Vanessa hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Alright, follow me." She guided Alex to a seat, and they waited for the meeting to start.

  Soon, Professor Flitwitered the room, his eyes lighting up when he saw Alex. "Ah, Alex! I'm so gd you made it. Our versatioher day gave me a lot of inspiration."

  The other students gnced curiously at Alex. They were clearly surprised to see a first-year in the club, as it was unheard of for someone so young to be invited.

  Alex stood up politely. "Thank you, Professor. Yuidance has been incredibly helpful."

  Flitwick beamed before moving to the podium.

  "Alright, everyone, let's begin our first meeting of the year." He weled eaew member one by oarting with a fourth-year Hufflepuff named Shirley Leinster. After polite appuse, he introduced Quirinus Quirrell, a nervous fifth-year from Ravencw, who also received encing cps.

  Finally, Flitwinounced, "And our st new member, from Slytherin House—first-year Alex Wilson."

  A murmur rippled through the room. A first-year? Some of the older students exged incredulous looks. 'He's only been here for a few days!' they thought.

  Flitwick had never invited ahis early. The room went silent, and for a moment, no one cpped until Professor Flitwick himself started appuding. "Now that everyone's here, let's get started. I'm excited about the research projects we'll be tag this year." He waved his wand, and the names of various research topics appeared on the board.

  The topicluded:1. Silent casting: Improvihods for mastering silent spells.2. Wandless casting: Expl teiques for casting spells without a wand.3. Development of temperature trol spells.4. Sonic spell development: Researg spells that manipute sound.5. A runes and the evolution of spells across cultures.6. Research high-quality materials for use in the Uable Extension Charm.7. Quantifying and improving magisitivity.

  As the list appeared on the board, Flitwick tinued, "These are the areas we'll be fog on this year. Some of you will tinue research from previous years, while others will start fresh projects."

  Alex sed the topics listed on the whiteboard, and his i in eae grew. Oopi particur caught Alex's attention: Magisitivity. It was an abstract cept, and seeing it on the list made him realize that this club was not just about practice but also about unc deeper truths that could ge the wizarding world.

  "Magisitivity? you really study something so vague?" Vanessa muttered skeptically o him. It was clear she wasn't ied in pursuing such a difficult, abstract topic.

  Alex, however, uood why Professor Flitwick had included it and why the Professor seemed so intrigued by his own magical abilities. Still, he kept that uanding to himself, not feeling the o expin it to others.

  Professor Flitwick tinued, "These are your research topics for the year. As always, any topic that produces results will be removed from the board, while those without will remain for further study. If any new ideas arise during the year, I'll add them. You should each choose at least oopic, though you're wele to explore more. You'll be dug indepe research, gathering information on your own, aing your progress once a week."

  The students around Alex quickly pulled out part to jot dowopics they were ied in. Alex did the same, but instead of pig just one or two, he wrote down all of them. He would decide ter whies to focus on.

  He couldn't help but notice that Flitwick's approach left each student to work alone. In Alex's mind, this seemed ineffit. He thought about how much faster they could progress if they worked in teams, each group tag a specific research topic. However, as a first-year student, he decided it wasn't the right time to voice his opinions.

  "Some of these studies, like topics 1, 2, 5, and 6, have been ongoing for years," Flitwick expined. "It might be hard to achieve breakthroughs, but they will add to our collective knowledge. Topics 3, 4, and 7 are his year. I'm particurly excited about topic 7—magisitivity—which was inspired by ret events." He gave a quice at Alex, who remained silent but noticed the Professor's subtle aowledgment.

  Flitwick then shifted the versation.

  "Before we tinue, let's take a moment to gratute Vanessa Greengrass on her ret success. She's had an article published iury Charms, a leading academic journal in the wizarding world. It's a remarkable achievement."

  The room erupted into appuse as Vanessa stood, blushing but clearly proud. tury Charms restigious journal, and being published in it was a huge aplishment. Alex watched as his senior accepted the praise with modesty. He made a mental o look into subscribing to the journal himself—it seemed like an excellent resource for anyone serious about spellcraft.

  Ohe appuse died down, Professor Flitwick smiled warmly at Vanessa and said, "Today, we'll study one of Vanessa's most exg findings. Her research focuses on the multifunal uses of the Extra Spell, especially how it be bined with alchemical tools that use the Uable Extension Charm fe-scale operations. She has also developed a teique for using the spell to extract moisture from the air, and in rger applications, it could even influence weather patterns."

  Flitwick waved his wand, and a s rolled down behind him, projeg the tents of Vanessa's paper. He began to expiails of her research while Vanessa stood beside him, assisting with the demonstration.

  Professor Flitwick created a thick fog of smoke in the ter of the room, followed by a cloud of ink that mixed with the fog. The two blended into a dark, swirling mist. Vanessa stepped forward, casting the Extra Spell with precise trol. Slowly, the bk separated from the fog, gathering at the tip of her wand until all that was left ure white cloud of smoke.

  The ink, now a dark droplet, floated before her.

  The room erupted into appuse once again.