Disclaimer: The world of Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling.
Magic Break Can't Be Seen
He needed time with his family. Alexander realized that right after he and his father finished their conversation. He needed his annoying little brothers, sharing with them tales of different spells and what Hogwarts looked like. He needed his mother's soft hugs and loving company and how she always knew what he needed before he even needed it. And he definitely needed that talk with his father, the firm reassurance that no matter what, he would always be loved and welcomed home. Hogwarts had changed in his mind. It was no longer a place of wonder and learning. Now it was a forge, where he would be beaten, battered, and sent through trial by fire until the impurities were beaten out. The pure-bloods like Duny and Hilliard thought that they would be the ones to break him, but they were wrong. They were the strikes of a hammer.
Speak of the devils, and they shall appear, Alexander thought. They were almost at Hogwarts when the two bullies appeared, slamming the compartment door open. They smirked at him.
"Wow, the Mudblood came back. I'm surprised someone so dumb managed to get into Ravenclaw; even a dim Mudblood would know when they aren't wanted," Duny taunted.
Alexander took a steadying breath before glaring up at them. "Duny, I always forget: Did your mother sleep with her brother to have you, or a troll?"
The compartment became deathly silent as the two pure-bloods looked at Alexander in disbelief. Alexander began to feel the faint traces of amusement at that comeback when a roar of rage deafened him, echoing around unpleasantly. The next thing he was aware of was a fist meeting his face and throwing him off his seat and onto the ground.
"You little Mudblood bastard! You are the stupidest piece of filth to ever get into Hogwarts. If you thought us messing with you before was rough, you have no idea what's coming your way!" Duny shouted as he laid several vicious kicks into Alexander's side. The eleven-year-old curled up in a ball to try to protect himself.
"Duny!" Hilliard hissed, forcing him away from Alexander. Duny shoved him off and tried to kick Alexander again. "Duny! We need to get out of here before anyone sees you beating the crap out of a Mudblood. Even Dumbledore won't ignore witnesses."
"Fine," Duny spat, halting his advance. He moved forward and searched through Alexander's robes, searching. A moment later, he pulls out Alexander's wand. "I don't know how you got another wand, Mudblood, but I'm snapping this one too. You're not worthy of magic."
A loud snap filled the air, and a clatter of wooden pieces fell next to Alexander on the floor. The two seventh years hurried away, leaving Alexander alone to recover. Slowly he uncurled, his eyes falling on the twice-snapped pieces of his wand before him. He touches them gently and casts a repairing charm, causing the pieces to snap together seamlessly. It'll never work again, he's known that for months, but it was special to him. As he slowly sat back up, a curious face peered into his compartment.
"Why are you covered in blood?" a curious Hermione Granger asked, a frown on her face. Alexander gave her a dirty look.
"I had a disagreement with the floor," he answered snidely. Hermione sniffed.
"Sarcasm. I thought you Ravenclaws would have wittier retorts."
"Pointing out the obvious. Exactly what I expect from a Gryffindor," Alexander shot back. He slowly collapsed into his seat. Hermione fretted in the doorway, looking half-appalled and half-concerned. She finally settled on just ignoring his situation entirely and sat across from him.
"Did you finish Professor McGonagall's Transfiguration assignment? The Switching Spell we're learning seems fascinating," she said. Alexander bit back a groan. While Hermione began chattering about the spells they'll be learning in the coming weeks, Alexander let his mind wander to what to do about Duny and Hilliard. They thought snapping his wand meant he was unworthy of magic? He'll see how they liked it.
Magic Break Can't Be Seen
Despite how annoying she was, Hermione Granger did say one interesting thing. Switching Spells were curious bits of magic, in that they switched objects instantly and seamlessly. This is how quite a few magical creatures were created, when some enterprising witch or wizard experimented with animal parts. The history and notes of these examples were very unpleasant for Alexander to read, and he made sure to note to never bring up to centaurs that their entire race started because some wizard in Pompeii wanted to improve himself in the bedroom.
Apparently, centaur wars had been fought over it.
Alexander's interest in Switching Spells stemmed from an important fact he found in a N.E.W.T. guidebook provided to all Ravenclaw seventh-years, namely that any witch or wizard caught cheating during the tests were expelled immediately, without exception. This was not even done by the Hogwart's professors, although they'd no doubt agree, but the N.E.W.T. examiners who would not hesitate to cut the cheaters out.
