Hogwarts: This professor is too Muggle.

Chapter 367 Surgery at the Soul Level

The sun had not yet sunk below the horizon, and its orange-red glow painted the entire world.

In a room in Hampstead, a thin figure leaned against the headboard, holding a hot cocoa to ease the tension, sipping it slowly, but his attention remained fixed on the doorway.

Four figures stood at the door: a Muggle studies professor on a holiday home visit, Mr. Granger returning late from the dental clinic, Mrs. Granger still wearing an apron, and Hermione with a stern face.

People were coming and going on the street not far from the window, but the soundproofing of the upscale apartment was very good, so there was no need to worry about Muggles outside hearing any unusual noises.

Last week, after Melvin and the others escorted Regulus back from the seaside cave to Black's old house, fulfilling Regulus's last wish, the real locket also ended up in Melvin's hands.

The fragments of the soul have been removed, leaving only the treasure left by Slytherin. However, after some research and analysis, only a rudimentary method of use has been determined, and there has been no breakthrough in the study of the soul and emotions.

However, it deepened Melvin's understanding of magic and soul, and was very enlightening for treating Obscurus syndrome, which is caused by the distortion of the soul leading to magical mutation.

Obscuration is an extremely rare condition in the magical world, and Bastian's second mutation is a unique case, which happens to be Melvin's only doctor who can diagnose it.

His research on the subject of the soul and emotions is the most profound, even surpassing that of St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Arts.

At this moment, Melvin was explaining in a low voice:

"Obscures' illness is more like a physical ailment caused by psychological problems. To cure it completely, we must address the psychological issues that plague her, namely the shadows left over from her time in the orphanage. Now I have found a way to dig out the deepest, most unwanted memories in her heart. Combining this with the principles of Dementors and Boggarts' ability to extract emotions, it may be possible to cure her."

"Sounds like some kind of surgery?" Mrs. Granger pondered.

"That's one way to understand it."

Mr. Granger hesitated: “We are truly grateful that Professor Levent is willing to make a home visit and treat Bastian, who hasn’t even started school yet, but she only had a year to recuperate after returning from Paris… Isn’t it too hasty to start treatment now? Shouldn’t she be two years older?”

As a top student who graduated from medical school, Mr. Granger knew nothing about the principles of magic, nor did he understand the connection between magic and the soul. However, he knew that many childhood illnesses required the body to develop strong enough before surgery could be performed.

Melvin explained with a smile, "Obesity is not a heart condition, it doesn't require a strong body, it focuses more on the stability of the soul, which can be understood as a strong will and a yearning for life."

"It sounds very idealistic..."

“Don’t worry too much, Mr. Granger. Bastian is no longer the lonely and helpless child she used to be. She feels your love and loves you too. I believe she can face those memories and overcome her past self.”

Will there be any aftereffects after the treatment?

Mr. Granger thought for a moment and asked, knowing that these questions were not magical, but he couldn't help but consider them with a medical mindset.

“I can’t make any promises about the mysteries of the soul and magic,” Melvin said with some helplessness. “There are differences between souls that are difficult to quantify, especially Bastian’s soul, which has undergone two mutations. No one can predict the subsequent effects.”

"This……"

Mr. and Mrs. Granger exchanged glances, unsure of what to do.

Hermione paced back and forth beside her, her face tense and anxious. She had heard Professor Levent explain the source of magic, but it was just basic introductory theory for beginners, which was too simplistic and crude for her to understand the current situation.

"I want to try!"

Bastian arrived at the door at some point, his lips smeared with hot cocoa foam, his young face full of determination.

"..."

The group returned to the girl's bedroom. Bastian lay back down on the bed, and Mrs. Granger tucked her in. Hermione and Mr. Granger stood beside her, their backs straight, ready to stay until the treatment was over.

Melvin took out the locket.

The locket is brighter now than it was in the old Blake house. The dull gold shell that had been weathered by time has been restored to its luster after being fired at high temperatures. It is inlaid with a string of emeralds, which look like writhing snakes or some kind of constellation.

Upon opening the locket, the bloodstains left from burning Riddle's eyes were wiped away, leaving only two clear crystal windows.

As Melvin instructed, Bastian grasped the locket, held it up in front of him, and stared intently at the crystal window.

