Chapter 92
Chapter : A Path of Power and Purpose
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Alex’s POV
It was only the second week back, and Professor Flitwick had already called me to his office, an invitation that piqued my curiosity. I found him at his desk, looking over some parchments, but he looked up with a wide smile as I entered.
“Ah, Alex! Come in, come in!” Flitwick gestured for me to take a seat. “I’ve been hearing quite a bit about your Thunderbolt broom and the MelodyCharm device. Brilliant work, truly remarkable!”
I grinned, feeling a burst of pride. “Thank you, Professor. We’re always working on ways to push magic a little further.”
After a few more questions about the design process, he turned to a more serious topic. “There’s something else, Alex. The professors have been discussing it at length, and we feel you’re ready for the challenge. Professor Dumbledore has finally granted permission for you to join the O.W.L.-year classes—if you’re interested.”
I could barely contain my excitement. “I’d love to, Professor. Thank you for the trust!”
“Very well, then. You’ll be joining the O.W.L. classes for all core subjects. This will mean a lot more work, but I believe you’ll handle it beautifully.”
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Classes with O.W.L. Year Students
Attending the O.W.L.-level classes was challenging, but it was exactly the type of challenge I enjoyed. Advanced Transfiguration, complex Charms, higher-level Potions… Each subject brought new possibilities, and with them, new ways to understand magic. I was in my element.
The only drawback was Lockhart’s Defense Against the Dark Arts classes. A week of his bizarre lectures was all I could handle. Realizing his lies would be exposed eventually, I decided it was time to speed things up. So, I contacted Rita Skeeter with a list of people rumored to have had their memories altered by Lockhart. Within days, her article was published in The Daily Bugle, and it left no detail unexamined.
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Daily Bugle Article Excerpt: “The True Face of Gilderoy Lockhart”
The article was explosive. It revealed Lockhart’s deceptive use of memory charms to steal other people’s stories and pass them off as his own. The Daily Bugle ran interviews with victims who had only recently started regaining fragments of their memories. They described how Lockhart had charmed them, then erased their memories, leaving them confused and traumatized.
As the truth spread, Lockhart’s reputation crumbled. Aurors came to arrest him right as he was attempting to flee Hogwarts. Watching him being led away in handcuffs was satisfying, to say the least. I could only imagine Harry and his friends’ reaction when they heard the news.
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Harry’s POV
The news about Lockhart spread through the school like wildfire. Hermione looked shocked; Ron was delighted; and I… I was just glad that someone had finally exposed him. Alex had once again managed to make the world just a bit safer and brighter.
Later that night, we were all laughing about it in the common room.
“I knew there was something off about him,” Ron said, grinning from ear to ear. “All those ridiculous stories… Who’d have thought he was just a thief?”
Hermione sighed, looking a bit defeated. “I suppose he won’t be able to teach us anything useful.”
“Well, with him gone, maybe we’ll get someone who actually knows how to teach,” I added. “Alex always seems to know how to handle things.”
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Alex’s POV
With Lockhart out of the way, I could finally turn my attention to the magic I’d been eager to study—ritual magic. Deep in the restricted section of the library, I’d come across notes on rituals originally designed by Rowena Ravenclaw herself. Samhain was approaching, a night when the veil between worlds was thinner, making it the perfect time to perform a powerful ritual.
I’d prepared two of Voldemort’s Horcruxes: the Gaunt family ring and the locket, sealing them in a powerful ritual circle in a hidden room I’d created. My intention was to send their dark essence through the veil, ridding the world of their influence for good while absorbing any remaining knowledge or power for myself.
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The Ritual of the Veil
At midnight, I stood in the circle with seven of my most trusted house-elves around me. Together, we invoked the magic of Samhain, channeling our combined energies into the ritual. The Horcruxes glowed with a sickly, dark light as the power within them resisted, but I held firm. With a final surge, I sent them beyond the veil, their dark energy dissipating into the ether.
As the Horcruxes vanished, a brilliant white light washed over us. The house-elves around me looked different, changed somehow. Their eyes were brighter, their presence stronger, and I could sense that their knowledge and understanding had grown. I felt a surge of energy myself, a depth of magic I’d never experienced before.
Turning to the house-elves, I smiled. “Welcome to the next chapter, my friends. Together, we’re stronger than ever.”
One of them, Dobby, grinned up at me with admiration. “Master Alex… We are ready to serve, and more ready to protect.”
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The Triggered Ward
Not long after the ritual, a warning flared in my mind. The wards I had set around the second-floor girls’ bathroom had been triggered. This could only mean one thing: someone had accessed the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets.
Without hesitation, I summoned my house-elves and quickly made my way to the bathroom. If the Chamber was being breached, I had to be prepared for anything.