Not feeling up to exploring my developing sense of adventure I pushed it aside and focused on my research. That always cleared my mind. I'd been looking into the charms I'd found in that old agricultural book as well as the charms I'd used on my potions lab. I found that the charms seemed to work on different principles, or at least appeared to be. It was always hard to know for sure with magic, the one I found in the book seemed more powerful though, but I'd decided to test thing out with both.
The one in the book was basically the magical world's answer to the common pump. Place it on anything and it would push anything that came within its field of influence in one direction, apparently by using gravity. It didn't have to be fluid as it worked just as well on a bucket of ping-pong balls. And when I'd stuck a finger into it I'd felt a definite pull.
The charm I'd use on my lab only seemed to work on gasses as far as I'd been able to determine, I could feel a definite breeze when it was activated but felt no pull on my body if I came into contact with it, and it ignored any fluid or otherwise solid objects. I'd been curious if it would affect ping-pong balls because they were hollow and as such contained a small measure of air inside of them. Theoretically, it should have worked.
No such luck.
So what was the reason I wanted these charms? Well, it had to do with my little plasma globes. I wanted to find a way to use that power in a more… focused manner, shall we say.
Right now they were little more than a very fancy bomb.
If I wanted to use them for… anything really, I needed to find a way to channel that energy in a controlled manner. Not the easiest of tasks considering what I'm dealing with, not the safest either. Fortunately, the Room could provide me with all the safety I could need, I just needed to set up an experimental rig, slap a Protean on it and its twin, which was similarly enchanted, just lacking the plasmasphere and presto, I was ready for some tests.
The room was divided into two parts with a thick wall separating the two halves. I'd set up a pair of two-way mirrors like the one Sirius would give Harry in the future to allow me to see what was going on inside the room. The test room itself was entirely bare besides the brass testing frame in its center as well as a target dummy at the end of the room opposite where I was. One set of mirrors were focused on the dummy while the other was focused on the rig.
The testing frame looked a bit like one of those solar system models you often made in school for projects. But instead of having the sun in its center it had the plasmasphere suspended there, sans its glass covering. And in the place of the planets each of the spindly arms had a small upright loop attached to it. Each loop had a particular series of enchantments on it with three variations as a whole and three sets of each variation. The first kind of loop was centered around the pump charm I'd found in the agricultural book, the second was my lab charms, and the third was the same as what I'd used on my Caster that generated magnetic force to propel the shells.
The whole rig was set up on a man high pole.
I wouldn't be winning any design contest with it but someone might be interested to buy it as one of those novelty lamps that no one wanted when the owner died.
"Test One." I write down in a notebook. "Pump, Accelerator, Pump configuration," I muttered as I wrote. Then I moved to the rig and arranged it according to my notes before activating the enchantments and looked at the viewer.
Nothing.
"Test One; Failure. No noticeable reaction in the Plasma sphere." I said as I wrote it down.
"Test two," I said and moved the arms into a new configuration. "Gas, Accelerator, Pump."
There was a bright flash from the mirror and I saw the closes ring on my cloned rig disintegrate, melting and dripping into a puddle of molten brass on the floor.
"Test Two: Reaction – Gas ring melted. Accelerator ring appears undamaged." I wrote down on the pad. "Test Two B. Moving accelerator ring into close proximity with the gas ring." I sad and wrote before transfiguring the rig a bit.
There were another bright flash and this time all three rings in the series melted into slag. That was awesome! I'd gotten the plasma all the way to the third ring! The dummy was undamaged, unfortunately, which meant the plasma hadn't traveled far beyond the third ring before dispersing. But it was progress.
But first I needed to rethink the enchantments on the rings. They melted way too easy. I'd forgotten to take the heat into account properly. I needed to cool and probably strengthen the rings before I tried again. I would probably have to rethink the whole wheel for the rings before I was ready to try again. But first! I still had a fresh set of rings to destroy. I wonder what would happen if I had two accelerator rings… or maybe…
"Test Two B; Progress – Positive result for plasma migration from PS to focusing rings. Rings destroyed. Rework Rings for higher durability." I wrote down before I transfigured the rig into a new configuration.
"Test Three." I proclaimed to myself with a grin. "Gas, Accelerator and Accelerator!"
Like last time there was a bright flash but this time there was a loud crack as well and the whole rig started to glow with heat while part of it, the arms and rings, melted into slag. A peek at the mirrors showed that the plasma sphere had apparently exploded, and so had the dummy's head!
"SCIENCE!!" I proclaimed loudly before breaking out in diabolical laughter.
---
Feeling like I'd made enough progress with that for the day I decided to… do nothing. I honestly was at a bit of a loss. I didn't really feel like tinkering, or read any more books or research any more magic. I wasn't hungry and I didn't need to go to the toilet. I wasn't tired either.
"Any particular reason you're standing there glaring at the air, boss?" Maurice, who was currently lazing on top of one of the shelves by the leatherworking station, asked…lazily while peering at me with one eye open.
I have no idea why he does that. He doesn't need sleep. I know that much. And I sure as hell didn't teach him how to laze around like a… cat. But he does it anyway. Obviously, I did too good a job when I set up his mind, or too lax when I set up restrictions. Likely the latter then the former if I as to be honest.
"I'm bored," I stated.
That was it really. Strange as that notion was. I was bored in a school full of magic. It was ridiculous, absurd, bizarre even! Totally wacko! How could I be bored!?
"Where are your brothers?" I asked the lazy construct. I really needed to get a term for what to call them, I'd tried golems, but they weren't made of dirt and poo.
"Birdbrain is slumming it with the muggles and Ruffus is still hanging with the Puffs as you asked," Maurice answered.
"Oh right..." I wanted him to keep an eye out for Lys and Nel. The Puffs were supposed to be nice and all but they were still kids, and kids were monsters. Particularly against people that were different. And those two, they were the very definition of different. Honestly, I was mostly worried about Nel, Lys would break the pelvis of anyone that looked at her wrong. Nel though, she was so damn passive. It was infuriating! This was a problem with friends. You worried about them.
It was a damn hassle! I don't like to worry! I have enough gray hair! They don't need more fucking company!
"Right, right," I muttered to myself.
I thought about summoning Paddy for a little sparring match, but I knew he was off spying on the staff of some castle or another today, trying to pick up some more tricks of the trade. I didn't want to deprive him of that; he was always in such a good mood after he returned from one of his little excursions. So that was right out.
Which left me bored.
Bored.
Bored.
BORED!
What the hell did wizards do for fun? Quidditch? Hard Pass. They still hated me for making them look like a bunch of idiots last year. I knew there were some wizard games like exploding snap, but that probably required more than one person. I suppose I could go bother Nel. Bet the Puffs would shit their pants if they saw me walking into their common room. I don't know who set the password to "Briskets" but someone should punch them in the face for it.
God, I would kill for a computer with an internet hookup. And about 40 years' worth of media to browse. TV was almost not a thing nowadays and the movies sucked. It was basically wall to wall cowboy movies, which I had about as much interest in as I had with sniffing my own farts, the only almost interesting movie was a James Bond movie, but it was On Her Majesty's Secret Service with George Lazenby.
Hard pass.
No offense George.
So here I was.
Bored at Hogwarts.
This never happened in stories.