Disclaimer: The world of Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling.
Magic Break Can't Be Seen
Despite his initial contempt for the Yule Ball, Alexander could admit to himself that it was a pleasant evening. And it all started with meeting Astoria Greengrass in the Great Hall.
He was waiting by the door that led to the dungeons when he felt a tap on his shoulder. Turning around, he was surprised to find Astoria standing there, wearing a light blue dress and grinning up at him. He smiled back but looked at her dress in confusion.
"I thought Daphne said I was to wear dark blue?" he asked, tugging at the dress robes he had bought in Hogsmeade just a few days prior. "Give me a moment while I charm it to match."
"Oh, no you don't!" Astoria said, halting his hand with one of her own. "Daphne said not to let you draw your wand until after you met. She said, you might understand then."
Confused, Alexander obeyed. "Okay, but where is she then?"
"Oh, she'll meet us inside. Come on, let's go!" Astoria said, dragging him along.
Bemused, Alexander let her drag him into the Great Hall under Professor Mcgonagall's disproving glare. Inside it looked as though a winter wonderland had exploded all over the castle, with icicles and enchanted snow everywhere. The long tables that previously dominated the hall were replaced by dozens of smaller ones, surrounding a dance floor that looked warm and inviting. Alexander would have looked more but found Astoria dragging him to a table half-filled with witches and wizards.
As they approached, Alexander was surprised to find Daphne and Tracey there with two boys from Slytherin, Theodore Nott and Blaise Zabini. While the witches smiled up at him, both boys scowled and pointedly ignored him, which suited Alexander just fine.
Alexander almost stumbled when Astoria pushed him into a seat next to her sister, claiming the empty place on his other side. He belatedly realized that Daphne was dressed in a gown of dark blue, with silver adornments rising from her hips, wrapping around her chest, and flaring over her shoulders. The overall effect was quite beautiful and made the normally attractive witch look quite stunning.
"Alex," she greeted warmly, the smallest hint of a smile on her lips.
"Daphne," he greeted back, bowing his head to pay proper respect to the beauty before him. "Is it too forward to tell you that your beauty would inspire artists for generations?"
She blushed, but it was Theodore Nott, who sat on her other side, who spoke up. "Spare me this horror until after the meal is over."
Alexander was confused and looked to Daphne. She leaned in to explain, and Alexander felt goosebumps form on his skin as the scent of lavender filled the air. "Tracey and I are acting as distractions for Theo and Blaise tonight. Just ignore them until the dancing starts."
Looking at the two boys, Alexander belatedly realized they were holding hands under the table. Understanding the implications, and remembering the reaction that Herbert Burke and Marvin Fawley received two years ago, Alexander turned his attention to Astoria.
"So what do you think of the Great Hall?" he asked, and the delighted second year began to explain how utterly marvelous everything was.
The night passed quickly, and Alexander wished it could have gone on forever. Tracey left with Nott and Zabini, dancing with the two boys and hiding them from any curious eyes, leaving Alexander to dance with Daphne and Astoria. Despite his previous concerns about being near his classmates, Alexander found the event tolerable, even when Draco Malfoy of all people intruded on their group to ask Astoria for a dance.
Alexander and Daphne swayed quietly to the music as the latter kept a watchful eye on her sister. Tracey had long since vanished with a boy from Beauxbatons, and Nott and Zabini left not long after. Alexander found himself surprised that he enjoyed the night as much as he had, and he knew it was thanks to the witch in his arms.
The music trailed off, the last song of the night finished, and Alexander and Daphne looked at one another. Now that he knew what was before him, Alexander couldn't help but feel entranced that this witch trusted him to be this close, especially after how they met. His eyes flashed to her lips, and he found himself leaning forward...
"Daphne, I'm tired," Astoria's voice cut in, causing Alexander and Daphne to jump apart. Draco Malfoy was nowhere to be seen, and Astoria was tugging on her sister's dress while rubbing her eyes.
