Chapter 27: The Source of Magic!

"Thank you, Professor Lockhart, for your explanation. It was very detailed. I will definitely keep in mind what you just said," Hermione said excitedly, putting away the notebook she had just taken notes in and placing it in her small bag.

Lockhart had just finished answering Hermione's three questions and felt a little parched. He took a sip of tea from his cup. Hearing the gratitude in Hermione's tone, a smile appeared on his face as he replied, "Alright, that's it for the questions. You should join your friends. Studying is very important, but it also requires a balance between work and rest!"

With that, Lockhart gestured with his hand, and Hermione reluctantly left the professor's box. She had originally planned to stay as long as the professor was willing to speak, hoping to get to know him better and ask more questions.

Gilderoy Lockhart had been her idol even before she met him, having become a fan through the six books he wrote. After meeting him, a simple conversation made her even more of a fan.

Professor Lockhart answered her questions in a very detailed and vivid manner, citing several interesting cases. She understood and memorized the knowledge points very easily, achieving such learning efficiency and effectiveness.

He was exactly the ideal professor in her mind, even exceeding her expectations. He was better than Professor Snape and even somewhat superior to Professor McGonagall, Hermione thought silently.

With some regret, she left the professor's box and walked towards the Gryffindor box. Lockhart watched Hermione's departing figure, his eyes half-squinted as if deep in thought.

From their exchange, it was clear that Hermione had great potential. He didn't dare to fully believe any plot he had in mind. As a researcher, he would only make judgments after verifying things himself.

However, she was a bit young, so he could only say that she had the potential to be cultivated. After all, it had only been an hour, and there had been cases where things didn't turn out well. If she could really listen to what he said and practice it, it wouldn't be a bad idea for Lockhart to accept her as his disciple.

The disciples he spoke of were not the workers he had mentioned to Dumbledore before, but fellow practitioners whom he could teach Kamar Taj magic, runes, and even bring to the Marvel world to pursue the truth together.

Researching magic cannot be accomplished by one person alone. Only by gathering collective efforts and conducting large-scale, systematic, and in-depth research can world-class results be achieved. This had been the case since ancient times, just like the weapons in his previous life - nuclear bombs, atomic bombs, etc. None of them were the result of a single person's effort.

Meanwhile, Lockhart looked closely at the train. He was quite curious about how the wizard conductor drove this magical train. Soon, Lockhart walked to the front, looked at the small bronze door opposite, and knocked three times.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Soon, the small bronze door opened. Lockhart was a little surprised. Inside was actually a house-elf!

"Professor Lockhart, is there anything Vada can do? Vada is delighted to help the Professor!" said the house-elf, wearing tattered clothes and with a somewhat ugly face.

Especially when he saw it bending down so hard that its head touched the dusty ground. He frowned slightly as he was a bit of a germaphobe.

"Clean!" Lockhart waved his wand lightly, the tip flickered, and in an instant, the stains on Vada's body quietly disappeared.

The house-elf saw that he was clean and jumped up very happily. "Thank you, thank you, Professor Lockhart. Thank you so much."

Looking at Vada, who wanted to get close to him, Lockhart immediately took a step back. He had no intention of having a close hug with the house-elf, so he directly asked, "Vada, do you drive the Hogwarts Express? Is there anyone else who helps you?"

"No, Professor Lockhart, Vada has always driven the Hogwarts Express. Vada loves this work and is very happy."

Seeing Vada dancing a little, Lockhart said in a commanding tone, "Vada, show me the Hogwarts Express Control Room."

Vada tilted her head but quickly nodded vigorously and replied loudly, "Okay, Professor Lockhart."

Soon, following Vada, Lockhart bent down and entered the Hogwarts Express Control Room. After entering, Lockhart looked at the space, which was at least twice as spacious, with some surprise. This should be the traceless expansion spell, Lockhart thought silently.

Immediately, he looked at the center of the entire space with interest, where a dark purple ball was emitting a large amount of magic power, and bronze pipes connected from the ball to all directions.

Lockhart guessed that the power of the entire Hogwarts Express came from this dark purple ball, or more appropriately, the source of magic power. The surrounding pipes should be used to circulate magic power and provide operating power for the entire express.

He asked Vada next to him and got a definite answer. His guess was not wrong. When Vada drove, he actually controlled the deep purple magic source in the middle. He controlled the speed of the Hogwarts Express by regulating the flow of magic. If restrictions were completely relaxed, the express speed would increase; if restrictions were tightened, the speed would slow down. Complete restriction meant stopping the train to allow the little wizards to get on or off.

Lockhart walked to the source of magic, and although the urge to study it welled up in his heart, he still knew what was appropriate. There were so many little wizards on the train. If there was an accident due to his research, all sorts of trouble would come to him. So, he decided to observe first and then ask Principal Dumbledore for permission to study it. As a professor, he should find it easy to ask, right? Lockhart thought silently.

Suddenly, Vada next to him touched him lightly, causing him to come back to his senses. He followed the direction of Vada's finger and looked out of the opposite window.

Huh!

Harry Potter?

At this moment, Harry Potter felt extremely unlucky. He had been happily staying with the Weasley family, preparing to enter platform nine and three-quarters and then arrive at Hogwarts. In his imagination, everything should have gone smoothly just like last year.

But, he didn't know what happened, but he and Ron couldn't enter platform nine and three-quarters. The Hogwarts Express was about to depart, but he and Ron were trapped.

Seeing the terrible situation, Harry and Ron quickly thought of a solution. Finally, they set their sights on the magical car they drove. After many twists and turns, they drove the magic car and finally found the Hogwarts Express.

However, the two of them were almost hit by the train, and Harry even nearly fell out of the car. Harry, who had just come to his senses, suddenly realized that he seemed to see a familiar figure on the train.

Professor Lockhart!