Alexander finished the last of his food and asked Cho, who was next to him.
"Cho, do you have class this afternoon?"
Cho nodded.
"Yes. Arithmancy."
She made a small, annoyed face.
"I was reading the textbook earlier… and it was really confusing."
Alexander immediately laughed.
"Yeah… it involves numbers."
He shook his head.
"Typical Asian parents."
Cho blinked for a second before laughing too.
"You're right!"
They both laughed because it was completely true.
Alexander's parents had strongly suggested Arithmancy when he first chose his electives.
But Alexander refused.
Learning math inside a magic school?
Absolutely not.
After arguing for a while, his parents eventually gave up and let him choose whatever electives he wanted.
Alexander thought about it and said.
"Well… if you want, I can help a little."
Cho's eyes brightened.
"Really?!"
Alexander nodded.
"Pull out the textbook."
Cho immediately took it out of her bag and made a copy.
Alexander picked it up.
"I'll read it later. If I understand it, I'll help you."
Cho smiled warmly.
"Thank you."
Alexander stood up.
"Well, I'm going to practice."
He leaned down and gently kissed her forehead.
"Have fun in class, and I will see you at dinner."
He walked away, waving goodbye to her.
Her face slowly turned red.
Around her, students began whispering.
"Did you see that?"
"They're doing it again."
"Public affection…"
Cho quickly gathered her things and hurried away toward class, embarrassed.
Alexander headed straight for the Room of Requirement.
Once inside, he pulled out the diary.
The familiar conversation with Tom began.
They talked about spells.
Spell combinations.
Training plans.
Dueling advice.
Time passed quickly.
Alexander practiced relentlessly.
Eventually, dinner time approached.
As he walked to the Great Hall, Alexander thought quietly to himself.
Man… having Tom around is awesome.
It's like having a cheat.
He chuckled slightly.
He's like my temporary golden finger.
Tom was undeniably evil.
But this younger version trapped inside the diary was brilliant.
Extremely knowledgeable.
Incredibly talented.
Alexander sighed.
If only I had my own cheat.
A system or something.
Life would be easier.
He thought about all the protagonists in stories who had those advantages.
Systems.
Cheats.
Alexander shook his head.
I'm really jealous of those cheaters.
But then he paused.
They usually don't have families.
Most of them are orphans.
His expression softened.
I would never trade my parents for a cheat.
His parents had always supported him.
Encouraged him.
Raised him well.
Alexander smiled.
Family over golden finger.
Alexander sat down beside Cho in the Great Hall.
He smiled at her and gave her a quick kiss.
Cho's face immediately turned red.
"Stop doing that!"
She whispered urgently.
"People keep staring and talking about us!"
Alexander shrugged.
"So what?"
"They're just jealous."
He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her.
The whispering around them increased immediately.
After about a minute, Alexander let go.
"See?"
"Who cares?"
Cho lowered her voice.
"I care..."
"Let's try to keep it private."
Alexander sighed dramatically.
"Fine."
He smirked.
"I'll use a Disillusionment Charm next time."
Cho rolled her eyes.
They began eating.
While eating, Cho started complaining.
"Arithmancy is so hard."
"The numbers don't make sense."
Alexander nodded.
"I'll study it tonight."
"I'll help you tomorrow."
Cho smiled slightly.
"Thank you."
After dinner, Alexander met the twins and Lee for detention.
Something felt different today.
Filch looked… optimistic.
He happily handed them cleaning supplies.
He even helped carry some of the equipment.
Alexander immediately understood.
People were probably praising Filch.
The classrooms they had cleaned were spotless.
Normally, the house-elves only did quick maintenance cleaning.
But Alexander, the twins, and Jordan were doing a deep clean in every classroom they cleaned.
Filch was receiving credit.
Alexander only smiled and didn't care about it.
Their detention had accidentally improved Filch's reputation.
They spent the next couple of hours cleaning classrooms again.
Their speed and control had improved drastically.
Spells were sharper.
Movements were smoother.
Efficiency was rising after every detention.
After detention ended, the twins and Jordan ran off.
"We're playing hide-and-seek!"
Alexander waved them away.
"I'm practicing."
They disappeared down the corridor laughing.
Alexander returned to the Room of Requirement.
When he became tired from spell practice, he remembered the Arithmancy textbook.
He sat down and started reading.
The numbers.
Magical formulas.
Symbolic equations.
Alexander frowned.
"Yeah… this is confusing."
He opened the diary.
"Tom, do you know anything about Arithmancy?"
To Alexander's surprise—
Tom actually did.
Tom began explaining concepts.
Magical number patterns.
Rune equations.
How numbers influenced spell structure.
Alexander asked questions.
Tom answered.
Everything Cho had struggled with earlier suddenly made sense.
Alexander leaned back and smiled.
"Thanks, Tom."
Then he continued practicing spells deep into the night.