Since Helena had made up her mind, Alaric stopped discussing it further.
He placed the Diadem on the classroom desk and then turned to Helena.
"Shall we start now?"
"Hmm!" Helena nodded. "We should proceed without delay."
"Alright," Alaric said after a moment's thought, "you need to be prepared at all times.
Shortly, I will use a soul attack to destroy the Dark Lord's soul fragment.
When I succeed, I'll give you a signal, and you must act immediately and enter the Diadem as quickly as possible.
Otherwise, the Diadem's structure might become unstable and could get damaged."
"Understood," Helena nodded.
"So, how do I enter the Diadem? Should I use a ghostly trick, like Peeves often does?"
Helena recalled how Peeves would often hide in suit of armor or in students' drawers, and then suddenly pop out to scare people.
However, Alaric shook his head.
"No, it won't work that way," he said.
"Entering the Diadem as a ghost won't achieve anything. You need to establish a special connection with it.
I will use my wand to guide you.
You must open your mind and accept my magical guidance.
I will use my wand as a conduit to bind you to the Diadem."
"Got it. I'm ready to begin," Helena said seriously.
"Then let me first destroy this evil fragment of the Dark Lord's soul."
With that, Alaric took a deep breath and closed his eyes, preparing himself.
In the next moment, Alaric's eyes snapped open.
To Helena's astonishment, his eyes were no longer the deep, wise black she was accustomed to.
Instead, his eyes had turned golden, with flames flickering within them, exuding an astounding aura.
Even as a ghost, Helena could distinctly feel this powerful presence.
She stared at Alaric, and when her eyes inadvertently met his, she suddenly felt that the entity looking back at her was no longer human but something far greater and more majestic.
"How is he doing this?"
Helena wondered in shock.
She was certain that this wasn't caused by any ordinary magic.
She knew no magic in the world could cause such a fundamental change in a wizard's essence.
No!
Suddenly, she remembered.
Such magic did exist—magic that could alter a person's essence.
But how could this be? If it were this kind of magic, the boy should have gone mad by now.
Helena thought of Animagus.
But this wasn't just any Animagus.
Ordinary Animagus transformations turn wizards into animals, but the soul remains that of a wizard, even if the body is that of an animal.
A failed Animagus transformation, however, is different.
If an Animagus transformation fails and the wizard loses control, the transformation may lead the person to lose their sense of self, becoming truly one with the animal.
Although this effect only means the person has the mind of an animal with a wizard's soul, it's the closest thing to what Helena was witnessing.
Helena remembered that Alaric was the first Animagus to transform into a magical creature.
She suspected that the non-human, powerful aura she was witnessing came from some formidable magical creature—though the intensity surpassed her understanding.
At this moment, while Helena had questions about Alaric, she knew she had to wait until this task was completed to get answers.
She continued watching as Alaric's wand pointed directly at the Diadem on the desk.
Yet, no magical light or effects emerged from the tip of the wand.
To an onlooker, it might seem like Alaric was merely performing a dramatic gesture.
However, to Helena, everything was different.
She perceived Alaric's body as if it harbored the soul of a giant dragon.
As a living being, his soul should have remained quietly within him, restrained.
But with the change in his aura and the movement of his wand, his soul seemed to awaken, like a dragon that had slept for ages.
Now, she understood the source of Alaric's transformation and his Animagus form.
He was a dragon.
Not the fire-breathing dragon of today but the legendary, majestic dragons of myth.
She watched as this dragon gradually rose, lifting its head high and stretching its grand, elegant wings.
Then, the dragon took a deep breath.
In the next moment, the dragon extended its head and opened its mouth wide, unleashing its breath towards the Diadem.
This breath was not fire. It was colorless and formless, yet Helena could feel the tremendous power within it.
As a ghost unaffected by physical and most ordinary magic, Helena experienced an instinctive fear of the colorless flame.
Her soul trembled, warning her that the flame was extremely dangerous.
Though the flame lacked color, Helena saw it engulf the Diadem.
Immediately, a sharp and mournful scream emanated from the Diadem.
But only Helena could hear this sound.
It was the scream of a soul.
Then, Helena saw a skeletal, black soul emerge from the Diadem.
However, this soul, which should have been powerful and evil, was writhing in agony as if it were an ordinary person burning in the flame.
Its screams grew louder and more tortured, soon becoming audible to even ordinary people.
Had Alaric not prepared beforehand, soon a student or professor would have noticed the commotion in the classroom.
As Helena watched the suffering of Voldemort's soul, she felt a mix of satisfaction and fear.
She saw that Voldemort's soul was shrinking rapidly, as if the flames were consuming it as fuel.
No, Helena was certain that Voldemort's soul was indeed the fuel for the flames.
What kind of terrifying flame was this?
Helena looked at Alaric with awe.
What kind of power had this boy unleashed?
A flame that could burn souls—if everyone could wield it, it would rival Fiendfyre.
She thought even a ghost like her, if touched by such a flame, would be incinerated with no chance of escape.
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