Higgs nodded in agreement. “Exactly. It’s difficult to gather solid evidence, and any witnesses o have a spotless reputation or some degree of authority. Now, thanks to Yaxley using the Killing Curse on you, those little pure-blood wizards are stuck. If they want to cim you coerced them, they’ll have to admit to ambushing you. And if they do that, they’re basically fessing to being aplices to an attempted murder.”

  Alex chuckled, the ers of his lips curling into a sly smile. “Exactly. If they push me too far, the worst I’ll face is expulsion, but they’ll be risking Azkaban. And holy, I could just pin the whole operation on Rozier. After all, he’s the one who hahe payments. There’s no evidence directly linkio any of it. So, if you were in their position, what choice would you make?”

  Vivian inhaled sharply, her eyes wide. “So, those pure-blood wizards are basically under your trol now?”

  “That depends,” Alex replied with a shrug. “If they behave, I won’t push them too hard. But if they snap under pressure, who knows? I’m not ied in bleeding them dry with so-called prote fees anyway. What I really want is access to the knowledge locked away in their pure-blood family archives. Most of those kids don’t even have much money. My pn is simple—start with a price they ’t afford, then offer a more ‘reasonable’ alternative. Even an idiot knows which deal to take.”

  Higgs’s impression of Alex deepehoughtful, calg, and ruthless. Those pure-blood wizards had no idea who they were messing with—it was almost funny. Vivian, oher hand, found herself grudgingly impressed. Alex had mao take down someone like Amelia, who had always funted her looks and status. Now, with Alex around, she felt safer. No one would dare to bully her again.

  “By the way,” Vivian said, her voice brightening. “With those pure-blood brats out of the picture, does that mean the ittee is finished? we bring back the poker club? Oh, and I finally try out for the Quidditch team?”

  Alex smirked. “That’s up to Higgs. I’ll handle keeping an eye on those pure-bloods, but I’ve got other things to focus on.”

  Higgs nodded. “No problem. The half-bloods and others in Slytherin have had enough of those pure-blood snobs. Without their interference, I’m sure things will settle down soon.”With the heavy topics out of the way, the group shifted gears to enjoy the Christmas season. Alex even prepared a meal, and the three shared a warm aive dinner in the cozy .

  The m, the holidays began in ear. Vivian and Higgs left Hogwarts early via the Floo work, heading home to spend Christmas with their families. Alex, meanwhile, stayed behind. With the i now behind him, he took time to refle the events and carefully analyzed the battle from both his perspective and the enemy’s.

  “Some of my preparations didn’t even e into py,” Alex muttered to himself as he spread a rge piece of part across his desk. Using a quill, he begag the battlefield from memory, marking each position.

  “Their bat skills, preparation, and coordination were all g. This could be a side effect of Hogwarts’ stantly ging Defense Against the Dark Arts professors. The quality of teag has been insistent, leaving students unprepared for real duels. Take Professetty, for example. All he’s good at is making every css unbearably dull.”

  Alex tapped the part thoughtfully. “So, if I were in Yaxley’s position, how would I handle someone like me? Assuming no special gear and limited preparation, is there a tactical approach that could succeed?”

  He drew more diagrams, breaking down hypothetical formations. “They had 17 people total—five sixth ah-years, four fifth-years, a third and fourth-years. The key mistake was arranging everyone in a line. A triangur or trapezoidal formation would’ve worked better, creating inner and outer defensive circles.”

  He began assigning hypothetical roles. “Each team would have a senior wizard as the leader. Groups of three to five would handle specific tasks: four on defense, one or two on offense, and the rest focused on interference. An additional team could serve as an anti-jamming unit.”

  tinuing, he pnned out the sequence of attacks. “At the start of the battle, the senior wizards should cast enhanced sensory spells on themselves. If I, or someone like me, were in their encirclement, I’d naturally try to break through. Their main job should’ve been to force me baside.”

  “Assuming the enemy breaks through the first yer of the encirclement and takes down the front-line pyer like yesterday, the two remaining pyers in the back still unch a follow-up attack,” Alex murmured to himself, his quill scratg against part as he refined his tactiotes.

  “In that sario, if the enemy casts Obscurifumus to obscure everyone’s vision, the senior wizards could rely on the Heightened Senses spell to locate the target. The anti-jamming team would o respond quickly by using a Depulso to disperse the fog. Meanwhile, the other team members should immediately cease fire and form a back-to-back triangur defensive formation to avoid surprise attacks.”

  Alex leaned bad tapped the part with his quill. “The senior wizards rep real-time enemy positions could guide the interfereeam to cast Sticky-Foot Jinxes in the enemy’s dire, slowing their movements. Meanwhile, probing spells could test the enemy’s position, and the defenders could remain on standby, ready to shield against any ining attacks—whether from the enemy or friendly fire.”

  “If the enemy closes in or successfully attacks a team, the affected group must swittirely to defense, immediately alert the others, a up a fnking maneuver,” Alex tinued, scribbling down strategies. “If they fail their sneak attad try to force a quick resolution, I might resort to infrasoniterferealismans. I only had two talismans with me at the time, so assuming I used them to elimiwo teams, ‘Alex’—withed attack tools—wouldn’t stand a ce against three remaining teams whose vision has recovered.”

  He paused, rolling the quill between his fingers as he reviewed the pn. “From there, it’s all about sustained pressure. Focused attacks paired with positioning and interference spells would press the enemy’s space. If they try to break free using powerful area-effect spells, it’d leave them exposed to ters. Eventually, they’d either be taken down or drained of magic.”

  He sighed, dropping the quill onto the desk. “If Yaxley and his group had beeer prepared, more coordinated, and used a strategy like this… my ces of winning would’ve been slim.”

  Repying the battle in his head for the huh time, Alex couldn’t help but mutter, “I’m still too weak. Too reckless. I went into a fight without guaranteeing at least a 90% ce of success. That ’t happen again.” His eyes drifted to the sketches of the battlefield. “I also o refine my tactical terrain models.”

  He grabbed a fresh piece of part and started listing improvements. “First, my Phase Shoes need anti-skid and anti-adhesion enhas. My defealismans worked, but if I were under trated fire, one wouldn’t be enough. I also need more infrasonic talismans, along with a broader range of interfereools. Development on those o speed up.”