Magnus POV

The Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff tables all stood up and started cheering. The Slytherin table stood up but there were many groans and barely any of them clapped.

Magnus just shook his head. Of course the Herondale kid would be the champion, Magnus thought, literally everyone knew it would be him. How could they not? He was Jace, the star of the Quidditch team and the winner of the Quidditch Cup. Jace, good looking (though not Magnus's type) and funny, with his quick, sarcastic and witty come-backs. Jace, top of his Defense Against the Dark Arts class. Jace, boyfriend of the most talented artist in the school. Jace, who hung out with one of the most gorgeous girls at Hogwarts, who also had a very good sense for fashion and was also a chaser on the Quidditch team. Jace, who everyone either loved and aspired to be or wanted to punch in the face, but didn't because they knew he'd beat them in a fight. Jace, whose best friend went unnoticed, preferring to stand to the side of the spotlight, rather than in it. A friend who went by the name of Alec Lightwood.

Alec Lightwood...

Alexander Lightwood…

Alexander…

Alec, Magnus thought, repeating his name over and over in his mind in every way possible, testing how each sounded.

Magnus had not been able to get the boy out of his mind since their collision in the corridor. He had been heading to the Black Lake with his friends since none of them had a class at that time, not paying attention to where he was walking since after 6 years he knew the way like he knew the back of his hand, when the Ravenclaw suddenly crashed into him (muttering a curse as the books fell to the floor). "Whoa, sorry, let me help you," Magnus had told the boy, as he knelt down. But that was when the boy looked up for the first time, and Magnus was caught off guard by the boy's beauty. He had long, jet-black hair that stood out against his pale skin, skin that cover a tall, lean, and muscular body. But what really stood out were the boy's stunning blue eyes (which his Ravenclaw tie only helped in bringing them out). Magnus made a small gasp when he met Alec's eyes, which he hoped he didn't hear, but the boy quickly looked back down to pick up his books, not showing any notion that he heard him.

Magnus had really wanted to talk to him, but the boy was not paying attention to anything but his task so Magnus settled on talking to him when they finished gathering his stuff. But he made a point of trying to brush his fingers with the boy when handed Alec one of his books, just to see how he responded. Magnus smiled to himself when he saw the boy's skin flush lightly.

But when the two finished and stood up, Alec muttered thanks and quickly started to hurry away. Instinct caused Magnus to reach out and grab the Ravenclaw's arm, and he was glad he did for Alec's skin only flushed more deeply, and Magnus found it strangely endearing. Magnus had felt himself start to smile as he said, "Wait, why haven't I seen you before? What's your name?" The poor (and gorgeous) boy had stuttered as he replied with, "Um, it's A-Alexander. Alexander Lightwood." Magnus's grip had loosed for a second and the Ravenclaw took advantage of it and started to pull away and walk off. But he wasn't quite gone before he said, "B-but everyone calls me Alec." And with that he had hurried away, leaving Magnus to take in what just happened. His friends had called Magnus's name to get his attention. He had been a little surprised when he heard them. He had forgotten about them for the entirety of the scene. They started to ask him questions about what had gotten over him and they started to bug him about the boy, but Magnus paid no mind to anything they said. He just had one thought in his head: Alexander Lightwood.

How had he not noticed him before? They must have had class together at sometime throughout the years. The first few years, everyone took the same classes and Magnus knew the Slytherin kids had a class with the Ravenclaws at least a few times. So why did Magnus feel like this was the first time he had ever met the boy? Surely he had heard his name, had seen him, during the sorting in their first year. Now that he thought about it, he did have a faint memory of those blue eyes, of that black hair in the back of the classroom, but back then there wasn't anything particularly notable, besides his blue eyes, which he always hid under his hair. If there was one thing that was true, the years did a good job on the boy.

During the few weeks between then and now, Magnus spent his spare time searching for the boy, determined to talk to him again. But the boy was nowhere to be found. He checked the library, searched the Great Hall while he ate, got out of class as quick as possible to try and catch him in the hallway, and even walked by the entrance to the Ravenclaw common room one time when he got desperate. But it was all to no avail. Magnus had asked around to learn more about him, which is how he learned that he was best friends with Jace and the older brother of Isabelle. It was amazing how Magnus could have learned about the younger students and knew their names well, but he didn't even know about someone who was in his year.

