Snape, the Sunshine of Hogwarts.

Chapter 186 Memory Modification
"Then why are you staring at me?"

Lockhart found Andrews' reaction somewhat incomprehensible, but didn't think much of it.

Andrews simply brushed the matter off with a vague excuse.

"I was just being polite, wasn't I? When you're communicating with someone, you have to make eye contact to appear sincere."

What he said seemed to make a lot of sense, and Lockhart didn't think much of it. He just continued to chat enthusiastically with Andrews, telling him how good his relationship was with his cousin Angelo, and how the two of them had traveled together in Albania for a long time.

After receiving Andrews' letter, Angelo had other things to do and was not available to see him at the moment, so he asked me to go and say hello to Andrews on his behalf.

"Did you build all these houses?"

Lockhart's face was full of amazement when he saw the row of brand-new wooden houses.

Before Severus left, he had clearly warned Andrews not to reveal anything about their presence to Lockhart.

Therefore, upon hearing this question, Andrews simply nodded.

"Yes, with Lulu's help, I organized this group of giants and helped them build these houses."

"Lulu?" Lockhart masked the greed hidden deep in his eyes with a curious smile. "Is that the troll Angelo mentioned, the one who traveled around Europe with you?"

At this point, Andrews had already called Lulu over and introduced her to Lockhart.

Lulu just scratched its head. It had been warned beforehand not to talk too much, so it didn't have any further interaction with Lockhart.

After night had completely fallen, Andrews had prepared dinner and invited Lockhart to eat with him, which Lockhart gladly accepted.

Upon meeting Andrews, Lockhart was in no hurry to make a move.

His specialty is the Forgetfulness Curse, but even the most powerful Forgetfulness Curse cannot completely replace Legilimency, which directly extracts memories from a wizard's mind.

Therefore, during this period, he must extract all of Andrews' travel and adventure experiences from him. Once these stories are enough to compile into a book, he will launch a sneak attack on Andrews and use the Oblivion Spell to erase his memories and weave out another set of false memories.

During dinner, Lockhart kept trying to build rapport with Andrews, claiming that he was also quite accomplished in troll research.

However, with just a few words, Andrews figured out the wizard's level and realized that he was just bragging.

This caused Andrews to lower his opinion of Lockhart considerably, feeling that this so-called famous adventure novelist was not as deserving of the title.

Lockhart, however, clearly didn't care what Andrews thought of him. He simply expressed his desire to hear Andrews tell him about how he met Lulu, how he traveled in Europe, and the various adventures that occurred during that time.

His request made Andrews wary.

Because Lockhart's seemingly ordinary requests were all exactly what Severus had anticipated, and how to satisfy Lockhart's requests was one of the important techniques Severus gave him.

Soon, Andrews organized his thoughts and began to tell Lockhart about how he met Lulu in Norway.

He had barely opened his mouth when Lockhart excitedly interrupted him.

“Please wait a moment, Pike!” He had been calling Andrews’ name ever since they met, and now he was pulling a thick notebook and a quill pen out of his suitcase.

That quill pen was clearly not an ordinary tool, but a shorthand quill pen that could write automatically.

"You probably don't mind if I record some of the best parts of your story, right? You know I'm a very talented writer! Your experiences will become my inspiration. Of course, when I write these stories down, I will definitely indicate their sources and confirm the copyright ownership with you in advance."

Lockhart seemed to have considered all the consequences and was determined not to let Andrews suffer any losses.

Hearing him say that, Andrews didn't think much of it. After all, he was an adventurer, not a writer, and had no concept of copyright.

Lockhart's shorthand behavior didn't bother him too much, and he continued to recount how he met Lulu.

Hearing from him that Lulu had rescued him, and that the two of them had discovered the unusual nature of the lake, Lockhart became more and more excited. He keenly sensed that this was a very good start to the story.

He doesn't even need to polish it much to turn it into an eye-catching piece!

However, just as he was becoming more and more engrossed in the story, and the narration had reached the point where Andrews and Lulu, along with a giant, were about to catch the dark wizard's lair, the narration suddenly stopped.

This made Lockhart feel like a starving person who could only smell the aroma of food but couldn't actually eat it, causing him to feel extremely uncomfortable.

"Why did you stop? Pike, what happened next? Where did you find that dark wizard? And how did you capture him?"

Andrews, however, did not tell him the end of the story, but deliberately kept him in suspense.

"Don't rush, Mr. Lockhart. Why don't you tell me about some other adventures Lulu and I went on together? They were even more exciting and dangerous than this one. I remember it was in Iceland."

He switched almost seamlessly and went straight to the second story. Lockhart was initially itching to know what happened at the end of the first story, but the story Andrews then told rekindled his interest.

The shorthand quill flew across the notebook, beginning to record this brand new adventure.

Just like the story of how the man and the giant met, Andrews abruptly stopped after reaching the most crucial point of the story.

Lockhart could no longer tolerate this.

“Pique! You can’t play me like this! I’m a good listener, aren’t I? You need to tell me the whole story, instead of keeping me in suspense like this!”

Andrews observed his reaction, pretended to consider it for a moment, and then spoke to Lockhart using the words Severus had taught him.

“You are certainly a good listener, Lockhart. I would love to tell you the whole story, but it’s not that I’m unwilling right now, it’s just that I’ve run into a problem and need someone to help me.”

Lockhart was not a fool at all; on the contrary, he was quite shrewd, and he naturally understood the implication in Andrews' words.

What do you want me to do for you?

