"The family is exploring some ancient external potion formulas," Regulus replied after a moment of thought.
"Similar to ancient sacrificial totems, but hopefully safer and more controllable. We need to find a potion material that can safely adhere to the skin, stably carry, and slowly release specific magical effects."
"This involves a series of issues such as material compatibility, magic penetration, and long-term stability."
Lily's eyes lit up; this clearly piqued her strong academic interest.
"It sounds like expanding potions from internal consumption to external application, and it has to be compatible with the wizard's own magic… that's so interesting!"
"Can I help? I mean, if you need someone to analyze formulas with you, or test some basic material combinations."
She volunteered, her face glowing with eagerness.
Regulus looked into her eyes; there was only a passion for knowledge.
He nodded. "If you're interested and willing to put in the time, I do indeed need a reliable collaborator."
"However, this might take up a lot of your spare time, and there might not be any significant results in the short term."
"It doesn't matter!" Lily said without hesitation. "Being able to work on such a project is a reward in itself, and…"
She paused, her tone sincere. "Thank you for being willing to tell me all this—about magic, about… the situation outside, and the paper methodology from last time."
"It makes me feel like… we're friends now, right? Friends should help each other."
Regulus nodded slightly, his tone softening. "Yes, friends. I'm very grateful for your help with this."
"If you ever need my insight or help with magic or anything else in the future, please feel free to ask."
Friendship is never a one-sided taking or giving, but an exchange and sharing of value.
Lily understood; she nodded vigorously, a bright smile on her face.
When parting with Lily, Regulus earnestly instructed, "There's no need to tell others what I've said."
Lily understood the stakes and nodded solemnly. "I promise!"
…Regulus needed to prepare for tonight's plan: entering the Restricted Section.
An Invisibility Cloak would be an excellent tool, but he didn't have one.
So, the Disillusionment Charm was a good choice.
This was an advanced piece of magic, usually not mastered by lower-year students.
But in the House of Black's collection, there were detailed records of it. Regulus had already looked through them and memorized the principles.
The Disillusionment Charm isn't true invisibility; it's more like optical camouflage.
It requires high magic control and sustained concentration from the caster, but for Regulus, those were the things he lacked least.
He found an abandoned broom cupboard on the seventh floor of the castle and locked the door.
On his first attempt, he concentrated, spoke the incantation, and magic spread across the surface of his body.
He could feel the light beginning to distort, but the effect was extremely unstable, like looking through a violently rippling surface of water. His silhouette was blurred and flickering, completely failing to achieve concealment.
A failure. The magic output was uneven, and the manipulation of light was too crude.
On the second attempt, he adjusted the magic output, trying to make the magic cover his body more smoothly.
The effect was slightly better, but his body looked like a color-distorted chameleon patch, clashing with the texture of the surrounding walls; any slight movement would give him away.
Still a failure. The simulation of environmental colors and textures wasn't precise enough.
Third time, fourth time… He kept adjusting, from the incantation and gestures to the details of magic output, then to how to more accurately perceive the surrounding environment and details of light and shadow, and trying to mimic them.
On the fifth attempt, he closed his eyes and guided the magic like the finest paintbrush, painting patterns of light and shadow on his body's surface that perfectly matched the background.
When he opened his eyes, his raised hand had almost vanished before him, leaving only a silhouette that perfectly matched the texture of the brick wall behind him. As he moved slightly, the texture changed in synchronization.
Success!
But as far as the Disillusionment Charm itself was concerned, this level wasn't enough for him.
Madam Pince might rely on sight, but Regulus thought of more. What about magic detection? Or Muggle thermal imaging—could he hide from those?
A new idea emerged: could he use magic to construct an extremely thin isolation layer on his body's surface that not only distorted light but also shielded the heat and scent he emitted, and even magic fluctuations?
This was harder than a simple Disillusionment Charm, requiring a multi-layered and precise weaving of magic of different natures.
He tried again.
