Experiment 1

Magical sparks fly and settle on the table before disappearing, the sound of light rain mixing with mechanical noises and hissing. The thin figure hunched over finally sits up after hours of work, bags under his eyes.

"It is done; this time it has yet to self-combust." On the table lay a glove, remnants of magic slowly fading from the intricate ornaments on its back.

"Are you sure this is wise? Last time you almost lost a finger; maybe it would be better to take precautions?" The snake slowly uncoils from its spot on the table to approach the creation.

"A degree of danger is inevitable in the name of progress, Fluffy, I told you many times. And I got away just in time; it was in the margin of error." The boy answers in a hissing tone.

Carefully Lennox picks up the glove and, after a closer examination, wears it on his left hand. A spark starts at the back of the glove and runs down to each fingertip, then stops; the glove is inert. The snake that was intently watching the scene relaxes and coils up again.

"The enchantment is stable enough to be worn; activation causes a visual effect, unplanned but acceptable. Proceeding to the testing phase." As the pale boy speaks, a quill nearby floats up and writes a transcription on a parchment. Lennox moves to a different table, this one with several knives of different designs on top; he hovers the gloved hand on the implements. "Connect." At the simple command, thin strands of magic appear from each fingertip and attach to a different knife each. The metal objects start floating, and with a flick of the wrist, they assemble in formation near the fingers they are connected to.

"This is further than last time; take it slow." Fluffy hisses in a resigned way, curling up tighter with eyes half closed. "Not like you're late to class or anything."

"This is exactly why I cannot stop now. I am so close, I can feel it." The quill squiggles unrecognizable letters. "Static connection stable, moving to control test." Lennox moves his fingers; the knives float onwards, magic strands still connecting to each finger. Some simple movements, some more complex ones, the knives keep following until the strands get tangled. "Control response in acceptable parameters, strands don't interact with physical objects, predicted effect reached. Strands interact with each other, unplanned; further testing required." The thin boy levels the wand in his other hand to the tangle of strands connected to the knives. "Diffindo" A magic force cuts the strands; the floating objects clatter to the ground as the connection dissipates.

The snake shoots up, startled by the noise. "This is why you should get a padded floor; not all creatures are as tolerant as me. That professor is right; you will never be able to keep more exotic creatures here if you keep this up."

"Fine, I will stop for now. I am at an impasse anyway." "The connection is unstable and vulnerable to magic; more precautions necessary. Remote activation of enchantments unreliable, alternate method needed. End of testing." The quill flutters down to the table, and the parchment rolls up before placing itself on a pile of other similar ones. "What is on today's schedule, Fluffy?" Lennox asks as he carefully picks up the fallen knives, arranging them neatly back on the table.

"Potions, which you are about to be late for, then Charms, Herbology, and lastly I believe you decided to keep going to Care of Magical Creatures even after the announcement that declared it was not mandatory." The snake climbs over the extended arm of the young man, draping itself across his shoulders like a scaled scarf. "Oh, and Professor Cicero said he was preparing a test while talking with Professor Firethorn; it could be today."

"Marvelous, nothing to be worried about then. Send someone to warn Merlin. I have a feeling he will not show up for Potions today, so we cannot exchange strategies there. Amalia should be fine if she bothers to show up. I don't think Professor Cicero will appreciate my prototype, but I should have enough time to test it between classes. I also technically didn't break any rules; Headmaster Manastone only said that I needed supervision for new spells, not enchantments." The pale boy traverses the organized chaos of the briefcase; the shelves and tables are perfectly organized, but they are arranged in a labyrinthine way, something the owner barely notices. As they reach the exit, Fluffy chimes in again.

"Remember to turn off the rain on the plants; Studios said you are drowning them."

"Right. Caring for these materials is surprisingly hard work. I need to automate it better as soon as possible, but Studios keeps saying that plants require individual care and that an industrialized approach will reduce harvests and stress them out. Sometimes I think he can really talk to plants." With a gesture and a muttered incantation, the small rain clouds hovering on the planters disappear, returning the room to silence. "Oh, I almost forgot." In a sudden move, Lennox picks up some pieces of carved wood near the stairs, then resumes his ascension.


