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...
It took them over an hour to find their way back to a familiar area. This found them close to the Potions classroom. From there they made their way to the Common Rooms. Because of the hour the Common Room was empty.
Harrison sat in the chair closest to the fire and accioed the edited magic circle scrolls he had been working on. XIII for his part went and laid out on the closest couch. The magic circle breakdown in his hands was for an edited Grade 5 Military Magic spell. If he could figure out how to get the magic circle and inlayed runes within it to work. Work without exploding in his face.
Most of Military Magics were two or three layered spells. The more layers a spell had the more complicated it was. They also required a lot more magic per layer. Not only that was that each layer added a chance of it going terribly wrong. The one he was trying to edit was a five layered spell. Many wizards that were amateurs in transcriptions had been killed by their spell exploding on them. It wasn't just transcription editing that could kill. Wrong wording could be just as deadly.
On the other hand however Fool's World was a single layer spell. If it wasn't for the results most would refuse to believe it was a Military Grade spell.
Normally he would ask Keller for his thoughts but the man was still in a coma. This left Harrison on his own to try and figure why the third layer of circle wasn't working the way it was supposed to. Tracing a finger over the rune he had etched on the edge of the parchment the magic circle floated about it.
It was a five-part glyph that has the glyph core the tips of an eight-pointed black star on the outside as the main symbol with the tips of a supporting eight-pointed star of white in between the black tips. A three-ringed border is the next layer, consisting of black teeth pointing towards a golden chain in the center.
The next layer is a contained border of the script with an inverted layer of hollow teeth whose tips after it, pointing toward the center with stylized waves of fire around that layer. The fourth layer is a simple material ring with three circles arranged in a triangular pattern each having its own symbol within. The fifth layer is another three-part binding circle that has unbound script as the innermost layer, multiple triangles pointing outwards as the middle, and two thin rings of orange on the exterior and black as the interior closely spaced together that allow the tips of the middle triangles to extend past them.
He cut off pieces of the layer to get closer looks at how the runes interacted. One sequence kept drawing his eyes. For what reason he didn't understand. No matter how he looked at it, it both belonged but at the same time didn't.
When editing a spell of this level of complication when editing the incantation they had to edit the runes of the circle. Basic spells didn't need this. They had a lower risk of exploding in the user's face. Thunder Strike was one of the best examples of simple edits. His current incantation was, I am he who slays and captures gods. I am the one who knows the end and the founder of genesis. Return thyself to the cycle of providence, The elements to elements. And sever the links woven between images and truth. Now all of creation shall perish here. At the distant ends of the void. Black Magic, Extinction Array!
With a frustrated noise he summoned his books Egyptian Runes. There he stayed for two hours summoning and sending back books trying to find what was wrong. XIII remained asleep for his part. His breathing having evened out within the first ten minutes. Harrison envied that ability of his.
So engrossed in his work he did not hear the Common Room wall open and Tom Riddle entered. Nor did he notice when the older boy paused at the sight of them. His entire focus was on the books and his layer. Frustration continued to mount within him as he was unable to figure out what the issue was.
"You have the sequence mixed up," said a voice from behind Harrison causing the boy to jump half a foot in surprise.
Glancing up he saw that Riddle was standing behind him. Much like how Harrison had been before his thoughts were interrupted Riddle was staring at the sequence.
He kept his emotions in check as he asked, "What do you mean, Riddle?"
Riddle pointed to the third runes and the seventh as he said, "These two need to be switched. You also can't have these together. Instead you need to use the alternative of your second rune. If you were to use this in an activation it would most likely explode since they are such volatile rune."
Immediately Harrison began to write down the suggestions. While he had a Mastery in Runes he still made mistakes. It was why spells were looked at by another technomage before testing. It ensured injuries and mistakes in testing were avoided. Harrison remembered how many times he had to edit his rune sequences before Keller had approved.
Riddle quietly gave advice on the rune sequences. It was nothing major but it was a different take from someone with fresh eyes. XIII and the other Black Hawks had seen it so many times they weren't much help in finding flaws any longer.
Despite him writing down the suggestions he didn't make any changes. He would do that under the watchful eyes of Keller. One because these were new ideas. Two because Riddle did not have any masteries under his belt. One wrong idea could kill Harrison by accident.
Once he was done he rolled up the scrolls and sent them back to his trunk along with the books. Then he turned his attention back to Riddle. Riddle had moved into the closest chair and was watching him with an unreadable expression. For a moment it was silent between them.
Then Riddle asked, "Have you made a decision on if you will accept my courtship proposal?"
Harrison sat back giving off an at ease perception of himself as he said, "I can't make a decision either way. When I signed my apprenticeship contract with my Master it states he has to approve or disapprove any courtships or betrothals. This was to prevent any parents from interfering with students lives at Nightingale. It works just as well now since I am back in England when I would rather not be."
"And who is your Master? You should be able to send an owl and ask for his permission either way."
Harrison gave a dark smile that spoke of vengeance should he ever encounter the Dark Lord or his followers again, "Deputy Headmaster Matthew Keller is my master. He and Headmaster Durant are one of the many who were injured. Both are currently in a coma and it is not known when they will wake."
Riddle's expression didn't change but he had the feeling the other wasn't pleased. Not that it bothered Harrison. He had no intentions of growing attached to anyone in the school or country. He was a student of Nightingale and was simply here until it was rebuilt. They would be back in a year. Attachments would only cause hurt when he had to leave.
