[Note: Read up to Chapter - 116 on P patron at: p-atreon.com/Knockturn_Alley]
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It was nearly ten o'clock by the time Aris strolled back into the Ravenclaw common room.
The reason for being so late? He'd taken little Hermione down to the kitchens for a cheeky midnight snack.
He'd assumed the common room would be empty at this hour—but to his surprise, Cho Chang was still sat on the sofa.
"Cho? You're still up?" Aris greeted her with a smile.
"Aris," Cho replied, her tone oddly pointed. "Back from studying, were you?" She put a deliberate emphasis on the word studying.
"Yeah," Aris nodded without catching on. "Found a proper quiet spot—no one to bother you. Got loads done."
Cho gave him a long, unreadable look.
A good result, huh? she thought to herself bitterly. This scoundrel… even a first-year witch wasn't spared!
Righteous indignation flared in her chest. She'd spent the entire evening working herself into knots over this. In the end, she made up her mind—she'd get to the bottom of it, one way or another.
Because deep down, she really didn't want to believe Aris was that sort of bloke.
"Oh?" she said aloud, voice rising just a touch as she lifted her chin. "Sounds like a great place—quiet, no distractions, ideal for studying. Tomorrow's the weekend, right? Why don't you take me along?"
Aris, who'd been halfway to the dorms already, paused and turned back, blinking in surprise.
"You want to come too?" he asked, genuinely thrown.
"Too?" Cho's voice sharpened. "So there was someone with you?"
She crossed her arms, then added coolly, "Let me guess… a young girl, right?"
"Yeah… it was Hermione. What about it?" Aris replied plainly, still not quite catching on to the shift in her tone.
But something about the senior's expression was… odd.
Was it just his imagination?
Or had he eaten too much and was starting to hallucinate?
"Take me with you," Cho Chang said, stepping forward. "I want in—I can study with you from now on!"
Her face flushed for a moment, but she quickly pushed aside the jumble of thoughts whirling in her head.
She looked Aris dead in the eye and said firmly, "If other little witches can do it, then I reckon I can too."
"Can you really?" Aris raised an eyebrow, eyeing his senior with mild scepticism.
Hermione's magical attribute tests were already complete, and they'd run through several follow-ups as well. It wasn't out of the question to add another subject into the mix—more data meant better comparisons, after all. It would no doubt help push his research forward.
But what gave Aris pause was Cho's temperament.
Would she be a good fit?
Did she share the same drive?
That mattered more than anything.
He wasn't looking for followers—he was searching for comrades, people who truly understood the magnitude of what he was trying to achieve.
Reviving the elemental magic system wasn't something one could do solo. He'd need help—proper help.
But any would-be assistant had to fully believe in the cause. Only then could they move forward as equals, working toward a shared goal without conflict.
The reason Aris had brought Hermione to the lab so decisively was simple: he was certain she'd be curious, open-minded, and driven enough to dedicate herself to the vision.
And he'd been right.
But Cho Chang… with her, he wasn't quite so sure.
Because what they were attempting wasn't just research—it was a rebellion against the foundations of the modern magical world.
It was bold. It was dangerous. It was revolutionary.
So Aris cut straight to the point, his voice quiet but sharp:
"Are you truly ready to risk everything for this?"
Cho Chang's pupils widened in shock, her cheeks flushed crimson, and her entire body began to tremble ever so slightly.
What did he just say?
Devotion? Honestly—was he really suggesting that sort of thing?
He couldn't possibly mean… Could he?!
Overwhelmed, Cho instinctively turned away, her heart pounding with panic.
She took several deep breaths to steady herself before slowly turning back to face him, her expression more composed, though still tinged with confusion.
Then, quite seriously, she asked, "Will you take responsibility for me?"
"Eh?" Aris blinked, sensing something was off.
Her tone, her expression—something wasn't adding up.
Still, after giving it some thought, he nodded solemnly. "Of course. If you join my team and dedicate yourself to reviving the elemental magic system… then naturally, I'll be responsible for you."
"Then... then… I do…" Cho mumbled softly, voice growing quieter with each word, until the final part was barely more than a whisper.
