Harry Potter with Technology System-Chapter 402: Simulations

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Harry leaned back, closed his eyes, and slipped into the Virtual Room instead. The familiar stone chamber greeted him, its cool, quiet atmosphere a nice change from the cramped plane. Shelves lined the walls, stacked with books and odd trinkets from his studies. Nigel appeared next to him, perched casually on the chair's arm, with a cup of tea.

"Figured you would show up," Nigel said without looking up, as if Harry hadn't just appeared out of nowhere.

Harry ignored him and moved to one of the desks, where he left a few open books on advanced spell manipulation. He grabbed one at random and flipped it open.

"Flying through the sky in a giant metal bird, surrounded by people who think it's all perfectly normal," Nigel mused. "Brilliant idea, really. I'm sure nothing will go wrong."

"Didn't ask," Harry replied, scanning a section on multi-layered shield charms.

Nigel hummed. "Just saying. Maybe keep an eye on the lady with the knitting needles. She looked positively murderous earlier."

Harry didn't bother responding, though he made a mental note on how clever the old fox was. Iron needles would definitely be confiscated, but those wooden knitting needles wouldn't draw any suspicion.

He skimmed through the book, occasionally jotting down notes. Most of it was theory he'd already dissected before, but a few angles on charm efficiency caught his attention. One section detailed how layering charms in specific patterns could minimize power drain. He considered how that might apply to his own work with shield charms, scribbling down a few quick ideas. It wasn't groundbreaking, but it was worth looking into when he had time to experiment.

He moved his neck to ease the stiffness. It was always like this with advanced theory... mostly repetition of old ideas with a few new tweaks thrown in. Still, there was always something to pick apart.

Flicking through the pages, he came across a bit on transfiguration runes and how to make them more energy-efficient by embedding a stability matrix into the original design. He frowned, trying to visualize it. If it actually worked, it could make long-lasting transformations less of a drain. He marked the page to study it later. Maybe he would test it during the trip. South America would be full of opportunities to experiment without worrying about prying eyes.

After a while, Harry set the book down, pushing his chair back. There was no point cramming too much at once. He glanced around the virtual room, considering what to do next. The place was exactly how he left it... organized, functional, and full of things he didn't necessarily need but liked having around. Weapons hung on one wall, mostly mundane but useful in the right hands. Shelves held potions, some experimental, some practical.

He moved to the dueling ring at the center of the Virtual Room, giving it a once-over to make sure it was set up right. Harry opened the Magical Book and flipped through the profiles he'd recorded so far.

When Professor Flitwick and Lupin had come to him back in his second year, suggesting the idea of re-establishing the Duelling Club, Harry hadn't hesitated to accept. It didn't take long for him to come up with a way to turn it into something actually useful.

The Magical Book system had been his solution... books that tracked and displayed physical and magical attributes in an RPG-style format. It allowed everyone who owned one to keep tabs on their own stats, abilities, and progress.

Although it allowed everyone who held a Magical Book to track their stats, it also had a backdoor that let Harry see everyone's data. Last year, the books had spread to Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students as well. Karkaroff had scoffed at the idea, probably thinking it was beneath him, but his students didn't share his attitude. Madame Maxime, on the other hand, had been the first to get one for herself, curious and impressed by the concept.

Since the Virtual Room could create virtual opponents, the data from the books helped Harry spar with anyone who owned one, given they allowed the book to collect accurate information. Harry never forced data collection, though. For instance, Dumbledore had only allowed his book to track a handful of spells, and the first letters of each one spelled out "HELLO HARRY"... typical of the old man to make a point even with something as simple as spell tracking.

Harry had taken care to set the Virtual Room's dueling simulation to mimic his friends' fighting styles. It wasn't perfect, but the data gave him enough to practice efficiently. He scanned through the profiles, pausing on one labeled "DG" with a smirk. Daphne had been obsessing over chain-casting recently, layering spells together without pause. He made a mental note to duel against that setup later.

He pulled up another profile labeled "TD" and snorted when he saw the new entry. Tracey had apparently been working on dodging while casting, and the system noted her tendency to slip up when switching directions. Typical Tracey... fast but reckless.

