Disclaimer: The world of Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling.
Magic Break Can't Be Seen
Christmas at Hogwarts was rather pleasant, despite the fear of attacks. But the Heir of Slytherin, whoever they were, didn't seem interested in disturbing the peace, well after it petrified Justin Finch-Fletchley and that weird ghost who hung around Gryffindor, before the holidays that is.
Despite being a Muggle-born, Alexander was supremely unbothered by the whole Heir of Slytherin business. After living the previous year in dread of confrontation, and the first half of this one plotting how to ruin two more bullies, Alexander didn't have the spare time or emotion to be scared. Now that his work for this year was over, he found himself relaxing enough to focus once more on his studies, burning through books at an unprecedented rate.
It was pleasant, the pursuit of magic without anything getting in the way. He enjoyed it, and for the first time since coming to Hogwarts, he felt like a Ravenclaw. Now, if he could just get a portable library up and running, life would be perfect.
It was a few days after term ended, and almost all of the students going home, that Alexander found himself entering the Hospital Wing. After the unpleasant trip first year, he had managed to avoid having to return, often cleaning his cuts and bandaging them. The only reason he was even here was that he had the misfortune of almost running into Professor Snape. The dour man decided he couldn't be bothered to walk to the Hospital Wing, and thus would have Alexander deliver a create of potions to the matron.
Alexander fumed but obeyed. It was fortunately only a small detour on his way to the library, and he wanted to get away from Professor Snape as fast as possible, slightly fearful that he would somehow deduce it was he who cast the Confundus and outed the two gay wizards. So he agreed.
Pushing open the doors to the Hospital Wing with his hip, Alexander looked around for the matron. Seeing nobody around, he called out, "Madame Pomfrey? Professor Snape gave me your potions!"
"Alexander?" Hermione's voice came from behind a curtained-off bed. Alexander carefully placed the potion create on an empty bed before walking closer. "Is that you?"
"Yeah. What are you doing here, Hermione?" he asked, his hand pulling back the curtain.
"No, wait!" she protested, but it was already too late.
Hermione Granger sat fitfully on the hospital bed, squeezed into an uncomfortable-looking nightgown. She looked fine if one were to dismiss the cat nose, ears, and fur she was covered with. A movement behind her alerted him that she also most likely possessed a tail.
"Wow. Is this a risk of the Animagus transformation? Can you move that tail at will?" Alexander asked, far too curious to be overly horrified. Hermione was sitting quietly in the Hospital Wing, which meant the process was most likely reversible.
"No, and yes! It's so weird," Hermione said. Her eyes narrowed, and Alexander noted that they had shifted to resemble a cat's.
"So you're some kind of werecat then? Do you yearn for bowls of warm milk and long naps?" Alexander asked. Hermione stilled, and the fur on her cheeks seemed to darken. "You do!"
"Stop!" Hermione cried, and it was filled with such childish outrage that he was reminded of his little brother Jack being tickled. Chuckling fondly, he raised his hands in surrender. "I'm not a werecat. I drank some Polyjuice Potion with cat hair in it."
Alexander digested that. Potions wasn't an overly tricky class, but he wasn't sure what effect cat hair would have on a Polyjuice Potion. He collapsed into a nearby chair.
"So is it permanent then?" he asked. Hermione shook her head.
"No, but it requires me to drink these bland Nullifying Potions every few hours. Professor Snape was quite cross he had to come back this break to brew them for me," she explained.
Alexander nodded, thinking that explained the man's unwillingness to return to the Hospital Wing. He wasn't happy about being here on his break, which Alexander found he could reluctantly respect. Didn't mean he liked being turned into his delivery boy, though.
"Did you finish your assignments? Or do the cat claws make it difficult to hold a quill?" he asked.
Hermione stuck her tongue out at him, which looked decidedly odd since it was still human, her teeth too. "No, I can't grab anything. It's the worst! I can barely turn the pages to my books."
Alexander nodded in sympathy, knowing that would drive him crazy as well.
"Why are you being nice to me?" she suddenly asked in a small voice. "I said some rather unkind things to you the last time we spoke."
He shrugged. "You're allowed to have your opinions. Just because we don't agree on a course of action, doesn't mean I hate you for it. Besides, you're not cruel to me."
It was such a simple statement to say, but it was honest. Hermione smiled at him and opened her mouth to reply, but a loud crash interrupted them when the doors of the Hospital Wing were pushed open, slamming them into the wall. Harry Potter and Ron Weasley walked in.
