章 33: A Much Needed Timeskip and Unneeded Bureaucracy

Four years had passed since the ambitious Project Ambrosia began. The initial plan was for the project to take a year to complete, but the timeline had extended much longer than anticipated due to a multitude of unforeseen challenges.

At the outset, everything seemed promising. The Nine Ladies Stone Circle in Derbyshire had been chosen as the perfect location for the project, a place with significant ambient magic and historical importance. The purchase of the land had been straightforward thanks to Dumbledore's influence and connections. With the site secured, the construction of the magical generation device commenced. Little did I know, the project would soon face numerous hurdles that would test my patience and resolve.

One of the first major obstacles we encountered was the complexity of connecting the leyline to the machine. Dumbledore and I had anticipated that it would be a challenging task, but the reality was far more intricate than we had predicted. The leyline, a conduit of immense magical energy, needed to be precisely aligned with the runic circuits we had designed. Any slight miscalculation could lead to catastrophic results, potentially disrupting the entire leyline network.

We spent countless hours recalibrating the connections, often working late into the night. The initial designs proved insufficient, forcing us to rethink our approach multiple times. I found myself redoing the same runic calculations over and over, each time hoping that this would be the solution that worked. My frustration grew as days turned into weeks and weeks into months without significant progress.

As if the technical difficulties weren't enough, acquiring the necessary materials became another major headache. The magical metal required for the construction of the machine was both rare and incredibly expensive. Snape, who had taken on the task of negotiating with the goblins, found himself entangled in their complex and often duplicitous bargaining tactics. The goblins were masters of their craft, and they ran circles around Snape, causing delays and driving up the cost. Each time we thought we had secured a shipment, more obstacles would arise, whether it was sudden price hikes or logistical issues on their end.

The delays in obtaining materials meant that our work progressed in fits and starts. Just when we would gain some momentum, we would be forced to stop and wait for the next shipment. This constant start-stop rhythm was maddening and demoralizing. It became clear that we had grossly underestimated the time and effort required to secure the resources needed for the project.

A quarter of the way through inscribing the runes, I discovered a more complex but significantly more efficient combination that would increase the machine's output. The discovery was a breakthrough, promising to enhance the machine's performance beyond our original expectations. However, implementing this new design required reworking much of what we had already completed. I had to painstakingly erase and redo countless runes, a process that consumed several additional months.

As we adjusted to the new runic design, Dumbledore found an even better method to pull energy from the leyline. This new method, although superior, necessitated another major overhaul of the machine. I was initially disheartened at the prospect of redoing so much work yet again, but the potential benefits made it impossible to ignore. We spent another intense week remaking the machine to incorporate Dumbledore's improvements, all while balancing the increasing pressure to deliver results.

The Ministry of Magic, ever the bureaucratic behemoth, decided to investigate our project midway through the second year. Their visit was both a nuisance and a distraction. The Ministry officials, though well-meaning, lacked the technical expertise to understand the intricacies of our work. Their primary concern seemed to be the potential impact on the surrounding environment and the local magical community. Despite our assurances and detailed explanations, they left with more questions than answers and a directive to double the amount of paperwork required for the project.

This new requirement was an unwelcome burden. The sheer volume of forms, reports, and documentation needed to satisfy the Ministry's demands was staggering. It fell upon me to shoulder much of this administrative load. Balancing the physical work of constructing the machine with the mental strain of endless paperwork was exhausting. There were days when I felt like I was drowning in a sea of bureaucracy, each completed form only leading to another.

Throughout all these struggles, Dumbledore remained a steadfast and encouraging presence. His unwavering belief in the project kept me going during the darkest times. His insights and guidance were invaluable, and his ability to see the bigger picture helped us navigate the numerous setbacks we encountered. There were moments of triumph and progress. Each successful calibration, each completed section of runes, and each shipment of materials that arrived felt like a small victory. The project, though delayed, was slowly but surely coming together.

As we entered the third year of Project Ambrosia, the end finally seemed to be in sight. The machine, with its new runic designs and improved energy-pulling methods, was nearly complete. The leyline connections, after countless adjustments, were stable and ready to channel immense amounts of magical energy. But then the British authorities showed up. The muggle diverting charms had been working, but a non-magical person, for some unknown reason, was able to walk through the barrier and reported it to the authorities. The Ministry was alerted, and the project was only barely able to hold on due to Dumbledore's connection with the muggle monarch, thanks to him having apparently saved their life.

The project was only finished a month or so before my seventh birthday. I had finally finished, and I was going to take a month-long nap if I could to celebrate. During the time working on the project, I wasn't a slouch when it came to heightening my magical strength through mana circulation, but outside of my gravity spell, there wasn't an insane amount of stuff I could do with it. My knowledge of runes had improved, but anything not related to this had simply stagnated. I was somewhat dreading returning to lessons with Snape. The snarkiest comments about a wasted genius were going to be something I heard without doubt.

My physical strength was the only thing that continued at the rate before the project started. Snape had been kind enough to work on improving my food and healing potions, allowing my growth to continue at an exponential rate. Initially, he would have done nothing of the sort, but when he found out about how hard he had screwed up with the goblin negotiations through the letters I had written to Dumbledore, which he then decided to share with him, he decided that this was a fair atonement. I was stronger than almost any other human on the planet. I haven't reached the ability to backlift 6,000 lbs, but I was getting closer to the 850 lb deadlift record that is this time period's current raw record (the modern one is around 1,000, higher if you allow sumo stance). The best part of magic is that I would be able to continue growing at this exponential rate. If all things continue, I might be comparable enough to play a live-action Wonder Woman by the time I'm twenty (this is a joke; she is not going to get comic levels of strong).

The amount of mana that is being pumped by Project Ambrosia into the world will probably increase the average physical and magical strength of wizards living under it. The world will change, and I plan to be out in front. I now just need to focus on finding more ways to improve as I grow so I can protect those around me.