A small reminder that Saturday is the author's day off.

I hope you will have a good rest too :) Enjoy new chapters! ​​

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Malfoy and his companions were quiet again, but ignoring Potter and Weasley was beyond his abilities. Every now and then, there was a verbal altercation, with Draco grinning haughtily behind Crabbe and Goyle and Harry holding back Ron, who was turning red with anger. Of course, it wasn't just the third year who had a confrontation between Gryffindors and Slytherins - there were conflicts in the others, too, and Madam Pomfrey wasn't out of a job. However, it seemed to me that only we have the same people who were causing conflicts and minor skirmishes almost every day. Other third-years didn't even have to do anything, if they wanted conflict, they could just wait, and something would happen during the day. Well, what about me? I pretend I don't know any of them. So far, so good.

Spring finally came, bringing with it the bright green of waking plants and grass, various flowers, and the gloom of the Forbidden Forest seemed to have receded into the background. However, spring came outside, but the castle was still frozen. Funny paradox - in Hogwarts, everyone goes in warm clothes and almost winter robes, and they really are much warmer than usual, but outside they go out in lighter clothes - to warm up in the sun, to walk by the lake.

Closer to the end of the school year, the number of homework began to exceed some reasonable limits, and even in my previous life, I can not remember anything like this. It seemed as if the professors were intent on driving us out of the world or driving half the students into a hospital wing with overwork and exhaustion - does Snape brew standard potion kits for nothing? After all, they do have an expiration date, and it's no good for a product to go to waste.

Just the day before my exams, I approached Professor Flitwick after my charms class.

"Professor."

"Yes, Mr. Knight? Do you have any questions about the subject?"

"Not really. I'd like to ask you if you're going to be 'charging' that device for watching magic in the next few days?"

"Oh, I'm gratified by your enthusiasm, Mr. Knight," the professor replied with a smile, jumping down from his makeshift stand. "I was just about to follow up on a simple artifact on Saturday afternoon. But may I ask the purpose of your interest?"

"Nothing extraordinary. I just wanted to know the principles of activation and operation of circuits for rituals on the plane."

"Indeed, it's nothing special. I can tell you their essence without the device. A ritual scheme on a plane creates a similar structure as a spell, except that while a sphere or other spell structure is created in space, outside of the wand, the pattern works somewhat differently. There are two types of structure creation - a sphere and a semisphere. Of course, as with spells, there can be more than just a sphere, but this is the structure most commonly seen. Most drawings and schemes create a dome of a semisphere over themselves, in which the creation, ordering, and filling of magical flows and layers that determine the effect of the ritual takes place."

"The semisphere is created for a reason, and it serves to facilitate the ritual, but it works only with those where the full sphere can be divided into two equal parts by a plane of symmetry. If the structure of the ritual cannot be divided in this way, then a full sphere is created with the halves above and below the drawing. Such ritual requires several orders of magnitude more magic because the lower half-sphere during formation and work has to overcome the magical resistance of the surface, and the more energy-saturated the surface is, the more magic is required. Sacrifices are often used in such rituals. No matter what kind. By the way, Mr. Knight..."

"Yes, Professor?"

"I have heard of your and Miss Granger's successes in the field of Rune and Arithmancy. But it seems to me that you are somewhat..." Flitwick tried to taste the word. "You don't seem to be making it to the end in those subjects. No, no, I don't blame you by any means, and I even somewhat understand the desire to be successful, but not brilliant. My point is, would you like to participate in one of my projects next year?"

"Hmm..."

«Say yes.»

Shut up, schizophrenia, I'm thinking.

«What's there to think about? Working with such a renowned master in several magical disciplines will definitely benefit you, both in terms of personal experience, which you lack and as material for your portfolio. The same nuances with the schemes of rituals are not specified in the books, and this is important. How many other such subtleties are hidden in the magic, and only masters can pass them on?»

"I think I'll agree in absentia and ask Hermione about it. But I'd like to know what the project is all about?"

"Oh, it's just a wonderful idea that came to me recently while reading Muggle books."

Flitwick paused dramatically.

"Creating a hoarder of magic!" the professor looked very proud and majestic, and with his height, it looked funny.

"Aren't there any?"

"Nothing worthy, crude crafts!" The professor ranted. This seemed to be an important subject for him. "Crude works of setting natural gems that can accumulate a miserable amount of magic. You have no idea, Mr. Knight, in how many magical fields really capacious accumulators can be useful! Even rituals - it would be possible to erase things like sacrifices from history forever! Just use hoarders!"

The professor was almost bouncing with excessive enthusiasm and seemed ready to throw himself into the maelstrom of research right now.

"I understood you," smiled in response to such a passion of the old professor. "I'll be sure to talk to Hermione, and she'll probably agree."

"That would be great! I need to do some calculations right away, yeah..." the professor hurried to his office but turned around halfway through. "Ah, yes. Have a good day..."

But his mind was no longer here.

Turning around, I left the auditorium and went to the Great Hall for lunch. There I told Hermione about the professor's offer and received joyful confirmation of participation. So next year we will be doing something interesting.

"You could do it yourself, of course. After all, there's me."

Not a day without self-praise, Rowena?

"Exactly."