Which meant, if Alexander could frame Duny and Hilliard for cheating during their exams, they'd be expelled, and their wands snapped.
While Alexander would normally never condone such drastic action, he had also spent the better part of a year being tormented by the two hooligans and their gang, with no help from the teachers or other students. So, Alexander was not feeling very charitable to the two boys and was quite willing to ruin their lives, as they had done to him. Who knows, they might even learn wandless magic like he did, in which case they should be thanking him. However, Alexander doubted they would on either account.
It took him several weeks of effort to get his hands on a copy of both boy's homework. Alexander was taking no chances with his plan failing, the fictitious cheat sheet he was making for Duny and Hilliard would be written in their own hand, even if he had to write it down himself. Fortunately, there were ways around that, namely an odd spell that allowed a quill to mimic handwriting. It wasn't without its flaws, namely its tendency to write on any surface, but under Alexander's watchful eyes, he carefully constructed two cheat sheets using old N.E.W.T. exams he found in a locked room on the sixth floor.
While a lot of the ancient rune and advanced arithmancy knowledge was beyond him, he did find significant portions of it understandable. Alexander wondered why the two weren't taught to the lower years. It would be far more useful than Astronomy, whose only real use was to aid students in harvesting cycles for plants and animal parts for use in potions. Not even rituals relied on celestial events, despite hearsay saying otherwise.
It was just absurd, but then again, it was magic.
Magic Break Can't Be Seen
It was about a month before the year-end exams when Alexander felt something trip his alarm ward. He was in the office of his claimed classroom that he had converted into a small bedroom using pilfered cushions as a bed. It took Alexander a moment to understand what it was he was feeling, as he had never felt a ward tripping before, and he couldn't quite place the metaphysical poking happening on his shoulder. Once he realized what it was, he immediately panicked and lunged for his belongings, throwing them in his trunk. Hurriedly packing, he strained to hear into the classroom, but he could only hear the sound of angry footsteps, and wooden furniture being slammed aside.
Closing the lid on his trunk, he dragged it to the secret entrance hidden under the desk and slid it in. Alexander slid in after it and closed the entrance, and not a moment too soon, as Duny and Hilliard entered the room, glaring around angrily.
"Where's the Mudblood?" Duny asked darkly. He slashed his wand at the cushions, shredding them before moving around the room. "You told me you saw him enter this room."
"I did. He must have snuck out when I came to find you," Hilliard replied, checking the bathroom. "We'll find him. I need to blow off some steam; Professor Flitwick is killing me with these essays."
Alexander risked peaking out of his hiding spot, opening the secret passage just enough for him to see out. He nearly whimpered when he found both boy's feet right in front of him.
"Forget it," Duny growled. "We need to focus on N.E.W.T.s. We'll get the Mudblood after we're done, make it a party."
"Should be fun," Hilliard agreed. The two boys left, leaving Alexander alone with his racing heart.
It took him only a few minutes to relax enough to move, but another twenty before he risked venturing out into the halls. While he was fond of his secret rooms, he was not so foolish as to stay in a spot where anyone could find him, so it was time to move to another location.
Fortunately, he already had several in mind. The one he chose was the least friendly and welcoming area he'd found in Hogwarts, even topping the dungeons with their bloodied cells and rusted chains. The room was full of glass jars filled to the brim with the bones of all sorts of creatures, including several humanoid ones. The notes Alexander had found indicated it was a student with an interest in necromancy and was trying to create a perfect being. Their attempts failed, and Alexander reasoned that the ancient skeleton he found in the antechamber was the poor fool's remains.
Still, the rooms were large and had a fantastic view of the lake surrounding Hogwarts. By their elevation and location, Alexander guessed he was located overlooking the westernmost cliff-face, which meant he had some truly remarkable sunsets every evening.
Alexander began to carve runes into the door. He wouldn't settle for a simple alert and warning this time, no, he had learned his lesson. Alexander would add to them, building and shoring up his defenses every time he learned more. He would never allow himself to be vulnerable again.
Magic Break Can't Be Seen
The first-years had their exams first, by virtue of them being the easiest to administer from the stressed professors. It suited Alexander just fine, as it would allow him to find a prime spot from which to enact his revenge against Duny and Hilliard. He found himself looking forward to it a great deal.
