Chapter 219: Wizards and Mobile Phones
In the end, Lockhart was unable to facilitate the breeding of the werewolf pup and the Demiguise. Hagrid had explained all the key points clearly, and no matter how much he followed the theory, it just wasn't working. He lacked the specific ability.
He gave up.
Feeling helpless, he finally decided to raise the Demiguises using the methods of 'Dark Creature Cultivation'.
The Demiguise's characteristics were so peculiar: in the wizarding world, they were powerful magical creatures, while in the Muggle world, they were just ordinary cats with no magic at all. The mysteries of this phenomenon were similar in a strange way to Animagus transformations.
In fact, at some level, the principle was quite similar to that of werewolves.
This was a field where Lockhart excelled: identifying a creature's unique traits, exploring its mechanisms, sensing the changes in its magic, and finally creating an environment to make it unleash its inherent power. He would use magic to erode and alter the mind, then let the mind in turn influence and change the flesh, ultimately pushing the transformation to completion.
See? The Dark Creature Cultivation method was much simpler than Magical Creatures Breeding!
And so, the Hogwarts students noticed that lately, Professor Lockhart was constantly followed by a pack of black cats that resembled small leopards.
He was always able to make these dangerous animals docile and obedient, unlike the previous Care of Magical Creatures professor, Kettleburn, who made a mess of things even with a few Ashwinders.
The reasoning behind it wasn't that complicated.
All things have a spirit—and all things fear death.
Lockhart didn't have the same affection for small animals as magical creature experts like Professor Kettleburn, Hagrid, or Newt. He was truly willing to use lethal force.
In this regard, Tom had imparted a great deal of wisdom, teaching him how to deal with these living beings.
Lockhart was truly wicked!
Lupin, plagued by indecision, spent over ten days mulling things over before finally making a decision. He found Lockhart and asked him to arrange a meeting with his parents.
Then came another three-day wait for the weekend to arrive.
During this time, the lockdown at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry became even stricter. In addition to the roaming Dementors, which caused such a negative impact that even Professor McGonagall couldn't help but lose her composure and swear, the Ministry of Magic had also sent a team of Aurors to be stationed there.
This was simply intolerable. Professor McGonagall refused to give these Aurors a kind look, even though most of them were her former students.
Rufus Scrimgeour, the Head of the Auror Office, was also present. He wore a sour expression every day, and with his group of lackeys, he stood guard at the castle entrance, scrutinizing every student and professor. The students found him utterly repulsive.
However, none of them had considered that without Dumbledore's approval, no Auror would dare to run rampant at Hogwarts.
But the more this high-profile lockdown went on, the less Sirius Black, the Azkaban escapee they were hunting, and Peter Pettigrew, whom some people were secretly looking for, showed themselves. This led many to wonder if the two were not at Hogwarts at all.
On the weekend, Lockhart and Lupin, with a pass from Professor McGonagall, walked towards the sole entry point at the edge of the Black Lake. The area was heavily guarded by Aurors and a large number of Dementors.
"You plan to have someone follow us?" Lupin looked at the Aurors with great wariness. He didn't want his private affairs to become public knowledge. His werewolf identity was extremely sensitive and could cause trouble for Dumbledore if he wasn't careful.
Scrimgeour, the head Auror, scanned both Lupin and Lockhart, then looked at the note in his hand, his face grave. "I'm sorry, but those are the rules. Special circumstances call for special regulations, and no one can defy them!"
With that, he looked at Mad-Eye Moody, who was standing nearby.
He actually didn't want the retired Auror to be involved, but he had no choice. The Auror Office's reputation had been getting worse lately, and with the bizarre Azkaban breakout, his prestige and authority were almost completely shot.
Mad-Eye Moody was indeed useful. The magical, constantly-rolling eye swept over Lockhart and Lupin, and he shook his head at Scrimgeour, confirming that no one had been transformed into an object or animal to be smuggled out.
"Tonks!" Scrimgeour called to the young Auror in the corner. "You're with them!"
Lupin was a million percent against this!
However, Lockhart quietly pulled on his sleeve and shook his head, forcing him to swallow his displeasure.
Werewolves have a natural fear of Aurors, a relationship of cat and mouse belonging to opposing sides.
But he didn't know that Scrimgeour had done his best to mitigate the rigid obstacles posed by this rule. Tonks had previously kept an eye on Lockhart for a while and didn't seem to be particularly put off by him, so he had specifically assigned her this task, hoping to avoid any accidents.
After all, the Aurors might not actually be able to defeat Professor Lockhart, who always wore that strange smile on his face!
In fact, he and all the other Aurors had agreed to pretend not to notice the pack of Demiguises following Professor Lockhart!
By all existing Ministry of Magic regulations—and indeed, those of most other countries—Demiguises were officially used for security in government agencies, and private ownership was actually illegal!
