After talking with an ancient figure like Salazar, Lucien now understood that most wizards from a thousand years ago hadn't been all that great at defending themselves against Muggles.
Take a simple example: any wizard who could Apparate was almost impossible to catch—even other wizards struggled to pin one down, let alone ordinary Muggles.
But even in today's world, where magical education is widespread, how many wizards have actually mastered Apparition?
Back in Salazar's time, the gap between strong and weak was even wider.
Some wizards specialized in brewing potions, others in elemental control, and a few were experts at cooking magic…
They usually focused on just one or two areas, and their fighting ability came down to raw talent and instinct.
That was also the height of the witch hunts.
Once a wizard was discovered, they'd be dragged off, tied to a stake, and burned alive.
The truly powerful ones sometimes let themselves be captured on purpose—just for the thrill of mocking a crowd of ignorant Muggles while the flames rose, then escaping with a flick of magic. To them it was nothing more than a performance, a bit of entertainment at the expense of the unenlightened.
But the weaker ones?
They were caught, bound, and left to scream as the fire licked at their feet. No one came to save them.
Some could only pray. Others never even managed to cast a single spell before the smoke choked them unconscious.
Their names were never recorded. Their stories were never told. They were simply another number in the grim tally of "wizards burned at the stake."
Salazar's voice pulled Lucien's thoughts back to the present.
"You want to know how to strip the curse from her soul without harming it… but from what you've described, her body and circuits are in even worse shape?"
Lucien nodded. "Her flesh and magic circuits are completely tangled with the curse. The transformation and distortion are total."
Salazar thought for a moment.
"Then you should start by fixing the body and the circuits first."
"The body is the soul's 'soil.' When the soil is rich and full of life force, the soul can grow strong and stable."
Lucien understood that lesson all too well—though he had learned it from the opposite example.
When Voldemort had possessed Quirrell, he had drained the man's living body to feed his own broken soul, temporarily boosting his power.
The same thing had happened with the soul fragment in the diary—it had secretly siphoned life force from its user to strengthen itself.
A healthy body and abundant life force nourished the soul.
And the circuits?
"As I said before, circuits are shaped by both body and soul," Salazar continued, raising one finger. His vertical pupils glowed faintly. "They also act as a 'bridge' between the two, tightening the connection."
The words sparked something in Lucien's mind. He spoke before he could stop himself.
"Is that also why wizards live longer than Muggles? The life force flows more directly and abundantly… and the soul feeds back into the body?"
Salazar smiled—a rare, gentle expression on that stern face.
"That's exactly why I believe wizards are born superior. We truly are… better than Muggles."
There was no arrogance in his tone, only the calm statement of a simple fact.
Lucien's eyes flickered.
Under normal circumstances, wizards did live far longer than Muggles.
As long as they didn't do anything stupid, one hundred and fifty or even two hundred years was perfectly normal.
Beyond the obvious gift of magic, even their lifespan set them apart from Muggles by a huge margin.
He set aside his thoughts on the differences between wizards and Muggles and focused again on Nagini.
According to Salazar, once the body and circuits were restored, they would naturally provide positive feedback to the soul.
If curing the curse was a tug-of-war, the more allies you had on your side, the better.
Repairing the body and circuits first meant adding two powerful reinforcements to Nagini's side.
Thanks to Salazar's reminder, Lucien realized his original plan needed adjusting.
He had thought he should tackle the hardest part—the soul—first. Now it was clear the body and circuits should come before that.
Not only were they easier to start with, they would create better conditions for treating the soul later.
Purifying the body and circuits might even weaken the curse's hold on the soul to some degree.
After all, the three were connected. When one improved, the others benefited.
The body would be relatively straightforward. Liuguang's pure fire had already proven it could burn away the curse embedded in the flesh. The process was painful, but the direction was correct.
The strip of human skin that had appeared at the edge of the burned scales was the best proof.
Combined with his Transfiguration skills, that would be enough.
As for the circuits…
Liuguang's pure fire could burn the curse there too, even though it was deeply intertwined with the magic pathways.
The problem was that Nagini had carried the curse for so long that the circuits and the curse had essentially fused into one.
Destroying the curse would also damage the circuits.
He could either try a gentler method to peel the curse away without using the pure fire, or he could burn it with the flames while simultaneously re-weaving and rebuilding the circuits—tearing down and constructing at the same time.
Lucien fell into deep thought.
Salazar didn't interrupt. He simply watched the young wizard quietly for a moment before speaking again.
"The curse on that woman turned her body into a beast and stripped away her human reason."
"When the time comes to treat her soul, you can try helping her reclaim her strongest, deepest memories and emotions from her life as a human. Those will serve as the soul's 'anchor.'"
"You should gain some insight into that while you're learning the Patronus Charm."