As for the exams themselves, they were lackluster in Alexander's opinion. The practicals were straight forward, and despite his magic fluctuating oddly during the spell casting, it obeyed well enough that no one could deny he could perform the material. The theory section was much more interesting in his opinion as both Professors Flitwick and McGonagall insisted on keeping him in view while he wrote his exams. They probably assumed him to attempt to cheat; after all, he was a liar in their eyes.
Perhaps Alexander shouldn't have thrown a smirk in their direction, but he really shouldn't have been surprised when Professor McGonagall handed him a detention on the spot. "Yes, professor," Alexander said, resigned. "Should I go to your office this evening at seven?"
The stern woman gave him a suspicious look. "No. In fact, you'll serve it now." Alexander began to panic, the seventh-years were about to start their charms theory in the Great Hall, and he desperately wanted to enact his plan today. "Filch! A moment, if you please."
The grumpy, dirty man stomped over with a disagreeable expression on his face. "Yes, professor?" the man growled.
"Would you keep Mr. Dantes occupied in the Main Hall for the next few hours? He's up to something, and I want him to have no chance for mischief."
Filch smiled with a mouth full of crooked teeth. "Yes, professor. Come along, brat. I have just the task for you."
It took every ounce of Alexander's self-control to not break out in a grin from how perfect this worked out for him. An alibi, a perfect view of the Great Hall, and all under McGonagall's watch? Perfect.
Filch slammed a scraggly broom into Alexander's hands. "Sweep. And if you miss a spot, I'll have you sweep again. And if you finish early, I'll have you do it anyway," he said, with a dark glint of satisfaction in his eyes.
Alexander rolled his eyes but got to work. Just a bit longer before he could finally be free of two of his tormentors. He was looking forward to it.
Magic Break Can't Be Seen
It was a mind-numbingly dull time sweeping in circles, the awful caretaker occasionally walking behind him and muttering threats, but well worth it. The seventh-years trickled in, some of them laughing at the caretaker's new assistant, but largely ignoring Alexander. It allowed him to watch where his two targets, Duny and Hilliard sat, and to Alexander's great fortune, it was very close to the front where the professors and N.E.W.T. examiners stood. Their exam started, and one of the professors shut the doors to the Great Hall, blocking the room from view.
Which was completely fine. The true beauty of Switching Spells was that you did not need to know the location of both of the objects you were switching, although it did help with focus. You just needed to know where one was. There were, of course, many limitations to such spells, such as being constrained to lightweight objects, being unable to switch things inside of objects, including the human body, and being unable to switch an object with air. Mass needed mass, after all. If switching an object into an empty room, the material in between also affected the effectiveness of the spell. Still, Alexander was hoping that the wooden doors would not prove impossible to overcome.
It was only twenty minutes later that Alexander reasoned he waited long enough. He swept carefully in a circle, making sure Filch could see how both hands were on the broom in front of him. Focusing his magic and intent on his pockets, and the cheat sheets contained therein, he whispered the switching spell under his breath, with his targets in mind.
He felt the two scrolls vanish from his pocket, with nothing seemingly replacing them. He carefully swept for a few more brushes before a few muffled voices could be heard, the words unintelligible but unmistakenly angry. Filch gave the doors to the Great Hall a curious look before looking at Alexander. Alexander's answering shrug brought a scowl to the hostile caretaker's face, and the wretched man opened his mouth to speak.
The doors to the Great Hall opened. Three of the N.E.W.T. examiners were escorting Robert Hilliard and Henry Duny out at wand point, the cheat sheets clutched by an angry, wizened witch who was ranting.
"Never, in all my years as an examiner, have I come across such a blatantly stupid pair of fools such as yourselves! Cheating! And trying to deny it despite the obvious proof right here! Your wands will be snapped for this! Up to Dumbledore's office, now!" she shouted, pushing the two shocked boys through the Entrance Hall and up the stairs. Left behind were a shell-shocked audience of seventh-years, two professors, the final two examiners, and a caretaker.
And one Alexander Dantes, ducking his head to hide his smile, as he removed two barbules from his pocket.
Magic Break Can't Be Seen
He didn't know why, but dinner that night tasted wonderful. Alexander was sitting at the Ravenclaw table, enjoying the sense of relief that was coursing through him. All anyone could talk about was how Headmaster Dumbledore snapped their wands before escorting the two fools to the Ministry of Magic to be charged with cheating. Alexander was satisfied.
It was near the end of the meal that a harried-looking Headmaster Dumbledore walked in, accompanied by an even older, much shorter, man who looked as though he would fall over from a stiff breeze. They seemed to be talking furiously, and Alexander strained to listen in.
