Permeance

"I forgot to ask, but how does your memory work exactly? Because you keep saying that from your memory, I assume that you've developed a mind palace, but you have a ton of obscure knowledge that would take quite a bit of time to find and study." Said Nagini curiously.

"A section of my mind palace houses every book or document my mother brought for the ritual that would essentially function as my nanny. Gradually, that information was distilled into my brain slowly over all those centuries. Granted, it didn't teach me all the magic of the world or anything extreme like that, but anything that was uniquely from the Galegold line and some basics is in my head." Said the proud Galegold.

"Quite the wealth of knowledge, but doesn't mean you'll have to write all that stuff out for the next generation?" asked a bemused Nagini.

"Eehh? Didn't think about that. There might be an automatic writing quill that will write down all the information I feed it from my mental library somewhere in my brain. It will just take some time to figure it out." Said the partial metamorphagi.

"Aurelius, did you do something obscenely good in your past life? Cause you're winning in arguably every aspect of life. Well, perhaps, except for the blood relatives part, but sometimes the past is better left in the past." Said both a happy and saddened Asian woman.

"I was a scientist who developed several major cures, but I doubt that did much. I'd imagine it would only have saved a few million people. I wonder if whoever put me here ignored time, so my cures saved trillions or something like that. I could see that being the case." Said the hopeful boy.

"Hmm, I don't think it would. After all, there have been cures developed from some of the most heinous of actions, and some kinds of things were warped into horrible things. Yet you wouldn't damn the person who made the seemingly innocent thing." Said a pondering Nagini.

"That's true. Some of the best-intentioned works led to the death of millions, such as Einstein's study of subatomic particles. And people killed millions but saved billions like Fritz Haber. His actions during World War I were one of the major starting points of chemical warfare, but it originally was just an incredibly effective chemical fertilizer." Said the contemplative Aurelius.

"Well, you did a lot of good in your life and perhaps indirectly saved a person who gave birth to a child who started a genocide. Who knows. So, it's likely not the case." Said Nagini with a shrug.

"Right. Let's get back to making the effects long-lasting or permanent. I think every single statement McGonagall told me was right, just incomplete. I think permanence indeed refers to will and magic replenishment. From what I gather, the requirement is that will must continuously be exerted to maintain a particular state. The Philosopher's Stone might be better named the Soul Stone as it imbues an item by turning a soul housed in the stone into a blank slate devoid of emotions and thoughts and then pushes that blank slate into the new item," Aurelius said. "Items have a type of 'memory' of what they were and will eventually revert to that memory. However, when that blank slate takes over, the item's 'memory' is overwritten and remains as it is. Magic naturally moves into whatever it can, making the item effectively permanent. For it to revert, it must be transmuted and have a new soul take over, establishing a new 'memory'."

"But that doesn't explain why humans can't revert or completely revert to their original form," Nagini countered.

"That's the thing. McGonagall was spot on. It's a matter of fighting wills," Aurelius retorted. "People succumb to their subconscious desires or instincts. It's a battle between the subconscious mind and the conscious mind. Your subconscious mind gains a bigger role since you aren't constantly thinking about your body in your head while in that state. Otherwise, you'd have to constantly think about your animal all the time to maintain that form. The subconscious mind wills a part or the entire body to remain the same, fundamentally changing the person. The subconscious mind takes control, acting like a new soul taking over the body, creating a new 'memory' as the official 'memory'."

Nagini looked thoughtful. " Your theory sounds reasonable for people trapped in a form, but what about those who retain some traits after reverting to human?"

"Ah, but it does. Our subconscious mind always exists, holding our deepest desires. While you may consciously will your body to revert, you may truly desire a particular aspect to remain," Aurelius explained.

"But what about people who genuinely hate their partially transformed state? Wouldn't that disprove your theory?" Nagini asked, frowning.

"Not necessarily," Aurelius said, shaking his head. "For example, if you subconsciously wish to look more like a family member, and one trait allows you to do that in an artificial way. Say your transformation is into a white bird, and your mother has white hair. If you subconsciously wish to look like your mother, you might retain white feathers on your head after reverting. It looks strange, but it fulfills the subconscious desire."

"But if they hate it enough, wouldn't it eventually revert? If their new subconscious desire is to return to normal, shouldn't it happen? Our conscious mind eventually influences our subconscious thoughts," Nagini argued.

"That's the biggest argument that I can think goes against my theory, but my thoughts are that they may have subconsciously accepted the transformation as permanent, making it a 'normal' aspect that won't leave," Aurelius admitted.

Nagini shook her head. "But that doesn't make sense. Why would they think of it as permanent? Everyone is told that transfiguration isn't permanent and will revert over time."

"Perhaps they believe it should happen passively without active effort. But there's the trap—they get used to the form, staying in that half-transformed state longer, and it eventually becomes second nature. It's become so normal that it's become a part of them," Aurelius suggested.

"It has merit, but getting used to the form is normal. Otherwise, you'd be like a newborn every time you transform, making the form effectively worthless," Nagini pointed out.

"It certainly seems that way," Aurelius conceded.

"And then consider that there are spells specifically designed to revert an animagus to human. According to your theory, anyone with a stronger will should be able to revert the individual. Yet there are cases where even a strong-willed wizard can't do the job despite meeting all the criteria," Nagini said, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, it's either my theory is wrong, or the person casting the spell is missing an element we're unaware of," Aurelius said thoughtfully.

"Possibly. Could the wizard's relationship with their own magic play a crucial role? Perhaps the magic involved in the transformation becomes intertwined with their magical core in a way that isn't easily undone," Nagini proposed. "This would mean that the success of reversing a transformation is tied to how harmoniously the wizard's core and transformation magic interact rather than an unknown external factor. The outcomes' variability might be due to differences in each wizard's magical core and their ability to manage this intricate balance."

"That's an interesting perspective, Nagini," Aurelius said, nodding. "The idea that a wizard's core magic could affect the transformation process adds another layer to consider. It suggests that the more in tune a wizard is with their magic, the better they might be able to control and reverse transformations."

"Exactly. It could explain why even strong-willed wizards sometimes struggle. If their core magic isn't harmonizing well with the transformation magic, it could make the process much more difficult," Nagini agreed.

"So, it would be a combination of willpower and finesse to unwind that jumbled mess, so to speak." He said in response.

Aurelius moves the topic back to their original topic of permanence. "As for applying permanence to items, the only thing I know that could do something similar is runes and wards. After all, they're able to cast magic using ambient magic perpetually. I could speed up the process to cast on multiple things at once using an array of runes, but placing on the item? I guess that's a possible choice. It could be done by hiding it between pieces that would be transfigured back together. But would that be doable in spells? The closest thing would be enchantments, but those fade over time, and I've already been doing everything I know to increase that time. The only thing I know that has had a ridiculously long period of time is the curse on the defense against the dark arts professor position, which was supposedly tied directly to Voldemort's very being. And seemingly only occasionally activated, which also dictates how quickly the enchantment wears off."

"You could argue that with the fidelius charm. It's tied to my being as your secret keeper and will likely remain till I die," Nagini pointed out.

"Hmm, so more permanent magic seems to be things directly tied to a soul. How troublesome. It seems that my theory is correct. So how the heck am I supposed to put a soul into the magic so that the spell works indefinitely? I have part of the stone, and if I cast the spell and will a single soul tie itself to that spell, theoretically, it should be possible, but I'm not going to tie a soul to every damn bar of soap that I sell."

"Welp, it looks like you're out of options. You'll have to improve your enchantment length the old-fashioned way and use the stone souls for more important things. It isn't bad if you think about it. It gives you extra reason to strengthen yourself to cast stronger enchantments." Nagini said to comfort Aurelius

"Well, I suppose the best way is to test it." Aurelius pondered for a moment, his thoughts drifting through the intricacies of his plan. "I think I'll start with a permanence test," he declared, his voice measured and thoughtful. "First, I'll enchant something with a spell so weak it shouldn't last more than a couple of seconds under normal circumstances. Then, I'll infuse a soul into the enchanted item. If it manages to hold the enchantment for the rest of the week—6 days, totaling 518,400 seconds—that's equivalent to 259,000 lifetimes. Essentially, we could consider it permanent, as it lasts 259,000% of the expected duration of the enchantment.

"So, theoretically, an enchantment meant to last a few years would endure for an astounding 777,000 years. That should cover our lifetimes, considering the rings are keyed to a single person for their entire existence. It's quite remarkable. We could always have every spell active if we so wished, though the effects would only trigger under specific conditions. For instance, we wouldn't want to bar a friend who leaps at us for a hug versus someone attempting to harm us. If this is successful, my process will be as follows: first, I'll create the ring. Then, I'll establish a bond with blood. After that, I'll place the enchantments. Regarding the test of the ring's defensive capabilities, I think you should cast the spell while I'm not looking silently. It's best to try it just once to gauge its efficacy. Once we confirm its success, I'll infuse the soul for the permanence effect. Does that sound like a plan?"

"Sounds good bossman," She says with a joking salute and a smile.

"Well, Potter and the twit will have detention and, soon after, will face and defeat Quirrellmort. Then, the stone will be destroyed by the morning. Good night, Nagini." Said the excited Aurelius.

"Good night, master." She said, trying to get somewhat used to saying the title.