Back in the Room of Requirement, George and Fred brought something over to show Silan.
It was an exquisitely crafted Wooden Bird, woven from many tiny strips of wood, with carefully made wings, neck, and leg joints. Feathers had been densely embedded in the wooden strips using a special technique, making it look remarkably lifelike.
"This is our latest generation of Wooden Bird." George stroked its head with an affectionate expression. "It's a huge improvement over the first generation."
The first generation's greatest achievement had been dropping a few Dungbombs on Walton.
After that, George and Fred had continued upgrading the Wooden Bird.
Compared with the crude first generation, their latest Wooden Bird was beautifully refined.
George waved his wand, making the Wooden Bird spread its wings and hop off the table. It bounced around on the floor, flapping its wings and twisting its neck.
"Can't it fly?" Silan asked.
"That's its biggest problem," Fred said helplessly. "Its flight is extremely unstable. Even if we focus completely on controlling it, we can't get it to fly."
"Exactly. Watch."
George waved his wand, making the Wooden Bird hop along the floor and spread its wings before wobbling into the air.
But after just two feeble flaps, it plunged headfirst to the floor like a kite with a broken string.
"Even when I concentrate completely, it doesn't work." George shook his head helplessly. "A Levitation Charm can get it airborne, but it moves stiffly, like some clumsy bird."
Fred jogged over to retrieve the Wooden Bird and put it on the table. "Using a Levitation Charm defeats the whole point of the design," he said, looking troubled.
"So we wanted you to take a look and see whether you could improve it-make it fly smoothly while also making it easier to control."