21-25

Ch.21 - The Trial of the Year

The newspapers where relentless with the constant reminder about the impending trial of Vincent Crabbe Sr. and Gregory Goyle Sr. It was being set up as the biggest trial of the year. It hasn't even been 10 years since the Death Eater trials were finished. And now, everyone was being reminded of the war. [AN: I don't know if those are their real names.]

The people were expecting a quick and decisive execution of the Law. It was being broadcasted live on the WWN, something the Observer had suggested to the masses. The Ministry obliged the demands quickly when accusations of back dealings within the offices of the Ministry started going around.

Dumbledore normally would be the presiding judge since he was the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot. But, it was agreed that he would not seat in the trial due to his known 'bias' on issues that were related to the Dark Lord.

Minister Fudge was the second wizard to be considered for the role of judge, but he had decided to abstain as the judge to what could be one of the most important trials of his career. He would lose out regardless of the outcome of the trial. He would either damage his reputation among the public or be abandoned by his wealthiest supporters. Abstaining was the least painful option for him. Of course, he made some big speech that he was stepping down from the responsibility to ensure the fairness of the trial.

Amelia Bones eventually was chosen as the presiding judge for the trial. She was a witch known for her tough but fair attitude as the current Head of D.M.L.E. Alex remembered from the other timeline that she eventually succeeded the Minister's position after Fudge was dismissed, only to be killed personally by the resurrected Dark Lord. She could very well be the best option for a judge, thought Alex.

When the accused were brought in, they were escorted by a detail of Aurors and Hit-Wizards. The details of the case were read by the judge. Interestingly, Lucius Malfoy was not present in the trial.

Representing the accused was a barrister named Nott. Representing A.I.M. was Edward Tonks, Nymphadora's muggleborn father who interestingly became a member of the Association soon after its first public announcement.

Edward Tonks was actively involved in the Association, but other members of A.I.M. were wary of him in the beginning due to his pureblood wife. He had proven himself throughout the years and even volunteered to give several lectures regarding the wizarding Law to the other members. And now, he was entrusted with the first legal battle that the Association was facing.

Should he succeed in winning the trial, Alex would bring his name forward at a prospective member of the Order. As a rule, a person needed the sponsorship of four members of the Order before finally being invited. His addition in the Order would be a great boon if he could be more flexible with his strict adherence to the written Law.

"On the charge of Destruction of Property, how do the defendants plea?" asked the judge, Amelia Bones.

"After counselling, my clients have decided to plead guilty, your honour," said the defence lawyer, Nott.

"On the charge of Reckless Endangerment, how do the defendants plea?"

"Guity, your honour."

"On the charge of Attempted Murder, how do the defendants plea?"

"Not guilty, your honour."

Everyone already knew how guilty the defendants were even before the trial began. However, there was no such thing as a hate crime in the wizarding world. Tonks had to file for 'Destruction of property', 'Reckless Endangerment' and 'Attempted Murder' instead.

The fines for the two charges were decided by the judge based on the evaluation of the Wizengamot. The payment would be deducted from their Gringotts vaults by the order of the court. They were easy enough, just basing on the site of the crime, Tonks could easily win those cases. The opposing legal counsel had wisely conceded those charges. But, the accused could still avoid an Azkaban sentencing on those alone if they were willing to compensate the victim party.

Alex had made it clear to his people that he wanted the accused in Azkaban. And, he didn't want it to come to a situation where they would be forced to protest a guilty plea with a large compensation. It could paint the Association as being not willing to compromise and cooperate with the pureblood for the sake of maintaining order. He would rather lose the trial than be forced with the partial win.

At least, with a losing verdict, they could decry the conclusion of the trial and accuse the Wizengamot and the Ministry of being corrupted. It would be more chaotic, but it would also be a win for the Association in terms of public sympathy.

Therefore, Tonks had to push for the third charge of 'Attempted Murder'. The matter would depend on whether or not the accused knew that there was no one in the building during their attack.

In his opening statement, barrister Nott argued that his two clients were inebriated, during the absence. Therefore, they were not fully accountable for what they may have done.

To that, Tonks quickly put it to question whether or not the defendants had a hobby of allowing themselves to lose control of their actions while making allusions to their experience being under the Imperious curse. He was warned by the judge to keep his questioning relevant.

Tonks apologized to the judge, but, his words were already out there. He knew that the people that he truly needed to convince were the ones listening to their radio in their homes.

Then, Nott reasoned that his clients could not be guilty of Attempted Murder' because there was no one in the buildings during the incident question.

"But, how could they be sure of it?" was Tonks's next question. His point was if they had already claimed of being too drunk to control their actions, how could they know for sure that the building was empty?

Questions and accusations were thrown back and forth. When the defendants were finally on the stands, Tonks began questioning their motives behind their actions. He hadn't touched this topic since the beginning.

Because the Wizengamot always deals with cases involving magic, the motive or intent of the accused played a huge part in determining their verdict. Opportunity and methods could be explained away with magic. But if the intent did not contradict the result, the case would most likely be resolved with a guilty verdict.

Mr Tonks had chosen his moment well. His questioning became more loaded. The pace was becoming faster giving the defendants less time to think of their answer. He had even mentioned, as a side note, his muggleborn status and that his wife was a pureblood maiden from the proud Black family.

He got what he wanted. Crabbe and Nott had both lost their cool, spouting curses and insults toward him and his wife. Alex had admired Mr Tonks's conviction that he was willing to involve the name of his wife in the trial. Tonks was definitely Order material, he thought.

After that, the judge had called for a vote. Everyone had heard enough of Crabbe and Goyle. The vote was 17 for imprisonment and 4 against, with three undeclared votes. Each defendant was sentenced with 5 years of imprisonment in Azkaban.

5 years might have been a lenient punishment for Attempted Murder, but Alex didn't mind. Any Azkaban imprisonment was a huge accomplishment for them.

It was a big win for all the muggleborns in the country. Alex was truly relieved. Because Wizengamot trials were determined by voting, one could never be sure of the outcome. Back door deals were probably common. After all, the jury was selected from the same set of people each time. Any scheming person would find a way to contact the jury members before the trial even began.

Despite the rampant corruption, the Ministry was still a democratic government. The Minister of Magic was an elected official. Even if there was no limit in the number of terms a person could occupy the position, they need to be elected at least every seven years.

There had been muggleborn Ministers before, but, he could not imagine there being a muggleborn Chief Warlock ever. The Wizengamot is a club that had been very exclusive to purebloods.

There were 24 juries in each trial held by the Wizengamot. Each one had a vote and the judge had 1 deciding vote in case of a tie. Members of the Wizengamot consisted of witches and wizards of good standing. Most of whom worked for the Ministry. Some seats were reserved for those who were renowned like the recipient of an Order of Merlin award

For Alex, it was a very hard-earned win for the Association and the Order. They had already started infiltrating the Ministry. However, they had no reliable way to introduce their agents in the Wizengamot.

[AN: I'm making some of these up. I don't really know how the Wizengamot works, but I feel like this is pretty close to canon. See my note at the end for more details. Also, I'm not very knowledgable about the law and trial procedures, so I'm straining my thinking muscles a bit here (^~^). Let me know if you have any objections about this bit of court drama. I'll allow it.]

×××

One amazing news that didn't get much reaction due to the on-going controversies that summer was the announcement of Alexander Grey being chosen to play as Seeker for the England quidditch team for the coming World Cup next year. The invitation had come shortly after his graduation from Hogwarts.

The games would start in March of next year with the finals held during the summer. Practice was set to start next September with one practice session every week, finally becoming a full-time commitment before the start of the Cup. Most players were professional quidditch players who had commitments in their pro-team, so, practice time was limited.

[AN: The Quidditch World Cup is held every four years, so 1990, 1994, so forth. England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales have separate teams in the World Cup.]

After the trial was concluded the Observer finally approached him for an exclusive interview. The newspaper company had enjoyed the boost in its business during the trial. So, they had decided to launch a monthly sports magazine that would have more in-depth articles all related to sports. This interview was to be for their first issue to be released in September.

He met with the reporter in the Leaky Cauldron where they rented a private room for the interview. The photographer and the other staff were already finished setting up the room and Tom, the barkeep, just delivered some snacks and tea for them to enjoy.

