"I'm just glad you're alright."
Alex let out a breath of relief as he looked at the girl in front of him — clearly more shocked than hurt.
He smiled and asked, "I never caught your name."
"Cho Zhang," she replied with a soft, composed voice. "I'm a second-year at Hogwarts. I haven't seen you around before... Are you starting this year?"
Alex nodded, still trying not to gape at her beauty. "Yeah, I'm a first-year. Name's Alex Gunter."
He had suspected her identity the moment she introduced herself, but even so, her appearance had hit him like a truck.
Bloody hell.
This was Cho Chang? The girl who, in his past life, had made only a middling impression in the movies?
Compared to the film's casting, this was the difference between a pixelated thumbnail and a 4K masterpiece.
Now, standing before him, Cho was every bit the girl who could make Harry Potter himself lose sleep at night. T0-tier Hogwarts beauty, no doubt about it.
"I'm really sorry, Miss Zhang. I just received my wand, and I didn't control the magic properly."
Though the wand wasn't officially his yet, that blazing mimic-phoenix had made the decision for him. This was the wand.
"It's okay. That phoenix was beautiful," she said with a small smile. "And no need to call me Miss Zhang — just Cho is fine."
Ollivander, standing to the side, looked mildly offended.
These kids… flirting shamelessly right in front of an old man who hadn't even had his tea yet.
"Ahem."
Alex turned back to Ollivander and cleared his throat.
"Mr. Ollivander, I believe this wand is perfect for me. No need to test the others."
"Of course, Mr. Gunter. That phoenix display just now was all the proof we needed. This wand will serve you well."
With a flick of his wand, Ollivander cleaned up the mess of scattered wand boxes. Then he turned toward Cho.
"Miss Zhang, did your wand run into trouble?"
"No, nothing like that," Cho answered with a polite smile. "I just came to pick up a care kit. I wanted to take better care of it going forward."
Once she had her set, she and Alex stepped out of the shop together.
She looked effortlessly elegant in her white summer dress, sunlight catching in her dark hair.
"I feel bad about earlier," Alex said. "Let me make it up to you. Can I treat you to ice cream at Florean Fortescue's?"
Honestly, he just wanted to stake his claim early. If the Boy-Who-Lived was still wandering cluelessly through the magical world, then so be it. Let him go chase redheads.
Cho tilted her head with a small smile. "You don't need to do that... but the ice cream there is pretty good."
She didn't refuse.
That was enough for Alex.
They made their way to Florean's, settled into a cozy corner, and enjoyed the best of magical sweets. Between scoops of mint-chocolate and lemon-butter, Alex pulled out jokes and stories from his previous life, sending Cho into peals of laughter.
Her eyes sparkled when she laughed. She was radiant.
By the time they parted, Cho had even invited him to sit with her on the Hogwarts Express and promised to introduce him to her best friend.
...
August 31st.
Time slipped by like water.
Alex stood in his room, looking at the small suitcase at his feet. He gave a satisfied nod.
"Undetectable Extension Charm is amazing. Lugging around trunks like a Muggle peasant? Never again."
He had managed to pull the purple-rank charm in one of his daily free draws and had applied it to a simple suitcase. It wasn't perfect — just entry-level mastery — but it gave him more than enough room for his belongings.
He called for a cab and arrived at King's Cross Station in plenty of time.
When he saw a family walk briskly into a column between Platforms 9 and 10 and disappear, he followed suit, walking casually toward the pillar and slipping through.
His eyes widened.
The bright red engine of the Hogwarts Express was waiting beside the platform, steaming and gleaming in the morning sun. Parents hugged their children. Luggage and owls were shuffled around. The platform was alive with noise and magic.
Alex hopped aboard, picked a random compartment, and sat down. He planned to wait for the train to start before finding Cho.
Once they were on the move, he made his way through the carriages. It didn't take long — after passing just two compartments, he found her.
"Cho, long time no see," he said, smiling from the door.
She looked up and smiled brightly. Sitting across from her was a freckled girl with curly hair and an observant gaze.
"Alex, you made it!"
They hadn't seen each other in person since that day in Ollivander's, but they'd kept in touch through letters — delivered, of course, by Furry.
When Cho had first received one, she'd nearly fainted. A real phoenix flying into her bedroom window. She'd sent three letters in reply just to ask about Furry.
Alex stepped inside and sat beside her, nodding politely at the girl across from them.
"And who might this be?" he asked.
Cho quickly introduced them. "Alex, this is Marietta Edgecombe, my best friend."
"Marietta, this is Alex Gunter."
Marietta raised a brow. "Gunter? As in the Sacred Twenty-Eight Gunter?"
"My mom said that family vanished from the British wizarding scene ages ago. Only a few distant cousins left across the Atlantic."
"That's us," Alex replied easily. "I only found out after Professor Snape visited me. I grew up in a Muggle orphanage — never even knew I was a wizard until this summer."
He said it so smoothly you'd think it was someone else's story.
Marietta immediately looked apologetic.
But Cho... Cho's heart ached. She hadn't expected someone as bright and confident as Alex to have come from such a lonely place.
She reached out without thinking, her small hand sliding into his.
"I'm sorry, Alex." Her voice was soft. "You must've felt so alone..."
Her fingers trembled slightly in his palm, but she didn't let go.
Alex was touched. He hadn't felt sad about it — being an orphan wasn't the worst deal in his mind. At least he didn't have to pretend to love a bunch of fictional parents. But Cho's concern still warmed him.
He gently wrapped his hand around hers. Her skin was soft, warm. Their eyes met, and in that instant, something shifted between them — subtle but unmistakable.
Not wanting to linger on the heavy topic, Alex quickly changed the subject.
"So... tell me about Quidditch. You mentioned you play?"
That did the trick.
Cho lit up like Christmas. She started rattling off rules, positions, strategies — talking a mile a minute about broom models, pitch conditions, and her dream of becoming Ravenclaw's Seeker.
Alex just leaned back and listened, grinning.
In his past life, he'd thought flying on a broom looked incredible. In this one, he was definitely going to try it for himself. Especially since, in one of his daily card pulls, he'd scored a blue-tier Flight Experience card. Just needed a broom and a little practice.
Not long after, the trolley witch came rolling down the aisle, smiling cheerfully.
"Anything off the trolley, dears?"
Alex's eyes lit up. This was it — the legendary Hogwarts sweets.
"Everything. One of each."
The witch blinked. Then laughed, delighted, and piled a small mountain of sweets onto the compartment table.
Alex turned to Cho and Marietta. "I may have gone a little overboard... Want to help me finish this?"
Marietta grinned. "If you insist."
They tucked in together, laughing and chatting as the train rolled toward a brand new chapter of their magical lives.
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