A handful of young wizards soared high above, gazing down at the seemingly boundless and terrifying sea of fire that raged above the clouds. They all swallowed hard, a bit nervously, and flew closer to Lockhart.
Their arrival clearly disturbed the professor's magical experiment. After banishing the lightning and mountain fire for them, Lockhart didn't speak further, merely focusing on the waves of his wand.
The wondrous storybook floated before him, a golden light extending from its pages to create a conduit between Lockhart and the book.
Streaks of lightning, guided by his wand, plunged into the conduit, and the monstrous Fiendfyre beasts rushed into the passage, too. None of them had any idea what Professor Lockhart was doing.
The young wizards were well-behaved, waiting quietly at his side.
Finally, during another pause in his magical experiment, Lockhart waved his wand to free Crabbe, whom the young wizards had overlooked, from his magical binds. He then summoned some dry kindling from the Forbidden Forest below, which stacked itself and floated in the air before them.
"Vincent, help me light the Soul Bonfire. I require magical power beyond my own."
As he spoke, he looked at the other young wizards, his gaze sweeping over Hermione, Harry, Ron, Draco, and Goyle, before ultimately saying nothing further.
In truth, the young wizards all realized what this meant—none of them, save for Crabbe, could offer Lockhart any assistance.
This wounded the pride of the ambitious young wizards.
Lockhart, however, had no time to consider their feelings, his attention once again fixed on the storybook before him.
His magical experiment had reached its most crucial point.
In fact, this magical experiment of his wasn't terribly complicated—he simply needed to repeat to Corban Yaxley what Tom Riddle had previously done to Ginny.
But it wasn't easy.
Ginny was a first-year witch; even with all her talents, her magical education had only just begun, let alone her journey down a true magical path.
Corban Yaxley, on the other hand, was among the first tier of Death Eaters, his power comparable to Aurors like Kingsley, Professor McGonagall, or Professor Snape.
Not to mention, as a member of the Yaxley family, 'Time Explorers' as they called themselves, he possessed abilities related to the mind that had been meticulously trained since childhood, raising the difficulty to an exceedingly high level.
How, then, was he to proceed?
The answer was simple—find a solution based on the subject's characteristics.
Thus, this magical experiment became quite intriguing. Lockhart appeared within the storybook at unpredictable intervals, occasionally playing the roles of Corban or Tom, intervening in the experiment, and guiding them.
And so, Corban embarked on a path of self-redemption.
He was guided by this mysterious diary into time itself, seeking a way to reverse his transformation into a werewolf.
Tom, too, was drawn by the value Corban exhibited, secretly influencing Corban's soul even as he began helping Corban change his life through magical adventures.
This had proven to be an effective approach.
Corban was a powerful wizard, carrying all the accumulated experience of his family's 'Time Explorer' heritage, and while Tom Riddle was still merely a nascent Dark Lord, he had already displayed the wisdom of a top-tier wizard and a mastery of magic and the realm of life.
With the two combined, Corban would ultimately find redemption on his journey through time.
The only problem was...
The wicked Lockhart had joined in.
Lockhart added a touch of fairytale whimsy to their adventurous journey, perhaps by throwing in a dozen or so wizarding adventure memories from his own mind to liven things up.
And then, something extraordinary happened.
Time truly was altered.
Or rather, reality was shrouded in a mist, the truth concealed, mystery enveloping everything, making it inscrutable.
"Mists of History"—a fascinating term within the domain of time.
Many wizards believed the past unchangeable, but in the eyes of the Yaxley family's Time Explorers, this was not so.
The past indeed could not be altered, but it could be obscured, thus changing reality. This effect was known as 'Mists of History.'
And to make 'Mists of History' have the most genuine effect, one needed to exert a certain influence on reality, thereby guiding the magic of time to erode reality and make a definitive judgment.
"Professor, what are you doing?"
Harry, who could never sit still, finally couldn't bear the endless waiting and curiously asked Professor Lockhart, who seemed to have paused to think.
"Harry!" Hermione glared unhappily at Harry. "You shouldn't disturb the professor now!"
The others, including Ron, also looked at Harry with disapproval.
"It's quite alright," Professor Lockhart, ever so gentle and amiable, smiled and soothed the young wizards. "I'm conducting an experiment, attempting to discover evidence of the Dark Lord's crimes from Corban, through the lens of magic."
