Before Julian could even appraise the ring, Helena snatched it up and slipped it onto her finger, proving at least that she was capable of touching it. Unfortunately, it became obvious almost at once that the attempt had failed. White and golden strands of energy lashed out from the ring and burrowed into Helena's arm, making her cry out in agony. Julian reacted instantly, asserting his authority over the ring and forcing it to expand until it slid from her hand and dropped to the floor with a sharp clink. The white and gold power inside her arm did not disappear right away, but after a few tense moments it began to splinter apart and fade, leaving her arm normal once again.
[RING NAME: Nazgul
Grade: RARE
Abilities: Autosizing, spiritual conversion, bound, parasite
Description: A sinister ring that can transform a soul into the spiritual energy of its creator, prepared to be absorbed and used to increase their strength.
System appraisal: A dreadful ring, conceived knowingly only by a warped mind, crafted by an up and coming ring smith.]
That is SOOO much worse than what I originally thought it was, Julian thought with horror as he stared at the appraisal. At first, he had believed the ring was merely trying to forcibly enslave Helena, which was already unacceptable. The truth was far worse. It had been turning her soul into energy that would then be added to his own power. The ring had essentially been digesting her so he could consume the result afterward. While it was unquestionably a failure, it did answer one problem he had been struggling with. Up until now, he had no way to remove the horcrux soul shard from the diadem without risking contact with his own soul. Now, this ring could potentially devour it instead, he thought grimly.
"I understand wanting a corporeal form as soon as possible, but next time wait for me to inspect the ring first," he told Helena sternly.
She nodded, shivering as she cast a fearful glance at the ring still resting on the floor. "It felt like I was being slowly broken apart and fading away," she said, clearly shaken by what had just happened.
Julian gave a small nod and explained the ring's true function, which only made the horror in her expression deepen. Then he told her the one piece of good news. The ring might be capable of stripping the soul shard out of Ravenclaw's diadem without harming the artifact itself.
"He deserves that fate, so even though I would rather see you destroy that vile thing lying there, it still has a use," she said, her hatred for Voldemort clearly outweighing even her disgust for the ring that had almost consumed her.
Julian could not really fault her for that. The ring was just an object, mindless and obedient to the instructions woven into it. Voldemort, on the other hand, had manipulated her and exploited the knowledge she had given him to carry out countless vile acts. Near the top of that list was turning her mother's diadem into a vessel for a soul fragment steeped in the most foul magic imaginable.
"That will have to wait until next year, though. I can't risk drawing his attention to me yet. I'm still not strong enough," Julian said, irritation slipping into his voice at his own weakness.
Helena only nodded in understanding. Julian had already informed her about Voldemort possessing Quirrell, and he had also told her about the trap the school was preparing for him. Honestly, that was the only thing keeping her from trying to reveal Voldemort's presence herself.
"Now I need to figure out where the enchantment went wrong," Julian muttered as he finally picked up the ring and stored it away in Greed.
The intent had been correct. The knowledge had been correct. So what had twisted the result into this? He sank into deep thought, mentally breaking the forging process apart piece by piece until he finally found a likely answer. The word gul meant wraith and carried dark associations, so perhaps pairing that term with the cold flame had warped the enchantment into its current form. If that was the cause, then maybe he needed to replace wraith, gul, with spirit, fea, a word with far more positive connotations, he thought seriously.
...
With the next attempt already taking shape in his mind, Julian decided to end the day's work and headed for the Great Hall for dinner. When he arrived, he found the professors chatting cheerfully while the students around the hall were doing much the same. As his gaze landed on Hagrid, Julian felt a bit puzzled. The half giant had possessed his Christmas gift for nearly three weeks now, yet he seemed not to have noticed its effects at all. That was not to say the benefits were absent or useless. It was simply that Hagrid lacked the sharpness to realize the reason animals had become easier for him to understand was the ring.
It was almost ironic. A man who spent so much time around magical creatures had failed to notice his sudden improvement in dealing with them. The thought reminded Julian that McGonagall had quietly approached him with a commission of her own. She wanted a full set of playmaker rings for the Gryffindor Quidditch team to give them an added advantage. That meant seven rings in total, all linked together so the team could coordinate and strategize as one.