Hermione, join me as Minister of Magic!

The professors at Hogwarts also bid farewell to him politely. After all, as a colleague, Lockhart belongs to the type that is very easy to get along with.

Chapter 140 Domestication

After staying in Hogsmeade for one night, Lockhart disapparated the next day and returned to his residence in London.

Although Dobby does not have the stupid loyalty of other house-elves because of his freedom, he still does a good job. At least his house can be said to be cleaned spotlessly, and it is completely impossible to see that no one has lived there for more than half a year. look.

For this reason, Lockhart generously rewarded Dobby with ten Galleons, and encouraged him to do a good job amidst his ecstatic voice of gratitude.

Then he went back to his study room, closed the curtains, and began to check what he had gained for a while.

The biggest harvest is naturally the Ravenclaw's golden crown. As a member of Ravenclaw, he deserves it.

Thanks to Voldemort's negligence, no protective magic was applied to this Horcrux at the beginning. Perhaps he felt that his soul was so wise, and with the addition of the wisdom of the Golden Crown, he would definitely be able to solve the problem by himself.

It has to be said that this piece of soul bewitched Lockhart much more powerfully than the diary, and he recognized the situation almost instantly, and even the words "I am willing to be your loyal servant and help you reach the pinnacle of power" All kinds of words have been spoken.

Lockhart then cast a Daydreaming Charm on the diadem, shutting the mouth of the soul and causing the dementor to suck it out.

The leader of the dementors happily accepted the gift, and said that after Lockhart cast a spell, the piece of soul seemed to become more delicious.

Without Voldemort's soul, the Ravenclaw Arcana belonged to Lockhart intact.

He wanted to give this Horcrux to Dumbledore right away, but he suddenly remembered

, he couldn't explain how he knew about it, so he had to let it go.

Forget it, wait for another two years, and he will be fine after two years. Just say that he discovered it by accident while performing official duties.

Besides, he also wanted to try the effect of this golden crown.

Compared with being destroyed by fire in the original book, this crown with a long history and great value deserves a better courtesy. Just because wearing it can increase people's wisdom, Lockhart also feels that it should not be easily destroyed.

However, the matter of testing the golden crown had to be put aside first, and he had to deal with the second "big harvest" of his trip as soon as possible.

And this "big catch" is Rita Skeeter.

Since locking her in a candy box, Lockhart drilled a few small holes in the box for her to breathe, at most he threw a little candy, boiled potatoes, etc. into it every now and then to ensure that she wouldn't starve to death. That's fine.

He didn't rush to negotiate with her right away, but wanted to lock her up for a month first, in order to calm her down.

Lockhart has studied a little psychology, knows Pavlov's dog training experiments, and knows that humans, like dogs, can be "domesticated".

Even the seemingly most irrational "love" is the same, lovers can also be domesticated.

As long as you use her psychology of wanting to "get" and give him/her some positive feedback when he/she does something in line with your wishes, then after a long time, your lover will be domesticated by you to become what you want The way you want to be—instead of yelling, giving negative feedback in a quarrelsome way, pushing him/her further and further away.

Don't forget about the Stockholm effect - the reason why it exists is that the victim instinctively feels that being raped is a "shameful" and "disgraceful" thing, so it is difficult to face the reality.

At this time, as long as the perpetrator gives a little positive feedback and treats him/her better, he/she will deceive himself and say "it's because of love", and love is of course noble, romantic, and irrational behavior, so after deceiving themselves like this, they will feel better.

Of course, others will find it difficult to understand this kind of psychology, and when they kindly try to persuade him/her to get rid of this relationship, he/she will also fly into a rage and scold the person who persuaded him/her, because those kind-hearted people broke the relationship. their deluded dreams of self-deception.

Thinking about those patients with Notre Dame in Northern Europe, is it possible to understand their behavior?

Therefore, the so-called Stockholm effect is not something incomprehensible, it is nothing more than a group of psychologically fragile guys deceiving themselves.

"Taming" Rita Skeeter is of great significance to Lockhart, because as a politician, as long as he wants to be in power, he must have his own media, his own voice channel, and his own queen reporter.

Moreover, this queen reporter cannot be a simple interest relationship, the politician must have the ability to "control" him/her.

Those who have watched "House of Cards" should know how much those qualified politicians value the media. They use public opinion to attack their political opponents. Just how nasty.

Relatively speaking, the Ministry of Magic's attack on Lockhart was simply innocuous, and Fudge easily gave up his advantage, just because he saw that Lockhart was showing weakness and surrendering to him.

If it were the politicians that Lockhart had met in his previous life, when they saw the enemy wavering, they would definitely rush up and beat the dog in the water.

After sending Dobby out to do some shopping, Lockhart closed the curtains and took the candy box to the basement of the house.

After entering the basement, Lockhart locked the door behind his back, lit a candle, and then

Finally, the green beetle was released from the candy box.

After being released, the big beetle couldn't wait to transform into a woman wearing red-rimmed glasses, a bright green coat, and golden curly hair

"Good morning, Miss Skeeter, it's a lovely day, isn't it?

Rita Skeeter was half kneeling on the ground at this time, after hearing what Lockhart said, she couldn't help raising her head.

The dark, narrow basement resembles the closed environment in a candy box, and the flickering candlelight as a light source is almost the same as the small hole drilled on the box, which immediately made her feel as if she was still locked up. In the candy box, it still hasn't been released.

"Good morning? Is it morning? Where is this place? You bastard! This is illegal detention and I'm going to sue you!"

Rita Skeeter, who was released, immediately roared. The nearly one-month life was not a good memory for her, and it was a sign of her strong willpower that she didn't go crazy.

"A charge? Come on, I just stumbled across a fun beetle on the windowsill and grabbed it. If that counts as a crime, I think everyone should be held accountable for the ants they've accidentally trampled and Flying insects swallowed in sleep have been punished by thousands of knives."

Lockhart was not ambiguous either, and easily covered up Skeeter's accusation with one sentence.

He was also warning her by saying this, telling her what method he would use to get rid of the crime if she wanted to die, and this statement was reasonable-he just caught a beetle for fun.

Lockhart's understatement made Rita Skeeter feel discouraged for a while, because

Because she knew what Lockhart said was right, she had no way to accuse him, and she would definitely be arrested for illegally registering Animagus.

I'm not kidding, casually casting Transfiguration, especially casting Transfiguration on the human body, in the eyes of the Ministry of Magic, its seriousness is far more serious than violating the "Secrecy Act" or cultivating dangerous creatures, second only to using unforgivable The curse kills directly.

For all transfigurations are impermanent unless they are permanent transfigurations imposed by persons of profound magic in obedience to the laws of transmutation of matter.

Suppose a wizard turns wood into a glass of water, and someone inadvertently drinks the water.And after the magic disappears, the person who drank the wood will definitely die suddenly on the spot, because every fiber of the wood will penetrate into his body cells, and he will die miserably.

Unless it is an Advanced Transfiguration class or Aurors use Transfiguration to fight, under normal circumstances the Ministry of Magic only allows wizards to use Transfiguration to transform on a solid level, and it is strictly forbidden to turn inedible objects into food. Toxic substances or indigestible substances turn into gases or liquids to prevent people from inhaling, drinking by mistake, or inhaling when the deformed liquid evaporates.Once this kind of accident happens, even a wizard with profound magic power may not be able to escape death if he is caught off guard.

If dead objects are so difficult to change, it is even more difficult to change people, because they must figure out all the corresponding parts from beginning to end before and after the change, so as to prevent accidental loss during deformation.

Generally speaking, if it is not a wizard of the level of Professor McGonagall, it is a gamble to perform body transformation without permission. As long as a part of the body cannot be transformed back, that person will be completely finished.

Don't look at Harry's father, McGonagall and Rita Skeeter have also succeeded, but think about it, there are only 7 legal Animagus in the past century, and the free-form Druid is even more. With none left, you know how hard it can be.You can't just remember these successful people. Master Rowling didn't write about how many people died due to failure in transformation.

