It was time to test the Wild Lightning rune. Alan first produced a crystal ball capable of temporarily anchoring magical symbols, then constructed the complete rune with his own power and poured it into the glass sphere.
Afterward, Alan did not immediately discharge electricity into the rune with his device. Instead, he raised his left hand toward the crystal ball. A silver streak slowly extended from Alan's sleeve; it was the Soul-Binding Serpent. The serpent brought its head close to the glass, opened its mouth, and took a forceful, lunging inhale.
The Wild Lightning rune in the crystal ball visibly dimmed. Alan didn't drain it entirely, leaving a calculated spark within the core. He did this because of the rune's unique nature. A complete Wild Lightning rune can store a massive amount of lightning-attributed magic, compressing almost infinite electrical energy—much like his God-slayer Slash. However, the higher the density of the charge already inside, the harder it was to add more. Alan suspected that if he used a fully saturated rune, his Muggle generator wouldn't have the "pressure" to force its current into the magical structure.
By extracting a portion of the magic first, he created a vacuum for better observation. Then, Alan took the discharger and began to feed the generator's current into the rune.
As he had hoped, natural electricity reacted perfectly with the Wild Lightning rune. When the sizzling current from the two-pronged probe approached, it was drawn in as if by a vacuum, flowing continuously into the symbol. The dim rune began to brighten, glowing with increasing intensity for dozens of seconds until the light became even more dazzling than when it had first been summoned.
At that point, the flow stopped. The electrical density within the rune had reached a point of saturation that the generator could no longer overcome. Alan then tested a standard lightning rune to see if the effect was universal, but the results confirmed that only the Wild Lightning variant possessed this affinity; ordinary lightning symbols had no reaction to natural electricity at all.
Alan was satisfied. The test confirmed that the Wild Lightning rune could act as a bridge. As long as he replenished the rune with electrical energy and then extracted magic from it, he had a functional conversion cycle from Muggle power to magical power.
The process was undeniably troublesome, and it seemed only he—the holder of the rune—could perform the task. Furthermore, such a conversion would inevitably incur significant energy loss. His next goal was to design a system with the highest possible efficiency.
For the remainder of the summer, Alan holed up in his basement, wholeheartedly conducting experiments on a converter. He tested materials, runic structures, and storage crystals, measuring the influence of size and specifications on the conversion rate. There were no shortcuts; he simply used the exhaustive method, testing one material and one configuration after another.
By the time August drew to a close, he still hadn't found a satisfactory converter solution, let alone started on the physical lathe. It was clear the manufacturing would have to continue at Hogwarts. He decisively paused the experiments with one week left before the term began. He planned to use this final week to visit his friends—the Longbottoms and the Weasleys.
Since returning to Diagon Alley, he had hardly left the house, spending his days in the lab with a focus that was intense even by his standards. He needed to relax.
Alan spent half a day buying gifts. The alchemical tools he made himself were too lethal for children, so he opted for high-quality magic toys. He bought training brooms for the younger ones like Neville, Ron, and Ginny, and full Quidditch sets for the older children, including windproof goggles and specialized gear.
He left Kiki to mind the house and took Hog with him on his visits. He didn't dare leave the Husky-like wolf unsupervised; the beast had to be taken everywhere.
The Longbottom residence hadn't changed, though little Neville had grown a bit taller. Augusta clearly looked after his nutrition, as the boy was looking quite robust. Alan was pleased to find that Neville still remembered him; for a child that age, a year was a long time.
Augusta remained strict, likely out of a fierce desire for Neville to excel. Even at five years old, the boy was incredibly well-behaved. Alan enjoyed a pleasant dinner with them and played with Neville for a few hours before departing under their reluctant gazes.
Visiting the Weasleys was a much louder affair. This year was significant: their second son, Charlie, was starting Hogwarts. When Alan arrived at the Burrow, the children were playfully helping Charlie try on his new school robes.
Originally, the family had intended for Charlie to wear Bill's hand-me-downs, but those robes were in tatters. During Bill's first year of training under Alan, he had worn his school robes for drills, and within a year, they had been completely ruined. Eventually, Alan had bought the whole group athletic wear to solve the problem.
Upon seeing Alan's arrival, the Weasley children became even more excited, surrounding their "big brother"—who had long since won them over with his cooking and his strength—to offer a rowdy greeting.