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When Anthony entered the library, he was surprised to find Madam Pince absent from the front desk. The early morning library was quiet. Students who'd arrived early hunched over book piles nearly taller than their heads, gripping quill pens and writing furiously.
He walked straight toward the Restricted Section. Though Muggle Studies books were all in the public area, between the Basilisk and the research topic Dumbledore had given him, he'd recently spent more time in the Restricted Section than the public area.
Someone was already standing by the shelf he visited most often. Even without the signature purple scarf, just from the... uh, smell, Anthony knew who it was.
"Good morning, Professor Quirrell," he greeted.
Quirrell turned around as if startled, the book in his hands snapping shut. "P-Professor Anthony, good morning."
Anthony nodded apologetically, gesturing for him to continue reading and not mind him. He half-knelt before the bookshelf, trying to find the book he'd hastily skimmed last time.
"What are you l-looking for?" Quirrell asked proactively in a low voice.
Anthony exhaled, somewhat helplessly. "I can't quite remember the title. Secrets of the Soul or Mysteries of the Soul or something? Should be on this shelf."
Quirrell silently showed him the book in his hands. Soul Mists.
"Yes, that's the one," Anthony smiled. "But I'm not in a hurry. If you're reading it, I'll look at something else first."
He scanned the shelf and pulled out a book with a colorful cover, sitting in a nearby empty seat.
Once opened, this book emitted a strange smell, as if someone who'd lost eight hundred games of Gobstones was tucked inside. Last time, he'd abandoned this book because of the odd odor.
Professor Quirrell stood before the shelf for a while, then walked over hesitantly. "You—you can use the Muggle-Repelling Charm to dispel the smell."
"What?" Anthony lifted the book to look at it, drew his wand, and tried repelling Muggles at the book. The Gobstones smell magically dissipated. Now only the scent of ink lingered in the air—and of course, fresh garlic.
He smiled gratefully at Quirrell. "That's a huge help, Professor Quirrell. What's the principle?"
"It wants—wants you to prove you're a wizard," Quirrell said nervously. "Ancient book, about whether m-magical creatures have souls."
"That doesn't sound like it needs to be in the Restricted Section," Anthony said, casually turning a page. He froze.
In the illustration, a Hippogriff knelt painfully on the ground, trembling, with eagle and horse corpses scattered nearby. But he was quite certain this had previously shown a tree, explaining why the representative plant of life magic was mistletoe.
Professor Quirrell laughed somewhat hysterically. "Ex-exactly. The real content is—is hidden." He sat directly in the seat across from Anthony, pushing Soul Mists toward him.
"You don't need it anymore?" Anthony asked.
"I've finished it. I've—I've read all the books on this side. This book is very—very good. The explanation of souls is very inter-interesting," Quirrell said. He seemed particularly talkative today. "What is P-Professor Anthony researching?"
Anthony answered honestly, "I'm thinking about resurrection."
After receiving the topic, he'd asked himself: what is resurrection? From necromantic magic's perspective, resurrection meant bringing a soul back from death to reality. If someone wanted to resurrect, they'd need to pull their soul back from that land of death completely intact.
Based on Anthony's own experience and some materials he'd found, "summoning souls" in the usual sense couldn't recall complete souls.
Once stepping onto Death's territory, souls quickly took root there. Any attempt to bring them back to the mortal world would break their roots—the only difference was which part was lost and how much.
Unlike wizards who'd received orthodox magical education since childhood, Anthony's Muggle brain always had a set of conservation laws. He'd recently had a sudden idea: if you sent in a bit of soul, perhaps you could bring out the remaining bit.
After this thought, he vaguely remembered reading some book that detailed how death acted upon souls, so he'd decided to check the Restricted Section.
"Do you think this approach is feasible, Professor Quirrell?" Anthony asked.
Quirrell hunched over, trembling slightly, contemplating for a while before shaking his head. "Very—very interesting, but not feasible."
He told Anthony that souls had no concept of "quantity"—they were just masses. One bit of soul couldn't equal another bit because they were inherently priceless.
Besides, he also denied the possibility of trading souls with Death. Death, according to him, was an unreasonable monopolist who would never release one soul from the right hand just because the left hand gained one. Quite the opposite—when people caused others' deaths, their own souls would tear open gaps along with the dying person, sometimes even shattering.
"Souls are a fascinating t-topic," he advised Anthony. "Very dangerous, also very fascinating, Professor. You're getting—getting too close. Resurrection is very—very difficult. You must be doubly careful."
Anthony smiled. "Don't worry. It's just a topic of interest, theoretical research only. I'm just looking, no plans for practice."
After all, he'd already resurrected once. He had no plans to die again.
Professor Quirrell stared at him for a while, then nodded. "In any case, Professor, in any case." His face pale, he stood and left. Anthony noticed his back was already soaked with sweat.
"Ah, Professor Quirrell," Anthony heard Madam Pince say in surprise from the front desk. "I didn't even know you were inside."
Quirrell stammered, "Yes, yes. I... you seemed—seemed not to be here..."
Anthony could imagine his flushed, embarrassed face.
However, though Professor Quirrell might not be skilled at dealing with people, he was indeed a powerful and helpful wizard. Counting carefully, Professor Quirrell had already helped him several times.
His research on souls was also very profound—he'd immediately and incisively pointed out the naive, ignorant aspects of Anthony's conception. Anthony felt that if Dumbledore had given this topic to Professor Quirrell, progress might be much faster than having him research it.
Anthony picked up Soul Mists and opened his notebook.
He needed to work hard. Professor Quirrell had already finished reading all the Dark Magic books in the Restricted Section, while he hadn't even finished half the Muggle Studies collection. Today he'd research the resurrection topic. Tomorrow he'd properly organize the Muggle Studies materials in the library.
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