"What's wrong, Thorne? You look like you've eaten a Giant bowl of rock cakes."
Three days after submitting the proposal to Dumbledore, in Hagrid's hut.
The half-Giant spoke as he handed a cup of hot tea to Thorne, who was slumped in his chair looking utterly lifeless.
"Heh."
Thorne took the teacup and let out a low, dry chuckle.
"If you had to cut open living people every day and extract something from their bodies, I think you'd have this expression too."
He took a sip of the hot tea, and his complexion softened slightly.
"People?"
Hagrid was stunned for a moment.
"Weren't you cutting Pheromone Caterpillars—oh, sorry, I forgot... to you, they all look like..."
He stopped halfway, suddenly realizing something. His voice dropped, and an apologetic look appeared on his face.
"It's fine, Hagrid."
Thorne waved it off, his tone light. "We're friends; there's no need to apologize for that. How about a toast?"
"Um, alright."
The two raised their teacups, clinked them gently, and shared a smile.
Thorne tilted his head back for a large gulp, then let out a long sigh.
"But I think whether it's cutting bugs or cutting people, it qualifies as the worst possible job."
"Sigh..."
He shook his head, his voice heavy with exhaustion.
"And I really didn't expect it."
"The Mosquito—oh no, Professor McGonagall—would actually get so invested in a completely clueless plan. It's like a child seeing a new toy. I can't take it; I need to take some time off."
What Thorne was currently doing was acquiring and storing as many souls as possible.
McGonagall's side was responsible for testing which substances could be used to stably store souls, as Thorne had described.
The foundation for all these experiments was a large number of soul samples.
Naturally, this dirtiest, most tiring, and most agonizing task fell to Thorne.
He was so busy he didn't even have time to explore the Castle.
So far, his exploration of Hogwarts Castle was only around 40%, and he had barely visited other areas.
Now he was waiting for Professor McGonagall to come and collect this batch of freshly harvested souls.
Hagrid nodded slightly, his tone carrying a hint of confusion.
"Well, I actually find it a bit strange too, Thorne."
"It seems... only you can acquire souls like this, right?"
"The efficiency really isn't high. Even if I were to work on caterpillars, I wouldn't get the same results as you."
Thorne nodded.
"That's why once the term starts, I'll have to teach the students how to obtain souls."
As he spoke, he suddenly snapped his fingers and changed the subject.
"Speaking of which, Hagrid, are you going to Diagon Alley soon?"
"Oh, I remember now."
Hagrid blinked his beetle-like black eyes.
"Thorne, you're going to buy a wand, aren't you?"
"Perfect. I also need to pick up the child of an old friend and take him to Diagon Alley to buy his school supplies. It's just right for us to go together."
While he spoke, he stuffed another piece of rock cake into his mouth.
*Crunch—*
The crisp sound made Thorne's teeth ache in sympathy.
He subconsciously touched his own cheek and silently looked away.
"That's great then."
Thorne gave a dry laugh. "As for the wand... well, that is one of my goals."
"After all, with a wand, I can cast a Softening Charm. If I do that—"
He glanced at the rock cakes on the table.
"I might actually be able to taste this 'delicacy'."
Saying this, he picked up a rock cake, examined it solemnly for a few seconds, then very rationally put it back.
"But more importantly, I need to buy some bones to use as teaching aids."
Thorne's tone became serious.
"For those of you who... aren't 'vessels', you need tools to acquire souls."
"And the most suitable raw material is bone. The more powerful the creature, the better the effect."
Hagrid popped another rock cake into his mouth and blinked.
"vessels? What does that mean?"
Thorne set down his teacup and scratched his chin.
"Well... how to explain it—"
Before he could finish, a knock sounded at the door.
"Hm? That should be Professor McGonagall, right?"
Hagrid stood up and went to open the door.
When the door opened, standing outside was a large, furry Bat.
Hagrid was taken aback.
