddle from the diary Horcrux, having a part of Voldemort's magical thoughts and foundational thinking, reading this book now was akin to advanced learning.
This was a phased achievement of Old Voldemort's exploration in the field of life magic, composed of three parts:
Exploration of the Soul Principles of Magical Portraits and Ghosts.
The Mysterious Relationship Between Soul and Body.
Research on the Magical Bloodline of Pure-blood Wizards.
Every wizard who walks the path of magic has their own magical philosophy that ties everything together, like Lockhart's 'fairytale.'
For Voldemort, that was undoubtedly the magical bloodline.
It was painful for people with different philosophies to read others' works. Lockhart couldn't help but frown at the notion and ideas of 'pure-blood supremacy' throughout the magic notebook.
It was quite curious that Old Voldemort would embrace the idea of 'pure-blood supremacy.' It wasn't just a slogan he came up with to motivate his followers; he actually didn't possess that much political wisdom. On the contrary, it was genuinely a belief he held deep in his heart.
And this firm pure-blood conviction stemmed from his own research into the soul and body.
The book contained many conclusions.
Boiled down, there were only a few key points:
— The soul determines the state of the body.
— The souls of pure-blood wizards are different from the souls of Muggle-born wizards and Muggles; they possess an additional, magical bloodline. (For example, his Parseltongue, a magical bloodline ability passed down through his ancestral lineage.)
— Therefore, he believed that the bodies of pure-blood wizards are fundamentally different from the bodies of Muggles and Muggle-borns.
— Performing resurrection spells using this magical bloodline as an anchor point would make the extremely difficult resurrection spell incredibly easy. And each resurrection would be a 'purification' of the magical bloodline inherent in the physical body.
— The concept of the body constantly maintaining its most vigorous state is, in fact, a method of continuously refreshing the body using the soul as an anchor through magical power. The book described this simple resurrection spell, which involved 'refreshing' oneself, as a pure-blood bloodline purification magic.
That was it.
Just these points.
Lockhart could roughly guess what the so-called flaw was.
Firstly, refreshing the body using the soul as an anchor means that the soul cannot have any problems; otherwise, the refreshed body will also have problems.
For example, a lack of a nose.
Secondly, a lack of a nose might not even be a soul problem, but rather that the so-called 'magical bloodline' cannot truly represent the complete self. Each refresh, bringing a reversion to ancestral traits, might lead the wizard towards a non-human state.
But this was not without a solution.
Lockhart, thinking with his own magical philosophy, considered the transition from a non-human state or even a magical creature state to a wizarding state. Wasn't this precisely the idea behind raising Dark creatures?
The method was simple: participate more in wizarding life and wizarding adventures. This would pull the wizard back into a human state within nature, environment, and society.
For instance—world domination?
Lockhart raised an eyebrow, somewhat understanding Voldemort's reason for completely opposing Dumbledore. He had to do it; otherwise, Voldemort, with his 'Parseltongue,' might truly turn into a 'Serpent King.'
Heh heh...
Interesting.
....
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