Disclaimer: The world of Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling.
Magic Break Can't Be Seen
He's alive, Daphne thought, relief spreading through her quicker than a Cheering Charm. A heavy weight in her belly that she didn't know she carried vanished. For the last two days, she had kept her precious tablet, the gift Alexander had given her over a year ago, close to her in the hopes he would somehow call. And now he did.
Alexander looked exhausted as if he hadn't slept for the last few days. Every few seconds, a tremor would wrack his frame, but he didn't seem to notice it. But it was his eyes, unfriendly to so many, looking so relieved to see her that brought Daphne the greatest comfort. He wasn't angry with her.
"It's good to see you, Daphne," Alexander said after a long moment of silence passed them by. Daphne almost flinched.
"Alex, I'm sorry," she whispered, mindful of the other Slytherins in her dorm room. Even with Silencing Charms, she wasn't chancing being overheard. "I wish I could have helped you."
Alexander shook his head. "You had to watch out for your sister. Having to rescue you while escaping prison myself would have been one trouble too many. Especially after that bitch Umbridge's Crucios," he muttered.
Daphne blanched. "Are you alright? Do you need a healer?"
"Would a healer actually see a Mudblood right now?" was Alexander's cutting reply. Daphne flinched.
"I'm sorry," she said. Alexander barely twitched. "I understand why you had to kill my father now. I met him, you know, the Dark Lord. It was horrifying."
Alexander stared at her expectantly, patiently waiting for her to say more. Daphne wondered what was going through his terrifyingly brilliant mind, what he thought of her at that moment, if he believed her.
Swallowing down the bitterness of that thought, she continued. "He can look at you and just know things. It's not Legimincy, my Occlumency would have felt an attack, but it's like all your secrets are laid bare. On the first day of summer holidays, I was brought before him, and he asked me if I was worthy of taking his mark."
Daphne shuddered. "Before I even opened my mouth, he knew I would lie. He asked me why I would lie to him, was I not there to see the restoration of Pure-blood supremacy? Would things not get better with Pure-bloods in their proper place over muggles?"
The Dark Lord had been sitting on a throne when he said this. At his feet lay the freshly bleeding corpses of two muggles, teenagers, that bore a striking resemblance to Potter. It was a most upsetting sight.
"I knew I had to give up something," Daphne said, "and I knew it would spell both our dooms if I were to talk of your achievements, your research. Instead, I told the Dark Lord we dated."
"And he didn't say or do anything about that?" Alexander said once it became clear that Daphne didn't know what to say next. The skepticism was clear in his voice.
She shook her head as she suppressed a cringe. "It was horrifying. He beckoned me closer and hugged me, like a father offering his daughter consoling. His hand on my head felt like a heavy stone, threatening to smash open my skull. He told me that even though I had made mistakes, I could repent and still join him."
"I told him I wasn't worthy. He laughed, saying no one was, but told me the offer would be made again upon my graduation from Hogwarts. He told me that he knew I'd make the right choice. Alex, I can't-"
"The plan to remove you and Astoria is still in place," Alexander said, cutting her off. Relief flew through Daphne once again but was dashed at his next words. "Regardless of your personal feelings for me, I keep my promises. Astoria won't pay for my mistakes."
"Alex, you didn't make a mistake, I did," Daphne said.
"I killed your father, Daphne."
Daphne breathed in a deep, shaky breath, before exhaling it in one go. "You did. And I'll never forget that. But you didn't do it out of cruelty. And having met the Dark Lord..."
"You realize the necessity of it."
The words were hard and cruel, but Daphne still nodded her head. "Astoria doesn't know. Mother assumed it was one of the Aurors and is quite cross with them. But I don't think I could ever tell them the truth. They wouldn't understand."
Alexander was silent at that. Daphne desperately cast about for a subject to keep their call going; she didn't want it to end. Daphne never realized how much she longed to see Alexander's face, hear his voice. Goosebumps ghosted her flesh at the memory of the sensation of his touch, and she spoke of the first thing to cross her mind.
"Did you hear about Azkaban? Someone tried to burn it down."
A ghost of a smile crossed Alexander's lips, tugging at one of the scars on his face. Daphne knew him well enough to know that meant he was amused. "Imagine that."
Daphne's eyes narrowed. He knew something. "Alex? Would you happen to know how that happened?"
"It's a funny story, really. Do you remember the Dementor that sucked out the souls of your attackers back in our third year?"
Burning hatred, long-buried, surged forth at the empty feeling of hopelessness that memory brought her. Daphne let it fade, though, as she nodded. "Vaguely. Tall, dark, and soul-sucking, why?"
"Well, it certainly remembered me. The Aurors who arrested me brought me to Azkaban to get my soul sucked out. The Dementor that approached asked me if it was 'feeding time' which surprised the hell out of me. It killed the Aurors, and I set it loose on Azkaban."
Daphne was shocked but somehow unsurprised that Alexander could talk so casually about commanding a Dementor, a wraith that had been untamed since their discovery. They could only be bargained with, although Daphne could guess that giving it food would also create a certain amount of obedience. "How did the fire start then?"
Alexander shrugged. "I saw sparks when I apparated away. I was just charged with magic theft. I wasn't going to stick around to question anyone."
Daphne rolled her eyes. That was the Alex she knew and loved. Casually performing magical feats that were beyond mortal wizards and doing the impossible. Alexander looked off to the side at something before looking back at her.
"I need to get some rest, I'm still recovering. I'll try to keep my tablet near me around dawn each day, so call me if you need anything. Make sure to vary your times, so you're not caught by anyone."
Daphne blinked at how quickly Alexander said that. But she needed to tell him something, something that had been eating at her for months. "Alex, wait!" she said as he began to put the tablet down.
"Yes?" he asked, turning it back to him.
"Can I call you just to talk?" Daphne asked, her voice small. "I've missed you."
Alexander's face softened, ever so slightly that had Daphne not known him as well as she did, she would have assumed nothing had changed. "I've missed you too. Of course you can."
Daphne couldn't help the smile that crossed her face at that. "Thank you." As Alexander went to close the connection, she panicked, calling out again, "wait!"
"What?" There was a slight tone of irritation in Alexander's voice as he pressed a muggle object to his forehead tightly. Daphne belatedly realized he had a headache.
"Sorry, but I thought you should know. Crabbe and Goyle were talking about a Taboo placed on the Dark Lord's name. They tied it into the wards connected to the Portkey Office somehow, and it sends up a notification if anyone says the Dark Lord's name. I thought you should know."
An intense look came over Alexander's face. Daphne knew that look well. The thousand-yard stare, how he looked right through her as his thoughts raced. It was a look she loved seeing cross his face, and it felt so bitter knowing that things were so sour between them. But for a moment, she could pretend that everything was normal, that he was in the castle safe and not on the run.
"Fascinating. Thank you, Daphne, I think that will prove very helpful. Try to get some sleep. I think we both need it," Alexander said before cutting off the connection.
Daphne wrapped her arms around the tablet and pulled it close. "I love you," she murmured, knowing he couldn't hear it. Oh, how she wished she had the courage to tell it to him once more.
Magic Break Can't Be Seen
A week passed before Alexander felt human again. Despite being a mediocre witch, Umbridge's Crucios still left a lasting pain that was difficult to shake. Fortunately, Alexander had plenty to keep himself occupied with, especially after he left a special present in the British Library in London.
It was a simple stone bust of Winston Churchill, placed in the exact center of the library, but Alexander was incredibly proud of it. Years ago, he had utilized a simple linking spell between his tablet and a stone in his parent's home. It allowed his tablet to display all of the non-magical books that were in their home. The bust was an upgraded version.
Previously, Alexander's tablet would lose access to the books once they left the radius of the stone, as it possessed no capacity for storage. However, Alexander had managed to tweak the spells to allow the tablet to relist the books once they entered the stone's radius. It still wasn't perfect, organization left much to be desired, but by using runes etched into the stone bust's base, the spell would not wear off until the runes wore down in a few hundred years.
Alexander was quite pleased with it, although it meant he had an astonishing amount of romance novels he had no intention of ever reading. Still, the whole collection was kept separate from the magical texts he had copied from the Hogwarts Library, so there was that.
The reason why this was important was because Alexander used his access to the British Library to get a map of the Welsh Campsite the Mudblood Relocation Camp was located in. He would still have to go there physically, but with a map on hand, it should be much easier for him to search for a hidden compound.
Which was why, once he was fully healed, Alexander made his way to the campsite by non-magical means, not wanting to risk detection by accidentally apparating too close. It took him a day of slow, careful travel, but he reasoned that caution would serve him better here, although it quickly grew aggravating casting glamours on himself to maintain his disguise. But as he stepped off the bus and made his way into the woods, he knew he was in the right place.
Only Dementors could cause this dense fog, after all.
He walked cautiously through the trees, a watchful eye on the shadows all around him. Despite the temptation to create light or fire, Alexander knew he should not. He had only just escaped captivity, and he had no desire to return to it.
In his hands, he gripped a short length of rebar, no more than a foot long, that he had melted and painted until it resembled a wand. It was ugly, but effective, and chosen because it should be sturdy enough to withstand being banished into the chest of one of his enemies. His real wand, despite being magicless, was safely hidden with his research and Philosopher Stones in a place only he could get to.
Alexander held it loosely in one hand, ready to banish it at a moment's notice. The oppressive chill of the Dementor's aura seemed to be stronger to his left so, reluctantly, he pursued it. As the biting cold penetrated his body, Alexander briefly wished he could cast the Patronus Charm. Unfortunately, he lacked the happy memory needed to make the magic work, even with Daphne's companionship.
But he did have his magic. Alexander wrapped it around himself, tight against his skin, and it warmed his frozen limbs and lent him strength. His pace picked up as he wandered through the forest, always on the lookout for magic.
The sun had fallen, and Alexander was just contemplating creating shelter for the night when he stumbled upon it. There, through the bushes and trees ahead of him, he could see two wizards, leaning against a tree, smoking. Alexander silently hid and moved closer.
"Brr, it's freezing out here, Roy. Wish they'd let us make a fire," one wizard said.
Roy snorted. "If you weren't such a piss poor wizard, you'd use a warming charm, Billy."
"You know I don't like those things. They make me sweat!"
The two fools argued for a few more minutes over the benefits of warming charms. Alexander raised his rebar wand, prepared to end their lives when he halted his actions. Someone just Apparated in not four feet from him.
"Howards, Vickers! I've got another Mudblood for you," the new man said, throwing a crying woman to the ground in front of them. Roy lazily tied her up with a wave of his wand. "Put her with the others."
"You got it, Jerry," Roy said, casting another spell to levitate the woman. He magicked her away, ignoring her pitiful wails as she was dragged into the darkness between trees.
Billy scratched his nose before blowing out a cloud of smoke. "Thought we weren't getting anymore tonight, Jerry?"
Jerry shrugged. "The Aurors picked her up trying to get gold out of Gringotts. Gotta love those little goblin bastards, you'd think it was business as usual with how they're acting."
The two men shared a laugh before bidding each other goodnight. Jerry Apparated away, leaving Roy to smoke quietly. And in the darkness, crouched Alexander, with murderous intent gleaming in his eyes.
It was time the wizarding world paid.
Magic Break Can't Be Seen
Alexander picked up a loose stone from the ground. He wrapped it in his magic, causing it to vibrate ever so slightly with repressed energy, before directing it toward the guard named Roy. It took off like a bullet, crushing the wizard's skull instantly.
Under cover of darkness, Alexander moved closer. The two trees the wizards had been standing by framed a cave entrance, leading down into darkness. No light could be seen within, but that didn't concern Alexander. However, the fact that Billy hadn't returned yet did.
Which was why Alexander cautiously moved into the dark cave, finding the floor beneath his feet immediately slant in a sharp slope. His footing was treacherous, the lighting atrocious, and a feeling of unease crept into his belly as he inched along the cave walls.
Suddenly, light filled his vision, temporarily blinding him. "Who the hell are you?" Billy's voice demanded somewhere from Alexander's left. Despite blinking spots from his eyes, Alexander wasted no time in banishing his rebar wand in the man's general direction, a meaty thump answering him. Any jubilation Alexander felt from that quickly died as other voices began cursing.
Still trying to restore his vision, Alexander knelt to the ground, raising a wall of earth. The telltale sound of curses hitting earth rang out, and blindly Alexander transfigured the mound into a porcelain wall with one hand while banishing it with the other.
Beneath his fingers, the wall shattered, pushed away by his magic, and sent speeding towards his foes. They had only a moment to curse frantically before the shrapnel hit them, cutting into their delicate flesh. It bought Alexander precious time to regain his vision and see where he was finally.
Unlike the tunnel, dark and earthen, the room Alexander was in now would not have been out of place in Hogwarts. A quick glance behind revealed an enchanted archway, keeping the tunnel dark and cold out while preventing no warmth or light from escaping. Billy was pinned to a wall by the throat, his wand lying uselessly at his feet. Alexander summoned his rebar wand back to his hand, causing Billy to fall to the ground, dead.
"Where's the bastard!" an angry voice demanded. Alexander turned to see four more wizards stumbling around in pain, bleeding from dozens of wounds. They were slowly regaining their senses, but Alexander wasn't going to let them recover fully.
He banished the rebar again, killing another wizard. He ripped it out, flinging it in a spin at the next. Unfortunately, it hit the man's ribcage just wrong, becoming trapped in his chest. The last two wizards had recovered during Alexander's focus on their comrades and began to throw curses once more.
Alexander rolled to the side, not at all bothered by the loss of the rebar wand. In truth, he only used it because very few wizards seemed to understand the dangers of physics, something that he personally blamed Quidditch for. After all, wizardkind thought the idea that an enchanted cannonball trying to knock you off a piece of fragile wood from one hundred meters in the air was sane. It didn't matter if wizards were sturdier than the average muggle, physics when applied correctly, hurt.
Which was why Alexander didn't cast a spell or at least one that was in any book. He infused his magic with his intent, causing earthen hands to burst from the stone walls and grab the two wizards from behind. The wizards panicked, suddenly unable to cast their precious magic, and Alexander made the hands twist violently, breaking their bones. They could only scream as their lives were squeezed out of them.
Leaving the hands to do their job, Alexander searched the bodies, taking any wand he could find. As tempting as it was to snap them, the men were already dead and would not be able to appreciate the insult. So, instead, Alexander would give them to people much more worthy:
Like the captured Muggleborn.
Magic Break Can't Be Seen
AN: I wrote the first part from Daphne's perspective because when I wrote it from Alexander's, it came across as a little too heartless. Make no mistake, they both have feelings for one another, but they're both still hurting.
I tried to lay some groundwork with Crabbe and Goyle being dangerous in Canon Year Seven. They know about the Taboo because they're basically mini-Death Eaters at this point. But I couldn't resist them bragging about it to everyone else, because well teenagers are idiots.
Back-up weapon: He has his rebar wand, but otherwise no. I do have plenty of ideas for Alexander to pursue, but none of them will be during Year Seven. After all, these are just prequels to his real journey.
I hope you're all enjoying the story.