Chương 80: Experiment
Professor Bones shook his head, laughing. "Don't be too modest. This spell is groundbreaking, enough to make a name for you in the wizarding academic world. Get started on a paper—I'll help you submit it to the best journals."
"Of course. But, Professor, I'd like to list you as a co-developer. We made this happen together," Alex replied, genuinely.
Professor Bones nodded, smiling warmly. "Fine, but I insist on being the second author. This is your idea, after all."
They exchanged a pleased smile and returned to the office, celebrating the birth of a new spell over a shared cup of tea. During the celebration, Professor Bones shared his knowledge of the wizarding world's alchemy scene, explaining that Wizards had a prominent alchemy research center in Cairo, Egypt. He revealed that the British wizarding community contributed little to alchemy studies internationally, with Dumbledore being one of the few renowned British alchemists.
As Alex listened closely, he felt his understanding of the wizarding world growing. He was surprised to learn that Britain wasn't very focused on alchemy compared to other places. This sparked a new curiosity in him about alchemical practices abroad.
From that night onward, Hogwarts had two people wearing monocles: Professor Edgar Bones, the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, and Alex. Their new accessory quickly drew attention from the student body.
It didn't take long for Vivian, with her lively curiosity, to notice. "What's with the monocle, Alex? Are you starting some new trend?" she teased.
"Oh, it's just a little gift for Professor Bones," Alex replied, rolling his eyes as Vivian continued to pester him.
"Come on, let me try it!" she begged, tilting her head mischievously. Reluctantly, Alex handed over the monocle, knowing it wouldn't show her anything special unless the Echo Charm was active.
Vivian slipped on the monocle, struck a pose in front of a nearby mirror, and squinted at herself. "Seriously, there's nothing to it. Are you wearing this just to look cool?" she teased, quickly losing interest.
Alex took back the monocle with a quick nod. He didn't have time to linger here with Vivian; there was too much on his agenda. After saying goodbye, Vivian hurried back to her cabin in the Forbidden Forest. Today, Alex was determined to complete his research and testing on a new spell: the infrasonic spell. This was essentially the opposite of the Echo charm.
The Echo charm used high-frequency ultrasonic waves that bounced back when they hit objects, allowing Alex to detect obstacles and structures through sound reflection. Its primary use was for reconnaissance and exploration.
Infrasound, however, operated on ultra-low frequency waves. Because its vibration frequency was close to that of organic tissues, it had the potential to resonate within living organisms, directly impacting their nervous systems. At high intensities, infrasound could even be deadly.
After much trial and error, Alex had figured out how to adjust sound wave frequencies. If he could increase the frequency for the Echo charm, he reasoned, he could also lower it for the infrasonic spell. Over the past few days, he'd been tirelessly refining this new spell.
"Beginning the 33rd test of the 'Infrasonic Spell.' Spell structure: triangular formation. Testing on October 10th at 2:16 p.m.," Alex noted in his journal. Then, he carried a small cage with a labrat outside.
Since this was a spell with potentially lethal effects, he'd prepared several mice as test subjects. Drawing his wand, Alex carefully visualized the spell structure in his mind, channeling his magic to shape the spell at the wand's tip. With a quick tap on the cage, he activated the spell.
A barely audible wave pulsed out from the tip of his wand. Although there was no sound, Alex immediately felt a jarring impact. His head throbbed with a dull ache, and a sickening wave of nausea hit him, making him stumble.
He could barely stand as he leaned against the wooden railing, doubled over with nausea, vomiting uncontrollably. His eyes watered, his nose was running, and he felt completely miserable, hardly able to think straight. After five or six painful minutes, he finally managed to pull himself together. His head was still foggy, but he stumbled into the cabin, splashed his face with water, and looked at his reflection in the mirror.
"At least my eyes aren't too bloodshot, my vision is okay, and my hearing seems to be coming back," he muttered, still shaken. "Taste and touch are fine, too. Guess I survived... barely."
Despite everything, Alex couldn't help but admire how strong the spell was. "The good news is the spell structure works, and the interference is powerful," he muttered. "The bad news? This spell doesn't care who it affects. It almost feels like it's designed to backfire."
He suddenly remembered the mouse and dashed outside to check on it. Looking into the cage, he saw the little creature lying motionless, blood oozing from its eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.
"This spell is… deadly," he thought, a chill running down his spine. If he'd pushed the spell any further, he might've met the same fate. Even if it didn't kill him outright, it could cause irreversible damage.
"Looks like Bones was right about spell experiments being dangerous," Alex muttered grimly.
Now, he was left with a dilemma. The spell structure was there, but using it was hazardous, almost like wielding a self-destruct spell. It was effective, but the risk of harming himself was too high. He needed to find a way to shield himself from the infrasound's effects.
"Would Muffliato stop the infrasound? But then again, infrasound doesn't just travel through hearing; it vibrates directly within the body," he pondered. "Maybe a Quietus could work?"
Determined, Alex decided to try again. He lowered the spell's power output by seventy percent to minimize risk. Then, he cast every silencing spell he knew on himself, from Muffliato to Quietus to Imperturbable Charm, stacking them all in hopes of lessening the impact.
With his hearing dulled and his mind bracing for the worst, he cast the infrasonic spell again. The effect was less intense this time, thanks to the lowered power output, but he still felt an uncomfortable nausea rising and had to lean on the railing as he gagged. He recovered faster than before, but his conclusion was clear: these spells had little to no impact on infrasonic waves.
"I'll need a spell specifically designed to block infrasound. What a headache," he mumbled, dejected by the setback. Despite the spell's potential, it posed a significant risk.
"Maybe Professor Bones knows a workaround. I'll ask him tonight," Alex decided, feeling a mix of excitement and frustration.
Just then, Charles came over, covered in sweat from his training. Since Alex had been busy with experiments, he'd asked Charles to train a bit farther away on his own.
"What's that smell, Alex? And why does it look like something died around here?" Charles asked, wrinkling his nose.
"Just a small experiment that didn't go as planned," Alex said, waving his wand to clear the air. "I'll clean it up now."
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