The second class of the morning was Potions again.
After what had happened in the previous class, Snape finally stopped testing Tom in any way.
He even did away with the question period and simply focused on teaching them about Potions.
"Watch closely. Before brewing Boil Cure Potion, you need to steam the leeches to extract their juice and distill mint oil. The best method and temperature are..."
Perhaps he felt that an ordinary live demonstration wasn't effective enough, so Snape simply closed the doors and windows, brought out a projector, and played a PowerPoint presentation to show them the exact details of how to extract the ingredients.
Tom stared at the slides, his eyes filled with confusion.
It wasn't that he couldn't understand the presentation. It was a legal issue.
Hogwarts Castle was protected by a magical field that interfered with Muggle technology. An ordinary projector couldn't be used there unless it had been enchanted.
The International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy clearly stated that using magic on Muggle objects was forbidden, to prevent enchanted items from making their way back into Muggle society and causing panic among Muggles.
The history of witch hunts was truly horrific. Although wizards had ways to escape, some unlucky ones really did die. The hunts had continued from the fifteenth to the seventeenth century, for about three hundred years. Who knew how many unlucky wizards there had been?
Because of this, the Ministry of Magic had added everyday items such as carpets, toasters, and cars to the Register of Proscribed Enchantable Items.
"What a bunch of amateurs," Tom muttered.
Arthur Weasley was a member of the Ministry of Magic and, as head of the Office for the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts, had openly modified a private Flying Car. By rights, he had knowingly broken the law, which should have made his offense all the worse.
But even after the Flying Car had been exposed to the Muggle world, Arthur had only been fined fifty Galleons. The car hadn't even been confiscated, and he hadn't even lost his job as head of the office.
Then there was Hagrid's Flying Motorcycle. That thing was definitely a prohibited item, too.
It was only a projector. It was hardly worth weighing, and besides, given Hogwarts's influence, even if anyone did weigh it, it wouldn't matter.
"By the way, aren't you tired at all?"
Taking advantage of the dim room while the presentation played, Ron quietly leaned over and whispered in Tom's ear.
The intense workouts every morning, combined with the mental effort of studying, left him exhausted as soon as class ended.
Tom, on the other hand, seemed full of energy all day long. He never looked tired.
"That's how body training works. You haven't trained enough, so you wouldn't understand. You'll get it eventually."
"Ron, no talking in class. Slytherin loses... one point," Snape suddenly cut in.
He really didn't want to take points from his own house, but there were students from other houses present, too. He had to at least pretend to dock a point.
The class ended in no time.
Compared to Quirrell's lessons, Snape's class had been a real pleasure. Tom had learned a lot.
As expected of the youngest Head of House in Slytherin's history.
If Voldemort and Dumbledore's plans hadn't gotten in the way, Snape could have spent decades developing his skills. Even if he never reached Dumbledore's level, he could at least have stood shoulder to shoulder with Professor McGonagall.
What a shame.
Lunch break began after class.
Tom naturally didn't spend his free time sitting around. Instead, he wandered through the castle, looking for the Room of Requirement.
Tom wanted a room where he could practice spells.
He had a talent for offensive spells, so he needed a large, open space. The Room of Requirement, which could change its function, was just what he needed.
Tom could have trained in an open area outside the castle, but that might give Dumbledore a headache.
So it was better to keep out of sight.
As for Harry, he had gone off to read. Exercise wasn't a good idea after a meal, though he wasn't exactly able to concentrate on his book, either.
Ron needed to catch up on sleep, so he was in the dormitory.
"This should be the place." Tom stood in front of a wall.
The Room of Requirement was on the eighth floor, at the same height as the Headmaster's Office. The difference was that the Headmaster's Office was in the South Tower, while the Room of Requirement was in the main building.
Although Dumbledore had kept an eye on the whole school in the original story, he hadn't watched it that closely. Otherwise, he wouldn't have hired Quirrell as a professor.
If Dumbledore had known that Voldemort's soul was inside Quirrell at that very moment, he could surely have come up with ten thousand ways to imprison it.
Then the following years wouldn't have been nearly so troublesome.
Soon, Tom reached the eighth floor.
The eighth floor was quite deserted, with hardly any rooms. A tapestry hung in the corridor, embroidered with a giant beating up a troll.
A wizard named Barnabas had tried to teach trolls ballet, only to be chased and beaten by them. After learning his story, people had not only made a tapestry of it but had also dubbed him "Barnabas the Barmy."
Standing near the tapestry, Tom paced back and forth three times, silently repeating to himself.
"Give me an armory. Give me an armory. Give me an armory."
Nothing happened.
"So that didn't work."
Hogwarts had a magical field that interfered with Muggle technology. Naturally, the Room of Requirement, being part of Hogwarts, wouldn't provide anything that involved Muggle technology.
Ah!
A sudden idea struck him.
"Give me an empty room with a smooth, hollow steel pipe, twenty-two inches long, with threads on the inside."
After pacing back and forth three times, Tom stopped. A door had appeared out of nowhere in the smooth wall opposite the tapestry.
He pushed it open without a sound and stepped inside. The candles on the walls lit up, illuminating the entire stone chamber.
The chamber was enormous—more than half the size of the Great Hall—and completely empty.
And lying on the stone floor was a steel pipe that perfectly matched Tom's requirements.
"It actually worked!"
Tom had only been giving it a try. He hadn't expected the Room of Requirement to produce parts for a firearm.
The part was just a piece of metal, with no mechanical structures or electronic components inside, so the room could create it.
Realizing the GUB existed, Tom immediately followed the same process.
A trigger, gunpowder, a cartridge case...
Following his design, he put the pieces together with magic. Before long, a Gatling Gun nearly as tall as he was appeared in his hands.
Thanks to his [Wisdom (Lv.9)], his memory was much better than it had been in his previous life. He could easily recall the design of a Gatling Gun he'd seen online.
He tried pulling the trigger.
Click!
It failed.
Whether it was because the Room of Requirement had provided the parts or because of Hogwarts's magical field, the Gatling Gun wouldn't turn.
"I'll take it outside Hogwarts during the next holiday and give it a try," Tom murmured to himself.
After casually putting the Gatling Gun into the magic pouch Dumbledore had given him last time, Tom left the Room of Requirement and made another request.
This time, a large pile of dummies made from different materials appeared in the stone chamber: wood, steel, stone, and all sorts of others. They would let him try out a variety of spells.
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