Harry’s eyes lingered on the Soul and Transfiguration categories.
The magic ring his father had given him contained spells from exactly those two schools.
Even though he didn’t fully understand the system yet, those two categories felt important.
Mrs.
Potter tapped the page with her finger.
“Your ring has spells from both of these categories,” she said.
“Today we’re going to practice the ones on your ring so you can get comfortable with it.” She rolled up Harry’s sleeve and touched the ring.
Three glowing rings of light appeared—two blue, one white.
“Two Transfiguration spells and one Soul spell.
A little advanced, but perfect for you.” She pointed at the blue and white lights.
“Human Transfiguration and its counter-spell.
This lets you turn someone into whatever animal you want.” “Any animal?” Harry asked.
“Only ones you’ve seen and can picture clearly in your mind.
Otherwise it fails.
You have to focus completely.” Mrs.
Potter smiled.
“That’s true for most spells.
Clear your head and the magic flows easier.” Harry nodded hard, trying to look serious.
Mrs.
Potter pinched his cheek gently.
“The counter-spell does exactly what it says—it reverses the transformation.
If you use it on a wizard, their own magic will break it eventually.
But if you use it on a Muggle, they have no magic to fight back.
They could stay an animal forever unless you fix them.” Harry immediately pictured the Dursleys.
He could turn Dudley into a pig, Aunt Petunia into a nasty weasel, and Uncle Vernon… he thought for a long moment.
A wild boar?
That felt right.
Mrs.
Potter had no idea what was going through his head.
She pointed at the final glowing ring.
“This one is a Soul spell.
The Soul-Stealing Curse.” Harry shivered and snapped out of his revenge fantasy.
The Soul-Stealing Curse?
That sounded way darker than turning people into animals.
The name alone felt like it belonged to a storybook villain.
“It sounds kind of scary,” he said.
“It used to be called an Unforgivable Curse,” Mrs.
Potter said calmly.
“But it’s not as bad as the name makes it sound.
It lets you control someone without changing their personality or memories.
They’ll just do whatever you tell them.” Harry’s mouth fell open.
That was way more useful than turning the Dursleys into zoo animals.
“All three spells are perfect for you,” Mrs.
Potter continued.
“They give you real protection without causing too much trouble.
So today you’re just going to get familiar with them.” She stood up and spoke to Lyte.
“Lyte, bring me a few ‘volunteers.'” “Yes, Mistress.” Lyte bowed and vanished.
Harry turned to his mother.
“Mom, what are volunteers for?” “Targets,” she said.
“Human Transfiguration works best on people.” Harry hesitated.
“But I’ve never done magic before.
What if I mess up and hurt them?” “Don’t worry.
Volunteers get paid very well whether they get hurt or not.
If they’re injured we heal them and give extra compensation.
If something goes really wrong and they die, their families still receive a generous sum.” “Wait, Mom, that doesn’t feel right,” Harry said quickly.
“I don’t think we should do this.” He only wanted to use the spell for pranks.
He didn’t want to actually hurt anyone.
“Harry,” Mrs.
Potter’s voice grew firmer.
“Remember the promise you made to your father?” “But this doesn’t have anything to do with the promise,” Harry said, confused.
“Our family treats Muggles better than most,” Mrs.
Potter said.
“In this world, if you show too much kindness to Muggles, people will see you as strange.” “But—” “Look outside, Harry.
Look at that wasteland.
That’s what Muggles did.
They nearly destroyed the entire world.
Without us, those Muggles wouldn’t survive a month out there.
This is the consequence of their own actions.
Letting them serve wizards is already an enormous mercy.” While she spoke, Lyte returned with three people.
The first was an elderly man in his sixties or seventies with white hair.
He looked surprisingly healthy.
The second was a middle-aged man missing his left arm.
He was broad-shouldered, but the stump was withered and dark red, the scar tissue ugly and raw.
Compared to the third man, though, those injuries looked minor.
Harry sucked in a sharp breath to keep from screaming when the third man shuffled forward with Lyte’s help.
Both of his legs were twisted and folded uselessly beneath him.
His body was covered in rotting holes and dark sores.
His clothes were freshly changed but already soaked through with pus and stuck to his skin.
A terrible stench rolled off him.
Harry clapped a hand over his nose and stepped back.
“He lived too long in the wasteland,” Mrs.
Potter said, covering her own nose.
“Radiation from Muggle weapons damaged his body beyond repair.” “Can’t you help him?” Harry asked.
“Young master is very kind,” Lyte said with a smile.
“But no one is obligated to save strangers.
Everything has a price.
If he survives your practice today, we’ll heal his wounds and give him a job.
For him, that’s an incredible opportunity.” Harry looked up at his mother.
All he saw in her eyes was quiet encouragement.
“Don’t worry, Harry.
The spells on your ring are very stable.
Even if you fail, nothing bad will happen to them.
You can practice as much as you like.” Hearing that made Harry feel a little better.
He looked at the three Muggles standing in front of him, remembered the promise he’d made to his father, and made up his mind.
“What do I do?” he asked.