MTLNOVEL Chapter 53: Vanishing Spell
Sometimes, tears don't mean sadness.
Even sadness itself can be a "positive" emotion at certain moments.
Feeling the swell of emotions in his heart, Peter found himself speechless.
Hearing another cat's cry, Guoguocha who had been in the middle of using her litter box came bounding out in a rush.
The moment she spotted the silver-blue translucent Maine Coon lazily lying at Peter's feet, her fur puffed up in alarm. She crouched low, eyes narrowed, and let out a sharp, warning hiss.
"All right, all right, Guoguocha, it's my Patronus. No need to get jealous." Peter scooped her into his arms, stroking her in a soothing rhythm.
She wasn't convinced. After wriggling free, she swiped at the shimmering Maine Coon twice in annoyance. When her claws passed cleanly through the apparition, Guoguocha seemed to decide the intruder wasn't a rival, merely magic.
Threat assessed and dismissed, she regained her confidence, cast a disdainful glance at the "fool" that looked so much like her, and meowed softly before nuzzling Peter.
You frightened me! And not even a dried fish could make up for it!
With Guoguocha's interruption, Peter was able to pull himself out of the strong emotions that had overwhelmed him earlier, steadying himself against the impact of summoning his Patronus. The fact that he had managed to form it successfully and with such vividness had been a pleasant surprise.
Still, he knew this was only possible now because the system upgrade had stirred those long-buried happy memories and taught him how to harness positive emotions.
It wouldn't catch him off guard again.
Peter looked down at the Maine Coon at his feet, feeling the deep connection between them, as if it were bound to his thoughts and spirit.
In the wizarding world, it was widely believed that a Patronus reflected the purest image of beauty in a person's heart an unchanging haven amid chaos, a mirror of the wizard's emotions and soul.
The form of a Patronus carried meaning, representing the truest essence of the caster's character.
"So… why is mine a cat? Is it because cats represent adaptability? Or is it like in wizarding storybooks, where cats are said to be the embodiment of magic?"
Given his own obsession with magic, Peter felt the latter explanation was far more likely.
As for why it took the form of a Maine Coon…
It was probably his fondness for Guoguocha. After all, she was the only pet he had ever owned across both his lives.
Everything from his past life was beyond reach now, and the love he could give in this life was tempered by the restraint of an adult's mindset.
Only Guoguocha bridged the two worlds for him she carried the nostalgia of his past and was a warm, living presence in his present.
Of course, a Patronus's form was not always permanent. Snape was the clearest example when he had fallen completely in love with Lily Evans and placed her above all else, his Patronus had become a doe.
Otherwise, knowing the professor, Peter was quite sure his Patronus would have been a snake.
After one last look at the silvery Maine Coon, Peter released the spell. The Patronus dissolved into a swirl of smoke and light before fading away entirely.
His focus shifted to the other spell he had recently upgraded to Level 1 the Vanishing Spell.
This was one of the most dangerous spells Peter had ever encountered.
Its effect was to make a living creature or object disappear completely.
Not invisibility. Not relocation to another space. True disappearance.
The first time Peter had prepared to practice it, he had gone to Professor McGonagall for advice.
"It can make objects and living beings vanish into nothingness into the most basic state of all matter," she had told him gravely. "Mr. Weasley, I don't believe this is something you should be attempting just yet."
That "basic state" was, in Muggle terms, breaking something down to its smallest microscopic particles.
The explanation alone had been enough to make Peter hesitate.
A Level 0 spell meant beginner's stage where misfires and loss of control were common during practice. (The same reason Peter had never dared to attempt the Fiendfyre Curse.)
A simple failure would be one thing. But what worried him most was the possibility of the spell going out of control.
For an ordinary young wizard with limited magical power, even a mishap would rarely be catastrophic. But Peter was different. His magic was already close to that of a fully grown wizard.
If a dangerous spell like the Vanishing Spell ran wild under his power, the results could be disastrous.
Although the Vanishing Spell was considered a fairly common piece of magic and had a counter-curse, no one truly knew what might happen if it went out of control.
Peter had no fondness for situations where he wasn't in control.
"Even if I've raised its level through the system to ease the dangers of a beginner's attempt, this spell is still difficult. It's technically a spell, but much of it depends on the principles of Transfiguration, so it shares similar characteristics. Making inanimate objects vanish is the easiest. Then comes organic material, then simple life forms, then complex life, and finally higher life…"
He gave his wand a smooth flick at a small pebble he'd picked up on a walk along the Black Lake, watching it disappear before his eyes. Peter focused intently, feeling every stage of the spell's effect.
"The Vanishing Spell skips over the usual Transfiguration method of examining an object's structure and holding it in the mind. Instead, it uses magic, intent, and the inherent mystery of the incantation to directly bring about the result the disappearance of the pebble. It breaks down the object's fundamental structure, removing its visible form altogether."
But…
Peter looked at the empty spot on the table. As the caster, he could faintly sense that the pebble now reduced to a microscopic state hadn't truly been destroyed.
The residual magic of the spell still held its "existence" together. A single counter-curse or a deliberate cancellation would restore it, bringing the scattered particles back into their original pebble form.
Of course, this residual state was unstable. Any magical interference could disrupt it, and if that happened, the pebble would be gone forever.
Following that faint magical thread, Peter lifted the spell. Without a sound, the vanished pebble reappeared on the table.
"Amazing…"
His eyes glinted with curiosity. What would happen if he tried this on a living creature a slug or some other simple invertebrate? At Level 1, the Vanishing Spell could only affect life forms of that level.
He wondered: if a living creature were to disappear, what state would it be in?
In the magical world, life was considered a trinity body and soul intertwined.
If the body vanished, would the soul be left behind, exposed?
Or would the soul itself break apart into countless fragments along with the body? Perhaps it would shift into some strange, layered state?
Countless questions swirled through his mind, though Peter made no move to test them.
He had done little actual study of the soul, and he lacked the means to observe or sense it. Even if he vanished a slug or a snail, he wouldn't be able to see what happened.
He made a mental note to add it to his research list for after he completed the new potion he was working on.
The thought made him frown slightly. "Soul research is taboo here. The three Unforgivable Curses aren't forbidden just because they have no counter-spells they're outlawed because they directly affect the soul…"