Despite the chaos, both teams refused to call it quits, their captains too stubborn to agree on ending the match.

  With the score still climbing and the pyers battered and bruised, it became clear to Alex that this Quidditch match might go down in Hogwarts history as one of the stra and most brutal games ever pyed.

  He had no iion of wasting more time watg.

  After a quick word to Vivian, he slipped away from the stands, leaving the chaotic match behind.

  As Alex left the stadium, Travers, who had been keeping an eye on him from a distance, smirked. He leaoward his panion, Randall Rozier, and whispered a few words. With matg sneers, the two followed Alex, quietly slipping out of the audience.

  Alex, walking ahead, soon noticed the heavy footsteps trailing behind him. Their clumsy attempt at trag was obvious, loud, and poorly cealed. 'Amateurs,' he thought, rolling his eyes. He had no doubts that Travers and Rozier were looking for trouble.

  Smirking to himself, he decided to lead them on a detour, heading towards the owlery instead of Hogwarts Castle. Seeing Alex ge dire, Travers and Rozier didn't think much of it. They just quied their pace, ready to front him. When Alex reached the owlery, instead of going inside, he circled around the back, out of sight. The two pure-blood boys thought Alex was trying to escape, so they hurried to catch up.

  But as they rouhe er of the owlery, they found Alex calmly leaning against the wall, arms crossed, waiting for them.

  Travers sneered, stepping forward. "You filthy mudblood," he spat, his voice dripping with disdain. "Why don't you run—"

  Before Travers could finish, Stupefy the stunning spell shot from Alex's wand, hitting him square in the chest. Travers colpsed, knocked out cold.

  Rozier, wide-eyed and panicked, fumbled for his wand, but his hands shook so badly he could barely grasp it.

  Alex stepped forward slowly, his expression bored. "Really? You came looking for a fight and didn’t even have your wand ready?" He shook his head, disappointed by their ck of preparation.

  Rozier, finally managing to get his wand out, poi at Alex with trembling hands. "S-stay back! If you e any closer, I-I’ll…"

  Alex raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "You’ll what? Trip over your ow? Or maybe you’ll hex yourself by act."

  Rozier, clearly terrified, squeezed his eyes shut in panid flung a spell in Alex's general dire.

  The spell flew wide, missing Alex by several feet and hitting a distant tree instead. Alex couldn’t help but chuckle. "Well, it seems fear does boost the power of spells, but your aim? Pathetic."

  Rozier, still in a state of blind panic, began firing off spells wildly, eaissing its target by a wide margin. Alex sighed, now more ahan amused. With a flick of his wand, he disarmed Rozier, sending his wand flying across the ground. Stepping forward, Alex kicked Rozier to the ground and pressed his boot into his chest, pinning him down.

  Pointing his wand at Rozier’s throat, Alex asked coldly, "Do you want to die?"

  Rasping for breath uhe pressure of Alex’s boot, whimpered, "N-no, please! Don’t kill me! It was all Travers! I swear, I didn’t want any part of this!"

  Alex sighed heavily. "Why is it so hard to get through to you pure-blood idiots? Is inbreeding messing with your on sense?" He leaned down, his gaze sharp as a bde. "Shut up. I’m not going to say it again."

  Rozier, his eyes wide with fear, nodded frantically and fell silent, except for the occasional cough.

  After a long moment, Alex lifted his boot off Rozier’s chest and crouched beside him. "Are you scared?" he asked in a low voice.

  Rozier nodded, his breath ing in shallos. "Y-yes, I’m scared! Please, just let me go!"

  Alex smirked. "Are you going to mess with me again?"

  Rozier shook his head furiously. "No, never! I swear, I’ll stay away from you! I’ll everavers to back off!"

  "Don’t bother," Alex replied with a cold smile. "In fact, feel free to ence him to e at me. I don’t mind."

  Rozier looked fused and terrified, stammering, "No, no! I’ll keep him far away from you, I promise!"

  Alex let out a low chuckle, then stood up, extending a hand to pull Rozier to his feet. The boy, legs wobbly with fear, nearly colpsed again, but Alex kept him upright. Patting the dust off Rozier’s robes, Alex said, "Look, I’m serious. You don’t o stop him from ing after me. But if you do find out he’s pnning something, let me know."

  Rozier blinked, unsure whether Alex was serious or setting him up. "B-but if I’m caught—if he finds out, I’ll be done for!"

  Alex’s eyes gleamed with mischief. "If you cooperate, I’ll protect you. Ever heard of a 'prote fee,' Rozier?"

  Rozier’s fusion deepened. "Prote fee? What’s that?"

  Alex’s grin widened. "Simple. You give me 10 Galleons every month, and I’ll make sure no one hurts you. Think of it as… insurance."

  Rozier’s face paled. "That’s extortion!"

  "Call it what you want," Alex replied casually, still smiling. "But it’s either that, or you try dealing with your own problems without my help. Your choice."

  Rozier, trembling with the realization of how deep he’d gotten himself into, swallowed hard. "But what if I don’t have enough money? What if I ’t pay you?"

  Alex shrugged. "Then I guess you’ll just have to figure out how to stay safe without me."

  Seeing the deadly seriousness in Alex’s eyes, Rozier nodded weakly. "O-okay, I’ll get the money… I’ll find a way."

  Alex cpped him on the shoulder, his voice mogly friendly. "Good man. I knew you’d see reason."

  Rozier, still shaking, gnced over at the unscious Travers, who rawled on the ground a few feet away. "What about him?"

  "Oh, don’t worry about him," Alex said, waving his hand dismissively. With that, Alex let go of Rozier and walked over to where Travers y. After a quick search, he found a bag of money.

  ting the tents, Alex grinned. "Twelve Galleons and six Sickles. Well, look at that! This covers your prote fee for this month. I’ll even be generous and give you a dist for month—let’s say you owe me eight Galleons."

  Alex’s smile widened as he looked back at Rozier, who was staring at the money bag in disbelief. "And if you ma me some extra useful info iure, I might even reward you. How does that sound? Not a bad deal, right?"