"Professor Snape? Are you here for the caterpillar extract?"
The Giant Bat shook its head.
"No, I still have plenty of stock. I'm here for Professor Thorne."
As he spoke, he walked straight into the hut, carrying a container.
It was one of the containers Thorne had previously given to Professor McGonagall for storing souls.
Inside the container, half a jar of a white gas-liquid mixture was slowly churning.
Snape placed the container in front of Thorne and spoke expressionlessly.
"I am researching whether souls can be used in Potion making—specifically, how they affect the human body and how they can be used to heal wounds."
He looked up at Thorne.
"I have discussed this with Professor McGonagall. You should have time, shouldn't you?"
Thorne forcibly suppressed the urge to reach out and pet the furry fellow and nodded.
"No problem. That sounds much friendlier than the job of dissecting people."
As he spoke, he opened the container and cupped some of the soul substance in his hands.
"The process of using souls to restore the body is called 'Condensing'."
Thorne's voice was steady as he explained the most fundamental aspect of Soul Magic.
"This is the most basic application of Soul Magic. As for the technique..."
He looked down at the faintly flowing white light in his palm.
"When it comes into contact with your body, imagine yourself as a crystal, and these souls... are light shining in from the outside."
As his voice fell.
The soul in Thorne's palm visibly sank into his body.
The Giant Bat frowned, scratching its chin with a forelimb that was hard to distinguish as either a wing or an arm, and fell into deep thought.
Watching this scene, an inappropriate thought popped into Thorne's head.
He suddenly felt like trying to throw this guy off the top of Hogwarts Castle to see if he could actually fly.
Hagrid, on the other hand, very thoughtfully served Snape a plate of rock cakes, then tactfully cleared the space.
"I'll go get some caterpillar extract for Professor Snape."
With that, he pushed open the door and left the hut.
Still deep in thought, Snape subconsciously reached out and picked up a rock cake.
Then he suddenly realized what a terrible mistake he had made.
Snape's movement froze mid-air. In the end, he silently stuffed the cake into his pocket, clearly having no intention of challenging his own weakness.
It seemed Snape wasn't one of those stubborn Professors at Hogwarts who wouldn't admit when they were wrong.
He quickly refocused his attention on the experiment.
Mimicking Thorne's earlier movements, Snape cupped a small clump of soul substance from the container, the white gas-liquid flowing slowly in his palm.
Before actually trying, he looked up at Thorne as if for confirmation.
Thorne gave him a very encouraging, almost expectant smile.
Snape took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and followed Thorne's instructions, whispering in his mind:
"Crystal... crystal..."
And then—nothing happened.
The soul remained quietly in his palm, with no sign of merging into his body.
Let alone a crystal, he felt like he was a rock—and a rough one at that.
Snape opened his eyes, his brow furrowing even tighter as he looked suspiciously at Thorne.
"Are you sure our students can really learn this sort of thing?"
"I didn't grasp what you said at all. Is there some other technique?"
To be honest, if even a Professor like him couldn't succeed on the first try, was this technique really suitable for teaching first-year students?
Thorne rubbed his chin and pondered for a moment.
"Well... there is actually a shortcut. That's how I learned it back then."
He paused, then added another sentence.
"However, Professor McGonagall forbade me from using that method, saying it would have an adverse effect on the students' mental health."
Upon hearing this, Snape let out a clearly disdainful cold sneer.
"Heh. McGonagall, and Dumbledore, they are always like this."
"If there truly is such a technique, it should be fully promoted—"
*Pfft!*
Before he could finish his sentence, the dull sound of a sharp object piercing flesh suddenly rang out.
Snape stiffened abruptly and looked down in disbelief.
There was a sharp boning knife.
It was the very one he had given to Thorne earlier.
At this moment, it was plunged straight into his abdomen.
In the next instant, Thorne yanked the knife out.
Blood began to gurgle out visibly.