Chapter 125: Magic Book? Horcrux Codex

When Silven returned to the Gryffindor common room, it was nearly curfew.

But the room was still crowded; everyone seemed to be waiting for something, and as soon as Silven stepped through the passage, all eyes turned to him.

“Silven, where have you been?” Fred sprang to his feet, excited. “The performance was a success—a brilliant fireworks show, even the professors were captivated.”

“But since you weren’t there, some people don’t believe we were destroying the Chamber.”

“Were you?” Silven asked absently.

“Of course not,” Fred and George exchanged a glance and laughed. “We already said it was a brilliant fireworks show.”

“Exactly. They didn’t get it wrong. And as for those who believe I’m the Heir of Slytherin, their thoughts don’t matter—and don’t need explaining.”

“Anyway, I’m telling everyone the Chamber’s problem is solved. If they don’t believe me, let them go see it for themselves.”

As he spoke, Silven tried to sidestep the wall of bodies formed by Fred and George.

“Hey, what’s that?”

At that moment, Hermione suddenly noticed something floating beside Silven’s shoulder.

“Looks like a book,” Harry said. “But why use a Levitation Charm on such a tiny book?”

As they spoke, the book with its black cover seemed startled—it leapt from Silven’s left shoulder to his right, then opened itself, pages flipping with a crisp rustling sound.

“Oh, that’s cool…”

Fred and George were instantly captivated; they had never imagined a book floating in front of someone could look so elegant.

Especially when the pages had just flipped— they couldn’t look away.

It would be even better if the book could be replaced with the Golden Snitch. A wizard walking ahead, the Golden Snitch circling around him—just imagining it made the blood rush.

“George, I just had a brilliant idea,” Fred said thoughtfully.

“Funny, so did I,” George replied. “Maybe we thought of the same thing.”

“Definitely.”

“So what’s your answer?”

“Of course the same as yours.” The two spoke words no one else understood, then in the next instant, both placed their hands on Silven’s shoulders.

“Let’s work together, Silven.”

“I bet this thing could sweep through Hogwarts.”

“Or just tell us how to make it…”

“We’ll trade you the Marauder’s Map,” George offered a price that made Silven’s heart leap—but unfortunately, they couldn’t make it, not even he himself could replicate it a second time.

【Horcrux Codex】

【Horcrux, Undying Wraith, Seven and Three-Fifths Inches】

【Status: Activated】

【Trait: Magic Following: Use your own magic to draw the Horcrux Codex to any position within five feet of you.】

【Trait: Magic Sensing: Detect abnormal magic nearby and issue a warning.】

【Trait: Magic Recording: Write magical runes on blank pages; opening the page automatically triggers the corresponding spell (requires draining your magic).】

【Trait: Magic Backlash: Absorb a spell and etch it onto a blank page; opening the page automatically triggers that spell (requires draining your magic).】

【Current blank pages: 7/8】

Yes, this was a wand—or you could call it a magical book.

Because it was completely unlike a traditional wand; it gave the user no enhancement or reduction whatsoever.

Even a troll wand had a thirty-percent boost to defensive magic—but this book had nothing.

But did it matter?

Silven thought it didn’t matter at all. Compared to the book’s advantages, this flaw was negligible.

Silven was eager to test this new thing.

He glanced around, then fixed his gaze on Harry.

“I need to speak with you. Come with me.”

“Can it wait… Knight to H3,” Harry said. “This game’s almost over.”

“I’ll help you,” Silven said.

Before Harry could grasp what he meant, Silven extended a finger and snapped hard at Ron’s “king.”

“That’s cheating! Cheating!”

The king cursed as it tumbled to the floor, splitting in two; the other pieces shattered instantly.

“Brilliant!” Harry’s pieces cheered. “Good job, mate—you should play like that more often.”

“Hey…” Ron glared up, angry.

“Sorry. Next time, I’ll buy you butterbeer,” Silven said, then grabbed Harry’s arm and dragged him upstairs to the dormitory.

“What’s going on?” Harry stared at Silven, then noticed the silver-gray cloak in his hand. “You can keep the Invisibility Cloak a few more days. No rush to return it.”

“No, I don’t need it anymore,” Silven said. “Have you learned the Disarming Charm?”

“What?”

“The Disarming Charm,” Silven repeated. “The one Professor Flitwick taught us in Dueling Club.”

“Oh, I guess I’ve learned it,” Harry said uncertainly.

He could knock the wands out of Ron and Hermione’s hands, but he hadn’t tried on others—he wasn’t sure if that counted as mastery.

“Good,” Silven stepped back several paces and stood by the window. “Now cast it on me.”