"Corban! The Dark Lord!" Harry, as if activated by keywords, became agitated. He pointed at the storybook. "Is that evil wizard in there?"
Lockhart nodded. "It's difficult for me to explain the precise details of the interrogation process; it's quite complex. But I can share some conclusions with you."
His gaze fixed on the pages of the storybook, which shimmered with a golden path, as if peering through the constraints of time and space into the farthest depths. His eyes were distant as he spoke, "He has committed many dreadful deeds in the past."
"The Yaxley family possesses a unique bloodline power that allows them to travel through time. Corban Yaxley, in this generation, has repeatedly returned to the past, pilfering the lives of powerful wizards."
The young wizards gasped in unison. Even if they didn't quite grasp what "pilfering lives" meant, it certainly sounded exceedingly wicked.
"Indeed," Lockhart's expression was grim. "He has taken away many people's lives, leaving vast stretches of emptiness in those wizards' histories. Yet, time and the mind are so peculiar; many of these wizards will never realize that a part of their lives is missing."
"The river of time is filled with treasures; the Yaxley family can simply pluck them out. That's what these so-called 'Time Explorers,' full of wickedness, always say."
"They have never recognized their villainous acts as those of robbers and thieves, always believing it's something they've earned through their own abilities, rightfully their own wealth."
"Imagine, your happiest memories are your childhood spent with your parents, but suddenly, one day, you completely lose that part of your life. You forget the wonderful times with your parents; your affections for them grow distant, as distant as if they were strangers."
"Because life, you see, is filled with the emotions, experiences, and everything else a wizard needs."
Lockhart looked at the young wizards with a sigh of profound emotion. "The wizarding world, at times, is both paradoxical and terrifying. Those with kind hearts see its beautiful side, while those with malice see its venomous side."
"How dreadful!" Draco and Hermione, who cared most about their parents, exclaimed in shock.
"Neville!" Ron cried out, and seeing everyone look at him, he quickly said loudly to Harry and Hermione, as if seeking his friends' approval, "He said he forgot everything from his past!"
The young wizards discussed it amongst themselves, then all looked at Lockhart.
Lockhart, however, merely shook his head. "I don't know. The horror of the Time Explorers surpasses anything I imagined. He has committed too many wicked deeds, too many buried in the mists of history."
"Help me spread the word, young wizards."
Lockhart smiled warmly at them. These children were clearly the best conduits to transform the mists of history into established reality, even if it was a false one.
Harry, the Boy Who Lived, goes without saying. Ron and Draco, who were well-liked by many classmates, as well as Goyle and Crabbe who loved to parrot words, and Hermione, who grew anxious upon hearing certain news—they would swiftly disseminate the information throughout the student body, and then it would quickly spread along various social connections to the entire world.
"As an Unspeakable of the Department of Mysteries, I shall submit an application to the Minister for Magic, requesting that any wizards who may have been harmed by Corban Yaxley, this Time Explorer, come forward to the Ministry and identify him."
Lockhart gazed enigmatically at the ever-changing images within the storybook, sighing softly to himself.
"Tom, Corban, I'm truly sorry."
"Your old uncle here, he's a bit of a villain, you see."
"I, Gilderoy Lockhart, in my capacity as an internationally renowned author, a master of magic, an Order of Merlin, Third Class recipient, an honorary member of the Anti-Dark Magic League, and a five-time winner of Witch Weekly's Most Charming Smile Award, assure you all that I will make Corban compensate these wizards!"
Hermione looked nervously at the floating storybook. "Professor, is there a way for those wizards who lost parts of their lives to get them back?"
Compared to punishing the wicked, she was more concerned with helping the victims.
"I'm not certain," Lockhart sighed. "There's a spell called the Obliviate, it might be of some assistance. No one understands that spell better than I do. If there's truly no other way, I will find a method to write down his memories—you know, no one writes better than I do—I'll always find a way to write them for those who lost parts of their lives."
"But this is quite dangerous. The magic of time is exceedingly formidable; it could alter reality."
Lockhart's expression grew distant. "I don't know what might happen if I were to do this."
"Perhaps I myself might be caught in time's dreadful vortex."
"But still..."
"Since I possess the ability to resolve certain matters, then surely this is a mission fate has bestowed upon me, isn't it?"
For the first time, Draco found that Hermione's adoring and infatuated gaze wasn't quite so repulsive, for he realized that not only himself but everyone else was looking at this magnificent professor in the same way.