"Come on, Astoria, let's get you to bed." Daphne wrapped an arm around her sister. She smiled back at Alexander. "I had a great time tonight, Alex."
"Me too, Daphne," Alexander said. Daphne began to turn away. "Wait! Just one second."
Daphne waited, looking on curiously as Alexander grabbed a pile of enchanted snow off the ground. He compressed it and began to focus his magic into it, changing its shape and structure under his direction. He opened his hand to reveal two necklaces made of ice.
"The icicle is for Astoria, as a thank you for accompanying me tonight," Alexander explained, handing it to the barely conscious girl. She gave him a sleepy thank you. "The crescent moon is for you, Daphne."
She smiled at him and took the second necklace. She blinked in surprise at it. "It's warm!"
Alexander nodded. "If I did it right, it'll stay warm forever. And it should have also kept the Never-Melt enchantment on the snow. I wanted you to have a lasting reminder of tonight."
Daphne gave him a deep, searching look. Before he was aware of what was happening, her lips were touching his, smooth and soft, and warm. It was only a moment, but at that moment, Alexander felt eternity pass him by.
And then Daphne vanished, taking her sister with her, and leaving Alexander alone in the hall.
Magic Break Can't Be Seen
The remainder of the winter holidays passed quickly, although some spent it more productively than others. Due to house divisions, Daphne and Tracey were kept from interacting with Alexander too often, limited to almost silent study sessions in the library. He briefly contemplated revealing the existence of his secret rooms, hidden in Hogwarts, that he had been using for years, but dismissed it when he became overcome with a crippling paranoia that it would lead to him being hurt. Even though he knew he most likely wouldn't, he couldn't shake the feeling.
So he waited patiently for class to begin again so he could speak to Daphne about the kiss. Inexperienced as he was, he trusted his parent's advice of not allowing the topic to remain untouched, that he and Daphne needed to talk about it and what it meant for them. They also told him not to build up a fantasy in his mind about it, and to instead focus on something in the real world like homework.
His homework had been done since the day it was assigned, but Alexander did have plenty of projects to occupy his mind. Despite the roadblock he was suffering from his stone tablet, Alexander worked obsessively on it, refining the enchantments he had added thus far and adding new ones. The latest batch involved sizing spells, specifically ones that would allow him to push or pull on opposite corners to expand and shrink it. He also added a basic charm on the cord to extend the length when pulled and to retract when it was tugged again. Combined, the two enchantments allowed him to wear his tablet as a necklace.
Realizing that it looked slightly off to have a book hanging off his neck, he added another charm to make people disinterested in it. As pleased as he was to have created them, it highlighted another aspect of wizarding society that Alexander had yet to contemplate before.
All of the spells he used on his tablet were ones that had existed for decades. They had just never been combined in this way with this purpose in mind. But there were millions of witches and wizards in the world, many born from the non-magical world. That none of them sought to try new things, or even combine old ones, spoke poorly of their curiosity. He wondered what he could do to change that.
Magic Break Can't Be Seen
The Second Task of the Triwizard Tournament was revealed when the three schools were shepherded out of the warm castle and to the edge of the Black Lake. Alexander wasn't the only one bored of the event, as none of the spectators had anything to do but stare at the almost frozen water before them. So Alexander pulled out his disguised tablet.
He was only a few minutes into reading about the differences between Totem Transformations and the Animagus Transformation when he became aware of a hand reaching for his book.
"What are you reading," Theodore Nott growled. Alexander said nothing as the Pure-bloods hand wrapped around his tablet. He was curious, after all.
Nott released the book as if he had been burned. Pleased that the Anti-Theft Charms worked so well, Alexander merely raised an eyebrow. "It's a book. You might have heard of them."
Nott scowled. "That's not a book. It's a stone square."
Alexander very quickly realized that the pure-blood must have some skill in Occlumency, as otherwise, the mind magics involved would have made him ignore it. "Squares can be books too," Alexander finally said.
