Chapter 9  

"You know about Indian surnames?"

Alex's eyes widened in surprise when he heard Aman's question but he got back his composure in a fraction of a second and nodded, only to see Aman turn around again to do his thing.

'How did I know about this … looks like it is most probably related to the memories of the original owner of this body. Hmm interesting…'

The four of them finished putting on their robes and walked out of the room, towards the Great Hall.

Alex noticed that three of his dormmates, Michael, Anthony and Terry had already made a group. It was a non-verbal bond that happened when different personalities have a synergy.

Alex and Aman simply tagged along behind the trio. Aman wanted to join in but it looked like he had problems initiating conversations. Meanwhile, Alex's mind was preoccupied with making plans for the year.

While they ate their breakfasts, the timetables were being distributed. Alex glanced at the parchment before stuffing it inside his pocket.

'It doesn't really matter since I already know most of the first year's syllabus… Oh well, I guess I'll have to put on an act or…. Maybe I don't have to? We'll see what happens.'

He had a lot of free time as there were only four or three classes everyday and each class lasted for ninety minutes.

All the starting classes were basic concepts and there was very less wandwork except for charms and transfiguration.

Everything went well for a month as he explored the castle without taking any risks and scribbled down random potion recipes and transfiguration theories that he made up on his own just to pass time and get rid of boredom.

*********

The sky was dark as he sat down in the common room, writing a huge essay on (The Dangers of Transfiguration). There were parchments piled up beside him and they were essays that he had already finished writing on (Charms for Daily Use).

Time passed quickly as parchments piled up on top of each other and by the time it was morning, the pile was already a half a foot long. Alex's face was on the table as he slept calmly.

The sound of people talking woke him up and he opened his eyes, which looked bloodshot due to the lack of sleep. He rubbed his eyes before he began scribbling on the parchment and after about half an hour, he stretched as he yawned.

"Finally!" He exclaimed as he was extremely happy with what he had written and turned around to see the common hall empty.

He looked at the clock that was placed near the fireplace before stuffing all the parchments into his bag and ran to his dormitory as he wasted no time in switching from his casual clothes to school uniform using magic.

'Aargh! I don't want another essay. Tch, next time I'll have to be extra careful and not get caught breaking rules and stuff. It should be fine as long as it's all done sneakily hehe. There's also a high chance of them letting me do my thing after reading through my essays so I'll gamble one last time.'

He ran as fast as he could to the transfiguration classroom but he was a bit too fast to be able to stop at the right place and instead tripped as he tried to and landed face first inside the classroom.

Professor McGonagall peered at him through her spectacles and patiently waited for him to stand up before speaking.

"Jordan, did you finish the essay that I asked you to write?"

"Yes professor."

"Will you concentrate in my class from now on, Jordan?"

"Yes professor" he repeated.

"Good. Hand me the essay please."

Alex nodded and opened his bag, only to come to a realisation that he had not segregated them according to the subjects. It took him a minute to arrange everything in order and handed over a two inch thick pile of parchments to the professor.

McGonagall seemed surprised, but she had a very good poker face alternative that Alex liked to call, "Stern face".

She read through the extremely long essay that was purely the basics of transfiguration and what might happen if done incorrectly. The handwriting was big, but the amount of practical and useful stuff written totally made up for it.

Ten minutes passed as the whole class looked at Alex and McGonagall.

Professor McGonagall finally placed the parchments on the table and said, "Nice work, Jordan. Thirty points for Ravenclaw."

"Thank you, professor." Alex said as he walked over to an empty seat and sat down. The Ravenclaws gave him thumbs up while Alex shook his head slightly.

'These guys were cursing me yesterday for losing a mere ten points but look at them now… these point slaves, tch tch.'

The day quickly passed as the classes went on and after lunch, he submitted his charms essay and got rewarded forty points for it. Although he didn't like the point system, getting points gave him a sense of accomplishment.

After his final class of the day, Alex went to his dormitory and directly fell asleep. He was used to staying up for two or three days but he wanted to be in his optimal condition for his next task.

He skipped dinner and his roommates also didn't wake him up after they saw a piece of parchment with the message, "Do. Not. Wake. Me. Up." Beside his bed.

It was almost midnight when Alex woke up and saw a plate filled with sandwiches. There was also a note placed beside the plate.

[I packed some food for you just in case you woke up hungry.]

Below the sentence he saw a messy signature that was undoubtedly Aman's. He and Aman had gotten closer in the first month but he didn't complain as he did enjoy the feeling of having a friend.

Alex shook his head but he still felt nice when he saw the plate. He put on his clothes and armed himself with his wand before picking up the plate and walked out.

He then used the disillusionment charm before going into the common room. The spell wasn't perfect as he didn't practice the spell too much before. Every time he moved, there would be a slight change in the surroundings so it was quite easy to spot if there was a good enough lighting.

'Luckily, its night time.'