The setting sun's halo shone on the crystal surface, and the dazzling white light reflected back into Bastian's eyes, causing him to feel a sudden white light and waves of dizziness.

Outside the window, the orange sunset shone like dazzling lights. Hot cocoa sat on the low table beside her, its sweet aroma still lingering on her tongue. Her blurred vision prevented her from clearly seeing the faces of the people around her.

For a moment, Bastian had the illusion that he had returned to the New Salem Charitable Society and was preparing for the upcoming Christmas party.

Her mother's words echoed in her ears: "Little Bussie, don't be greedy. After you finish your work, hide away and don't show up in front of the gentlemen and ladies."

In the bedroom on the second floor of Hampstead, the locket suddenly trembled, and the ancient, interconnected magic circle glowed faintly. Two soap bubble-like things emerged from the two small windows, constantly expanding and twisting.

It has two heads, one male and one female, and limbs and body gradually take shape.

Seeing this bizarre and grotesque scene, Mrs. Granger cried out in surprise, took a few steps back, and threw herself into Mr. Granger's arms.

“Mom…Bishop…”

Bastian's gaze had already left the locket, as if he were immersed in another world, completely ignoring Melvin and the Granger family beside him, staring blankly at the two illusory figures.

The woman wore a cheap overcoat and tattered winter clothes; her thin face and rough hands indicated that she had been working hard for many years and was malnourished.

The man, on the other hand, was quite the opposite. He was fat, dressed in a finely embroidered robe, and had a smile on his lips, appearing kind and gentle.

"Bas...Tad!"

The smile on the bishop's phantom face suddenly turned into rage, and a roar came from its throat, like a vengeful ghost returning from hell, sending chills down one's spine.

“You betrayed Salem! You gave up your chance for redemption, you thought you could get rid of me? No! Impossible! I curse your lowly blood, your lowly name…”

"Your lowly name..."

The woman in the smock repeated softly, as if weeping, her eyes filled with pity: "You've gotten rid of that name now, haven't you? Bastian, my Bastian, remember what your mother said, never appear in front of those gentlemen and ladies again..."

Bastian stared blankly at the woman's haggard face, tears streaming down his face without him even realizing it.

"Bastian, wake up, wake up!" Hermione cried out anxiously, reaching out to tug at Melvin's sleeve, only to see the professor gesture for her to be quiet.

Melvin stared at the illusory image of the locket, observing the entire process from another dimension. At this moment, the locket was filled with strange magic, which flowed through the patterns of the alchemical array, showing traces of mind control and the whispers of Parsleyan.

The illusion created by the locket is different from the phantom conjured by Boggart.

Boggarts are transformed by fear, but the core remains a Boggart. They can mimic the magic of things themselves, but they cannot construct a complete personality and have almost no ability to express themselves verbally.

The locket is a reflection of the inner self, more like a part of the user, constructing a phantom personality based on memories, and speaking through the phantom's mouth.

Even though they are both lockets, the phantoms that Riddle conjures when he manipulates them are different from the actual phantoms created by the lockets themselves.

The phantoms that target Dumbledore's memories are Grindelwald and Ariana, both of whom are his closest people. They are manic, angry, and full of hatred, attacking the headmaster relentlessly, trying to break him down with the most unbearable memories and achieve their goal of control.

The phantom image reflected by Bastian is the bishop of New Salem and her mother, one an enemy and the other a mother. The reflection is not entirely negative; the mother does not use the close relationship to attack, but instead comforts and provides emotional support.

Salazar Slytherin did not create the locket with the intention of making a dark magic item.

"It's all your fault, Bastad! Your soul and blood are filled with evil and filthy magic! It's because you're lazy and gluttonous! That's why your mother, that lowly slave, had to steal food from New Salem to feed your greedy and selfish self!" the bishop's phantom said mockingly.

“Bastian, I’m so glad to see you’re so happy now…”

The mother smiled gently: "You've tasted chocolate and fruit hard candy, haven't you? They're very sweet, aren't they? The first time I saw you, I felt the same way, as sweet as eating candy."

"Bastad, you killed your mother!"

"Bastian, live on with my blessing."

