Harry Potter: Blood of the Dragon

Chapter 262 - 262. Horcrux

[A/N: Reason why the book is still in the library? Because nobody yet knows that Voldemort created Horcruxes.]

Magnus cleaned the dust from the cover of the book and blew on it. It was certainly pretty old. He opened it and looked at the list of content. It was at the start.

"Woah... this is as dark as magic gets. 'How to eat babies and get young again, 'Changing one's gender', 'Creating a stronger body for yourself', 'How to live forever', 'How to steal someone's soul'..." He muttered the names of various topics.

The most revolutionary however was how to live forever. Magnus knew that the search for immortality was a subject researched intensively not only in the wizarding world but also in the muggle world. So, if the method devised in this book was real, then it was certainly a huge discovery.

So, he turned the pages and started to read. "The dream to live forever was something everyone wished for. However, it was rarely achieved by many, the only proposed method for the most part of history was the creation of a Philosopher's stone. However, we do not even know if the stone is real or not."

Magnus now at least knew that this book was older than Nicolas Flamel, since the writer does not know about the stone.

He continued, "The closest anyone came to immortality was one person, named Herpo the Foul. He was an Ancient Greek Dark Wizard, infamous for being a pioneer in the field of the Dark Arts, becoming the first known wizard to create the Basilisk.

"But, although he used his magic to do evil things, he was still a very knowledgable man, and most smart ones at least once in their lifetime dream of being immortal... live forever and become a god figure.

"So, the man used his knowledge of souls to create the method to live forever, a method so vile and evil that most would not even dream of using it. It is called Horcrux.

"Herpo is said to be dead now, but who really knows? Maybe he is still alive somewhere, stuck in an object. Object? You must be wondering the meaning behind this. To explain, first I need to tell you how to create a Horcrux."

Magnus excitedly turned the page, "OH! Here comes the juicy part."

"The first step in creating a Horcrux is that a wizard first has to deliberately commit murder. However, it can not be just simple death, as killing out of self-defence or to protect another would not suffice; one had to deliberately and consciously murder a person without regret or remorse. The logic behind it must be the intent, the hatred and the evil desire. Just like in order to cast a Killing curse you need killing intent, to create this vile object called Horcrux, you need evil intent.

"This murderous act is considered to be the most supreme act of evil, which would result in the murderer metaphysically damaging their own soul. The wizard who wished to create a Horcrux would then use that damage to their advantage by casting a spell that would sever the damaged portion of the soul"

At this point, Magnus took a cold breath, ~This book, why the hell is this in the library?~

He read further and got more disgusted by it, "The reason for killing is not just to damage your own soul, but also to use the soul of that murdered person as the provider of life force. Since your soul will be damaged, you will need some kind of support to make sure it can retain itself for centuries to come.

"With the rune pattern shown below, one can do the ritual to complete this step. After this is done, the last stage starts.

"The last step is to encase the new soul fragment in an object, it can be any object, animate or inanimate, but an inanimate object is preferred as it has less possibility of getting destroyed. This was, even if the maker was later killed, they would continue to exist in a non-corporeal form. However, there were methods of regaining a physical body with a certain ritual.

"Now, the next part is about how to destroy a Horcrux. Destroying a Horcrux required the object containing the soul fragment to be damaged to a point beyond any and all physical or magical repair. When a Horcrux is damaged to that point, it may appear to bleed a dark blood-like substance and a scream may be heard as the soul fragment perished. The exact way to destroy a Horcrux is unknown as none have found one to try destroying it.

"The next part is about the powers it gives. The power of a Horcrux is to anchor the creator to the mortal realm for the sake of achieving immortality. As long as Horcrux exists, the creator's soul will be bound to the world of the living. Hence, if the body is destroyed, the soul will remain as a lingering spirit instead of passing through to the other side. Though being in such a state of existence is what very few would prefer over death.

"The soul can also possess others to regain physical form, which shortens the host's lifespan drastically. It is also possible (through a second party) to use certain potions to create a rudimentary body or even the true body of the Horcrux creator's soul to possess. Because of this purpose, a Horcrux is usually kept hidden and dormant, and its other powers are rarely explored or utilised.

"The fragment of a person's soul within a Horcrux was capable of thinking for itself and has certain magical abilities, including the ability to influence those in their vicinity and affect them mentally.

"The next part is about the side effects of a Horcrux and why you should never make it. To create a Horcrux is to divide one's soul — the "essence of self" — and it should be a warning to the wizard in itself. One of these such side-effects is the "dehumanising" effect the mutilation of one's soul is said to have. The master of the soul will become less human, both emotionally and physically. A third side effect of Horcrux creation is that the master soul itself becomes unstable.

"There is another theorised possible side effect and it's the greatest one. This is the ability to never die properly. It is said that when every person dies, their soul passes through a plane called Limbo. It exists between the living world and the world of souls, commonly called the other side. But, because a wizard who makes Horcrux has divided their soul, they might never be able to cross the limbo, since there can not be two souls of the same person in the afterlife, which most expert wizards in soul studies agree to.

"So, the wizard might become trapped in limbo forever. And this should be a big enough warning to scare anyone from making a Horcrux because to live forever, you are giving up the ability to die. *BAM*"

Magnus slammed shut the book. His eyes were dark, "This... it really contains a real method to live forever... From step one to the last step. How can this writer write all this and still warn people? It's as if... this was written to lure more people to try it."

"I NEED TO TALK TO THE OLD MAN!" He took the book and walked out.

At the desk, Madam Pince was silently sitting there and looking at the clock. She was nervous, wondering if Magnus would come out before 8 PM, and since only 5 minutes were left, she was getting anxious. She didn't want to go and talk to him again.

But when she saw him coming out, she felt relieved, however his frowned face made her shudder.

*THUD* He placed the book on the desk and politely talked to her. This was Magnus' anger, he wasn't someone who would get angry with someone for the rest of his life for something as trivial as what she did.

"Madam Pince, this book is too dangerous to be left in the school's library, even if it's in the restricted section, the content in it doesn't just endanger the reader but also the society. I am taking it to professor Dumbledore." He informed her.

She calmed down seeing him being kind to her, "Yes, may I know what's so dangerous about it?"

Magnus again turned serious, "If I told you... I'd have to kill you, that kind of dangerous."

"*Cough* Then... please take it to the Headmaster, I will write off its name from the list." She looked at the cover of the book and noted it down. Once Magnus was gone, she fell back to her seat, releasing a sigh.

"This job was supposed to be stress-free. *Sigh* Well, better get back to cleaning my beloved books... that brat must have touched many of them." She was back to her original self again, though not as outspoken now.

...

Magnus kept the book hidden inside his robes while walking towards the Headmaster's office. He had been in the library for more than an hour now, it was also nearing dinner time so Dumbledore was in his office.

*Knock Knock*

"Professor, I need to talk to you urgently, it's really important." He said and entered carelessly.

However, his feet stopped when he saw an old woman inside there, sitting on the visitor's seat. Dumbledore stood behind her and had his hand on her shoulder.

"Ah... I will come back later, professor." He closed the door again. Of course, he knew the old man was not into women, but he was just messing with him.

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