Chapter 38: The defence bracelet(british spelling)
Aurelius went in with fervour because the defence bracelet was the primary thing that would keep his family safe.
"While the best defence is never being in a dangerous situation in the first place, the next best thing is to be an unstoppable juggernaut. It still leaves them vulnerable to potions and poison, so the status bracelet must be a priority after the essentials of defence and escape are created," Aurelius said to himself.
"You know, when you mutter like that, it's rather cute but also somewhat weird," pointed out my mother, Ann.
"Sorry, just voicing my thoughts aloud. It helps me think faster and more clearly than if I were to think it all in my head," I said, chuckling.
"By the way, dear, have you prepared everything?" she asked.
"Yeah, Nagini and I have already set up all the moulds for the metals to become the mirrors. Luckily, all the mirrors and a bracelet can be made with the same batch of metal, so we can prepare each defence bracelet fairly easily. The enchantments themselves are pretty simplistic, so all that's needed is for us to enchant things faster than usual. It will take a few tries, but it shouldn't be an issue. The hard part is the number of mirrors. Basically, each mirror will be about the size of various plates that will orbit in distances and be housed within the defence bracelet. The charms will be easy enough, so the only thing is to respond quickly to any external threat," I said.
"Hmm, that makes sense, but it seems rather difficult when I hear it. The bracelet has to quickly respond to any form of projectile, magical or not, and then respond with the appropriate defence all before even leaving the bracelet?" she said with her hand on her chin.
"Yeah, the only way I could do that would be time-space magic, intent detection, projectile detection, and a wider range of detection," I said.
"Time-space magic? How would that help?" asked Ann.
"Think of it like this. If you had more time to respond to harm, you could move out of the way or find some cover. Same concept here, so I will enchant the bracelet to create a space-time bubble, so to speak, when ill intent appears. This will give you more time to think and the bracelet to pull out the mirrors." I told her.
"By the way, how many do you intend to make?" asked Ann.
"Nagini and I discussed it and decided there will be three orbiting layers. Each will house more or less enough to cover the body like a sphere of mirrors. All the mirrors will move around like the teeth of a saw blade. Don't worry about hurting anyone who comes towards you that is friendly; the ring will be enchanted to recognise who you deem friendly and will adjust accordingly. Each mirror range, with the largest dinner plate-sized mirrors, will be about 2 metres (6.5 ft), the medium, which would be the size of a small dish for desserts, at 1.5 metres (4.9 ft), and the final one with each mirror orbit at 0.9 metres (3 ft). The amount gets exponentially larger the further you go out. The first outer shell will be 50, the second layer will be 36, and 20 on the inner layer. Naturally, it will only be released as necessary so that the default will be the larger plates, but more plates of smaller sizes will be dispatched the closer the target gets to you. It will be up to your judgement to disengage the outer shields. They will return to your ring but remain like a shield because the other mirrors will temporarily stop rotating around to compensate."
"So, like a temporary hole that will bring in a mirror but will never truly be uncovered," said Ann.
One may wonder why Ann was even here.
Flashback
"Hey dear, I decided to listen to your plan for this bracelet because as far as I can tell, this could be, if not the most complex and challenging," asked Ann.
"That's fine. I may or may not talk to you during it. I usually go through the motions and occasionally talk to myself since all the planning has already been done. By the way, what about Mother? What will she be doing?" I asked.
"Martha wanted to exercise longer, so she's in the gym right now. Honestly, I am a bit envious. This place truly has everything. Are all the houses like this?" asked Ann.
"No, as far as I am aware, this is just the Galegold house, but that's what happens when you think of everything you can and have the resources to make it a reality. That's why the Galegold loved money, not for the sake of money, but rather as a means to an end. After all, what's the worth of money if it's never used?" asked Aurelius.
"True, many people forget to live while pursuing wealth and don't even realise it until they're already in their 40s or even later in life. I can't say I blame them either, though, considering being wealthy isn't often a pursuit of people who already have it but rather of people who've never had it. And it can be heavily consuming since your only goal is wealth," said Ann.
"And why could you be allowed to use time-space magic? Isn't that something the Ministry highly regulates?" asked Ann.