After two more failures, on the third try, he used the light-distorting layer of the Disillusionment Charm as a base and wove an extremely thin lining inside it with finer threads of magic.
This lining had no offensive or defensive properties; its only function was to absorb and neutralize the faint thermal radiation naturally emitted from his body, as well as the magic ripples on the outermost surface.
He felt his presence in magical perception diminish further. While it couldn't disappear completely, it was enough to fool most conventional detection.
Whether it was a wizard or a Muggle.
The improved Disillusionment Charm was preliminary complete. He canceled the spell, breathing slightly.
Late at night, the castle seemed to have fallen into a deep sleep.
Regulus arrived at the library doors once more.
The improved Disillusionment Charm quietly took effect. His figure merged with the stone walls of the dim corridor, nearly imperceptible.
Like an incorporeal shadow, he slid past the sleeping portraits, avoided the patrolling Filch, and finally arrived before the Restricted Section.
Perhaps it was an illusion, but the air in the Restricted Section felt colder, permeated with the scent of parchment, dust, and some ancient magic.
He walked straight to the location in his memory and found that book, *A Brief History of Soul Magic*, in the bottom corner.
The book was protected by a defensive spell; forcing it open or taking it away would trigger an alarm or even damage the book.
But this didn't stump him. He didn't need to take it away.
He extended his right hand, hovering it about an inch above the spine, and closed his eyes.
His already powerful spirit, further tempered, far exceeded that of an ordinary person. He spread his magic like an invisible scanner and began to read the book.
Regulus perceived every mark left by magic on the pages with his own magic—the thoughts and knowledge the author had poured in while writing, solidified in the parchment by magic.
This way of reading put a massive burden on the mind and couldn't perfectly replicate every detail or writing style, but for his current needs, it was enough.
Obscure and profound knowledge flooded into his consciousness like a tide.
The nature of the soul and the source of magic… factors affecting soul stability… manifestations and consequences of soul damage… and then the key point: the theory of soul splitting.
His magic became exceptionally concentrated when it touched this part. The book described the feasibility of this taboo act.
Through extremely evil rituals, powerful Dark Arts, and the ultimate desecration of life and death, a complete soul could be forcibly torn apart, with a portion stripped away and sealed in a specific container.
As long as the Horcrux was not destroyed, even if the physical body perished, the main soul would not truly die. It would still exist in some form and could potentially reshape a body through dark rituals.
The book sternly warned of the terrible consequences of this method. A split soul would be forever fragmented, becoming unstable and filled with pain and twisted cravings.
The process of creating a Horcrux itself would cause irreversible corruption to the caster, making them increasingly cold, mad, and devoid of humanity.
Moreover, there was a subtle connection between the Horcrux and the main soul, which could also become a vulnerability to be attacked.
Regulus felt a chill in his heart; this confirmed what a dangerous and evil path Lord Voldemort was walking.
But at the same time, an idea became clearer: soul stability might be the key to safely touching or even using the Dark Arts.
If the soul were resilient and stable enough, like a sturdy castle, then even when using those corrosive dark powers, could one resist the damage?
The book mentioned that a few powerful and strong-minded Dark wizards had confirmed this hypothesis; they used Dark Arts frequently but were not affected.
He thought of Dumbledore and Grindelwald. At their level, what was Dark Arts or white magic? If they used it, they used it. Did it have any effect?
Probably not. At least the original work never mentioned it, so he defaulted to "no."
As for Lord Voldemort, he had clearly split his soul too early and too many times in his pursuit of immortality, destroying the foundation of his own stability, which led to his final madness and inhumanity.
Regulus quickly browsed through the other chapters.
Soul attachment—this involved possession and the transfer of curses.
Soul imprisonment and the causes of ghosts… Finally, he stopped reading. Tonight's harvest far exceeded his expectations.
Not only had he confirmed the nature and dangers of Horcruxes, but he had also clarified the importance of soul stability for venturing into the Dark Arts.
At the same time, that other knowledge about the soul also opened many new lines of thought for him.
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