8 Chapter 8
"Ah, a trip? B-But where are you going, Gilderoy? We have a lot of deals and agreements here that need to be fulfilled. If you leave now, we will lose a lot of ground with a lot of people. So please think about this, Gilderoy. If you do this, you will lose much of your fame and standing." Digby obviously knows me quite well, or at least he knew the old Gilderoy Lockhart quite well because he knows exactly what to say to convince him otherwise and knows that Gilderoy cares about his fame and how he is perceived the most.
This means that Digby. D. Digworth is intensely familiar with Lockhart and will know if something is wrong, which means I will have to tell him a believable lie that he will believe, which means that I have to give him a lie about where I am going. It needs to be a situation that will bring me more fame, as that would be the only reason for Gilderoy to abandon all his PR events in Britain and risk his reputation.
"Hmm, ah, well, Digby, my friend. I have recently heard rumours in the cold streets and the darkest pubs about the existence of a voracious, never before seen magical monster, and being the powerful wizard that I am, I obviously had to investigate further. After many nights of prowling the streets, I eventually managed to find an individual with a first-hand account of the monster." I begin my lie.
"I have since learned that this wizard was a curse breaker who went on an expedition to Antarctica, a big chunk of ice the size of a continent to the far south of Britain. While investigating a ruin and looking for treasures, he was attacked by a giant white monster that blended in with the surrounding snow and icy winds. Apparently, from what this wizard saw, the beast was a gigantic white-furred beast that stood on two legs but was more animal than man." I add some more substance to the story I am spinning.
"The wizard apparently barely escaped with his life, and the monster remains in those ruins within Antarctica. Furthermore, the wizard told me that there is a nearby town full of a tribe of people called Eskimos, and they are completely without magic and often get attacked by the monster. Hearing such things, I obviously have to go and track down this beast and prevent it from hurting those poor souls even more." That should be a good excuse for my future absence from the wizarding world until I have mastered Occlumency to the best possible degree.
I also aim to at least somewhat familiarise myself with other magic and spell, aiming to at least have the Hogwarts curriculum years 1 to 7 fully learnt. I chose Antarctica because there are no wizards or anything up there, as far as I am aware.
It is a pretty isolated and barren place, so there will likely be no one around there to say I wasn't in Antarctica. There is also no evidence to say that there is no monster up there, as it has never been adequately explored. I also bullshitted the story very quickly, so the only monster I could think of on the spot that might possibly live in Antarctica is a yeti. For all I know, maybe they actually do exist.
"But Gilderoy, how do you know that you weren't just talking to some drunk down the pub which was just making up stories? Surely it would be better to just stay here and fulfil our parts in the deals and agreements we made instead of going off on a wild goose chase. We will lose all of our reputation and the brand we have built up. Please, Gilderoy, just think about it." I also panicked and talked about a curse breaker I tracked down who told me the story, but this guy does not actually exist.
There are absolutely no rumours whatsoever going around about a monster in Antarctica. Still, there is nothing I can do about the panicked lie I told now. I just have to stick to it and brave it out, but as long as I can get as much time as possible without people annoying me, then I am willing to tell whatever lies I need to.
"Who do you think I am, Digby? Do you have such little faith in me? I, of course, verified this information and made sure that I questioned the man when he was fully sober and aware of himself. I would not go on a spontaneous trip at the behest of a drunk in a pub. Now can we hurry this along? I still need to pack and prepare for my trip. I must leave soon." It is evident that this guy cares more about the money I make than my well-being because, for every galleon I make, some of it goes into his pocket, so of course, he doesn't want me to go on a trip where my income for the duration is basically zero.
But I honestly don't give a crap about this guy or what motivates him. I just want to get this guy out of here. So for him to cancel all my other responsibilities so that I could get back to my work of trying to meditate and develop my Occlumency, I made a subtle threat to him when I questioned his loyalty and trust in me. At the same time, admittedly, it would suck for him to lose my source of income for a while. It would be worse if I fired him and cut him off from my source of income for the rest of his life.
"I would never doubt you, sir. How can I doubt the great Gilderoy Lockhart? I will be excitedly awaiting your return, Mr Lockhart. Can I just ask, when exactly will you be coming back?" Getting the message, he begins to backtrack and start his brownnosing again, now knowing his position is in danger.
The newest priority for him is knowing when I will be back so that he can prepare and get things ready to start earning money again. Still, I am afraid that I will have to disappoint him as I don't actually know how long it will take me before I believe I am ready for the Wizarding World. Still, I know that I will be taking at least a year to focus on Occlumency and learning magic, though I am not about to tell Digby here that time frame as that would be disadvantageous.
