[Author's Note:
I have just uploaded about a dozen chapters for the Stories on my App.
So download my App: Freemium Novels
And read them all for absolutely free.
]
Chapter - 21.1
Days passed by, and Alex was again the focal point. But this time, thankfully, it was not because of something violent, unlike the last two times. It was his wealth that made him the talk of the school this time around. The tales about his heroics in gambling were still to die. And that made people approach him for more and more pointers.
And Alex could not understand human nature. They were being unnecessarily nice to him, fawning all over him. The one who got rich was him. So, why did they look so cheerful about it? No matter how well they wished for him, Alex wouldn't give away a single penny to them from his stash. No matter who it was...
But not everyone was happy to see Alex. It had already been a good few days since Slytherin's match with Gryffindor, but there was still tension between Ron and Alex. Every time Alex came across Harry and Ron, there would be a one-sided verbal attack on him. Ron tried his best to incite
Alex into violence against them, particularly Harry. That would help paint Alex as the villain.
Alex, on the other hand, did his best not to fall for such a childish trap. The school and its rules did not mean much to him. But since Professor Snape had asked him to look after Potter, he hoped to have a normal relationship with Harry. At least that of an acquaintance, if not buddies.
But even Alex had a limit to his patience. And Alex was far from being a saint. If Ron were to provoke him one more time, he would make sure that it was the last time he picked a fight with someone.
But while there were a couple of nuisances in Alex's life, everything else around him was pretty typical. Classes were boring, as usual, Potter was still the most cherished celebrity at Hogwarts, Slytherin was leading the points tally and so on.
So like any other day, Alex was in the library after bunking his classes. This was the only place at Hogwarts that still interested him. One of the tables in the corner was unofficially his as he was a regular in the library. The books Professor Snape passed on to him all these years amounted to nothing compared to the stock they had in the library. It was a paradise for an advent reader like him.
But while he was enjoying the book in his hand, Alex felt someone's gaze fixated upon him. But since he did not feel any hostility, Alex did not react to it. It was best if the other party initiated the conversation if they needed anything. But when there was no movement from the other side for a while, the gaze started to irritate him. He wanted to read in peace, but it was bothersome now.
So Alex closed his book and turned around to look at the table behind him. But the person staring at him was someone entirely unexpected. It was Gemma Farley, the Slytherin prefect.
"Do you need something?" Alex asked.
"Umm... Nothing... I..." Gemma was taken aback when she heard Alex. She was so lost in her thoughts while staring at Alex that she did not even notice that Alex found her out, "I wasn't looking at you... I was just thinking about something while reading this book..." Gemma hurriedly opened the book in her hand and showed it to Alex.
"It's upside down," Alex told Gemma.
"Huh...?" Gemma looked at the book in her hand when she heard Alex, and it was indeed upside down, 'Now I am making fun of myself in front of a first year... Why the hell am I even panicking for?'
"Ahemm... I read it like that sometimes... I heard it helps the brain work faster..." Gemma said in her defence. But all she got was an unconvinced nod from Alex.
"... By the way... Shouldn't you be in class right now?" Gemma conveniently shifted the conversation from herself to Alex. And this also kept the conversation going.
"I like it better here in the library," Alex replied.
"Umm..." Gemma nodded, showing that she understood his chain of thoughts.
And with that, Alex thought the conversation was over, but he was wrong. He found Gemma looking at him with her eyes wide open without blinking. She wanted him to ask her something as well.
"So, what are you doing here?" Alex reluctantly asked. And A smile appeared on Gemma's face.
"Just my prefect duties... I had to post some announcements on the library notice board," Gemma said, pointing at the large green board beside the librarian's table.
"... And then I saw you, so I decided to say hello," Gemma continued.
"But weren't you reading that book and contemplating?" Alex asked, and whatever Gemma was about to say next got stuck in her mouth.
'Why are you nitpicking on small details?' Gemma thought. Indeed what she said was not the truth. Well, half of it was, in fact. She did come to the library to put up the announcement. But when she saw Alex sitting in the corner reading, she suddenly thought about his relationship with Professor Snape. Gemma had always been curious about it.
So Gemma sat at the table across from him, thinking of ways to strike a conversation and smoothly try and bring Professor Snape into it. But Alex noticing her was not in the plan.
"Yeah... It's all the same," Gemma grinned nervously as she tried to bury the topic and shift the conversation to what she really wanted to know.
"Well, speaking of which, you seem really close to Professor Snape. Did you know him from before or something?" Gemma asked.
'How does this make any sense? There is no way she could link their previous conversation to his relationship with the Professor,' Alex did have this thought in his mind. But more than that, why was she concerned about that? What is this girl up to?
"I... didn't quite underst..." Alex was about to feign ignorance when Nicole came running towards them.
"Brother, have you seen Abbie? I can't find her anywhere". Nicole asked.
* * * * *
[Author's Note:
I have just uploaded about a dozen chapters for the Stories on my App.
So download my App: Freemium Novels
And read them all for absolutely free.
]