"You should watch yourself, Mudblood."
That brought an eye-roll. "You were just defeated by a book, Nott. Something tells me you should be watching yourself."
"You'll regret this," Nott threatened.
"Highly unlikely," Alexander said. It really was. Nott just wasn't a threat to him.
The rude Slytherin pushed himself closer. "You should stay away from Greengrass. She shouldn't sully her blood with you," he whispered threateningly.
Alexander wrinkled his nose as he pulled away. "First, use a tooth cleaning and breathe freshening spell. You need it. Secondly, what and who Daphne Greengrass does is her business and not anyone else's, and finally," Alexander trailed off as he leaned in close, "if you ever threaten me again, I'll let the whole Wizarding World know you're gay. What was it that happened to the last pure-blood who was outed? His wand snapped and banished from his family?"
Theodore Nott snapped his mouth shut, looking furious and terrified of Alexander in equal terms. The sound of splashing alerted Alexander that the champions were returning with their hostages.
Ignoring the trembling pure-blood beside him, Alexander watched as the champions returned. He belatedly realized the French champion was already shivering on the docks, without a hostage, and reasoned she had been forced to retreat. Finally, Harry Potter popped up with Ron Weasley in tow.
Huh, didn't know they were gay. Explains a lot, though, doesn't it? Alexander thought to himself. He shrugged. It's not like he cared what they did or who they did it with.
Magic Break Can't Be Seen
Alexander had barely walked into the castle after the Second Task when he found himself pulled to the side by Daphne.
"Is there somewhere we can talk privately?" she asked. She tapped her wand meaningfully. Alexander nodded.
"Of course. I know just the place." It only took a few minutes and two secret passages to get them to the sixth floor. He pulled aside a tapestry covered in wizards killing one another, to reveal an empty classroom, long devoid of furniture.
Alexander was intently aware that this was the first time they had been alone since the Yule Ball. Despite her clothes returning to the standard Hogwarts uniform, and her hair and make-up returning to her casual looks, he couldn't help but find his attention drawn to her. She was captivating.
"You're beautiful," he said. Alexander realized a moment later that he said that out loud.
"Thank you," she said in return, blushing slightly. Alexander knew this was the moment.
"Daphne, about the kiss at the Yule Ball," he began, stepping toward her.
"Yes?" she replied, matching his step.
"Well, I really liked it." Another step.
"I did too." Daphne matched him. They were close now.
"I'd really like to kiss you again, but I don't know if you even like me in that way," Alexander said. He was not prepared for Daphne giggling in his face.
"Sorry, Alex. But generally when a girl kisses you, it means she likes you," she explained, with a small smile on her lips. Alexander grinned back at her.
"May I kiss you, Daphne?" he asked. Daphne said nothing as she stepped closer. They both leaned in, and their lips met.
Kissing Daphne was just as fantastic the second time. Alexander's arms came up on their own accord, wrapping around Daphne and pulling her closer. They both shifted slightly, and the kiss deepened, and they lost themselves in it.
It could have been a moment, a day, or even an eternity later, but neither one could have said otherwise when they finally pulled apart. They stared into each other's eyes, and for the first time in his life, Alexander could say that he was attracted to somebody. Alexander leaned back in and kissed her softly once more, and the euphoria he felt when she returned it was indescribable.
They pulled apart once more and rested their heads on one another. "That was something else," Alexander said with a dopey grin on his face.
"It was magical," Daphne sighed contently. Then her body went rigid. "Magical! I almost forgot about the wandless magic!"
Alexander chuckled and pulled away from her. "I didn't. I just wanted to make sure we talked about the kiss before we did anything else."
Daphne smiled at him. "I'm glad."
Magic Break Can't Be Seen
Alexander pulled out his long-dead wand, little better than a hollowed-out stick now, and tapped it thoughtfully against his thigh. He and Daphne were still in the classroom, and he was about to begin fully explaining everything he knew about wandless magic to her. He just needed to figure out where to start.
