https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-163-My-Love-for-You-Has-Never-Changed/13457183/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-165-The-Next-Moves-of-the-Death-Eaters-and-Aurors/13457185/
Chapter 164: Remember to Smile More
Chapter 164: Remember to Smile More
Seeing the last sentence in the notebook, Sherlock fell silent.
This was clearly a note left by the original owner's mother, Sally Forrest, and the date of its writing must have been just before her accident.
At that time, she was still thinking clearly, but after completing the tasks mentioned in the note, she became a madwoman.
Sherlock silently picked up the notebook from the desk and started reading from the first page.
"Looking at Sherlock now, I feel like he is the continuation of Victor's and my own souls. Having a child is something that can make any woman ecstatic with happiness. I always considered myself one of the most rational Wizards, and even now, I feel as if I am filled with happiness."
"In the days of taking care of the newborn Sherlock, I recalled the times when I was tortured by the Cruciatus Curse, causing my soul to fracture."
"To create the magic for soul repair, I studied a lot of soul-related magical materials. Although I ultimately failed due to the lack of the 'thread' material, I believe my knowledge of souls has placed me at the forefront of the Wizarding World."
"The more I know, the more I realize my insignificance in the face of the vast knowledge. The soul is an incredibly complex subject, and very few magics have delved deeply into it, yet every magic is closely related to the soul."
"Sherlock's birth made me want to resume my research in this area. The soul is undoubtedly a powerful force, and I believe I can use this power to give Sherlock a gift. Even if something happens to me in the future and I am no longer around, this thing can still replace me, always by his side."
The first few pages read like Selena's personal musings. After that, she built an underground study in her home, where she stored all the soul-related books she had collected over the years, and began her research on soul magic.
Whenever performing magic experiments, there must be a subject, and Selena's chosen subject was none other than herself.
Sherlock's mother was clearly a formidable person. Despite her soul already being fractured, she proceeded with various unstable magic experiments on herself without hesitation.
She wanted to use the power of the soul to create a magic that could protect another soul from harm.
In the Wizarding World, all spells are tied to emotions.
To use the Petrification Charm, one must have a strong desire to petrify the target.
To use Apparition, one must firmly believe they will definitely reach their destination.
To use the Killing Curse, one must have an extremely dark heart and the most resolute intent to kill.
All of these require the Wizard to genuinely feel and express these emotions from within.
This is why Wizards rarely possess rational, logical thinking abilities.
Most of the time, they cast spells under intense emotional states, and emotional reactions have become their habit. Being in a rational state frequently can actually harm their magical abilities.
Since the body is the foundation of life, where do all human emotions and desires come from?
The answer can only be the soul.
If a person loses all their desires and emotions, they are essentially dead, even if their body is still alive.
For example, the Dementor's Kiss essentially strips away all positive emotions from a Wizard, turning them into an empty shell. Even if their heart is still beating and blood is still flowing, they are, in essence, dead.
That is why, despite the rarity of soul-related magic in the Wizarding World, almost all magic is connected to the soul.
Since magic is formed by the soul and ultimately affects the external world, the soul must have the ability to block these effects and nullify them.
This is especially true for the Killing Curse, which directly targets the soul.
The Unforgivable Curses are only three because they are the most malicious spells in the entire Wizarding World without counter-curses.
The other two, the Cruciatus Curse and the Imperius Curse, are not entirely fatal on their own, but the Killing Curse is the nightmare of all living beings.
This spell directly affects the soul, causing the targeted creature to die on a soul level, with no visible physical damage.
Besides physical barriers, there is no magic that can resist or counter it.
If Selena's idea could work, the Soul Protection Magic she envisioned could even withstand the Killing Curse!
To achieve this, she conducted many experiments.
In her experiments with the Killing Curse, Selena naturally refrained from using her own soul as a test subject and instead turned to rabbits and rats. These creatures, with their comparatively weaker souls, served as the initial test subjects.
Selena's talent for magic was exceptional, and after extensive research, she managed to develop a method for Soul Protection Magic.
"Rabbit A132 ultimately survived, which is a surprising and encouraging discovery. It proves that my research direction is correct and feasible."
"However, the rabbit B341, which provided the soul protection for A132, died. This suggests that the soul's power was not entirely immune to the Killing Curse, but rather a one-for-one trade."
"When the Killing Curse struck the soul-protected Rabbit A132, there was a sign of it rebounding, similar to an Armor Charm. This might be due to the design of the magic being somewhat inspired by the Armor Charm."
"Moreover, the surviving Rabbit A132 exhibited some resistance to the magic."
"Yes, these are all important experimental data. After collecting them, I can store a copy in the Hogwarts library, just like I did with the Soul Repair Magic."
Selena continued to refine the Soul Protection Magic, eventually moving on to human trials. This time, she once again used her own soul as the test subject.
The effect of the Soul Protection Magic in animals had already been confirmed, so the subsequent experiments were not as life-threatening.
Selena discovered that for a human to cast this powerful Soul Protection Magic, the caster must have an incredibly intense emotion toward the protected individual. This emotion must be positive, essentially love.
Whether it is paternal, maternal, or romantic love, the caster must have a strong sense of affection to protect the target's soul.
Without such feelings, the magic would be ineffective.
