Chapter 73: Lockhart’s Curse Research

Lockhart felt the effects of his three spells and nodded with satisfaction. During his time in the Harry Potter world, he had extensively studied mind magic. Given his proficiency in memory spells, he retained a wealth of research knowledge.

Initially, he optimized the Muggle-repelling charm, allowing him to selectively block or admit certain Muggles. Later, Lockhart combined Kamar-Taj magic with psychological knowledge from his past lives, delving deeply into memory manipulation, consciousness, and cognition. The two additional spells he used today were among his smaller achievements. The results were remarkable, though there was a minor side effect—a feeling of displeasure from tampering with people's minds. Although it had little impact on Lockhart, he tried to avoid frequent use to prevent psychological repercussions. He theorized that the original Lockhart's poor personality might have been a side effect of overusing memory spells.

With Tony Stark's disruption now resolved, the psychological suggestions Lockhart implanted ensured everyone would keep the encounter secret. This idea was deeply embedded in their subconscious, compelling them to defend their actions even to themselves.

After casting the spells, Lockhart called Tony over. Soon, Tony Stark exited his Iron Man suit, turned it into a suitcase, and walked towards study room 101. As the wooden door of the study quietly opened, Tony, holding a trace of fear from the earlier strange scene, saw Lockhart sitting calmly inside.

Tony hadn't forgotten the eerie scene, recognizing that without the magic potion provided by Lockhart, he might have reacted aggressively. Even so, Lockhart's method of mind manipulation left a bad impression on him. He resolved to start work on anti-magic armor.

Lockhart watched Tony Stark place the suitcase aside and sit in the chair opposite him. Lockhart glanced at the suitcase with interest, as if nothing had happened earlier, and gently asked, "Mr. Tony Stark, why do you want to see me?"

Tony, recalling the information SHIELD provided, felt more confident but still a bit stiff. "Thank you, Mr. Lockhart, for the potion. It was very effective and saved my life."

Lockhart nodded slightly. "You should thank SHIELD. I just provided the potion to them. Who they use it on is their business."

Tony replied, "I've already thanked SHIELD. This time, I mainly wanted to meet and chat with you." He hesitated briefly, his original plan of leveraging wealth suddenly seeming inappropriate. Wizards, unlike capitalists, played with magic, not technology. Nevertheless, he continued, "I want to buy some magic metals for research."

Lockhart was puzzled. He expected Tony to seek more of the life-saving potion. However, he understood when Tony explained, "Not long ago, SHIELD invited me to participate in a wizard gold coin project. This gold coin should be provided by you, right?"

Lockhart nodded, and Tony continued with a hint of pride, "Originally, their project made no progress, but with my involvement, we achieved breakthroughs. Using Stark Industries' database, we analyzed the gold coin's elements and characteristics. We found elements similar to gold, rare earths, antimony, tungsten, tin, and other strategic resources. However, there are unknown elements we couldn't identify. We speculate these are magic metals. With more of these metals, we can attempt to synthesize a wizard gold coin."

Lockhart nodded, feeling nothing wrong with Tony's statement. He felt a touch of admiration for Tony's technological genius. Lockhart originally had little confidence in artificial synthesis, but Tony's involvement brought hope.

Lockhart, showing no outward emotion, felt a strong interest, which Tony noticed. Tony was pleased, knowing he hadn't mentioned the most crucial part. The unknown elements in wizard gold coins had amazing properties. Using them in Iron Man armor could greatly enhance its combat power. This was a key reason Tony approached Lockhart—obtaining these metals in large quantities would allow him to create a stronger, possibly magic-resistant armor, showcasing the combination of science and magic.

Lockhart didn't know Tony's full intentions, but even if he did, he wouldn't care. Science would advance, but magic wouldn't regress. Lockhart initially placed most of his hopes on Kamar-Taj, expecting little from SHIELD. Tony's involvement was a pleasant surprise.

Suddenly, Lockhart waved his hand, and over ten fragments of magic metal flew out from his space bag, landing on the table. Pointing to the metal fragments, he said, "This is the magic metal I currently have. You can take these for testing. If they don't help, I will send another batch next month."

=========================

[More Chapter available at p@treon.com/goldengaruda]

=========================