Disclaimer: The world of Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling.
Magic Break Can't Be Seen
Alexander confirmed several things over the next few weeks leading up to Halloween. The first was that poltergeists and house-elves were not of this dimension. From what he could determine, they were native to another dimension or world or something, but one that had suffered a calamity of some sort. They had come to this one and taken sanctuary on Earth, integrating with the wizarding society globally.
The second thing was that the dimension they were from was entirely unsuitable for anything, not even storage. The calamity that destroyed their world rendered it unuseable to anyone but House-elves, who could enter it, then pop to anywhere in the world they needed to be. It was a shame, but it didn't demotivate Alexander, who was pleased he figured out another mystery.
What it did tell him was that there was a magical way to breach dimensions and that House-elves figured out how to do it without a wand, a ritual, or any overt preparation. While they had to be mindful of wards, they could usually pass through them, so long as they were cautious. This spoke of a high degree of magical control that Alexander knew he did not have regrettably. Thus this information would be useless to him for many years yet, although he made sure to note it for future use.
But because of his intensive studies into the House-elves, he had accidentally stumbled upon an upgrade to his portable library, one that he was quick to put into practice. While he was unable to store books within yet, not even through creative uses of shrinking and switching charms as the text would always be too minute to read, he had found a way to link it to a stone in another location, one that would allow him to read any book within a set area.
Like the Hogwarts Library.
It was an imperfect solution. The biggest downside to the spell would be if someone to physically take the book Alexander was trying to read out of the library, as it would exit the spell's range and thus vanish. Another downside was that copyright protection spells very easily defeated it, meaning he would have to dispel the protection spells for the whole library if he wanted it to succeed. As almost all of the books were protected with one spell or another, most of the library was still unavailable on his stone tablet.
Alexander still added the spell to his stone tablet, finding it useful as it meant he could read the unprotected books he had stored in his secret rooms, from anywhere in the castle. Being able to check reference guides or course books at a moment's notice was far too useful to pass up to any Ravenclaw. His notes were also always viewable, although Alexander wished he could use the tablet to take notes, but reasoned it would be impossible until he figured out the storage issue.
Realizing that his stone tablet was vulnerable, he began to enchant it, first casting a spell on it to take the appearance of a book, before adding another spell on top of that to make people see what they expected. If someone saw him reading in class, it would only look as though he was reading the coursebook, and not something else. The downside to this spell was that those with a significant will power, or studied Occlumency, would be unaffected and would see the tablet. Still, Alexander viewed it as worth the risk.
All in all, his first two months at Hogwarts were already a success. Not having the shadows of bullies loom over him made learning magic far more enjoyable, especially since he was able to sleep through the night without being pulled from his bed. Alexander was enjoying himself, even if he had to stand out in the cold with the rest of Hogwarts, as they waited for two foreign schools.
Magic Break Can't Be Seen
Ignoring the fog created by every breath, Alexander focused his eyes on the skies above the Forbidden Forest, tracking a large, dark shape approaching. The students of Hogwarts had been outside for close to an hour, corralled there by their professors, and organized into lines that only grew chaotic as time went on. Alexander gleefully stood on the edge, as far away as possible from his year mates who shot him the occasional dirty look.
Fortunately, it seemed as though their wait was over. The shape grew larger, revealing a massive carriage, pulled by some rather magnificent Abraxan. Despite the chaotic nature of the flight, the beasts and their cargo landed smoothly on the grounds of Hogwarts.
A startled cry drew everyone's attention to the lake. The mast of a ship rose from the water, connected to an overtly magical ship, as no non-magical vessel would be curved in that way, nor arrive in such a manner. It pulled up alongside the shore and a long plank extended, obviously magical in some regard.
As the two vessels disgorged their occupants, the students of Hogwarts became very animated at the sight of foreign witches and wizards. Alexander was more interested in their transport, and he desperately wanted to tear them apart to study the magic that crafted them. He wondered if he could convince the schools to share their secrets, as he followed the rest of the students into the Great Hall for a feast.
Alexander was briefly surprised to find his elbow nudged by one of his year mates, Padma Patil, who was giving him a cross look. "Finally noticed us, haven't you? We need to stick together to present a unified front to the foreigners." Past her, the rest of the Ravenclaw fourth years were giving him upset looks.
