The slacker professor at Hogwarts

Chapter 85 The Adventure Begins: The Old Father's Testimony (Part 2)

Białowieza Primeval Forest!

This pristine temperate forest ecological reserve in Europe is a nature reserve jointly promoted by the Muggle United Nations and the International Confederation of Wizards. It spans the border of two Muggle countries and is mostly composed of evergreen and broad-leaved forests, covering a vast area.

This area has many protected areas for magical animals, and due to historical issues, there are also many resource-rich areas in the forest that were once occupied by ancient wizarding families.

The occupation of such resource lands is not like that of Muggles, where powerful forces are needed to protect the territory, or where everyone abides by a contract to draw boundaries. No, wizards rely on magic.

Magic like Hogwarts Castle.

It cannot be marked or explored. Those not permitted to visit by magic cannot see anything at all. Even if Muggles and wizards happen to pass by, they will only think that it is a forest with nothing in it.

Such a place is obviously inaccessible by conventional means.

Lockhart and Snape led the students of the Duel Club, first through the school fireplace to the Crabbe family ancestral home.

He had just stepped out of the fireplace when a disheveled, seemingly insane witch rushed towards him.

He angrily grabbed Lockhart by the collar and yelled.

"Where's my Vincent? Where's my poor Vincent?!" she cried, screaming angrily. "We sent him to Hogwarts, and you just let him get into this mess, and you won't even let me see him!!!"

Her gaze darted around, and before Lockhart could say anything, she looked at Draco, who stood to the side with a blank expression. "Young Master Malfoy, you said you would take good care of Vincent. Did you keep your word?"

Draco couldn't answer; he just stood there, his neck stiff and panting.

Just then, a chubby middle-aged man rushed over anxiously; it was none other than old Crabbe, shouting, "What are you doing, you crazy woman! Let go of Professor Lockhart!"

He lunged forward, grabbing his wife's waist and pulling her back. Seeing her struggle frantically, he shouted, "Professor Lockhart is here to find a way to save Vincent, do you understand?"

"Really?" the witch exclaimed in surprise, her face beaming with joy, her anger turning into ecstasy in an instant.

She kept bowing and scraping to Lohart, saying, "Thank you so much, thank you so much, please save my son!"

Perhaps feeling ashamed of his wife's behavior, old Crabbe pulled and coaxed her back into the house while whispering words of comfort.

When she came back, she apologized repeatedly, "No—I'm sorry, she's always been like this, she would die without Vincent."

Lockhart shook his head, unconcerned. "If something happened to my child, I would be more anxious than anyone else."

Old Crabbe sighed. "I really hope everything goes well for you, otherwise I don't know what this family is like."

As he spoke, he looked at Snape pleadingly, "Severus, for the sake of the past, help me."

Snape simply grunted indifferently, "Lead the way."

The way to the Crabbe family's rainbow fish farm was quite special. Everyone first came to a fire dragon statue in the backyard of Crabbe's ancestral home, where old Crabbe asked everyone to touch the second to last tooth on the lower right side of the dragon's mouth.

This was clearly made into a door key, and after a dizzying spin, everyone found themselves in a dilapidated house that looked abandoned.

The house still retains traces of its former glory, and some exquisite and simple decorations can still be discerned on the mottled walls.

Old Crabbe poured a large bucket of Floo Powder into the large fireplace in front of the wall, and immediately green flames ignited, constantly flashing with golden electricity.

This is clearly not a conventional fireplace.

He took a crystal ball the size of a baby's fist from his pocket and handed it to Lockhart, holding it up to his own eyes as a gesture, "There, light a campfire, look at it, and you'll see a fireplace appear."

Lockhart quickly took it; he couldn't lose this thing.

But at that moment, old Crabbe suddenly grabbed his hand, his eyes filled with hope, "It must work! My son, my son, Vincent, he, save him."

Lockhart sighed and nodded solemnly. "I'll do my best!"

"Crawb—" Snape stared intently at his 'former colleague,' his eyes filled with scrutiny. "Aren't you coming in with us?"

Old Crabbe quickly pointed to the gate of the dilapidated house, "Safe house, the magic has failed, someone needs to guard the fireplace, all that's left of the Crabbe family is me, my wife, and Vincent."

Snape and Lockhart exchanged a glance, and seeing the other nod, they pushed aside Harry Potter, who was eager to try, and stepped into the green flames of the fireplace first.

The flames surged, and he quickly disappeared from sight.

"Children, follow Professor Snape. I'll be the last one." Lockhart beckoned the young wizards to go in as well, though old Crabbe was still saying ingratiating things and holding his hand tightly.

To tell the truth.

He had just experienced the same situation once.

"Don't worry, it will be alright. If all else fails, Professor Sprout's mandrake can be used to make medicine to save the child." That was all he could say to comfort him.

Old Crabbe shook his head. "Lucius said that the master is purging traitors and won't let us off the hook."

Six months is too long; we can't wait.

Ok.

My fault.

Lockhart felt a little embarrassed for scaring the other party earlier. Old Gore and Old Crabbe seemed to have some intellectual disabilities, and bullying such fools would not bring any pleasure.

