James rushed through the castle corridors toward his Charms classroom, weaving past slower-moving students with practiced ease. It was the middle of the week, and he'd fallen into a comfortable rhythm with his classes.
The second week at Hogwarts had brought a predictable routine. Charms class meant sitting quietly while working on his own theoretical research after demonstrating whatever spell Professor Flitwick was teaching. The other subjects required him to keep his head down, perform adequately without drawing excessive attention, and try not to let boredom overwhelm him.
He'd completed the entire seventh-year Charms curriculum days ago. Now he was working on both Transfiguration and Defense Against the Dark Arts simultaneously, though with considerably less intensity than he'd applied to Charms. He'd realized he'd rather neglected the other wanded subjects in his single-minded focus, but he was taking a more relaxed approach now.
After all, he was already miles ahead of his peers. Maintaining that distance wouldn't be difficult. What he really wanted was to concentrate more on his own interests, his personal projects and research.
Even the spatial expansion charm project had taken a backseat to his growing obsession with ancient magic. In the past few days, whenever he had free time, he found himself in the library searching through books, trying to find any mention of how ancient magic actually worked.
He'd gone through all the relevant shelves, using Libris Revelio to highlight promising texts, but he'd had no luck. Every book he found only vaguely mentioned ancient magic in passing, usually with frustratingly brief references that explained nothing.
Now that he knew what to look for, he could see that the authors weren't deliberately hiding information. They simply didn't know much about it themselves. The knowledge had been lost, and modern magical scholarship had no framework for understanding what the Founders had accomplished.
It was midway through his second week at Hogwarts. He'd far surpassed his coursework requirements in every subject, yet he still felt unfulfilled. The mysteries hanging over his head, the rune puzzle, the ancient magic, the castle's secrets, occupied far more of his thoughts than anything happening in his actual classes.
The classes themselves had become tediously routine. Each day passed much like the previous one. Teachers would introduce a spell, demonstrate it, then set students to practice. James would perform it perfectly on the first attempt, earn house points, and then return to whatever he was actually interested in studying.
Charms and Transfiguration followed this pattern without variation. Professor Flitwick would glance at James, see him succeed immediately, award points to Ravenclaw, and then focus his attention on students who actually needed help. Professor McGonagall was slightly less predictable but generally followed the same approach.
James had noticed Hermione Granger glaring at him during classes. The bushy-haired girl was clearly competitive, frustrated that someone was consistently outperforming her despite her obvious dedication and hard work. James found it rather amusing but took no real notice beyond mild entertainment. He was too busy with his own interests to care about childish classroom rivalries.
He reached the Charms classroom just as the last few students were filing in. James claimed his usual seat near the middle, not too close to draw attention, not so far back as to seem like he was hiding, and pulled out his notebook.
Professor Flitwick bounced into the room moments later, his cheerful energy undimmed by the early hour.
"Good morning, everyone! Today we'll be covering Warming and Cooling Charms. Very practical magic, excellent for everyday use. The Warming Charm is Calor, and the Cooling Charm is Frigus. Watch carefully."
He demonstrated both spells on a glass of water, steam rising from it after the first incantation, frost forming on the outside after the second.
"Now, Mr. Acton, would you demonstrate for the class?"
James stood, pulled out his wand, and cast both spells in quick succession. "Calor. Frigus." His water glass steamed and then frosted exactly as Flitwick's had.
"Excellent! Three points to Ravenclaw for each spelll." Flitwick beamed at him. "Well done, Mr. Acton. You may continue with your independent work."
James sat back down, aware that the professor was essentially farming him for house points at this stage. Not that he minded particularly. Ravenclaw could use the boost, and it kept Flitwick happy.
The professor turned his attention to the rest of the class, and James opened his research notebook. He'd moved beyond basic Charms theory and was now working through the principles of spatial magic that he'd learned from his recent reading.
What he'd discovered had completely changed his understanding of how advanced enchantments worked.
He'd found a book in the library's advanced section called The Tri-Disciplinary Theory of Spatial Enchantment by Ignatia Danes, and it had explained something fundamental that none of the introductory texts had mentioned: Permanent extension Charms weren't a single spell. They were a three-layer construct that required mastery of three different magical disciplines.
Charms created the space. Arithmancy stabilized it. Runes bound it permanently.
Remove any one of the three, and the enchantment would collapse.
James reviewed his notes from that reading, trying to internalize the principles.
The Charms component made sense to him, it was what he'd been studying most intensively. Advanced Charms could do something that seemed impossible: they told reality that an object contained more space inside than its exterior dimensions suggested. The book had called these "Topological Charms," and explained that they didn't actually stretch or expand the physical object. Instead, they folded space and created a doorway into a micro-dimension.
The key insight was that the container wasn't actually larger. The space existed elsewhere, in a pocket dimension tethered to the physical object. Hermione's beaded bag from the books wasn't big, it was a portal to a pocket universe.
But creating the space was only the first step. According to Danes' research, pocket dimensions were inherently unstable. They wanted to tear themselves apart because magic fundamentally rejected certain configurations: infinite volume in finite space, unbalanced mass ratios, and spatial paradoxes.