"Thank you for meeting with us," said the reporter. "My name is Jullian Henson, Sports Correspondent for the Observer, later, editor of the M-Sports Monthly."

"It's good to meet you. And thanks for having me," said Alex.

"Let's get started, shall we? For my first question, you started playing quidditch on your second year in Hogwarts, as a muggleborn student, how were you able to compete with the other players on the team who were probably playing the game since before coming to Hogwarts?" asked the reporter.

Alex was surprised that the reporter started with the muggleborn angle so soon. But, he understood that it was the hot issue at the time.

"I tried out for the team, just like everyone else. I've always liked the idea of flying, soaring in the sky, free as a bird. That is probably why quidditch appealed to me so much," said Alex.

"On your first game, you scored a goal as a Seeker for your team. As I understand, few Seekers in the world play as a scoring Seeker, what made you decide to play like that on your first officiated game?"

"To be honest, we were losing that game. We were playing the Gryffindor team if I remember correctly. They had a strong offensive team. Our strategy was to focus on defence while I look for the snitch. But I could not just wait for the snitch to show up, I had to intervene to create my own opportunities."

They talked about quidditch some more, and about his thoughts on the upcoming World Cup. Before closing, the reporter asked him about his opinion on the recent events.

"Mr Grey, you probably read about the big news recently, do have any thoughts about it? And about the Association?" asked the reporter.

"I'm optimistic. The Minister has promised that the ministry itself would promote more equality within its ranks. I think we'll see more muggleborns in the Ministry soon enough. As for the Association, I've become one of its members since last year. I really like what they're doing over there."

"Do you see yourself having a position in the Ministry one day?"

"Hm... It hasn't crossed my mind. But, our future is not yet decided. We can only do our best every day and hope for a better tomorrow."

"Fantastic. Do you have anything to say to your fans out there?"

"I just like to say something to my admirers, especially the young ones. A dream does not become a reality through magic. It takes hard work, determination, and perseverance. If you have doubt, just take the next step. Just like my grandfather once said to me, the cure for fear is action. So, just take the next step.

"Good. Really good. You'll be a great idol for our young readers. Why don't we end the interview right here? We'll start with the photographs over here. I just feel like you will be great in the future."

×××

During the following months, Alex occupied himself with duelling training, meditations, and quidditch practices. His people were very capable of handling the affairs of the Order and the Association by that point. At times, he would have a spar with the best duelists from the 'Arms', as he never overlooked the importance of practical experience. When he had the time, he met with his friends who were also busy with their own endeavours.

When the special article about him was released, Katie and Clay teased him about it nonstop over dinner. 'Stop sounding like some wise old man', they said, commenting on his answers in the interview. But, they were very proud and happy for him. Alex had always been the wiser of them all. Then hoped that other people would appreciate that side of him

Katie had started her apprenticeship with a potions master. The forefront of the art of potions was very different from just learning the known potions in the Potions class in Hogwarts. Mastery of potions involved more research and experimentation. Her master pointed out that the path to mastery is where the good potions brewer got separated from the true potions masters. She was very happy to say that, thankfully, not every potions master was like Prof. Snape.

Clay, on the other hand, had taken more interest in his family business. He said that with the help of the Association, they could finally start expanding their business once again.

Clay had never brought it up, but, under disguise, Alex had actually dropped an anonymous package with a letter in Rosewoods' home personally. The letter informed them of the details regarding what truly happened with the former patriarchs of the Rosewoods Family. It had also alluded to the fates of the Travers, but asked them to keep the matter as a secret. In the package was the sum of all liquidated assets that were stolen from the Travers' home.

Alex had hoped that the news, tragic they may be, would finally allow the Rosewoods to mourn properly and start to move on with their lives.

Ch.22 - Wonderous World

During the month of October, Alex had the first opportunity to meet his teammates for the upcoming Quidditch World Cup. The first meeting was held at the Yorkshire Moors pitch

Quidditch pitches are warded against muggles. There are only five professional quidditch pitches in the U.K. due to the fact that they have to be located in places where few muggles are present.

Alex had arrived at the area via Apparition. He was wearing a fashionable and very neat looking attire.

Looking around, he saw that there were many journalists and fans in the area. The first meeting between the players and staff of the England team was a publicized event. It was good press for anyone involved.

As the youngest member who was not even a professional quidditch player, there were definitely some interested looks on him.

"Ah, you're right on time. Phillip Figg, manager for the Appleby Arrows. Good to meet you, son," said a tanned man with greying hair as he introduced himself.

"It's nice to meet you. I'm Alexander Grey," Alex said, doing the same.

"I know who you are. I've heard great things. I will be the manager of the England Team for the Cup, so we'll get to know each other very well. Let me ask you something, you must have received some offers to join a pro-league team, right? Why haven't you joined?"

"I do enjoy quidditch, but I don't know if it's something I want to do professionally," said Alex.

He didn't have any plans to be a professional quidditch star anytime soon. Although he enjoyed quidditch, he had his own reasons to play for the national team. The person that is Alexander Grey must become renowned in the wizarding world, as part of his long term plan.

"Of course, you have to weigh your options. We'll don't tell this to anyone, but if you decide to play professionally, we will be glad to have you in the Arrows. I'll make some room in the roster if I have to," said the manager half-jokingly. He wasn't supposed to be recruiting for his team.

"I'll keep that in mind, sir."

"Now, let's introduce you to the team properly. Most of them are here now, it seems. Oh, and try not to be nervous about the press, okay? As a quidditch player or manager, we have to learn how to deal with these people often."

They walked to where the crowd was gathering. A long table with chairs on one side was arranged at the centre of the pitch. The chairs for the journalists and other spectators were set up in front of the table.

Alex was guided to sit on the chair assigned to him. He waited there until just about every player had taken their seat. One by one the players were introduced formally for the record.

After the introduction, the manager had made his speech about his expectations from the team and his speculation about the strengths of the favourite teams to win it all. In the British Isles, that would be the Scotland Team.

The coach sounded like he didn't like their chances to even make it in the tournament phase of the World Cup. Alex would need to figure out something if he wanted to help his team win.

There were a total of 32 teams competing for the cup. Those 32 teams would be divided into eight regional groups of four teams during the preliminary phase. Each team of the group would play the other three just once, so there would be a total of 6 games in each group during this phase, similar to how Hogwarts have 6 games in total during the school year.

The top winner and the runner-up from each regional group would advance to the tournament phase of the World Cup. Losing a game in this phase would mean elimination. A team would need to win four times consecutively to win the Cup.

England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland were in the same regional group. So, only two of them would make it to the tournament phase.

After the initial speeches of the 'important' people, the gathering was opened up to a discussion. The reporters from the papers were free to ask any player or staff any question that they might have.

"Hi, Jullian Henson, from M-Sports Monthly. My question is for Alexander Grey. You had an amazing quidditch career in Hogwarts. How are you expecting to adjust in this new level of play?" said the reporter that he recognized.

"I expect the game to be faster and more intense. I'll be relying on my seniors here to show me the ropes during practice. When the games finally start, I'll be giving it my very best performance," said Alex. He had learned how to answer any question diplomatically as a part of his public persona.

Before the reporter could follow up on his question, someone else on the team decided to add something.

"Yes, we'll be sure to guide young Alexander here the best we can. We'll teach him the ins and outs of quidditch at the professional level. Just leave it to us, veteran players," said Ludo Bagman.

Alex didn't like Bagman's tone. The ageing quidditch star actually arrived late for the event while making a big scene, and now he was making himself sound like he was taking him under his wing.

Of course, Alex knew who Ludovic 'Ludo' Bagman was. The man was a very famous player from the Wimbourne Wasps. He was probably the best Beater in England even at his age.

He understood why he's trying to appear like Alex's mentor figure. He was considered an up-and-coming talent, while Bagman was on his way out.

But Alex also knew that Bagman wasn't one of the smartest people around. He was almost sent to Azkaban when he inadvertently passed along information about the Ministry to a known Death Eater during the last war. He was only acquitted because most of the jury were fans of him.

In addition, based on the rumours going around from the previous timeline, the man had a pretty bad gambling problem. It was said that the reason he disappeared from the public's eyes in 1995 was that he was on the run from his goblin creditors.

