After so many years, when Helena heard the word diadem again, sorrow still lingered unmistakably on her face.
"I am already dead. That diadem no longer serves any purpose for me… Since you say so, Uncle, then take it back to Hogwarts. It should have belonged to my mother, Ravenclaw, and to Hogwarts in the first place… I was the one who stole it…"
Slytherin nodded at her words, then turned to look at Wade.
"Ah ha. Greedy boy, are you happy now?"
Wade vigorously rubbed his face, trying to force down the smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, but it was to no avail.
"Of course I am happy. One of Hogwarts' long-lost treasures… Ravenclaw's diadem… is about to return to Hogwarts. I believe that every Hogwarts student, upon hearing this news, will feel genuine joy from the bottom of their heart…"
Slytherin let out a cold laugh and continued for him. "…And naturally, before handing it over to the school, it would be necessary to admire and revere it properly first?"
Wade stroked his chin and thought for a moment. "That reason sounds a bit forced, Professor. How about this… I will finish my research first and only then inform the school? That way, I would not need to make up excuses to convince myself."
"Do as you please," Slytherin said casually. "The diadem personally crafted by Rowena does have its unique qualities. Studying it will do you some good. In any case, returning it to the school would only mean it gathers dust in a different place."
Wade stared at Slytherin in surprise. "You are not opposed to this?"
"Why would I be?" Slytherin said, shaking his head.
"It seems… you really do want to beat Baro up," Wade said in amazement.
"Sigh… I truly wanted to give him a beating just now, and curse him as well. But… what use would that be? We are all ghosts now, the dead bound to the mortal world. Though we still wander among the living, when a person dies, it is like a lamp going out. Many things in this world are no longer connected to us…" Slytherin looked somewhat dispirited.
Although Slytherin sought to study immortality, he was not a coward who feared death.
Even in death, he would stride forward bravely, embrace death without fear, and continue to explore its mysteries.
Rather than retreat back into the mortal world and become a ghost…
To this day, Slytherin still harboured lingering resentment over how he had inexplicably become a ghost.
"Alright! Then tell me where the diadem is, and I will make a trip when I have time," Wade said with a grin, rubbing his hands together.
"You have not done the work for me yet," Slytherin said coldly.
"Huh? Did you not let it go?" Wade was dumbfounded.
Slytherin glared at him. "Who said I let it go? Besides, even if I casually remark that I have let it go, does that conflict with my wanting to beat Baro? Moreover, I am not the person involved. What right do I have to speak of letting go on Helena's behalf?"
"..."
Wade glanced at the sorrowful Helena and suddenly understood what the old man was thinking.
Only when an obsession remains does a ghost form. Once that obsession dissipates, the ghost leaves the mortal world and sets foot once more on the path to the realm of the dead.
Yet ghosts themselves often cannot remember what they are obsessed with, which makes things troublesome.
Slytherin was clearly unwilling to see Helena continue wandering the mortal world like this.
So… did Slytherin believe that Helena's lingering obsession might lie with Baro?
After beating Baro up, if Helena's obsession truly centred on him, perhaps venting her resentment would allow it to fade, letting her finally depart?
As for Baro, his obsession was plainly bound to Helena. Once Helena left, Baro would leave as well.
No matter how detestable Baro was, he had still been one of Slytherin's most promising students. Slytherin's feelings on the matter were undoubtedly complicated.
And taking a step back, even if Helena's obsession did not lie with Baro, he still deserved a beating to vent some anger. There was also that tangled frustration of disappointment toward a student who had failed him.
Once Wade had thought it through, he raised a hand and made an OK gesture. "Give me a bit of time."
While Wade busied himself, Helena began asking Slytherin about his own situation.
Slytherin did not conceal anything, briefly explaining how he had inexplicably become a ghost and then happened to encounter Wade.
"Since you do not wish others to know about your current state, I will help keep it a secret," Helena said.
"Good," Slytherin nodded.
In truth, at this stage Helena was fully capable of assisting Slytherin with his experiments and helping him recover his remains.
Slytherin was well aware of this, yet he did not speak of it.
What occupied his thoughts now was how to dispel Helena's lingering obsession, so that she would not have to continue wandering the mortal world.
Moreover, he did not wish to make the daughter of an old friend into an experimental subject.
Especially since Helena could be considered the first familiar face he had encountered after becoming a ghost.
In fact, Slytherin wished even more to uncover his own lingering obsession and leave the mortal world himself.
A thousand years had passed, the world had changed beyond recognition. This era was not one that Slytherin liked…
"Finished," Wade's voice interrupted Slytherin's wandering thoughts.
