Ethan spent the rest of Wednesday studying the watch like a research project.
He cleared his desk, creating a makeshift laboratory. Notebook open, pen ready. The watch sat in the center under his desk lamp.
---
DAY 1 - WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON: BASELINE TESTING
Experiment 1: Physical Examination
Ethan examined every detail under magnification, using a magnifying glass from his stepfather's study.
The crack in the crystal wasn't random—it radiated from a specific impact point slightly off-center. Ground zero for whatever curse had hit it.
The magical shimmer was concentrated there, like frozen smoke trapped in glass.
The back casing had tiny scratches. Ethan found a pattern—deliberate markings, not wear.
When he traced them with his finger, they were symbols. Runes, maybe?
He carefully copied them into his notebook: ᚱ ᚢ ᚾ ᛖ ᛋ
He didn't know what they meant yet, but they were intentional.
Experiment 2: Magical Response Test
Ethan held the watch and focused like before, trying to trigger that flashback sensation.
Nothing.
He tried for ten minutes. Still nothing.
Interesting. It had worked once, but not on command. Either it required specific conditions, or it had been a one-time event.
Experiment 3: Dial Functionality
He set the watch on his desk and observed the dials for an hour, noting any changes.
Magical Exposure dial: Stayed at "Moderate." Didn't fluctuate.
Danger Alert: Completely still at "Safe."
But then he picked up the watch again, and—
The Magical Exposure needle jumped to "High" immediately. When he set it down, it dropped back to "Moderate" over the course of thirty seconds.
Revelation: The dial wasn't measuring ambient magic in the environment. It was measuring contact with magical sources.
He was a magical source.
Ethan tested this by touching the watch with different objects:
Pencil (muggle): No change.
Fountain pen with magical ink: Slight uptick.
Parchment from his father's portfolio: Moderate increase.
The Galleon from his pocket: Significant jump to "Very High."
The watch was a magic detector. Useful.
Experiment 4: Danger Detection
How did he test a danger alert in a safe bedroom?
Ethan tried thinking about dangerous things. Nothing.
He tried holding a knife near it. Nothing.
He tried reading a passage from one of his father's Egyptian history books about curses. Nothing.
The dial didn't respond to potential danger or symbolic danger. It must detect real, imminent threats.
He filed this away: The danger alert could save his life, but only if he was wearing the watch when actual danger approached.
Ethan slipped the watch into his pocket, deciding to keep it on him constantly from now on.
---
DAY 2 - THURSDAY: INTENT-BASED TESTING
His father's journal had mentioned that "magic responds to intent."
Yesterday's accidental flashback had happened when he'd focused on understanding the watch, not controlling it.
Maybe that was the key.
Experiment 5: Emotional Triggers
Ethan held the watch and cycled through different emotional states while concentrating on it.
Curiosity: Nothing special.
Anger: Warming sensation, but no flashback.
Fear: The watch seemed to pulse slightly, but it could be imagination.
Grief: Thinking about Marcus Drake, the father this body remembered but his adult mind had never known—
—flash—
Desert heat. Sand in his eyes. Someone shouting.
The searing pain of magic tearing through flesh. The desperate scramble for a ward, for cover, for anything—
—Ethan gasped, dropping the watch on the bed.
His heart hammered. That had been more vivid than before. Not just sensation—fragments of experience.
His father's experience.
The watch held his last moments. Somehow. Trapped in the magical damage, like a recording.
Ethan picked it up carefully, hands shaking slightly.
Could he control this? Access it deliberately?
Experiment 6: Directed Intent
He held the watch and thought very specifically: Show me what happened to Marcus Drake. Show me how he died.
Nothing.
He tried variations:
"I want to see the truth."
"Reveal your secrets."
"Help me understand."
Nothing worked.
But when he stopped trying and just felt genuine sorrow for a man who'd died trying to provide for his son, who'd written letters he'd hoped would never need to be read—
—flash—
Darkness. Torchlight flickering on hieroglyphs.
His father's voice: "The third seal is different. See how it—"
Another voice, unfamiliar, accented: "Drake, the walls!"
A rumbling. Something wrong with the geometry of the space.
Then light—sickly green light—and the sensation of reality bending—
—Ethan was back in his bedroom, breathing hard.
