Hogwarts: Harry Returns from Azeroth

Chapter 236, page 235: I am Ron Weasley!
“But I’d better not. Mr. Longbottom is just too stupid. I’m a little afraid that I’ll become stupid too after absorbing his magical talent. So even though he’s easier to catch than you, I’m giving up on him… Well, I have to say it’s a pity for him.”

Lockhart said quite casually, waving his wand and using a Vanishing Charm to wipe away the spittle Ron had spat on the ground.

“Navi isn’t stupid!!” Buzz’s ears could barely hear what Lockhart was saying anymore, but Ron still roared, “He’s a hundred times smarter than you! A hundred times greater!!”

“Him?” Lockhart sneered dismissively. “You know what? Mr. Weasley, your provocation is so low-level that it won’t even make anyone angry—because nobody will think you’re right—ha, Mr. Longbottom is better than me? Hahaha, that’s hilarious.”

“You still have a lot to learn about provocation, Mr. Weasley,” Lockhart said, adopting a professorial air. “Let me teach you what real provocation is—for example, aren’t you curious about what I meant by taking away your talent?”

Lockhart couldn't wait to show it off.

Not talking about this is like buying a beautiful new robe but just leaving it in the closet and never wearing it—it's such a waste... Moreover, there's a unique sense of exhilaration in talking about this in front of the victim who is about to be sacrificed; it's intoxicating.

“That is why you are here. This is a great sacrifice.” Lockhart suddenly opened his arms. “It is because of your selfless sacrifice that this world will have a true protector. You will have an unparalleled honor: to help the great Gilderoy Lockhart become the world’s strongest wizard and reach the pinnacle. I must say, thank you!”

"Are you dreaming?!" Ron couldn't help but laugh out loud, a genuine laugh. "The world's strongest wizard? Did you ask Professor Dumbledore? Did you ask Harry?"

“Oh, what a shallow view.” This time Lockhart didn’t fly into a rage. He shook his finger and said, “Yes, I admit that Headmaster Dumbledore and our Professor Potter do possess talents and powers that most wizards cannot even imagine. So one person’s talent is not enough—then what about two people’s talents? Three people’s? Four people’s? Five people’s?”

“Unlike you young, ignorant, and foolish little wizards, I have been struggling in the magical world for over a decade! Smugglers, poachers... no one knows better than me how vast the gap is between wizards!”

"You think that studying hard will make you more powerful? Ha! What a joke!" Lockhart scoffed. "I can tell you bluntly that every wizard's magical level is determined at birth. No matter how much you study, you can only improve your skills in using magic. But no matter how hard you try, the magical power that an ordinary person can possess is no match for someone like Dumbledore!"

"Yes, the wizard's mind is crucial to the learning and research of magic, but even more crucial is their magic power!" Lockhart shouted fervently, raising his arms. "Those renowned great wizards, whether Dumbledore, Grindelwald, or the Mystic, their magic power, both in quality and quantity, far surpasses that of ordinary wizards, to the point that the power of ordinary wizards' spells is simply no match for theirs! That is the secret to their power!!"

“So, do you understand?” Lockhart took a deep breath. “With enough magic, even a simple Stunning Charm would be enough to defeat a horde of Aurors—once I absorb your magical talents, the great Lockhart will possess power comparable to Dumbledore!”

After Lockhart finished speaking, the entire underground classroom fell into complete silence—everything Lockhart said was too far beyond the students' imagination, so much so that although their ears had heard it, their minds had not yet processed it.

But eventually, they'll realize what's happening.

“Then, then, Professor Lockhart?” a Hufflepuff student asked, his voice trembling with tears. “What will happen to us? What will happen after you take away our magical talents?”

“It might turn into a dud,” Lockhart said casually. “But there’s no need to be sad. Your sacrifice was great.”

Even as he deliberately awaited the impending cries, Lockhart quite pleased himself with using the remaining blood to complete the missing magic circle on the ground.

"Wow! I don't want to become a dud!!"

Now they understood completely. For those who had already experienced the beauty of magic, the most painful thing was to make them unable to use magic again. The students instantly erupted in chaos. Even though they were tied up, they struggled desperately to escape. But unfortunately, Lockhart simply waved his wand slightly to bind them even tighter. Then he ignored their cries and looked at Ron.

"How about it? You're about to become a Squib," Lockhart said deliberately, wanting to hear a plea for mercy from the boy who had been so stubborn just moments before.

“You’ll die a horrible death.” Ron’s voice was surprisingly calm as he opened his already swollen eyes as wide as possible. “I am Ron Weasley, and I’m not afraid of you.”

"How can you not be afraid of me?! You should be afraid of me!!" Lockhart flew into a rage again, repeatedly punching Ron, ignoring the scrapes and bruises on his own fists.

Suddenly, a green halo appeared centered on Ron, enveloping Lockhart as well. The next second, Lockhart screamed in agony!
To the students' astonishment, the swelling on Ron's face was rapidly subsiding—no! To be precise, Ron's injuries were transferring to Lockhart!
"I've been waiting for this moment for so long! Lockhart!" Ron shouted excitedly, his voice even clearer now. "Your biggest mistake was binding me to my totem! Soul Link Totem!!"

Under the influence of this mysterious force, Ron and Lockhart's life force was forcibly divided equally—well, not equally.

