The next few days passed in a comfortable rhythm.
Every morning, Alexander arrived at the Burrow with his books and notes.
Homework always comes first.
No exceptions.
Ron complained every time.
Harry tried his best to motivate Ron to finish the homework.
By afternoon, they moved outside for spell practice.
Shields, disarming charms, movement drills.
And, of course, the twins are trying to turn everything into a prank.
One morning, as they were finishing breakfast, a flurry of owls swooped in through the Burrow's windows.
Letters dropped onto plates, heads, and laps.
School letters.
Supply lists.
Permission forms.
Mrs. Weasley gathered them neatly.
"We'll be going to get school supplies tomorrow," she said warmly. "Would you like to join us this year, dear?"
Alexander smiled politely.
"Thank you for the offer, Mrs. Weasley. My mom and I already made plans to meet the Granger family first."
"Oh! That's lovely," she said. "Then we'll see you there."
Alexander nodded.
They spent the rest of the day finishing their homework and playing outside.
When the sun started to set, Alexander waved goodbye to have dinner with his family.
The next day, after lunch, Alexander stood beside his mother, briefcase in hand.
With a swirl of green flames—
They Floo-traveled to Diagon Alley.
Waiting near the entrance were the Grangers.
Mr. Granger looked relieved the moment he saw them.
"Thank you again," he said. "This will be very helpful."
Mrs. Chen smiled kindly.
"It's no trouble at all."
Alexander added casually,
"Don't worry, Mr. Granger. I actually have uses for Muggle currency."
Anyone looking would notice that this was Hermione's parents' first time coming here. Last year, Hermione came alone with one of the Hogwarts professors to buy school supplies.
Having Mrs. Chen with them, they walked the streets with curiosity instead of anxiety.
Whenever they looked confused, Alexander explained.
If he didn't know, Mrs. Chen stepped in with a calm and detailed answer.
Hermione walked between them, absorbing every word like a sponge.
Near the robe shop, they spotted Harry with Hagrid.
Greetings were exchanged warmly.
Hermione immediately fixed Harry's glasses and helped adjust his hair and robes until he looked more presentable.
Hagrid chuckled and said.
"Yer lookin' proper now, Harry."
They all headed towards the bookstore, but Hagrid left to finish his own shopping.
After passing a few stores, they finally spotted the bookstore.
The Weasley family was already inside, waiting in line.
Inside was chaos.
A massive crowd had formed around a small stage.
At the center was Gilderoy Lockhart.
Book signing.
Taking photos with his fans.
Giving his usual speeches about his books and himself.
Alexander's expression flattened instantly.
As they stepped inside to get their books.
Lockhart's eyes swept the crowd—
Then lit up dramatically.
"Well, well! If it isn't the Boy Who Lived—"
He grabbed Harry's arm.
"And the young Troll Slayer himself!"
Cameras turned.
The crowd gasped.
Alexander didn't even slow down.
Lockhart tried to pull him in for a photo, but Alexander dodged his arm and kept walking to find his school books.
Harry, who was too slow to react, got trapped.
Many photos were taken as Lockhart launched into a speech.
While Lockhart was lost in his speech, Mr. Weasley quickly grabbed Harry and hurried all the kids outside as the crowd in the bookstore kept getting bigger.
As they were about to exit, they ran straight into Draco and Lucius Malfoy.
Tension ignited instantly.
Mr. Weasley and Lucius began arguing about their different opinions.
Dark magic.
Ministry raids.
Blood status.
Voices rose.
Mr. Weasley lost his cool and punched Lucius.
He landed a solid hit before other adults stepped in and broke them apart.
After breaking up the fight, Ginny's books just happened to scatter on the floor.
As everyone bent to help pick them up.
Alexander was watching from the side.
His eyes narrowed as he saw Lucius slip a diary into Ginny's cauldron.
Alexander walked forward calmly.
He took all of Ginny's books.
"I thought the twins were buying you new books, Ginny."
She kept her head down, embarrassed.
Without hesitation—
Alexander tossed all her books into his briefcase.
"Don't worry. I'll buy you new ones. They can pay me back later."
Alexander smiled brightly, not because he was doing a good deed, but because the diary was now in his possession.
Lucius was still annoyed from being punched and now being ignored too. He spoke coldly.
"Look! Another Muggle Weasley, you truly drag down pure-blood society."
Alexander turned slowly.
Expression unreadable.
"Who are you?"
A pause.
"Are you calling me a Muggle?"
Then—
He started laughing.