great-warnovel Chapter 115 Group Operations
Chapter 115 Group Operations
Chapter 115 Group Operations
"See that? Never let your guard down!" Lockhart shouted sternly, still holding Draco's red-eyed face in one hand, who looked like he was about to cry at any moment.
"Even a Boggart without particularly strong offensive capabilities can still inflict excruciating pain upon you!"
He looked around and saw that the children, who had been laughing and joking, now looked somewhat frightened. Although they didn't like Draco, they couldn't remain indifferent if their own family members were to fall in front of them like that.
"I think this wake-up call today is more useful than any other knowledge than endless instruction."
"After leaving the school, you will likely face various unexpected dangers alone. Staying vigilant is the most important principle for survival in the wasteland!"
He handed Draco a piece of chocolate and patted him on the shoulder: "Have some, it'll make you feel better."
As the students' attitude shifted from playful to serious, Lockhart began leading them through the village ruins, explaining things as they went.
For example, how to identify whether there are dangerous organisms in the environment, how to move forward in an unfamiliar environment, and how to deal with a suspicious enclosed space if there is a problem.
"The fake Boggarts cannot be driven away by slapstick humor, but a good laugh can eliminate them. Therefore, you'd better make sure you can laugh anytime, anywhere. If you really can't think of anything funny, you can take some euphoric drugs. Although that won't eliminate the fake Boggarts, it will still have the effect of driving them away."
He turned to face the crowd: "Several Boggarts are still hiding in this ruined village. Your task today is to use the knowledge I just taught you to find them one by one."
"Now, I suggest you form groups of two or three and spread out. This will make it easier to lure Boggart out. Also, each of you should come here and get a small dose of euphoria and chocolate. You must make sure that at crucial moments, you can hold your classmate back and give him the potion in time."
"Professor, what should we do if we discover the Boggarts?" Ron raised his hand and asked.
Lockhart laughed: "My intention was to use the Boggarts to toughen you up, but if you can actually destroy them with laughter, that would be a good thing, after all, these guys have hurt quite a few people."
"Oh, by the way, if you have any spare capacity, you could use the box to catch one and bring it back. Maybe it can be used as teaching material for future juniors."
These words were clearly meant for Hermione; he had never seen the little girl afraid.
"Alright, now spread out. This village has been cleared out beforehand, so there won't be any other dangers. I'll wait here. Also, I'll send out a signal and blow a whistle before lunch. At that time, whether or not we've found Boggart, we must all come back to assemble. I don't think you want to go hungry."
So they dispersed in twos and threes, heading in the directions they thought might be hiding Boggart.
Harry and Ron formed a group, while Neville chose to stay with Hermione. He was a little worried that he wouldn't be able to handle it, and having Hermione with him would make him feel much more at ease.
Draco was isolated once again. Even though the professor repeatedly ordered that they at least pair up, the other Slytherins were reluctant. They muttered under their breath, "We don't want to change his pants later."
They outwardly sided with Draco, but once they went behind a wall where the professor couldn't see them, their attitude immediately changed, and they demanded that he leave on his own.
Daphne hesitated for a moment, intending to team up with him, but Draco, stubborn as ever, coldly rejected her offer and went into the dark ruins alone.
The boggles in this village must have been starving for a long time, because as the students scattered among them in twos and threes, they quickly picked out their targets.
Some students, as they walked, encountered Professor McGonagall with a gloomy face at a bend in the road, while others discovered that their deceased aunts, with half their faces rotting, were crawling out of their graves.
Although Lockhart's explanation had led them to believe that Boggart was nothing special, and they even secretly mocked Draco for being too cowardly to be fooled by obvious illusions, when they themselves fell into Boggart's carefully woven trap, they found that they were even less capable than Draco.
These fake Boggarts may be intellectually deficient, but they can conjure up remarkably plausible scenarios by leveraging the victims' own inner thoughts. For example, a fake McGonagall might claim that something terrible has happened at school and that they must go with it to a safer place to hide.
This was used to lure the students to a more secluded corner to frighten them, but in reality, these were just the students' own imaginations, which Boggart perceived and then acted out.
Therefore, screams from students could be heard from time to time throughout the village, but fortunately Lockhart arranged for groups of two or three, so even if one person was too frightened to control himself, his partner could help him in time.
Lockhart himself, in the center of the village, listened to the screams that rose and fell, and laughed even more heartily.
Of course, the fake Boggarts can't only transform into humans. For example, Ron encountered an incredibly ugly, hairy giant spider and immediately screamed. Unfortunately, Harry was completely unmoved by the thing and even excitedly snatched it away, causing the Boggart to run away immediately.
As for Hermione and Neville, perhaps because she felt no fear, or perhaps because her magical energy was too strong, even though Neville looked easy to mess with, no Boggart dared to provoke them, which dashed Hermione's hopes of capturing one.
Draco, who was all alone and had a huge psychological vulnerability, encountered another unexpected visitor before meeting the Boggart—Dobby.
He walked alone among the crumbling low walls, the chocolate in his hand almost melting. The slightest breeze made him nervously wave his wand. He regretted choosing to venture out alone, but then he thought of the expressions on his "classmates'" faces...
And then there was Daphne's affected pity; he felt it was better to face Boggart alone again than to suffer that humiliation.
Humiliation and anger effectively countered his fear. He felt a fire burning in his chest. The fake Lucius and the tragic state of his dead mother, intertwined with the ostracism from his classmates, made him feel even more powerless and incompetent.
"If I were as powerful as Lockhart or Hermione, they wouldn't treat me like this, would they?"
"No, if I were that powerful, I wouldn't need these so-called friends! Instead, they would be begging and groveling for my forgiveness!"
As he was thinking this, a sudden "snap" startled him so much that he almost jumped up.
A hunched creature appeared before him, wrapped in a dirty rag and covered in scars left from healing, but Draco recognized it quickly.
"Dobby!?"