Alex would rather not be involved with Bagman, but he had to play nice with him at least until the World Cup was over. In any case, the man was indeed a great Beater, so it wouldn't hurt to play along a little even if he hated Bagman's condescending tone. It would be his last World Cup anyway.

[AN: Ludo is, hands down, the best master Beater around. He won't be out-performed by any up-and-coming Beaters even at his age.

×××

Around that time, Alex had also started a new business in the magical world. Using the accumulated business connections that the Association had gathered, he started a new home shopping business. The concept was new to the purebloods, but muggleborns were familiar with it.

Several warehouses throughout the British Isles were purchased and warded appropriately that would store whatever things they would be selling. A catalogue would be printed and circulated every month showcasing the wide selection of products available that could be purchased through them.

Using a Hermes communicator or an owl post, people could order whatever things they fancied and it would be delivered the next day by owl or by the company's own parcel delivery service.

For Alex, it was also a sort of insurance. If ever there was time again that people could not leave their houses for any reason, the Owl Shopping Network could be their way to acquire their daily necessities.

The company would create about 500 jobs for the people. Also, Alex had set it up in a way that 50 per cent of its profits would go to the Association. Perhaps in time, Alex could stop his constant donation to A.I.M.from his own funds.

The 'Arms of Poros' was also making great improvements recently. They had a boost in applicants since the attack on the A.I.M. centre. Currently, they had 100 security personnel, 20 shadow personnel, and 100 people more in training. It had been slow in growing its number, but its strength lied in the quality of their training.

Alex had no doubt that the security forces were now better trained than a common Hit-Wizard. His shadow forces, on the other hand, were his answer to the more versatile Aurors. They were adept at staying hidden, trailing, disguising, spying and more.

×××

As for his own progress, through constant meditation, he had made some discoveries regarding the nature of the orb of fire and his own magical core.

He believed that, as something that originated from Fiendfyre, the orb of fire was the embodiment of his violent and hateful impulses. He had definitely felt its reaction every time he acted with those impulses.

As for his own magical core, he thought that balancing one's emotions would get him closer to understanding its nature. His theory was with understanding, his magic would be more powerful. Some people did it instinctively and they were simply called talented. Dumbledore was probably a good example of someone who was closer to understanding his own magic since his childhood.

He had been spending all of the time he could spare meditating within his own chambers. His room in the country house had been expanded to be as large as an apartment just by itself. On one side was his sleeping area, on the other was a personal study area with a lot of open floor space.

On the floor was the familiar triangle with the representation of the three elements placed on its corner, a brazier with burning wood, a silver basin filled with water, and a polished rock the size of a large orange.

Alex had discovered that ever since the ritual he performed more than a year ago, meditating with a similar set up allowed him to go deeper into his own mind space. Occlumency could only help him much.

During that ritual, he had requested the three main elements to guide him in his introspection. So, having them present during his meditation sessions allowed him to go past the realm of memories and conscious thought.

"Light and darkness. These forces exist within myself and everyone else. Yet, some become evil and some remain good." He said aloud while in a state of meditation.

"But my morality can't simply be the sum or difference between these two opposing forces. There are many things in my life that form my principles. I can not simply resort to the rigid idea of dualism.

"I am light and darkness. I am also many other things. At the same time, I am also just one, a singular entity composed of many different concepts. The contradictions and cohesiveness among them do not factor in the equation. I am simply as I am."

"I never needed to quantify my self or justify how my morals came to be. I have known it instinctively all along. But, I have become obsessed with discovering the reasons behind my existence and why I was given this second chance. I know now that I simply need to learn how to accept the reality of my situation as they are.

"After all, does not knowing the identity of the parents invalidates a child's existence? No, it does not. For sure, the child must have a mother and a father, and every child could use their parents, but knowing them or not does not change the validity of the child's life. Life happens regardless."

When he had abandoned that common human desire to seek out reason and order in his own existence, the orb of fire had changed, evolved. It was as if he was discovering a new facet to the ever-changing fire. It simply defied reason just like him, cut off from fate or destiny.

He felt his core and the fire become more compatible. Perhaps, thinking of them as opposites and contradictory was holding him back.

It felt like what his own magic was asking him to do all along. To not be overly concern about the reasons for his existence and simply learn to live as he was. Learn to accept that some mysteries are beyond one's understanding.

It reminded him of something his grandfather had said. Some mysteries in life were beyond human understanding, even with magic. All that really mattered were his own actions, the choices he made.

It was almost counter-intuitive. As a wizard, he prided himself on being practical and rational compared to most. But now, his magic was asking him to take a little leap of faith. To take a step beyond reason.

And when he did, he felt closer to the nature of his magic. The orb of fire had approved. He had always thought of it as cursed flames due to the reputation of the spell that birthed it. But maybe, he was being simple-minded.

The fire was just acting on its own nature. It would burn and consume everything in its path. Its own purpose was beyond itself. Some people might use it to help, some might use it to harm. It did not matter to the fire as long as it continued to burn.

Alex had realized that it was up to him to give the fire its purpose. And it had been waiting all this time, eager to hear his call.

"Come forth," he said softly.

The wind whirled around him. The temperature became hotter. But Alex knew he wasn't in danger.

Some red sparks had appeared, but that was it. Alex felt that fire was having some difficulties in coming out. He needed to pull on it more and he didn't know how to.

Then the realized it, the fire was magical in nature. For most wizards, an incantation or a wand made engaging their magic easier.

The words had come to him. It spoke of the purpose that he needed the fire to perform.

"INFERNUM IGNEUS PATRONUM!!!" he shouted.

The whirl of wind turned to a torrent of fire with Alex within. He felt the heat, but his clothes and himself were unburnt. The room was unaffected. After giving the fire its name, he had become its purpose. So, it could only burn the things he chose to burn.

He felt a great deal of pain coming from his stomach like his insides were being pulled out. After only about ten seconds of letting the fire rage around him, he couldn't maintain it any longer. He fell over and lost his consciousness.

×××

He woke up the following day when Mr Baxter knocked on his door. Apparently, it was already lunchtime. It wasn't strange for Alex to skip breakfast recently. But, he had always made a point to join Mr Baxter and the house-elves for lunch.

The two house-elves, Matt and Patt, had adjusted well to their new lifestyle. They were now always wearing very neat clothes, which took Mr Baxter and him a bit of time to convince them to wear. Their skin had become redder, a heathier complexion compared to their previous greyish colour. Having a house to take care of really made a drastic change to their appearance.

Alex had read before about a theory that house-elves got their magic from the house which they live in and not actually from their masters. Seeing the changes on them after he had given them the free reign on how to take care of the house certainly seemed to conform to that theory.

Now, Mr Baxter and Alex actually felt like they had to ask the permission of the house-elves before making some changes in the house. Matt and Patt had become the head custodians, groundskeepers, and repairmen in the house and they took pride in their duties.

After lunch, he had gone back to his room where he thought about what had happened the day before.

His newfound ability to call out the fire from within him was something he was really glad about. He had begun to hope that it be something that would eventually bring him to the level of the Dark Lord in terms of magical power.

However, he could only call upon his power with deep meditation. He would need to put it in an actual spell that he could use whenever he wanted. But he wasn't discouraged.

He already knew the right incantation, the hardest part of spell crafting. He would need to study the Arithmancy calculations, and wand movements for the spell.

But before that, he would also need to know the exact effect and process of producing the fire. Two things that he suspected would give him relevant experience would be the 'Expecto Patronum' charm and wandless magic.

The Patronus charm was related to what he wanted judging by the similarity of the incantation. Also, it had something to do with calling upon something from one's subconscious.

He had some familiarity with the Patronus Charm. He could already cast a non-corporeal form of the charm. Because of it's few uses, he had never bothered to master it enough to produce a corporeal Patronus.

He remembered that he saw a Patronus being used to convey messages that day when he visited Bill in the other timeline. But, he had other more convenient ways for that purpose.

The way it was written in the spell manuals, the incantation and the wand movement was simple enough. The part that was challenging for most wizards was the emotional aspect of the spell.

'Think of your happiest memory,' it said. It could not be any vaguer in his opinion.

A few hours of training and he was still only able to produce a small conical shower of silver light. He was thinking about his happiest memories as a child the first time around, like going to Diagon Alley for the first time or winning his first quidditch match.

