Chapter 40: Chapter 40: Soul Stitching
The mark on the left arm of Professor Sherlock Forester, which had reacted uniquely on two previous occasions, once again began to signal its presence.
Sherlock was well-acquainted with this sensation; however, familiarity did not equate to comfort. Thus, it was with a mild shock that he felt the marking on his arm begin to burn within the walls of the Hogwarts library. The first two instances of this reaction had been brought about, respectively, during an encounter with the infamous Malfoy family at Flourish and Blotts, and upon stumbling onto Neville Longbottom within the boundaries of Hogwarts itself.
Now, it burned within the hushed confines of the library's Restricted Section, where students were seldom permitted, and where Sherlock now stood alone amidst a sea of forbidden texts. The sting in his arm was not fleeting as before but persisted, morphing into an unusual throbbing that furrowed his brow with intrigue.
Walking cautiously backward, Sherlock exited the Restricted Section, returning to the general study area thrumming with students. The gnawing sensation in his arm gradually diminished. Consequently, he moved back into the Restricted Section, and without fail, the burn resurfaced. Sherlock grew thoughtful as the realization dawned upon him. The mark seemed to be trying to communicate something.
Bearing this hypothesis in mind, he covered his marked arm and proceeded to trace his path along the first row of restricted books. As he moved further in, the burning sensation grew more intense. It heightened climatically at the sixth row and began to ebb as he traversed beyond. Sherlock, with a rising conviction, began to believe that the mark was guiding him toward a particular shelf, likely even a particular book.
Stationed before the sixth row, he gingerly stretched his left arm and ran his fingers across the first row of forbidden tomes. The burning held steady. Without deviating from the process, he continued to the second row, the fire in his arm remaining unchanged.
However, as he reached out to the first book in the third row, a sharp piercing pain jolted through his arm, akin to the prick of a needle penetrating skin. Almost instantly, the burning sensation retreated, as though it had never been there, leaving Sherlock with an undeniable certainty that the book was precisely what his arm had led him to.
Managing the surprise, he carefully slid out the thin, seemingly magical book and beneath the soft glow of a nearby candle surveyed its title - 'Soul Stitching'. It was inked in black, its handwriting revealing that it hadn't originated too far into the past. The book itself was slim, not exceeding more than dozen pages and looked more akin to a notebook than an actual book, bound in covers as thin and fine as parchment.
Honing his gaze on the title, but not daring to peruse the contents immediately, Sherlock went on to register the borrowed book with Madam Pince, casting surreptitious glances her way for any revealing reactions.
Madam Pince, however, showed no palpable change in demeanor, acting as if Sherlock had merely borrowed an ordinary book from the Restricted Section. Yet, Sherlock knew better. He theorized that anything capable of triggering his mark was far from being ordinary.
With the mysterious book secured, he returned to his office, secured the door and settled the book 'Soul Stitching' prominently on his desk. Magic was an enigma and had deep-seated repercussions. Thus, it was not uncommon for grown wizards and witches to warn their offspring against the unrestrained interaction with unidentified magical entities - books, boxes, or bottles.
The echo of this advice resonated in Sherlock's mind who, despite being only four months into exploring the magical world, had heard such warnings handed down from adults to young wizards repeatedly.
Thus, facing this obscure and mysterious tome, Sherlock knew to approach it with the utmost caution. Tapping the cover with his wand, he sensed for any underlying magical traces, the investigation followed by casting a broad-spectrum counter-curse. However, a swift breeze later, nothing seemed to have changed.
Stepping a good meter away from the desk, Sherlock lifted his wand and flipped open the book's first page, post which he discerned the blank title page. One swift wand movement had him turning over the blank page to meet the book's initial content.
Despite no unwelcome surprises so far, Sherlock held his ground at a distance and began to decode the book's writings. The sentences read:
"Upon fleeing Nockturn Alley, I became conscious of an aberration within me.
Years of agony had taken a toll on me, chiseling at my soul.
I was skeptical initially but subsequent introspection cemented my fears - my soul was fragmented.
While outwardly this fracture was not obvious, the damage posed significant constraints on my magical abilities, rendering it unstable and decreasing the potency of my spells.
The need for a resolution was paramount as with the impending pursuit of my enemies, I could ill afford any weakening of my powers.
I initially sought refuge in potions, believing in their healing capabilities. I hoped that among their multitudes, a formula existed that could heal the soul.
I reached out to my mentor but was politely reminded anew that potions affected only the physical and could not influence a wizard's soul. Magic, I was told, was indeed a projection of one's soul.
My mentor's words, rather than being discouraging, provided me with a new perspective by reminding me of the potent capabilities intrinsic to age-old magic.
I rummaged through every available repository of ancient magic but found none that catered to the healing of the soul.
Such is the wisdom of our forebears! As no magical means to repair the soul seemed to have been documented so far, I decided to devise a remedy myself.
Soul healing was a gargantuan task, and though the soul is inherently capable of self-repair, the process is painstakingly slow, especially in the case of a soul fracture.
Ironically enough, my motivation was ignited by a rudimentary Muggle medical procedure.
When Muggles sustain severe injuries, they stitch their wounds back together to accelerate the healing process; this simplistic yet efficient Muggle novelty intrigued me.
In taking into account the shared self-healing ability between bodies and souls, I wondered, could one expedite the soul's healing by stitching it back together tactfully in the Muggle's manner?"
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
_Riux
_Riux Thanks for reading, everyone! Let me know what you thought of the chapter in the comments or give the book a vote (^ω^)!
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone