Audite vocem tempestatis

"That's it! That's the answer! I'm not a walking, talking disaster worse than a typhoon but a Sourcerer! It's not me who sucks! It's the world that sucks!," shouted Dudley in euphoria.

"I'm 'glad' to see that you are pleased with the news, Durlsey. But before we get carried away, it's important to run a few tests to confirm our suspicions," followed Snape, not glad at all and visibly annoyed by the young student's reaction.

Turning back to his colleagues, Snape gave a simple nod to McGonagall, who responded in kind and moved forward. As she stood in front of Dudley, McGonagall took her wand and pointed it at the strange copper structure decorated with a glass bulb. As soon as she made the gesture, the strange artefact rose and levitated towards the Professor of Transfiguration.

"This Mr. Dursley is a type of Thunderbulb. This object was originally created to assess the strength of the American Thunderbird, but some wizards discovered that this object had the amazing ability to assess the magical strength exerted by a wizard when he cast a spell on the artifact of interest. And that's what we're going to do with you," said McGonagall.

"You... you want me to cast a spell?" replied Dudley uncertainly.

His answer got some reaction from the other teachers. Especially Quirrel, who couldn't escape a slight squeal despite the fact that since the beginning of the private lesson, the Professor of Defence Against the Dark Arts had done his best to be quieter than a mouse.

"Rest assured Mr. Dursley, the spell we are going to teach you for this demonstration is almost harmless. To tell you the truth, this spell was originally designed as a prank to surprise the other wizards.

But in the case of Sources, this spell is perfect for our next demonstration. To explain briefly, this spell that we are going to teach you has the particularity of taking a portion of a person's inner strength to send a slight electric current to surprise and tingle the target. If you wish I can demonstrate it to you," lectured McGonagall to the young Dudley, a mischievous smile on her face, before suddenly turning towards Snape who only had time to widen his eyes in disbelief.

"FULGURIS" exclaimed McGonagall waving her hand towards Potions Master.

Before Snape could react, a bolt of blue lightning flashed from Professor McGonagall's wand and shot straight at the Professor of Potions. As the blue lightning struck Snape, he was overcome by a shudder that made his whole body shake like a disjointed puppet.Dudley's eyes widened at the sight, which he was sure every student at Hogwarts would give anything to witness. The scene was so hilarious that Professor Flitwick, Sprout and even Quirrel could not stop the laughter coming out of their mouths.

When the fidgeting was over, Snape regained his composure and combed his hair as quickly as possible before giving Professor McGonagall a dark and nasty stare. McGonagall, without a hint of guilt, offered the Potions Master a simple nod before turning back to Dudley and sending him a subtle wink.

'No one will believe me when I tell them this,' thought Duldey, bemused by the hilarity of the scene.

"Fulguris is a harmless spell, as you have seen. However, as I was saying, this spell has the particularity of not invoking magic like most others but rather transmuting a person's natural strength into a harmless electric shock. It is one of the few spells that does not require a wizard to be skillful in magic, and these are few in number. As a result, 'Fuguris', or the shocking spell, is one of the easiest jinx to cast and many child wizards enjoy performing this spell for its simplicity and humour."

"But, and with a certain dexterity, it was also found that casting this spell on a Thunderbulb can be used to measure the strength of a wizard, or precisely, the strength of his spell." continued McGonagall.

"It is actually not relevant to a wizard's ability but some of them tend to like measuring the power of their spell, despite the fact this act is actually not relevant at all. Let me show you"

Waving her wand for a second time, McGonagall casted a spell towards the glass bulb, this time without chanting. Once again, a blue lighting stroke came out of the wand and hit the bulb square. The device began to glow with a soft blue light for a while before slowly fading away. Pleased with her result, McGonagall put her wand away before turning back to Dudley who frowned at her. The young man, although having comprehended the explanation, wondered about the result, not understanding how the device had calculated the power of the spell. The experienced Deputy Headmistress immediately understood her pupil's reaction and began to explain the experiment before Dudley could even ask a question.

"You see Mr. Dursley, the Thunderbulb stores the electrical force of the spell and thus charges itself with electricity. As we explained to you, this device is originally used by the Magizoologists to calculate the strength of Thunderbird lightning, glowing for a period of time before fading away. In this case, the bulb lights up and the stored electricity is then studied by the researchers."

"Of course, wizards do not have the same power as the lightning bird but it is possible to compare the strength of a spell by how long the device is illuminated. The longer it is lit, the more powerful the spell that has been sent to it. It's trivial but effective.

"The current record in Europe is one minute and fourteen seconds and is held by our dear Professor of Charms," said McGonagall to Professor Flitwick who could not contain a smile of pride.

Focusing her attention on her student, McGonagall took a more measured tone before continuing her lesson.

"However, it has been noted that in the case of a Sourcerer, a shock spell becomes much more powerful and therefore more dangerous. Thrown at a Thunderbulb, the device becomes much more charged and glows brighter and longer. This is how we distinguish a wizard from a Sourcerer. Generally, if the bulb glows for more than two minutes, there's a very good chance that the person who cast the spell is a Seeker," McGonagall finished, paying attention to Dudley's reaction.

Listening to the explanation, the young man switched his attention back and forth between his Professor of Transfiguration and the strange copper device.

"Is it possible to get more results? If the wizard is unable to cast the spell. Or does the spell not produce the desired result and change into... something else?" asked Dudley cautiously.

"As I told you, the spell is childishly simple. Only a Muggle could fail to cast it. In the case of the result, either the spell misses its target or the bulb glows very dimly before fading out. In the latter case, it would prove that the person was a wizard like any other and not a Sourcerer."

"So... no possible other outcome?" asked Dudley softly.

"If there is any other results from the spell, it it is the responsibility of the referee to provide the final verdict. Do you understand?" replied McGonagall to the young man.

Having answered the question precisely, Dudley nodded towards his Professor, eager this time to finally cast a spell which would not explode.

" Good. Any other questions?...No…Excellent, then. Mr. Dursley. If you'd like to face the Thuderbulb... Not too far, please... Draw your wand and recite the spell... You don't need any specific gestures, just say the spell clearly... FUL-GU-RIS... the intonation must be well pronounced, especially on the first syllable... Do you understand? Good, you may begin."

Positioning himself in front of the Thunderbulb and listening intently to Professor McGonagall's explanation; Dudley took out his wand and raised it to face the copper device, keeping a safe distance and holding his wand tightly. The young man had to admit to feeling a little nervous about casting a new spell, his last few attempts having been... bombastic. Looking up at the Hogwarts staff, Dudley saw McGonagal and Flitwick giving the blond-haired boy a reassuring look, while Snape was offering the young student a more sinister stare than usual. Pomona Sprout, the Head of his own house and Professor of Botanics, smiled warmly and reassuringly as usual. As for Quirrel, the Professor of Defence against the Dark Arts was standing at the end of the hall, quivering even more than usual.

Tightening his grip on his wand, Dudley, eager to successfully cast a spell, shifted his gaze back to the Thunderbulb and breathed in deeply, focused.

"FULGURIS!"

As the last syllables were spoken, a golden glow began to radiate from Dudley's wand, illuminating the runes and the inscribed arborescence on the wand in an instant. A thunderous crack exploded in the room and a flash of dazzling golden light erupted from the young man's wand and instantly struck the bulb of the Thunderbulb. The device barely had time to light up before exploding in a fiery blast, rampaging through the room. The Professors had no chance to react as they were all swept away by the explosion and flew into the air. McGonagall found herself blasted next to Professor Sprout, who had conked her head on the wall and fainted. Snape, the Potions Master, was cut on the cheek by a shard of glass before being propelled towards Quirrel, who barely had time to open his mouth before the trembling Professor was hit at full force in the stomach by his colleague, taking his breath away.

But the worst case of all was the poor Professor Flitwick whose luck put him right behind the device and as the explosion of the Thunderbulb swept over the poor little man, this one had his whole body charred by the blast.

The hall itself was not spared as the blast set fire at the rugged carpet and some tapestries. The shard of metal and glass from the copper device even damaged the rest of the room as the scrap of the Thunderbulb ravaged the centuries-old stone building the hall.

His eyes wide and his mouth largely open, Dudley watched in fright the scene before him. At the view of this, only one word could describe what just happened.

A cataclysm.

This was the only term to describe the scene in this hall.

As the young man put his thoughts together, Dudley saw Professor McGonagall standing and readjusting her glasses, one lens of which was now broken. Contemplating the disaster, the Deputy Headmistress could only say this.

"H-How is this possible?" babbled the Professor of Transfiguration, her eyes filled with dread.

"O-ok", muttered Dudley. " I know it looks bad but I swear it wasn't on purpose. Besides, it was you who wanted me to cast the spell. A-are we clear on that?" replied Dudley who tried too appear innocent.

The Deputy Headmistress did not respond to the young boy, too busy helping her fallen colleagues. Snape, despite the bloody gash on his cheek, was the first to help her assist the other teachers, especially Flitwick whose smoke was still billowing from his fuming body. As more and more teachers recovered, others needed more help, like Professor Sprout who required McGonagall's support to get back on her feet. After a while, all the members of the Hogwarts faculty recovered from the disaster. Even Flitwick was able to get back on his feet, the deflategate having fortunately done more harm than good, despite his soot-covered face and his still-smoking moustache. The only one left on the ground with both hands on his head was Quirrel, who had difficulty getting up after Snape's ram between the ribs.

"Is everyone okay? Any serious injuries? Thank you Lords. Quirinus, please don't make a fool of yourself! You were the least exposed, I saw it," asked McGonagall after the teachers had recovered from their emotions.

Breathing out in relief, Dudley thanked his lucky stars that he hadn't killed half the teachers at Hogwarts. He was sure that Terry would resent him for life if he ever did. Still fearing retaliation, Dudley hesitated whether or not he should flee from the room immediately. No sooner had he considered running away than McGonagall shot a glare straight at the youngster, who froze in place. Following her example, all the other teachers turned towards Dudley, Snape even staring at him without blinking once. Swallowing, the young man wondered how to get out of this situation, without being expelled from Hogwarts permanently.

"Mr. Durlsey, please step forward," asked McGonagall, in a voice that would take no refusal.

Reluctantly, Dudley obeyed his teacher, stepping resignedly in front of her. Once in front of her, McGonagal did not speak immediately but judged the boy with a piercing eye, the waiting of the punishment prolonging the agony of poor Dudley who only wanted to end it.

"I think we are all in agreement concerning you, Mr. Dursley," McGonagall said simply, her glasses still half broken on her nose.

The other Professors did not respond but nodded in unison, except for Snape who continued to stare at Dudley without a blink.

The young man did not get his hopes up about the rest of the discussion.

"You are indeed a Sourcerer. We will proceed as agreed and provide you with the proper equipment to continue your studies,"

"I will prepare my lug- What?!" exclaimed the young man startled.

"You are a Sourcerer, Mr. Dursley. There's no doubt about that. An explosive one to be sure, but a Sourcerer nonetheless."

"Bu-but I just blow up the Thunderstuff" asked Dudley in complete disbelief.

"And you could have changed it into gold as well, and the result would have been just as concordant. Any result other than the one excepted would define a case of Source." replied McGonagall, her tone more composed this time.

"I beg your pardon?" exclaimed Dudley in disbelief.

"Mr. Dusrley," McGonagall began, taking a deep breath. "Every Sourcerer is unique, that is a recognised fact. Although there are certain similarities here and there, it is acknowledged that each case is distinct from the other. This is one of the reasons why it is difficult to notice if a wizard is a Sourcerer or not. The Thunderbulb test was to identify three potential answers. One, you succeed in casting the spell but the Thunderbulb only lights up for a few seconds, this would have proved that you are a wizard like any others. Two, the spell you cast charges the device for several minutes proving that you are indeed a Sourcerer. And three... the spell you cast produces a different effect on the Thunderbulb proving even more that you are a Sourcerer... but of a more special category." replied the Transfiguration Porfessor in a teaching tone.

"Wait, wait a minute! There are different types of Sourcerers?," said Dudley questioningly.

"That, Mr. Dursley, will be a lesson for another time. I think we've all had enough excitement for one day. We'll let you know the rest of your schedule by tomorrow. Pomona, will you escort young Dursley back to his common room, please."

" No need to worry Minerva. Dudley, my boy, will you come with me?" Professor Sprout hurried over, a slight bump on her head, gesturing for Dudley to follow her.

Dudley did not argue with his teacher and Head of House's request. Taking one last glance at the other professors, all badly bruised and Flitwick still fuming, Dudley followed Professor Sprout out of the room, followed closely by Snape's unblinking gaze.The rest of the walk through the castle walls was smooth, punctuated here and there by the compliments of the Professor of Herbology, who was visibly proud to have a Sourcerer such as Dudley in her House. Dudley only replied with a half smile, embarrassed by the previous commotion, the bump on his teacher's head reminding him all too well of recent events. In reality, Dudley's thoughts were mostly occupied by the latter, which brought their share of questions to the young man who could not help but wonder what his new status meant to him and what his life at Hogwarts would be from now on.

Continuing to walk the halls of the school, Dudley left the strange meeting with a head full of new questions, unsuspecting of what awaited him in his own House.

***

McGonagall watched the young Dursley leave with a lost look in her eyes. More than ten years ago, the Deputy Headmistress could never have imagined that this pudgy baby with blonde curls could hide such secret. Hearing the approach behind her, McGonagall turned her face slightly as she saw Snape, his cheek still bleeding, approaching her with a sinister stare than usual.

"We should get to Dumbledore as soon as possible and fill him in on the latest developments. It's not a bad time, is it? You already wanted to assemble us for an appointment," sneered Snape, but without smiling.

McGonagall didn't answer but simply nodded with a lost look in her eyes before turning back to the door from which the young man had left.

'Albus' thought McGonagall. 'What do you know that we don't?'