novelcrest Chapter 199 I Think
Chapter 199 I Think
Chapter 199 I Think
fate.
The most unpredictable and ever-changing thing in this world.
It's like a master magician, always subtly altering the course of one's life.
In the original timeline, Lockhart, the once-glorious wizard, was turned into a mentally unstable fool by the backlash of his most prized skill, the "Forgetfulness Curse." His fate seemed to be mercilessly mocked and overturned at that moment.
Now, in this brand new world, the script of fate seems to have remained largely unchanged.
Lockhart was still unable to escape the web woven by that mysterious and unpredictable power, and he once again fell into the same tragic situation because of the "Forgetfulness Curse".
Afterwards, Sean reflected on this point, but after much thought, he came up with nothing.
There was a reason why he chose the Oblivion Charm to deal with Lockhart.
If he wanted to frame Lockhart for the murder of the locked room and send him to Azkaban, the Obliteration Curse was more covert and the best choice than the Imperius Curse, which could be detected.
What Sean needs to do next is to use the "False Memory Charm" to implant a false memory into Lockhart's brain.
This was to make Lockhart himself completely believe that he was the murderer.
However, fabricating memories has become a major challenge.
Sean remembered that Riddle had used the "False Memory Charm" twice before.
One time, his object of affection was his uncle Morfin Gaunt, and another time it was the house-elf Hodge.
Riddle used these two spells for the same reason as Sean: to make the target believe that they were the "murderer".
Moffin mistakenly believes she has killed her father, grandfather, and grandmother; Hodge mistakenly believes she has killed her mistress, Hepzba Smith.
From a certain perspective, Sean and Riddle have similarities and differences.
Simply put, he's bad, but not as utterly evil as Riddle, who would stop at nothing to achieve his goals.
He still has room for improvement.
Getting back to the main point, fabricating memories is a very tedious task.
Even someone as powerful as Riddle only altered a small part of these two people's memories. For example, with Hodge, he simply made Hodge believe that he had mixed up the bottles of poison and candy and accidentally killed the mistress.
The memory that he needed to implant and modify was only this small segment.
The locked-room incident has been going on for about half a year now.
During this period, there were several incidents of attacks on the young wizards.
Modifying and implanting such memories into Lockhart's brain would undoubtedly be an extremely demanding task.
And it's easy to give yourself away if you're not careful.
This is easy to understand.
It's like a lie. Glass made from lies, if it has even a tiny crack, will shatter into pieces with the slightest force.
Of course, it can also be understood as the butterfly effect.
Therefore, even if Sean had such immense magical power and ample time to fabricate these memories, he would not choose this method.
The risk is too great.
Then he came up with a brilliant idea.
That is to make Lockhart lose his memory and weave him a vague and false identity—"I am the master of the Chamber of Secrets in Slytherin."
The core of this plan is not only to make Lockhart believe in this fictitious identity, but also to make him completely forget most of what happened in the past school year.
Sean intends to let Lockhart uncover the "truth" bit by bit on his own.
In this process, he will cleverly leave some ambiguous clues, leading Lockhart to become confused while gradually drawing him deeper into this carefully designed fog.
Then, he had Lockhart discover misleading evidence pointing to him as he pursued self-discovery, making him more convinced of this false identity.
People are always willing to believe what they see with their own eyes and what they investigate themselves, aren't they?
To this end, Sean even used a reel to help Lockhart learn Parsley.
Of course, all of this won't take effect immediately, but rather the moment Lockhart wakes up tomorrow morning.
He needs a simple alibi.
If Lockhart suspects that his amnesia is caused by Sean, Sean would be happy to accept it.
Lockhart considers himself the "master of the locked room," so there's no doubt about the nature of his adversary, Sean—a good person who wants to uncover the truth behind the locked room.
Sean was exhausted and covered in sweat after doing all of this.
Sean only breathed a sigh of relief after Lockhart left his office in a daze and he watched Lockhart's desolate figure disappear into the distance.
However, his task for today is not yet finished, and he cannot completely relax.
Because at that moment, his office welcomed its third guest—Mr. Argus Filch.
Seeing Filch's somewhat determined expression, Sean employed his traditional hospitality.
A warm cup of honey lemon black tea.
Sean picked up an exquisite porcelain teapot from the small stove on the table and slowly poured it into a cup of pre-mixed tea bag. The aroma of tea and the freshness of lemon instantly intertwined and filled the entire room.
"Mr. Filch, please have a seat." Sean smiled and gestured, handing Filch a teacup. "Before we begin, let this tea help you relax. I know that first-time visitors are often a little nervous, but please trust me, this is a place where you can speak freely."
Sean emphasized the phrase "speak freely".
However, Filch did not notice the change in Sean's tone. He simply took the teacup with a mischievous grin, nodded gratefully, and took a sip. The warm liquid slid down his throat, seemingly taking away some of his unease.
"Principal Phillips, I..." Filch finally spoke, his voice tinged with hesitation.
"Do you want to be a wizard?" Sean asked bluntly. These almost identical words instantly brought Filch back to the Christmas holidays a few months earlier.
"Do you want to be wizards?" The man standing on the platform asked in a loud and seductive voice to the group of people below, including Wu Juejue.
