Alex, seated quietly in the er, listened ily. A former curse-breaker haunted by his own magic... this isn’t normal, he thought. I’ll need more information to figure this out.His eyes drifted to the empty chair nearby—a seat once occupied by Vanessa, a Slytherin senior who had mentored him in the club. She’d always been generous with her advice, guiding him through difficult spells. He heard she’d joihe Ministry of Magid was interning in the Auror Offiow. He wondered how she was doing.

  His thoughts were interrupted as Professor Flitwitered the room, two youudents trailing behind him. “Good evening, everyone!” Flitwick chirped. “It’s wonderful to see you all agai’s start by weling this year’s new members.” He gestured to the students beside him. “First, we have Marlin M, a fifth-year from Hufflepuff. Let’s give him a warm wele!”

  The room filled with polite appuse as Marlin smiled and waved. “A, we have Orianna Sterling, a third-year from Ravencw!”

  Alex’s eyebrows rose slightly at the name. Orianna seemed familiar, and as she desded the steps from the podium, he realized why. She’d arrived at Hogwarts the same year as him, though they’d only crossed paths briefly. Orianna’s eyes sed the room as Flitwick directed her to the seat o Alex. When she spotted him, her expression soured.

  ‘Him? Seriously?’ Orianna thought as she recalled their st iion. They ied twice so far and none of it is good experieill, her brow furrowed in fusion as she sat down. Wait a sed. He’s in my year. How’s he already in the Charms Club?

  Meanwhile, Professor Flitwick cleared his throat to refocus the group’s attention. “Now that we’ve introduced our new members, let’s move on to the research topics for this year. Most are the same as previous years, but we have aing new addition this time. I hope everyone will work hard on it!” With a flick of his wand, the whiteboard lit up, and the topics for the year began appearing one by one i, glowiers.

  “The development of elemental magic?” Alex muttered, his eyes lighting up as he spotted the opic. “That’s innovative.” He quickly jotted it down in his notebook.

  Notig this, Orianna followed suit, her notebook open as she recorded the information. Professor Flitwick waited for the students to finish before speaking again.

  “Before we dive into this year’s projects, let’s take a moment to celebrate an achievement. Alex Wilson’s paper, ‘Development and Application of the Echo Spell,’ has been published in several promi journals, includiury Charms. From what I hear, quite a few notable schors are very excited about this spell. Alex, be prepared—you’ll likely be buried iers from curious wizards any day now!”

  The room erupted into appuse, and Alex stood to bow politely. “Thank you, Professor, and thank you, everyone,” he said humbly. “But holy, I couldn’t have do without the inspiration I’ve gained from this club and the guidanaziors like Professor Flitwid Professor Burns. I’m especially grateful to Senior Quirrell for his work on the Amplified Sound Spell, which provided a critical breakthrough for my research.”

  Quirrell, sitting nearby, gave Alex a small nod and was the first to appud again, sparking another round of g from the group. Orianna, oher hand, stared at Alex, her mind reeling. ‘This is the same Alex who ughed at me for slipping in the Snow during first year? He developed a spell advanced enough to be published iury Charms? Is this a joke?’

  Professor Flitwick beamed with pride. “Alex’s aplishment is a testament to what hard work and creativity achieve. Now, Alex, why don’t you demonstrate the Echo Spell for us? Everyone has read the paper, but I’m sure we’d all love to see it in a.”Alex nodded, stepping to the front. He took a deep breath before addressing the room.

  “The Echo Spell works on a principle simir to echolocation,” Alex expined, his tone calm but fident. “By emitting high-frequency sound waves, it captures their refles to create an accurate image of the surroundings. The spell is particurly useful for exploration, trag, and reaissance. For insta’s ideal for surveying uer terrain or areas obscured by obstacles.”

  The students exged curious gnces. While some houghtfully, others looked utterly lost, relut to admit they didn’t fully grasp the expnation. “To break it down,” Alex tinued, “the spell has two parts: transmitting and receiving. The transmission part is straightforward—it’s cast with a wand. The receiving part, however, requires a magical prop created with alchemy.”

  He reached into his bag and pulled out a rge, round mirrhly a meter in diameter. The frame gleamed faintly with ruhough it was clear the craftsmanship was temporary. “This is a prototype I put together retly. It’s not perfect—the spell only sts about a year on this device—but it’s suffit for demonstrations.

  With a wave of his wand, Alex levitated the mirror into the air, positioning it so everyone could see. Then, he cast the Echo Spell. The room fell silent as faint ripples of magic radiated from the mirror. Moments ter, the gss shifted, dispying a bd-white, line-rendered image of the . Every detail, from chairs to students, was depicted with remarkable accuracy. Gasps echoed as Alex maniputed the image. With a flick of his wand, he pahe view, showing the ceiling, ers of the room, and even the areas beh desks. “Impressive,” someone whispered.

  Alex walked over to a window and ope, casting the spell again. This time, the mirror dispyed the world outside: the courtyard, trees swayily in the breeze, and the castle walls. Despite the monoatic quality, the level of detail was astounding. “It’s like watg a live feed from a drone,” a senior murmured.

  Alex returo the front, allowing everyoo take a closer look at the mirror. Even Professor Flitwick stepped forward, iing the magic with a keehis is incredible, Alex,” Flitwick said, his voice filled with admiration. “Your work on this spell is even mroundbreaking than I’d imagined. Now, I challenge you to make it more accessible—find a way to simplify the receiving meism so the spell be cast by any wizard without requiring a device.”

  Orianna, still marveling at the magical demonstration, couldn’t help but be impressed. The spell Alex had cast was nothing short of extraordinary, exceeding everyone’s expectations. She g him, curiosity and surprise flickering in her eyes. But Alex remained as posed as ever, aowledging Professor Flitwick’s praise with just a modest nod, his expression unreadable.

  The Charm Club buzzed with excitement, and the studeed ihusiastic appuse. They were captivated by Alex’s talent, and the Echo spell became the hot topic of discussion. versations about its intricacies carried on, with Alex answering questions humbly and clearly. The lively atmosphere of academithusiasm resonated with him; it was exactly the kind of pce he enjoyed.