That's why Professor McGonagall warned the little wizards severely in the first Transfiguration class that Harry attended, saying that "Transfiguration is the most dangerous subject." Professor McGonagall was not scaring these children , she has always said one thing.

Like Rita Skeeter, who conducts body transformation without supervision and without registration, once she is caught by the Ministry of Magic, the punishment she will receive will far exceed the "Secrecy Act". How much less punishment would it receive than using the Cruciatus Curse.

"What do you want?" she asked hoarsely.

P.So there are more words in the original, but a large part of the middle has been deleted... Let’s just read Chapter 140 Obedience is the first step of domestication

By now, Rita Skeeter has figured it out. Since Lockhart didn't send her to the Ministry of Magic immediately, it must be because she still has value to be used. She is safe until she loses her value. .

Even if she couldn't figure out this truth for a while, after thinking about it for more than a month, she should have figured it out.

"Tell me, what exactly do you want? Want me to write two articles praising Dumbledore? Or to make you enter the Ministry of Magic?"

Rita Skeeter wanted to question Lockhart in a menacing way, but after she said it, she realized that her tone was too weak, as if she was begging him.

There is no way, such things as human willpower have always been a false proposition. Unless one can have extremely fanatical beliefs, no matter how strong willpower is, it will not be able to withstand confinement in a small black house and starvation.

"Those are not important. I don't need you if I want to build momentum or sing praises, unless my brain is broken."

In the candlelight, Lockhart's expression looked a little strange and unpredictable: "Instead, I want you to attack me harder in the newspapers, using as many ugly words as you can. If you lack material, I can even Offer you some."

"What?" Rita Skeeter thought she had heard wrong.

Lockhart sighed and used Snape's favorite sarcasm: "It seems that you have been a beetle for so long that even the volume of your brain needs to be measured in microliters? Don't you I don’t even know how to do my old job anymore. It seems that it’s better for me to change to someone else.”

"No...I mean what the hell are you thinking about."

Rita Skeeter was a little alarmed, because it was the first time she had heard of such a strange request.

But Lockhart lowered his face: "You don't need to know my purpose, Miss Skeeter, what you should think about is your choice."

"choose?"

"Yes, or no," Lockhart pressed her.

"Ha! Choice?" Rita Skeeter yelled exaggeratedly, her voice was very harsh in the basement, "What choice do I have? Other than being blackmailed by you and having to follow orders for the rest of my life, What other options do I have?

Not only was she shouting hoarsely, but she also looked a little hysterical. It was obvious that she had been thinking about her situation during this month, and she had come to many bad conclusions.

However, Lockhart did not intend to make her "pure-minded", because that would not be worthwhile.

If Hermione did what Hermione did in the original book, Rita Skeeter would not be able to get enough exciting news because Hermione ordered her to prohibit rumors and incitement, and would end up in poverty. There got a big business there - writing a biography of Dumbledore.

That "Dumbledore's Life and Lies" can be said to have played Rita Skeeter's housekeeping skills. In addition to confusing the public and turning things upside down, it also made many "facts" from multiple perspectives. , In-depth alternative interpretation.

For example, Dumbledore plagiarized other people's academic achievements, such as Dumbledore's tragic and rebellious childhood, such as Dumbledore's fascination with black magic, and his love and killing with Grindelwald...

What's even more frightening is that many of the facts are actually true, and it's obviously not news that a small reporter of Rita Skeeter's level can get.

Apparently, Voldemort and the Death Eaters got these from various sources and aggregated them to Rita Skeeter.

If this book is made the "official version", Dumbledore's posthumous reputation will be wiped out, which is what Voldemort wants to see.

Although Lockhart tried his best to prevent this book from being published in the future, he did not lower his opinion of Rita Skeeter because of this, and he also slightly criticized the approach in Hermione's original book, because he did not I don't think Hermione can solve the problem by blackmailing Rita Skeeter into something like this.

