The new semester began, and one of his first decisions upon returning was restructuring the Dueling Club schedule.
Instead of running six days a week, having only sunday's off.
Alexander reduced sessions to:
Wednesdays → Saturdays
Four days total.
That left him with three full days of uninterrupted peace.
No one complained.
In fact, most members looked relieved.
Training under him was effective but exhausting.
The reduced schedule gave students more time to recover, study, and mentally prepare for the next brutal session.
For Alexander, it freed time for more important priorities:
Advanced spell research
Private training
Business planning with the twins
And, of course, time with Cho
As weeks passed, Alexander began noticing a pattern.
Three students were spending an unusual amount of extra time in the library:
Harry Potter
Ron Weasley
Hermione Granger
They weren't just studying class material.
They were searching for something.
Restricted sections.
Old records.
Alchemy texts.
Historical wizard profiles.
Alexander only needed to observe them twice to understand everything.
They were searching for information about:
The Sorcerer's Stone and Nicolas Flamel
He already knew.
Knew what the Stone was.
Knew where it was hidden.
Knew who was guarding it.
Knew what was coming.
But he didn't interfere.
Didn't approach them.
Didn't offer help.
Didn't warn them.
Because timing mattered.
He would step in when it was necessary.
For now, he let the trio struggle through clues, books, and theories on their own.
There was, however… one distraction that lingered in his thoughts.
A certain wooden hut near the forbidden forest.
Belonging to Hagrid.
Inside that hut will be a dragon.
A newly hatched Norwegian Ridgeback.
Small.
Fierce.
Valuable.
Rare.
He had seriously considered stealing it.
Raising it.
Training it.
Bonding it to himself long-term.
The idea alone was tempting beyond words.
But after careful risk analysis, he dismissed it.
Too dangerous.
Too many variables.
And most importantly—
Albus Dumbledore.
The "all-knowing" headmaster would absolutely notice.
If the dragon disappeared…
If Hagrid panicked…
If investigations started…
It could lead back to him.
And Alexander had far more valuable assets at risk:
His Troll
His enchanted briefcase ecosystem
His business operations
His school influence
Losing any of those over a dragon wasn't worth it.
He would get a dragon someday.
But it would be Legal (or untraceable), and he will be fully prepared to raise it.
Not stolen impulsively from a gamekeeper's hut.
The trio kept researching.
The twins kept scheming.
Cho kept smiling.
And Alexander…
Watched everything unfold from a comfortable distance.
When the noseless parasite decided to show himself, Alexander would be the final winner.