Mysterious Journey
Chapter 1303 Who's the Paper Tiger?
The air buzzed with noise, and countless eyes focused on him, causing his palms to sweat.
As a former Ravenclaw Quidditch captain and now a formal professor at Hogwarts, Lockhart was intimately familiar with this field.
He knew every inch of it, had even etched his name into it—though that had earned him a week of detention—and on graduation day, he had proclaimed his ambitions to the entire school:
The youngest Minister for Magic, vanquisher of Voldemort, guardian of the wizarding world, and the man who would lead Britain to victory.
He had also witnessed, thanks to his involvement, Peter Pettigrew being sentenced to life imprisonment in Azkaban…
The dazzling sunlight streamed down from the cloudless sky, bathing the Quidditch pitch in a golden glow.
Directly in front of Lockhart was a stone platform, upon which sat a lone interrogation table.
Further away, rows of seats rose in a semi-circular arc around the platform.
These seats were now filled with whispering wizards—about seventy in all, mostly clad in purplish-red robes with an intricate silver "w," the symbol of the Wizengamot, embroidered on their left breasts—the Wizengamot wizarding court was almost entirely present.
They were all looking down at him, some with stern expressions, others making no attempt to hide their curiosity…
"If the Hyperion opened fire here, the highest authority in the British magical world would be instantly wiped out, wouldn't it?"
Lockhart couldn't help but wonder. Since working with the Witch, he found himself considering strange angles.
Unfortunately, the Hyperion was probably cruising in the distant Black Sea—and besides, he didn't have the authority to deploy the main guns.
Too many wizards were present today. Eileen didn't want any accidents that might prematurely expose the Hyperion to the public.
Moreover, today's occasion wasn't suitable for the Hyperion to appear.
"The power of words is stronger than any magic, any weapon—"
Lockhart muttered silently, the words Eileen had told him before he arrived today.
He had always been somewhat skeptical, but after seeing the speaking outline and the draft…
Perhaps…
Was Miss Fool truly a demon standing at the pinnacle of civilization?
"Mr. Lockhart, please step up to the interrogation table."
A cold male voice came from the front.
Lockhart looked up and saw Cornelius Fudge in the center of the front row of seats, staring at him coldly.
Cornelius Fudge was a stout man who usually wore a mustard-yellow bowler hat, but today he had made a point of changing his attire.
The Minister was uncharacteristically dressed in a pure black wizard's robe, resembling a man-eating black tiger. Furthermore, the usual steady, good-natured smile on Cornelius's face had vanished, replaced by a cruel, sharp-edged iciness:
Lockhart had almost impeached him, just by a hair's breadth.
Now, Cornelius Fudge intended to show the world the consequences of defying the Minister for Magic.
"Oh, of course—let's get everything started as soon as possible… Time is quite precious."
Lockhart nodded elegantly, stepped up to the interrogation table, and said with a smile.
As he spoke, he pointed to his throat and added.
"I heard that a Ministry Auror will help me cast the Sonorus charm?"
"Dolores—"
Cornelius Fudge nodded to the side.
A short-haired, stocky Auror with an unsmiling demeanor strode forward.
"Sonor—"
Dolores drew his wand and pointed it at Lockhart's throat, reciting the incantation clearly.
"Sorry, you're too close… and…"
Before Dolores could finish speaking, Lockhart suddenly raised his hand and waved it gently at him.
Dolores was thrown out like a leaf, offering no resistance.
Lockhart raised his hand and beckoned gently.
The next moment, the wand in Dolores's hand flew into Lockhart's hand as if drawn by an invisible thread.
"I don't like people pointing wands at my head—"
Lockhart said with a smile, without uttering any incantation, his voice suddenly becoming as loud as thunder.
"So…"
"Let the trial begin? Gentlemen."
Lockhart waved his wand sharply in the air, and blue flames erupted from him towards the sky.
However, the fiery flames stopped two meters away from him.
The raging fire seemed to crash into an invisible air wall, bursting into terrifying, ghostly blue magic sparks.
"Did you think we didn't have countermeasures?! Lockhart! You're wrong!"
Cornelius Fudge sneered, slowly opening his palm.
In his palm, a crystal orb surrounded by a faint light had shattered into several pieces at some point.
At the same time, mysterious, profound magical runes quickly lit up around the stone platform where Lockhart was standing, instantly forming a magical barrier, isolating Lockhart from the outside world—Amber has been activated.