"Not really. They are limited in using time-space magic that can affect others, like a time-turner, but not a time dilation that affects just you and makes you older. The only issue is the age of emancipation, but as long as you don't do anything suggesting you're older, they won't bother. Besides, I'm a major anomaly in that I'm so old that it could be seen as a byproduct of the ritual weakening over time. A few months of looking older wouldn't be much. Besides, I'm physically young, so I can easily make an excuse for having random growth spurts at a younger age. So even if they have thoughts to use it against me, they have no real grounds to do it," said Aurelius.
"You'd be a right menace in politics and law if you felt like it," my mother says with a chuckle.
"By the way, Mum, I will need about half a pint of blood," asked Aurelius.
"Bloody hell, Aurelius. Why could you possibly need that much blood?" asked Ann.
"Well, it's to link both the bracelet and mirrors to you. And the blood has to be freely given for this to work," said Aurelius.
Flashback end
"Nagini, are you ready to enchant the mirrors? I have the blood set up from Mum. I have a dropper, and it will only take a drop. I will prepare the bracelet with all the enchantments and will join you shortly to enchant the mirrors," said Aurelius.
"I'm still worried we won't be able to do it. After all, you said we will be doing a hundred and six mirrors with a specific distance, speed of movement, and orbiting effect on top of all the enchantments. It sounds like gears that get in each other's way, but I am ready when you are, Aurelius. Just prepare the metal to be poured into the moulds, and I will follow suit," said our Asian guardian.
"Don't worry about it. I've already done all the calculations for the physics and magic involved. Besides, we will be enchanting them so that they can compensate for each mirror individually," I said while beginning the process.
They made all the preparations and began to make the bracelet and mirrors. It only took them about 48 minutes, but it was tiring due to the hyperfocus.
"Well, that's done. I think we'll take a break and then start testing out the ring. I'm confident that it will be correct. Still, naturally, it's better to be wrong in the testing stage rather than get your teeth kicked in during a real emergency with a less-than-functional tool," said Aurelius.
They nodded and agreed to return to my bedroom to have some tea.
"Your mother should be in the shower, so we will have to wait for lunch. By the way, Aurelius, what do you expect to fail first? And what is the most critical thing not to mess up?" said Ann.
"Probably the detection and the time dilation bubble will be the most critical to ensuring we can't be caught off guard. The mirrors can only do so much. You will them to come to your aid, but it won't do much as an automatic defence if you have to call on it to activate." I said in response.
"Which is why I asked if we should create armour with a featherlight charm with some sort of variation charm that can show what's underneath to avoid detection." Said Nagini.
"Again, the issue with that is that it relies on light to reflect off the surface of what is projected, and having the light contained solely within the armour would require the suit to have to be skin-tight at the openings to prevent the release of light. And light, regardless of whether we like it or not, creates heat. Even if we were to use a temperature regulator charm, it would still have the unintended effect of giving them an unintended tan that my parents, who avoid the sun like the plague and wear an ungodly amount of sunscreen, would likely not appreciate," said Aurelius.
"I know you guys are bonded so that you're basically married, but you guys truly bicker like an old couple. It is actually adorable," said my bemused mother.
Soon after, Martha walks in.
"Hello, everyone. Having a spot of tea, I see. Pour me a cup, dear. And please call a house-elf to prepare a meal. I'm rather famished at the moment," said Martha.
We called an elf and gave him our orders, and we ate. While eating, they talked.
"As for the bracelet, it has been prepared; I linked it to Mother, so she's the only one who can use it. I chose her since she has the least amount of physical defences than anyone here, so I thought it'd be most prudent to start with her." I told them.
"I can see that. While I may not be able to hold myself in a fight, especially one involving weapons, I still have the means of at least escaping by dodging or just sprinting away," said Martha.
"Okay, I want to test it out," said Ann, giddily trying to hide her excitement but failing.
"Let me clean and lock up the workshop, and then we'll head to a training ground," I told my excited mother.
They got to a defence-oriented training ground that was sound-proofed and magic-dampened to keep large-scale spells from disturbing others outside of the room.
"Okay, I'll fire spells of increasing intensity. The bubble's dilation effect is roughly about 1.7 times the average speed near the outside of the bubble and increases to about 3 seconds in a 1ft sphere around you. Only you'll be able to notice it since that was the intended effect. Nagini will also be attacking at random while moving around randomly. The mirrors should shoot out the moment they detect our intent to attack. This will be indicated to you by the ring's slight heating up and vibration. Let us know if it doesn't, but we won't be shooting anything harmful. Just really fast jinxes. Well, until we are sure that it is doing its job. We will be shooting more dangerous spells like weak bombarda to perhaps even their more powerful variant to test the shield charms after we are confident they can handle heavy projectiles," I said to my mother, who was increasingly getting nervous.
