From Hogwarts to Strixhaven.

Chapter 111 What is the Essence of the Soul

"You really surprised me, Cassandra." Ivy took the Ravenclaw crown from Cassandra and looked at it carefully. "I have to admit that you have exceeded my expectations once again."

"How can I reward you for resisting the temptation of the Big Four's treasure and delivering it to me personally?"

This was a scene Ivy had never imagined. Although he had long known that Voldemort had placed the Ravenclaw Diadem in a "hiding room" in the Room of Requirement, that place was almost a collection of all the mysterious missing items in the castle, so Ivy had never been interested in spending time on it.

There isn't even enough time to study magic, so how can I spend time looking for Ravenclaw's diadem?

According to his original idea, the search for the Ravenclaw crown should be put off until later, and he could not find it by himself. He thought that golems or group invisible servants were the best helpers. Both of them had low-level intelligence and were completely obedient to the caster, so there was no risk of being controlled by the Ravenclaw crown.

After all, Voldemort's Horcruxes caused considerable casualties in the original work, Tom Riddle's diary almost put the school at risk of closure, Slytherin's locket led to a split in the Iron Triangle, Nagini also claimed several lives, and the Gaunt family ring directly killed the greatest white wizard of this century.

Although the Ravenclaw crown and Hufflepuff cup did not play a big role in the original book, and even seemed very hasty, Ivy would not underestimate Voldemort's insidiousness and cunningness, nor would he underestimate his level of dark magic. Even if there was no fatal curse on them, Voldemort could still easily deal with one or two spells that affected the emotions of the holder.

From Ivy's point of view, Voldemort did add a dark magic to the Ravenclaw's crown that could affect the emotions of the people around it. It would make the person who holds it constantly have uncontrollable greed, just to take the crown for himself.

Therefore, Cassandra's ability to offer the Ravenclaw crown despite Voldemort's dark magic was indeed beyond Ivy's expectations.

"I'm so sorry... I'll just help you if I can." Cassandra lowered her head and tried to regroup herself.

"Haha..." Ivy smiled. "You are really modest, but I still prefer your rebellious side. That's all right, I will tell you the truth about the Ravenclaw crown."

"This is Voldemort's Horcrux." Ivy's words made Cassandra look up suddenly, with a burst of light in her eyes.

"Since Voldemort made Ravenclaw's Diadem into a Horcrux... does that mean that the other relics of the Big Four could also be Horcruxes?" Cassandra quickly figured out the truth.

But Ivy did not directly answer her speculation: "Let's find a time. I will let you appreciate how I tortured Voldemort's soul. For someone like you who regards revenge as motivation, the torture of the enemy is no different from a sweet wine."

"But... didn't you say that only by destroying the Horcruxes can Voldemort be killed?" Cassandra's first question was still about the Horcruxes.

"Destroying the Horcruxes is indeed a shortcut to eliminating Voldemort, but for me, I can remove Voldemort's soul fragments from the Horcruxes alone while maintaining the original carrier of the Horcruxes." Ivy was ready to show off his skills a little.

Ivy cast her magic hand and grabbed a handful of soil from the flowerpot where Cassandra planted cabbage. A colorful magic light flashed, and the handful of soil disappeared, replaced by a silver metal cage. This was the work of the Philosopher's Stone, which could easily allow Ivy to transform the form of matter.

Since the overall mass of the substance remains unchanged after the conversion, the silver cage created by this method is quite small. However, for the 6th-level spell Soul Cage, this is enough.

It was still the same old routine, a 5th-level energy drain spell to clear the way, completely weakening the magic left by Voldemort, and also absorbing the insignificant magic power from the soul fragments.

The energy-draining spell lasted less than half a minute, but Ivy already felt that the dark magic effect on the Ravenclaw crown had disappeared. Within a few seconds, a silver-white mist fell from the crown and floated into the silver cage that Ivy had made with the Philosopher's Stone.

"That is, the fragment of Voldemort's soul?" Cassandra asked absentmindedly, her hands clenched tightly.

"Yes, that's his soul fragment." Ivy replied, lifting up the cage containing Voldemort's soul fragment to get a clearer look at the appearance of the soul fragment.

The piece in the diary showed Tom Riddle's youth, exactly like a sixth-grade student, so Ivy was very curious about what this soul fragment would look like. According to the time calculation, it was found in the Black Forest in Albania after Voldemort graduated from Hogwarts.

After working as a clerk in Borgin and Burke's dark magic shop for a year, young Tom disappeared for ten years. When he reappeared ten years later, he went to Hogwarts to apply for the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. At this time, Tom was so deeply trapped in the swamp of dark magic that his face looked like it had been burned by flames.

Ivy was very curious about how the soul fragment in the crown would reflect Voldemort's appearance, whether it would be the handsome face when he just graduated, but the face that looked malnourished and had sunken cheeks, or the face that was completely changed after ten years because of his intensive study of the dark magic.

When the new-colored fog finally stopped churning in the silver cage and took shape, Ivy and Cassandra were both stunned.

"So... ugly?" Cassandra found it hard to believe. The Dark Lord, who once dominated the British wizarding world and stirred up chaos, was no longer the same as before.

"He looks like a wrinkled meat ball...even a toad with bumps all over its body looks much better than him." Cassandra couldn't help but say.

Indeed, no matter whether it is the handsome young form or the evil and terrifying complete form, their shadows cannot be seen on this body made of silver mist.