"It's been destroyed, where I hid it, in fact. It's far too dangerous to leave lying around, Nicholas," Dumbledore whispered. The older man glared up at him.
"I've kept my stone safe for hundreds of years, and I let you protect it for one year, and now you destroy it? You go too far, Albus," the man angrily said. "It should have been on my choice!"
Dumbledore sighed. "Nothing can be done now; the temptation it provided was too much for normal wizards. I'm sorry you won't be able to create another."
As the two wizards walked past Alexander, to the staff's table, he pondered their words. A stone? A temptation too much for normal wizards? Destroyed where it was hidden, that was obviously the third-floor corridor, there would be no other reason for the headmaster to forbid it otherwise. But what was the stone? Who was Nicholas?
Headmaster Dumbledore cleared his throat as he settled in front of his throne-like chair. The hall immediately quieted, eager to hear what he had to say about the fates of Hilliard and Duny.
"Good evening, everyone! As you might have noticed tonight, Hogwarts is hosting a special guest. One, Nicholas Flamel, the Immortal Alchemist! Perhaps if you ask the right questions, he might be willing to impart a few tidbits of wisdom."
As the hall whispered in excitement, Alexander couldn't tear his eyes away from the resigned Nicholas Flamel, who was angrily cutting into his roast. Nicholas Flamel. The Immortal Alchemist. His stone.
The Philosopher's Stone was at Hogwarts. And Albus Dumbledore destroyed it.
Magic Break Can't Be Seen
Alexander would never be able to explain what drove him from his bed that evening. Perhaps it was the shock of thinking someone like Albus Dumbledore would so easily destroy a Philosopher's Stone. Maybe he had been a bit curious as to what the aftermath of such an event would look like, as it couldn't possibly leave the world untouched. Or maybe it was something else that he would never discover.
Regardless of the reason why he found himself on the third floor and going through the rooms. What was the purpose of a large, empty room filled with scratch marks? Or the pit underneath it, filled with burnt twigs and leaves, and covered in scorch marks? Or the next room filled with hundreds of keys, obviously meant to unlock something, but useless as the door they were meant for had been opened already?
The giant chess set was impressive, at least, the shattered pieces laying all around as if they had fought a great battle. A black pawn had waved a sword at Alexander feebly but couldn't stop him from walking past and entering the next room. This one was noteworthy for no other reason than its scent, an overpowering stank that reminded Alexander of the sewer burning. It came from a sleeping troll who was curled around its club, like some perverse wooden teddy bear.
The next room was less interesting. A potion puzzle lay on a stone bench, but the useful vials had not refilled themselves. Instead, Alexander used a basic flame-tickling charm and simply walked through the flames, disappointed by the intellect who thought that was a challenge. But it was the last room that held Alexander's interest the most.
A large mirror was placed in the center of the room, a majestic, towering mirror. Alexander approached it slowly, looking up to read the inscription carefully before realizing it was backward, as if it needed to be held up to a mirror to be read.
"I show not your face but your heart's desire," Alexander read aloud. Curious, he stepped in front of it.
There was nothing. All Alexander could see was himself, a growing frown on his face before realization set in. He doesn't see his family, because he knows he'll see them soon. He doesn't see riches beyond compare, because he's never wanted for anything. He doesn't even see Hilliard and Duny, broken beneath his feet, for they're already being punished by the society they revere. The other five boys would always remain on his mind, but he would give them one chance to change their ways before he ruined them in the same way.
As he thinks these things, Alexander realizes how sad his life truly is. Unlike other Ravenclaws, he doesn't learn for the sake of learning; he learns to survive. Alexander stares himself in the eye, face to mirror, and makes a vow: That he would find something to live for. Something glitters out of the corner of his eye, and he turns, spotting stone that had been melted through magic. And in its center was a tiny sliver of Philosopher's Stone, glinting softly in the light.
As he pockets it and walks away, Alexander doesn't see the Mirror of Erised change. He doesn't see how it shows him, much older, his outstretched and magic whirling around him, carrying bricks, stones, and lumber. Something is being built under his direction, something great, but casting a deep shadow on the world. The image fades as Alexander shuts the door behind him.
Magic Break Can't Be Seen
AN: End of Year One.
I hope you're all enjoying the story!
The barbules are a part of the feather(quills) the wizards use to write with. It'd be very obvious to the examiners if two sheets of paper appeared on the student's desks.