It didn’t take long for the news of Alvin joining the Ravenclaw Quidditch Team to spread throughout all four Houses.
Gryffindor wasn’t particularly surprised.
After all, their famous Boy Who Lived had joined the team as well.
Hufflepuff, meanwhile, carried on as usual.
The badgers largely minded their own business and didn’t have much to say about it.
Slytherin’s reaction was a little different.
Draco Malfoy sourly declared that his Head of House actually respected school rules.
Otherwise, he could have joined the Quidditch Team in his first year too.
Rumor had it that Draco even tried reporting the matter to Professor Snape.
Unfortunately for him, one icy glare from the Potions Master had sent him fleeing immediately.
As for Ravenclaw…
They were by far the happiest.
The house’s Quidditch record over the past few years had been mediocre at best.
But Alvin was different.
Surely someone this talented would lead Ravenclaw back to glory.
Several older Ravenclaw witches even organized a special cheering section dedicated to supporting him during matches.
Many younger witches eagerly joined.
Some girls from Gryffindor and Hufflepuff even signed up as well.
Roger Davies was intensely jealous.
He was the team captain.
Where was his personal fan club?
Alvin, however, couldn’t have cared less about any of that.
His schedule was packed from morning until night.
After classes each day, he headed straight to the library.
There he studied, completed assignments, and read alongside Hermione.
Ever since the Flying lesson incident, Hermione had avoided him for about a week.
The moment class ended, she would disappear.
Not even giving him a chance to talk.
But eventually things returned to normal.
In fact, she seemed to have joined his cheering section too.
Girls were impossible to understand.
Alvin gave up trying.
As long as Hermione was acting normally again, he was satisfied.
After all— That meant he could copy her homework.
Yes.
Copy.
The essays Hogwarts assigned were long, boring, and painfully tedious.
Rather than writing them himself, Alvin frequently borrowed Hermione’s work under the pretense of “reviewing and offering suggestions.” Hermione never suspected a thing.
Considering Alvin’s classroom performance, why would she?
He had already earned well over a hundred points for Ravenclaw.
If anything, she assumed he was helping her improve.
Most of Alvin’s free time was devoted to studying Ancient Runes.
His progress had been substantial.
By now, he had gained a deep understanding of several fundamental runes.
Runes representing concepts such as: Fire.
Wind.
Water.
Thanks to that research, he had even achieved limited wandless spellcasting.
Simple magic only.
But genuine wandless magic nonetheless.
The deeper he delved into runic theory, the more convinced he became.
One day, he would be capable of performing any spell without a wand.
And when that day came…
If he ever encountered Voldemort…
He could simply open his mouth and cast the Killing Curse.
One breath.
One Avada Kedavra.
Problem solved.
Outside of studying, Alvin also spent considerable time training with Cho.
He had even offered to lend her his Nimbus 2000.
As a Beater, speed wasn’t especially important to him.
Cho, as a Seeker, would benefit far more from the superior broom.
Unfortunately, she refused.
For exactly the reason Alvin expected.
The Nimbus had been a gift from Professor Flitwick.
Using it herself felt inappropriate.
Besides, she genuinely liked her Cleansweep Seven.
In the end, Alvin had no choice but to let the matter drop.
After all, Christmas wasn’t far away.
By then, Cho would receive a Nimbus 2000 of her own.
Missing a single match wasn’t a major issue.
Before long, October arrived.
One afternoon, Alvin and Cho were eating lunch together as usual.
Suddenly, a paper crane fluttered down from above and landed neatly beside his plate.
Alvin blinked.
He unfolded it and began reading.
Mr.
Gaunt, The first Transfiguration Club meeting of this term will be held this Saturday afternoon.
The location is the staff lounge adjacent to my office.
As this is your first attendance, you will be asked to complete a brief assessment demonstrating your current Transfiguration ability.
—Professor McGonagall After reading the note, Alvin nodded in understanding.
So it was from McGonagall.
For a moment, he had thought some witch had invented yet another creative method of delivering a love letter.
Beside him, Cho leaned over curiously.
Trying to see what was written.
Seeing her obvious interest, Alvin handed her the note.
After reading it, Cho sighed softly.
“The famous Transfiguration Club…” “Ravenclaw only has two sixth-years in it.” “And they only got accepted last year.” Her tone carried a hint of envy.
Cho’s Transfiguration talent was average at best.
She could keep up with classwork.
But only barely.
Her true strengths lay elsewhere.
Especially Charms.
Joining Flitwick’s Charms Club someday was realistic.
McGonagall’s Transfiguration Club?
Not so much.
Alvin shrugged casually.
“It’s not really that special.” “You just need to transform objects into animals.” “Even if they can’t move.” “As long as they look right.” Cho rolled her eyes.
That was an absurdly arrogant statement.
She was still struggling with transformations between inanimate objects.
Creating a realistic animal was far beyond her current abilities.
Still, she didn’t dwell on it.
The first Quidditch match of the season was only a month away.
Every day after team practice, she stayed behind for additional training.
She barely had enough energy to manage her own schedule.
Never mind worrying about Alvin’s.
Soon, Saturday arrived.
Following Professor McGonagall’s instructions, Alvin headed toward the staff lounge near her office.
Ready to attend his very first Transfiguration Club meeting.
If you’d like, I can also continue with Chapter 25 while maintaining the established glossary, continuity, and character voices.