There shouldn't have been a problem with his spell casting. After all, he could say that he was one of the best wizards his age in the field of spell casting without bragging.

So, the problem must be in his memories. They were not strong enough. He was doubtful if he would ever experience a state of joy as he had in this childhood.

There must be another way, he thought. What if he thought about the things that could make him truly happy? His dreams and aspirations? He thought about what kind of future was he envisioning. He went into a deep meditation to see what was his heart's truest desires and he saw a vision.

In it, he saw a scene of Diagon Alley. Wizards and witches were walking about happily and freely. Muggleborn children and their parents being openly welcomed to the magical world. And a feeling that magic was truly something to be celebrated was spread in the whole place.

Then there was him, Alex, as his older self walking without disguise. Walking along him was a grown-up Katie and a little girl. They were shopping for school supplies for the girl's first year in Hogwarts. Alex was telling her all the amazing things she would learn and all the adventures that she would have in the future. And he knew in his heart, that he was not lying or making false promises.

Was this his desire? To be married with a kid and himself acting like the world was once again wonderous? How could he become like that after what he's done?

He tried the charm again to see if anything would be different. This time thinking of his vision instead of his actual memory. The silvery light came out stronger, almost tangible. Then, it formed into a small wolf cub that was playfully jumping around him. He had finally succeeded.

He looked at the silvery wolf cub and a certain memory had come to his mind. He remembered seeing a wolf cub just like it before. It was from a time when his parents were still alive. They took him to the zoo, and they saw a small wolf cub on the exhibit. He remembered thinking how was it that such cute little thing would eventually grow into such a ferocious beast.

It felt like so many years ago that he thought about his parents. From his perspective, it had been more than 30 years since they passed away.

It was a time when every day was still full of wonders for him. He was sheltered from the hardships in the world. He realized that that was the point of his vision, a wonderous world. However, it was not meant for him. It was his future children's world that he wanted to be full of wonders, not his. That was his heart's desire, a world of wonder for the future generation.

Ch.23 - Neither Wanted to Leave

The days passed as Alex practised performing wandless magic. Being more attuned to his own magical source made the progress easier. But, just like any muscle, it was something that can only be developed through regular exercises, slowly pushing the limits of what he could do in small increments.

Wandless magic is older than wand magic. It was the first form of magic that most children perform after all. However, after the wand was invented and perfected to its current form, wizards and witches in Europe have learned to depend on wands in their everyday lives.

In Africa, on the other hand, wandless magic is still taught in the school of Uagadou. There are also other practices of magic in other parts of the world. But, wand use is most dominant of all.

The mastery of wandless magic is a sign of a great wizard or witch. Grindlewald and Dumbledore are among the most recent example of masters in the art. Their duel was among the most awe-inspiring according to the history books, even comparable to what the duel was like between Merlin and Morgana themselves as told in the legends.

It was the first week of November when the first practice of the England quidditch team was held. Alex had shown up to pitch sporting his personal quidditch gear. As a Seeker, his gear was sleeker and offered minimal protection than the other players. But, Alex's playstyle was more involved compared to a common Seeker, so he learned how to include some more paddings under his shirt.

Before the practice game began, the players were busy talking to themselves. Gossiping and joking around with their fellow professional players. The league season was over now, so they could finally start practising together.

Of course, as professional players, they valued their time during the break in the league. So, the national team council could not put too much demand on their time.

Alex's playstyle was not well received by the other quidditch players. As Seeker, they thought that his only job should be to look out for the snitch. They told him quite frankly that his usual tricks wouldn't work at the pro-level. As someone who did not play professionally, Alex was the outcast in the group. He knew that he would have to prove himself during practice.

But, Alex stuck with his strengths. He didn't choose his particular methods just to be more flashy. He was agile and capable of foreseeing the actions on the pitch before it happened. And since his sixth year, after a particular ritual, he became a little more attuned to his senses. He could see clearly even farther. And his reaction time was faster. The way his magic interacted with the broom or any magical tool had also become more natural, almost instinctive.

He flew high in the air surveying the field, keeping watch for any signs of the snitch and observing the flow of the action of the game. He learned how to always know the location of the quaffle and the two bludgers.

When the opportunity presented itself, he flew trailing behind a certain Beater (Bagman) on the other team. The man was about to make a tackle on a Chaser judging from his angle of attack.

For Alex, this was one of his common tactics. Trail behind a Beater. The Beater attack. He attacks before the Beater could secure the quaffle. And, that was exactly what happened.

Ludo Bagman was just about to exclaim in celebration after his successful tackle when he was tackled from behind before he could reach for the loose quaffle. The young Seeker had made the interception successfully much to Bagman's annoyance.

Alex had taken possession of the ball and he passed it to a nearby Chaser on his team. Unlike in Hogwarts, all his teammates this time were professional level. They made the decisive play and dashed ahead of the crowd.

In Hogwarts, fast attacks were the most successful plays. In the pro-level, the game tends to slow down when the players approached the opposing goal. Every Keeper in the league games was top-notch, and the Beaters were quick to go to their defensive positions.

With Ludo taken out of the equation, Alex's team had used the opportunity quickly. They attacked without wasting any time. Between the three Chaser and Alex passing around the quaffle, they managed to take the Keeper out of position and score.

The game ended when Alex caught the snitch. He reacted faster than the other Seeker while playing an active part, proving that he had been keeping an eye for the snitch all along.

He was the genuine article, the other players thought. And so, Alex had secure the regular spot for the Seeker position.

[AN: In quidditch, they don't allow substitution after the game has begun. Even when a player gets injured in the game, the team had to continue playing. I know, right? But injuries are an accepted part of the game. I guess being able to heal just about anything, makes wizards treat injuries very lightly. So, being a regular means he was likely the only Seeker that will play unless he is too injured at the beginning of the game.]

×××

Alex had visited the Leaky Cauldron one night around the winter solstice. When he entered the door, he immediately found the person he was there to meet.

Katie waved at him and invited him to her table. The two friends hadn't seen one another for a while, so they decided to meet for dinner.

After greeting Katie and sitting down, Alex asked her how she was doing and what had she been up to.

"My apprenticeship has been hectic as of late. My master thinks that I could take the mastery exam and pass it within a year. So, the studying and experimentation had occupied my time. Clay has been a big help in regards to acquiring my ingredients. He has been doing really great taking over his family business. How about you?" said Katie.

"It's good to hear that. I've been doing fine. Practice has started with the quidditch team, so there is that. I've also been doing some practice and exercises on my own to improve my skill in general." replied Alex.

"You mean your quidditch skills?"

"I mean my general magical skills. I found that increasing my control over my magic has helped my flying a bit."

"You are already the best in our class in spell casting, so why would you still practice?

"There's always room for improvements," he said simply.

Katie looked at him suspiciously before pouting her lips in resignation.

"You don't need to be such a Hufflepuff after we've graduated," she said jokingly.

She was used to Alex not really explaining his actions. Ever since she spoke to him in the Library during their first year when she found out that he had been reading about the pureblood traditions secretly, she started paying attention to his every action, trying to deduce the meaning behind them. One of the things she noticed early on was the way he would get an average mark on most subjects while obviously being the smartest student in the class.

He might think that he could simply get away by giving the simplest and most mundane explanation, but, she knew that there was always some reason behind the things he did.

She had been patient with her friend, but sometimes she just wanted to corner him and interrogate him until he gives up all his secrets. She knew that her friend was among the kindest and most generous people that she knew, but sometimes, if she was being honest with herself, he scared her a bit.

After their dinner, she finally managed to say, "So, is being a national quidditch player part of your plans?"

"How do you mean?" asked Alex feeling the subtle pressure coming from her gaze.

"You know, your schemes, and machinations? You don't have to explain them to me, but, let's stop pretending you're not doing something behind the curtains," she said deciding to be frank for once. "I worry that you might end up doing something dangerous."

Alex looked at his friend in the eyes. He tried to weigh the consequences of each response that he could think of. Apparently, he had not been doing a decent job in hiding his scheme from Katie. She did not know the details, of course. But, she must have seen some signs on him.

He had thought about how this conversation would go multiple times in the past, but they were useless. He could lie and lie as much as he wanted, but the other person was Katie. She could accept him staying quiet about his secrets but not his lies.

