[An Introduction to Divination]
[Gobstones Strategy and Psychological Warfare]
[Ancient Runes: More Than Just Carvings]
[Whispers of the Shadow: How to Control Your Shadow]
The variety of books was overwhelming.
Dawn searched through shelf after shelf. He even ca across a volu written by Horace Slughorn titled Potion Disaster Cases and Byproduct Studies.
But not what he was looking for.
He let out a quiet breath.
His hand instinctively reached into his robes, only to rember he did not have any Felix Felicis on him. With a sigh, he continued searching.
Finally, after who knew how long, he spotted sothing on the top of a dark bookshelf.
[The World Within Paintings]
Paintings?
Dawn rubbed his chin, thinking of the portraits hanging all over the castle. After a brief hesitation, he pulled the book down.
Portraits were not ghosts, but they shared a similarity. Both lacked true thought.
Maybe this book would offer so answers.
The book was thick.
Dawn flipped open the colorful cover. At first, he intended to read while standing, but it quickly beca uncomfortable, so he sat down at a nearby table.
The first line caught his attention imdiately.
[Are paintings alive?]
Dawn's eyes narrowed slightly as he continued reading.
[If you have opened this book, then you must have seen many paintings and felt curious about them.
Within a small fra, colors form vivid images. They speak, they respond, and they display distinct personalities.
So naturally, one begins to wonder whether there is truly a hidden world within paintings.]
Dawn raised an eyebrow.
[Unfortunately, I cannot give you a definite answer.]
Dawn's lips twitched.
That opening had set his expectations high, only to deliver that. He lowered his expectations slightly but kept reading.
[Still, the idea itself was interesting.
Why would anyone think paintings might be alive? Was their definition of "life" different?
Paintings are moving images created by witches and wizards using pignts mixed with special potions.
Among them, the most remarkable are wizard portraits.
Portraits can be considered, in a sense, a continuation of a wizard's life. They possess mories and personalities similar to the original.
Similar, not identical.]
Dawn tapped the edge of the page thoughtfully. He had always assud portraits were exact copies.
[The reason portraits appear so vivid has little to do with the paint or the artist.
It is determined entirely by the "presence" left behind by the wizard.
The stronger the wizard, the more presence remains. Their portraits beco more lifelike and last longer.
Portraits of weaker wizards, however, can only repeat simple phrases or actions.]
I see.
Dawn leaned back slightly.
That explained why the portraits in the Headmaster's office were far more lifelike than the others in the castle.
He even thought of Dumbledore. After his death, his portrait could still guide Snape.
[Strength, clearly, mattered.
However, strength is not the only factor.
If a portrait is placed in a location where the wizard once lived, it can absorb enough presence from its surroundings to beco more vivid.]
Dawn nodded slowly.
That explained the portrait of Sirius Black's mother at Grimmauld Place. Her presence had been overwhelming.
But what exactly was "presence"?
The term was vague.
Dawn clicked his tongue.
Perhaps it referred to so kind of magical connection between the portrait and the wizard.
A connection ford through ritual?
His thoughts drifted further.
He had considered sothing similar before.
There were far more Muggles than wizards, yet collective belief in the wizarding world seed to produce real magical effects far more often.
Take religion in the Muggle world. Billions believed in it, yet no real supernatural phenona erged.
anwhile, in the wizarding world, even small groups could create rituals that tapped into real magic.
For example, the curse ritual he had once witnessed.
Clearly, wizard belief carried more weight.
Which led to another thought.
Among wizards, did stronger individuals exert greater influence on collective consciousness?
If so, that aligned perfectly with the idea of "presence."
Dawn continued reading.
[Next, I will guide you through the world of paintings and teach various techniques.
But first, we must understand how this magic was created.]
He flipped the page.
[Paintings originated from the pursuit of immortality. That sounded cliché, but many great spells shared the sa origin.
There had always been wizards who sought to escape death.
Among them was a man nad Diels, born in 913. His surna had been lost to history.]
Dawn leaned forward slightly.