"So quickly?" Slytherin was somewhat surprised.
"Heh~" Wade looked at the parchment in his hand and said, "With all the experimental data you provided earlier as support, many things become much simpler."
"Let me see…" Slytherin drifted over.
Wade placed the newly written experimental plan onto the table for Slytherin to examine.
"In theory, this should work, but we will still need to test it in practice," Wade said.
"Hm… hm? The Obscurus can be used like this?" The more Slytherin read, the more astonished he became.
Wade smiled. "Do you want to beat Baro with your fists, or with your cane? Personally, I recommend the cane. It packs a punch and will not hurt your hand."
Before Wade could finish speaking, Slytherin handed over the illusory cane in his grasp.
In fact, everything a ghost possessed was formed from the power of its own soul, mimicking the state it had been in at the moment of death.
Thus, the cane in Slytherin's hand was likewise composed of soul power.
Seeing this, Wade did not waste any more words. He lightly flicked his wand toward the Obscurus that had been floating nearby, shaving off a small wisp of black mist.
Before the mist could disperse, Wade gently guided it with his wand, softly chanting an ancient incantation.
Slytherin heard it clearly. It was a spell recorded among the results of his own experiments, but the latter portion of the incantation was entirely different from what Slytherin had documented.
It was a spell meant to imitate the transformation state of an Obscurial. In truth, it had not yet been fully perfected. If it were successful, a wizard would be able to turn their body into a mist-like form, just like an Obscurial.
The incomplete version could not yet be used on a wizard's own body, but using it on a strand of the Obscurus posed little problem.
As Wade's spell took effect, the wisp of mist slowly spread out and wrapped itself around the tip of the cane.
After the black mist completely wrapped around the end of the cane, it quietly faded from sight, as though nothing had happened at all.
However, in their ghostly states, both Slytherin and Helena could sense that the cane was now very different from before.
Slytherin lifted the cane and gently touched it with his right hand.
"I can actually touch it!" Slytherin said in delight. "Heh, I never expected that a spell originally intended for use on a wizard's own body, when applied to an Obscurus, would have the effect of solidifying it… The Obscurus is itself a form of soul power. Wrapping it around my cane is like sheathing it in a layer of iron!"
Helena drifted over as well, curiously placing her hand on the cane. A flicker of joy crossed her face. "I… I can finally feel touch again… It has been many, many years since I was able to physically touch anything…"
Hearing this, Wade stroked his chin in thought. "So that is how it works. The power of the soul, is it? My understanding of the Obscurus has deepened even further…"
Slytherin tested it by tapping the cane lightly against his own palm. "Ah ha! I can feel it now! Boy, how did you manage this? I can actually feel pain!"
Wade explained, "The Obscurus is a Dark Magic creature. Even without consciousness, its magic is extremely aggressive. That was after I had already treated it. Otherwise, with the way you were touching it just now, it would have been no different from grabbing a red-hot iron with your bare hands."
Hearing that, Helena quickly withdrew her hand, which she had been about to touch the cane with again.
Slytherin stroked his beard and suddenly said, "Can you refrain from treating it, and keep the Obscurus in its original state?"
"You want to beat someone with a 'red-hot iron'?" Wade asked in shock.
"He dared to stab my friend's daughter! What is wrong with me beating him with a red-hot iron?" Slytherin said angrily.
"Because of that bastard, Rowena never saw her daughter again before she died! Do you think he deserves to be beaten or not? With such a disgraceful student… I do not even know how I am supposed to explain this to Rowena when I reach the realm of the dead…"
"When you put it that way, it does seem justified…"
"Enough nonsense. Release the Obscurus's power," Slytherin said sharply. "Helena… go and bring Baro here…"
…
Wade did not stay to watch Slytherin discipline his wayward student.
It was not that he lacked curiosity, but rather that the old man had already started chasing him out.
Under the circumstances, Wade could hardly insist on staying. If their positions were reversed, he would not want a junior watching him make a spectacle of himself either.
Especially not someone as proud as Slytherin.
Still, the trip had hardly been without gain. Not only had he obtained the exact location of Ravenclaw's diadem, he had also gained a deeper understanding of the true nature of the Obscurus.
Since the Obscurus's essence was so closely aligned with the power of the soul, there were many ideas worth exploring…
Although this Obscurus was currently in an unconscious state, it still contained immense magical power.
That meant… could he use nightmare magic to control this Obscurus?
Just like how The Senior had once used nightmare magic to seize control of a cat's consciousness…
If it worked, this Obscurus could become an extraordinarily powerful weapon.
____
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