Obviously, she had been suspicious for a long time. But, it was the first time she asked him anything. All this time, she placed her trust in him. Following him along and supporting him without asking. Perhaps it was the time to return her trust.

"Can we talk in private? Let's rent a room here and I'll tell you all I that I can," he asked.

She almost laughed. Her friend just asked her if they could check in a private room in the Leaky Cauldron, a known place for romantic rendezvous among wizards and witches. But, Alex had a serious look in his eyes.

"Okay. You go and I'll follow," choosing to trust her friend.

Alex had made the arrangements. When the two were finally alone, he placed a bunch of security and privacy wards around the room.

"I have always felt strongly about equality among wizardkind. You know this about me even though I've never spoken about it to others. What you may not know is what I'm willing to do to turn that dream into reality," Alex said sincerely.

"What have you done?" asked Katie fearing for what she might hear.

"The summer after our first year in Hogwarts, I made a little book and distributed it to other muggleborn students."

"You're Xander Greywolf?!" she asked standing from where she sat.

The most important book released that summer was from X.Greywolf. She had gotten a copy of that book when she was shopping in Diagon Alley that year.

"I am."

"You are the founder of the Association? How can that be, you're the same age as I am!" she said visibly shaken.

"I am."

"Alexander Grey, Xander Greywolf? How absurd. I've joked about it to myself, entertaining the idea that the instigator of the largest movement in the recent history of the wizarding world was sitting beside me in Hogwarts. I just laughed at the ridiculousness of the possibility. But now, you tell me this?"

"Starting it was easy. I've had some help. Keeping it going is the hard part," he said.

He was really thankful for the people that supported him. But sometimes, the lies were too much. It pained him that he had to lie to those people who would follow him to war and willingly die for him and his goals.

Unconsciously, he was hoping that he had finally found a conspirator in Katie, someone to share his burdens with. But, it was something he could never ask of her. He knew that there were many things that he could never share with her no matter what.

"You kept this to yourself while everyone was dying to find out who Xander Greywolf was."

"You think I'm at liberty to say? Do you know how many times the Ministry had made its inquiries? I'm practically a wanted man, they just haven't given a name to my crimes yet," he pleaded trying to deflect her accusation.

"You've been lying to us from the beginning! I was so stupid, I actually invited you to join the Association with me. You've made a fool of us! You've made a fool of your friends! Did you think it was funny?!" she accused him still while grabbing him by the arms out of anger.

He felt her nails dig into him. But, he didn't move.

She was in tears. Confused with her feelings. Mad at her friend who lied to her for so long. Fearful for him because he was putting himself in danger.

"I don't regret anything. I can't. I must..." he said with his eyes looking down. His voice becoming weaker after each word.

Katie looked at his eyes. There, she saw how it must have weighed on him. And, she condemned him for it. Instead of supporting him, she yelled at him. But how could she help him? He was so far away, playing a dangerous game she didn't know about.

"Alex... I'm sorry... I didn't—"

Their eyes met once again. And understanding dawned on her. He didn't need her to do anything, he just wanted her acceptance.

Before she could think about it some more, she stepped closer to him and grabbed him by the cheek. She kissed him finally.

But, she pulled back. Surprised at what she'd done. She couldn't believe it. She never thought that she was the kind of girl that would make the first move.

Before she could apologize and explain, Alex pulled her in for more. This time, it was intentional.

[AN: Warning. Explicit scene ahead. Skip to the next chapter if you don't want to read this part. You won't be missing anything in the general plot.]

He put his hands on the back of her waist and pulled her closer and closer to him. Their chest was practically touching with one another, but it couldn't be close enough.

Katie's hands were around his shoulders as they kissed. She stepped backwards and pulled him along, keeping her lips locked with his.

When they finally reached the bed, she stopped kissing him and slowly moved to lay down while still pulling him along. There was no denying what she had in mind.

"Are you sure?" asked Alex his eyes meeting hers.

"Yes," she said biting her lip.

Alex gulped at her appearance. He had never imagined that Katie could be so seductive with just one word.

He waved his hand in a circular motion. All the lights were dimmed as a result.

He leaned in for another kiss, holding her down by the waist with one hand and the other by her shoulder. Then he moved his lips to kiss her by the neck.

She moaned at the new sensation, breath becoming deeper. She pulled him at the back of his neck in approval.

Then his hand moved from her waist to her breast, cupping it firmly while gently massaging it.

Katie had never let a man touch her on that part of her body. She felt his lust becoming stronger. She knew that he wanted her. And she wanted nothing more than to give herself to him. For once, she didn't have to protect herself. She didn't want to.

Alex had pulled back and helped her rise on the bed. They started taking their clothes off in front of one another.

Katie helped him take off his clothes as he did the same for her. Every piece of clothing removed was one step closer to each other. The both of them savouring the moment of the almost ritual-like process of undressing one another.

When Alex removed her brassiere, he could not believe how beautiful her breast seemed to him. The redness of her nipple was perfect with the soft warm light of the room.

When they were fully naked, they stared at each other's body as if wanting to engrave the sight into their memories.

Katie had taken her wand from the nightstand and placed a birth control spell on her navel. Such magic was taught in every female student of Hogwarts.

"You're beautiful. The most beautiful woman that I've known," said Alex honestly.

Katie had believed him as she looked at his body in return. He was very lean yet muscular, a body of an athlete as she expected. However, her eyes were locked on a single area of his body.

Alex was fully erect. Katie had never seen anything like it in person. She didn't know if she should be scared or flattered at the sight of his large penis. She felt like it was a testament to her effect on him. She wanted to say something, but no words came to mind.

Alex stepped in closer, caressing his hands from the top of her shoulders down to her arms. He was finally touching her bare skin. It felt smooth and warm.

He took her arms and placed them on his body, inviting her to touch him the same way. She hesitated at first, but she was surprised how eager she was feeling.

Alex leaned in finally and kissed her on her cheek, then on her neck, then on her shoulder. He then guided her gently so she could lie down on the bed.

He kissed her on her breasts. Using his tongue just around her nipple before putting his mouth around it. Katie's gasping breath just encourage him more to continue.

When her nipples were really erect, he touched her feminine area and learned that she had gotten very wet in there.

The time they had both waited for had come. He looked at her eyes, silently asking her one last time for her permission. She nodded to him with that seductive lip bite once again.

He touched his penis to the opening of her vagina, rubbing it on the outside. She felt him and anticipated what he would do next.

When finally he entered her, it was a very tight fit. She was in pain and he knew it. Her mouth was open as she produced a high pitched gasp. He gave her a moment. When she pulled him closer with her hands on his back, he knew that she wanted him to continue.

When he fully thrust his manhood into her, he had to pause once more. She was practically out of breath because of the strong sensation.

After she had relaxed, he moved in and out of her slowly. Her painful gasps were replaced by sweet-sounding moans.

He kissed her again on the lips. They were as close as they could be with one another. She was his and he was hers. It was a completely new sensation for her.

They enjoyed every moment as they continue to make love. When Katie had gotten used to the sensation, Alex started making faster and more powerful thrust.

He lifted one of her legs in the air as he thrust deeper into her.

"Yes! Ah! Alex, keep going! Ah!" said Katie with the few words she could manage.

And Alex did keep going at it. Powerful and deep. It was how he liked to make love. He knew that he didn't have to be too gentle with Katie.

There was violence and sweetness in lovemaking, even if it was her first time. He wanted to make it a night to remember for her. He wanted her to think of how powerful were his thrusts. He wanted to make her sore. He wanted her to think of how much he wanted her for a very long time to come.

Katie screamed loudly. The high pitched voice was something Alex had never heard from her before. She was orgasming. Her legs were shaking and so was her pelvic area.

He could feel her insides tightening on his penis. It was too much for him. He ejaculated inside her with no restraints. From the looks of her eyes, he knew that she could tell that he was filling her up.

They kissed sweetly, lingering on each other's lips. Alex looked at her face as it glistened with sweat. Then his eyes met hers. It looked even brighter than before.

"I love you," he said softly.

He knew he had never spoken a more truthful sentence in all his life. He had seen it from the depths of his heart.

"I have always loved you. And I'll love you always. What took you so long?" she said.

"I've been occupied."

"No matter what, I'll always accept you. Remember," she said pleading to him.

"I'll remember."

They embraced one another as they fell asleep.