Luckily, Aris had sharp hearing, or he might've missed it entirely.
Even so, he asked once more, just to be sure, "Are you really willing?"
Cho drew in a deep breath, met his gaze, and gave a determined nod. "Yes. I do."
In her mind, though, she'd already made up her mind about something else entirely.
If Aris was truly trying to do something inappropriate—something beyond what two students their age should be doing—she'd make him stop. No matter what. She'd confront him, and if necessary, she'd even report him to a professor.
They were far too young for any of that sort of thing. It'd be irresponsible—downright wrong!
Still, seeing the fearless look on her face, Aris was oddly moved.
Maybe he'd been overthinking it.
Maybe Cho Chang did have the makings of a true revolutionary after all.
No wonder she'd become one of the early supporters of Dumbledore's Army in the original timeline. Clearly, she wasn't someone content to simply accept things as they were.
"Right then, it's settled!"
Aris thought for a moment, then added, "Let's meet in the lounge at half-eight tomorrow morning. We'll head to the secret base after breakfast."
"Alright!" Cho Chang nodded.
Even now, her heart was still racing for some inexplicable reason.
Was it the thrill of 'infiltrating the enemy camp'?
Or was it… something else entirely?
She watched Aris's retreating back, her gaze filled with complicated emotions.
Her heart was all over the place.
As for Aris, he wasn't thinking about it nearly as deeply.
Reviving the elemental magic system would require more than just passion and theory—it needed a team.
People who were willing to work alongside him.
More importantly, he needed diverse magical profiles—test subjects, really—to help him study how elemental magic behaved under different conditions.
There was simply no way he could manage all that alone.
Rather than risk involving older, more cunning adult wizards outside the school, it made far more sense to find like-minded students within Hogwarts.
That was Aris's current plan.
And perhaps, over the next few years, they'd all keep working together towards that shared goal.
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The next day, right on schedule.
When Aris and Cho turned up in front of Hermione, the little witch blinked in surprise.
"Aris, is she joining us today?"
"She is," Aris confirmed with a nod.
"But…" Hermione's brow furrowed slightly, a trace of concern in her voice.
"Don't worry," Aris assured her. "She's already pledged herself to the cause."
At that, Hermione's expression turned serious.
She looked Cho square in the eyes and said with quiet sincerity,
"I hope we can get along well, Senior. It's brilliant that we'll be working together for Aris's project."
A faint blush crept up Cho's cheeks.
Still, she composed herself, smiled back at Hermione, and replied,
"I'm doing it for Aris, too."
Although Cho put on a calm front, inside she was absolutely screaming.
Just listen to what they were saying…
"Get along well"? "Open-minded"? "Follow Aris together"???
Absolutely not!
No way in Merlin's name!
Was this little witch completely brainwashed?
And what's more—two of them, willingly involved together?!
What sort of twisted thinking was this?
How could someone fall so far, and so shamelessly?
Just as Cho was about to push a little further and prod Hermione for more answers, both Aris and Hermione suddenly stood up.
They each had a slice of bread hanging from their mouths and a small cake in hand—clearly, breakfast was done.
Cho panicked slightly and quickly grabbed a few bites, not wanting to be left behind again.
"Right then, let's head off once we've eaten!" Aris called over.
Not ten minutes later, the three of them were out of the Great Hall and making their way toward the eighth floor.
As they passed by a staircase window, Aris happened to glance outside.
There, he spotted two familiar silhouettes walking in the direction of Hagrid's hut.
"That's Harry and Ron," Hermione said, noticing them as well.
"They've been acting dodgy lately—sneaking about and slipping off after curfew. I heard they were off trying to duel Malfoy last night!"
Her tone dripped with disapproval, clearly unimpressed with the boys' antics.
Aris chuckled. "Didn't you sneak out last night too?"
"I did it for academic purposes, thank you very much!" the little witch huffed, rolling her eyes.
Clearly, she didn't appreciate being lumped in with those two.
To be fair, Harry and Ron really had been a handful ever since the term started.