“Now?” Harry shook his head. “Practicing spells in the dormitory isn’t a good idea, and it’s so late. Can’t we wait until tomorrow morning and find an empty classroom?”

“We could even bring Ron and Hermione.”

“No, this isn’t practice,” Silven explained. “Hurry. This is important.”

This…

Seeing Silven’s serious expression, Harry, though confused, nodded and drew his wand.

“Watch out,” he warned, then pointed his wand at Silven. “Expelliarmus!”

A brilliant red flash—Harry suddenly realized in horror that Silven wasn’t holding a wand.

What happens when you cast the Disarming Charm on someone without a wand?

The moment that thought crossed Harry’s mind, the red light was already before Silven.

But the next second, a book appeared between Silven and the spell.

Black cover… Harry remembered—it was the book that had been flying around Silven like the Golden Snitch.

Then, the Disarming Charm was swallowed by the open book.

Yes, swallowed.

Harry watched as his spell struck a blank page and vanished instantly, like a stone dropped into the Black Lake.

“This… what just happened?” Harry stammered.

That didn’t make sense. Even if his Disarming Charm was weak, it shouldn’t just dissolve on contact with a book.

Harry, still stunned, didn’t notice that after the spell vanished, a complex symbol had appeared on the previously blank page.

It was a rune, glowing faintly red.

“Careful, Harry!”

At Silven’s voice, Harry snapped back to attention—he saw the book open again, one page glowing with familiar red light.

Wasn’t that his own Disarming Charm?

The moment Harry thought it, the red light struck him in the stomach. His wand flew from his hand, and he doubled over, gasping.

But Harry didn’t care about that—he struggled to stand and asked, “What just happened? That book…”

“That’s not a book. It’s a wand,” Silven said.

“A wand?” Harry frowned. “But it’s clearly a book—I saw it.”

“Hmm, I can’t explain it in a few words,” Silven said. He handed the wand back to Harry. “Try again.”

This time, Harry didn’t hesitate. He took the wand and pointed it at Silven.

“Expelliarmus!”

Same red flash. Same open page.

But this time Harry saw clearly—the book had swallowed his spell, then spat it back.

His wand flew out again, and Silven caught it.

“Again?”

“Sure,” Harry wanted to see how this worked—he agreed without hesitation.

Nearly half an hour later, Harry had been hit by his own Disarming Charm so many times his arms could barely lift—he finally realized he’d been tricked.

“Your book is a magical item enchanted with a Shield Charm,” he declared.

Only a Shield Charm could reflect spells like that.

Silven only smiled this time, offering no explanation.

With Harry’s help, he’d now Chubu understood some of the Horcrux Codex’s properties.

First, he could actively control the Codex through magical connection, like using a Levitation Charm on an object. Second, it could move on its own to intercept spells via Magic Sensing.

Currently, the Magic Sensing mode reacted faster—but he didn’t yet know if it would prioritize the strongest spell when multiple spells struck at once.

He could test that later.

Also, absorbing another’s spell was a one-time use—afterward, the page returned to blank, and the magic cost was substantial.

Silven estimated roughly that absorbing and reflashing a Disarming Charm consumed about one and a half times his own magic for the same spell.

This is normal; after all, it is a wand, and casting spells naturally requires magic, and when you add it up carefully, he still came out half ahead.

Oh, and there’s one more crucial point: it doesn’t conflict with Silvermane at all—it can be used as an additional accessory.

This discovery filled Silven with immense excitement.

If there had to be a flaw, it was that the eight blank pages were far too few—completely insufficient.

It must be an issue with the core.

Silven stared at the unhealed cracks on the back of the diary, and for the first time, he longed desperately to collect other Horcruxes.

But that’s a matter for later.

Silven walked up to Harry and pulled him to his feet.

“Can you keep what just happened secret? Don’t tell anyone?”

“What about Ron and Hermione?” Harry asked.

“Same deal,” Silven said. “But when the time is right, I’ll tell them.”

“This… all right, I promise you.” Harry nodded.

He didn’t think much of it—a magical item with the Shield Charm’s ability was probably no different from his Invisibility Cloak.

But since Silven wanted secrecy, he wouldn’t tell anyone else—though he’d have to come up with an excuse for Ron.

Seeing Harry agree, Silven exhaled slightly in relief; he had no choice. If he didn’t test the Horcrux Codex’s effects, he wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight.

But there were only a few people in the common study room—Fred and George had left for other matters, Hermione was a girl, and the others weren’t familiar enough.

That left only Harry and Ron, and relatively speaking, Harry was clearly more reliable.

…

(End of Chapter)