"Nagini, be prepared for the spells to come back at you at full force and at a faster speed than you sent it. And since the mirrors will have a mental slowing effect, you literally won't be able to perceive the bounce back. So for now, you can take the hit, but once we get to the dangerous stuff, dodge the moment you shoot it or have a shield up using your other hand ready before releasing it," I told my guardian.
"My shield is still rather pitiful, Aurelius. Most people aren't exactly natural at wandless magic. I only gained a mild affinity after bonding with you, but even that is slow going," she said, somewhat annoyed at her lack of progress.
"As long as it dulls the effect, it doesn't matter. As for curses, I will be doing them since I have the stronger shields while casting with both hands. Mum, please get behind the shield barrier you see to your right. We don't want any spells we deflect to hit you," I said to my mother, Martha.
"All right, dear. I'll be watching from there then," she said while walking there.
"Begin!!" We shot spell after spell at her as she indicated everything was going as intended. We got hit by a couple of them, but most were absorbed by the protego charms we created before firing a single spell. We upped the danger by firing things like rocks or continuous streams of water that didn't seem to be reflected but shielded against. However, the magic itself was being pushed back, making the spell collapse. Then we got to the more potent stuff like bombarda of increasing size. The spells either were blocked entirely or blasted right back at me, making me feel the rattling of both my shield and the floor as the bombardas hit harder and harder. The protego shields of mirrors were holding up well. Still, it wouldn't matter much, considering the mirrors are made of one of the physically strongest materials known to man. They also had a repairing charm that Nagini suggested adding, which I forgot to add to the designs.
"Do you feel any harm, Mother? Any rattling from shockwaves or water get through?" I asked my mother.
"The shockwaves in the air were not felt, but I did feel the ground rattling. No water got near me. Only a few droplets of water perhaps got through the first layer but were quickly handled by the second layer. I'd say we're doing pretty well. You've tested using up to curses like bombarda maxima, and you look rather banged up. It's safe to say that you need to get healed up. You already told us that you have some wiggenweld potions ready to heal, so you'll drink your potion and rest. We can make the rest of the bracelets after you've slept. The same goes for you, Nagini. It's already clear that the bracelet works, pardon the pun, like a charm," she said with a bemused look.
"No objections here. The castle will repair the grounds, so let's go," I said.
They went to rest in their rooms. Just a quick cleaning charm, and they fell into their beds. The mothers conversed outside the two bedrooms.
"Well, how'd it feel, Ann?" asked a curious and excited Martha.
"It's kind of underwhelming and overwhelming at the same time," said Ann.
"What do you mean?" said a confused Martha.
"It's like I knew I was getting shot with spells, but all I saw was a temporary flash of the spells being cast. They were travelling a little slower than I expected, but all I saw after was them getting hit with the spell themselves as if the spell self-destructed in their face and hit them instead. So, it was scary that I knew what was happening, but also underwhelming that I couldn't perceive what was happening," said Ann.
"Hmm, I can see how you'd think that. It's like hiding during the war when we were still young adults?" asked Martha, saying more than asking.
"More or less, but it was a great success; boring means no harm is done," said Ann with a shrug.
"I thought it'd be more like casting magic, but all these accessories seem more or less automatic and happening without our knowledge. Just that we know it's happening," said a bored Martha.
"I agree, but at least most of the other rings have activated abilities that we can cast. Honestly, I'm excited about the escape ring. The thing will allow us to apparate. Granted, we have house elves now, but just thinking about it makes me excited," said Ann.
"I know what you mean; I'm rather excited about the information and detainment accessory. It's like one of my dreams when I was a child to be an auror. Should we ask him to make an entirely new accessory for utility purposes like the summoning charm?" asked Martha.
"Where would we even wear the things? We already would be wearing enough accessories to put a seer to shame," said Ann with a laugh.
"I have no clue, but it is food for thought," Martha said with a shrug.
They took their nap.
They all returned to finish the next three bracelets and tested all of them late into the night.
They all returned to bed. They ate a quick dinner, were too tired to care, and immediately passed out after reaching their beds.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone