The small hut had everything he needed for a fortable retreat from the castle.

  From that point on, Alex began splitting his time between the Slytherin on room and Hagrid’s . His occasional absences from the castle didn’t go unnoticed—Vivian, in particur, often found herself searg for him.

  One day, after a long History of Magic lesson, Alex didn’t head to Hagrid’s right away. Instead, he made his way to an upper-floor boys’ bathroom, where someone was waiting for him.

  "Rozier, you’re right on time," Alex said with a slight smile, eyeing the nervous young man in front of him, Reginald Rozier.

  "Alex… please," Rozier stammered, his face filled with unease. "Is there any way you’d let me go?"

  Alex stepped closer, pg a firm hand on Rozier’s shoulder, his smile widening. "Let you go? Rozier, I think you’re being dramatic. Look, I haven’t treated you poorly, have I? With your brone, your family’s succession prospects are looking brighter. But let’s get down to business—did y this month’s payment?"

  Rozier’s hands shook as he produced a small pouch. "I—I… I didn’t have the money, so I brought a few rare magic books from my family’s colle instead. Will this settle the debt?"

  Alex arched a brow, gng at the poud the titles of the books. As Alex took the books from Rozier, he flipped through them quickly. He leased to discover four texts he hadn’t seen before: two on dark magie on advanced potions, and another—a true gem—a rus filled with rare and intricate rune bination formus.

  "These four books will cover your prote fees for the four months," Alex said, satisfied. "I’ll make copies aurn the inals to you. See? I’m fair about this." He grinned.

  Rozier’s tense shoulders rexed at Alex’s reassurance, and he quickly agreed with a nod, relieved that their transa seemed to be ending without i.

  "So, how’s Travers?" Alex asked casually, tug the books into his bag. "Is he still causing trouble, or has he finally learo leave me alone? Remember, st time, he spent the whole afternoon lying in the Owlery after I taught him a lesson."

  Rozier shook his head. "Travers has tried to find you a few times, but you’re never around. Except for csses, it’s like you vanish into thin air. Lately, he’s been hanging out with Wilkes and Yaxley, plotting some kind of scheme against the Gryffindors."

  Alex chuckled, remembering how he’d seen the Slytherins and Gryffindors’ skirmishes turn more into pranks than real battles. He had even warned Charles once, only to find out ter that the so-called fights were little more than childish antics. "Well, good for him. Let them squabble. I’m not ied."

  With that, he turned back to Rozier. "You’re doing well, Rozier. If you run into arouble, you e to me. I don’t take prote fees lightly—I’ll keep my end of the deal."

  Rozier looked at Alex, clearly still wary. He forced a polite nod before hurriedly retreating, hoping to distance himself from Alex as soon as possible.

  Returning to his hut, Alex settled in and began examining the new books. As he flipped through one of the dark magic texts, he found a se dedicated to blood magic. He was surprised by the depth of knowledge it tained, and one particur potion caught his eye: the “Beserk Potion,” officially called Dragon’s Fury Blood Elixir.

  Acc to the his forbidden potion was made by infusing dragon blood with a mix of votile ingredients, creating a brew that granted extreme magical power aance, along with enhanced physical strength. However, the effects were short-lived and came with severe side effects—afterward, the user would suffer dangerous blood loss and a risk of perma madness.

  "It’s no wonder Evan Rozier had this kind of potion," Alex muttered, scoffing at the thought. "Either he was incredibly bold or incredibly foolish to drink something like this."

  Putting the potion book aside, Alex prepared to make copies of the texts. Using a direct duplication spell wasn’t practical; the copied words would eventually fade as the magic dissipated. Instead, he took out bnk part and used the Text Transcription Charm, which allowed the tent to be transferred permaly. It was tedious, but it allowed Alex to practice his spellwork, and he ehe process.

  Thankfully, these were not cursed books, which could be a hazard in wizarding families’ colles. He’d heard rumors of the So of a Sorcerer, a cursed poetry book that caused anyone who read it to only speak in rhymes. The thought reminded him of the importance of learning curse-breaking, a skill that would be invaluable iure.

  With that goal in mind, Alex turo his ruudies, using his rune disk to practid experiment with rune binations from the Magie Colle. He could feel his trol improving, and his uanding of magic deepening. His skill with the Impediment Obstacle charm, for instance, had advao the point where he could shape it into a dense, fist-sized ball. He was now experimenting with making it explode on impact, which would signifitly increase its potential as a defeool.

  Two weeks ter, during a Transfiguration css, Professonagall was expining the intricacies of Transformation versus Transfiguration, emphasizing the differences and safety precautions. Alex summed up the lecture in his mind: Transformation is a plete ge of the object, while Transfiguration focuses on specific parts. Yet, Professonagall tinued with detailed expnations for nearly an hour.

  "All right, css dismissed. lesson, you’ll start transf mito snuff boxes, which will require rigorous practice. This may even be part of your final exams," she added pointedly.

  Alex smirked, thinking, May? Magall, we all know that means definitely.

  Just as he ag up to head back to his hut, Professonagall stopped him. Ohe room was clear, she approached him with a serious expression.

  "Alex, the Headmaster wants to see you."