"Who are you?" Harry Potter asked with confusion and suspicion on his face. Alexander's jaw tightened at the rude greeting.
"Alexander Dantes, Ravenclaw," he added when neither one showed signs of recognition. Harry nodded in satisfaction, but Ron gave him a dirty look.
"What does a bookworm want with Hermione? Looking to dissect her?" the redhead challenged. Alexander was unimpressed.
"Ron! Apologize," Hermione demanded. Alexander wasn't going to take that though; as his father said, you needed to stand up to bullies.
"Thought I'd start with Pure-blood brains actually. I hear they're tiny, even when compared to a pixie," Alexander shot back. Weasley's face turned as red as his hair.
"Yeah, well, no one wants you here! I heard your year mates don't even like you," Ron Weasley shouted.
Alexander thought he was over the actions of his year mates, but found the redhead's words to hurt far more than they should. He stood up. "Hope you feel better soon, Hermione."
"You don't have to go! Ron, apologize!" Hermione demanded, struggling to get out of the bed but her new cat-like features not cooperating.
"It's fine, Hermione. You have your friends, and they obviously don't want me here," Alexander said. The redhead actually nodded at that while Harry Potter looked away in discomfort. Ignoring Hermione's protests, Alexander left.
Magic Break Can't Be Seen
The next few weeks were slightly awkward for Alexander. Hermione kept trying to corner him in the library, either to talk to him or to apologize for Ron Weasley or both. Something about the situation made him burn with some unknown emotion, and he didn't know what. He wrote to his parents for advice, and his mother had excitedly written back about his first crush. His mother's excited handwriting only made him more determined to hide from Hermione and delay a confrontation.
Thankfully term started, and the rest of the students returned to the castle. The fear that had gripped the castle had diminished over the break, and students could be heard laughing in the halls once more. It would have been pleasant to join in, but Alexander knew he had no friends, just books. And what books they were.
In his quest to learn more about parseltongue, he found a few books discussing language learning spells. Parseltongue was beyond them, unfortunately, as it was an entirely magical language that could not be replicated. However, the spells he did find made it easier to train your tongue to form foreign sounds more easily, and when paired with a translation spell, which had many flaws and limitations, it allowed one to learn a spell through immersion slowly. They were incapable of complex sentences, but Alexander would always be able to ask for help in finding a bathroom if he were in France.
In another book, he found a reference to a ritual that witches and wizards could do to learn a language perfectly. Unfortunately, it required for said witch or wizard to eat the tongue of a native speaker. But since this was considered a minor ritual, it could be done repeatedly, and if the tongue's original owner knew multiple languages, you would learn every language they understood. While very disgusted by the whole concept, Alexander reluctantly noted it down in case he ever needed it.
But the real find of his excursion was a slim, unmarked book that he found shoved behind the language learning texts. It was a handwritten account on various mind magics and how they affected different magical and non-magical beings, and it was fascinating to read. It talked more on the Confundus Spell, and how a perfectly cast one was almost as dangerous as the Imperius Curse, which was one of the three Unforgivable Spells, in the Wizarding World. It spoke of love potions, truth curses, truth serums, and all the other magical effects that could target the mind. And most importantly of all, it talked about how to stop them.
Ever since he cast the Confundus on Burke and Rowley, Alexander had been very concerned that someone else could do the same to him. This book held the answer, mentioning a magical skill known as Occlumency that any half-decent witch or wizard should master, and how it could be used to defend the mind. And more importantly, it included basic instructions.
Alexander began immediately. He read and reread, and even read the chapter one more time just to be safe. While the easiest way to practice Occlumency was through repeated exposure to a piece of mind magic, there were none that felt safe enough for Alexander to trust, let alone use, on himself. So he would take the long, slow road of doing it through meditation alone.
It would be quite a bit of work for such a specific skill, years even, but it could be done. The book warned against foolish witches and wizards thinking that Occlumency would give them impenetrable minds, perfect recall, or avatars and guardians to protect their minds. It was just a shield, a magical one around their thoughts, but a shield nonetheless.
And Alexander eagerly wanted one.
Magic Break Can't Be Seen
It was only a few weeks into April that Alexander came across Luna Lovegood, a first-year in Ravenclaw, wandering around at night. He was shocked by her lack of footwear, as the stones of Hogwarts were hard and cold to the touch. He would know, he spent far too many nights laying on them last year.
"Are you alright?" he asked. Luna didn't seem to be cursed or sleepwalking.
