With a clearer dire, Alex returo the Slytherin on room. He found Rozier and instructed him to spread the word among the younger pure-blood wizards: any magic books reted to blood magic that Alex hadn’t already read could be traded for a month’s exemption from the prote fee.

  The offer was well-received. Many of the young wizards, who had initially feared Alex’s temper, were relieved. He had not retaliated after the previous attack, and the books they provided were always returned in good dition. Some even saw the deal as easy money—giving away books they rarely used in exge for avoiding Alex’s “fees.”

  Unbeknownst to them, Alex was quietly building a signifit colle. Over the few months, he amassed hundreds of Galleons, rare alchemy materials, and a growing library of books. His purse, once light, now brimmed with wealth and resources.

  Alex’s research alsressed steadily. After several optimizations, his incapacity spell became signifitly more effective. His energy ste spell had moved to the experimental phase, though measuring a wizard’s magic reserves remained in the accumution stage. Despite receiving ideas from other schors, he found no direct solutions. Even professor Bones couldn’t offer much assistance.

  The biggest hurdle was live experimentatioing on humans at Hogwarts was out of the question, and Alex didn’t dare use himself as a subject. Meanwhile, Alex ramped up training for his group after the ret duel. Their high-iy regimen pushed everyoo their limits, leaving them physically and magically drained by the end of each day. pints were rampant, especially from Vivian, who grumbled that she was being “mentally tortured” by Professenti during css and “physically tortured” by Alex after. Her once-stant chatter had dwindled.

  “Finally, some peace,” Alex remarked one evening, exging a knowing grin with Charles. “At least we don’t have to listen to her rambling.”

  Despite the pints, the results were undeniable. Alex’s data showed clear improvements in magic perception, trol, and reserves among the traihe special training yielded more tangible results than routine exercises, giving Alex valuable experimental data. However, the accuracy of his measurements still left much to be desired, and true quantitative researagic reserves remained elusive.

  Time flew by, and the final exams arrived as scheduled. As expected, Alex passed with top honors, his results fwless and unsurprising. What did surprise everyone, however, was Vivian’s performance. After months of grueling training, she mao score an E in most subjects and even earned an O in Charms. Firl who used to scrape by with Alex’s tut, it was a dramatic improvement.

  At the end of every semester, Vivian usually dreaded her results. In previous years, she’d barely passed, often only because of Alex’s st-minute lessons. But this time, she held her head high, her grades shog even Professors Flitwid Magall, who began to wonder if the school gossip queen had finally matured.

  On the Hogwarts Express heading home, Vivian ractically bursting with pride. “Did you see Professor Flitwick’s face when I repaired that clock with the Mending Charm? Absolutely priceless!” she said excitedly, reting the moment to Charles and Higgs for what felt like the huh time.

  Alex rolled his eyes. “That’s the eighth time you’ve mentio,” he muttered. He still couldn’t believe Flitwick had used the same clock Alex had gifted him two years ago for the exam—only to have it mysteriously smashed to pieces. “What is it with Flitwid clocks? Does he just enjoy breaking them?”

  “Well, anyway…” Alex added nontly, “it just proves the training pn worked. school year, we’ll increase the iy.”

  Vivian froze, clearly regretting her big mouth. “Uh…”

  Charles snorted. “You really walked into that orying to steer the versation away from extra training, he said, “Anyway, we talk about how ridiculous Professenti was this year? For the Defense Against the Dark Arts final, he made us face Boggarts. Right before the holidays! Who wants to deal with something that depressing right before vacation?”

  Alex smirked at the memory. “Don’t remind me. My Boggart turned into a giant bowl of pudding staring at the stars. It still makes my stomach just thinking about it.”

  Vivian ughed, quickly jumping into the versation. “Seriously! Fag a Boggart is supposed to be fun, but Genti somehow made it miserable. How does he even do that?”

  The group specuted about the professor’s attitude. Alex remembered hearing romour that Genti’s sour demeanht have something to do with the infamous curse on the Defense Against the Dark Arts position. Apparently, Genti hadn’t always been like this.

  As the train rattled on, Charles turo Alex. “So, what are your pns for the summer? Want to e stay at my pce? My mom’s been asking about you.”

  Alex shook his head. “Thanks, but I already promised Mrs. Longbottom I’d spend the summer with her. It’s not easy for her, managing everything on her own. I o help out.”

  Charles’ face fell. “That’s kind of you.” His tone darkened as he added, “The Travers family’s murderer is still walking free, you know. It makes my blood boil.”

  Alex raised an eyebrow. “Travers?” He recalled a grim-looking man he’d once seen at the train station.

  Charles nodded bitterly. “Yeah. They attacked my family twice. …” Charles’ voice cracked, “His brother pulled some strings to get him off the hook,” Charles tinued, anger simmering in his voice. “They cimed he was uhe Imperius Curse. What rubbish. His brother, Torquil Travers, is on the Wizengamot cil. He used his position to sweep everything uhe rug.”

  “What’s his name again?” Alex asked quietly.

  “Torquil Travers,” Charles spat. “Named after some aor who used to run the Department of Magical Law Enfort. Makes me sick.”

  “Got it.” Alex’s voice was calm, but his eyes narrowed ever so slightly.

  Higgs, watg Alex closely, felt a chill run down his spine. Something about the way Alex asked questio him uneasy. Soon, the train pulled into the station. As they stepped onto the ptform, Alex turo his friends. “Same deal as st year—don’t sck off on your training during the summer. Whe back, I’ll check your progress. If anyone falls behind, don’t expect me to go easy on you.”

  His friends nodded relutly. Even Higgs, who had spent the year enduring Alex’s intense regime pelled to agree. As Alex made his way through the bustling ptform, he thought about the promise he had made to Mrs. Longbottom. Neville’s grandmother had done so much, managing the family in the wake edy. Alex felt it was his responsibility to support her however he could.

  Still, his mind lingered on the orquil Travers. The memory of that grim-faced man haunted him. Alex couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more to uncover. “I’ll deal with him,” Alex muttered to himself. For now, though, he had promises to keep and pns to set in motion.

  Once again, he found himself taking the Knight Bus, this time heading to the quaint vilge of Ottery St. Catchpole. "I really o find time to learn Apparition," Alex muttered as the bus jolted violently, making his stomach . "This bus is going to make me sick."

  Still, the thought of learning Apparition wasirely f. The risks of practig it alone were far too high; he’d need someoo guide him through the process. For now, the Knight Bus would have to do.