The world could be burning outside their rented room, but at that moment neither of them wanted to leave.

Ch.24 - Preliminary Games

The morning after, Alex had a talk with Katie. He told her that she would have to start learning how to use Occlumency which would protect her mind from mind-readers. Only then would he feel comfortable about telling her anything more.

During the Christmas and New Year break, they spent most of their time in Alex's country house. He introduced her to Mr Baxter and the house-elves who were excited in finally meeting the first woman that their master had brought home.

During this time, he had instructed her personally on Occlumency. However, as a new couple, most of the time they spent together ended up with both of them naked in bed.

To remedy this, Alex had just given her a copy of the instruction on Occlumency that he had given to Mr Baxter and the Order members. She would have to practice mostly on her own. He had given her the proper basic lesson, so he knew she would do just fine on her own.

Even after learning to defend her mind from intrusion, Alex was not thinking of telling her about the Order at the moment. Her learning of his role in the Association was enough for him

Alex was anticipating a time when some ambitious person would try to seize control or reach the top level of the hierarchy of the Association as it got bigger and stronger. At worse, someone could be an infiltrator that was sent by the Ministry or other organizations to spy and compromise the Association from within. In fact, he would be surprised if there wasn't already an agent sent by the Ministry in the Association.

Alex had members of the Order set in place in different levels of authority within the Association as counter spies for such an eventuality. So far, they had tagged 4 members who were reporting to someone else regarding what they've learned in the Association, but the information they had access to were benign and not incriminating.

As for the Order, 20 more members had been formally added to the Order ever since it was founded with the original members. Each initiation was witnessed by Alex in person where the new members had to sign the same agreement as everyone else had done. Order members were very busy all the time.

Unless they were assigned on a permanent post somewhere, they would usually move around in position as needed. One week, they could be working as a custodian in the Ministry, the next week, they were negotiating for a big business deal for the Association and another party.

One of their newest members were Edward Tonks who was now leading their legal department. It was a very important department for Alex, as he did not want the Association to be in violation of any law when it didn't need to.

For him, the Association must always appear inclusive, law-abiding, politically neutral, with transparent administration. So, they had to make sure that they were thorough in the legal aspect of their activities.

×××

Soon enough and Katie had returned to her apprenticeship. Alex had also gone back to his training. After almost two months of training, wandless magic had become easier for him.

He could move things easier now with just a gesture. He could even cast some of the simpler charms he knew without a wand. Sometimes, for a little more complex spells like the 'Aquamenti' charm, for example, saying the incantation was enough.

After becoming adept with wandless magic and the Patronus charm, he had gone back to his prior goal of calling the fire within him through an active spell. He went into deep meditation as usual.

The Patronus called out a representation of one's innocence out from the subconscious. Wandless magic engaged his magical core directly without using a wand as a conduit making his magic use similar to muscle reflex.

Finally, he wanted to try it. But first, he went outside so he could see the fire's burning power. In an area near the gardens, he had the elves set up a place where he could practice his spells safely. There were logs standing on the ground to serve as his target.

He held his left hand with the palm facing the target. It was his theory that the fire would not be conducted through a wand easily, perhaps even breaking it. It was too wild squeeze through such restraints.

"Infernum Igneus Patronum," he said. He felt the thug on his magic. The heat was swelling on his chest, forming, waiting for release.

When he finally pushed it out from his palm, it came out as a small ball of fire. It flew toward the target, revolving as it goes, becoming bigger and bigger, until it transformed into a large fiery wolf before it struck the target.

The fiery wolf apparition rammed into the log of wood and destroyed it with the impact alone. It burned the splintered pieces with an unnaturally fast rate.

After that, the fiery wolf did not disappear. Its shoulder reached about 4 feet from the ground as it stood there alert of the surrounding waiting for his commands.

He simply had to give it the mental instruction to attack the next log as its target. It ran and charged as before. The log was destroyed as expected.

With the fire and smoke that he was making, the house-elves had come to check on what was happening. Alex feared for a moment that the fiery wolf might attack them, but it turned out that he didn't need to.

The wolf just stood there guarding him like some very fierce protector, recognizing that the elves were not a threat to its creator. The house-elves didn't seem to fear it for some reason. They were happily celebrating and congratulating their master for using such an amazing form of magic.

Their words sounded peculiar to him. House-elves were more attuned to using wandless magic than normal wizards. So, he wondered why they felt the magic he performed was so amazing.

The fiery wolf apparition had the destructive capabilities of a Fiendfyre, perhaps even more because it could physically impact an object as if it had weight if it needed to. At the same time, he had control over it similar to how one would control a corporeal Patronus. he only needed to think of his commands and the wolf would move on its own, partially self-aware.

It also acted as his protector similar to how a Patronus would always protect its caster. However, it did not have the playfulness of a Patronus. Instead, it was vigilant and fierce-looking. It just stood by his side not doing anything except those tiny actions that gave it the impression of being a living wolf.

He also suspected that the wolf could possibly destroy a Dementor or a Lethifold by burning them. He couldn't really test his theory, but the wolf gave off that pure feeling of uncompromising vigilance similar to how a Patronus gave off a pure feeling of jubilation. Perhaps this feeling was what impressed the house-elves so.

With his flying dagger, his wandless magic, and now his fiery wolf, Alex felt like he could walk into any battle and conquer anything. He thought about being in the Battle of Hogwarts with his current abilities. While he could only affect the things around him, and while he couldn't predict how a clash between him and the Dark Lord would turn out, he knew that he could turn the tide of battle with skilful use of the things in his arsenal.

×××

Finally, the month of March had arrived. For many, that only meant one thing and one thing only. The Quidditch World Cup games would finally begin. Within the month, the regional preliminary games would decide which teams would advance in the tournament phase of the World Cup.

England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Which of these teams would represent the British Isles? That was the question in most people's minds.

Six games will be played in total. In rare circumstances, a seventh game might be played to decide the second place. That was more quidditch in a month than the people would get to watch in any other month during a normal season.

The Quidditch League would have a modified season during a World Cup year as the best players around would return to their home country to play for pride and glory.

In their final game for the preliminaries, the English team was fighting the team from Scottish. The crowd was cheering really loudly. Most of them were rooting for the England team which turned out to be the surprise contender for the first place in the regional preliminary games.

England has won their other two games against the teams from Ireland and Wales. And so did the Scotland team, but they were always the favourite.

The two teams were guaranteed a spot in the tournament phase of the World Cup as the first or second place in their region. But, that doesn't mean that either team would happily yield the first place. They were playing for all the quidditch fans from their countries. Plus, having the first place would mean a more favourable placement on the tournament bracket. That was because the first round of games in the tournament was between a 1st place winner of a region and a runner-up winner of another region.

After the Quaffle was set loose, the players clashed fighting for the first possession. Scotland had secured it.

They executed their offence in a very direct attack. Their players relied on their speed and strengths. They were willing to bulldoze just about anyone who got in their way. It might be crude, but it was effective as well.

Scotland scored the first goal.

England had the Quaffle now. Their offence is more methodological, relying on short sprints to gain ground against the defence and using short and secure passes to move around the Quaffle before they got bogged down.

It took several minutes of moving around the Quaffle before they finally scored after some very well executed feints. England was relying on their experience and cautious decision making to win them the game.

The sequence had repeated itself many times, sometimes England's attacks were rebuffed and sometimes they also managed to intercept the Quaffle. However, the Scottish team maintained the initiative throughout the game. England seemed to be just trying their best to keep up.

After two long hours of action, the score was 280 points to 210 points with Scotland in the lead. If they managed to string together a sustained run, they might be able to secure the win with their points alone.

Everybody was watching when the Seekers would take action because it seemed that only the Seekers could turn the tide of the action at that point.

Knowing the eyes were on him, he dived with purpose as if he found the Snitch finally. The opposing Seeker had followed him. Based on the angle of his drive, Alex couldn't be attempting a Wronski Feint. However, there were other uses of feints in Quidditch.

Alex had predicted the sequence of action once again. When he saw that his teammates were being cornered in a pincer attack by the enemy Beaters, he had foreseen the change of possession.

And so the opposing team had turned around quickly forming their usual formation that had worked wonders for their team. Only this time, Alex was flying as fast as he could on a colliding trajectory toward them. And, trailing closely behind him was the Scottish Seeker.