Fortunately, Daphne decided that for him. "So, you mentioned your wand was snapped the first night of our first year?"
He nodded. "Yeah. Duny and Hilliard, seventh year Ravenclaws. They had some friends along, but they're the important ones."
Daphne focused on those names for a moment. "Duny and Hilliard?" she asked. Her eyes widened in realization. "The two boys who were caught cheating on their N.E.W.T.s! They were expelled and hand their wands snapped..."
Alexander smirked as Daphne's eyes focused on his wand. "They snapped your wand. You got even by having their wands snapped in return," she said in realization.
"Are you disappointed in me?" Alexander hated how vulnerable his voice sounded when he asked that but was immensely relieved when she shook her head no.
"I'd be more disappointed if you didn't do anything to get even." She stood there, thinking for a moment before tensing. "The three boys who attacked me, they were part of it too?"
Alexander nodded as Daphne began to pace. "I could never figure out why you responded so drastically to three random boys attacking me, but it makes sense if they had also attacked you. Were they it?"
He shook his head. "I also got Herbert Burke and Marvin Fawley. Outed them for being gay by accident, and the backward society we live in took care of them for me."
Daphne's eyes grew huge. "You got Burke and Fawley killed?" she asked.
Alexander was confused. "No, I got them expelled. I don't know what happened to them afterward."
"Burke hung himself," Daphne explained. "Fawley walked in front of a muggle lorry soon afterward. It was all over the newspapers."
"I didn't know that." Alexander wasn't sure how he felt about that, but he knew he didn't feel any guilt. The seven boys had tormented him unjustly, anything the universe threw at them was theirs to deal with. "But we seem to have gotten off track."
Daphne agreed, and he quickly explained the first month of his first year, of trying to cast magic through a dead wand before lighting a match on fire and then finally casting a hover charm in Charms.
"It seems to be will power," Alexander finally explained. "Wands seem to help us focus it so it can guide our magic, but I didn't have that guidance. I had to learn it very carefully and through much trial and error. I still have moments where my magic acts oddly at times, but its much less than it once was."
Daphne was looking at her wand. "So, how do I gain focus?"
Alexander held out an empty hand to her. "By losing your focus," he said with a small smirk. She rolled her eyes at his pun but looked nervously at her wand. Reluctantly she handed it over.
Alexander turned and walked a few steps away, placing Daphne's wand safely within his robes while he pulled out a tree branch that he quickly transfigured to match. He turned around and held it in front of him. "Summon your wand to you," he ordered.
Daphne focused, before holding out her hand to her wand. "Accio wand!" she commanded. Nothing happened. She tried again with the same results.
"You have cast the spell before, right? You know what it feels like?" Alexander asked. Daphne's brow furrowed.
"What it feels like to do magic." He shrugged. "When you're casting a spell, you're not just saying some bad Latin and waving your wand in some arbitrary pattern. You're guiding your magic, the magic inside of you, to achieve a specific result."
Daphne closed her eyes and focused on the fake wand in Alexander's hand. "Accio wand," she almost whispered. Unseen to Daphne, the wand in Alexander's pocket twitched.
"Try again," Alexander said. Daphne sighed.
"Why? It's pointless," she complained.
"If an eleven-year-old Mudblood," Alexander spat the slur out, "can accomplish this, then anyone can. Do not give up after only a few attempts."
Daphne nodded, but she seemed resigned on her next few attempts, none of them making the wand in his pocket move even the slightest. Alexander realized what was wrong, but he was loathed to do what was necessary to correct it. But he knew he must if he was to honor their agreement.
"Can't even do a simple summoning charm," he said, leaning against a wall. "What kind of witch are you?"
A hurt expression crossed Daphne's face before it vanished. "You're trying to make me mad," she said. "It won't work. Accio wand!"