On the bed in front of the two illusory figures, Bastian was in tears. She reached out her trembling hand to hold her mother back, but only touched nothingness.

"Wake up, Bastian!"

Hermione cried out anxiously as she saw Bastian's body disintegrate, dissipating into grayish-black smoke as if during an Obscurus attack.

The destructive power that Momo was born with erupted, and the violent impact spread out like an explosion. Two phantom figures disappeared into Momo's mist. The hot cocoa by the bed instantly boiled, emitting scorching steam. The bedroom glass trembled, as if it might shatter at any moment.

Mr. Granger held Mrs. Granger tightly in his arms, trying to shield her from the smoke coming from in front of him with his own body.

Magical surgeries should also be conducted in a cleared and quarantined area...

The world seemed to freeze for a moment. The people present clearly felt something envelop the bedroom, forming an unbreakable domain centered on Bastian in a bubble-like spherical space.

The dissipating wisps of smoke were enveloped inside, like ink spreading in water, blocked by a mighty and overwhelming force.

Mr. Granger could hardly believe his eyes. Although he had seen the Obscurus before and witnessed the professor's magic, seeing it up close still shocked his materialistic worldview.

Is this a normal treatment process?

At this moment, everyone noticed that the gray mist inside the bubble was moving.

Bastian adapted to her transformed body; she was no longer a short, frail little girl, but an invisible, intangible cloud of smoke, filled with destructive power.

Inside, a pair of faintly visible eyes touched the edge of the bubble, sensing the two illusory figures, seemingly filled with doubt.

Melvin waved his wand, his consciousness probing into the bubble, revealing two phantoms. The Obscurus split into two parts under the pull of magic, one part flowing into the bishop's phantom and the other into the mother's phantom.

The fog over the teaching assistant's side was dark red, almost black. As the dark red fog peeled away, the original color of the smoke became clearer, gradually approaching pure white, like the morning fog in Hogwarts Forest.

"This...you still say it's not surgery? It's like removing the diseased tissue and leaving the healthy part. That's how I get my teeth extracted and root canals!" Mr. Granger felt his worldview had been reshaped.

Melvin did not continue his actions. He guided the black and red phantom back into the locket, sealing it behind the small window, and then broke the bubble that had been imprisoning Bastian.

With a soft "pop," the little girl reappeared, lying on the bed, breathing evenly.

The Granger family of three looked at the sleeping face, which was slightly pale, but whose brows and eyes were relaxed.

"Let her get some rest."

Melvin put away the locket, gestured for them to make room, and the four of them turned and left the bedroom, closing the door and going downstairs before speaking in normal voices:

“Mr. Granger is right. The treatment process is like surgery, but the Obscurus’s lesion is in the soul. Ordinary magic cannot find the lesion and remove it accurately. Bastian is lucky. I recently found the locket, which can help.”

"Is there a possibility of recurrence in the future?" Mr. Granger asked cautiously.

"The source of Obscurus's power has been removed. From now on, the magic flowing from her soul will be that of a normal wizard. In a few years, she will probably receive her Hogwarts acceptance letter."

Hermione did a quick mental calculation and couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.

By the time Bastian started school, she had already graduated.

When visiting someone's home for dinner, they inevitably get invited to stay for the meal, not to mention that Melvin had helped them several times. When they asked to leave, the Grangers were exceptionally hospitable, but Melvin insisted on refusing, and Hermione insisted on seeing him off for a while.

Stepping out of the front garden, Melvin and Hermione chatted casually: "Are you planning to spend the whole summer doing an internship?"

"This is my plan."

Aren't you going to watch the Quidditch World Cup final?

"I'm not a die-hard fan like Harry and Ron."

After a moment's thought, Melvin suggested, "The World Cup involves more than just Quidditch matches. It also involves wizard travelers from different countries, Quidditch clubs, and you can see how the Department of International Affairs and Cooperation and the Department of Sports organize large-scale events. It only happens once every four years. Compared to staying in the newspaper office, going to the event will broaden your horizons."

“But I can’t afford the tickets.” Hermione looked up at the professor with hope.

“Then don’t go in as an audience member. Go ask Editor-in-Chief Gu Fei for a press pass. As a staff member of the Prophet’s newspaper, you can walk around the front and back stages.”

(End of this chapter)