Alex panicked when he heard it and was about to turn behind, but stopped when he felt the tip of a wand poking his back.
"Nu-uh, don't move, don't turn back and raise your hands. I don't have much time left but I am not an enemy. You are too strong and that's the reason I had to take these steps. The time here won't stay still for too long so we have to switch places. Tell me a place where we can talk alone. Fast."
Alex raised his hands obediently as his wand was inside his robes and taking it out would take longer than shooting a spell. He thought for a while before giving his answer, "…. The astronomy tower at night or we can also meet at the boy's lavatory."
The voice behind him took a second to decide before speaking again, "All right, astronomy tower it is. Oh and, just in case, let's make a blood pact."
"What's th-"
"A promise made with blood. Here, use this to prick your thumb.", he said as he interrupted Alex and placed a small needle in his hand.
Alex did as he was told and pricked his hand. A tiny drop of blood oozed out and before it could fall, another thumb came from behind and pressed against Alex's.
"Repeat after me. I swear upon my blood that I will not harm the person who has mixed his blood with mine. The one who breaks the pact will die a painful death."
Alex repeated after him as he didn't mind. He never thought of hurting the guy as long as he didn't see him as an obstacle to his goals.
"Phew… that was hectic. Anyways, I'll see you on Saturday night at the top of the astronomy tower after the quidditch thing with your seniors.", the guy said and before Alex could respond, he was gone and after a few more seconds, everyone continued moving like nothing had ever happened.
Alex sighed and looked around observantly for a few seconds before giving up and continuing to have his dinner.
*****************
Days passed as he spent most of his time attending classes in the day and quidditch practice in the evenings. It was Thursday afternoon when Aman saw Alex leave the common room early.
"Mate, we got to practice at five so don't forget about it, kay?"
Alex looked at him and nodded before continuing on his way out. He headed to the great hall to look for Neville who seemed to be waiting for him along with Hermione.
"Hey guys." He greeted them as he sat down on a stool nearby before looking at them.
Both the Gryffindors stared at him cluelessly for a few seconds before Neville took it upon himself to ask the question that had been bugging him and his friend for the past few days.
"Umm… w where are we supposed to practice?"
"Huh?", Alex said as he ran his fingers through his hair that had grown a bit too long.
"I mean… shouldn't we get a place to do all the practice?"
"I expected you guys to find a place… you should be the one to show the initiative, Neville. It'll be pointless if Hermione and I do everything.", Alex replied, clearly looking irritated while there was something else in his mind.
'Looks like I forgot about getting a classroom…'
Hermione didn't interrupt while Neville hung his head low, looking guilty as he spoke, almost like he was whispering.
"I'm sorry. I'll get a classroom next time…."
Alex sighed as he shook his head, "I'll do something about it. We don't need a classroom so you don't have to do anything."
"What do you mean?", Hermione quipped in and Alex looked at her before replying, "Not here. It's a secret, a very important secret."
Alex headed outside to the yard filled with trees while the other two followed him eagerly, wanting to know the kind of secret he would share with them. The three of them found a nice place under a tree and it fit Alex's requirements as he didn't want people seeing him perform high-level magic.
"This place is mostly empty in the afternoon but it still is better to have another deterrent against stray eyes." He said conjuring a ragged tent that was stored away in his home as he never expected to use it.
A few more spells later, the tent stood erect and Alex crawled him before the other two followed his actions. Hermione looked around, surprised by the interior while Neville sat down calmly like it was normal.
"Aaalriiight…." Alex said as he stretched lazily before looking at them, "Give me anything metallic."
Neville and Hermione looked at each other's faces before they searched for something to give him. While Neville placed a few knuts and sickles on the ground, Hermione stood up.
"I'll go get something right now."
Alex shook his head and said, "It's all right. These coins will do."
Hermione sat back down while Alex took out a small box and tapped it a few times before a whole lot of knuts began spurting out from it. He tapped the box after he got approximately fifty coins and put it back into his pocket.
He didn't spare even a second to explain to the other two as all the coins began to float in the air and a few seconds later, they slowly began to liquidize. He then shot a few spells on them and began carving runes on the semi-molten metals before forming them into a ring and earrings before cooling them off.
Alex gave the ring to Neville and the earrings to Hermione. Both of them looked at the accessories they were given which looked very plain to their eyes and before they could ask what they were for, Alex spoke.
"I didn't name these yet but what it basically does is that it lets you access a room that I will make in a few days. That room will only be accessible by both of you after another step but make sure you keep this a secret. Oh, I forgot, this also….
[A/N: Yikes, I forgot to set the drafts' release time. Luckily I checked it out today. I hope you have fun reading!]