Halloween was fast approaching.
Murphy sadly realized that his goal of leading a healthier lifestyle was far from achieved. Not only was he immersed in his own research, but he was also guiding the students in theirs, making him busier than before.
However, there were rewards.
Two days ago, the Magic Research Institute reported that after hundreds of iterations, they had found a super-strong wand core antenna model that could achieve around 90% of the theoretical limit in performance.
After matching it with the wand body model, the institute had designed a wand. When Murphy saw the design, dubbed "Supreme Wand" by the researchers, he felt a sense of déjà vu.
It looked like a sixteen-inch wooden stick, but unlike ordinary ones, it had seven segments like bamboo. Each segment contained a dense array of wand core coils.
Ah, this...
Wasn't this the Elder Wand? Murphy had seen Dumbledore's wand, and though not identical, the resemblance was uncanny.
So, the optimal structure he had calculated already existed in reality? Considering the wand's biological characteristics and its lineage of owners, if wizards believed it to be the strongest wand, perhaps under the influence of the "Magic Web," the Elder Wand might have self-optimized over many generations, eventually nearing the optimal theoretical structure.
It was like a magical version of the evolutionary algorithm – magic indeed had a stronger subjective initiative compared to science.
With the wand design in hand, the next step was controlling the growth of the wand core through fusion potions to match the design.
The wand core in the design was an active phased array tree. When magic flowed through different branches, it created various harmonics, thus amplifying signals of different frequencies and directions.
The design's antenna tree was complex. Ideally, it could have thousands of branches, but even with simplification, at least sixty major branches, each as thin as 10 micrometers, needed control.
Murphy had no clear idea how to control the growth of the wand core so precisely and decided to start by shaping the space within the wand.
If he couldn't control the content, he would control the container.
However, creating such a delicate structure inside a piece of wood was no easy feat.
Murphy decided to use an enlargement spell combined with laser engraving.
For optimal results, he chose serpentine wood with a high cell density as the wand material.
After processing the wood into a wand body, he cut off the base and tip, enlarged the body tenfold with the spell, and then drilled from either end with high-energy lasers to create a tree-shaped core space.
For the segmented coil structures, he used gamma rays for internal engraving.
Once the core space was complete, he dispelled the enlargement charm, restoring it to its original size. Then he installed the wand tip, injected fusion potion in a clean room, inserted the core, attached the base, and waited for the core to grow along the tree-shaped space under the potion's influence.
Even with this method, the overall precision was only 10 micrometers. Only the thirty most important branches were carved to specifications, while smaller branches, demanding higher precision, were impossible to create.
The segmented coil structure also didn't meet the design requirements, with both the number of coils and turns significantly reduced.
But this was the limit of current engraving technology.
Murphy was curious to know how this wand would perform compared to the Elder Wand.
...
On the last weekend of October, the wand core had finished growing.
The serpentine wood wand was complete.
It was sixteen inches long, dark red, covered in serpent patterns, and felt heavy like a metal weapon rather than a wooden stick.
Murphy added a feather from a bird-serpent to the wand - he didn't use his own hair as he wasn't sure if his body parts would be affected by cellular aging. He opted for a tested bird-serpent feather.
After testing the wand himself and finding it stronger than his previous wands, though still not completely satisfactory, Murphy handed it to Tom, the most theoretically compatible user.
Harry was also suitable, but with the first Quidditch match approaching and his heavy training schedule, he had no time for group activities.
"This wand is too new. Based on my hypothesis, a new wand and its owner need time to adapt to each other. Try it out for a few days, and once you're familiar with it, we'll compare it to your original wand."
Tom hesitated. He had just discovered clues about Tom Riddle.
Recently, Draco told him that Tom Riddle was a Hogwarts student fifty years ago, earning a special award for stopping a violent case. Tom found that in that case, a Muggle-born student, Myrtle Warren, died.
He was investigating who Myrtle Warren was and didn't want to take on this testing task. But the serpentine wood wand was too beautiful to resist.
After learning he was a Parselmouth, Tom developed a fondness for snakes. The wand seemed tailor-made for him.
Taking it from Murphy, he immediately felt a surge of power, as if he could do anything with it.
He couldn't pass up the opportunity to use this wand.
"Alright, Professor, I'll make good use of it."
...
On Halloween Eve.
The Great Hall was adorned with pumpkin lanterns and bats, and the tables were laden with food.
Harry and Ron sat at the Ravenclaw table with Hermione, enjoying pumpkin pies.
"Where's Tom?" Harry asked, feeling he hadn't seen some of his group members for a while.
"He just ran out," Qiuzhang replied, puzzled. "I mentioned Myrtle Warren to Hermione, and he seemed interested. Asked where she was and left."
"Myrtle Warren? The ghost?" Ron, having heard about her from his brothers, wondered, "Why would he go looking for a ghost?"
"Could it be related to our project?" Harry asked.
"Unlikely. I've been with Tom lately, and he's been focusing on Legilimency studies, not much about ghosts," Hermione said.
They were puzzled, but Tom being secretive wasn't unusual for a Slytherin.
...
Murphy sat at the staff table, slowly eating his stewed potatoes, somewhat lacking appetite.
Although he had adapted to British cuisine over the years, he was tired of the same dishes daily.
He wished he had the students experiment with agriculture instead - even just growing some cabbage would be better than potatoes every day.
He put down his cutlery and glanced at the students below.
The Golden Trio was there.
Hermione, sorted into Ravenclaw, didn't have to constantly remind the two troublemakers about house points and got along well with Harry and Ron. Her friendship with them hadn't soured as in the original story.
But what about Tom?
As Murphy prepared to use the Seed of Consciousness to check on Tom, Quirrell burst in.
"A troll! There's a troll in the dungeon!"
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