The next day, Halloween pranks continued across the castle.
Laughter echoed through the stone corridors.
Sudden screams rang out when unsuspecting students triggered enchanted tricks hidden in doorways, staircases, and even suits of armor.
Bats made of illusion magic occasionally swooped through the halls, causing first years to duck and older students to laugh.
Hogwarts was still a playground of chaos.
Students whispered and speculated endlessly.
Some blamed the twins.
Others suspected Peeves.
Many secretly wondered if Alexander was behind everything again.
At the same time, another rumor quietly spread through the castle.
Whispers about the Heir of Slytherin.
Most students dismissed it as gossip or a Halloween story meant to scare younger students. After all, strange rumors appeared every year around this time.
Alexander barely paid attention to it.
Instead, he finally found a moment of peace during lunch.
Before lunch, he ran to his room.
He called out for Silver and Copper.
"Hey, Silver and Copper, are you two busy?"
"No, Young Master, Silver is never too busy," Silver replied.
"Young Master, we just finished organizing your photos," Copper said.
Copper handed him a small stack of enchanted photos.
The enchanted photos they had taken during his Hogsmeade date with Cho.
Alexander asked Silver and Copper to follow and take pictures.
The enchanted photos had images that moved smoothly within the frames, capturing different moments from that day—walking through the village, sharing sweets, and laughing together.
Pleased, he gave the two house-elves a pat on the head.
"Good job guys! You two never let me down!"
The two house elves started to tear up a bit.
"We are the best photographers, Young Master!" said Silver as she wiped away her tears.
"Copper made sure we had the perfect angles!" said Copper as he wiped his tears away too.
Alexander laughed and said.
"I have to see Cho now! See you guys."
He pocketed the photos and ran down to the Great Hall.
The two house-elves happily went back into the suitcase.
Alexander quickly sat down next to Cho at the Ravenclaw table.
"Cho," he said out of breath.
Cho Chang looked up curiously.
"Why are you out of breath? Did you run here?"
Alexander smiled at her and slid the photos toward her.
She picked them up to look at them, and her eyes widened as she watched each photo.
Each enchanted photograph showed a happy memory from their date.
Cho smiled brightly.
"I love them."
She carefully gathered the pictures and kept them.
Alexander chuckled.
"For our next date this weekend," he said lightly, "no pictures."
Cho laughed softly.
"This is enough."
Alexander smiled.
That moment alone made the chaos of the past week worth it.
The rest of the week passed quickly.
Packages kept arriving at the castle.
Peeves and the twins checked every package, because it was the supplies for the Halloween show.
Alexander enchanted many of the items personally.
Meanwhile, the twins kept selling prank items like crazy. Their reputation had grown significantly after last year's Halloween spectacle.
The entire castle was buzzing with excitement.
At the same time, Alexander continued practicing spells and studying ancient runes late into the night.
But one thing started to annoy him more as time passed.
The Dueling Club.
It had grown far larger than he expected.
Managing it required constant supervision, teaching, organizing matches, settling disputes, creating new rules, and maintaining order.
Every gathering drained him completely.
Alexander often returned to his room exhausted.
This past week alone, he started sleeping more than practicing.
He still enjoyed running the club, but this year was supposed to be about something else.
Absorbing the knowledge of Tom Riddle and obtaining the Basilisk.
During one evening at the Dueling Club, Alexander was thinking while watching the matches.
How to balance his schedule better, or how to get more time.
The Time-Turner.
If he could get one, he could easily double his study time, but the idea quickly was dropped.
Time was extremely dangerous.
Messing with it could create unpredictable consequences.
Alexander already knew he was creating small changes in history by being alive.
The butterfly effect was real.
He didn't want to risk making things worse.
He shook his head and pushed the idea away.
Better to rely on hard work.
Alexander stopped thinking and went to lecture the first-year students.
Days passed.
Then weeks.
Time seemed to move faster than usual.
Soon, it was the night before Halloween.
Inside a hidden classroom deep within the castle, four students gathered around a large table filled with enchanted items.
Alexander.
The twins.
And Lee.
Alexander crossed his arms.
"Is everything ready?"
The twins grinned.
Fred Weasley leaned against the table.
"Everything is exactly where you wanted it to be."
Beside him, George Weasley nodded.
"No one noticed anything."
Fred added with a laugh.
"Some professors even think it's part of the Halloween decorations."
Lee stepped forward excitedly.
"And Peeves is ready too."
Alexander smiled slightly.
"Perfect."
He looked around the room one last time.
"Let's give Hogwarts another legendary night."
The four of them cheered quietly before leaving the room.
Alexander went his own way through the castle corridors.
Meanwhile, the twins and Lee immediately started running through the hallways.
Their next game had begun.
Hide-and-seek.
Their opponents?
Filch and his ever-watchful cat, Mrs. Norris.
As they sprinted around a corner, Lee laughed breathlessly.
"I can't believe you guys actually invited me to join!"
The twins ran beside him.
"You've asked before," George said.
"And we always said no," Fred added.
Jordan nodded.
"Exactly!"
Fred smirked.
"Well, this wasn't our idea."
George finished the thought.
"We only add to the chaos."
Jordan blinked.
"You mean Chen?"
The twins both nodded.
"He probably wanted to thank you."
George chuckled.
"You know how much he hates the Sorting Hat."
Lee burst out laughing.
"Can I keep helping after this?"
Fred glanced at George.
George shrugged.
"Maybe."
Fred pointed at him.
"But don't mess up tomorrow."
George nodded seriously.
"We put our reputation on the line for you."
Lee grinned confidently.
"No problem."
He sprinted ahead.
"This is going to be fun!"
Their laughter echoed through the ancient halls of Hogwarts.
Tomorrow night…
The real show would begin.