Hogwarts: Starting with full Unforgivable Curses

Chapter 284 Helena: This manuscript looks just like my mother's. It seems I miss her terribly.
“I have been afraid to see my mother since I died, so I chose this way of being.”

"It does not belong to the world of the living, nor to the realm of the dead."

"Forever burdened by the shackles of guilt, using a false name, I drift in this sorrowful place."

"Now, I have to make a decision—I'm going to keep going, and maybe I'll see my mother again?"

Dylan hesitated for a moment, wanting to say something about the Blood Man, Barrow.

But then she thought again, and realized that for Helena, the Blood Man Barrow was nothing more than a one-sided obsession, and the one who ended her life with his own hands.

Bringing it up now would only disrupt this rare moment of peace, so he swallowed his words.

Moreover, he will eventually bring the other person into his world.

At that time, she would naturally be able to meet Ravenclaw.

In contrast, he was more interested in Helena's mention of "leaving".

The departure of a ghost is an extremely rare occurrence.

From a certain perspective, ghosts and portraits actually have similarities.

What drives their existence and activity in the world are the traces left by the wizards during their lifetime.

Those traces may be intense emotions, unfulfilled obsessions, or some kind of profound memory, like invisible threads that maintain their connection with this world.

However, upon closer comparison, obvious differences can be found between the two.

Although portraits can mimic the words and actions of a wizard in life and communicate with people, this interaction is often relatively passive.

Their reactions are more based on the magic injected by the wizard and the traces left behind, like a pre-programmed sequence.

It can only make limited responses in specific situations.

For example, when someone mentions something a wizard was familiar with in his lifetime, the portrait might say a few related words or make a few habitual gestures.

However, it is difficult to initiate a deep and unpredictable dialogue.

They also cannot truly understand the complex emotions and deeper meanings behind the dialogue.

—Except for the fact that the wizard who created the portrait was too skilled.

Ghosts, on the other hand, are quite different.

They are much more proactive when interacting with people.

The key to this is that the ghost carries the consciousness of the real wizard.

This consciousness fully preserves the wizard's way of thinking, emotional fluctuations, and ability to make independent judgments during their lifetime.

They are able to actively observe their surroundings and sense the emotions of others.

They might even choose their conversation partners and topics based on their own wishes.

Like Helena Ravenclaw, she could freely wander through the corridors of Hogwarts.

When she sees the crown in Dylan's hand, she will take the initiative to ask about it, and she will show her true feelings because she is thinking of her mother.

They will also make the decision to leave after reading the letter.

None of these were pre-set reactions, but rather stemmed from her own independent consciousness and thoughts.

—That is, the autonomous behavior that truly belongs to the individual "Helena Ravenclaw".

This initiative makes the connection between ghosts and the world even stronger.

This makes their existence seem more vivid and real, as if they never truly left, but simply changed their way of perceiving and participating in everything in this world.

If the souls of ghosts remain in a hazy, dreamlike state, they are unwilling to move forward and face true death, yet they also have no way to retreat and come back to life.

Thus, consciousness resides in the traces left behind in life, appearing in this world in a state of neither life nor death.

It's important to note that this is neither life nor death.

The two are fundamentally different.

The former has no concept of life and death, while the latter is neither alive nor completely dead, stuck in the middle.

It's the same as not dying completely.

Compared to Horcruxes, which have the powerful effect of allowing a person to continue living no matter how many holes their soul is damaged, this is different.

The state of a ghost, which cannot even come back to life, seems much more tragic.

They are basically unable to cast spells because their souls and bodies have long since left them, leaving them without the foundation for spellcasting.

They also have no way to touch real-world material things.

Even so, they are able to pass through walls at will and move freely.

But that untouchable emptiness always lingers.

They also cannot enjoy the world's delicacies.

Only strong, pungent odors like rot can trigger even the slightest change in their sense of taste.

But now, Dylan hears Helena say that she herself can actually choose to continue "moving forward".

His understanding of ghosts began to change, and he felt that ghosts were not so bad as Horcruxes.

At least Voldemort, after he died, did not have the right to choose to continue.

He could only drag his battered soul, forever trapped in a hazy illusion, wailing in despair, with no other possibility.

However, Dylan still wanted to confirm.

"Are all ghosts allowed to choose to continue forward?"

Helena glanced at Dylan in surprise, then nodded.

"Yes, but I don't recommend you stay. After all, it goes against the laws of life and death, and this state is not a good experience. It is full of endless emptiness and constraint."

"I know, I'm just curious."

Dylan smiled slightly.

Given his own circumstances, if he were to die someday, it would basically be because he was tired of living.

Why would someone, at the moment of death, choose to remain in this world as a ghost instead of moving forward?
While he spends his days in leisure, the system can gradually come into play.

For example, if someone lives for a hundred years, they can directly unlock a series of achievements related to their lifespan.

Perhaps when he dies, he'll still have the ability to fight death itself.

Of course, all of this is based on the premise that death truly exists.

"In fact, as you know, this treasure was once entangled with dark magic."

Dylan then changed the subject and mentioned the crown.

Upon hearing this, Helena's previously calm and relaxed smile vanished instantly, replaced by a clear look of disgust.

"Of course I know, that little thief who deceived me and tarnished my mother's crown—never mind..."

Helena sighed, as if she didn't want to mention that name anymore, and gently raised her hand, gesturing for Dylan to continue.

“I got a little inspiration from that dark magic—of course, not the kind of murder or soul splitting that belongs to dark magic.”

Dylan deliberately sped up his speech to emphasize it.

Then, with a wave of his wand, a blank parchment and a quill dipped in ink floated over from a distant table.

The quill pen scribbled across the parchment, leaving lines of writing.

"look--"

Helena Lavenclaw said that she was not as intelligent as her mother.

