Chapter 106: Harry's Change
Harry and Ron remained huddled in a corner on the first floor, struggling to calm down. The only thing keeping them alert were the distant screams of Crabbe and Goyle.
"Are you still planning to find Dudley?" Ron suddenly remembered Harry's original purpose.
"No need," Harry replied, as if waking from a daze. "Now that I think about it, how could Dudley ever be the type to get bullied? He's more likely to be the bully."
He turned around and started heading back upstairs the same way they came.
"Alexander! What are you doing here?" Harry spotted Alexander Smith nearby, munching on a melon slice.
"I was just curious," Alexander replied casually. "We first-years usually stick together, after all."
"Alright..." Harry responded, still sounding a little skeptical.
"Alexander, you're so sneaky," Ron said, narrowing his eyes. "You've been here all along, haven't you?"
Alexander shrugged it off, not wanting to draw attention—especially with Dudley beating someone up just around the corner.
"Let's just get back to the common room," Alexander said quickly. "Without Harry's presence, what are the other first-years supposed to do if they run into Peeves this afternoon?"
He said it seriously, pretending he had no idea Peeves had started avoiding the area because of him.
By 12:30, Harry, Ron, and Alexander were back in the Ravenclaw common room. The riddle at the entrance was no trouble for Alexander—it took barely a moment to solve.
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That afternoon, they only had one class: Charms. The Ravenclaws also had Herbology, History of Magic, and their head of house's class, which was considered one of the easier ones.
Unfortunately, the first half of Charms was bogged down with dense theory. What Professor Flitwick taught was accepted dogma in the wizarding world, but to Alexander, it felt incomplete. Not incorrect, just... narrow.
At 2:00 p.m., theory finally ended.
There was a twenty-minute break. Professor Flitwick, always full of surprises, pulled out a handful of candies and animated them with a flick of his wand—they tap-danced across the desks, drawing laughter from the students.
Alexander joined in, pretending to be excited.
"Oh! I got chocolate!" he exclaimed. He hadn't expected to get his favorite, and grinned as he ate it happily like the others.
Soon, the fun ended.
"Alright, everyone, please settle down," Professor Flitwick called. "The next forty minutes are for practical wandwork."
"But first, let's do a quick review."
"First, the Shrinking Spell. Repeat after me: Reducio—shrink quickly! Ron, don't wave your wand yet."
"And now the Expansion Charm. Repeat after me: Engorgio—grow bigger! Now then, can anyone tell me why we learn both of these spells together?"
"The Shrinking and Expansion Charms may seem simple," Hermione answered immediately, hand raised, "but they can be unexpectedly dangerous. It's important to learn both so that we can counter one with the other in case something goes wrong—like accidentally shrinking our homework to the size of a speck or turning a toad into a rampaging giant."
"Excellent. Five points to Ravenclaw," Flitwick praised.
"Harry, your last assignment was exceptional," he added. "You explained the origins of the charms in a way I didn't expect. Could you share your thoughts with the class?"
Harry nodded. "Reducio comes from the Latin word reduce, meaning to make smaller. It's relatively simple as a charm. Engorgio, on the other hand, is more complex. It comes from gorge, originally meaning 'throat' in Old French. The adjective engorged means swollen."
"Very good! Ten points to Ravenclaw," said Flitwick with a smile. "And Harry, you're exempt from tonight's homework. Everyone else, please write a seven-inch essay based on what we covered today."
"Begin your practicals now," he instructed. "Only use your wands on the objects I've handed out—not on your classmates!"
With a flick of his wand, buttons flew out from a drawer and landed in front of each student.
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"Harry, what you just said sounds like it came straight from The Evolution of the Curse," Ron said glumly. "But mine doesn't even add up to seven inches."
"Add more details," Harry suggested. "Like, the noun form of reduce is reduction, and the adjective is reducible—meaning something that can be simplified."
"Gorge as a noun means a canyon," Hermione added. "As a verb, it originally meant 'to swallow with the throat,' but later came to mean 'to eat voraciously.' The phrase to be gorged with means to be stuffed with something. Even the word gorgeous—meaning very beautiful—comes from this, as it referred to decorations worn around the neck."
"Wait—how is that related to magic?" Ron looked baffled.
"It is!" Hermione insisted. "The names and origins of spells often come from etymology. Honestly, Hogwarts could use an English class."
"Yeah, exactly!" Harry agreed quickly, clearly impressed with her logic.
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"What do we do now? Go back to the lounge?" Ron asked. It was only 3:00 p.m., and dinner wouldn't be served until 6:00. Astronomy class wouldn't begin until after 7:00.
"Let's go back," Harry said. "That way we can protect the other first-years from Peeves, and we'll get our homework done early. That'll give us the weekend to relax."
Harry had gotten used to being the school's unofficial Peeves repellent.
Alexander, however, had noticed something new. Ever since Dudley came to Hogwarts, Harry's protective aura seemed amplified. His accidental love magic could now repel Peeves even without much effort.
In fact, even if Alexander left a clone behind and went off to fish somewhere far away, the legend of "Harry the Peeves-Banisher" would live on unchallenged.
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"Hey Harry, do you think Hagrid was accidentally hit with an Expansion Charm as a child?" Ron joked. "Maybe that's why he's so tall."
"You're going to visit Hagrid on Friday, right? You should ask him!" he added mischievously.
"Let's go together," Harry suggested. "I'm sure Hagrid would love to see you. Alexander, you should come too."
"Sure," Alexander nodded. "It would be nice to see the last true Hagrid up close."
Everything would depend on tomorrow. Tomorrow was Friday. Would Snape—after everything that had happened—still target Harry?
Alexander couldn't help but look forward to it.
And tonight... was Astronomy. He was honestly curious about how wizards studied the stars differently from Muggles.
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