Alexander continued as though she hadn't talked. He began to fiddle with the fake wand, tapping his fingers on it. "It's not a surprise, though, is it? You're a Greengrass, a Pure-blood. You'll never have to lift a finger for the rest of your life, let alone your wand."
"Accio wand!"
"You never had to do anything for yourself, did you? Everything was handed to you on a platter, even magic."
"Accio wand!"
"Maybe I should just snap it?" Alexander asked suddenly, causing Daphne to halt her furious casting. He gripped the fake wand with two hands. "It's not like it's being used for anything."
Daphne screamed, and her magic answered. It whipped out of her in a fury, scorching the classroom where it hit. One unfortunate bolt lashed out at Alexander, burning the fake wand, and his hands. He fell to his knees in pain and surprise.
Just as suddenly as it was created, it ceased, leaving Daphne panting, crying really, on the floor a few steps away. Alexander slowly staggered to his feet and walked over, kneeling in front of her. In his burnt hand was the scorched wand, and when her eyes fell upon it, fresh tears fell.
"Daphne," he reached into his pocket and pulled out her untouched wand, whole and unburnt, "I'm not that cruel. I know what it's like to watch your wand be destroyed. To watch something that feels like the other half of your soul be broken. I don't think I could ever be that cruel."
Slowly her trembling hands reached out to take both wands from him. Alexander could almost see the moment her magic reconnected with her wand, how it calmed her down, and how preciously she cradled it to her chest. He stood up.
"Keep the fake wand. Use it to practice. But never forget how your magic felt in that moment." There was no need to clarify which moment he meant. "I'm sorry that you had to learn it this way, but it's the only way I know how."
Alexander left the classroom before she could reply.
Magic Break Can't Be Seen
Alexander wasn't ashamed to admit he avoided Daphne after that. He hurt her, he knew he did, but it was necessary to teach her. And while she may never forgive him for it, Alexander had kept his promise to teach her what he could of wandless magic. He just wished it didn't come at such a terrible cost.
The next few weeks were just as difficult for him as his first few weeks at Hogwarts. He was alone again, not even Tracey or Astoria would join him in the library anymore. He feared he had truly ruined his first chance to make friends.
So he distracted himself. He threw himself into his studies and research. It was a week before the Third Task that he attempted something that he knew could blow up spectacularly in his face.
All year he had been slowly emptying his blood into a casket charmed to keep it fresh, and it was finally full. The last time he had dropped the shard of Philosopher's Stone into it, it had grown to the size of a grape, a significant increase that allowed him to run more tests on it. This time he was hoping for a bit more.
He stood as far away as he could from the casket, the Philosopher's Stone in hand. He carefully broke off a sliver, measured it, and wrote down the results. He then carefully levitated the new shard over the casket. With one last check to make sure everything was correct, he dropped the fragment into the container of blood.
He was picked up off his feet, and it felt like his magic was also grabbed, as he was pulled across the room. He crashed into the wooden remains of the casket and found himself covered in debris ranging from old desks to pieces of parchment, and the odd bucket. The compression subsided a moment later, and Alexander found he could breathe again.
Shoving the bucket off his head, he began to search through the wreckage for his prize. He knew the moment he found it as it felt like someone had shocked him with a live wire, causing him to flinch. Proceeding much more carefully, he found a tennis ball-sized chunk of stone and pulled it free.
Almost immediately, something looked off about it. But it wasn't until Alexander pulled the grape-sized chunk of Philosopher's Stone from his pouch and held them side by side that he realized what the difference was. The smaller stone was a much darker red, almost black. His newly created stone was a lighter red, closer to the color of spilled blood, but definitely not the same shade.
Alexander laid on the pile of kindling and thought about possible reasons why. He dismissed the size being the deciding factor as it seemed too trivial. As he lay there feeling his heart race from the implosion, he realized that blood must be the answer and sat up quickly as he understood why.
Nicholas Flamel was using muggles for centuries on his stone. They still had a little magic, just enough to give them a soul, but not much. But there was a lot of excess blood in comparison to the magic used, and that would throw off the balance of the stone. A truly balanced stone would have equal amounts of blood and magic, which would boost its power.