It was a very technical manoeuvre for Alex. He was flying in a generally straight direction while heading toward the path of the Scottish offensive while simultaneously keeping himself in front of the opposing Seeker to cut off the player's line of sight.

Just when he was about to hit the group of players, he feinted to the right only to turn all the way so that his head was pointing downward then he pulled to the left, avoiding the players on their offensive formation.

The other Seeker behind him, who did not have a clear view of his teammate was surprised to find himself on a colliding vector with himself. Out of panic, he pulled to the right where Alex had feinted only to find that his teammates' flight path was going the same direction.

They collided in the most gruesome way. Several brooms were broken with wood splinters flying about. Most importantly, the Scottish Seeker and two of their Chasers were down for the entire game.

Alex had never executed a manoeuvre aimed toward harming another player. He usually got along just fine without resorting to the more violent tactics he could think of. But, they were losing. He might have a different reason for joining the National Quidditch team, but he still had the pride of a player.

The crowd cheered him on. A Seeker had just taken out three other players in the pitch. The Scottish players and fans were shouting curses at him and demanding foul from the referees. But, all of his moves were clean according to the Quidditch rules. Alex didn't touch another player or their brooms. If the Wronski Feint that made a player crash to the ground was legal, making them crash with one another was also just as legal.

With three players down on the other team, including their Seeker, the England team had easily won the game with an easier time on the defensive end. When Alex spotted the Snitch, he just chased it without rushing too much.

And with that, the English team had won the match and secured the first place in the regional preliminary games of the British Isles. Alex was the player of the game. His merciless tactics had won them the game.

The final score was 310 points to 450 points. The game had taken over three hours.

Alex had demonstrated that not only could he play as an active Seeker, he could also take advantage of the enemy strategy and do what must be done to secure the win for his team.

The sports analyst among the audience were already thinking of the upcoming scouting battles among the professional league teams to sign Alexander Grey into their team. He won't just bring his skills to any team, there would also be the large fan-base that he would bring because he was probably the most exciting Seeker to watch in the British Isles.

His name was once again in the papers. The celebrations of the team had lasted three days. It has been so long since England was heading for the World Cup as a dominant team.

Not everything was lost for the Scottish team though. They would get to the tournament just as well. And, who could say if they won't be meeting with England in the Tournament?

Ch.25 - World Cup Finals

After getting in the tournament in such a dramatic fashion, everyone in the team was invigorated to try even harder in the games. During the practices during the period between the preliminaries and the tournament phase, the England team was really giving it their all.

In the meantime, Alex had gotten back to his country house in Norwich to continue his own training. He was always working to improve himself during the last year. He might have expected to do a little less training after his Hogwarts year, but the stronger he became, the bigger the gap of power that he had to cross. Like the phrase, once you started to climb a mountain, only then you realized how tall it actually was.

He had also made a little time for him and Katie to be together. When they finally told Clay of their relationship, he said that he had always expected it to happen. In addition, he had some news of his own. Clay and Dora Tonks had become close apparently. At first, she would only write about her time in Hogwarts, asking him for advice in leading the Badgers gang in Hogwarts. Then, the letters became more frequent and more personal, until they decided to go on a date during the winter break.

[AN: I always call the Hufflepuff gang by a different name because of what I think is Alex's attitude about it. He finds it kinda funny sometimes, but also potentially scary. He calls it the Badger Horde, Hufflepuff's' Cult, the great stampede or something like that. In my mind, they are always chanting 'One of us! One of us!' or 'Part of the crew, part of the ship!'

The Observer had run a series of articles about the young Quidditch hero after his sudden rise. The M-Sport Monthly was also on the process of writing up a more in-depth story about him. Of course, some of the information he released was fabricated by himself.

As the story was told, Alexander Grey was a muggle orphaned who was raised by his only living relative in the muggle world. The people in the magical world had a particular weakness when it comes to orphans. In addition, his life must have been horrible living in the muggle world, as some witches and wizards might think.

With just that, he already won the sympathies of the magical world. He was being thought of as some kind of an underdog in the Quidditch arena.

They also mentioned his performance in Hogwarts. Some even had testimonials of his professors and schoolmates. Some stories were from other students that he couldn't even remember, saying things like how they've always known that he was destined for greatness.

The most notable part of the article was a story from his friend, Clay. He was described as being a good friend who always looked after his other friends and a generous but fair senior student in his role as prefect. He also said that Alex was the pride and joy of the entire Hufflepuff house who had never judge anyone based on their blood status. He started in Hogwarts as an average student, but with hard work and dedication, he graduated with the best NEWT result in their year.

Clay had always opined that Alex was the perfect example of a Hufflepuff student. He never talked about his own achievements and always worked hard on his studies. Also, he was loyal and would always come into rescue if his friends were in trouble.

It was certainly a powerful statement coming from his best friend who was a pureblood young man who was currently making waves in the business sector of the wizarding world.

After that was some stories about him that took place after his graduation from Hogwarts. Some of them were about his activities in the Association, volunteering his time to help out the needy. Some of them were about his part-time jobs in the Hermes Telecommunication Company and the Elysium Housing Corporation. All of them were fabricated by the Order members who were in charge of those groups. Alex needed only to explain why he had not been seen around that much and what he was busy doing.

The most senior members of the Order were already privy to his real identity. Ever since he started permanently residing in the country house with Mr Baxter, there was no longer a point in hiding it. Every one of them knew that Mr Baxter was the right-hand man of the Archon.

Mr Baxter who was performing a very significant role as a facilitator in the Order was loyal only to Alexander first and foremost. Interestingly, he was not an actual member of the Order. His involvements in the Order were only due to his master's wishes.

Most of the time, his task was comprised of moving around some large amount of funds to start the businesses and programs that Alex had planned for. After allocating the funds to the right people, he would withdraw back to his other duties. Most of which is about managing the household and the fortune of the 'Greywolf' family.

×××

When the time for the tournament finally arrived, Alex had travelled together with the English team to America. He and the people with him were given a temporary wand license. He was also asked if he wanted to exchange his Galleons for the local wizarding currency called Dragots.

Wizarding America is governed by the Magical Congress of the United States of America or MACUSA. Its headquarters is located in New York City. Instead of a Miniter, the leader of MACUSA is a President with an incredible extent of authority.

The MACUSA was formed about a century before the muggle United States was declared independent from the United Kingdom. At the time, they had a major crisis going on when the magical society was exposed to a muggle or no-maj, as they were called there, which led to the famous Salem witch trials where many witches and no-majes where executed.

This eventually led to the enactment of the Rappaport Law by the then president Emily Rappaport. It prohibits any relationship, romantic or just friendship, with any no-majes. The only allowed contact with no-majes was just minimal conversation. And, no exceptions were accepted.

The law was only repealed in the year 1965. But after centuries of living with no contact with no-majes, a lot of people in the magical society of America had developed their own prejudiced views regarding no-majes.

While blood status prejudice was strong in the European countries, it didn't seem to have caught on in the American wizarding world. Fortunately, or unfortunately, the news of the ongoing witch trials discourage a lot of pureblood families from immigrating to America in the past.

However, they had their own set of problems as well. Most wizards and witches in the country were fearful or outright hateful of all things no-maj. While in Europe, they might look down on muggles, in magical America, they were practically hostile to no-majes.

This was due to their long history with Scourers, witch hunters, who caused the exposure of the magical society and helped the witch trials. The MACUSA had at one point killed all known Scourers and their descendants to rid their line of any knowledge regarding the magical world.

Alex had already sent people to other countries from the Association to spread the words of their movement and determine if the expansion of AIM was viable for each particular country. The USA was among the least recommended countries according to the people he assigned there.

The MACUSA was simply too much in control of the wizards' and witches' everyday lives.

Even after Rappaport's Law was repealed, association with no-majes were greatly discouraged. Revealing the existence of magic to a no-maj even by accident was punishable regardless of the reason.

No-majes in America were taken in by the MACUSA from early on during their childhood. Their parents were eventually Obliviated of any knowledge of the magical world.

Furthermore, every wizard and witch in the country needed to have a license to carry a wand.

Despite these, Alex knew that there was fertile ground for AIM to expand in the USA. He might think that the MACUSA's laws were more adapted to the modern age than those from the European Ministry from a certain point of view, but the people there were practically living under the tyranny of the MACUSA and Alex wanted to help them live freely.