[Diels initially modeled his idea of immortality after ghosts.
However, most wizards rejected this approach.
Ghosts lacked true thought and were trapped in endless suffering. That was not the kind of immortality anyone wanted.]
Of course.
Dawn sat up straighter.
So even early wizards had realized that ghosts lacked proper cognition.
[But Diels disagreed.
He believed ghosts were still immortal.
And since becoming a ghost required only attachnt to the world, it was far easier than other thods.
So instead of avoiding death, he chose to fix the flaws of ghosts.
Specifically, the lack of thought.
And so, paintings were created. Their purpose was to replicate and preserve a wizard's mind.]
Dawn narrowed his eyes.
A fascinating idea.
But clearly, it had not fully succeeded. Portraits, like ghosts, still lacked true thought.
Still, the author added a personal note.
[If thought could truly be replicated and placed into a suitable vessel, then a new form of life could be created.
This reminded of the concept of artificial intelligence proposed by Muggles in 1956 at Dartmouth College by John McCarthy.]
Dawn blinked.
Artificial intelligence? In a wizarding book? That was rare.
Extrely rare.
It suggested the author might still be alive.
He closed the book slightly and checked the spine.
Kenting Cross.
He morized the na and continued reading.
[Returning to our topic.
Despite incomplete records, Diels successfully created painting magic.
Though it did not fully achieve his goal, it was still a lasting and valuable technique.]
Dawn exhaled quietly.
The discussion on thought ended too quickly.
But then—
The book ntioned sothing else.
A mystery tied to Diels.
A strange manuscript written by him, possibly a moir or perhaps a fantasy story.
Dawn's interest sharpened again.
The story began during his research.
[Diels noticed sothing unusual.
Characters in paintings developed personalities based on their background.
A knight would speak of warfare.
A demon would describe cruelty.
This gave him an idea. He wanted to paint a person from the future.]
Dawn's eyes narrowed.
Now this was interesting.
The book continued.
[One night, Diels prepared to paint. But he realized he did not know what a person from the future would look like.
So he did sothing unusual.
He mixed all his pignts together, covered the canvas, and left.
He let magic decide.
The next day, a figure had appeared.
A young man with blond hair and blue eyes.
He wore strange clothing. His arms were exposed, and his legs below the knees were uncovered.
Completely unlike anything from that era.]
Dawn's expression shifted slightly.
Short sleeves and shorts? In the tenth century?
Interesting.
He kept reading.
[Diels spoke to the painting.
"Are you really from the future?"
"Yes," the figure replied. "From your perspective, at least."
Diels asked for proof.
The figure thought for a mont, then said: "Soon, William II of Normandy will die during a hunt, and Henry Beauclerc will take the throne."]
Dawn's gaze sharpened.
That was historically accurate.
The conversation continued.
[The future man described events to co. Unfortunately, most of this part had been lost.
Only fragnts remained.
At the end, Diels asked: "What is the future like?"
The figure replied: "We have harnessed lightning, captured sunlight, used wind and tides to power machines, built incredible cities, and explored the sky and the ocean."]
Dawn slowly narrowed his eyes.
That description was remarkably precise.
[Diels then asked: "What about wizards?"
The figure seed confused.
"You an people with special knowledge? In our ti, everyone is a wizard."
Diels was stunned.
"Everyone?"
"Yes. Knowledge is no longer forbidden. We study freely and specialize in different fields."]
Dawn frowned slightly.
They were clearly talking about different things.
To Diels, "wizard" ant magical ability. To the future man, it ant knowledge and science.
[Then the future man asked a question in return.
"What is death like?"
Diels froze.
"I... don't know."
The figure grew angry.
"You're lying! You must know!"
And with that, he disappeared from the painting.
Gone forever.]
Dawn stared at the page in silence.
The story ended with Diels placing his own portrait into the fra, searching for the vanished figure.
Before his death, he left a ssage.
[If soone can describe death to a painting, the future man will return and answer any question.]
Dawn slowly turned the page.
___________
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