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."
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[More Chapter available at p@treon.com/goldengaruda]
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Something was wrong today. Peter Parker thought silently to himself, but he couldn't pinpoint what it was. Everything felt a little off, especially seeing only a few customers in the book café. His intuition kept nudging him, as if something had been distorted.
But as he looked at the photo he had taken with Tony Stark, a sense of joy overcame him, and he pushed those thoughts aside. The photo had been hard to get, and he needed to cherish it. He also had to keep it a secret.
Peter hesitated, debating whether to try to eavesdrop on his idol or not. He had promised Aunt May he wouldn't pester Tony Stark, but his curiosity was strong. If Lockhart were to observe him closely, he would notice a silver light and a red light constantly entangled in Peter's mind—Lockhart's spell at war with Peter's instinct. The spell was effective, keeping Peter's thoughts mostly in check.
Peter decided to let go of his doubts and focused his perception, trying to listen in on the conversation between Tony Stark and Mr. Lockhart. Unfortunately, the study's soundproofing was excellent, and he couldn't hear anything.
After a while, Peter's eyes lit up as he sensed May carrying a tray of tea towards the study. He carefully followed her movements with his perception, hoping to catch something from the conversation.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
Tony, who was discussing theories with Lockhart, heard the knock and frowned slightly. He disliked being interrupted but saw Lockhart nod and say, "Come in!"
Tony stopped speaking as May entered with the tea tray. She placed the cups on the table, poured tea for both men, and suddenly heard Lockhart's voice.
"May, when Mr. Stark leaves, give him the store bank account information . He will transfer an amount of 1 million dollars into it, to be used for maintaining the café."
May was stunned for a moment. One million dollars? What had her boss done to earn that from Tony Stark? She glanced at Tony, who nodded slightly, confirming the arrangement. May had no more questions. The boss had earned the money, and her café management hadn't even turned a profit.
Feeling a bit frustrated, she soon felt revitalized. If her plan worked, the café could definitely make a lot of money. This was an idea that came to her yesterday, and Lockhart's magic today prevented her from noticing any oddities. If he had noticed, he might have provided a magical suggestion.
As May agreed and left, Lockhart added a spell to block sound and perception. He poured tea for himself and Tony and resumed the conversation.
"Tony, continue. Your point of view sounds very interesting."
Tony smiled, took a sip of tea, and continued, "Lockhart, you mentioned that magic impacts technological products, causing them to fail. I believe magic has an unknown type of radiation with special properties. It transforms the human body, granting unimaginable abilities, while also drastically affecting technological products."
Tony added, "A lot of cases show that many technological products react adversely or become non-functional in areas with special radiation. If we analyze this unknown radiation, we might neutralize or eliminate it within a certain range, allowing technological products to function normally."
Lockhart thought of Hogwarts, especially the vast magical power contained within it, and nodded. Seeing Lockhart's reaction, Tony became excited and continued, "If we can neutralize magic radiation, technological products like positioning systems, flying mechanisms, and scanning devices could operate normally."
Lockhart found Tony's description fascinating. It sounded like Tony was aiming to break into magical places like Hogwarts with his Iron Man armor. Though unlikely, it would be interesting to see.
Lockhart silently recorded Tony's valuable points, planning to test them in the Harry Potter world. Full realization of Tony's theory was impossible, as magic in the Harry Potter world allowed consciousness to override matter, exemplified by the Room of Requirement at Hogwarts. The theory of magical radiation couldn't fully explain this, but it might impact magic in certain ways. Lockhart decided to let Tony test his theories to perfect the magical practice system.
After a while, Tony finished his tea and was about to pour another cup when Lockhart used the Sling Ring to make the tea rise.
Seeing this, Tony exclaimed, "Lockhart, is it really impossible for me to learn magic?"
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[More Chapter available at p@treon.com/goldengaruda]
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