It was a slimy, soft, ugly thing. Although it looked like a curled-up baby, it had no hair but thin, dense scales. Where the eyes should be, there were only two narrow slits. The nose was two long and thin holes. The chin seemed to have been cut off by someone. The mouth above was flat and flat, making people doubt whether it had lips. Its limbs were twisted and unnatural, making people suspect that it was disabled. Fortunately, it was now in the form of a soul. Apart from the silver mist, no other color that could be seen on the body could be seen. If it was pink or flesh-colored, the ugliness index would soar to the terrifying range. "I have to admit that I didn't expect it to be like this." Ivy shook his head, feeling a little unbelievable and a little funny. "Look at what the Horcrux that Voldemort relied on to survive has made him look like. He is neither human nor ghost, extremely weak, and crazy."

After laughing, a new question came to Ivy. They were both soul fragments, so what was the difference between the soul fragments in the diary and the soul fragments in the crown?

Is it simply a matter of time?

Tom, a sixth-grader, was still young when he was poisoned by the black magic, so his soul was able to maintain its original appearance before the split?
Or was it because the more times his soul split, the more unstable his soul became? When the crown as a Horcrux was created, his soul was so weak that it was difficult for him to even maintain the form of an adult?
Or is there some other reason?
For example, memory? When Ivy got the diary from Lucius, the latter described to him exactly what Voldemort said about the diary. He regarded the diary as a weapon, a weapon that could open the Chamber of Secrets and release the Basilisk.

To ensure that whoever received the diary would be able to open the Chamber of Secrets as he intended, Voldemort injected it with a memory, a past, and a personality that could speak Parseltongue.

Perhaps these are the reasons why the soul fragments in the diary retain the image of Tom's youth.

Logically speaking, a person's soul fragments should be closely connected to his original body. Moreover, although Voldemort was weak at this time, he had not yet completely entered the state of death. The soul fragments should faithfully reflect his original appearance. Just like a mirror is broken, each fragment can still reflect the complete image. Each of Voldemort's soul fragments should be synchronized with him, and the fragment in the diary that reflects his appearance in the sixth grade should be a special case.

Although Ivy's speculation was complete and reasonable, it was impossible to capture Voldemort to verify it. Because before Ivy fully mastered the 6th-level spell Soul Cage, Voldemort had already abandoned his temporary body Quirrell and escaped from the Forbidden Forest of Hogwarts.

However, as long as another Horcrux is found, Ivy's idea can be verified. There is another Horcrux in Hogwarts, which was accidentally created by Voldemort eleven years ago and is his destined nemesis, Harry Potter.

But no matter what, killing your friend and classmate is too horrifying. Although Ivy has the Philosopher's Stone as a means of resurrection, no one will pay for Harry's death. That's 10,000 gold Galleons. ... Maybe Dumbledore would be willing to do so. After all, he was willing to sacrifice his life to fight Voldemort, just 10,000 gold.

"Lord Doom." Cassandra's voice brought Ivy back to reality. She stared at the cage in Ivy's hand and asked, "What are you going to do with this piece of Voldemort's soul?"

Ivy looked at the deformed baby in the cage and was unsure about how to deal with it. It didn't look like it had any benefits. And even if it did, Ivy might not really be willing to take it. After all, he knew that some knowledge was poisonous.

Ivy raised his hand and swung it. A dark blue flame arrow hit the deformed baby lying in the cage. It was a 0-ring trick flame arrow whose damage type had been changed by the Awakening Grimoire. The mental damage could have an outstanding effect on this kind of soul body.

The deformed baby that was attacked woke up immediately, his squinted eyes opened, showing a little red light, his flat mouth opened wide, and a shrill howl echoed throughout the Room of Requirement.

The biting cabbages planted in pots waiting for a good harvest were twisting their bodies restlessly, just because the screams of the deformed baby were so unpleasant to hear.

"Look, there's really no sense of accomplishment in bullying a guy who has no resistance and can only howl. I plan to destroy it directly." Ivy used his wand to throw out a "silent" sound to prevent the sound from spreading in the air, and then pinched his ears in dissatisfaction. "To be honest, I thought this would be an adult Voldemort. It's so disappointing. I guess you didn't get any pleasure from this ridiculous revenge, so I'll compensate you in another way."

Cassandra immediately said, "As long as I can become stronger, I can endure any pain."

Ivy rolled his eyes. "You are already mine. You don't have to look ready to die every time you talk to me. I know your determination. Just wait patiently. I haven't decided what kind of power to give you yet. Don't be too impatient."

Cassandra nodded silently and said nothing more.

"Forget it, let's complete today's goal first. I'll teach you the spell to preserve the biting cabbage." Ivy exerted a little force with the hand holding the cage, and under the effect of the 6-ring spell Soul Cage, Voldemort's soul fragments disappeared without a trace like spring snowflakes in the blink of an eye.

The transparent wizard's hand dug out the biting cabbage from the flowerpot with its roots and stems. Ivy pointed his wand at it and said, "Keep it moist and fresh!"

"Keep it moist and fresh..." Cassandra repeated in a low voice as if she was teaching a class.

"Yes, that's right." Ivy nodded in affirmation. "Air and water are essential for all plants. As long as these two are still there and the root system is intact, the plant can still survive for a long time even without soil. This spell was invented based on this concept."

To put it simply, it is a magical version of soilless cultivation. Ivy only took half an afternoon to complete the spell, which was very easy.

"Okay, here it is." Ivy controlled the wizard's hand and handed the cabbage to Cassandra. "You can use this cabbage to practice this spell. As long as you can use this spell to keep it alive and healthy for three days, it will be worth using in actual combat. After that, I will teach you a special shrinking spell for magical plants. You can carry them all with you and throw them out when you encounter the enemy."

Cassandra took the biting cabbage and went to practice her new spell. And Ivy finally had a chance to check out his new treasure, the Ravenclaw diadem.

　Today, Kaven... I have been holding it in for a long time and only got this much...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)