But then Alexander realized he needed to go even further back. Flamel most likely created his Philosopher's Stone by using a ritual to harvest the Latin runes. But those runes were made using the sacrifice of magical and non-magical beings. Still more equal than Flamel, but just as imbalanced.
Which meant, if Alexander could make a Philosopher's Stone without having to rely on harvesting a rune alphabet, using his own blood, of course, the created Philosopher's Stone would be much more potent as it would be balanced. It would be even greater than the original—a Greater Stone.
As Alexander looked at the freshly created Philosopher's Stone in his hands, he realized it would be impossible. The cycle to create a Philosopher's Stone required the use of a Philosopher's Stone. And you couldn't even create a Greater Stone by harvesting a runic language, as they were all created imbalanced.
Alexander smacked himself in the forehead. He would just have to create a runic language from scratch. It would take him years, maybe even lifetimes, but as Alexander held the Philosopher's Stone in his hand, he knew that was well within his reach. He just had to be patient.
Magic Break Can't Be Seen
The Third Task of the Triwizard Tournament arrived in a flurry of excitement for the students of Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang. Everyone was excited to see the final task, everyone but the one person who seemed unimpressed at looking at hedges for the next hour.
What a boring tournament, Alexander thought to himself. The First Task was the only interesting one, and that was only because everyone could see what was happening. As he looked around at the crowd of witches and wizards, sitting on the edge of their seats with looks of anticipation on their faces, Alexander sighed. At least he had his tablet.
"Can we talk, Alex?" a voice whispered in his ear. Alexander froze, recognizing Daphne's voice anywhere, as well as the scent of lavender drifting from behind him.
Alexander stood and followed Daphne to a spot behind the wooden bleachers where they could just barely see a rickety stage set up where important witches and wizards were sitting. Alexander did not care for them, though, as his eyes only looked at Daphne.
She looked beautiful to his eyes. She seemed tired, a little nervous, but overall okay. Alexander braced himself as she opened her mouth, prepared to hear the worst.
"I'm sorry," Daphne said. "I've been trying to think for weeks on what to say about how I acted, but nothing seemed sufficient, so I'm sorry."
Alexander blinked. That was not what he had been expecting at all. He said as much.
Daphne gave him a sad smile. "Did you think I was angry with you?" He nodded. "I was angry with myself. What you said hurt, but it was truthful. Until third year the worst thing that ever happened to me was Astoria flinging her ice cream at my head."
Privately storing that little tidbit for future use, Alexander focused on the moment as Daphne continued.
"When those three boys grabbed me," she trailed off, shivering before her resolve returned. "I hated it. I hated it with every part of my being. I didn't know what to do, what I could do, and the things they said they were going to do to me..."
"I'm sorry," Alexander said. Daphne shook her head at him.
"It wasn't your fault. You saved me, someone who you had never even talked to before. You're a rare breed of wizard, and not even because of your skill with wandless magic. You're destined for great things."
She wrapped her arms around herself. "My family is old. I've never wanted for anything, and I can have any job I want after I leave Hogwarts. I'm lucky, beyond lucky, but I never realized how meaningless that all was until last year."
"I thought my family had power. That's not true at all. We have money. And when it came to my life, it wasn't money that saved me, it was magic and one boy who had been scorned by our world for the circumstance of his birth," she said, her eyes focused upon his.
"If your family were pure-blood, you'd be heralded as the next coming of Merlin." She paused. "No, you're the first coming of yourself. I can see that now."
"My ego appreciates this by the way," Alexander couldn't help saying. Daphne lightly glared at him, but her smile gave it away.
"And then you were willing to teach me wandless magic, the pinnacle of witches and wizards everywhere. You who had already risked so much gave me a gift I could never have reached on my own."
