Professor Flitwick's astonishing control over spells had opened a completely new door for Alan.
He realized that the use of mental power was far more than the passive, fortress-like defense of closed-brain techniques.
It was more like an active radar.
In the following days, Alan's research enthusiasm exploded completely. He locked himself in a corner of the library, spreading out The Fortress of Thought he had borrowed from the Restricted Section in front of him. He no longer satisfied himself with the book's obscure theories; instead, he attempted to deconstruct and reconstruct the knowledge of mental perception and merge it with his specialty: runic technology.
The core of mental defense lay in perception.
It wasn't merely reacting to curses aimed at one's wand tip—it was an exploration of the unseen.
For instance: intention.
Killing intent, hostility—these abstract emotions—could they also be perceived and quantified as energy fluctuations in the magical world?
Once this thought took root, it could not be restrained.
Alan began designing a completely new rune. It no longer sought defense or attack; its sole function was to "listen."
He engraved this extraordinarily complex "Intent Rune" on the back of a palm-sized wooden plaque, stroke by stroke, using a needle finer than a hair. Each line of the rune had to be precise to the micron; any deviation could cause the entire detection system to fail.
Then came the most critical step.
He took an almost transparent spider silk from a magical spider's nest and, using a delicate enchantment, gave the silk the ability to conduct faint magical energy.
One end connected to the "Intent Rune" on the back of the plaque.
The other end passed through a pinhole in the center of the plaque and adhered to a small pointer on the front, crafted from finely polished natural magnetite.
The "Guardian 2.0" version was born.
It was no longer the passive wooden plaque that could only trigger a shield.
It had been upgraded into a compass that could actively warn.
Alan's theory: when a sufficiently strong malicious intent appeared in the surrounding environment targeting the wearer, the "Intent Rune" would activate. This energy would be conducted through the enchanted spider silk, ultimately causing the front magnetic pointer to visibly deflect.
A perfect closed loop.
Abstract malice, transformed into physical mechanical movement.
On a Gryffindor Quidditch training day, the sky was clear and the breeze gentle.
Alan found the Weasley twins warming up and handed them the new "Malice Warning Compass."
"Here, the latest lucky charm," he said to Fred, his tone light and casual.
"Keep it in your pocket. It might help you dodge the Bludger."
Fred took it and noticed the small plaque was far more refined than the previous one. The pointer on the front shimmered subtly in the sunlight. He had no reason to doubt Alan, thinking it was just another amusing magical gadget.
He laughed and tucked it into his chest pocket.
The whistle blew.
The twins mounted their broomsticks, becoming two streaks of red lightning shooting into the sky. They were the team's beaters, responsible for striking the rogue Bludgers away from their teammates.
At that moment, a Slytherin beater traced an unusual arc across the pitch.
He did not pursue the rogue Bludger, nor did he intercept Gryffindor's beaters.
Silently, he maneuvered behind Angelina Johnson.
A perfect ambush position.
His target was Fred, protecting the flank behind Angelina.
The Slytherin's eyes glinted coldly, a cruel smile curling his lips. He flexed his arm, swinging his heavy bat, sending a black Bludger hurtling toward Fred's back.
The bat struck the Bludger with a muted thud.
The black iron ball, accompanied by a sharp whoosh, became a miniature projectile aimed straight at Fred.
It was a perfectly executed sneak attack, fast enough that no ordinary person could react.
Alan, watching from the sidelines, narrowed his eyes.
He saw everything with absolute clarity.
At the exact moment the Slytherin swung, when the malicious intent locked onto Fred,
the pocket on Fred's chest suddenly bulged outward.
The movement was subtle, almost imperceptible.
High in the air, Fred's brain had not even registered danger yet.
But his body had already reacted.
A sudden, foreign force surged from his chest, as if an invisible hand had shoved him forcefully.
Almost reflexively, his body dropped sharply, performing an extreme crouch maneuver to avoid the incoming Bludger.
"Whoosh—"
The black, deadly Bludger, carrying a surge of scorching air, skimmed just over the top of his helmet.
A fraction of a second's difference.
The Bludger ultimately crashed heavily into the distant spectator stands. The hard stone seats shattered into pieces, stones flying everywhere.
"Wow! What a dodge!"
Lee Jordan, at the commentary booth, shouted in his trademark booming voice. He assumed it was Fred's extraordinary reflexes at work.
Fred, however, was drenched in cold sweat.
He maintained that precarious crouch, his heart pounding like a drum, his back covered in a layer of icy shivers.
He had no idea how he had just avoided the Bludger.
It had all happened in the blink of an eye.
He vaguely remembered something in his pocket suddenly pushing him, and then his body had moved involuntarily.
After training, the first thing he did was find George to recount that life-or-death moment.
He attributed everything to Alan's miraculous "lucky charm."
"This thing is amazing!"
Fred excitedly pulled the compass from his pocket, turning it over and over in his hands, his eyes full of post-crisis exhilaration and disbelief.
"Alan, did you really make it predict danger?"
"Perhaps," Alan replied, noncommittal, his face betraying no surprise, as if merely confirming an established fact.
Fred's adventurous heart was completely ignited.
"We have to test its limits!"
His voice trembled slightly with excitement.
"Let's go to the edge of the Forbidden Forest! Let's see if it works against those dangerous magical creatures too!"
This suggestion perfectly suited Alan's intentions.
He also wanted to see how his "program" would react when faced with the purest, non-human "malice," completely devoid of human emotions.
That would provide the next crucial data point to validate his theory.