After detention, the four of them quietly ran through the corridors, making their way to meet Peeves.
The poltergeist appeared upside down from the ceiling with a loud cackle.
"Hello, Young Master Chen. What took you so long?"
Alexander rolled his eyes.
"We had detention."
"Now, where are the pictures?"
Peeves pulled out the stack of photographs he had taken earlier during the chaos.
Alexander pulled out potions, and they started to make enchanted photographs.
Soon, a large pile of fully enchanted photos sat between them.
Alexander took his share, and they took theirs.
"Perfect start of the school year," Fred said.
Lee stretched and yawned.
"I'm exhausted."
"Same, I am, too," said George.
That night, they didn't play hide-and-seek and went to sleep.
During breakfast, the Great Hall buzzed with chatter about last night.
Alexander and Cho are eating together.
Alexander pulled out his stack of enchanted photos and put them on the table.
Cho's eyes widened.
"Oh wow!"
"Let's make copies."
Within minutes, they had duplicated several enchanted photos.
Just as they finished, owls began flying into the Great Hall.
A familiar owl dropped two letters onto the table.
"One for you," Cho said.
Alexander opened his first.
Inside was a letter from his parents.
Dear Our Troublemaking Son,
We received the letter from Hogwarts yesterday. The incident does not surprise us in the slightest. Try to stay out of trouble. Your dad says, at least don't get caught next time.
— Your Loving Mom and Dad
Alexander chuckled.
"Sounds about right."
Cho opened hers.
Her expression softened.
"My parents are just happy I'm safe."
She skimmed the rest.
"And… they're praising you again."
Alexander laughed.
"That's becoming a trend."
They quickly wrote responses, attaching a few enchanted photos to their letters.
While sealing the envelopes, Alexander heard a lot of noise.
He looked over.
At the Gryffindor table, Fred, George, and Lee.
The trio was enthusiastically showing students enchanted photographs.
Coins were already piling up.
Alexander watched them while eating.
Cho followed his gaze and saw the small business operation.
"They're so much fun selling them."
Alexander nodded.
"They just love money."
He stopped looking and focused on finishing his breakfast.
After breakfast, they headed to the Owlery.
The cool morning wind blew through the open tower as dozens of owls hooted and shifted on their perches.
Alexander attached the letters and photos to his owl.
Cho sent hers as well.
Within seconds, both owls disappeared into the bright morning sky.
"Class time," Alexander said.
Professor Binns' lecture began exactly as expected.
Monotone.
Endless.
And incredibly boring.
Alexander rested his head on his arms.
He fell asleep immediately.
Beside him, Cho quietly practiced wand movements for her Transfiguration exercises, occasionally glancing at her notes.
The class lecture continued until the bell rang.
Cho gently nudged Alexander.
"Wake up."
Alexander lifted his head slowly.
"Best nap ever."
They walked toward their next class, expecting the usual dungeon classroom.
Instead, they entered a bright room covered wall-to-wall with portraits.
Every portrait showed the same smiling wizard.
Gilderoy Lockhart.
Alexander stopped for a moment and muttered.
"…I forgot about him..."
Students filled the seats.
Soon, the door swung open, and Lockhart walked in with a big smile on his face.
He glanced proudly at his portraits.
"Good day, class!"
He struck a pose.
"I am Professor Gilderoy Lockhart, your new professor for Defense Against the Dark Arts."
He began pacing.
"I have won many prestigious awards, such as the Order of Merlin, Third Class. I am an honorary member of the Dark Force Defence League, and winner of Witch Weekly's Most Charming Smile Award five times in a row!"
Several girls in the classroom looked completely enchanted.
Alexander rolled his eyes.
Everyone had already heard about yesterday's disaster with the Cornish Pixies.
Lockhart continued talking about his books and himself.
After a few minutes of being bored by Lockhart.
Alexander slowly raised his hand.
Lockhart noticed.
"Oh! Yes, Mr. Chen!"
He smiled widely.
"I must say, marvelous show you put on the other day. I very much enjoyed how you cast Protego Maxima. Impressive work."
Alexander nodded politely.
"Thank you, professor. It was nothing."
Lockhart beamed.
"Did you have a question?"
Alexander leaned slightly forward.
"Yes, professor. In your book Break with a Banshee, you mentioned calming one in Ireland. What spell did you use to suppress the sound waves of the scream?"
The classroom became quiet.
Alexander continued calmly.
"I've read that most shielding charms fail against a Banshee's wail. I was curious about the counter-spell."
Lockhart froze.
A tiny bead of sweat appeared on his forehead.
"Ah… yes… well…"
He chuckled nervously.
"Did I not mention it in the book?"
Alexander shook his head.
"No, you did not. I would love to learn the spell. It would help improve my Protego spell layering."
Lockhart hesitated.
"Well… it is a very advanced spell. Perhaps I will teach it later. But for now—let us continue with the book!"
He quickly changed the topic.
Cho leaned over and whispered.
"Why are you asking questions? You only do that when you're interested in something."
Alexander smiled faintly.
"Professor Lockhart just dodged my question. And after yesterday's incident…"
He whispered back.
"I found a new game to play with this professor."
Cho blinked.
"…Oh no."
Alexander slowly raised his hand again.
Lockhart noticed.
"Yes, Mr. Chen?"
Alexander asked calmly.
"Yesterday I heard about the Cornish Pixies incident. Why didn't you use a wide-area freezing charm instead of trying to capture them individually? That would have prevented the chaos and avoided needing Ms. Granger to cast one."
Lockhart's smile twitched.
He started sweating more noticeably now.
"Well… everything turned out fine in the end. No need to dwell on the past!"
He quickly resumed his lecture.
Alexander raised his hand again.
Lockhart immediately ignored it.
Alexander waited.
Five minutes passed.
He lowered his hand.
A wide smile slowly spread across his face as he stared directly at Lockhart.
For the rest of the class, Lockhart avoided looking in Alexander's direction.