The Slytherin common room is mostly empty, only the odd troublemaker and lazy student lounging around during what is supposed to be lesson time. Most of the remaining students avoid looking too much at the thin boy; a grumpy-looking Tony is the only one to meet his gaze. Lennox does his best impression of a polite smile; he is quite proud of himself for that. Tony's answer is a scoff and a side-eye. This was classified as a successful interaction, Fluffy sighs. Once out of the dormitory, the snake slides down as the wall shifts behind them, disappearing down the hall in a different direction. Lennox strolls without hurry in the vague direction of the potions classroom; he yawns and stumbles a couple of times but pretends nothing happened.

The walk is relatively uneventful; some snakes approach the pale boy at random corners to share some rumors, others report on the location of his classmates, the situation in the forbidden forest. The gossip keeps him barely awake; the lack of sleep is catching up to him, but he can't allow himself to falter. There is more to learn, after all.


The door to the potions classroom is closed, as it normally is when class is in session, but this proves a problem as Lennox can't traverse solid objects, yet. A normal person would knock on the door; a wizard may consider apparating into the room directly were it not for the current location. The thin boy in front of the door, however, is both not normal and sleep-deprived, so his solution is a bit more unusual. "Diffindo" With a swish of the wand and an unusually bright crackle of energy, the door is cut to pieces, and Lennox is left standing in the empty doorframe.

"Mister Gaunt, I appreciate you deigning to attend class, but there are less intrusive ways to gain access. If this continues, we will be forced to reinforce the doors, again." Professor McCreedy maintains his composure, looking at the young wizard with a mix of resignation and impatience. A shadow slithers between the fragments of the door on the ground.

"I apologize for the distraction. I was going to repair the door after anyway." Lennox says as he attempts to hold back a yawn. Lazily moving into the room, he casts Reparo on what used to be the door.

The professor keeps his eyes on the pale boy until the spell finishes its work, then with an imperceptible sigh adds. "Please take a seat. Fortunately we didn't finish attendance yet, so you are still barely on time." It feels like a lie, but the lack of outraged whispers and comments makes Lennox doubt it.

"Did the lesson get delayed? I took quite a bit. I don't have any snakes in here. I will need to ask one of my classmates if I want to find out. Maybe not." The thin boy doesn't answer the teacher; he makes a slight bow of recognition and walks to the back of the classroom, into the so-called corner of shame.

It's a miracle the tables in the back are still standing; this little group of furniture is normally occupied by all the worst students of the class. Merlin isn't there today as Lennox predicted, but the rest of the usual suspects are still there. Arthur beams his characteristic smile at the approaching Slytherin but manages to remain silent for fear of interrupting the lesson even more. Lennox waves halfheartedly; it's too early in the morning for this. Olympia is furiously scribbling something in her notebook as he approaches; Ivy on her arm shoots Lennox a disappointed glare.

"Greetings, I was starting to worry something may have happened to you." Minagi's monotone voice snaps him out of the staring contest with the snake.

"I am sorry for causing you distress; I simply forgot to sleep." Olympia briefly looks up from her work to glare at him personally, then goes back to write even faster. "My latest work is nearing completion; we are in the testing phase. I just had to-" Suddenly a page blocks his field of vision.

"Olympia was worried about you as well. The fact the start of the lesson was delayed didn't help."

"I... see…" Lennox manages the start of a sentence as he reads the small novel on the page of the notebook. "Safety protocols, rules of the school, technical details on the door. There is even an optimized sleep schedule with the dangers of sleep deprivation. This girl sure can write fast. Where does she even take this stuff from?."

The lesson proper starts as the professor clears his throat. "We should resume this conversation later. We could try brewing an invigorating draught in the meantime; I believe it was part of the curriculum."

"I would rather not explode..." Arthur chimes in from the other side of the table.

"Nonsense, the fact the potion explodes is proof of the energy it contains surging forth; you just need to drink it faster so it doesn't escape." Lennox says as he starts preparing the materials. Olympia starts putting pen to paper again, but Ivy stops her; the girl is very confused.

"I'm pretty sure the nurse would have a different opinion. Also, your sleep potion exploded too. How do you explain that?"

"I'm glad you asked. You see, to properly put someone to sleep, you need to cause a shock to the system and..."

As Lennox continues his alternative lesson, the rest of the class listens to the teacher, who, on his part, has grown used to this kind of scene.


In a manor in the countryside, something stirs in a dark room. The day is just beginning.

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Pub: 11 Jun 2025 02:32 UTC

Edit: 11 Jun 2025 02:37 UTC

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