Mindful that the other schools were now entering the hall, Alexander whispered, "where was that mentality in our first year? House of Ravens? Craven cowards is more like it."
Ignoring the offended looks on their faces, Alexander stood, offering his seat to a Beauxbaton's wizard clad in blue. The student nodded gratefully and collapsed shivering into the seat, thoroughly distracting Alexander's year mates as they found themselves moving down the table to accommodate the rest of the Beauxbatons students who followed their compatriot.
Moving aside to allow some Drumstrang students to pass, Alexander made his way to the front of the Great Hall, uncomfortably close to the staff table, and sat in an open seat next to the Ravenclaw first years. They gave him curious looks but were far more interested in the foreign witches and wizards in the hall, and Alexander found himself fondly reminded of his brothers, David and Jack.
The meal started quickly, and as it progressed, Alexander was even more strongly reminded of his brothers as the first years began to talk excitedly about magic. It was almost painful for him to look upon them, knowing that this is what his first year should have been like, full of wonder and joy at the opportunity to learn magic, but that he was robbed of that. Still, he couldn't find it within himself to hold it against the first years, as they weren't even at Hogwarts when his bullies were.
One of the first years next to him tugged on his arm to get his attention. "What's your favorite spell?" she asked. The rest of the first years turn to look at them, waiting for his answer.
Alexander was surprised and found himself answering honestly. "I don't have one."
The first years gasped. "How can you not have a favorite spell?" a little boy protested. Alexander gave him a small smile.
"Magic is wonderful. How could you just pick one spell when there are hundreds that can do amazing things? Or brew potions to heal wounds? Or carve runes to protect yourself?" Alexander said passionately. The first years looked at him thoughtfully before agreeing.
"So what's the best branch of magic then?" another boy asked. Alexander gave him a crooked smile.
"None of them," he answered, much to their shock. They began to protest, and he raised his hands to silence them. "No branch of magic is better than the other. Do not fall into the trap of thinking that magic is just classes and homework or chores. It is a part of you, and it is meant to be explored."
"Is that why the other Ravenclaws don't like you? Because they view magic like homework and chores, and you don't?" the little girl who grabbed his attention asked.
Alexander swallowed, painfully aware of how innocent these children were and that the real answer would make them age far too soon. So he decided on a partial truth.
"They're incurious. It's a wretched thing for a human to be incurious, to not wonder at the world around them. If there are two things all of you should know, it is always to ask questions, and to enjoy magic," he said. He pulled out his wand and waved it carefully, transfiguring some of the food on their plate to form miniature figures than he then animated to dance around their plate.
The first years giggled as they played with their now magical food, and the sounds drew the ears of some of the other patrons in the Great Hall. Some Beauxbatons witches giggled at the sight of the first years, smiling fondly. But it was the staff's table that drew Alexander's eye, and the disproving glare Professor McGonagall was shooting him.
He raised his goblet back at her. This was the best feast ever.
Magic Break Can't Be Seen
Alexander was annoyed that they wouldn't be permitted to study the runes on the Goblet of Fire, the staff citing it to be dangerous and that they wanted nobody to tamper with it. That not even twenty-four hours later, four names were revealed for a three-person tournament, should have made it evident that that plan was a failure from the go. That Harry Potter was named as the fourth champion briefly surprised Alexander, as he figured it would have been a Slytherin who figured out a way to bypass the age line. In any case, Alexander was more annoyed that he wouldn't be able to study the goblet than he was at a fellow fourth-year being named champion.
Which was why he spent the following weekend out on the grounds, enjoying the sunny weather as he sketched the vessels Beauxbatons and Durmstrang arrived in. He had approached both schools earlier that day and asked about their construction and the spells and runes used. Neither had been accomodating and had declined him asking about possible tours being offered in the future.
Alexander sat under a lone tree near Hogwarts, sketching the two vessels. He made sure to note what runes and spells could be useful on them, as well as where they would most likely be located. He was just hypothesizing about the internal runes to negate inertia on the Beauxbatons Carriage when a shadow covered his parchment.
Looking up, he was surprised to find the first year Ravenclaws, clutching their bookbags with bashful looks. "Can we study with you?" one of the girls asked. "The other Ravenclaws just cite facts and books at us. You made magic fun at the feast."