Harry shook his head and selected Barty Crouch Jr. from the list. Even though the man had spent the year impersonating Mad-Eye Moody, the Magical Book wasn't fooled by Polyjuice Potion. No way Harry would let him slip under the radar. Since Barty couldn't use Moody's existing Magical Book, Harry had let him take a new one. Of course, Barty thought he was being clever, hiding his real identity, but Harry made sure the man's book didn't show up on the public ranking. If not for that, the name Barty Crouch Jr. would've been plastered all over the Duelling Club rankings, and that would've been a mess to explain.

Harry adjusted the settings, creating a simulation based on Barty's most recent dueling patterns. The guy was talented, no doubt about that. Fast, precise, brutal... Moody's paranoia blended with his own unhinged creativity. Despite his insanity, he had a skill set worth studying.

As the simulation loaded, Harry stepped into the dueling ring. The projection of Barty appeared at the opposite end, sneering and already twirling his wand. No need for pleasantries... Harry opened with a quick Stupefy, testing his reflexes. Barty deflected it without effort, retaliating with a rapid Confringo. Harry sidestepped, conjuring a shield just in case the blast scattered shrapnel.

Barty moved like a snake, flicking his wand in quick, unpredictable motions. A Reducto screamed toward Harry's legs, followed by a Diffindo aimed at his throat. He dropped low, throwing up a shimmering silver barrier, the spells bouncing off harmlessly. Without missing a beat, Harry shot back with Expulso and Relashio, forcing Barty to retreat.

The duel became a rapid exchange of fire and ice, explosions and bindings, testing both of their endurance and adaptability. Barty was relentless, his movements chaotic but effective, throwing off rhythm and aiming to overwhelm. It wasn't just power, it was intent. Crouch fought to kill, not just to incapacitate.

After about five minutes of back and forth, Harry finally managed to catch him off-guard. He baited Barty into a full-power curse, then used a quick Featherlight Charm on himself to shoot up like he'd been blasted off his feet. Barty's killing curse passed under him, and Harry dropped back down, sending a brutal Incarcerous that wrapped around Barty like iron cables.

The simulation froze, signaling Harry's win. Nigel appeared next to him, lounging on the armrest of a nearby chair.

"Your third-year version? Why, think you're too powerful for a full-fledged Death Eater now?" Nigel asked, not even bothering to look impressed.

Harry shrugged. "My third-year power matches against Death Eaters show more tactical play. My current power would end it in a couple of moves. Not much point in practicing if there's no challenge."

Nigel hummed thoughtfully. "True enough."

Harry sparred with a few more simulations, testing different scenarios and setting odd limitations to keep himself sharp. One duel had him underwater, having to control his movement and spells against a group of merfolk-possessed wizards. Another one was airborne, trying to keep himself from falling while dealing with three attacking opponents. He threw in a few protection scenarios, defending friends against a larger force, or getting blindsided while eating at the Great Hall.

One of the more brutal simulations had him facing off against two Death Eaters with his legs broken, his left hand gone, and his wand nowhere to be found. He resorted to improvising with whatever he could conjure or grab from the ground with wandless magic, using transfigured rocks and discarded debris as makeshift weapons. It was a pain in the arse, but he kept at it, knowing that surviving with limitations was worth practicing.

After another round against a vampire simulation that kept flickering between being corporeal and mist, Selena's hand suddenly gripped his shoulder.

"We're landing," she said, her voice low enough not to disturb the other passengers.

Harry blinked, the virtual room fading away as he pulled himself back to reality. He glanced out the window, seeing the sprawling greenery of the South American landscape coming into view. The plane shuddered as it descended, but he didn't pay much attention to the bumpiness. Selena stretched next to him, rolling her shoulders, stiff.

"Long flight," she muttered. "Can't wait to actually move around again."

Goshawk woke up just in time, clearly having measured the potion's dose perfectly. She straightened her coat, rubbing the sleep from her eyes, and gave Harry and Selena a quick nod.

"Flight wasn't too rough, I hope?" she asked.

Selena shrugged. "Nothing we couldn't handle."

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