102: This year Neville will have an unforgettable Christmas

"Alright then, might as well. It's rare for anyone to ask me something this specialized," Murphet said as he pulled over two visitor chairs from the corner of the room.

"The Longbottoms' condition, strictly speaking, isn't a disease. It's more of a self-defense mechanism of the body. You already know what they went through, right?"

"The Cruciatus Curse."

Murphet nodded. "And not just any Cruciatus Curse—one cast by ruthless members of the Death Eaters. The pain inflicted by these Cruciatus Curses goes beyond what the human body's natural hormones can regulate."

As he spoke, he noticed Kasenhis' expression suddenly turning a little strange.

"Don't overthink it," Murphet added. "After I graduated from Hogwarts, I went on to study medicine at Muggle Manchester University."

"Oh! A fellow alumnus!"

"You don't have to sound so surprised. Technically, every wizard in England is an alumnus of Hogwarts—wait…"

"That's right. I meant Manchester."

"Oh! Pleased to meet you! Never expected that. What did you specialize in?"

"Civil Engineering."

The two of them immediately exchanged enthusiastic pleasantries, before finally getting back to the main topic.

"This kind of painful memory is one where recalling it even once makes the brain relive the pain as if it were happening again. You know, kind of like… Have you heard of war trauma?"

"Of course."

"In general, survivors react in one of two ways—the extreme ones lash out, drawing their wands and going on a rampage, while the quieter ones… end up like the Longbottoms."

"Do they have any physical issues?"

Murphet shook his head. "The Cruciatus Curse doesn't damage the body. Technically, it doesn't harm the soul either—it just inflicts pain on the soul. That's why I don't consider this a disease.

"And because of that, I don't know how to treat it."

"So you're saying the Longbottoms' condition is caused purely by a terrifying memory? Is there a way to erase it?" Kasenhis asked.

Murphet pulled out his wand and drew a line in the air.

"Let me explain. Ordinary memories are biological—they are stored in the brain.

"But the pain caused by the Cruciatus Curse? That's a soul memory."

"Picture this line as a patient's memory stream.

"If the memory is biological, it will leave a small mark at a single point along the line. But if it's a soul-based memory, the entire line gets covered in a thick, dark fog.

"Honestly, for a case this severe, a normal Obliviate wouldn't work. I doubt even Dumbledore could erase a memory at this level."

Kasenhis looked up at the ceiling, deep in thought.

A name came to mind—

Someone he had never thought highly of before.

But now…

"If someone could detect when they've been Confunded, and then use Obliviate on themselves to erase the effects of the Confundus Charm… would they be qualified for this task?"

Murphet shook his head. "Impossible. No one in the world could possibly cast an Obliviate of that caliber. And even if they could, we don't even know if the spell works that way."

"Oh, not necessarily," Kasenhis replied. "You have to understand—Hogwarts is full of hidden talents. Saying it's a place of untapped genius wouldn't be an exaggeration."

"Are you suggesting…?"

Kasenhis shrugged, exchanged a few polite words with Murphet, and then vanished on the spot.

Meanwhile, at Hogwarts…

Defense Against the Dark Arts Office.

Knock, knock, knock.

"Coming, coming!"

Kasenhis stood outside the door, listening as footsteps approached from a distance.

A moment later, the door swung open.

And Lockhart's dazzling smile was immediately reflected in Kasenhis' monocle.

"Heheh~ You're here." Kasenhis smiled.

Lockhart, ever polite, returned the smile as well.

Except… it was a smile that looked more like he was about to cry.

"Professor Kasenhis, I swear, I haven't done anything to offend you recently! Wh-what did I do wrong?"

"You haven't done anything wrong. I'm just here to ask—did you really use Obliviate to erase the effects of a Confundus Charm on yourself?" Kasenhis leaned against the doorframe, preventing Lockhart from closing the door.

"Obliviate… Professor Kasenhis, I'll be honest with you—many of the stories in my books are fake, but this—this is real. It's the one spell I truly specialized in."

"Then just answer me—can you do it?"

"I can."

Kasenhis nodded. "There's an opportunity here to save a broken child's family. Are you in?"

Lockhart shook his head.

"You like fame, don't you?" Kasenhis pressed. "Even you admitted your stories are fake. What's the point of fake fame? If your Obliviate works, I promise—this will earn you real recognition. Enough to get you out of Azkaban at least once."

"What kind of child-saving mission requires the use of Obliviate?"

"I'm not an expert in this field," Kasenhis admitted. "But I can promise you—there's no danger at all. If there is danger, I'll handle it. Deal?"

Lockhart stared at him, voice low. "I feel like the closest danger to me… you wouldn't handle it. And you wouldn't stop it either.**"

"Help me with this, and I swear I'll stop bothering you."

"…So I can't refuse, can I?"

"That's up to you," Kasenhis replied. "I don't mind if you refuse.. or do I? Ku ku ku~"

Gulp.. But from that answer, Lockhart understood something else entirely—

For example, refusing was his choice.

But getting beaten up on the spot was also Kasenhis' choice.

"...Let's go."

By evening, Kasenhis, Lockhart, and Augusta Longbottom arrived at St. Mungo's.

"So… Professor Kasenhis, if it were you using some Enchantment Book therapy, I'd let you try it immediately. If anything went wrong, I'd take full responsibility. But him? This fraud?" Murphet sneered, glaring at Lockhart.

"Uh… Pardon me, but why would you take the responsibility if I did the therapy? I'm just an alchemy teacher, after all." Kasenhis asked hesitantly.

"…Do you seriously not know how famous you are right now?"

"Ever since your Enchantment Book Therapy was introduced, former werewolves have been going absolutely insane—they've plastered your photo and praises across every wizarding space imaginable."

"On average, 2.5 wizards get publicly beaten up every day for speaking ill of you. At this point, it's hard NOT to recognize you as a trusted person," Murphet said, spreading his hands.

"…I never authorized that. And wizards getting beaten.. I didn't even know this was happening, not that I mind it happening."

"Yeah, I figured," Murphet nodded. "But you still want to trust this fraud?"

Kasenhis shrugged. "Different people specialize in different fields. When it comes to Obliviate, even Dumbledore might not be as skilled as him."

"Well, things won't get any worse anyway," Augusta Longbottom said trying to act calm but her trembling hands suggested that she was very anxious. If it weren't for Professor Kasen who had suggested this idea, she would...

Murphet hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "If you're not completely sure, do nothing extra. I don't want this to get worse."

Lockhart nodded in agreement and stepped into the ward.

...

Evening, Hogwarts Castle.

"Haah~ This year, Neville's going to have a Christmas he'll never forget."

"Mm… Thank you, Professor Kasenhis." Lockhart muttered.

"Why are you thanking me?"

"…Maybe because… you showed me another path." Lockhart answered.

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