Alexander was both shocked yet unsurprised. He put away his sketch, and stood up, giving the first years a reassuring smile. "Of course. Does everyone have their wands?"
They all nodded. "Great, leave your bookbags here and grab your wands. We'll have a practical lesson."
As they did as he instructed, Alexander pulled out his dead wand and summoned a handful of stones from the nearby lake. He transfigured them in a similar fashion as the food at the feast, making a dozen rough stone figures. Another spell smoothed out their rough surface, making them easier to handle. The first years joined him.
"Alright, everyone grab one. I'm going to teach you two spells, and then we're going to use them to play a game."
Alexander guided them through wand movements and pronunciation of an animation charm he found in his second year. It was relatively simple to cast and didn't require much magical power, because it instead relied entirely on the caster's will power and focus. Alexander had discovered it was used by Charm's Masters to gauge the ability of their students, as novices needed to act out the motions they wanted to be done, while masters of the spell could make the animated object act without their physical movement.
He was unsurprised that the first years only needed a few minutes to get their soldiers to mimic their commands. He then quickly taught them one of the Seven Free Transfiguration Spells, designed explicitly for inanimate to inanimate matter, that allowed the witch or wizard casting it to create anything out of a similar sized base material. He instructed the first years to transfigure swords, shields, and spears out of stones for their soldiers and stepped back to watch.
Unknown to any of the first years, the mastery of the Seven Free Transfiguration Spells was required to gain a Transfiguration Mastery. The spells wouldn't even be mentioned until their seventh year, and only then to students who showed exceptional ability for one single reason: The Ministry of Magic didn't want people to know about them.
Apparently, a society where being able to create the perfect robe for themselves out of a pile of scrap cloth was considered horrifying to the tax collectors at the Ministry. They had banned the spells for general use in the 1700s, had them repealed five years later in what was known at the Transfiguration Riots, and then quietly discouraged their teaching ever since to protect their source of income.
After all, if you could transfigure everything you need, why would you need money?
Alexander didn't care for any of that, and he had no issue in teaching a group of first years a spell that would give any Ministry of Magic Tax Collector a heart attack. That said students could make rough, stone weapons the size of toothpicks, perfect for their soldiers, was only icing on the cake.
After all the Ravenclaw first years had armed their soldiers, he had them space out in a circle and cast their animation charms on their soldiers. Alexander felt a pained smile come across his face as the excited children quickly figured out how to make their soldiers walk, looking far too much like his younger brothers David and Jack for his liking. He was about to walk away to leave them to their play when he felt another tug on his robes.
"Can we play too?" a Gryffindor first year asked. He was surrounded by his year mates in Gryffindor and Hufflepuff, with a little group of Slytherins further back looking on curiously.
Alexander Dantes felt like a little piece of his heart die at the Gryffindor's question. Did the kid think he would say no? To tell him to get lost, that this was a Ravenclaw only activity? Considering the look on his face, and the faces of his friends, they must have. Which only made Alexander more sure of his answer than ever.
"Come over here, guys!" Alexander called to the Ravenclaw first years. They joined the group quickly enough. Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, and Hufflepuff students looked up at him expectantly, and Alexander promptly realized something was wrong with this. Looking up, he saw it.
"You too, Slytherin!" he called out, waving them over. They slowly obeyed, and soon enough, Alexander had dozens of first years surrounding him. He turned to the Ravenclaws. "I'm going to make more stone soldiers, could you guys show everyone else how to make stone weapons?"
The first years nodded and obediently began to teach their year mates happily. Soon, the entire group was shouting in mangled Latin, and Alexander was quick to correct them where he could. While they practiced making their weapons, Alexander summoned more stones and created more stone soldiers for the children to play with. He quickly handed them out and got everyone's attention.
"Alright, does everyone have their weapons?" A sea of eager and smiling faces looked back at him, holding out their weapons for him to see. "Great! Now we're going to learn the animation charm, everyone form a circle and make sure you have space between you and the next person!"
As the children eagerly obeyed, Alexander enjoyed the moment. This was what he loved. Magic and seeing others excited about learning it. No focus on homework, no grades, just magic. These first years were more excited about magic than the rest of Hogwarts combined, in Alexander's opinion.
