After 'devouring' the souls of the three Death Eaters, the Dementors floated away leisurely. They floated above Azkaban Prison, like loyal guardians watching over the gates of hell, with a chilling presence of evil.
The execution is over.
Scrimgeour walked up to the Aurors with a stern expression, briefly checked the status of the Death Eaters, and then said emotionlessly, "Take them back!"
Several Aurors pulled out their wands and made the corpses of the three Death Eaters float...
Or was it their physical bodies?
These Death Eaters were not truly dead. Their bodies were still alive; they had just lost their souls.
Can this be considered death?
Andy couldn't say for sure.
In the world of magic, while the body decays, the soul does not. As long as the soul does not perish, it cannot be considered truly dead.
Where did the souls of the Death Eaters disappear to?
At the moment the Dementor devoured the soul, Andy felt the breath of the death dimension.
So...did the soul go to the death dimension?
At this moment, Andy once again thought of Dumbledore's words: For someone with a clear mind, death is just another great adventure!
What exactly is death?
Is physical death considered real death?
Or is it only when the soul goes to the death dimension that it is considered real death?
More than ten years ago, when Voldemort was hit by a rebound killing curse, many people declared that Voldemort was dead.
But Dumbledore believed that Voldemort had only lost his power.
He had become a wandering soul!
Wandering souls are different from ghosts.
Ghosts are truly dead! Although they can continue to exist in the world, for ghosts, this is a more painful torment than death.
Furthermore, what is a soul?
Why is the soul immortal?
There were so many questions plaguing Andy's mind that he couldn't calm down and think quietly.
***
The Aurors took the bodies of the Death Eaters and left.
Andy didn't linger long. After watching the Dementors floating in the sky for a while, Andy went to the edge of the island.
"Professor?" Andy called softly.
Snape's figure slowly appeared.
In response, Andy also ended the Disillusionment charm.
"Professor, have you found anything?" Andy asked first.
Snape: "..."
This question is not easy to answer.
The Dementor's Kiss... It is truly heinous and cruel.
The souls of the Death Eaters were devoured by the Dementor.
Well...
And then?
Snape is a professor, or at least he was.
He felt he should say something rather than admit that he had discovered nothing.
But this was not his strong point.
Before Snape could reply, Andy asked again, "Professor, do you really think those Death Eaters are dead?"
"Their bodies are alive!"
"I heard it. They have a heartbeat!"
This question relieved Snape.
"Collins, what do you think death is?" Snape asked in return.
"Physical death…"
Andy raised his eyebrows and said with hesitation. "Or the inability of the soul to remain in the world?"
"Well…that's not right either!"
"Ghosts can exist for thousands of years. They have memories, thoughts, and even a clear sense of self. Although they cannot touch physical objects, ghosts do retain their memories from their previous lives."
At this moment, Andy was really conflicted.
The more he knew, the more questions he had.
And the fear came with it.
Andy even had a creepy guess—humans might just be creatures kept in captivity by an unknown being.
The power of wizards comes from this unknown being!
Just like the world in the painting, created by wizards.
The real world might just be a bigger painting?
"Collins!"
Seeing that Andy's thoughts were a bit jumbled, Snape said in a slightly heavier tone, "Everyone understands death differently, but you must first know...what it means to be alive!"
Death can be a philosophical question or a factual one.
From a factual point of view, the three Death Eaters could only be considered living dead, that is, vegetative.
They have no soul.
And there is no hope of a cure.
After a moment of silence, Andy suddenly said, "When the Dementors devoured the souls, I felt the breath of the death dimension."
Snape's brow furrowed slightly. "The archway?"
"Yes." Andy nodded.
Snape was silent for a moment, then said, "The Dark Lord has said more than once that he has obtained immortality."
"The Horcruxes protect his soul, which allows him to be reborn infinitely… like with that resurrection ritual."
Snape's tone sounded a little confused when he talked about Horcruxes.
He didn't want to discuss this with Andy.
So he just gave a brief hint.
"Horcruxes…"
Andy had a vague realisation.
Voldemort's way of avoiding death was to keep his soul chained.
Facts have proven that this method is feasible.
As long as the soul fragment in the Horcrux remains unharmed, the owner of the Horcrux will not truly die.
From this perspective, at the moment of physical death, the soul will also be harmed, and this harm will cause the soul to 'die' along with the body.
If you want to avoid death, you must protect the soul.
Even if it is only a part of it!
"I seem to understand a little."
Andy's tone lightened up a little.
His goal in studying death and exploring the truth of the dimension of death was actually very simple.
It is to stay alive!
Horcrux can indeed help him do that, but Andy didn't want to split his soul.
However, Horcrux also gave Andy some important insights.
To stay alive, the soul and the body must be connected.
When the body dies...from ageing, disease, injury...whatever the cause, the soul will 'die' with it.
So the Horcrux's role is to protect the soul.
The Elixir of Life made by the Philosopher's Stone can slow down the ageing of the body.
So the question is:
What is the difference between a dead soul and a living soul?
It's the mind!
Andy believed it was.
How are ghosts formed?
It's obsession!
Because obsession is part of the mind.
Ghosts find it painful because they only have obsession, without any other emotions.
They cannot feel happiness or sadness. They cannot touch anything tangible. They have a fixation that they cannot fulfil, and they can only suffer day after day, sinking further and further into their unattainable fixation.
Ghosts can only feel one thing, and that is the fixation they had just before they died.
This is their only mind!
"Hoo-"
Andy let out a breath. "Professor, let's go back!"
This time, the gains were great.
As Andy's research gradually deepened, many things surfaced.
The truth about magic.
The truth about the world.
Now, these secrets were no longer out of reach.
Andy suddenly felt a sense of relief.
His own magic had been fused into his mind.
'My magic is already part of me!'
But this was just the beginning.
Next, Andy had to master his magic!
-----
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