That magic was not especially powerful, nor was there much of it, yet it was unimaginably tenacious.
It extended countless fine threads, slowly yet irresistibly reaching into every corner of his will, burrowing ever deeper until it reached the bottom of his consciousness.
At the same time, it seemed to follow some kind of rule as it rearranged his will, flattening and reshaping his memories and emotional core into something unfamiliar.
Gradually, he felt himself losing control over himself.
He felt as though a vast net had wrapped around him, inside and out.
In the final instant before he fell asleep, he understood.
It was a seed.
It was taking root and sprouting deep within his soul.
Horcruxes were among the most powerful magical items known.
One of their most outstanding traits was their stability and difficulty to destroy.
Murphy had possessed the diary for nearly three years, and his research into Horcruxes had progressed further than that of most wizards.
In his view, a Horcrux's formidable defenses were merely an external manifestation of its extremely stable internal magical structure.
In theory, a Horcrux was merely a container for a fragment of a soul.
Yet no mind-affecting spell could penetrate a Horcrux's defenses and affect the soul fragment within.
Its protection of the soul fragment was exceptionally comprehensive and overwhelming.
Trying to cast a spell directly on a Horcrux to alter the nature of its soul fragment was no less difficult than physically destroying it with magic.
However, the strongest fortresses were always breached from within.
Murphy first planted the Seed of the Mind in Albert Runcorn's soul, then used him as bait and let Tom swallow him willingly. Through Runcorn, this "Trojan horse," Murphy bypassed the Horcrux's external defense mechanisms and planted the Seed of the Mind within the