But at its current strength, getting involved with the affairs of MACUSA could just confuse the message of AIM. At the moment AIM was promoting the rights and equal treatment of 'muggleborns', not of opening their world a little bit. In addition, he knew he would abandon many of their members if he started talking about the integration of the magical and non-magical worlds.

The idea was still too foreign for the people to consider. Even most muggleborns were hesitant to entertain the idea of a lifestyle where they would regularly cross over the boundaries of the magical and non-magical world. Only the people that Alex had hired in his muggle companies and the people from the Order were opened to the idea of living part of their lives in the muggle world. And, that was only after Alex had convinced them personally or by his examples that it was made possible.

However, Alex knew this would be the natural conclusion of things as long as AIM constantly pushed for progress in the magical world. When people were finally free and living better lives, the small world that they've constrained themselves into would simply not be enough for them.

That would be an issue that he would face far in the future.

For the month of June and July, The American wizarding world would be the host nation of all the Quidditch players and fans coming from all over the world. Only 15 games were on schedule to be played. However, some Quidditch match had taken more than a day to finish and there was only one stadium that could host the games. that was why 2 months were needed to host the tournament.

This is because the World Cup Stadium was always built for the occasion then taken down after its use. There were no Quidditch pitches around that were big enough to receive all the people coming in from all over the world. And leaving a structure big enough to do so would risk discovery by muggles, breaking the Statute of Secrecy.

As the host of the Quidditch World Cup of 1990, MACUSA's strength was in full display. The Quidditch stadium was guarded heavily with their Aurors. Any no-maj who made the mistake of wandering near the stadium were obliviated on the spot. No trial or due process necessary.

[AN: 16 teams would have 8 games in the first round, 4 games in the quarter-finals, 2 games in the semi-finals, and 1 final game for a total of 15 games. In the canon 1990 World Cup, the final game took 3 days before it ended. So I think they would be spread around, like 2 or 3 games per week.]

×××

The English team had performed well winning their past three games. In the first round, they played against the German team which ended with a score of 340-180. In their second game, they played with the Indian team which ended with a score of 270-160. On the semi-finals, they played against the American team ending the game with a score of 400-260. [AN: These countries including the UK are the countries where most readers of this fic come from. What a coincidence.

For the finals, they were playing the Canadian team. That team had also defeated the strong Scottish team in their semi-finals round.

That game took all day. The Scottish team had almost won it too. They were about a hundred points in the lead when the Canadian Seeker had beaten the Scottish Seeker to the Snitch.

For the finals game, the spectators were the biggest crowd out of all the games. People had come from all over the world, most of whom were from Canda and the UK. It was practically an international holiday in the magical world.

The pressure was also on Alex. He had become the player to watch out for after all the games they've played. His team was also depending on him to make another amazing play in the finals.

Coming into the game, the English team felt confident. They were a different team than before the tournament. Everyone had learned to put aside their pro-league rivalries after they've secured their spot on the tournament.

Even Ludo Bagman was doing his best to play along. He realized that he actually had a chance to win the World Cup this time which could very well be his last chance at the world stage.

The English had gained the first possession. They went into their offensive formation quickly, setting the pace according to their style. Alex had also taken part openly in the action.

Statistically, there was no chance for the Snitch to show up early in the game. However, he still kept a watchful observance for any glint of gold in the stadium.

The other Seeker has decided to do the same and got in his way. Alex had shown an amazing sense in predicting the flow of the battle. His intervention on the actions was always effective. So, the Canadian Seeker decided to get in his space as much as possible.

Unfortunately, it was somewhat effective. Alex couldn't find the right opportunity to intervene. Thankfully, his team was keeping up with the other team in terms of scoring.

If the other Seeker wanted to play with him, he could give him what he wanted, thought Alex.

He flew away from the action while maintaining a distance that could still allow him to dive in at any point. The other Seeker had no other choice but to follow him or he could act as he normally did.

However, Alex was flying very fast around and around the other players. He had been doing it for the last ten minutes.

The other Seeker's endurance was being put to the test. Normally a Quidditch player could stay on the air for the better part of the day, but sustaining a very fast flight was something else. Not only was his magic reserves being depleted faster, but the physical effects on his body was also getting harder to endure. Even if broomsticks were enchanted to reduce the air resistance on itself and its rider, the momentum was still felt inside the body.

Alex was not as affected as the other Seeker. He was more attuned to his magical core, so he suspected that the depletion of his reserves would be slower. He also had a leaner body than his opponent.

When the other Seeker had relented in his pursuit, Alex had taken part in the action once again. He would be an extra Chaser or Beater as the flow of the game required.

When the other Seeker started to shadow him again, he went back to flying around once again.

The process pretty much repeated itself over and over again. After 4 hours of play, neither of the Seekers had seen any sight of the Snitch.

His opponent was getting pretty tired. If the Snitch appeared at that moment, he would have all the advantage in a chase.

So he flew a little slower, carefully looking for any signs of the Snitch.

Then a flash of light hit his eyes. It was coming from above. All this time, the Snitch was flying leisurely above them, hiding within the rays of the sun.

It was way too high up, however. He would lose all the momentum he had before reaching it, only for it to fly down and leave him behind. That was the way a Snitch would do it.

Based on its location, chasing the Snitch first would make him lose the initiative and give the other Seeker the opportunity.

There wasn't anything to think about though. He could lure the other Seeker to let him force the Snitch to move. But, that would be risking the game too much. So, he went for the Snitch himself.

He wasn't flying his fastest. He was anticipating the moment when the Snitch finally moved to flee.

When he was closing in, the Snitch dove down using gravity to assist its acceleration. It was coming toward him with great speed, but it avoided him at the last second.

Alex had reached for it, but he missed it. The other Seeker was now on his way.

Alex turned all the way around and started chasing the Snitch as fast as he could.

The two Seekers were now side by side as they chased the Snitch. Each of them was singularly focused on the little thing. Trying to block the other Seeker would only lose either of them their momentum.

Seekers really deserved the reputation of being the best flyers in any team. It was beautiful to watch as two fast-flying wizards twist and turn in the air in complete synchronization.

The audiences were mesmerized. It was probably the cleanest Snitch chase that most of them had seen. Neither player was touching the other. They were putting everything on the line with their skills alone. Alex had to respect his opponent's sportsmanship.

However, Alex had more endurance. He didn't slow down at all. He was in full speed position as he flew.

Eventually, he was the one who was in the lead. He had only one chance to do it. Failing to grasp the Snitch in a single attempt would likely make him lose the game.

He leaned forward as far as he could. When the Snitch was only a couple of feet away from his head, he reached out, swiping his hand to catch the Snitch.

His fingers had managed to touch the Snitch, but he didn't manage to grasp with his hand.

It was slipping away toward the left while he was still leaning forward. He wouldn't be able to counter his momentum.

He knew the other Seeker was closing in from behind him, already anticipating the change of direction of the Snitch.

So, Alex decided to risk it all. With his right foot, he used the broomstick as a diving board and to lunge at the Snitch with his left hand.

He was off his broom, there would be no other chance. Win or lose would be decided in milliseconds.

He caught it. The Snitch was caught firmly in his hand. And he was free-falling from over 20 feet in the air.

He had the presence of mind to roll on his landing. With the momentum of his flight, he met the ground at an angle. His body was battered, but there were no broken bones in seemed.

He raised his hand from where he lied on the grass. In it was the Golden Snitch, glittering with the sunlight. They had won the game.

The announcer said so himself. Alexander Grey had won the Quidditch World Cup. The score was 430 to 270.

His teammates could not believe it. They went into the Cup thinking they would be lucky enough to get it the tournament. And now, they were World Champions.

It was all due to Alex's contribution. The men and women of the English team had picked him up and raised him high on their shoulders.

The awarding ceremony was done right after the game on the pitch. It had been so long since England last brought home the Cup.

As expected by everyone, Alex was awarded the MVP award. If it wasn't for him, the team would likely not even made it to the tournament. He was one of the youngest winners of that award, being only 19 years old.

His story was certainly heroic. With this win, his name would finally be known throughout the British wizarding world. Anyone else would be satisfied with the achievement, but for Alex, it was just one step closer.

END OF CHAPTER