Ambivalent → Hermione Granger [3] ✔

I 09 I Honeydukes Chocolate

~*~

Alexander found himself enjoying most of his third-year classes. Sure, Astronomy still went over his head and History of Magic was always a bore with Professor Binns' droning voice. Potions were interesting if he kept his head down, worked well with Blaise and didn't draw attention to himself, which passed by uneventfully.

Defence Against the Dark Arts was quickly moving to be his favourite subject, in line with the rest of the students. Professor Lupin was a great teacher and made sure they properly understood how to deal with dark creatures. His habit to check up on Alexander, however, was just a tiny bit irritating after the whole Boggart incident. Lupin seemed to think that Alexander needed to talk, but he felt like he was fine on his own. The incident was done, it was over so why did they need to linger on it? He liked Lupin and everything, he thought he was a decent guy, but there was no way he was going to tell the Professor about his feelings over a bar of chocolate. So, Alexander ensured that every time he wasn't the last one out of the door when class ended. The last thing he needed was Lupin's eyes boring at him as if he were staring into every crevice of his soul.

Harry and Ron complained about their Divination class and Professor Trelawney every chance they got. Alexander was incredibly relieved that he hadn't taken their advice. Sucks to be them. He loved his friends, he really did, but often they weren't the best at making good decisions about grades and classes. He snickered during meals in the Great Hall as they moaned about how dull it was and received grumpy looks in response.

For Alexander, Ancient Ruins were especially a fascinating subject. He'd never heard of anything like it before and learnt a ton of odd information, particularly some that would be good for spells. But it was also the lesson where he'd be able to chat with Hermione the most.

They worked seamlessly; they sat together and shared answers; Hermione would sometimes help him when he was struggling with translations. Her mind was better at picking up difficult topics a lot faster and she was more skilled at explaining the concepts, her head leaning in close over his paper. Alexander was a swift learner in turn and felt comfortable enough to prod her if he didn't understand. He trusted that she wouldn't get annoyed with him. Well, most of the time at least. Without Harry and Ron, Alexander also noticed that Hermione spoke longer without being interjected by the boys and her voice was more light-hearted. She made a few jibs on her own and beamed a lot more when she got an answer correct, her two overgrown teeth on full display. He couldn't help his smile at the sight.

Care of Magical Creatures, he was sorry to say, was becoming his least favourite class and more of a time waster. It was clear to all the students that Hagrid wasn't that confident after the last class and had stuck them to learning about Flobberworms. Alexander was disappointed; all those creatures mentioned in his textbook and not one was going to be touched upon. It was kind of a letdown. And he felt for Hagrid, but truthfully, he'd rather have Kettleburn as a teacher no matter how much he liked Hagrid as a person. But he kept this little snippet to himself, as Harry wouldn't be pleased and had taken up glaring at anyone who so much as huffed in the lessons.

Outside of lessons, he also occupied himself with Duelling sessions with Maurice. He was gradually becoming a proficient dueller, and Maurice commented one day how impressed he was with how far Alexander had come since last year. Alexander could stand his ground against some of the members, and it was only Maurice's experience that gets the better of him. He slowly began to notice other people's tactics: Maurice was good at Defensive spells, and sometimes added a little sneaky one to catch him off guard. The others went for aggressive techniques, which were easier to block, and Alexander had their wands in his hands in a matter of minutes.

Some Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws he saw briefly in the corridors and would wave at them in the Great Hall and chatted with them when grouped up together in classes. Others waved at him without knowing their name. Most people knew Alexander for some reason, more than he realised. The first years pointed at him and whispered his name in a huddle, though he guessed that might have been because Sullivan was with them.