So what could they do but turn a blind eye?
Even the most principled Auror, Mad-Eye Moody, wouldn't agree to taking action against Professor Lockhart over a few insignificant cats.
It was a tough time for the Aurors.
Tonks, however, didn't think it was difficult at all. She followed the two professors through the ward Dumbledore had created, which was guarded by Kingsley, and after mounting her broomstick, she let out an excited whistle.
Her bouncy demeanor made even the tense Lupin glance over at her.
Tonks, in turn, stared him up and down, making his face redden. He turned his head away awkwardly. "Let's go," he said. After Professor Lockhart had finally managed to get all his cats onto his broomstick, Lupin quickly took off, flying in the lead.
"Hey, Gilderoy," Tonks said, looking at Lupin's back with a hint of curiosity. The glitter on her smoky, panda-like eyeshadow shimmered. "Who is he?"
Lockhart chuckled. "Remus Lupin. He's from the Lupin family, and his father, Lyall Lupin, is an expert at the Beast Division of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures."
Tonks raised an eyebrow. "Pure-blood?"
Lockhart shook his head. "Like you, he's a half-blood."
Tonks rolled her eyes and popped a piece of gum into her mouth. "You don't have to add, 'like me'." She would have preferred to be a Muggle-born witch. Her mother, because of her Black family origins, had suffered a great deal, which left Tonks with little affection for pure-blood families.
It was clear that identity was a pervasive issue. While pure-bloods and Muggle-borns fought each other to the death, many forgot that the half-blood community had its own unique needs.
"Is there anything you need me to help with later?" Tonks had spent some time with Lockhart and knew that the powerful wizard was actually very easygoing. Her own personality was lively and straightforward, so she didn't bother with pretenses and asked him directly.
"I called a Muggle hotel and booked a private room. Lupin and his parents haven't seen each other in a long time, so they'll have a lot to talk about," Lockhart explained, gesturing for Tonks to speed up and catch up to Lupin. "If you don't mind, we can have dinner in the lobby and give them some private space?"
Tonks shrugged nonchalantly, but she was surprised by what Lockhart had said. "Called? I haven't heard that word in ages."
Lockhart laughed heartily. "I actually think calling is much more convenient than using an owl. In fact, that's how I got in touch with Lyall Lupin. The Ministry Aurors don't seem to ever consider this method of communication, do they?"
Tonks pursed her lips. "No, they're too arrogant. I mentioned it once, but my mentor (Mad-Eye Moody) told me to shut up and not make things difficult for everyone."
In this era, for wizards to communicate via telephone was a form of "dimensional attack" on other wizards. The speed at which information could be spread this way was incredibly fast, especially for international communication.
In fact, Lockhart had only acquired a mobile phone at the suggestion of old Newt Scamander. He had Newt's and his son's numbers saved and later discovered that Lyall Lupin also had one.
The year was 1994, a time when mobile phones were just beginning to become widespread in the Muggle world. Could you imagine Lockhart's expression when Lyall Lupin pulled out a brand-new Ericsson GH337?
It might seem hard to understand, but Lyall's Muggle wife's daily life and work in insurance required her to use a landline. When her husband would disappear for days to work on magical experiments, she naturally insisted he have a mobile phone for contact.
She couldn't wait for a slow-moving owl to deliver a message, could she?
An owl might take so long to deliver a message asking if he would be home for dinner that he would have finished eating by the time it arrived.
Truly, some changes were already quietly taking place in wizarding society.
This was especially true for half-blood and Muggle-born wizards, who had one hand in Muggle technology and culture and the other in wizarding magic. Compared to the pure-blood families who still clung to ancient traditions, the gap was only going to get wider.
For instance, when young Hermione left school for the summer holidays, would she really give up browsing the internet for news just because she was a witch?
The trio soon arrived in London.
They didn't actually need to use their broomsticks for the entire journey. They arrived at a public Floo network fireplace set up by the Ministry, stored their brooms, and used the fireplace to travel to the center of London.
A few steps later, they arrived at the hotel Lockhart had booked.
After seeing Lupin into the private room, Lockhart and Tonks left. He didn't want to observe the painful reunion of the Lupin family. The faint sounds of crying and Lupin's mournful sobs that came from the room were hard to hear.
"Are they...?" Tonks asked, her voice full of curiosity.
Lockhart shook his head without answering, and instead invited her to the dining area. "Everyone has a story, don't they? As a friend, maybe the best way to get along is not to know, and to leave some private distance that won't make things awkward for either of you."
Tonks agreed with the sentiment. "That's true. I wouldn't want anyone prying into my secrets, either."
Her attention was quickly diverted, as Lockhart noticed that the Demiguises, now in the Muggle world, seemed to have become less disciplined. Or rather, they had lost some of their magical sensitivity and were not quite following his commands, forcing him to ask for her help in looking after the silly cats.
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