"Oh, hello. I'm quite well; I'm just chasing the Flopswarts. They seem to be particularly aggressive against smiles," she said, before frowning at him. "They seem to avoid you."
Unsure or not if that was an insult, or if she was cursed, Alexander tried again. "And your shoes? Did these Flopswarts take them?"
"Oh, no. That was the Nargles. Mischievous little things, they like to take things to make themselves feel like they belong," she airly said, her large, owl-like eyes blinking slowly.
Alexander grew uncomfortable. It sounded like Luna was being bullied, in a different manner than he was, but bullied nonetheless. Knowing how useless Professor Flitwick is, he decided to offer his help.
"I can help you, you know," he started, but Luna cut off.
"Find the Nargles? No, they always find me."
"No, I can help you stop them, the bullies," he clarified, afraid she'd mistake his offer of help for a creature hunt. She blinked at him slowly, one eye at a time.
"I'm not being bullied," she finally said.
He sighed. "It's fine, Luna. I was bullied during my first year too. They wouldn't stop, though, so I had to make them stop."
She began to shake her head frantically. "I'm not being bullied," she repeated, slightly more firm, almost frantically.
Alexander realized she was scared and tried to encourage her. "You need to stand up to bullies, Luna. Or they'll never give you a moment's rest otherwise."
"No, thank you for your offer, though. I hope you have a pleasant evening!" Luna cried, before hurriedly skipping away, heedless to the cold temperature of the stone floor on her bare feet.
Alexander scowled, but deep down, he knew that there was no helping those who wouldn't help themselves. He just hoped that her bullies were kinder than his own.
Magic Break Can't Be Seen
It was only a few weeks later that something happened that shocked the entire school. Hermione Granger and Penelope Clearwater were found petrified, outside the library. Suspicion wasn't on Harry Potter for once, as it was well known that he was friends with the muggle-born, but now everyone was worried: who was the real Heir of Slytherin?
The fear became so bad that the school governors suspended Dumbledore from his position as Headmaster, allowing Professor McGonagall to step up temporarily. Which explained why the students were now being shepherded around like herds of cats. Not that Alexander would ever say that to her face; he was rather attached to living and wasn't willing to part with it just yet.
But as a side effect of Hermione being petrified, Alexander found himself doing something he never thought he'd do for anyone, let alone someone whose friends were antagonistic toward him: He was making copies of his notes and writing down each classes assignments. He knew Hermione well enough to know that when she was finally revived, she'd be frazzled by how many assignments she missed. So he figured he'd make it slightly easier on her.
His parents were of no help during this time. His mother kept writing about her darling boy's first crush, while his father seemed to promise something called The Talk when he came home. They always talked, didn't they?
Why were adults so weird?
Magic Break Can't Be Seen
The next few weeks passed quickly, in a haze of studying for his final exams, as well as researching whatever magic interested him. Despite not being able to learn the subjects until the next year officially, Alexander had made extensive studies into Ancient Runes and Arithmancy, finding the topics fascinating and very beneficial to his other coursework.
A few days prior, he had accidentally turned in an assignment to Professor Flitwick that had the arithmetic formula for the Color-Changing Charm fully drawn out on the back. He hadn't even realized until he received the assignment back today, Professor Flitwick's tidy handwriting complimenting it. Despite his negative feelings about the tiny professor, Alexander couldn't help but feel pleased by the acknowledgment. Regardless of the source, it felt like he belonged at Hogwarts and in Ravenclaw.
A silver light streaked through the Charms classroom and knelt next to Professor Flitwick. The students looked on in interest as he seemed to listen to the insubstantial spell, which Alexander belatedly realized was a spectral cat. It dissipated once its message was delivered, and Professor Flitwick straightened his posture, before speaking to the class.
"Attention, please. Please pack your bags so that I may escort you back to your dormitories. Hufflepuff students, a prefect will be along in a moment to escort you to the basement. Ravens, with me."
The students obediently packed, but one blond Hufflepuff asked the question that was on everyone's mind.
"Professor Flitwick? What was that cat? It was lovely!"
Not quite how Alexander would have asked it, but it did the trick. "It was a Patronus, Ms. Abbott. Potent magic, but most witches and wizards find it beyond them to do. Now please pack your bag, we must make haste," Professor Flitwick began to flick his wand, sending the belongings of a few slow students flying into their bags.
In short order, Alexander and the other Ravenclaws found themselves herded into their common room with the rest of their House. As he milled around near the entrance, Alexander watched as the room filled with curious students, all wondering why they were there. Professor Flitwick cleared his voice, and somehow the sound carried throughout the room.