Daphne reached into her pocket and took out the charred wand. It left her hand and spun lazily in the air above them, the ends occasionally lighting up. "You've given me so much," she whispered, "and you've never asked for anything in return. But then, what do you give the man who saved your life?"
Alexander took her hand in his own and gently pulled her close. As he leaned down to kiss her, he whispered the answer, the thing you give a man who wants for nothing:
"You give him nothing, as he only wants you."
Magic Break Can't Be Seen
It wasn't much later that they pulled themselves apart, startled by a flash of bright light, the crowd above them roaring out in delight. They'd barely separated when the crowd above them changed in tone, from cheering to curious, before resting on frightened. Alexander and Daphne made their way to the aisle so they could see.
They had a clear view of the rickety stage full of pompous windbags, who were looking befuddled at a long object before them. Off to the side, Harry Potter was pulled away by Professor Moody, the boy's limbs trembling and his movements jerky. The crowd's whispers spread information faster than the windbags on the stage.
"Potter showed up with Cedric, dead! I wonder how he died."
"What was all that Potter kept shouting? He's back? Who's back!"
"I think he means He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, but that's absurd! The boy is addled."
"Maybe he killed Diggory; he's a Parsletongue, you know."
On and on it went. Daphne left Alexander in search of her sister, quickly collecting her and bundling her off to the castle. Alexander meanwhile kept his gaze on Cedric Diggory, a boy he never knew, lying dead before the Wizarding World. As Madame Pomfrey lowered a white sheet over his body out of respect, Alexander only had one thought going through his mind:
What did this mean for the Wizarding World?
Magic Break Can't Be Seen
AN: End of Year Four.
EDIT: I received a review commenting on how this story appears to be homophobic. This is my response:
This story was written with the idea of keeping canon in place as much as possible. Nobody knew Dumbledore was gay in the story, only a heavily implied relationship (which can be any number of things, plus the source is suspect considering it's Rita Skeeter of all people) between him and Grindlewald that J.K. Rowling confirmed after being published. Dumbledore was, canonically, a magical powerhouse who was a high profile politician and educator, yet this fact was somehow not talked about constantly, which it would be.
Which is why I feel safe in assuming that a homosexual relationship would be viewed very poorly by the wizarding world. Considering how much emphasis is put on blood purity/keeping magical gifts within a family, I feel they'd be heavily in favor of relationships that would enable such a result. Since a magical potion that allows two men or two women to have a child is never displayed or mentioned, I am also assuming it does not exist.
If it also wasn't obvious by what you've read so far, very few people have a "pleasant" time in this story. It was meant to be a more realistic take on canon, which if you think about it objectively, is already a dark tale. I'm just showing another aspect of that darkness, where someone doesn't have a Deus Ex Machina to save the day.
Regardless, there is one point of your review that actually annoys me. "Outing people no matter what situation is wrong and vile". I think you're assuming Alexander knew about their sexual preferences before he acted, which he did not, nor did he know how the Wizarding World would react once it happened. This is also ignoring the fact Alexander was essentially harassed and tortured by these two boys in his first year, and given no reprieve. To put it bluntly: They got what they deserved. Was using their queerness a low blow? Yes. Was it homophobic? no.
For it to be homophobic, Alexander would have had to only target those two boys, and none of his other abusers. He's removed the first two in his first year, the second two in his second year, and he removed the final three in his third year. Them being queer does not excuse their behavior, nor does it (or should) provide them a moral high ground.
EDIT 2: I belatedly realized you meant Alexander's threat in this chapter. My point still stands. It was cruel of him yes, but it wasn't homophobic because he wasn't acting out of hatred and fear, he just wanted to be left alone. Nott was the one who sought him out and who tried to threaten him without thinking about the information Alexander had on him. It really says more about Nott's lack of intelligence, than Alexander's motivations. In my opinion, if you seek out someone with the intent to threaten them, you should be prepared for their possible, and most likely hostile, response.
You're of course, welcome to disagree.
I hope you're all enjoying the story!