Deep in the Forbidden Forest.
Lucien stared at the ball of purifying flame hovering in front of the young unicorn, muttering to himself:
"You can't use magic to refine a unicorn horn, and ordinary tools won't cut it either."
"But talk about finding a candle in the dark…"
"Purifying flame can actually melt a unicorn horn."
Within that crimson-gold fire, a short, white-jade-like horn was encased.
The young unicorn's forehead was now bare.
Over the past few days, Luster had already shed both of its horns.
But Lucien figured one horn would be enough for now, since he wasn't even sure if turning it into a bullet would work.
He'd save the other one for later—maybe it'd come in handy for something else.
Lucien glanced at the round-headed, chubby Luster .
It looked better with horns, honestly. Good thing it was just shedding; they'd probably grow back in a few days.
He shifted his gaze back to the purifying flame encasing the unicorn horn.
Under the intense heat of the compressed crimson-gold flames, the horn's surface began to soften.
Eventually, droplets peeled away from the horn.
They floated separately within the fire, still molten.
Lucien pulled out a mold with holes of various sizes.
He needed to test how much volume or mass of unicorn horn could retain its anti-magic properties.
He set the mold on the ground, letting the young unicorn guide the molten droplets into the holes one by one.
Once they were collected, Lucien had Luster keep the flames going.
Then he got to work testing.
The method was simple: cast an Ironclad Charm and try each one.
Finally, Lucien picked up a single unicorn horn bead.
Yup, this size should be enough for a bullet head.
But he still needed to test if the horn's anti-magic effect worked within a one-centimeter range.
And if he combined it with Truth Delayed, would the explosive effect still work, or would it be canceled out?
The main ingredients of that alchemical potion were explosive fluid from a Horned Serpent and venom from an Acromantula—both inherently magical, as was the finished potion.
During the expansion and explosion, it'd inevitably come into contact with the unicorn horn bullet head. Would it still produce the intended effect?
Lucien tossed the unicorn horn beads back into the purifying flame in front of Luster , letting them melt again.
Then he slipped into his golden alchemical gourd.
This time, he stayed longer.
He needed to design the bullet's structure and forge its mold.
Neither the mold nor the bullet itself could be conjured with magic like Transfiguration.
Otherwise, the moment they touched the unicorn horn, the magic would be undone, and they'd revert to their original form.
Lucien didn't mind the challenge, though.
The stronger the unicorn horn's anti-magic properties, the more surprising its effects would likely be.
A bullet head made from it could dispel more magic, taking down more enemies.
When Lucien stepped out of the gourd, Luster had just finished melting the horn.
He placed the new mold on the ground, and the flowing jade-colored droplets slowly filled it.
Once they cooled, Lucien extracted the bullet heads.
He assembled a brand-new bullet.
The head was white jade, the rest copper.
Through a special design, he'd managed to incorporate Truth Delayed.
"Keep it simple. Let's call it an Anti-Magic Bullet."
He hoped it'd still work. If the explosive effect was weak or failed entirely, he'd consider other options.
Or maybe a pure Anti-Magic Bullet would do?
Regular bullets lacked the power to break through a wizard's defenses, but a unicorn horn bullet head could.
One hit, and whether it was a wizard or a Muggle, they'd be in excruciating pain, barely able to move.
Plus, if a unicorn horn shard embedded itself in a wizard's body, it'd likely disrupt their magic flow.
He'd have to test it sometime.
Lucien pulled out his brass pocket watch, infused it with magic, and the hands pointed to a revolver icon.
As he loaded the bullet into the chamber, he mused:
"Good thing items solidified with magic can resist the unicorn horn's anti-magic effect for a while without instantly reverting."
He'd tested using the horn to dispel solidified Transfiguration items and even tried storing it in an Undetectable Extension Charm container.
It worked similarly—extra magical solidification meant the Extension Charm wasn't immediately undone by the horn.
And for some reason, maybe because of the expanded space, the horn had little effect on Extension Charm containers.
That was convenient. It meant he could carry Anti-Magic Bullets without needing to remove them before entering an extended space.
Lucien aimed at a large rock.
Bang!
When the dust settled, he walked over to inspect.
The explosion's range was much smaller, but for a human target, it'd be enough.
The melting effect was weaker too.
Was the unicorn horn bullet head affecting Truth Delayed?
Still, for taking down a person, it'd do the job.
Lucien ran his fingers over the bullet casing.
Regular Truth Bullets had enough explosive power for most situations.
For tougher cases, he'd mix in Anti-Magic Bullets.
Catch them off guard.
…
Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor's Office
Quirrell was rehearsing his lesson, channeling magic as he spoke.
A silent, eerie rasp came from his throat, not interfering with his normal speech.
"Master, your humble servant has finally mastered the Dark Magic you bestowed…"
"Enough. If you hadn't learned it after all this time, hmph…"
Hearing Voldemort's icy voice, Quirrell felt a sharp pain at the back of his head and became even more submissive.
"Yes, your Dark Magic is too powerful. It's an honor for someone like me to grasp even a fraction of it."
After a pause, Quirrell hesitated:
"Master, when I cast this Dark Magic, I need to maintain stable magic flow."
"If… if that kid Lucien notices something off and interrupts me…"
Voldemort's impatient voice cut in:
"Fool! I've told you before—without studying Dark Magic or having exceptional talent for it, how could a mere young wizard notice?"
"Y-yes, my Master. It's just… what if that boy has that kind of talent? That strange laugh last time…"
But before Quirrell could finish, Voldemort snapped:
"Enough! Talent? Are you saying his Dark Magic talent could surpass mine?"
"This is my curse!"
Voldemort's voice was cold and piercing. After splitting his soul and suffering the backlash of the Killing Curse, his temperament had grown increasingly erratic—calm one moment, unhinged the next.
If he weren't conserving his strength, if he still had a body, if Quirrell weren't still useful…
Questioning him like that? Quirrell would already be dead.
Quirrell felt a stabbing pain, his scalp burning and freezing in turns.
Tormented, he collapsed to the floor, his body curling like a boiled shrimp, trembling uncontrollably.
Seconds or minutes passed—he couldn't tell—before he groaned in agony:
"Great… great Master, please… forgive my cowardice and ignorance…"
"Tomorrow, during the makeup lesson, I'll cast the first curse…"
"To… to clear the path for you…"