A collective groan rippled through the crowd, the thought of losing their weekends prompting muttered complaints. “Silence!” Alex barked, his stern voice cutting through their grumbles. As the room fell quiet, he smirked. “Oh, and one more thing—tomorrow, there will be a preliminary exam. Full uniforms are required.”
Gasps echoed through the room, but Alex wasn’t finished. “In addition, I’ll be conducting a full inspection of your dormitories and personal attire. Everything must meet my standards. You have one night to get everything in order.”
The young wizards looked at him in despair, but none dared openly defy him. They shuffled their feet and exchanged nervous glances. “What’s with those faces?” Alex’s voice was sharp and mocking. “Ready to give up already? You’re Slytherins—keep your ambition, your cunning, and your drive to win. I’ll ensure you don’t surrender.” After a tense pause, he clapped his hands together. “That’s all for now. The grade leaders and department heads will stay behind. Everyone else is dismissed.”
With a wave of his wand, the pile of furniture blocking the dormitory door floated gracefully into the air, clearing the way. The display of magic left the students stunned, their earlier relief at being dismissed overshadowed by awe. “Well? What are you waiting for?” Alex snapped, jolting them from their stupor. The students quickly dispersed, still reeling from the meeting.
Once the common room was empty, Alex lowered the floating furniture and turned to the remaining group. “Gather around. There’s work to be done,” he said, his tone commanding but calm. “First, we need to rearrange the common room. These sofas and coffee tables aren’t exactly practical for studying or meetings. Move them to two of the empty dungeons nearby. I’ve already prepared some tables and chairs to replace them. Going forward, these will be used for self-study and meetings,” Alex announced, his tone calm but firm. “Vivian, if you’d like, you can set up a separate room for poker or other games. Just make sure no one plays in the lobby anymore. Weekends are fine, as long as your grades stay up. If anyone can’t meet the academic standards, there will be no more games for them,” he added, his voice softening slightly to show he wasn’t outright banning entertainment.
“Alright, but honestly, I doubt I’ll have much time for cards anyway,” Vivian replied, resigned to her fate. She had been haunted by the prospect of maintaining grades above an E and knew Alex meant every word.
“The second matter is to clear a few more empty dungeons and set them up as offices for the class committee. I’ll handle it now. I’ve prepared test questions for tomorrow, and once the exams are over, the subject representatives will correct the papers here. I want the results on my desk by tomorrow night,” Alex instructed briskly.
“Got it,” the group of representatives responded before heading off to organize the dormitory as instructed.
Alex turned to Welen next. “Now, let’s talk about the Quidditch team.”
“The Quidditch team? I thought you’d completely forgotten about it. You haven’t brought it up once tonight,” Welen said, his face lighting up at the mention of the sport.
“I don’t know much about Quidditch, so I’ll need your advice. The team’s performance plays a big role in winning the House Cup. How’s the team looking this year?” Alex asked, folding his arms as he shifted into planning mode.
“We’re doing alright. As long as the training is consistent, we’re still competitive. I implemented your training methods last year. They didn’t pick up everything, but the team’s fitness has improved significantly,” Welen replied with confidence.
“Any issues with the team? Equipment, venues, or players? Oh, and Vivian’s on the team, right? How’s she doing?” Alex asked, a hint of curiosity in his voice.
“The equipment is solid. Thanks to Louis, we even got a few Sweeping Five-Star brooms last year. He sold them to the team at a huge discount so he could try out, but he didn’t make the cut,” Welen said, shaking his head with a smile. “As for the players, we’re in good shape. The only challenge is training a new Seeker since I’ll graduate next year,” he continued.
“And Vivian? How’s she performing?” Alex pressed, glancing over at Vivian in the distance.
“Vivian’s a bit of a surprise. She started strong but kept trying risky maneuvers with her broom, which got her thrown off a lot. To improve her stability, she… well, let’s just say she put on some weight. It worked, though—her flying skills are among the best on the team now,” Welen said, chuckling.
Alex raised an eyebrow and looked at Vivian again, surprised. ‘So, that’s why she’s so against losing weight. She sacrificed her figure for Quidditch.’ “Sounds like the team’s in good shape overall. And our performance last year wasn’t bad, right?” Alex asked.
“Yeah, we placed second. But that was mostly because of an unfortunate match against Gryffindor. Otherwise, we could’ve done better,” Welen replied with a sigh.
“Why do you say that? Didn’t we beat Gryffindor last year?” Alex asked, puzzled.
“We did, but three of our players were injured during the game. We couldn’t train properly for the next month and ended up losing to Ravenclaw,” Welen explained, his frustration evident.
“So, the main issue with our Quidditch performance is our rivalry with Gryffindor?” Alex mused, frowning slightly.
“Pretty much. The feud has calmed down over the past couple of years, but once we’re on the field, tempers flare, and it always turns into a brawl. Even if we win, the injuries throw off our training and hurt us in later matches,” Welen admitted, shaking his head.
“I see,” Alex said thoughtfully. “Here’s the plan: first, I’ll talk to Gryffindor. Charles is a prefect now, so I’ll try to work something out with him. If we can avoid these fights, it’ll benefit both teams in the long run.”
“And if that doesn’t work?” Welen asked, his curiosity piqued.
“Then I’ll personally train the team in aerial tactics. If Gryffindor wants to fight, we’ll beat them decisively. I’ll also make sure we have plenty of healing potions on hand so everyone can recover quickly,” Alex said firmly, his tone leaving no room for doubt.
“Really? That’s fantastic!” Welen’s eyes sparkled with excitement as he heard Alex’s plan. “If you’ve helped us figure out the way, then I’m confident we’ll win the Quidditch Cup this year!”
“Confidence is a good thing,” Alex replied with a small smile. “Now, go and get busy. I’ve got some preparations to make.”
After finishing his conversation with Welen, Alex retrieved a seating arrangement plan from his interspatial ring. He directed a group of students to help organize the common room. Within an hour, the room had been transformed.
Looking in from the entrance, the stone hall was now neatly arranged with over a dozen small rectangular tables, each about 1.6 meters by 0.8 meters, laid out in an island pattern. Each table could comfortably seat 8 to 10 students, providing ample space for study sessions or house meetings. The new setup ensured that all of Slytherin could gather conveniently. Once everything was arranged, Alex summoned the prefects and informed them of the plan for the next day. They were to join him in inspecting the dormitories promptly at 7:00 a.m.