Andrews looked at him earnestly.

"You're a celebrity in Britain, aren't you?"

“Of course.” Lockhart never denied it. “You’re a third-class badge holder of the Order of Merlin, a famous bestselling author, and an honorary member of the Defense Against the Dark Arts, so you must know a lot of powerful wizards.”

Andrews praised Lockhart's reputation.

Lockhart was very pleased with this.

"Ah, you're right. Albus Dumbledore treats me like an honored guest, and the current British Minister for Magic, Bagnore, invites me to every gathering. There's also Severus Snape, the prodigal son who's been making waves in Britain lately. We're very close. It was only after listening to my advice that he finally realized his mistake and decided to contribute more to the wizarding world!"

Andrews didn't react much to the first two sentences, but after hearing him mention Severus, Andrews' expression became noticeably strange. He looked Lockhart up and down, and from what Lockhart had just said, he had a basic impression of the wizard in front of him.

He's a complete braggart and never needs to think before he lies!

But despite having made an impression, Andrews still finished saying what he had to say.

"In that case, could you introduce me to a wizard who is proficient in the Forgetting Charm? It doesn't have to be a wizard of Dumbledore's, West Snape's, or any wizard who has a deep understanding of the Forgetting Charm."

Upon hearing this, Lockhart's expression changed slightly. He didn't speak or reply immediately, but instead stared at Andrews with a cautious gaze, scrutinizing him from head to toe.

Andrews was very candid, making no attempt to avoid his gaze.

After staring at him for a while, Lockhart's suspicion gradually dissipated.

He was certain that he had never had any contact with Andrews before, nor had he ever revealed to outsiders any rumors of his mastery of the Oblivion Charm.

The adventurer's sudden request for help in finding a wizard skilled in the Oblivion Spell was likely just a coincidence, not a sign that he had sensed something.

Lockhart then smiled again and asked.

"You want to find a wizard who is proficient in the Oblivion Charm, what do you need his help with?"

Andrews pointed truthfully to the giants who, having eaten their fill, were comfortably lying down in the newly built wooden huts to sleep.

"Because of the expansion of the Fire Dragon Nature Reserve, I just moved them out of the valley, but these creatures are stupid. They still want to go back to their old home and compete with the fire dragon for territory. I want you to help me find an expert who is proficient in the Oblivion Charm to erase their memories of their old home in the valley."

"Won't a regular forgetting spell work?" Lockhart asked.

Andrews shook his head.

“Trolls have brains that are different from humans. Their brains are very small, and ordinary forgetting spells will only turn them into idiots who don’t remember anything. Only experts specializing in this field can do it.”

After learning about Andrews' needs, Lockhart had no more reservations, and the smile on his face became even more genuine.

"Then you've come to the right person! Pike! I don't need anyone else, I'm an expert on forgetting charms myself!"

Upon hearing his words, Andrews simply looked at him suspiciously.

Such suspicion is not feigned. From the beginning until now, Andrews has heard countless boasts from Lockhart, so who knows whether what he is saying now is the truth or a lie.

Seeing the doubt in his eyes, Lockhart confidently flashed a smile, revealing his white teeth.

"Ha! You can doubt anything about me, but this is the one thing you don't need to doubt!"

Lockhart had clearly made all the plans. After obtaining all the adventure stories from Andrews, he would launch a sneak attack and use the Oblivion Charm to erase all of Andrews' memories of meeting him.

There's no need to worry at all; he'll spread the word about his mastery of the Oblivion Spell later.

"I can give you a demonstration right now."

Lockhart stood up without hesitation, went to a wooden cabin, and went inside with Andrews.

The trolls inside weren't in such good condition that they were sleeping in beds; they were still lying in a haystack. The biggest advantage of the house was that it provided them with shelter from the wind and rain.

"Besides erasing the memories of living in the valley from their minds, do we need to inject them with other memories?" Lockhart asked.

"It would be even better if they could always believe that they have lived here since birth."

Upon hearing this request, Lockhart immediately raised his wand.

"That couldn't be simpler!"

As he spoke, he pointed his wand at the giant's small head and then chanted the spell.

"Everything is forgotten!"

His forgetting spell was continuous. After the spell took effect on the troll, the troll seemed to be dreaming about something, rubbing its two big feet restlessly, and then turning over.

After a full twenty minutes, Lockhart finally finished erasing the giant's memories of the valley and recreating a set of memories of its childhood growing up in this riverside meadow. Lockhart then put away his wand.

"Success!"

Andrews, somewhat skeptical, called Lulu over and asked her to wake the troll, then asked her some questions in troll language.

The giant monster seemed grumpy when it was first woken up, but after Lulu slapped it on the head, it became well-behaved, answering every question Lulu asked.

Finally, just as Andrews had asked Lockhart, it now had no recollection of ever living in any valley, only that it had lived by the river since it was a child and had never left!
This made Lulu and Andrews extremely happy.

Only when this step is completed can the migration be considered a complete success.

Andrews didn't hold back in praising Lockhart. Lockhart, who had never been confident in his magic and had never shown his Oblivion Charm to outsiders, suddenly received such praise, which made him feel a strange sense of elation.

But he clearly always remembered what his ultimate goal was.

At this point, Andrews patted his chest and promised that as long as Lockhart helped to modify the memories of all twenty-odd trolls in the camp, he would definitely tell them all about his adventures in Europe over the years!

This energized Lockhart, and that very night he continued to modify the memories of the five trolls before finally resting under Andrews's arrangement.

(End of this chapter)