But these were just things they said to each other, mother and daughter.

Her own wisdom still far surpasses that of the vast majority of people in the world.

Moreover, she grew up with Rowena Ravenclaw.

He received a good education while the four founders of Hogwarts were still alive.

His knowledge and learning are extraordinary.

Most importantly, Helena is about to leave, and she'll leave completely, never to return.

—Although Dylan didn't really intend to let her leave, the fact that she was walking away could be used to his advantage.

This is such a great opportunity; not only can I take advantage of it to get some freebies, but I can also bring Helena into the space without anyone noticing.

really.

Helena watched as Dylan explained the symbols and formulas he wrote on the parchment.

She showed no sign of discomfort regarding the complex principles that incorporated spells, alchemy, and runes, involving will and thought.

Instead, he listened with great interest, his eyes sparkling with thoughtfulness.

"The 'Thought-Based Body'... Your idea is both ingenious and selfish."

After listening to Dylan's explanation, Helena remained silent for a long time, then looked at Dylan deeply before speaking.

"Ahem, I'll take that as a compliment," Dylan coughed twice and replied with a smile.

"Of course, that's a compliment."

Helena's gaze fell on the parchment covered with symbols and formulas, her deep eyes filled with complex emotions.

There was amazement, scrutiny, and a touch of indescribable melancholy.

"In this world, I'm afraid no one can resist the allure of such magic... It's just a pity that its conditions are too demanding... Can you really do it?"

She couldn't help but turn to look at Dylan, his calm profile reflected in her ethereal eyes, his tone carrying a barely perceptible hint of inquiry.

“I’m not talking about using your memories of others as anchors to hide in your soul—your theory is perfect enough that there’s not a single flaw.”

"But...can you really completely strip a person's entire life apart?"

"It's a copy, ma'am."

Dylan emphasized those two words, his eyes revealing an undeniable seriousness.

"Thought-body entities are merely copies; their originals cannot carry a blank soul forward."

"I'd rather you said 'stripping'."

Helena glanced at Dylan again with a complicated expression.

That gaze seemed to see through him to another person.

This almost absolute self-confidence is exactly the same as her mother's back then.

This would make her never doubt what he wanted to do again—even if the idea sounded ridiculously absurd.

The life of a clone?
To be precise, it's about replicating a person's personality.

There are too many things involved.

Those subtle details, like the temperature of the morning sunlight.

The memory of the tactile sensation of fingertips gliding across the pages of a book.

Those feelings of trembling with joy and suffocating with sorrow.

Those sudden thoughts, those deep-seated obsessions...

Everything that makes a person "he" or "she".

Everything must be copied exactly.

These things are as complex as a tangled ball of silk, yet so elusive that they cannot be grasped.

This isn't like woodblock printing, where you can just take a picture and replicate it exactly.

If Dylan meant stripping.

Helena could only marvel at his selfishness, genius, and that almost cruel decisiveness.

—To satisfy their own desires, they even wanted to strip the dead of everything.

Dylan said he could... bring back to life those who should have died.

Although it only lives in the portrait.

But the wizard's will is intact!
Wizards may not have the concept of "I think, therefore I am".

But the exploration of will and thought never ceased for Helena Ravenclaw.

Especially now, she herself is a ghost.

— An existence that relies on traces of its past life and acts on its own will.

Naturally, one can better understand what this "completeness" means.

The biggest difference between an entity like a thought-body and a ghost living in a painting is...

—They can enjoy delicious food.

Unlike a ghost, who can only drool over delicacies without tasting a single flavor.

This is clearly a fantastic thing.

Of course, the "thought form" also has its drawbacks.

It cannot drift around like a ghost.

However, the ghost's range of movement is also limited; it can only move along the routes it took in its previous life.

The portrait can enter into a landscape painting that has never been before!

If you want to go somewhere, just draw a picture; it's actually more liberating.

Moreover, the core principle of this magic.

—Anchor of will.

Actually, it comes from Horcruxes, the Faithful Charm, and Dylan's portrait in Ravenclaw.

This allows the portrait to remain intact until the person who served as the anchor passes away, with almost no damage.

However, this also brings limitations.

You cannot create a "memory body" for a living person.

Because once the person at the anchor point dies, the memory entity will also disappear.

This is also why Helena said that magic is selfish.

It doesn't actually bring the dead back to life; it only exists to fulfill the spellcaster's wishes.

In addition, Helena had unspoken worries.

The created thought entity exists entirely because of the caster.

And wizards capable of casting this magic can obviously also fabricate non-existent memories and mold the thought entity into whatever form they desire...

This perfect yet dangerous magic made Helena feel a pang of jealousy towards Dylan's genius and madness.

Mother, how could this young wizard have such thoughts?

And it can be put into practice!

In particular, after reviewing the manuscript Dylan had given her, she felt that many parts of the manuscript...

They all gave her an unusually familiar feeling.

If she hadn't known that her mother could no longer exist in this world.

She really had to believe that the manuscript wasn't actually written by Dylan at all.

It was written by her mother!

It seems I miss her too much.

call.
It's okay, we'll see each other soon.

Helena let out a breath that wasn't there, her eyes filled with a complex expression.

Just like she said, who doesn't want to salvage someone or something?
If this magic were to actually succeed, countless people would flock to it!
However, this emotion was fleeting.

Helena had long since accepted her past.

Even in her lifetime, she didn't have Dylan's ability to replicate personalities.

"I understand. I will try my best to control it and show you the process of dissipation clearly."

Helena's voice was calm, yet carried an undeniable certainty.

She floated in place, her ethereal gaze falling on Dylan.

Dylan smiled faintly.

"Actually, you won't really disappear."

"Huh? What?"

"nothing."

(End of this chapter)