Chapter 24

Sis chose Australia, so I had to run around a lot, but money and magic allowed me to solve all problems quickly. Especially the standard ones. In the middle of July we left the country with an international portal-key and a new marathon began. Buying a plot of land, building a house, filing documents, getting protection for the acquisition, passing exams, doing finishing work, in general, one move — two fires. I was not in a hurry to return to the historical homeland, but I had to.

— Stop wiping snot — said to me the big sister and demanded to leave to settle down independently. I didn't argue but demanded that she report back regularly. To which she responded by taking under the visor and in a squeaky voice said: "Yes sir!" We laughed, hugged and parted.

It rained in England, but it was as usual and even kind of nice. The first thing I did was to mature a new batch of diamonds. Hehe, I started with herbs and now I'm growing diamonds. Botanist, though. The second went with the snake to ravage a nest of Acromantulas. I spent a lot of money, the land near the Australian Magic School is very expensive. Guzar knew exactly where the giant magic spiders lived. After we destroyed their nest, they hadn't moved very far. He didn't visit them himself, but if he met one in the forest, he would have a snack. Like any good male, he was not averse to food.

I knew, of course, that acromantulas were intelligent, or at least semi-intelligent from a magician's point of view. But the fact that they would meet us and try to negotiate with us was somewhat unexpected. Aragog, the head of the Acromantulas of the Forbidden Forest, insisted that the nest not be destroyed and that the children not be eaten. On the second point we did not agree, to forbid the snake to eat anyone other than people,

I did not want to. In order to keep the house, all the adult spiders had to collect their venom and work on making webs. Granted, there was noticeably less of it than in the nest, but still solid. Guzar had eaten a few acromantulas in the end, because the snake's soul couldn't bear to look at the food. And anyway, it was not for nothing that he crawled here, he was wasting his strength. It was interesting that Aragog treated him with some understanding. They parted content with each other.

For the rest of August, Harry crumpled up every time they met, obviously wanting to say something, but he couldn't make up his mind. The reason for the boy's anxiety was clear to me without any Legilimency. The boy had finally learned about the magical world. So he suffered. He wanted to share, to ask for advice, and he was afraid for me. I wonder who told him that Muggles have their memories erased when they break the Statute of Secrecy? Hagrid? It's unlikely, more likely Auntie.

He didn't make up his mind. He gave a perfectly adequate version of the private boarding school he would be attending in the fall and said that he would only be able to help out around the house during the summer holidays. To which I sighed, asked him not to forget to write, slipped him a few hundred pounds, say a bonus. That's how we parted until next summer.

Having improved my financial situation and planted the whole greenhouse with mandrakes, I went looking for Lockhart. And there was a big ambush waiting for me. The famous writer was not often seen in public, and it was a pleasure to see how professionally he concealed his address from his admirers. I played cat and mouse with him all fall, but I tracked him down. He had a house next to the publishing house. And he was well protected, for two weeks I carefully wove spells to make myself an uninvited guest.

One dark night I visited the handsome man, applied Imperio, forced him to share memories of his life, erased his memory with obliviate and went home, Pensieve to finish. And somehow, with all these spy games and other things, I didn't have time to make all the improvements to it.

Is it easy to look through a person's whole life, starting from the time of mere childhood? Not really, even taking into account the fact that it was possible to rewind the events, it took me until the summer. It was clear that I wasn't going to spend all day in the artifact, but only as much as possible without affecting the other cases. But there were not that many.

Besides, I'd given myself a lot of work. The submission spell made Lockhart copy things he couldn't even remember. On the one hand, that was a big plus, especially when it came to his school days, since his teachers remembered him, but on the other hand, it was a lot of unnecessary information. Perhaps if someone decided to put us side by side and interrogate us, the original Gilderoy would be recognized as a fake.

I didn't try to be original with the method of introduction, the Polyjuice Potion is good because it fakes not only appearance, but also energy. And if the former, it might even pass a DNA test, but the latter is a blasphemy. The spy's aura will only take the form of the victim's aura, and as much as it can. For example, if I decide to pretend to be a Muggle, who by definition has an underdeveloped magical layer, my own will certainly shrink, but no one will mistake me for a muggle. But that's not really relevant here.

Lockhart is a decent wizard, even if I am noticeably stronger, but I will fit in just fine. Besides, he and I have very similar physiques, which is very good. I'm not going to be him for a few hours, almost ten months in someone else's body, you know, it affects. On the other hand, it's useful for the development of metamorphosis abilities, which I'm not shaky or unstable in working on. It's a very interesting skill with a wide range of applications.

After organizing my memories, I calculated how much Polyjuice Potion I needed to make. It turned out to be a little less than a hundred liters. Based on sixteen servings per day. However, it is better to have a reserve. Ingredients are sold freely and the prices are not so much biting, just show a grin. In school, on the other hand, access is restricted to everything that can be used in instant poisons. If a mage doesn't die immediately, he probably won't die again. With timely help, of course. Although sometimes death is better, wizards and witches are so complicated that it makes your hair stand on end.

I have to figure out how to take the Polyjuice Potion. Barty as Alastor Moody could drink a potion every five minutes. He not fit the bill. A drunken Lockhart would look odd. It was worth remembering the Weasley twins' Canary Fudge, and the solution was found. Gilderoy eating mints or chewing gum would look quite appropriate. Especially the lollipops, as they give a pleasant taste to the breath.

To brew a potion was not according to the recipe that Hermione used in the canon, there were better, the more in the choice of ingredients I am not limited by anyone. Of course, the taste is still specific, but flavor at least it's not disgusting. Muggle food flavorings did a great job with the former, by the way. While the potion was bubbling and steeping, I chatted with Harry.

The boy was very worried about Quirrell's death, though he was trying to keep it together. The Dursleys were also giving him a hard time about Dobby's sickly house-elf. All in all, his life hadn't been easy. I supported him as best I could. Let the boy talk. Of course, he said, "What if someone did it?" But I think he realized that I could see him behind that someone. I was doing some homemade, self-taught psychology. I don't even think it was fruitless. I think he was more afraid that I would push him away. And then there was the epic appearance of the redheads in the flying car. I think let him have fun, look at an example of other family relationships. It's will be a learning experience.