Sometimes, tears don't represent sadness. In fact, at certain moments, sadness itself can be considered a 'positive' emotion.
Feeling the surge of emotions in his heart, Vaughn was momentarily speechless.
Just then, hearing the meows of another cat, Hexby—who had been using the litter box—hurried out. The moment he saw the silver-blue translucent Maine Coon lazily curled up at Vaughn's feet, all his fur bristled in anger. He crouched low, letting out a threatening "hiss."
"All right, all right, Hexby, that's my Patronus. Don't be jealous," Vaughn said, picking him up and soothing him gently.
It wasn't until Hexby swiped his claws at the Patronus a few times and watched them pass straight through the Maine Coon's body that he realized this thing was magic.
Threat eliminated, confidence restored, Hexby shot a disdainful glance at the idiot that looked just like him, then turned to Vaughn and began rubbing against him and meowing nonstop.
'You scared me! One fish treat won't fix this, just so you know!'
Thanks to Hexby's interruption, Vaughn was finally pulled away from the powerful emotions that had overwhelmed him earlier.
The impact of successfully conjuring a Patronus had been far beyond his expectations.
But this would be the only time. With the help of the system panel and point allocation, he had now successfully awakened those long-forgotten joyful memories and learned how to channel positive emotions.
He wouldn't lose control like this again.
Feeling the presence of the Maine Coon at his feet—an entity deeply connected to his thoughts and spirit—Vaughn fell into contemplation.
In the wizarding world, it's widely believed that a person's Patronus often reflects their deepest ideals and beliefs in the concept of 'goodness.' It's the unchanging sanctuary within a chaotic heart, a mirror of a wizard's soul and emotions.
That's why the form a Patronus takes holds symbolic meaning—it represents the self and one's truest character traits.
'So why is my Patronus a cat?' Vaughn wondered. 'Is it because cats symbolize unpredictability? Or like the stories in the magical world say, is the cat a symbol of magic itself?'
Given his obsession with magic, Vaughn felt the latter was probably more accurate.
As for why it was a Maine Coon specifically...It was likely due to his affection for Hexby. After all, across both lives, this was the only pet he had ever raised.
The past life was long gone and impossible to retrieve. In this life, his love was tempered by the restraint of adulthood.
Only Hexby carried the weight of his longing for his previous life while also existing by his side in this one.
Moreover, a Patronus's specific form isn't fixed. Snape was the perfect example—when he fully gave his heart to Lily Evans and saw her as the most important person in his life, his Patronus changed into a doe.
Otherwise, based on what Vaughn knew of the professor, his Patronus would almost certainly have been a snake!
Vaughn carefully felt the nuances of the Patronus Charm once again, then released the spell. The silver-blue Maine Coon dissolved into mist and vanished.
His attention now turned to another spell he had raised to LV1—the Vanishing Charm(Evanesco).
This was one of the most dangerous spells Vaughn had ever encountered. The Vanishing Charm causes an object, living or non-living, to completely disappear.
It's not invisibility. It's not teleportation. It's true annihilation.
On the day he first intended to practice it, Vaughn had gone to consult Professor McGonagall. She told him, "It can reduce objects and living beings into nothingness, into their most basic state of existence. Mr. Weasley, I don't believe this is a spell you should be learning just yet."
This "nothingness" or "basic state of existence," in Muggle terms, essentially meant breaking matter down into microscopic particles.
That immediately made Vaughn abandon any plans to try it.
A spell at LV0 signifies a beginner level, where misfires and accidents are common. This was also why Vaughn had never dared to try the Fiendfyre Curse.
If the spell simply failed during practice, Vaughn wouldn't mind so much. What worried him most was a spell going out of control.
For ordinary young wizards with weak magical power, even a misfired spell wouldn't cause serious consequences. But Vaughn was different. With his current magic reserves nearly on par with an adult wizard's, a powerful spell like the Vanishing Charm, if it went out of control, could be disastrous.
Even though the Vanishing Charm is considered a relatively standard spell and does have a counter-spell, no one truly knows what the outcome of a spell gone haywire might be.
And Vaughn hated situations that spiraled beyond his control.
"Even if the system panel lets me bypass the dangers of being a beginner, this spell is still incredibly difficult," he muttered to himself. "Though it's classified as a charm, a large portion of it overlaps with Transfiguration theory. So just like Transfiguration, its difficulty level begins with inanimate objects, then progresses to organic matter, simple life forms, complex life forms, and finally, higher life forms…"
Waving his wand, Vaughn aimed at a smooth pebble he'd casually picked up on a trip to the Black Lake and cast the spell, making it vanish. He focused deeply on experiencing the entire process of the spell taking effect.
"The Vanishing Charm skips the usual Transfiguration process—observing the object's physical composition and projecting it into your mind," he analyzed. "Instead, it uses magic, emotion, and the mystery of the incantation itself to directly achieve the desired result, making this pebble vanish. The spell disassembles the pebble's basic physical structure, erasing its visible, tangible form."
But...
Staring at the now-empty table, Vaughn, as the caster, could faintly sense that the pebble—now broken down into microscopic form—had not truly disappeared.
The remaining power of the spell was still holding on to its "existence." As long as he recited the counter-spell or lifted the original spell, the pebble would return, reassembling itself from microscopic particles back into its original shape.
Of course, since it was only residual spell energy maintaining that state, it was unstable and easily disturbed by magical interference or other spells.
And if that happened, the pebble would be truly, permanently lost.
Following that faint magical trace, Vaughn undid the spell. Silently and effortlessly, the vanished pebble reappeared before him.
"…Truly fascinating."
Light shimmered in Vaughn's eyes. Suddenly, he had the urge to find a living creature—perhaps a slug or some other invertebrate. At LV1, the Vanishing Charm could only be applied to such simple life forms.
He wanted to know: if a living being were to vanish, what kind of state would it be in?
In the magical world, life is considered dual in nature—composed of both body and soul. So, if a creature's body disappeared, would that leave its soul exposed?
Or would the soul be broken down along with the body, fragmented into countless parts? Or maybe it would exist in some kind of quantum overlay, a magical superposition?
These thoughts surged through his mind, but Vaughn didn't act immediately.
He had no real understanding of soul-related studies yet, and lacked the tools or senses to observe such phenomena. Even if he found a slug or a snail and made it disappear, he wouldn't be able to see anything meaningful.
Still, he could write the idea down and save it as a future research project, once his new potion was successfully developed.
At that thought, a wave of frustration hit him again.
"Researching the soul is considered taboo in this world," Vaughn muttered. "The three Unforgivable Curses weren't just banned because they have no counter-spell… It's also because they act directly upon the soul."
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P@atreon/Arvinstorm (30+ Advanced Chapters)