Harry Potter: Prince of Shadows

The fact that items from the Limbo realm could be brought into the real world left Ian astonished.

It was a revelation that felt groundbreaking.

Thinking it over, though, it made sense. If he could carry candy or chocolate into the Limbo, then retrieving something from it wasn't entirely out of reach. Still, the implications made his head spin.

"What a wondrously fantastical world," Ian murmured as he held the fragment of Professor Mara's gown in his hands, marveling at its very real, tangible presence. It was smooth, finely woven, and carried an almost imperceptible warmth—a stark contrast to the ghostly nature of the Limbo.

In this world where belief held power and perception shaped reality, the rules seemed far more flexible than Ian had ever imagined. The piece in his hand was proof that the barriers between the living and the dead might not be as absolute as he'd been taught.

If Ian hadn't been fortunate enough to possess this unique gift, who knows how many more decades would have passed before the secrets of the Limbo were unlocked by others?

The Limbo was said to be a realm forbidden to the living. A domain reserved for the dead, inaccessible to anyone bound by life. That alone made Ian's existence in it an anomaly—a breach of the natural order.

Even so, what Ian held in his hand defied this very premise: a piece of fabric from the realm of the dead now resting comfortably in the world of the living. It wasn't merely symbolic; it was physical. Real. And that was enough to unsettle Ian's understanding of the boundaries between life and death.

"So, it's more than just an ethereal afterlife…" Ian muttered, running his fingers over the delicate fabric.

There was something perplexing about the material's authenticity. The fabric's texture was no different from something crafted in the physical world, yet it had crossed the threshold between existence and non-existence. The thought alone was dizzying.

What's more, Ian recalled Professor Mara tearing the fragment from her gown, rather than creating a new object out of thin air. Why would she do that if she could simply conjure it as she did with metal wand? Did her method imply a limitation or a necessity for certain rules to be followed?

Ian glanced at his other hand, where he'd held the makeshift wand Mara had created. Unlike the fabric, the wand hadn't crossed over to the living world. It had vanished the moment he exited the Limbo, just as the flowers and other objects he'd tried to bring before had disappeared.

"So there are rules to this," Ian concluded. "Maybe items tied more closely to a soul can cross between worlds…"

The very idea was electrifying—and dangerous. If something as trivial as fabric could cross over, could a soul itself?

Could the dead… return?!

Ian's thoughts raced.

The possibility left Ian both dizzy and unsettled. Theoretically, if he could uncover the conditions for bringing someone back from the dead, he'd achieve something no wizard had ever accomplished.

Forget the Chocolate Frog cards. Ian's face would be immortalized in wizarding history!

"And if I managed to bring Lily Potter back…" Ian's lips curled into a grin. "Harry Potter would probably give me everything in his Gringotts vault! Imagine… no Horcrux hunting, no Order of the Phoenix meetings… hehe!"

The image was absurd, but Ian couldn't help laughing at his own wild imagination. Yet, deep down, he felt a pull to pursue this line of thought. It was a field of study drenched in taboo, but the potential was too great to ignore.

"I'll ask Professor Mara about it next time," Ian resolved. If anyone had knowledge of such forbidden topics, it was her. As a teacher, she might guide him to answers—or at least give him more puzzles to unravel.

His musings were interrupted when he remembered the professor's earlier request—the mysterious mirror she'd asked him to retrieve. Was it connected to her knowledge of life and death? Could it be a key to this grand mystery?

Setting his thoughts aside, Ian turned his attention back to the fabric piece. Moonlight streamed through the window, but it wasn't enough to illuminate the cryptic markings etched into the fabric.

"Lumos!"

The tip of Ian's wand flared to life, casting a warm glow over the fabric. As the light washed over it, strange, twisting symbols became visible. They formed intricate patterns, their meaning a mystery to Ian.

"What the hell is this…?!" Ian whispered, leaning closer.

The symbols felt familiar yet foreign. Like a forgotten language.

His mind churned, searching for a connection. And then it struck him.

"The textbook!" Ian exclaimed. He scrambled to his pile of school supplies and pulled out his copy of Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling. He flipped through its pages with frenzied urgency until he reached a section on ancient magical scripts.

The symbols on the fabric matched the examples in the book—ancient magical runes.

"It's written in ancient runes," Ian realized, his excitement mingling with thrill. The book offered only a cursory introduction to the topic. To fully understand the runes, he'd need to study extensively—and probably consult more advanced texts.

"Professor Mara…" Ian muttered. "You've really given me quite the homework assignment."

Mastering the spell inscribed on the fabric wasn't going to be simple. The runes themselves would require hours of study, and the spell they described could be anything—something harmless, or something as dangerous as the Killing Curse.

But Ian's curiosity burned bright. This was a challenge he couldn't ignore.