Because Ron had not yet mastered this shamanic magic, the green aura not only lasted for less than two seconds before disappearing, but Lockhart's injuries were also far more severe than Ron's, making it impossible for him to redistribute the life force of everyone within range to counteract the powerful damage, as the original Soul Link Totem did.

However, Ron had no intention of sharing the damage with Lockhart, so this side effect of his inadequate magical training actually became a positive one at this moment.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"

It could be said that he had never suffered such a serious injury since birth, especially since such damage was on Lockhart's proud face. Hearing his own voice, which was so weak that even screams were slurred, Lockhart became even more panicked.

He became increasingly angry.

"I want you to die !!"

Without thinking twice, Lockhart scrambled to his feet, eager to teach Ron another lesson. But when faced with Ron's fearless gaze, he hesitated, afraid that another kick would intensify his own pain. How could there be such disgusting magic!
What normal person would learn a spell that involves getting hit first and then transferring the damage to the enemy?!
Lockhart simply couldn't understand the meaning behind the existence of this magic!
"Hahaha, hahaha, hahahahahahahaha!! Go ahead and hit me if you dare! You're not scared, are you, Lockhart!"

The more miserable Lockhart looked, the happier Ron was. He laughed loudly and winked slightly at the door of the underground classroom from a corner that Lockhart didn't notice.

"Damn it, you beast... I'll kill you..."

While using such a vicious curse to numb the waves of pain surging through his body, Lockhart really dared not punch Ron anymore. The throbbing pain all over his body also prevented him from using the Cruciatus Curse to torment Ron. So he could only endure the pain and move the students onto the magic circle.

Listening to Ron's increasingly unrestrained laughter, Lockhart felt incredibly aggrieved—he had only intended to show off before becoming as powerful as Dumbledore, but who would have thought it would turn out like this?

Therefore, Lockhart was unwilling to say any more. He impatiently placed the students one by one on the array diagram, then took a deep breath and began to chant the incantation that had been traded to him by an unknown entity.

"Ered'achor! Havik Revos ill ok mordanas archim maz..."

As Lockhart continued chanting the incantation, the emerald green light in the underground classroom grew stronger. The students' cries and pleas for mercy seemed to accelerate this strange change, and even the air seemed to distort.

"Harry?! You're finally here!!" Trapped in the very center of the magic circle, Ron suddenly turned his head to look behind Lockhart, shouting with delight, "Quickly, kill him! Harry!!"

"!!Archim xi ante maz-re mish...!!"

Lockhart's spell, once started, couldn't be stopped easily. He opened his eyes wide in terror and quickly turned around to look behind him—CRACK!!
Wow!

Lockhart had nothing behind him, but to his side, the wall of the underground classroom near the corridor was suddenly smashed from the outside in. A pair of earth elemental fists tore the wall apart as easily as tearing open a loaf of bread!
Before Lockhart could do anything, he saw Neville Longbottom leap out from behind the earth elemental, carrying a brown totem as thick as his thigh, and swing it fiercely at him—it was right in front of him in the blink of an eye!

Lockhart only had time to hurriedly raise his wand before a flash of red light appeared, and the Split Charm struck the wooden totem. The power of the charm tore it to pieces, but even so, the remaining broken pieces of wood still slammed into him with enough force.

Click! !
A crisp, very clear sound of bone breaking.

“My arm!!”

Lockhart screamed as the force of the impact slammed him into the array beside him. The pain made him scream, and his arm, which was holding the wand, was now hanging in mid-air at an odd angle.

"Destroy the painting on the ground!" Ron only had time to utter that warning.

"I know!" Hermione's voice shrill with tension as she frantically waved her wand. "Tear me apart! Tear me apart!!"

Unexpectedly, when Hermione's spell struck the magic circle on the ground, the Shattering Charm, which was supposed to destroy the classroom floor, seemed to have hit an indestructible wall. The magic runes that were emitting a faint green light remained intact.

"This can't be!! Sand and stones are flying everywhere!!" Hermione exclaimed, "Lockhart's spell clearly stopped!"

A spell that is interrupted halfway through should not be able to play any role. Since Lockhart's spellcasting has been interrupted, even if these magic runes should be protected by magic and could not be destroyed during the spellcasting process, they should no longer exist now.

“A spell? That’s it! My spell!!” Lockhart, pale-faced, clutched his severed arm, repeating the words, yet even he himself felt something was amiss. “I have to continue, but the spell—why? No! Why is it still working?!”

An invisible wind appeared in the underground classroom at some point, and the magic patterns on the ground not only did not dim, but became even brighter.

Snap! !
The space seemed to be distorted. Several old desks piled in the corner of the classroom seemed to have been twisted into two pieces by an invisible hand. This was not even an illusion, because everyone could clearly see that some of the air in the classroom was distorted and became translucent.

"Impossible, how could this be—why is this happening? I clearly stopped casting spells—"

Lockhart watched the changes with a tense expression, muttering to himself intermittently.

He didn't even notice that, at some point, the students who had been bound to the magic circle as sacrifices had stopped screaming, and everyone had subconsciously held their breath and stared at him.

Because Lockhart's voice was gradually becoming hollow, as if another person—or some other creature—was speaking to him, or as if a wild beast was howling, the voice growing deeper and more terrifying.

Seeing that Lockhart seemed to be engrossed in his own world, Hermione gestured repeatedly to the others who had rushed in with her, signaling them to quickly untie the people who were tied up and leave as soon as possible.

(End of this chapter)