Chapter 112: The Brazen Con Artist
Chapter 112: The Brazen Con Artist
More than fifty wands floated behind the goblin. The moment Sherlock began his incantation, the tips of each wand glowed with a faint red light!
The goblin dragging Jonathan and Fleur suddenly became alert!
He spun around and saw the dense cluster of wands behind him. His eyes widened like cowbells, and he instinctively rolled to the left to dodge!
But the next second, red light flashed!
Due to the different characteristics of the wands and Sherlock's varying levels of compatibility with them, about ten wands misfired, twelve wands shot off target, and the remaining thirty or so spells hit the goblin at different times.
Eight spells struck the goblin first. This goblin, already weakened by Harry's Stunning Spell, did not immediately turn to stone!
He tried to point at Sherlock with his finger, but his movements became abnormally slow.
When the next batch of nine spells hit him, he finally froze in place and fell to the ground, powerless.
The final seventeen spells followed, reinforcing the petrification charm.
Sherlock observed the practical effects of the mass spellcasting and couldn't help but click his tongue, shaking his head as he muttered to himself.
"The individual effect is still too low. At least ten hits are needed to be effective, and ideally, all the wands should be uniform to avoid misfires."
The one controlling these wands was naturally Sherlock, who had learned this magic by stitching his soul together after using Tom's residual soul as a thread.
Because of its unique characteristics, Sherlock named this magic "Control."
At first, he found it incredibly convenient for daily life, completely freeing his hands and allowing him to perform most tasks without a wand.
Then, one day, he had a sudden idea: if Control magic could replace his hands, could it also be used to control wands for non-contact spellcasting?
The first experiment was a success, confirming his hypothesis.
However, the magic's effectiveness was greatly diminished when used this way. Stunning Spells didn't stun, petrification charms didn't hold, and disarming charms barely made an opponent's wand twitch.
So, he didn't delve too deeply into this method.
But today, it unexpectedly came in handy and gave him a new idea to address the issue of reduced spell power.
If one wand wasn't enough, use multiple!
The Control magic allowed him to manipulate everything at will, far more flexible than using his hands.
After all, one hand can't wield two wands simultaneously, but Control magic could handle two hundred.
If quality was lacking, quantity could make up for it.
Not accurate enough?
Two hundred wands shooting laser rain at you—how could you possibly dodge?
Of course, the specifics of how to execute this would need further research. For now, Sherlock had to deal with the situation at hand.
He directed a few wands to float to his side and used the Cutting Curse to sever the ropes binding him. The ropes instantly split, and Sherlock stood up, walking over to the petrified goblin.
"You've committed a grave sin. Stealing a wizard's wand as a goblin—receiving the Dementor's Kiss isn't out of the question."
Sherlock used the Levitation Charm again to lift Jonathan, the goblin, and Fleur. The goblin, though petrified, could still hear Sherlock's words.
A flash of fear crossed its eyes, but it continued to glare at him with a show of bravado.
Sherlock paid no heed to its gaze. He waved his hand, placing the fifty-odd wands back into the wooden box. Then, he led the three floating figures toward the edge of the forest.
By this time, many young wizards had found fragments of the Philosopher's Stone and disputes had already broken out.
But if Nicolas Flamel was a fake, then the Philosopher's Stone fragments in the forest were also fake.
Sherlock found a few relatively rational wizards, explained the truth to them, and asked the local French wizards to call the Aurors from the Ministry of Magic.
Soon, all the young wizards in the forest learned they had been deceived. They regrouped in the Lemey family's backyard, looking at the bound goblin and Jonathan with disbelief.
No one could have imagined that someone would dare to impersonate Nicolas Flamel and carry out a fraud!
Several wizards who had fought over the fake Philosopher's Stone fragments were now red-faced with embarrassment.
They had fought bloody battles over a fake stone, and if this news got out, they would surely become a laughingstock.
The Aurors arrived quickly, and Fleur's father also rushed over.
Sherlock recounted the events, including Jonathan's plan to kidnap and sell Fleur, which left him shaken. He repeatedly thanked Sherlock and hurriedly took the unconscious Fleur back home.
The Aurors, meanwhile, efficiently dealt with the goblin and Jonathan, as the real Nicolas Flamel was still at large.
