A/N: Readers support the story with powerstones. I see daily readers exceeding 200 still weekly powerstone are very low. It dampens my morale.
As I stepped out of Professor McGonagall's classroom, I found all of the first-year Slytherins waiting outside.
The moment they saw me, they all began talking at once.
"Alastair, you're finally out."
"We tried to wake you up, but Professor McGonagall wouldn't let us."
"How many points did she take?"
"Were you given detention?"
I raised both hands.
"Alright, one at a time."
The corridor immediately became quieter.
I smiled helplessly.
"Professor McGonagall deducted five points from Slytherin."
Instead of looking disappointed, everyone exchanged confused glances.
"...Only five?"
"No detention?"
I shook my head.
"No detention."
A collective sigh of relief spread through the group.
"I thought she'd make you scrub trophies or something," Adrian muttered.
"So did I," Montague agreed.
"I've never seen anyone fall asleep in McGonagall's class before."
"Let's keep it that way."
We continued chatting as we made our way back to the Slytherin dormitories to collect the textbooks needed for our next lesson.
The rest of the school day passed without incident.
I didn't see Blake again until that evening.
She was still in the Study Club library, patiently helping Tulip and Badia with a Charms assignment. The two Ravenclaws had apparently run into trouble while practising one of the spells.
Rather than interrupting them, I picked up a nearby book and waited.
About twenty minutes later, Tulip closed her notebook with a satisfied smile.
"Thanks, Blake."
"That explanation made much more sense than the textbook."
Badia nodded in agreement.
"See you tomorrow."
After they left, Blake finally turned toward me, immediately noticing my expression.
"So..."
"How badly did McGonagall scold you?"
"You already heard about that?"
"News travels fast in Hogwarts."
I sighed.
"I don't think we can keep working through the entire night."
She blinked.
"...Seriously?"
"I woke up to Professor McGonagall shouting my name."
That earned a laugh from Blake.
"I'm sorry..."
"...I really shouldn't be laughing."
"It's fine."
"I probably deserved it."
She leaned back in her chair.
"I wasn't much better."
I looked at her in surprise.
"You too?"
She nodded.
"Thankfully my first lesson was History of Magic."
"I don't think Professor Binns even noticed."
I rubbed my forehead.
"I suppose that's one advantage of his classes."
We both laughed quietly.
The laughter faded after a few moments.
"I've been thinking about it all day," I said.
"Our bodies simply can't keep up with an entire night of research."
Blake nodded.
"We're still growing."
"And we still have classes, assignments, spell practice, and the Study Club."
I looked down at the blueprints lying on the table.
"I think we should limit ourselves."
"Three or four hours each night."
"No more."
"It'll slow the project down."
"But our health comes first."
Blake didn't hesitate.
"I agree."
She reached over and tapped the blueprint with her finger.
"I'd rather finish the projector a month later..."
"...than collapse before we finish it."
I smiled.
She gathered her notes into a neat pile.
"Then from tonight onward..."
"...Midnight research ends at midnight."
I chuckled.
"Deal."
____________________________
From that day onward, we settled into a routine.
Blake and I limited our research in the Room of Requirement to three hours each night. During Professor Flitwick's and Professor McGonagall's lessons, we worked on the theoretical aspects of the projector whenever they allowed us to conduct independent research, then spent our nights implementing those ideas in the Room of Requirement.
The pace of the project slowed considerably.
Neither of us minded.
It was a sustainable pace, and that mattered far more.
Our evenings before curfew remained reserved for the Study Club.
By now, I had become proficient in several practical combat spells. Alongside the Shield Charm and the Disarming Charm, I had also mastered the Stunning Spell and the Full Body-Bind Curse. There were plenty of smaller utility spells as well, such as Everte Statum, which had proven surprisingly useful during duels.
Unexpectedly, however, the spell I found myself casting most often was Serpensortia.
Chromis absolutely adored the conjured snakes.
Although the snakes disappeared after a few hours, she never seemed to mind. She chased them around the Room of Requirement, pounced on them, and occasionally curled up beside them as though they were real companions.
Watching her play always made me feel slightly guilty.
Between classes, the Study Club, and the projector, I hadn't been spending nearly enough time with her.
Perhaps I should buy her a proper toy.
Then again...
I wasn't entirely sure Percy would agree to sell his.
I quickly dismissed the ridiculous thought before I started laughing in the middle of the library.
The rest of the Study Club was progressing steadily as well.
Most members had become capable of casting the Disarming Charm with reasonable consistency, while many were beginning to show real proficiency with the Full Body-Bind Curse.
If they continued improving at this rate, I intended to begin teaching the Stunning Spell at the start of second year.
In a normal Hogwarts education, it was a spell most students wouldn't encounter until several years later.
Our group was progressing well ahead of the standard curriculum.
The Study Club itself had also changed.
The excitement surrounding its creation had long faded.
Many students who had joined out of curiosity gradually stopped attending.
Those who remained were the ones genuinely committed to improving themselves.
In my opinion...
That was for the best.
Quality had always been more important than numbers.
I had already begun making notes regarding next year's membership. A handful of students had become complacent, attending irregularly or neglecting the standards expected of every member.
Unless something changed before the end of the year, they would quietly lose their places.
On a brighter note, the dueling culture within Hogwarts was steadily growing.
Challenges no longer came only from Gryffindor and Slytherin.
Students from Ravenclaw and even Hufflepuff had begun requesting friendly matches as well, although the latter remained the smallest group by far.
The atmosphere surrounding inter-house rivalries had gradually become healthier.
Instead of proving which House was superior through arguments...
Students were beginning to settle the question on the dueling platform.
Weekends, meanwhile, were devoted to an entirely different branch of magic.
Under Professor Snape's guidance, Blake and I immersed ourselves in the theory behind memory magic, studying how memories could be extracted, stabilized, preserved, and eventually revisited.
It was a slow and demanding field of study.
But with every passing week...
The projector moved one step closer to becoming something far greater than either of us had originally imagined.
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