Such a response did nothing to decrease the size of Neville Longbottom's ego. The round Gryffindor puffed out his chest in pride, and his classmates cheered for him as if he had won an Olympic event. When the Professor called her name, his reaction was much different, he smiled in a dreamy way, and rubbed his hands together in excitement. Alexandra, already in a suspicious mood today, didn't enjoy it a lot. She felt like a very juicy canary in front of a nice but very large cat.
The first half of the class today was about the theory behind the basic Lumos charm, which was a spell to create a source of light. Professor Flitwick stated it would take them the month to master the charm, as it was the first spell they were learning. As the year progressed, affirmed Flitwick, they would learn charms of greater difficulty and with a greater frequency as their control over their own magic increased and grew more focused. The rest of the class was filled with the students shouting "Lumos!" in their best voice, trying to create a light at the tip of their wand. A Gryffindor boy named Seamus Finnigan managed to create an explosion instead of the expected light on his first try, and was sent to the infirmary right away.
Neville Longbottom managed to create a tiny light on his third try, but he was the exception. And as the students failed to master the spell, they began to shout the spell even louder, giving Alexandra a headache.
Alexandra concentrated, trying to regain the feeling of magic she used in the Fumos spell, and then did a loop with her wand, shouting "LUMOS!" in a loud voice. An explosion of light was expelled from her wand, blinding her on the spot.
She heard "Nox!" being shouted from her teacher's direction, but it took several minutes for her vision to clear again.
"Very good, Miss Potter!" said in an amused tone Professor Flitwick once her vision had returned to its normal state, "But next try, less power in it!" His voice was giddy, as if she had just made a very good joke.
Turning to see the rest of her class, Alexandra saw her housemates and the Gryffindors were less than amused. In fact, they were looking at her with terrified faces, like she had just confirmed all their suspicions. Turning back, she sighed. No matter what she did, it seemed to convince all the first-years she was their enemy.
That her second spell was more controlled and the third was nearly perfect changed the terrified tones behind her into jealous expressions. Alexandra sighed again, knowing the silent treatment and the hate she received in her childhood with Dudley had a very good chance to continue a new year and beyond. She got ten points for Ravenclaw for her spell work though, erasing the points lost by Ravenclaw in Potions class in the morning. The bushy-haired Gryffindor girl named Hermione Granger took ten points for Gryffindor too, managing a perfect Lumos two minutes after her.
Finally the school bell rang announcing the end of the lesson, which caused the professor to stop their attempts. Except Neville Longbottom, Hermione Granger and Alexandra herself, who had all managed to correctly use the charm, the rest of the class was assigned the task of practicing the Lumos charm as homework for Friday.
"Miss Potter if you would follow me to my office?" said Flitwick. Alexandra forced herself to breath calmly, knowing the time to answer for her actions last night had finally arrived.
The office of Professor Flitwick, as it happened, was at the end of the same corridor the Ravenclaw common room was located on. The office was surprisingly welcoming, and she noticed her trunk was waiting there. The office was full of trophies and cups her Head of House had won in his younger days. She took her time to look at one which was a representation of two wands locked together, with a golden plaque on the side indicating this was the award for the Champion of the Berlin Tournament of 1960.
Looking back at her professor, she noticed her Head of House had sat on a rather comfortable chair and was busy examining her in turn.
"Please sit, Miss Potter" said Flitwick in a pleasant tone."Would you like some tea or some biscuits?"
"Biscuits would be fine, Professor." Alexandra said. A plate of biscuits appeared magically in front of her. Alexandra took one, and ate it. It was excellent.
"Now let's get started, shall we? First, Miss Potter, I must present you my excuses."
That Alexandra had not expected. As far as she remembered no one had ever presented excuses in her childhood. No matter if they were deserved or not.
"Err... excuses, Professor?"
"Yes, excuses. Last night, I was so excited to get you in my House that I forgot the most basic precautions for your security," Flitwick elaborated.
"When your mother was at school, she was one of my brilliant students. When the Hat sent you to Ravenclaw, I was so happy I basically forgot most of my House would not share my joy."
Alexandra nodded in understanding. "Because unlike you, they saw me as my father's daughter, not my mother."
"Precisely," approved Flitwick. "And it could have cost you your life."
Alexandra shivered at the tone of his voice, which had turned deadly serious.
"No one told me what happened in the aftermath. Was it that bad?"
Flitwick winced. "That depends what your definition of bad is, Miss Potter. Your succession of Fumos spells completely panicked the older students, who threw spells in the smoke which should never had been used against a fellow housemate, much less at school. Fourteen students were sent to the hospital wing. Fifteen if you are included. Thirteen, including you, have already recovered from their injuries and will have no further health problems. The two others, however, will take several days to get out of Madam Pomfrey's care. Being crushed by a library and simultaneously taking twenty spells tend to make serious injuries."