Just like cats eat fish, dogs eat meat, and Ultraman fights little monsters, unscrupulous reporters want to fabricate news because of their professional needs, or the market's needs for their careers.

Politicians want to discredit political opponents, so unscrupulous journalists are needed to spread rumors and incite.And the public wants to watch celebrity gossip, or see the collapse of some high-ranking celebrities, so they also need reporters who specialize in this industry.

After all, this kind of reporter is just a mouthpiece for market demand.

You can attack them for their personal morality, but as a profession, "self-cursors" who specialize in this line of work are the product of market demand just like "prostitutes"

If you want to eliminate this kind of evil, you cannot simply expect social and moral progress, but eliminate this market environment.

It's like after the webcast platform came out, many "ladies" changed their careers to do live broadcasting

Because they earn a lot of money, the price of doing it has also risen accordingly. The old drivers will even call the police angrily because they can't find a girl whose appearance is above the passing line in the clubhouse, or a girl of the same level asks for too high a price.

This is certainly a nonsense thing, but on the bright side, at least the webcast is flat.

The appearance of the stage, as well as the more and more realistic silicone dolls have reduced the cost of many clubs.

Buying and selling, this is at least a little bit of progress in terms of social good customs, and this is called "eliminating the environment and soil of bad customs"

Similarly, if you want to get rid of reporters like Rita Skeeter, you can't expect them to "discover their conscience", or to prevent the general public from yearning for celebrities to gossip and politicians to attack their political opponents.

You have to let everyone have the opportunity to show their skills and become a star, so that everyone will know that all stars are ordinary people, so they will stop caring about celebrity gossip; you have to let politicians get promoted by relying on their achievements instead of showing off, so they won't think hard To tear the pants of political opponents.

But before he can change the rules, Lockhart must first ensure that he can take the lead.

"Do you need me to be clearer? I want you to continue to attack me in the newspapers, and you must use all means. No matter how many people scold you, you can't stop. If the attack is not strong enough, I want you to attack me." Trouble with you." Lockhart continued

Seeing Rita Skeeter's disbelieving eyes, Lockhart slowly bent down and pinched her chin.

Live by yourself, if someone contacts you because of your attack on me, remember to inform me, if they want to give you "hard work fee", you can accept it, and I will give you another one...Little boy, so Good thing, you won't refuse, will you?"

Because she was so shocked, Rita Skeeter even forgot to resist for a while.

"But…why?" she asked.

"I don't think I need to explain to you what I'm going to do, stupid woman." Lockhart pushed her back roughly, "You just need to remember that from now on you will honestly do what I tell you to do , do more, ask less."

Rita Skeeter was pushed to the ground by him, feeling dizzy again.

Because she can only eat candy and biscuits for a month, her current physical condition is not very good, her mind is completely messed up, and because she has been

In the fear of being blackmailed, there is no time to think.

"I, I will do it! As you wish, okay? This is what you asked for." She finally gave in.

Seeing her subdued, Lockhart smiled with satisfaction.

"Very good! It seems that you finally understand your situation. This is a good start, right? From today on, you have to report to me once a week at work. If you dare not come, you will be in trouble for the rest of your life." don't use it anymore, do you know what I mean?

■

Although unwilling, Rita can only admit defeat.

"Yes." Her voice was undetectable.

Seeing that Rita had already expressed her obedience, Lockhart knew that he should give her some sweetness at this time, so that she would have a reason to deceive him.

"Don't make such an expression on me. If you are smart enough, you should know my political ambitions. You are on a bright road. When you are too old to walk, lie in bed and think about it. When you think about today, you thank yourself for today," Lockhart said.

Chapter 140 Second, Someone Who Hopes Frustrated

After confirming that Rita Skeeter was indeed honest, Lockhart released her out of the basement.

In the dining room, Lockhart had a good lunch.

Although he was a little surprised that a guest appeared at home at some time, Dobby didn't ask any more questions, and directly made food for two people.