"Please remain in the common room. The other professors and I must see to a matter of security, and we cannot worry about any lost students. Thank you." Professor Flitwick vanished through the entrance, which closed with a soft click.
The students began to talk excitedly about what this was all about, and many different theories were bandied about. Alexander was interested in none of these as he saw something that made his blood boil:
Three older girls were standing over Luna Lovegood and pushing her around.
Magic Break Can't Be Seen
Despite how ignored he was by his own house, Alexander knew who the three girls were. Cho Chang, Marietta Edgecombe, and Hannah Roarke were the culprits, the first two only a little older than himself, but the last preparing to graduate. Alexander made to intercept them.
"Look at Looney, with no friends. Might as well go home," Marietta taunted.
"Why stay when you're unwanted?" Hannah asked. Cho Chang tossed her long hair next to her.
"You'll never be beautiful. You'll never be skilled with a wand. You're no better than a crazy muggle, really."
Alexander reached the group. "Everything alright there, Luna?" he asked.
All four girls turned to look at him in surprise. "Dantes? What are you doing here?" Marietta asked.
"I'm a Ravenclaw; this is my tower too," he gritted out. "The real question is, what are you doing with Luna?"
Hannah shrugged and carelessly draped an arm over Luna's shoulders. "Nothing! We're good friends, Looney and I. Aren't we?" she asked, shaking the trembling first year under her arm purposefully.
"Friends," Luna parroted. Alexander's jaw tightened.
"Luna, you don't have to stay with them if you don't want to," he tried to offer.
"Don't try to take our friend just because you're friendless!" Cho shouted. The rest of House Ravenclaw took note of their corner.
"Yeah, just because you don't have any friends, doesn't mean you can take ours," Marietta added.
Alexander ignored them and focused on Luna, who was looking on in fear. "Luna, you have to remember to stand up for yourself, don't let others push you around."
"I've heard enough," Hannah said sharply. Her wand lashed out, and a bludgeoning hex smashed into Alexander's stomach, throwing him backward. "Think you can take our friend away because you're lonely? Pathetic. Go back to the muggle world, and leave the Wizarding World to real witches and wizards."
Alexander gasped on the ground, trying to catch the breath that was knocked out of him by the hex. He couldn't say a thing to defend himself as the verbal abuse continued.
"Yeah, you're not wanted here!" Cho Chang parroted. Alexander almost wanted to scowl at the stupid girl. She never did have an original thought.
But it was Marietta who angered him the most. "Pathetic little boy like you, thinking he's a real man. You're nothing!"
She pulled out her wand and also cast a bludgeoning hex at him, but he was prepared this time. Alexander whipped his dead wand up and cast the most basic shield charm, a Protego, blocking it. The crowd of eager Ravenclaws looked on in surprise at a second-year blocking a third-year's spell so smoothly. Alexander slowly rose to his feet, staring Marietta down, before allowing his shield to drop.
He was all too aware of the eyes on him, but it was Luna's eyes that hurt Alexander the most. All he wanted to do was help her, give her a chance to get out from underneath her bullies' thumbs, but now she was looking at him in fear. Not of the situation, but of him. And that hurt more than any hex.
Alexander turned his back on the four witches and made his way to the entrance. A prefect made a half-hearted attempt at blocking him but backed after Alexander stared at him blankly. As he stepped through the doorway, he knew that he would enter Ravenclaw Tower only once more for the rest of his Hogwart's studies.
And that would be to gather his things tomorrow morning.
Magic Break Can't Be Seen
Alexander wandered through Hogwart's empty halls, enjoying the peaceful silence that covered them. He knew it was only because of the fear that gripped it, the fear of the Heir of Slytherin and their terrible beast, but he couldn't help but enjoy the solitude. It's funny how life works out sometimes, that just when he was finally free to make friends, he found himself pulling away for his own peace of mind.
Hours passed, and he finally started making his way to his hidden study area, soon to be permanent bedroom, when Professor Dumbledore's voice echoed through the halls of Hogwarts. This was doubly surprising when Alexander remembered the man had been suspended for some time now and had shown no signs of coming back soon. Alexander shook it off, though, and focused on the message.
"The Chamber of Secrets has been sealed and Slytherin's monster slain. The Mandrake Restorative will be administered in just a few minutes, so would you all join me in the Great Hall for a Welcome Back Feast?" There was a slight pause. "Pajamas are acceptable attire."