If the magic is successfully cast, the protector's and the protected individual's souls become connected. Even if the protector dies, the Soul Protection Magic continues to protect the target.
This is because the protection operates at the soul level, and in this world, ghosts and the dead exist.
Even if the Killing Curse causes death, it does not destroy the soul but instead imprisons it within the body of the killer.
Therefore, if the Soul Protection Magic is successfully cast, the spell remains effective even if the protector dies.
After perfecting the magic, Selena connected her soul to Sherlock's, forming a soul protection pact. This was her final gift to the original owner.
After completing this magic, she left Sherlock's side and reappeared in a deranged state.
Sherlock read through the experimental notes, feeling an overwhelming mix of emotions.
The original owner's mother was undoubtedly great. Despite claiming she was not a good mother, she had done everything in her power to protect the original owner.
However, the original owner still died, not from any magic but from a fall from a building, hitting his head and dying from the impact.
This type of physical injury, not involving the soul, was beyond the scope of Soul Protection Magic.
When Sherlock arrived and took over the body, the protection magic mistook the damage to the soul as an injury to the original owner, causing a split.
This led him to find the Soul Repair Magic book hidden in the Restricted Section of the Hogwarts library.
Later, Sherlock's soul, which had crossed over, was connected to the original owner's unconscious soul through a thread created by Riddle. Now, the original owner and Sherlock are inseparable.
Selena's Soul Protection Magic not only protects the original owner but also, by extension, protects Sherlock.
Sherlock stood there, staring at the experimental log in silence for a long time, finally sighing.
At that moment, he suddenly remembered something.
In his previous life, when he had read the first Harry Potter book, Philosopher's Stone, Harry's mother Lily used a magic to protect Harry from Voldemort's Killing Curse, which was strikingly similar to Selena's Soul Protection Magic!
And Sherlock remembered that at the end, when Harry asked Dumbledore about the scar on his forehead, Dumbledore told him it was because of his mother's love.
Wasn't this precisely the prerequisite for Soul Protection Magic to be used?
It required a strong love from the protector toward the protected!
Sherlock stood there, stunned. Since this magic was invented by Selena, how did Lily learn it?
The experimental logs made no mention of Lily Evans.
When the magic was invented, Lily should have just started at Hogwarts and couldn't have accessed such advanced magical knowledge.
After discovering this issue, Sherlock flipped through the log again from beginning to end, eventually focusing on a section he had previously overlooked.
"Well, these are all important experimental data. After collecting them, we can store a copy in the Hogwarts library, just like with the Soul Repair Magic last time."
At this point in the experiment, Selena had gone to the Hogwarts library and backed up her research there!
A look of realization spread across Sherlock's face.
So, Lily likely found this magic in the Hogwarts library, learned it, and then, when Harry was born, bound her soul to his!
After Lily was struck by the Killing Curse and fell, Harry survived the attack thanks to the power of the protective magic, reflecting Voldemort's spell and becoming the Boy Who Lived!
Everything started to make sense!
No wonder, when he asked Dumbledore about the crescent mark, Dumbledore said it was because of his mother's love.
Soul Protection Magic truly required love to be used, and once it formed a protective shield, it could even deflect the Killing Curse!
Sherlock silently returned the experimental log to its place on the desk, not taking anything from the underground library.
Everything in this study was infused with a mother's love.
She may have become a madwoman later, perhaps for other reasons or for someone else, cursing and abandoning her son, failing to fulfill her duties as a mother.
But she was still a great mother!
While Sherlock was lost in thought, Amy seemed to sense his heavy mood. She remained silent, blinking her eyes and waiting patiently.
The sky gradually darkened, and by this time, young Sherlock had long returned home from school. The nanny his father Victor had hired had already prepared dinner for him.
However, neither of them noticed the two unexpected visitors in the yard below.
Before entering the underground study, Sherlock had locked all the doors again and left no trace of their presence.
The entrance to the study in the garden was well-hidden by weeds, making it difficult to discover unless someone came directly to this spot.
After finishing the experimental logs, Sherlock and Amy emerged from the underground study. He glanced at the warm, yellow light in the house but had no intention of checking on young Sherlock. Instead, he took Amy's hand and used Apparition to return to London.
They reappeared in a secluded alley.
Sherlock took a moment to compose himself, then fulfilled his promise to Amy by taking her out for a big meal.
They went to a Muggle restaurant where Kingsley had once taken Sherlock. Surprisingly, the restaurant had been open for fourteen years.
Amy had a small appetite, but eating out and seeing the night views of London were new and exciting experiences for her.
After dinner, they didn't go straight home. Sherlock bought Amy a colorful windmill and walked with her on London Bridge.
Amy leaned on the railing, holding the windmill in one hand. The wind spun the windmill and blew her golden bangs.
Sherlock looked at the Thames River below, feeling a mix of emotions. This trip seemed to have yielded nothing, but it had actually given him much to think about.
He turned to look at Amy. The flickering neon lights illuminated her face, showing her happiness, though her mouth didn't quite curve into a smile, as if she didn't know how to.
Sherlock reached out and gently pinched her cheeks, helping her form a smile, and whispered softly,
"This world is beautiful, Amy. There are people we love and people who love us, so remember to smile more often."
(End of Chapter)
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