The bell rang, and Lockhart snapped his book shut.
"Class dismissed!"
Before anyone could say another word, he hurried out the door.
Alexander leaned back in his chair and burst out laughing.
Cho covered her mouth, trying not to laugh too loudly.
"You scared him."
Alexander shrugged.
"I only asked questions."
They packed their things and headed toward the Great Hall for lunch.
Alexander sat down beside Cho and began eating quietly.
At the Gryffindor table, he noticed Ron tapping his wand.
Next to him stood a short, excited boy holding a camera.
Click!
A flash went off.
Colin Creevey, the new first-year, had just taken a picture of Harry.
Alexander paused while chewing.
Wait…
The hair sample Ginny gave me…
His eyes slowly moved toward Colin.
Colin immediately took another photo of Harry, practically bouncing with excitement.
Alexander sighed internally.
So he's the type that loves taking pictures…
Especially of Harry.
Alexander slowly lowered his head while eating.
Hopefully, he doesn't take too many pictures of me.
Sigh… the pain of being famous.
Suddenly—
SCREEEEEECH!
An owl flew wildly into the Great Hall.
Instead of dropping the letter neatly, it crashed directly onto the table.
Alexander burst out laughing immediately.
"That's the Errol delivery style."
The famous Weasley owl.
Always crashing into something.
Students nearby turned their heads when they noticed something strange.
The letter was bright red.
Alexander's grin widened.
"Oh, this is going to be good."
Everyone recognized it immediately.
A Howler.
An enchanted letter designed to scream the sender's voice at maximum volume.
Ron looked terrified.
The envelope suddenly burst open.
"RONALD WEASLEY!!!"
The voice of Molly Weasley exploded across the entire Great Hall.
Students jumped.
The entire room went silent as the Howler continued shouting about the flying car incident.
Alexander laughed so hard he almost fell off the bench.
After catching himself, he immediately pulled out his camera.
Click!
Click!
Click!
He took several pictures of Ron's horrified expression while the Howler screamed.
The twins are going to LOVE this, Alexander thought happily.
Ron looked like he wanted the floor to swallow him.
After lunch came a free period.
Alexander turned to Cho.
"I've got something to do."
Cho nodded.
"That's fine. I'm going to the library with my friends."
Alexander smiled.
"See you at dinner."
Once Cho left, He quickly ran into his room.
Calmly took a deep breath.
Clearing his mind from a relaxed student to a power-hungry student.
Alexander quietly pulled out the small diary.
Then he walked through the castle until he reached an empty corridor.
"I need a place to practice."
Soon, the hidden door appeared.
The Room of Requirement.
Alexander stepped inside.
He placed the diary on a table.
"Good afternoon, Tom."
The ink slowly appeared across the page.
The voice of Tom Riddle responded.
They began discussing spells again.
Tom analyzed Alexander's casting structure.
Alexander tested variations.
Shield layering.
Energy compression.
Spell control.
Hours passed quickly.
By the time Alexander checked the time, dinner was approaching.
"Thank you, Tom. I will see you later."
He closed the diary.
The diary was placed back into his bag.
Alexander arrived at the Great Hall just as dinner began.
Cho waved when she saw him.
"Over here!"
Alexander sat down beside her.
"Sorry," he said while grabbing food. "Had something to take care of."
Cho smiled.
"No problem."
They ate and chatted normally.
After dinner, Alexander met up with Fred, George, and Lee.
Waiting for them was Filch.
He handed them cleaning supplies.
Alexander looked at the others calmly.
"This time, push yourselves harder."
The twins groaned.
"Training?"
Alexander nodded.
"Improve your control."
They began cleaning the classroom.
But unlike before, Alexander made them move faster.
More precise.
More efficient.
They finished the first classroom in only 45 minutes.
"Next one," Alexander said immediately.
They rushed to the next room.
By the end of detention, they had finished cleaning the classroom in 30 minutes.
Lee collapsed onto a chair.
The twins looked ready to die.
"This is torture!" Fred complained.
George nodded dramatically.
"You're evil!"
Alexander crossed his arms.
"I'm doing this for your own good."
They groaned loudly.
"After one month of this," Alexander said calmly, "you'll thank me. Here is a little gift from me."
It was an enchanted photo of Ron getting yelled at by the Howler.
The Gryffindor trio somehow found the energy to start laughing.
They were still exhausted but only slightly annoyed at Alexander.
Alexander didn't rush to go to bed.
Instead, he went to the Room of Requirement with the diary.
More spell practice began.
More theories are being discussed.
More improvements.
Only when his body finally felt tired did Alexander return to his room.
He placed the diary on his desk and glanced at the clock.
"Four hours of sleep is plenty."
He drank one of the potions his friend Kyle had given him and lay down in bed.
Before closing his eyes, he murmured.
"I need to use Tom as much as possible before things start getting messy."
Within seconds—
He was asleep.
Morning light filled the dormitory.
Alexander was suddenly shaken awake.
"Oi! Wake up!"
His roommates were already getting dressed.
"Breakfast!"
Alexander slowly sat up.
Another day at Hogwarts was beginning.