They managed to obtain the permission to use the truth serum in less than ten minutes and, without a word, administered it to the goblin who had just been freed from petrification.
From his mouth, they learned that they had never actually met Nicolas Flamel.
Instead, more than a week before the others, they had seen a note on the Lemm family's door, which stated that Nicolas Flamel had gone out on business and would not return until July 28th.
A wizard with the ability to change his appearance into Marcus and a goblin, these two audacious fraudsters, had teamed up to orchestrate this scam.
Jonathan had an almost fanatical love and desire for the wands of famous people.
Those who had received a letter of recommendation to visit Nicolas Flamel were considered the cream of the crop among young wizards. According to local French customs, the cores of their wands were invariably sourced from their ancestors, imbued with various highly significant magical substances.
He had set his sights on the wands of these individuals, altered the time on the note, and impersonated Nicolas Flamel to trick them out of their wands.
The goblin and Jonathan were old partners; one wanted the wands, and the other wanted the money.
They had targeted Fleur in advance, attracted by the special nature of her wand and her veela half-blood status.
They had set a trap in Aspewizard town, and at that time, Fleur should have already fallen into their net.
However, Sherlock and Harry happened to encounter her on the way and brought her back to Paris, leaving Jonathan empty-handed and unable to find the missing Fleur.
Even in Paris, they did not give up. Using the identity of a fellow student, they set another trap, but it was ultimately foiled by Sherlock.
The French Ministry of Magic took this matter very seriously, and an assistant head of the Auror Office was sent to handle the case.
Upon meeting Sherlock, he clasped his hand with immense relief, thanking him nonstop.
"Thank you so much, Mr. Forrest. If you hadn't uncovered the problem, these two fraudsters would have fled to America after their success, and we would have lost all hope of catching them. We have already contacted Mr. Flamel, and he is on his way back."
At the French Ministry of Magic, Sherlock and Harry had become honored guests.
After taking their statements and understanding the full course of events, they were seated in a comfortable lounge, with the assistant head of the Auror Office personally accompanying them. He even planned to award them the French Friendly Wizard Award.
The assistant head, speaking with a French accent, repeatedly expressed his gratitude and mentioned that the real Nicolas Flamel would soon return to personally thank them. Then, he left the lounge.
Sherlock took the opportunity to ask Harry about his situation, and Harry recounted the incident where the goblin had transformed into Fleur and attempted to ambush him.
"Jonathan clearly had his eye on your wand, the famous Harry Potter's wand. If he had gotten it, he would probably be hugging it to sleep at night", Sherlock joked, sipping the black tea provided by the Ministry of Magic, feeling relaxed.
Harry, after the initial excitement, felt a wave of fear.
"Thank goodness you warned me, Professor. Otherwise, I might have really lost my wand to him."
"You've become much more alert and quick to react. I didn't expect them to impersonate Fleur instead of me."
As they were talking, the door to the lounge was suddenly pushed open from the outside.
An elderly man with silver hair, a face full of wrinkles, and a familiar appearance walked in with a gentle smile.
Nicolas Flamel.
There was no way this could be a fake, given that they were at the Ministry of Magic.
Sherlock and Harry stood up from the sofa, showing their respect to this elder, who was even more senior than Dumbledore.
"Mr. Flamel."
Nicolas Flamel waved his hand casually.
"Please sit down. There's no need to be so formal in front of me. Albus and I are old friends, and he wrote to me specifically about you, especially since you've done me such a great favor."
He sat down on the sofa, and Sherlock and Harry followed suit.
"Due to an unexpected health issue with my wife, I've been with her at a magical hospital in Germany for the past few days. I only found out about this today. Thank you. Otherwise, I might have tarnished my reputation in my old age."
Nicolas Flamel sincerely thanked Sherlock.
Sherlock humbly replied.
"You are too kind, Mr. Flamel. We just happened to uncover the truth. Besides, even if we hadn't, the two fraudsters would have stolen the wands, and it wouldn't have been your fault."
Nicolas Flamel smiled and shook his head.
Having lived for over six hundred years, how could he not see through such a situation?
Even if the impostor had been a fraud, the public might still have formed a different opinion once the news spread.
(End of Chapter)
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