Chapter 97
The other three could no longer concern themselves with dealing with Aquila's clones; they took the attacks from Aquila head-on, attempting to knock down Soren in the process. Soren had just cast spells in quick succession and had not yet caught his breath, so he could only activate the protective functions of the Merlin Robe and the Night Star Cloak, dodging while defending.
However, Daphne and Meredith were not idle either; the two girls used Stunning Spells to knock out one opponent each.
Morgadon kept Astoria protected behind him, so he did not make a move.
The only two opponents left were huddled together in a sorry state; they were the leader and the only female, whose wand had already been broken.
The two wizards high in the sky also ceased their howls of despair, presumably having been disoriented.
Soren opened a bottle of magical power recovery potion and drank it while regaining his breath, cautiously pointing his wand at the remaining two enemies.
After some exchanges, having seen the enemies' spell-casting methods and habits, Soren finally understood where his sense of familiarity had come from, and he couldn't help but murmur, "Long time no see, Professor Lockhart."
The leader seemed momentarily stunned, then took off his cracked mask with a bitter smile, saying, "Indeed, nothing can be hidden from you, my most outstanding student."
The person's true appearance was very handsome; it was Gilderoy Lockhart, who had left Hogwarts a year ago!
Since the end of his second year, Lockhart had seemingly vanished into thin air, disappearing from the entire wizarding world. Soren had not seen him again nor heard of his whereabouts, so he never expected to see him here.
"Are you a member of the Shadow of the Dark Dragon? Did you enter Hogwarts for Meredith?" Soren said coldly.
"Ha ha ha, I'm really glad you think so," Lockhart laughed exaggeratedly, even shedding a few tears, "but unfortunately, you guessed wrong. I was forced to teach at Hogwarts by that old bastard Dumbledore!"
"Do you think I was eager to take that damn job as the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor?" Lockhart scoffed. "It's a cursed position. Since decades ago, every Defense Against the Dark Arts professor has met an unfortunate end, and some even died. I was doing just fine writing books, and just the annual royalties were enough for me to live luxuriously. I'm not an idiot; why would I apply for that position?"
Daphne couldn't help but ask, "Why did Dumbledore force you to become the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor?"
Lockhart burst into mad laughter, "Ha ha ha, that's because I'm a fraud! My books, my achievements, they're all fake!" Lockhart's gaze swept over Soren and the others, sneering, "It seems you aren't showing the shock I expected; you must have guessed it long ago, right?"
Soren remained noncommittal. At this moment, he held the upper hand, regaining magical power while allowing Lockhart to continue speaking.
"Those so-called achievements had nothing to do with me," Lockhart's eyes sparkled with a strange light. "All I needed to do was to find those wizards, gain their trust, ask them how they were able to do those things, and then cast a brilliant Oblivion Charm on them so they would forget everything."
"Unfortunately, there was once a target I approached, just as I was about to take action, but Dumbledore caught me on the spot. I begged him to let me go, and the condition for my release was that I had to teach at Hogwarts for a year! I told him I wasn't capable of teaching, but do you know what he said?"
Lockhart's eyes radiated with immense hatred, "He actually said it didn't matter! He told me I didn't need to teach the students anything! I just needed to play the role of a clown, to make myself look like a useless person who only had fame and nothing else... at least in front of Harry Potter, I needed to perform that way and successfully evoke his disgust!"
"I managed to get seven certificates in the OWL exams, and I had traveled to so many countries to find powerful wizards living in seclusion. How could I possibly be unable to deal with a bunch of little greenish pixies, how could I not even use a Disarming Charm!" He seemed to be speaking to himself. "He completely turned me into a joke!"
Soren understood everything now. No wonder Dumbledore would hire Lockhart as the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor; this was part of his "Harry Development Plan," using a negative example to illustrate a point, making young Harry grow to dislike him, thus preventing him from becoming overly infatuated with his existing fame and allowing him to grow rapidly.
"I have done everything at Hogwarts, and it has spread throughout the entire wizarding world in Britain. My fans no longer believe in my books, and publishers have closed their doors to me. Without any income, I have become impoverished, living day to day on borrowed money and facing an uncertain future. At that moment, my master appeared..."
Lockhart's face began to become twisted with rage. "He granted me the power to take revenge on Hogwarts. In gratitude to my master, I am willing to serve him and dedicate my meager strength! Well, the pleasantries are over, Soren. You were once my favorite student, and I don't want to hurt you. You, along with the two Misses gringrass, should leave!"
Soren frowned, wondering if Lockhart had lost his mind, as it was clearly his side that was currently in the advantage!
Recalling how they were ambushed by the enemy in a secluded corner, a ridiculous thought flashed through Soren's mind. A bad premonition suddenly rose in his heart, and he shouted, "meredith, be careful!"
As Soren turned around, he saw Morgadon simultaneously casting three Stunning Spells, knocking out the three girls, and then revealing a sinister smirk as he grabbed the unconscious Meredith and disappeared in a swirl of apparition.
Soren shot a very fast shattering curse at him, but it was blocked by the shield Charm cast by Lockhart.
"Hahaha," Lockhart's laughter grew more manic. "Truly impressive, Soren, to have forced us to this point, revealing even the last trump card..."
After throwing his wand to the female dark-clothed figure, a tremendous black aura surged from him, in which a figure resembling a goat-headed man with snail horns could be faintly seen...
The female witch hid behind Lockhart, summoned her two unconscious companions with a summoning spell, and then disappeared with an apparition.
The moment the female witch vanished, there was a loud bang, and Lockhart exploded!
As soon as Soren saw the black aura, he had associated it with Peter Pettigrew's sacrificial magic. He no longer cared about the escaping enemies and quickly drew an ancient rune in the air—Eihwaz!
In a life-and-death crisis, Soren poured all his magical energy into the rune. The Ravenclaw diadem and the Slytherin pendant box both lifted into the air, radiating colorful light, each shooting out a beam that linked with Soren's wand. The wand emitted a cheerful chime, and the ancient rune suddenly materialized into the phantom of a palace, enveloping Soren and his unconscious companions.
The explosion's force was immense, flattening the surrounding forest.
However, inside the phantom palace, everyone remained completely unscathed.
Soren had successfully cast a complete ancient rune magic, but at that moment, he felt no joy in his heart.
Soren used a revival spell to wake Gareth, Daphne, and Astoria one by one. They were horrified by the devastation around them, feeling a mix of fear and awe at Soren's abilities.
To protect three unconscious individuals in such a fiercely powerful spell without any harm was beyond their imagination. They all understood that Soren had made no prior arrangements in that place, which meant it couldn't have been protective spells like "Shield" or "Impenetrabilis ad omnia mala."
Gareth quickly grasped the situation and understood its seriousness, frowning unconsciously.
Not far away, they found the two dark-clothed figures who had been blown up into the air by the explosion. Gareth cast an unknown spell on their heads to simply repair their bloodied faces—one was a distant relative of the Abott family, and the other was the direct butler of the Slahoen family. Though not important figures, they held a certain standing in their respective families.
At that moment, members of the Ministry of Magic appeared through apparition.
Gareth stated he would handle the matter and instructed Soren and the others to return to the campsite first.
Along the way, Soren's face was so dark it could drip ink, his hand gripping the wand strained and veins bulging across the back of his hand. Suddenly remembering something important, he quickened his pace back to the campsite.
In the first camp area, the scene was one of devastation, with traces of magical destruction visible everywhere. The house-elves of each family were diligently trying to repair the tents. During the outbreak of the riot, most house-elves were ordered to hide in the camp to prevent any criminals from taking the opportunity to enter the tents and steal.
Those rioters claiming to be Death Eaters would not attack camps with house-elves, after all, owning a house-elf was almost a symbol of an ancient pure-blood family. Of course, people still needed to evacuate, because who knew what might happen?
"Dino!" As soon as he entered the tent, Soren eagerly called out the name of the house-elf.
With a crack, Dino respectfully appeared before the three, "Dino is here. May I ask what the young master needs?"
"I know that there is a soul bond between house-elves and their masters. Can you sense Mei's location now?" Soren said quickly.
Dino closed its eyes, placing its hands together as if casting some mysterious magic. After a moment, it shook its head, showing a very confused expression, "I can sense my master's presence, but I can't sense her location at all. It's as if… as if the soul bond is being affected by some force… By the way, why didn't my master come back with you?"
"Mei is in trouble; she has been taken by some mysterious organization. Dino, I need your help right now." Soren said urgently, "Listen, Dino, I know you only listen to your master's orders, but Mei might be in danger. The longer we wait, the greater the danger. I need you to take me to the Shafik ancestral home. Can you do that? Please!"
Under normal circumstances, without Meredith's permission, Dino couldn't take outsiders to the Shafiq ancestral home. However, given that Meredith was currently missing, and Dino was somewhat aware of the close relationship between the young mistress and Soren, it hesitated for only a few seconds before nodding in agreement.
"You two stay here for now and wait for Uncle Gareth to return. I'll be back soon!" Soren instructed the two girls, Daphne and Astoria, took Dino's hand, and with a crack, they vanished.
In a small village called Hambledon, forty miles west of London, an individual and a house-elf suddenly appeared from thin air outside a grove of trees.
"Is this the place, Dino?" Soren asked.
"Yes, Master Malfoy," Dino replied, its tone filled with confusion as it wandered around a few large pine trees, "The ancestral home is right here—" it even circled one of the pines that had some decorations, "Strange, why can't I see it?"
"Loyalty Charm." Soren said calmly.
"What?"
"This is a type of magic that can completely conceal a location. It belongs to the highest level of shielding magic. No matter if it's a tracking spell, revelation spell, minor spell, or even a trace or a taboo spell, they cannot break through its concealment," Soren explained, "You clearly know the location, yet even if your face is pressed against the real entrance of the ancestral home, your eyes still see nothing."
"Then, what do we do?" Dino looked a bit panicked; the safety of its master was its most important mission.
Soren also began to calm down. Meredith had to be rescued, but a panic would do no good.
"Let's go." Soren's voice was cold enough to send chills, "Trust me! No matter how many difficulties there are, I will definitely bring your master back."
*****
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