"I do not know when I will be back, Digworth. After all, no man can put a time frame on an adventure. But I estimate I will most definitely be back before a year has passed. Of course, I wouldn't be surprised to be back in less than a month due to my magical prowess, but that depends on the power of this magical arctic beast. Now good day Digby. D. Digworth, I shall see you upon my glorious return." I finish the conversation, not having any more time to spend on this idiocy.
"A-ah, but-" I slam the door closed in his face and feel the intense urge to dust my hands which I ignore, knowing that it is just Gilderoy's flair for dramatics wanting to play up. But, unfortunately, I can't afford to give them any slack in the fear that that will open up the door to allow more of Gilderoy to start coming through, which I definitely don't want. So I walk back into my apartment, still hearing that pudgy man knocking relentlessly on my door, trying to gain an audience with me again.
I contemplate going to the bedroom to continue my meditation and Occlumency training. Still, I ignore that in favour of sitting back in my living room spot. If anything listening to this guy pounding on my front door while trying to clear my head will only help improve my Occlumency, either that, or I am just going to get a big headache.
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My hand hovers dangerously close to the fire in my fireplace in the library. All the while, I have the Wizarding Wireless Network on the radio, which is currently playing the "Witching Hour", hosted by the famous singing sorceress Celestina Warbeck whose voice is flowing through the radio and by far the most annoying of all the things currently happening in the library is the massive portrait of Gilderoy Lockhart that is constantly jabbering on and on bragging about himself and his features.
All in all, due to the intense heat pushing against my hand, the melodious singing coming through the radio and the incessant words escaping from the painting, this should be one of the most uncomfortable and irritating moments in existence, and yet I remain absolutely calm, and my hand remains absurdly steady over the roaring fire. Of course, I did feel all sorts of emotions from all the activity around me, but they are being pushed out of my mind because I am clearing it of all I am feeling and suppressing all the emotions rising inside me.
It has been three months since I first woke up as Gilderoy Lockhart and set out on my journey to learn Occlumency to the best of my ability. After focusing all of my being on it for the entire three months, I have finally reached a level that I am satisfied with. I put myself in the most uncomfortable and distracting environment I had available. However, I was still able to use my Occlumency to completely calm my mind, and even with the intense heat practically roasting my hand, I was able to push out all of my feelings and thoughts to remain calm.
During these three months, all I have done is focus on my Occlumency and completely block out everything else, which includes the annoying and persistent Digby. D. Digworth, who has relentlessly, without fail everyday knocked on my front door for about ten minutes every day. I honestly don't know why he had done it because I did tell him I would be gone from anywhere from a month to over a year. Still, the next day after my conversation with him, he knocked on my front door, but I ignored it and used the racket he made to help me advance my Occlumency.
I wouldn't say that my Occlumency is the very best. I do not doubt that people like Severus Snape and Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore have much better Occlumency than me, who can stand up against the Dark Lord Voldemort. However, I would probably not be able to uphold it when under torture like they would be able to. Still, all that means is that I will have to do my very best to remain out of their clutches and become powerful enough that they won't be able to capture me to torture me.
Either way, none of that matters as now my Occlumency is advanced enough that I can suppress all of the remnants left in my mind by the old Gilderoy Lockhart, which means my mind and my actions are now all my own, but that is still not good enough for me, to function in this new world that I have found myself in I need all the information locked within this mind. Still, I can not allow myself to be influenced by the memories.
Withdrawing my hand from above the fire, I placed my hands on my knees, got up to my feet, and released my Occlumency. While my hand was a bit hot, and I wanted to itch it, I was more annoyed by the surrounding sounds. So I switch off the radio and then walk towards the massive talking magical portrait.
I don't pay any attention to what it says and just speak the inane password. "Gilderoy Lockhart is the most brilliant wizard in all the land. His blonde wavy hair glistens in the sun, and his straight white teeth shine even in the dark. His brilliance is as if a rainbow that has been given physical form, and his elegance is that of royalty, but by far his best feature is his boundless talent at magic which surpasses that of even Dumbledore himself."
The bookshelf swings open, and I walk inside with only one goal in my mind, locating the book that I want on the shelf. I take a deep breath, push my Occlumency into full force, and completely clear my mind. Then, feeling nothing, I walk forward and go to pick up the black leather-bound book that used its dark magic on me three months earlier and affected my mind in a corrupting way. My fingers touch lightly to the book's spine, and I wait for a second.
Nothing happens, so I fully grasp the book and pull it out of the shelf so that I can pull out all of its sordid little secrets and use them to my own benefit. This book is the key to my future.