He quickly taught them the incantation and had them practicing with the animation charm. As he slowly walked around the circle, correcting wand movements and pronunciation, he cast Color-Changing Charms on the stone soldiers to match the student's house. The Ravenclaw students cheered on their year mates, encouraging them, and it was only a few minutes later that all had accomplished the spell but a lone Slytherin first year. She was cheered on by a Hufflepuff and Gryffindor student on either side of her, and when her stone soldier staggered to its feet, they all cheered.
Alexander let them play for a little while, getting used to moving the stone soldier around with their bodies and magic. But as his eyes fell upon a log in the middle of the circle, he had a devilish idea, and he quickly transfigured it. Calling out, he got everyone's attention.
"Now that you've all learned the spells, it's time to put them to good use! Your task? Defeat the beast!" Alexander roared, and the wooden griffin matched him as he cast the animation charm on it, coming to life. It stretched its wings and knocked a nearby soldier away with one paw. The first years shrieked in delight and moved their soldiers to attack.
Alexander could not describe the battle to anyone if he tried. At one point a soldier lept on the back of the griffin, attempting to cut off its head with an admirably sharp sword, before being thrown off. A group of Gryffindors and Slytherins sent their soldiers in, attacking each leg, and sending wooden chips flying with each strike before being brushed away. A clump of soldiers tried to rally in a massive fighting force but were tangled when the griffin lept at them, sending them all to the ground.
The stone soldiers fell out of play when their castors became tired, but the first years stuck around to cheer on those still in. It came down to one final Hufflepuff, her cheeks red with sweat and exhaustion, but a fierceness on her face that rivaled the griffin she fought. By this time, the griffin was missing both of its wings and many of its claws but still screeched angrily at the single, defying soldier. Alexander sent it leaping forward, high in the air to crash on the soldier from above.
The soldier shook with the Hufflepuff's exhaustion but stood firm. It raised its stone spear high under her command, and at just the right angle, causing the crude spear to pierce deep into the griffin's chest. Alexander made it screech pitifully, before finally succumbing to its wounds and collapsing, defeated.
The first years cheered and eagerly surrounded their victorious Hufflepuff, giving her hugs and pats on the back. But it was the cheering crowd behind Alexander that surprised him, causing him to turn to see a small contingent of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students watching, with a scattering of Hogwarts students mixed in. Daphne and Tracey clapped among them, and next to Daphne was a younger girl who could only be her sister.
Alexander turned back to the first years who were looking at the crowd in surprise. "Quickly now!" he said, catching their attention. "Line up and bow to your audience!"
The first years obey, and the clapping intensified. Alexander gestured for the Hufflepuff victor to step forward and to bow again, causing a resurgence of cheers. The poor girl was so happy she was crying, but no one had the heart to mock her. Ignoring the crowd for the moment, Alexander gestured for the first years to come closer.
"Keep your soldiers," he told them. "And keep practicing those two spells and playing with your magic. Don't ever become disinterested in magic and view it as homework, like those poor fools," he said, gesturing with his thumb to the dispersing crowd behind him.
The first years left in an excited group, eagerly talking about their battle, the spells, and the magic. Alexander couldn't help but feel faintly pleased with it all, which was why when Daphne, Tracey, and the younger Greengrass appeared, he even greeted them with a smile.
Daphne and Tracey were taken aback by it, but the younger Greengrass wasn't. She was nearly vibrating with excitement as she asked, "can you teach me that too?"
If Alexander were a naive man, he would have said that Daphne Greengrass gave her sister an eye-roll. Fortunately, he was wise enough to keep that observation to himself. "Greengrass, Davis, little person I don't know," he said, greeting them with a nod.
"I'm Astoria," she said with a pout. She turned to her sister. "Daphne, tell him to teach me!"
Tracey snickered. "Good luck with that, Astoria. This is Alexander Dantes. He just doesn't teach anyone who asks. You-"
"-Okay," Alexander said. Daphne and Tracey both seemed to be thrown off by his easy agreement.
"Yes!" Astoria said, clapping her hands in joy.
"What?" Tracey asked in outrage. She then gained a considering look on her face. "Daphne, tell him to teach me all of his secrets."
Daphne just gave them all a bewildered look.
Alexander, taking pity on her, summoned a rock and handed it to Astoria. "Transfigure this into a stone soldier."