That's where Arithmancy came in. The book had devoted an entire chapter to the mathematical frameworks required. Arithmancers had to calculate precise numerical parameters: internal volume limits, magical pressure thresholds, mass capacity, and dimensional tension coefficients. These calculations were written as numerical spell-equations that determined how big the space could safely be, how much weight it could hold, and how stable it would remain over time.
The book had included a warning that James found sobering: if these numbers drifted even slightly out of alignment, the consequences could be catastrophic. Gravity inside could invert. Time could distort. The pocket space could implode, destroying everything within. That's why amateurs attempting spatial magic often killed themselves, one miscalculation and the results were immediate and deadly.
The third component, Runes, served as what Danes called "the metaphysical glue." Runic arrays bound the pocket dimension to the physical object permanently, prevented spatial drift that could detach the dimension, locked the entrance point, and maintained the connection even when the object was moved or damaged.
Every properly expanded object had Runic arrays hidden somewhere on its surface, embroidered into fabric, etched into leather, inscribed on metal frames. These runes were the dimensional anchor. If they were damaged, the book warned, the interior space might leak into reality, causing localized spatial distortions, or the pocket dimension could detach entirely, vanishing with everything inside it.
James looked at his notes, at the diagrams he'd copied from the book showing how the three disciplines interwove. The elegance of it was beautiful, but also daunting.
I hadn't fully realized, he thought, how interconnected different magical disciplines become as you move toward advanced magic.
He'd been rather neglectful toward Runes and Arithmancy since arriving at Hogwarts, concentrating more on wanded subjects. It made strategic sense, he'd only be able to cast magic at Hogwarts for the next few years due to the Trace, so practicing wand-based spells took priority.
Runes he'd been studying, but only for the common room puzzle. The Runic systems used for spatial anchoring were completely different from whatever encoded message the Founders had left on Ravenclaw Tower's walls. If there was a connection, he hadn't found it yet.
And Arithmancy he'd barely touched beyond reading texts. The subject wasn't offered until third year, and he'd been too focused on immediately practical magic to dive into the mathematical foundations.
According to Danes' book, that would need to change if he wanted to seriously pursue spatial magic. The three disciplines weren't separate subjects, they were different aspects of the same underlying spatial magical theory, and mastery required understanding all three.
James was deep in his notes, sketching out how the mathematical formulas from Arithmancy might interact with the Runic anchoring patterns, when Professor Flitwick's voice cut through his concentration.
"Class dismissed! Remember to practice both charms for homework. Mr. Acton, could you stay behind for a moment?"
The other students filed out, chattering about the upcoming weekend. James gathered his materials and approached Flitwick's desk.
"How is everything coming along, Mr. Acton?" the professor asked once they were alone.
"I've completed the Charms curriculum through seventh year, sir. I've started working on Transfiguration and Defense Against the Dark Arts, but I keep getting pulled back into research on ancient magic and spatial theory."
"Nothing wrong with following your interests, as long as you don't neglect the fundamentals entirely. Do you have any specific questions about your spatial magic research?"
James hesitated, then decided to be honest. "I've been reading about the tri-disciplinary approach to spatial enchantments, sir. I understand the theory now, how Charms, Arithmancy, and Runes all work together, but my knowledge of the mathematical and Runic components is limited. I can read about the principles, but I don't have the foundational knowledge to actually apply them."
Flitwick nodded thoughtfully. "That's an astute observation. Most students don't recognize those connections until much later in their education, and many never truly grasp how the disciplines integrate." He pulled out a piece of parchment and his wand. "I've been meaning to give you this."
He began writing, his quill moving with quick precision. When he finished, he handed James a rolled parchment sealed with the Hogwarts crest.
"This is your restricted section permission slip, as promised. I've included quite an extensive list."
James unrolled it and his eyes widened. There were dozens of book titles listed in Flitwick's neat handwriting. He'd expected maybe a handful of ancient magic references, but the list was far more comprehensive.
Books on ancient magic, yes, but also advanced spatial theory texts, Arithmancy primers specifically focused on dimensional calculations, Runic anchoring techniques, enchantment stability principles, and even some historical accounts of building projects that had used now-lost magical techniques.
"Sir, this is... this is far more generous than I expected."
Flitwick's eyes twinkled. "Since you've decided to pursue such ambitious projects, these are the books most relevant to your research. Some are restricted because they assume knowledge most students don't possess, the Arithmancy texts, for instance, require mathematical sophistication beyond what we teach in standard coursework. Others contain techniques that could be dangerous if misapplied. But I trust you to be careful and to ask questions if something is unclear."
"Thank you, Professor. Truly. This will save me countless hours of searching."
"You're welcome, Mr. Acton. I'm glad to see a student so passionate about magical theory. It's refreshing." Flitwick paused, then added, "I should mention that I'm particularly pleased you're in Ravenclaw. Its a delight to teach a student so interested in the working of magic"
James smiled, silently thanking the Sorting Hat once again for honoring his request. "I'm very grateful to be in Ravenclaw, sir."
"Good, good. Now, off with you. I imagine you're eager to start working through that reading list."
James left the classroom with the precious parchment clutched carefully in his hand, his mind already racing ahead to which books he'd tackle first. The restricted section awaited, and with it, answers to questions he'd been asking for weeks.