His gaze swept across everyone's face, as if trying to see through their inner desires and hesitations.
"Imagine being a normal wizard, possessing magic, able to cast spells normally, no longer subject to the contempt and strange looks of others. In this world full of miracles, you would no longer be marginalized, but respected beings."
"So, are you tempted? Do you want to embark on this path full of unknowns and miracles?"
"I want to!" a voice suddenly erupted from the crowd below the stage. Then, like a flame ignited, more voices followed in quick succession: "Me too!" "I've always wanted to!"
The people in the audience had excited glints in their eyes, as if they were deeply captivated by the scene described by the man on the stage.
Some of them, who might have only dared to imagine these things in their dreams before, or even dared not tell others for fear of being ridiculed, now have their suppressed desires and passions surging forth like a tidal wave.
Filch was among them.
Filch's face turned bright red, and his eyes shone with an unprecedented light, as if a blazing fire was burning in his chest, making his heart scorch.
He clenched his fists so tightly that his nails almost dug into his palms. He was so excited that his whole body was trembling slightly, as if an electric current was raging through his body, making him unable to control himself.
This is what he has always wanted.
He had fantasized about this scene countless times in his dreams and prayed silently in his heart countless times, hoping that one day it could truly come true.
He had waited for this day for countless years. Every long day and night, every time he was ridiculed and belittled, only strengthened his resolve to pursue this dream.
The moment the Christmas holidays were announced, he couldn't wait to leave Hogwarts, as if escaping a cage that had bound him for years.
He walked through the bustling Diagon Alley, his heart filled with anticipation and excitement.
When he finally arrived at the registration point for the beginner magic correspondence course offered by Kwikspel, he did not hesitate to hand over the money he had been saving for a long time, to pay for his dreams and future.
Today marks the start of the introductory magic correspondence course.
"Good!" Seeing the reaction of the audience, the man nodded in satisfaction, his voice becoming even more impassioned. "Then, let me guide you on this journey to becoming wizards! We will study together during this time until you become true wizards, mastering the magic that you could only look up to before!"
The audience applauded enthusiastically, and cheers rose and fell.
The man pressed his hands down to signal everyone to be quiet. When all eyes were fixed on him, he spoke, "Now, please take out your textbooks and wands. Our first lesson is about how to properly hold a wand and cast a cleansing spell."
Upon hearing this, Filch quickly pulled out the brand-new textbook and the wand he had specifically bought for this course from his bag.
He carefully stroked the wand, his heart filled with anticipation and excitement.
He was already quite adept at holding the wand.
After all, he had practiced this move tens of thousands of times.
As the man walked down the stage and passed by Filch, he saw Filch's perfectly proper grip on the staff and his eyes revealed admiration.
This kind of gaze was very helpful to Filch.
This also made him somewhat smug.
However... Filch's smugness was quickly replaced by a sudden sense of unease.
Because, after the man finished explaining the technique of the "Cleansing Charm," he clearly saw that some students had already used the spell one after another. The tips of their wands shimmered with light as they easily cleared the green spiritual energy from the podium.
However, when he tried to cast the spell himself, he found that no matter how hard he tried, nothing changed.
His wand seemed to be just an ordinary wooden stick, without any magic flowing through it.
Filch began to feel anxious; his heart raced and his palms became sweaty.
He gripped the wand tightly, his fingers turning slightly white from the force.
He chanted the spell over and over again, pronouncing each syllable precisely, but the result was the same as countless failures over the decades—the wand did not react at all, like a silent bystander, coldly watching his struggle and helplessness.
At first, he could comfort himself by saying that he was too nervous or had not yet fully adapted to the new environment.
He told himself that this was only temporary, and that he would definitely succeed if he practiced a few more times.
But when the second and third lessons came, and his classmates had mastered more advanced magic and could easily cast all sorts of wonderful spells, he still couldn't even use that damned "cleansing spell".
By then, he had come to terms with reality.
This psychological shift from being full of hope to falling into boundless despair had become exceptionally familiar to him.
Over the past few decades, he has experienced countless ups and downs, each time like a roller coaster ride, plummeting from the peak to the trough.
He doesn't need to miss this opportunity.
So he decided to refund the money.
Another student accompanied him to get a refund. Filch learned from the nameplate on his chest that his name was "Henry".
Filch filled out the refund application form, while Henry waited quietly by his side.
However, when they submitted their application forms to the finance manager, they were rejected.
The person in charge told them that, according to the school's regulations, tuition fees are non-refundable once enrolled.
Filch and Henry were both stunned; they hadn't expected to encounter such an obstacle.
Filch tried to explain his situation, but the person in charge just looked at him coldly and repeated the unchangeable rules.
Filch felt a surge of anger and helplessness, while Henry beside him trembled, his face deathly still, unable to utter a single word.
What is the real reason why neither of them is being given a refund?
They are Squibs, losers in the magical world.
This clear-headed realization caused them pain and sorrow.
ridiculous.
This is an assessment from someone who is financially responsible.
What level are you at, using the same magic as me?
Now, the same opportunity has presented itself to Filch once again.
His answer was... Filch didn't hesitate at all, as if he had rehearsed it thousands of times in his mind, he said to Sean with all his might, "I think."