The fact that the other party cares so much about their family makes one sigh.

"Go on, go on," old Crabbe beckoned Lockhart inside, drew his wand, and sat down on a sofa in front of the fireplace, staring intently toward the door.

"My wife and I will wait for you to come out."

Row.

Lockhart was willing to believe old Crabbe not only because of the love the old man showed for his son, but also mainly because Boggart clearly sensed the sincerity in old Crabbe's emotions.

At least in this matter, it's reliable.

Soon, he stepped onto the fireplace, and as the green flames rose, a flash of light appeared before his eyes, and he found himself in a forest.

It must be said that the user experience of the Floo Fireplace is far superior to that of Portkeys or Apparitions.

He listened to the excited shouts of the young wizards as he walked out of the woods. A vast, boundless lake appeared before him, and the fresh air made him feel refreshed.

The seemingly endless rainy season at Hogwarts for the past six months has suddenly given way to a refreshing and invigorating scene, making one feel instantly refreshed.

Snape approached, wand in hand. "I've checked; there are no other wizards here. It's safe for now."

Lohat nodded, released his companions to guard the little wizard, looked around at the surroundings, and snorted, "Forget about wizards, I didn't even hear the birdsong and insect chirps that a forest should have."

This is the "Forest Darling's" keen perception of the state of the forest.

The forest and lake before him appeared to be such a beautiful natural landscape, but to Lockhart, they were a desolate and gloomy scene.

It was as if no life had ever visited, so even the lush trees and the shimmering lake looked somewhat unreal.

What caused this?

do not know.

This is the biggest challenge of Dark Magic Creature Defense: it's not simply about knowing how to use the "Funny Funny" spell to deal with Boggarts, nor is it simply about knowing how to use the "Restore Human Form Charm" to deal with werewolves, but about figuring out exactly what kind of Dark Magic creature it is.

After all, the Restoration Charm is useless against a Boggart that has turned into a fire dragon, and the Hunchback Charm is useless against a ruthless person who transforms on the night of a full moon. If you don't know what the enemy is, sometimes dark magic creatures can even be described as unsolvable.

Different Defense Against the Dark Arts specialists have different approaches to this.

Lockhart had learned from Dumbledore early on that the problem here might be caused by dark magic creatures or "magical cloaks," and based on his own abilities and resources, he had a contingency plan.

That is to fight against dark magic creatures from the dimension of the mind.

This angle is a bit off-the-beaten-path; it requires a specific mental strength to counter it.

Fortunately, the helpers he brought with him had been training this power—the Guardian Spell—for some time now.

He gripped his wand, sensing the messages emanating from the forest, and his expression became knowing. "Looks like old Crabbe has a long wait ahead of him."

Upon hearing this, Snape immediately became alert, his expression tense as he watched his surroundings. He gave him a wary look and asked, "Difficult?"

Lockhart gently shook his wand, the rhythm of which seemed to match the gentle breeze, and nodded. "This is likely to be an extremely interesting fairytale adventure."

"Ha, a fairy tale?"

Snape suddenly chuckled coldly, and for some reason, he started to have some resistance to mentioning this to Lockhart. Perhaps he also realized that once he embarked on this magical path, he probably wouldn't be able to stay in the past anymore.

He was afraid that if he continued onward, he would never be able to remember what that beautiful figure looked like again.

He instinctively scoffed, "Did you think it was a fairy tale just now, seeing old Crabbe pleading like that?"

"Why not?" Lockhart replied with a smile. "At the behest of his desperate old father, the hero and his friends embark on an adventure. That's the typical fairy tale adventure opening."

As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly tapped his wand lightly.

A beam of emerald green light instantly spread out from the tip of the wand, swirling and rolling outwards.

Within the green light, a scene vaguely emerges that is similar to but completely different from the surrounding environment.

It's like using a cleansing spell to clean an oil painting that's been covered by a layer of paint; as the top layer peels off, the true image of the painting underneath is revealed.

The verdant light enveloped the landscape rapidly spreading outwards, soon reaching the spot where Snape was standing.

He quickly dodged the branches of a large tree that suddenly appeared above his head, stepping on the ground littered with tiny white bones, and frowned as he looked at the building that vaguely appeared at the end of the light's reach. "What is this?"

"Telepathy, a spellcasting trick that Dumbledore taught me. I also asked the forest breeze to build a bridge for us to communicate, allowing me to communicate telepathically with the dark magical creatures hiding here."

"Then a magical, psychedelic effect from the forest miasma was added on top, and the mental world of the dark magic creature unfolded before me."

Lockhart casually explained, "Simply put, by standing next to me, you can embark on an adventure with me to solve it."

As he spoke, a slight smile played on his lips. He glanced back at Snape and said, "The fairytale adventure begins here. Severus, would you like to come along?"

"I think I need to remind you that dark magic creatures are not the same as magical creatures or other magical beings."

The power of dark magic is enough to devour the soul; will your guardian angel truly protect your spirit?

Snape scoffed. "You're becoming more and more like one of those crazy old witches, talking too much nonsense!"

Lockhart burst into laughter, looking at the young wizards who had gathered around him. "Children, follow in my footsteps!"

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