Astoria looked at the stone unimpressed. "But you made all theirs!" she protested.
"They're first years, new to magic. You've been here for at least a year. You should have touched on the spells near Easter last year if I remember correctly," Alexander explained. Astoria seemed to remember something about that vaguely and began to mutter over her stone, wand in hand. It was at this moment Professor McGonagall made her presence known.
"Dantes!" she screeched. She plowed through the group of older students, sending wizards and witches from three schools running from her path. "What's this I've heard about gladiator matches on the grounds?"
Alexander sighed and looked at Daphne and Tracey. "Observe, the reason why I don't pay attention in Transfiguration."
The two Slytherins were saved from replying by Professor McGonagall skidding to a stop before them. "Explain yourself!" she demanded.
"Well, the only thing that was hurt was that log," Alexander shrugged, pointing to the remains of his griffin. The spells had long since faded, leaving it to crumble apart into a pile of kindle. "Although I don't think I asked the crowd for their vote on whether it should be spared or not. My bad."
Professor McGonagall flared angrily like a bull. "You think you're funny, don't you. I've lived through decades of pranksters, hooligans, and ne'er-do-wells! Trying to start blood sports on Hogwart's grounds, in front of the visiting schools! Have you no shame? You are already a liar and a cheat, would you add attention seeker to that?"
Alexander's face only grew colder the longer the professor talked, become positively glacial when she mentioned the foreign schools. The visiting students began to scurry away, their opinions of Hogwarts now forever tainted by the actions of one ridiculous professor who wouldn't even bother to get her facts straight before acting. A quintessential Gryffindor.
Daphne tried to speak up in Alexander's defense. "Professor, I saw what happened, and that's not-"
Alexander cut her off, "-no. Is there anything else, professor?"
Professor McGonagall glared down at him, but he met her gaze unrepentantly. "No. If I see or hear about more of your stunts, I'll have you in detention so quickly you'll think I used a switching spell!"
And with that, the stern woman walked off, leaving the four students in her dust.
"Wow, I've never seen Professor McGonagall that mad, not even when O'Blair set Mitchell's head on fire," Astoria said, her eyes round and a lumpy stone soldier in her hands.
Alexander ignored her comment and told her the two spells to animate it and give it weapons. He watched patiently as she practiced it, politely correcting her when she made a mistake.
"Why didn't you let me tell her what happened?" Daphne asked. Tracey was shooting looks between the pair as if she couldn't figure something out.
Alexander sighed. "Because it wouldn't change anything. She's spent three years building me up in her head as a liar and a cheat despite the facts being shoved in her face repeatedly. There's no need to drag down her opinion of you with mine."
Daphne was silent for a long time. "You're an odd man, Dantes."
Alexander gave her a tired smile. "I think after what we've been through, you can call me Alex."
Daphne gave him a small nod. "You may call me Daphne, Alex." She paused, considering his name. "Why not Alexander?"
Astoria distracted the trio by getting her stone soldier to dance, holding its spear aloft. Alexander took this moment to slip away, a troubled expression on his face and in his heart. The reason why he asked Daphne to call him by Alex, a name only his family used was simple:
It felt right.
Magic Break Can't Be Seen
It was only a few days later that Mandy Brocklehurst and Terry Boot approached Alexander in the library. Both looked upset to be there, which was a rather amusing look for two Ravenclaws to have in a library. Still, he guessed their unhappiness stemmed more from having to interact with him than the books.
"Dantes," Terry greeted with a forced nod. He seemed to be waiting for Alexander to reply.
"Boot," Alexander replied. He hoped that he sounded as disinterested as he felt. Judging by the pained expression on Mandy's face, he reasoned so.
"We were hoping you'd wear one of these," she said, holding out a small button for him.
He gave it a short glance before snorting. Potter stinks, how quaint, Alexander thought. Outloud, he merely said, "no thanks."
Both Ravenclaws blinked in confusion at him. "But you've got to," Terry tried to say.
"Why?"
"Because of house unity! School unity! We've got to support Cedric!"
Alexander finally looked up from his book. "So you want me to support a champion in another house, to spite a champion in a different house, for no other reason than because you think I should support our house, and thus the school, with the rest of you?"
"Yes!" Terry shouted, pleased that Alexander finally understood.