Whether or not Alec was gay, Magnus had little doubt about it. With the boy's muttering and tendency to flush deep red whenever Magnus had brushed his fingers or when he laid a hand on him was clue enough. The only thing Magnus wasn't sure about was whether the Ravenclaw was out or not. As far as Magnus knew, he hadn't dated anyone before, nor had he voiced his feelings to anyone Magnus had asked. Magnus would have to find out later, when he finally got a chance to talk to Alec, who he suspected was avoiding him.

He searched the Gryffindor table for him as he did earlier once again, all still standing up and applauding, as Jace made his way to the headmaster. He looked for Clary, who he only knew about because she spent so much time with Jace, and would be easier to spot because of her red hair. He spotted her around the center of the table, beaming as she watched Jace walk to the back room. She was standing next to a now empty spot and on the other side of that empty spot was Alec, smiling for his friend.

"Found you," whispered Magnus to himself, thinking about how Alec's smile lit up his whole face.

"What?" Camille asked.

"Nothing," Magnus replied, still looking at Alec.

Camille followed his gaze, "Oh, so he's the one you've been looking for. I admit, he is something to look at, but with the way you've been acting, I expected model level looks." When Magnus didn't say anything, she continued. "Seriously, what has gotten into you? You barely even know him. I have never seen you like this. Did he put some spell on you?"

"No," Magnus replied simply.

"Well, the, I don't see…" Camille started, but was interrupted when the headmaster started to speak again. The students started to settle sown and the Gryffindors finally took their seats again.

As the headmaster began to speak again, Magnus saw Alec turn his head towards the Slytherin table. Magnus gave him a smile and winked, causing his skin to flush and he quickly looked back at the headmaster. Magnus smiled to himself, pleased with the boy's reaction.

And now that Magnus had sight of where Alec was, he wasn't going to let him get away so easy. He would make his way to Alec right when the Headmaster finished speaking.

However, much to Magnus's disappointment, he had not been able to reach Alec when the speech was over. The boy was like water, constantly slipping through his fingers. But Magnus was determined to find him, and he was going to make sure he succeeded.

Magnus spent the next couple of weeks searching for Alec. It was proving to grow more difficult to find him as the first task drew near. No knew what it would be but everyone was more than happy to share their predictions. And the increase in population at Hogwarts wasn't helping either. Even without the other schools, it seemed like the number of Hogwarts students tripled. No matter where you were, you would have groups of people that increased in number as a friend came by to share their new "findings". The surplus of people just blocked Magnus's way in the corridors and overfilled the Great Hall.

Magnus started searching for Jace's blonde head, for Clary's fiery red hair, and Isabelle's tall and curvy physique, hoping that Alec would be with them. However, whenever he saw Jace, he was surrounded by people asking about how he was preparing for the first task, and Alec was never nearby in those situations. Whenever he found Clary, she was usually with Jace, surrounded by the same group of people, or hanging with Simon (Raphael had pointed him to Magnus one day), but never with Alec (which was understandable because Magnus heard the two didn't have the best relationship). And Magnus rarely saw Isabelle except for when she was with Simon or Jace. But in all of these situations, Alec was nowhere near them. Magnus couldn't even find him in the Great Hall, where it seemed Alec had left the Gryffindor table for a while. He was definitely trying to hide from Magnus, though Magnus had no clue why. But, despite all of his failed attempts, Magnus still searched for him.

It was mid-November when Magnus found him. He was in the library with Jace, Isabelle, Clary, and Simon, and they were all looking for spells that might be useful in the first task. Well, Jace wasn't really looking for that matter and seemed to be dazing off, and Clary had put down her book and had proceeded to draw little sketches in the corner of her piece of parchment paper. Isabelle had put her book down as well, as did Simon and Alec, the three of which had started on their homework.

Magnus waited a few minutes by some history books when he heard Jace say that he was going back to the common room. Most everyone decided to go with, except Alec who said he wanted to finish one paragraph in his essay first. They all left, bidding him goodnights, and then Alec was left alone. His hair was covering his eyes as he looked down at his essay. Magnus knew this was his chance. He walked up to Alec on his right rather than his back, which would startle him way too much, or in front of him, which would take away the element of surprise. He walked up to the table and said,

"Why, hello there, Alexander. Fancy seeing you here."