I decided not to waste any more time.
"There is another matter I wanted to discuss."
Snape looked up from his desk.
"You already know that I'm a natural Occlumens."
"I do."
"And I know you are as well. One of the finest, I might add."
He narrowed his eyes.
"I am not teaching you Legilimency."
I couldn't help smiling.
"I wasn't going to ask."
"Oh?"
"I'm not interested in Legilimency. At least not yet."
He remained silent, waiting for me to continue.
"I want to learn the memory extraction charm used with Pensieves."
That made him pause.
"Not merely the spell itself," I continued. "I also want to understand the underlying theory behind memory magic—how memories are extracted, stabilized, stored, and later reconstructed."
His expression immediately became guarded.
"That is advanced magic."
"I know."
"It also borders on dangerous magic."
"I know that as well."
His fingers lightly tapped the desk.
"Why?"
I reached into my robe and placed one of the prototype projection discs onto his desk.
"You've already seen the projector prototype I sent you for Christmas."
"I have."
He picked up the disc and examined it briefly.
"It is an impressive piece of enchantment."
"It currently reproduces magical projections."
I looked directly at him.
"My next goal is for it to reproduce memories."
Snape's hand stopped moving.
I continued before he could interrupt.
"Imagine parents preserving their children's first steps. Families keeping the memories of loved ones long after they're gone."
My voice grew quieter.
"Ancient noble families preserving the knowledge and experiences of each generation instead of relying solely on journals and portraits."
For several moments, Snape simply stared at the projection disc.
Then he slowly placed it back onto the desk.
"You certainly don't lack ambition."
"I never have."
"No."
A faint trace of amusement crossed his face.
"You never have."
Silence settled over the office once again.
Finally, Snape spoke.
"I'll think about it."
I nodded.
"That's all I ask."
There was one final matter.
"Oh?"
"I'd like to request an exemption from some classes."
That earned me another suspicious look.
"And why exactly would I approve that?"
"I'm extremely close to completing the projector."
I leaned back slightly.
"Arthur Weasley helped me solve the final design problem over the holidays. I already have the blueprints. The remaining work is primarily enchantment and testing."
"I assume you intend to spend every waking hour working on it."
"More or less."
Snape let out a quiet, almost exasperated breath.
"You realize that Hogwarts is a school."
"I do."
"And you are here to study."
"I am."
"Yet you're asking to skip studying."
"I'm asking to replace lessons I've already mastered with independent research."
Snape was silent for a long moment before finally replying.
"I cannot grant such permission on my own."
"I know."
"I'll raise the matter with the Headmaster and the other professors."
He fixed me with a warning look.
"Whether they approve is another matter entirely."
"That's all I can ask for."
Snape gave a small nod.
"Now go unpack your belongings."
A faint smirk tugged at the corner of my mouth.
"I'll take that as my dismissal."
"You would be correct."
Chuckling softly, I wished him a good evening once more, and left the office.
I returned to the Slytherin dormitories.
The common room was unusually quiet. Most students had already retired to bed after the long train journey, leaving only a handful of seventh-years scattered around the room, either chatting quietly or finishing holiday assignments before classes resumed.
I greeted them with a nod before heading straight into my dormitory.
The moment the door closed behind me, I pulled out my notebook, stacks of parchment, a ruler, and several enchanted pencils I had brought from the Muggle world.
Arthur's suggestion continued replaying in my mind.
The projector doesn't need to store everything.
The disc stores the information.
The projector simply reads it.
It sounded so obvious now that I almost laughed at myself for overlooking it.
I spread dozens of parchments across my bed and desk before picking up my pencil.
One design became three.
Three became ten.
I refined the dimensions of the projector, redesigned the slot where the projection discs would be inserted, and began drafting the magical pathways that would allow the enchantments on the disc to communicate with the enchantments inside the projector.
Whenever I reached a flaw, I simply crumpled the parchment and started again.
At some point, I abandoned the bed altogether and sat cross-legged on the floor, surrounding myself with blueprints.
Ideas continued appearing faster than I could write them down.
Interchangeable discs.
Security enchantments to prevent copying.
Automatic identification charms.
Voice-command integration with Blake's enchantments.
The more I wrote, the clearer the complete system became.
Without realizing it, I became completely immersed in the work.
The castle around me faded away.
This was advantage of having your own Solo dorms.
I didn't notice the torches outside growing dim.
The only sounds left in the room were the scratching of my pencil and the occasional rustling of parchment.
A sharp knock suddenly broke my concentration.
I looked up, blinking several times as though waking from a dream.
Adrian stood in the doorway fully dressed in his school robes, looking at me with a mixture of amusement and disbelief.
"Did you... not sleep?"
I glanced toward the window.
Bright morning sunlight streamed through the glass.
Only then did I realize the candles had long since burned out and the pile of completed blueprints beside me was nearly as tall as the bedside table.
I rubbed my tired eyes.
"I suppose not."
Adrian shook his head.
"I had a feeling I'd find you like this."
He glanced around at the dozens of sketches covering nearly every available surface.
"You know it's already breakfast, right?"
I looked at my watch.
Somehow, an entire night had disappeared.
Instead of feeling exhausted, however, I felt a grin slowly spread across my face.
The design was finally taking shape.
Enough to start Experimenting with prototypes.
__________________________
Support me on p@treon:
[email protected]/blaze98