Chapter 129: Memory
Chapter 129: Memory
The ghost also saw Felix and immediately wanted to leave. But then she seemed to think of something and abruptly stayed where she was, though her expression turned haughty.
Felix stood beside her. "It's rare to have such a quiet moment in the Castle."
She raised her eyebrows in surprise but quickly regained her composure. She followed Felix's gaze and looked up, her eyes reflecting the vibrant red glow of the sunset.
Neither of them spoke, simply watching the sunset's afterglow paint the sky a brilliant orange.
The light grew dimmer and fainter, and when the last ray disappeared, dusk fell.
The ghost's silver-white, translucent body also grew dim, and the Grey Lady's gaze turned toward Felix. Her expression softened.
"I apologize for my rudeness last time", Felix said.
She made an effort to keep her tone calm. "No, I was too sensitive... I often get angry over trivial matters."
They chatted for a few minutes. Felix didn't mention anything about Hogwarts' history, Helena, Rowena Ravenclaw, or Baron Blood. Instead, they talked about the weather, culture, and world curiosities.
"...The American Magical Congress—similar to the Ministry of Magic here—has moved its headquarters at least five times to avoid detection by Muggles", Felix said.
"Really? In my time, that organization didn't exist..."
"It was only established about three hundred years ago. Wizarding activities there are very secretive, and the laws are strict, making it unfriendly to outsiders", Felix explained. "I think it's because they almost exposed the entire magical world a few times."
"The most controversial law they enacted was the Rappaport's Law in the late 18th century. This law mandated complete separation between Wizards and Muggles, strictly prohibiting friendships and marriages between them."
The Grey Lady found this fascinating and asked him for more details.
"It starts with the classic tale of a witch falling in love with a handsome Muggle, but unfortunately, he is a descendant of a Scourer, and the love was a conspiracy from the start..."
Hogwarts grew darker, enveloping Felix and the Grey Lady in shadow.
"...In the end, the American Magical Congress couldn't guarantee that they had erased the memories of all involved, so they enacted this law to prevent such incidents."
Felix finished his story.
The Grey Lady floated away, still intrigued.
...
Felix returned to his office and reviewed the important matters he needed to address:
- Another conversation with Dobby;
- Revealing the diary to clear Hagrid's name;
- Other less urgent or time-sensitive tasks, such as writing a new book, studying Ancient Magic, researching the Room of Requirement, crafting basilisk skin armor, and learning memory magic.
Speaking of memory magic...
Felix suddenly felt a surge of interest and decided to try the technique he had previously mastered.
He pointed his wand at a cup with silver engravings. In a twist of light, it quickly transformed into a small squirrel.
"Hmm..."
He then constructed a memory fragment in his mind, pressing the wand tip to his forehead and drawing out thin, silver strands.
The silver strands floated above his palm, shimmering with star-like light.
Felix carefully infused the memory fragment into the small squirrel—
Its expression became lively, and the little squirrel lifted its head, its pitch-black eyes staring intently at him.
"Do you have anything to say?" Felix asked softly.
He knew it wouldn't speak, as the memory contained no linguistic information. However, this was a signal, and the squirrel began to move. It stood on the table, looking around, and soon brought a Quill to him.
Felix tapped the table again, and it quickly ran to the other side, this time bringing back a Parchment.
"Very good."
He nodded and then watched quietly. Besides giving the memory two commands, he had also incorporated some of the squirrel's habits as he understood them.
For instance, at that moment, the squirrel had hidden itself in its fluffy tail, peering out cautiously with its black eyes fixed on him.
After about seven or eight minutes, its expression lost its luster.
Felix waved his wand, transforming it back into a cup with silver patterns.
He fell into thought, the office becoming very quiet.
After a while, he had a new idea—
Felix whispered, "Expecto Patronum."
A small, silver Swift flew out of his wand, circling the office at an incredible speed, leaving trails of fine afterimages in its owner's eyes.
The ethereal silver glow made the room look breathtakingly beautiful, and it finally landed gracefully in front of Felix.
'What if I inject part of my memory into the Patronus? What would happen?'
Felix thought this, and he did it. A memory of the same color merged into Swift's body.
To his surprise, the Patronus silently disintegrated.
This was entirely unexpected. Why had it happened?
He quickly recalled the description of the Patronus: it is a reflection of all your most positive emotions. The caster must focus on the happiest memory they can think of, and in practice, the more intense the happiness the memory brings, the stronger the spell's effect.
The key was 'memory.'
A Patronus is made of pure, joyful memories, and Felix had just injected a memory—essentially a contaminant. Thus, the magic naturally dissipated.
Felix shook his head. "I thought I could use the Patronus, along with the temporarily added memory, to achieve a more stable transformation structure."
In his vision, the Patronus could serve as a messaging tool, capable of moving a certain distance away from the wizard. If it could also carry flexible memories, it would be like having 'another self' wandering the outside world.
This idea was similar to what he had seen in Rowena Ravenclaw's manuscript.
Both the Patronus magic itself and the injected memory fragments were entirely dependent on the wizard, so there was no need to worry about it going out of control.
Even more ambitiously, he envisioned the ultimate form of this magic as being able to carry his own consciousness, allowing him to be at school while his Patronus roamed the wizarding world, completing simple tasks.
For example, gathering information or checking messages...
Felix already had some plans for this, such as using magical contracts or the Mind Chamber. Although he had no concrete form yet, at least he could work towards this goal.
But everything stopped at the first step—
One was a pure, joyful memory, and the other was a memory fragment without emotion. These two were inherently contradictory.
How could he solve this problem?
(End of Chapter)
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