The "threads" Sterling saw were actually "stories". He'd understood this for a long time now.
Harry had no threads at all. Which meant he'd lost all his "stories".
And "stories" were the traces he'd left in this world. Losing these things... wasn't the resulting condition exactly being forgotten by the world?
Compared to before, Sterling had made considerable progress with his "thread" abilities.
He could explore others' stories by intercepting their threads. This produced no negative effects. Sterling had observed the Fat Friar, the first he'd intercepted, and the threads he'd taken had regenerated.
If Sterling didn't care about morality or others' privacy, anyone he could touch would have no secrets from him.
It was just a matter of grabbing more times. The thickness and length of threads probably correlated with story importance, completely allowing targeted decryption.
This was usage for beings with "threads". Taking from them.
Usage for things without "threads" was given to them.
Grafting threads obtained from others onto threadless objects could assimilate them into that thing's threads. Though this had no substantial effect beyond the thread's origin gaining a segment of "nonexistent memory" related to that object.
This experiment, conducted with Terry's consent, successfully gave him a "teddy bear he'd slept with since childhood".
Since previous experiments used ordinary objects that hadn't birthed threads, for Harry... the first wizard Sterling had seen without threads... he couldn't guarantee success. But it was worth trying.
Sterling pulled out a thread from someone he'd brushed past coming to Snape's office. Short and thin, probably some trivial story.
The yellow thread swayed at his fingertips, then floated toward Harry under his will's control, passing through the glass wall and plunging into Harry's body.
Like the teddy bear before, a thread wavered forth from within his body.
Then instantly, like tissue thrown into a flushing toilet, it was sucked toward Harry's head and vanished without trace.
"Professor Snape..." Sterling's voice was thoughtful. "Harry's problem might be in his head. More precisely, his eyes."
How curious. The story was... transferred?
Nearby, Snape was losing composure. Seeing Sterling's eyes change colour, that serious expression, the brief contemplation... Snape had believed he might actually discover something and restrained from criticising him. But now he said the problem was in the eyes?
What was this but stating the obvious? The eyeballs were white as if painted. Wouldn't even the blind know the problem was in the eyes?
Snape took a deep breath, preparing for the coming long, complex sentence.
"Wait, Professor Snape. I mean, his current 'forgotten' state is also due to eye problems."
This counted as a "new discovery". Snape swallowed back his complex sentence.
"Forgotten... Indeed, even history books and newspapers are affected. People must suffer stronger memory modification too. You remember, and the other five in your little group too?"
"It's Utopia, Professor." After correcting him, Sterling nodded.
"Eyes..." Snape's finger trembled as he spoke. "If prolonged unconsciousness and magic loss can be explained by curses or undiscovered diseases, something causing such wide-range forgetting as you describe... if forced to relate to eyes, it could only be serving as some magic's vessel."
His voice grew quieter. "Whether it's a curse or something else, as long as the connecting vessel is destroyed... But these are Lily's eyes..."
"No, no, no, Professor Snape." Sterling's voice was certain. "I'm sure this isn't a curse or malicious magic. As for the eyes, I don't think destroying them would restore everything."
Sterling spoke with confidence, trusting Scholar of Stars' reliability.
Having analysed "Harry's body is completely unharmed", "Harry's spirit is extremely satisfied", and "no diseases, curses, or any malicious magical interference", these three points were absolutely correct.
Actually, he had a theory. Though Dumbledore, having heard his account, surely had the same theory. Just... somewhat incredible.
The last "truth" only excluded "diseases, curses, and any malicious magic", while the most famous magical category besides these was blessings.
An obscure but enormously famous magic, its traditions mostly circulated in Northern Europe and Greece. England's magical world knew little about such magic, but Sterling's fairy godmother was especially skilled in it.
So Sterling had some understanding. And knew not all blessings were purely beneficial.
Harry Potter quite possibly had been blessed... strange phrasing, bestowed with blessing?
The current situation might result from blessing side effects.
But he couldn't tell Snape this. Sterling felt he wasn't someone who'd understand blessings. If he said Harry's green eyes were gone due to a blessing, Sterling felt Snape would not only deliver complex sentences but also demand a duel.
Then Sterling's chest badge buzzed.
"Out, out!" Snape waved his hand dismissively. "You shouldn't have any ideas needing completion here now, right? I don't like people around when brewing potions."
Sterling turned to discover the office cauldron was still brewing potions, with materials and glass rods operating orderly under Snape's Levitating Charm control.
This was quite a technique showcasing potion skill. Since the wizard's role was crucial in potion brewing. Though Sterling hadn't figured out the principle, even perfect Muggle replication absolutely couldn't produce potions.
This potion-brewing technique freeing the wizard was impressive. At least now, though Sterling could spin cauldrons like tops, he could only do so by hand, not control a whip to do it.
"Then, Professor Snape, if anything happens to Harry, could you have a house-elf bring me word?"
"I'll immediately tell Dumbledore. Whether to tell you is for him to consider."
This was a tacit agreement.
Sterling nodded and left the office.
Answering the badge communication, Terry's voice came through.
"Sterling, Professor Vitam wants to see you."
Vitam... Right. There was also alchemy. Looking at his now-quiet chest badge, Sterling realised he hadn't first thought of this. Alchemy emphasised equivalent exchange. If extremely skilled alchemy existed, sufficient equivalent materials might extract Harry's stories.
But such technology in the present world probably only Nicolas Flamel could achieve.
Sterling covered his face.
The situation was becoming increasingly mysterious.
Forgetting, forgetting... Was it present-world or Avalonian power that created all this?
Perhaps tonight he should try taking some books introducing the Thirteen Magics from Maleficent's treasury for research.
Wasn't Voldemort's "forgetting" extended from Death Magic's mark?
Then what was true Death Magic?