Alexander couldn't help roll his eyes as he turned around and headed to the Great Hall. While he didn't care to attend, he rather liked the idea of seeing Hermione up and about, excited about it even. He wondered if she would notice the stack of scrolls he had left on her bedside table, of their past assignments, and his notes.
A few minutes later, he found himself sitting close to the doors of the Great Hall, the Ravenclaws on all sides ignoring him as much as possible. Ignoring them right back, Alexander kept one eye trained on the doors, waiting for them to part and to reveal the petrified walking on their own power.
The doors cracked open, and the first few petrified students entered, making their ways to their house tables, where they were welcomed back with cheers of applause. Penelope Clearwater entered next, and the Ravenclaws screamed themselves hoarse welcoming her back. But it was the girl following her, with the bushy brown hair that drew Alexander's eye.
Hermione Granger walked into the Great Hall, her eyes darting about wildly. They fell upon Alexander, and a massive smile crossed her face. Alexander felt one forming in reply on his face, and it only grew when she rushed forward. He tried to stand but found his legs tangled in his robes, causing him to knee the heavy wooden table in front of him painfully. Nobody noticed his plight as Hermione reached him. Alexander opened his mouth to speak.
"Oh, Harry! And Ron! You solved it! And you wrote down all my missing assignments for me!" Hermione exclaimed as she rushed past Alexander to hug her two friends. The trio began to chat excitedly about the plumbing of all things, leaving Alexander to his thoughts.
Alexander didn't understand why it felt like part of his heart was dying, but it did. He freed his legs from his robes, rose from the table, and exited the Great Hall silently. It wasn't until Alexander reached the privacy of the Entrance Hall that he allowed the tears to fall from his eyes.
Magic Break Can't Be Seen
The rest of the term passed without note, and the ride back on the Hogwarts Express even less so. Alexander was finally home, but after almost a year away from the house he grew up in, he felt like a stranger. His room, the place of so many happy memories, now felt like it belonged to someone else. He wondered who he was.
A soft knock on his door stirred Alexander from his thoughts. "Enter!" he called out.
His father, Adrian, entered the room. "Hey, Alex, doing alright? Your mom and brothers were looking forward to a reunion with you."
"Can we talk, dad?" Alexander hesitated. "About a girl?" he clarified.
Adrian gave his son a fond smile before gesturing for him to sit on the bed. His father joined him a moment later, collapsing on it hard enough to make the entire bed shift.
"Okay, shoot. Tell me all about her," Adrian told his son.
So Alexander did. He told his father about Hermione Granger and how they met on the Hogwarts Express at the start of the year. He spoke of their first discussion in the library and how she wasn't willing to stand up to bullies, and how she called him one when he advised her to. And Alexander told his father about Hermione's polyjuice accident, how he tried to keep her company before her friends interrupted.
"And then when she was stuck in the Hospital Wing at the end of the year, petrified, I made extra copies of my notes and wrote down the homework assignments she missed, and her friends let her believe they did that for her. I don't know why it hurts," Alexander said. He didn't know why it was so difficult to speak, and he hated it.
Adrian sighed before wrapping an arm around his son. "It sounds like to me that you had your first crush and heartbreak, Alex."
"Heartbreak? Like love? Like you and mom?" Alexander asked. His father shook his head, chuckling softly.
"Not quite. It might have become that one day, but crushes are much more fragile than love. And they hurt just as much," Adrian explained. "Even though it hurts now, one day you'll meet someone who will appreciate you for who you are, and what you're willing to do for them. That they'll care as much about you as you do them. But I don't think that's now."
Despite the truth he could hear in his father's words, Alexander still felt like his heart was burning in his chest. The fire was consuming everything, leaving a painfully numb hole in its place. "I don't know what to do," Alexander whispered.
"You live. You keep trying. Do not close yourself off to the world because one or ten or even a hundred people hurt you. But do learn from this, learn the most painful lesson of all: Be careful who you give your heart to."
Alexander nodded and dried his tears on his sleeves. "Thanks, dad."
Adrian wrapped his arms tightly around his son. "Always. When you're up for it, get unpacked and come downstairs. We're taking you all to Paris next week for David's birthday. He's been excited to go to Disneyland for weeks now. You still need to tell me what you want to do for your birthday in August, by the way."
Alexander smiled. "I don't care. Just being with you guys is what I want."
Magic Break Can't Be Seen
AN: End of Year Two.
I hope you're enjoying the story!