"No," Alexander said, returning to his book. Daphne Greengrass walked past the two stunned Ravenclaws to join Alexander at his table.
"Everything alright here?" she asked, her expression calm, but Alexader noted that she gripped her wand tightly under the table. He couldn't help but feel mildly touched that she was willing to help him without any prior knowledge.
"Yes, Boot and Brocklehurst were just leaving," Alexander said. Mandy seemed to understand he wasn't going to take the ridiculous button and finally lowered her hand. "They seemed to think I would like to wear a button for some forsaken reason."
Daphne gave a polite laugh, cold and mocking, but her wand was still trained on the pair. Alexander gently nudged his knee into hers, to tell her to relax. He was relieved when she did, hiding her wand on her person.
Terry, meanwhile, glared at Daphne. "Should have known not to bother. Everyone knows the Greengrasses are Dark," he spat. Daphne tensed and went for her wand again.
"Dark? I didn't know you were sacrificing virgins under the full moon," Alexander said mockingly, to disarm the tenseness of the situation. Daphne wrinkled her nose but relaxed in her seat. "You should have invited me."
"Of course not, we're not barbarians. We eat them for supper, to promote longevity," Daphne said haughtily. "I'll invite you to our next buffet. It's to die for."
"You're both Dark!" Terry whispered in horror. Mandy didn't seem to grasp Terry's horror.
"Thanks, I've been working on my tan," Alexander deadpanned. Terry grabbed a confused Mandy's arm and pulled her away. "Well, that was a waste of five minutes of my life. Thank you, Daphne."
"You're welcome, Alex," Daphne said, and a small thrill went through him at her saying his name.
The pair read silently for a moment before Daphne whispered to Alexander. "Tracey doesn't know everything."
Alexander turned a page. "What doesn't she know?"
Daphne seemed reluctant to talk but visibly steeled herself before doing so. "She only knows that I saw you doing wandless magic. Not that I was taken and why, or by whom, or how they were," she hesitated, "taken care of."
"So why did you tell her about me but not the rest?" Alexander asked, curious.
"I came back to Hogwarts shocked. I couldn't hide it well enough. Fortunately, she seemed to buy it when I said it was because I saw you throwing around magic without your wand like it was candy."
The pair was silent, lost in their thoughts. It was Alexander who broke it this time. "You need someone to talk to about it. You want it to be her, your best friend, but don't know how to approach it."
Daphne twisted so fast in her seat to look at him he heard a crack as her neck popped. "How did you figure that out so fast?" she hissed.
Alexander shrugged as he turned another page. "If you were going to talk to me about it, you would have done so. You wouldn't have gone to your sister as she's too young to have her innocence ruined. Tracey is more mature, trustworthy enough, but you're worried that she'll look at you differently once she finds out what happened. She will."
Her fingers dug into his arm, in warning or shock he didn't know, but Alexander wasn't going to back down on this. "It's not a good or a bad thing. She'll know that you were taken yes, attacked, but that you carried this weight for months by yourself. She'll feel pity then sympathy then compassion, well if she's any half-way decent human being that is. Which brings us to you." Alexander snapped his book shut and turned to look Daphne in the eye.
"You're worried she'll look at you as this fragile thing to be protected, that she won't treat you like a person anymore. Or that she'll say it was your fault, that you were asking for it, am I right on any of these?" Alexander asked.
Daphne didn't answer, nor did he need her to. Her trembling body was answer enough, so he continued. "Daphne, there is one crucial question you're not asking here, so I'll ask it for you: Is Tracey your friend, someone you'd trust with your deepest, most intimate secrets?"
Alexander knew he was asking a Slytherin if they trusted someone, an exercise in futility for most, but he was also asking a young woman if she had faith in her best friend. Daphne gave him a small nod in return.
"Then go to her, tell her you need to talk, go somewhere private, and don't stop talking until you get everything off of your chest. It'll hurt, make you feel horrible, and it will be very unpleasant to live through again, but then you will feel free. Trust me on that, Daphne."
Daphne didn't reply, merely grabbing her bookbag and almost running away. Alexander didn't feel pity at a once broken soul or envy that she had someone she could confide in. After all, he had been broken once too.
He just hoped her path to healing would be less painful than his own.
Magic Break Can't Be Seen
AN: How are you guys liking the story so far?