Fragments. Glimpses.
Not enough to understand what had happened, but enough to confirm: Something had gone wrong in that tomb. And multiple people had been there when it did.
He documented everything meticulously in his notebook, including the exact phrasing of what he'd heard.
The watch wouldn't give up its secrets easily. But they were in there.
---
DAY 3 - FRIDAY: PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS
Ethan had learned the watch responded to genuine emotion and held fragments of his father's death.
Today he would test whether its functional dials actually worked in practice.
Experiment 7: Danger Alert Field Test
He needed to create actual danger. Nothing life-threatening, but enough to trigger the alert.
Ethan waited until his mother was downstairs and his stepfather was at work. Then he went to the kitchen, retrieved the largest knife from the block, and returned to his room.
He set the watch on his desk and stood back.
Holding the knife, he threw it at his pillow—a safe target, but a violent action.
The danger alert didn't move.
Right. Danger to the watch or to its wearer, probably. Not just violence in general.
Ethan picked up the watch, held it in his left hand, and raised the knife with his right, bringing it close to his other hand—
The needle jumped. Not far, just to the edge of "Caution," but it moved.
He stopped, lowered the knife. The needle settled back to "Safe."
Holy shit. It worked. It detected threats to the wearer.
He tested this several more ways:
Standing on his desk chair (height danger): Slight movement.
Leaning out his window: Stronger movement.
Holding his breath until uncomfortable: Nothing (not immediate danger).
The alert measured physical threats that could cause immediate harm. It wasn't precognitive—it responded to current dangerous situations.
Experiment 8: Magical Exposure as Detector
If the exposure dial measured magical contact, he could use it to identify magical objects.
Ethan tested everything in his room:
His books: Muggle (no response).
The parchment portfolio: Magical (response).
The Galleons: Very magical (strong response).
His father's journal: Moderate magic (enchanted ink, probably preservation spells).
The photographs: Magical (the moving images).
Then he tested himself. He held the watch against his chest.
The needle swung to "Extreme" and stayed there.
He was intensely magical. More magical than the Galleons, more than the enchanted parchment.
Was that normal for wizards? Or was it something else—the transmigration, the accelerated learning, the immortality?
He'd need to be careful about this. If magical exposure could be sensed by others, he might stand out.
Experiment 9: Attempting Repair
His final test: could he fix it?
Ethan focused on the watch with genuine intent: Please work again. I need you.
The main dial's hands trembled. Just barely, just for a second. Then stopped.
The planetary positions shifted—one symbol moved a fraction of a degree.
Then everything locked up again.
It wanted to work. The magic was still there. But the curse damage was too severe.
He'd need more than intent—he'd need actual magical skill, tools, knowledge.
Add it to the Diagon Alley list: Find someone who could repair cursed artifacts.
---
FRIDAY EVENING: FINAL PREPARATION
Ethan sat at his desk, reviewing three days of notes:
WATCH CAPABILITIES CONFIRMED:
Magical exposure detector (functional)
Danger alert system (functional)
Contains memory fragments of father's death (accessible through emotion, not control)
Wants to be repaired but can't self-heal
Responds to genuine intent/emotion, not commands
WHAT I LEARNED ABOUT MAGIC:
Intent matters more than words
Emotion is a catalyst
Magical objects have some degree of awareness
I am extremely magically powerful (exposure dial maxed out)
Magic can trap experiences/memories in damaged objects
MYSTERIES REMAINING:
What exactly happened in the tomb?
Who else was there? ("Drake, the walls!" - who said that?)
Why did the investigation close so quickly?
He closed the notebook just as he heard a car in the driveway.
Richard was home.
Dinner would be awkward and silent as usual. But tomorrow morning, he would go to Diagon Alley.
Ethan slipped the watch into his pocket, where it had stayed for two days now. The weight was comforting.
A reminder of what he was walking into, and what he was trying to uncover.
His father had suspected his death might not be an accident.
Ethan was going to find out the truth.
But first: magic school supplies, a wand, and his inheritance.
He glanced at the clock on his nightstand. 7:23 PM, Friday evening.
Fourteen and a half hours until he met Professor McGonagall and entered the magical world properly.