With a nod from McGonagall and a reassuring smile from both Tonks and Penny, Harry walked over to the corner of the room and removed the cloth that McGonagall had conjured. With a slight application of his Magic the Rune Safe became Feather-Light for him and he carried it to the middle of the room. Harry stepped back a few steps as the five Artificers looked at the Safe from where they stood.
"Interesting, I've not seen an Artifact Safe before." Salim commented as his eyes roved over the iron box.
"May we, Mr. Potter?" Lorenzo asked as he gestured towards the Rune Safe.
"Of course, Master Trevisan." Harry nodded before he stepped forward quickly and pulled open the door. Seeing the looks from the Artificers Harry quickly explained. "The door will only open for me. It's part of the Runic Array and can't be changed or disabled."
"Then it's a good Safe regardless." Artem chuckled as the five moved closer to inspect Harry's creation. Harry stood back and tried to keep himself from fidgeting nervously. He'd already applied a metal disk with Ollivander's self-destruction sequence etched into it over the Runic Array on the back wall of the Safe. He didn't need to worry about any of them memorizing his Array, not that he actually thought they'd do it. These people were already Artificers and had probably made Artifacts that put his Safe to shame.
"Someone has been dabbling in Alchemic Enchanting already? My, my Mr. Potter you're quite the young prodigy." Elena commented with a grin towards Harry who only blushed slightly and gave a small 'Thank you'.
"The Magic Circuits are applied very well, no breaks or malformations, the spacing isn't bad either, a little off from what I'd do but still fully functional." Mio praised making Harry duck his head to hide his red face.
"I'm curious, Mr. Potter, did you forge the Safe yourself?" Artem asked and Harry looked up at the Russian man before nodding. "Good, good it's the best way to make sure your material is to your own specifications. Plus swinging the hammer will put some muscle on you, so it's good for a young man's health." Harry nodded at the older man's words and breathed deeply to try and calm himself. So far everything seemed to be going well with the initial examination.
"Care to tell us the functions of your Array, Mr. Potter? I find myself very curious after seeing such nice work having been done on this creation." Salim asked kindly and Harry swore he saw Lorenzo's old eyes light up with interest. So Harry started going over the numerous security features and protections he'd worked into his Runic Array. The five Artificers nodded along with his explanation while continuing to look over the Safe.
"Hmm, yes, very well thought out Mr. Potter, very well thought out indeed." Lorenzo nodded at the end of Harry's explanation. "Now to test these protections we'll perform a few simple tests. If your Item is still intact and fully functional at the end of all of them it will be recognized as a True Artifact."
"I'm sorry to interrupt, but what are the exact differences between Enchanted Objects and True Artifacts?" McGonagall asked curiously as she'd never particularly studied this Branch of Magic. The fact that she'd had to arrange for this meeting and examination without knowing its full significance had been bothering her quite a bit if only in the back of her mind.
"Ah, a good question, Deputy Headmistress, not many people know the exact differences without studying in-depth about the subject." Lorenzo nodded before explaining. "The simplest way to explain the difference between the two is that a True Artifact is near indestructible and self-maintaining, it will fulfill its function so long as it exists. An Enchanted Object requires outside magic from the user to exhibit its effect and will eventually break down or be broken during the course of its use like any other tool."
"I see, Enchanted Objects wear down while True Artifacts do not. Likewise an Enchanted Object can be destroyed where as a True Artifact takes some kind of special process to destroy, if I understand correctly." McGonagall replied getting a nod from the Artificers.
"Artifacts can also be bound to a person or their bloodline as well." Elena informed. "These Artifacts won't work for anyone but the person or a member of the bloodline they're bound to. It's a shame that some ancient Artifacts will never be able to be used again because of this."
"Quite, I would have enjoyed seeing some of them in action." Lorenzo sighed before shaking his head and returning to the topic at hand. "Now let's begin with the physical tests."
"I'll administer the first one." Salim offered and stepped forward. "I'll do the same test my own teacher used when I was learning under him." With that the man picked up Harry's Safe and heaved it into the nearby wall with all of his strength. The loud bang and crash the Rune Safe made as it struck the wall and then fell to the floor had a few people covering their ears.
"Now let's see how it did." Salim grinned as he went and brought the safe back over to the other Artificers.
"No damage here." Mio stated with a shake of her head a few minutes later. All the other Artificers nodded in agreement.
"Was that really necessary?" Flitwick asked as he rubbed his ears.
"You'd be surprised how many Enchanters forget to protect their creations from physical damage." Artem spoke up, the large man shaking his head from the memories. "It can resist every spell in the world but if I can throw it on the ground or into the wall and break it, then it isn't an Artifact."
"Now let's see how it reacts to various spells." Elena smiled as she pulled out her wand along with the other Artificers. For the next several minutes Harry had to watch as his Rune Safe was blasted with spell after spell. The Safe was doused in flames, submerged in a levitating ball of water, smashed with bludgeoning spells, and explosions rocked the Safe three different times. Through it all Harry could only hope that it would still be in the same shape that it was when he'd brought it down from his hidden workshop.
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