Lockhart’s entire body suddenly went rigid.
He couldn’t move at all.
His eyes darted rapidly within their sockets, while his facial muscles alternated between tightening and relaxing, creating an exceptionally eerie sight.
The silver strands of memory floating through the air finally drifted close to him.
Yet just as they were about to make contact, they abruptly changed direction.
The strands swam through the office ceiling like wandering fish before eventually gathering above the Pensieve, circling endlessly as they merged into a silver ball of tangled threads.
The memories could no longer find the master who had just cast the spell upon them.
To his horror, Lockhart realized that the final remaining memory, belonging to one of the powerful wizards, was rapidly taking over his body.
Compared to the ordinary memories of a Muggle, or even a Muggle’s soul, this magically empowered memory was incomparably stronger.
A wave of dread flashed through him, and then his consciousness sank completely into darkness.
The office fell into an eerie, indescribable silence.
“Guji?” The Golden Retriever, which had been playing with the magical eye, let out a confused cry.
Was this the sort of emergency its master had warned it about?
Should it intervene now?
With a flick of its paw, the magical eye disappeared.
It climbed up the coat rack using all four limbs until it reached the same height as Lockhart’s head, then peered curiously into its master’s eyes.
What it saw, however, was an unfamiliar gaze.
“Guji?” The dog tilted its head in confusion.
Just as it was debating what to do, its master finally moved.
“Who am I?” Standing beside the Pensieve, Lockhart took several hesitant steps around the office, looking about in confusion.
“And where is this place?” His mannerisms were completely different from the usual, elegant Lockhart.
He looked more like a witch than a wizard; even the hand holding his wand habitually raised its pinky finger in a delicate gesture.
Shaking one foot, he awkwardly kicked off his shoes.
Standing barefoot in the office, he appeared extraordinarily alert.
Then he swiftly waved his wand.
A vibrant green light overflowing with life burst from its tip, transforming into a brilliant stream that danced throughout the office.
In an instant, the large oak desk in the center of the room began to sprout buds.
It grew at an astonishing speed, tender green leaves unfurling as its trunk thickened section by section.
Within moments, it had become as thick as an arm.
Reaching the ceiling, it bent sideways and continued growing, branching outward in all directions.
And it wasn’t just the oak desk.
The old mahogany cabinet.
The high-backed chair made from golden nanmu wood.
The teak bookshelf.
Even the peeling red wooden box containing the Boggart began sprouting branches.
The box transformed into a peach tree, lifting the birdcage containing the Cornish Pixies as it grew.
Thick branches forced apart the cage bars, allowing the Pixies to escape.
The tiny creatures immediately went wild, rushing to wreak havoc throughout the office.
“Hmph!
You troublesome little sprites!” ‘Lockhart’ shouted angrily.
“In my forest, I won’t allow you to make trouble!” With that, ‘he’ lightly tapped his wand.
Among the dried fruit in the bowl on the table, one suddenly split open, and countless vines and tendrils burst forth.
They grew at an incredible speed, rising into the air like a giant hand.
Long tendrils shot outward and bound the Cornish Pixies, grabbing them like countless claws before curling back.
The long branches coiled around the oak tree like enormous serpents, leaving the captured Pixies dangling from them like decorative wind chimes.
This was one of the powerful wizards Lockhart had hunted in the past: the Forest Witch of the Amazon Rainforest, a witch who had been abandoned as a child and raised by grey wolves.
She was also the true source of the wisdom and adventures described in the bestselling books ‘Travels with Trolls’ and ‘Gilderoy Lockhart’s Guide to Household Pests’.
Capturing her had been simple.
Lockhart’s handsome appearance combined with large amounts of alcohol had quickly intoxicated her, leaving her completely at his mercy.
Using one’s appearance as a weapon was a common tactic among Dark Wizards.
Many Dark creatures employed similar methods as well, the Banshee often transformed into a beautiful witch to lure victims, just as a young Lord Voldemort had used his handsome looks to win over wealthy women.
— The witch seemed quite satisfied with the results of her magic.
Walking on tiptoe with her hands clasped behind her back, she strolled through the “forest” that gave her a sense of security, trying to figure out where she was, and more importantly, who she was.
After all, she was only a fragment of memory.
That fragment was nowhere near enough to construct a complete personality.
Although the original Lockhart had been greedy and foolish, he had only stolen memories containing adventures and knowledge; he had never gone so far as to completely erase and devour another person’s mind.
As a result, it was impossible for complete personalities to form inside his head.
Therefore, the memory fragment controlling his body now wasn’t truly acting as the witch herself.
Rather, it was merely imitating her behaviors and habits.
As the witch wandered through the “forest,” she soon encountered danger: a pair of eyes hidden among the dense leaves of a tree.
Ordinarily, that wouldn’t have been a problem.
She had always been capable of handling unexpected situations with ease.
But this time, she miscalculated.
Before she could make the slightest move, an overwhelming sense of terror surged from deep within her heart, flooding her thoughts in an instant.
It was as if she had encountered some indescribable, unknowable horror.
She froze completely, her body going rigid and her mind slowing until thought itself seemed to cease.
Yet her senses remained astonishingly clear.
She could distinctly feel a pair of furry little hands forcefully turning her head.
The creature blinked its shattered-gold eyes, staring obsessively at the blue eyes in her sockets.
For a moment, however, the monster seemed hesitant.
After struggling with its decision, it finally withdrew its furry hands from her eyes.
Instead, it grabbed her head and began dragging her elsewhere.
Where was it taking her?
She didn’t know.
The monster wasn’t very strong, as it needed to exert tremendous effort before finally managing to drag her behind a peach tree.
Inside a hollow in the tree, a Boggart was trembling in fear, clearly terrified of the furry little creature.
“Don’t notice me!
Don’t notice me!” It seemed squeak repeatedly.
Behind the peach tree stood a large crystal basin crafted from the skull of a giant bird.
The furry little monster laboriously pushed her head into it.
Nothing happened.
It waited.
Still nothing.
“Guji?” the little creature sounded confused.
After another long wait, it dragged her body away again with great difficulty.
This time, it brought her above the crystal skull.
Soon, her head was immersed in a cool, slippery sea of silver light.
The silver radiance seemed almost alive, wrapping around her head and swirling as though making a judgment.
Then, a memory belonging to her flowed back into her mind.
As if receiving a summons, all the surrounding silver light surged madly toward her head.
Was she about to return to normal?
Was she finally going to remember who she was?
No.
Not at all.
Her vision went dark, and she lost all capacity for thought.
— More than ten minutes passed.
“Haaa…” Lockhart let out a long breath.
His legs gave way, and he collapsed against a slanted tree trunk behind him, gasping heavily like someone who had narrowly escaped death.
“Guji~~~” The Golden Retriever excitedly jumped into his arms, recognizing its real master.
“Good Monkey,” Lockhart said gratefully, rubbing its head as it chirped happily.
Twisting his neck, he suddenly gasped at a sharp pain.
While dragging him around earlier, the dog’s claws had left numerous scratches and cuts across his neck.
Fortunately, it wasn’t serious.
He raised his wand toward the tree above and recited one of the Forest Witch’s spells.
“Kind flower, heal the wound!” Immediately, a purple flower blossomed from the trunk.
Its petals were vibrant and beautiful, filling the air with fragrance.
Thick nectar resembling honey dripped from its stamen directly into his open mouth.
Almost instantly, all the small wounds on his body healed completely, and even the larger cut shrank to a shallow scratch.
“See?
It’s not as though I gained nothing from all this.” Lockhart’s face lit up with delight.
Although he hadn’t been able to unleash the spell’s true power, he had finally succeeded in casting magic.
For the first time, he could genuinely use magic himself.