It didn't take long for news of Alex Gaunt joining the Ravenclaw Quidditch team to spread through all four Houses.
Gryffindor wasn't all that surprised — after all, their own golden boy, Harry Potter, had just gotten onto the team himself. So what if another first-year did the same?
Hufflepuff, as always, kept to themselves. No big reaction there.
But Slytherin… ah, Slytherin.
Draco Malfoy was especially sour. He huffed that if his Head of House weren't such a stickler for school rules, he would've been on the team too. Word around the castle was that Draco had actually tried to tattle to Snape about the first-years sneaking into the teams.
Snape's response?
A single cold glance.
That was enough to send young Malfoy scampering back with his robes between his legs.
Ravenclaw, on the other hand, practically exploded with excitement.
Their Quidditch performance had been mediocre for the past few years, and now suddenly — they had Alex Gaunt.
The boy who could catch a falling girl from twenty feet in the air.
The boy who cast Levitation Charms mid-flight like he was born for it.
Surely, this was the year they'd take the Quidditch Cup.
So much so, that a few upper-year girls took it upon themselves to form an actual cheer squad for Alex. It started with just a few Ravenclaw girls — then somehow, it picked up steam.
Before long, girls from Gryffindor and even Hufflepuff were joining in.
Roger Davies, Quidditch captain and resident ladies' man, was fuming with envy.
He'd led the team for two years and not once had a cheer squad. But Alex Gaunt waltzes in, saves one girl, and suddenly he's a school heartthrob?
Unbelievable.
But Alex didn't really care about the fanfare. His schedule was packed tight.
Every day after classes, he went to the library to study with Hermione. Ever since the flying class incident, she'd been acting strange — running off right after lessons, barely saying a word to him.
But after about a week, she returned to normal. Smiling again. Talking again. Even joined his cheer squad, apparently.
Girls were way too hard to figure out.
Still, as long as Hermione was back to herself, Alex wasn't complaining.
After all, that meant he could start borrowing her homework again.
He had no shame. Those ridiculously long essays Snape assigned? Alex had no time to waste making them up. He'd take Hermione's work, tweak a few words here and there under the noble banner of "editing"… and submit it as his own.
Hermione never suspected a thing. Why would she? Alex always aced his classes and had racked up over a hundred House Points already. He had the perfect cover.
Most of his real focus was on Ancient Runes.
That was where his passion — and his power — truly lay.
He was making rapid progress, mastering elemental runes like fire, wind, and water. These weren't just scribbles on parchment — he was beginning to cast with them. No wand. No incantations. Just the pure, primal magic of runes.
Simple spells were now entirely wandless.
And if he kept going at this rate… he might one day cast everything without a wand.
When the time came to face Voldemort, he'd be ready. He'd spit runes in his face like a machine gun. Take that, snake man.
Aside from the runes, there was also Quidditch. He and Cho trained together every evening.
Alex tried offering her the Nimbus Two Thousand — after all, he was a Beater. He didn't need speed. She was a Seeker. She did.
But Cho gently refused.
"It's from Professor Flitwick," she said. "It's yours, not mine."
She loved her own broom — a Cleansweep Seven — and didn't feel right borrowing his.
Alex gave up after that. Let her keep her Cleansweep. Once Christmas rolled around, he'd buy her a Nimbus of her own. That had been his plan anyway. Missing one match wouldn't hurt.
...
By the time October rolled in, Hogwarts had fully settled into its rhythm.
The homework was piling up. Fast.
One afternoon in the library, Alex spotted Harry and Ron groveling to Hermione over a three-foot-long essay Snape had assigned.
Single-spaced.
On Dittany's properties in healing potions.
Alex chuckled. That was nothing. His past life had been filled with academic drudgery. If there was one thing he could do with his eyes closed, it was churning out garbage essays.
He breezed through the assignments and still had time to train with Cho, master runes, and flirt his way to another stolen kiss now and then.
They both made the team, by the way.
Cho as Ravenclaw's Seeker. Alex as Beater.
"I chose it so I can protect you," he'd told her with a wink.
"You just focus on the Snitch. I'll handle everything else."
Cho's blushing face was reward enough.
...
Then, one Thursday at lunch, as Alex was cutting his steak beside Cho, a paper crane fluttered down from the air and landed neatly on his plate.
He blinked.
Another fan letter?
No — this one was neat. Elegant. Official-looking.
Unfolding it, Alex read the delicate script:
Mr. Gaunt,
This term's first meeting of the Transfiguration Club will be held this Saturday afternoon in the staff lounge adjacent to my office.
As this will be your first meeting, you will be required to complete a short demonstration to assess your current level.
— Professor McGonagall
Ah. So that's what it was.
For a second, he thought some girl had found an overly dramatic way to send a confession letter.
Cho peeked over his shoulder. "What's that?"
He handed her the paper crane.
"Wow… The Transfiguration Club?" she whispered. "Only two sixth-years from Ravenclaw got in last year, and they barely made the cut."
She sighed. "I've never been good at Transfiguration. Charms I'm fine with, but transforming things? Nope."
"It's not that hard," Alex said, entirely too smug. "As long as you can turn something into an animal, even if it's just for show, that's good enough."
Cho gave him a look.
She was still struggling with changing one object into another. Animal transfigurations were miles away.
Still, she let it slide. The first Quidditch match of the year was just around the corner, and she was staying late after every practice to train harder. She didn't have the time — or energy — to be jealous right now.
...
Saturday came quickly.
That afternoon, Alex walked confidently to the staff lounge beside McGonagall's office, ready for his first real taste of the Transfiguration Club.
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