Most of their antics, to be honest, were downright childish.
Take that business with the three-headed dog, for instance—constantly poking their noses in, trying to figure out what it was guarding. What did that have to do with them? Surely that was something the professors ought to be worrying about, not first-years.
Then there was all that nonsense with duelling Malfoy at every given chance. That bizarre urge to win every little spat... Honestly, it just screamed "immature."
Typical little-boy behaviour, really.
No wonder Hermione found it all baffling. Boys could be proper daft sometimes—doing the strangest things just because they thought it looked cool.
Hermione, being a girl and far more mature for her age, simply couldn't relate.
Which is probably why, among all the first-years, the only person she genuinely respected was Aris.
More and more, she found herself thinking—compared to Aris, the rest of the boys were just a bunch of silly children.
The difference between him and the others was like night and day.
"We're here," Aris announced.
Soon enough, the three of them arrived at the corridor on the eighth floor.
Aris walked past the wall three times with purpose, and—just like before—a door appeared.
"The Room of Requirement?" Cho asked instinctively, her curiosity finally getting the better of her. She'd been meaning to ask about this mysterious place since last night.
Before Aris could answer, Hermione jumped in with a knowing tone.
"It's a magical room that changes depending on what you need. Whatever you're looking for—a place to practise, study, hide—it'll give you just that. Quiet, private, no one to bother us. We can do whatever we like."
Cho froze.
For a brief moment, panic flared inside her.
What if the room opened and revealed... a lavish bedroom with a massive bed?
If that happened... could she really trust herself to say no to Aris?
Her cheeks burned at the thought.
After all, the boy had already passed the fifth-year exams and been granted an unheard-of privilege—he didn't even have to attend lessons anymore!
Cho was certain that if Aris ever got serious, with his level of magical power, she wouldn't stand a chance against him.
So... did she really want to step inside?
While she was hesitating, Aris and Hermione had already stepped forward and pushed open the door embedded in the wall.
And the moment it opened, Cho caught sight of the room beyond.
Bathed in warm light, a long table stood in the centre of the room, neatly covered with all sorts of magical tools and instruments. Dozens of cabinets lined the corners, their doors wide open, revealing rare and valuable magical ingredients tucked within.
As the full scene came into view, Cho's pupils tightened slightly—and for a moment, she just stood there, stunned.
"Come on then!" Aris called over his shoulder.
The Room of Requirement didn't stay open forever. Once the one who summoned it stepped inside, the door would eventually vanish. Anyone left outside would have to go through the whole summoning process again.
That's why Aris was urging her along.
"Oh—sorry!" Cho jolted back to herself and hurried in, though her steps were still a bit stiff and uncertain.
Clearly, she hadn't quite come to terms with what she was seeing.
"This is my lab," Aris explained casually.
"So this is where you were studying yesterday?" Cho asked warily.
"Yeah," Aris nodded.
"So... you really weren't up to anything else?" she asked again, a faint flush colouring her cheeks.
"We were up to loads, actually," Aris said without a second thought. "First, we tested Hermione's magical properties. Then I had her feel the flow of elemental magic—mostly wind—and practise controlling it."
"Oh, and I also upgraded the testing array," he added, as if it were the most normal thing in the world.
"Now the magic circle's far more sensitive to changes in magical properties. Plus, since I swapped in a larger magic crystal, it can handle much more magical power."
"No more worrying about overloading it and causing the whole array to collapse."
"And lastly, we've mapped out a brand new research plan on magic crystals."
"Today, we can jump straight into testing and analysing their properties!"
Aris rattled off the updates as he busied himself with adjustments inside the octagonal testing cage, tweaking the components of the detection array with practiced ease.
Cho watched him, utterly baffled.
She understood every word on its own… but string them together, and it may as well have been a foreign language.
"That's... that's it then?" she asked, dazed.
The anxiety she'd been holding in suddenly vanished like smoke.
"What else did you expect?" Aris asked, glancing back at her, puzzled.
"…"
Cho didn't reply. She suddenly felt mortified. Her voice trembled as if she might cry.
She swore to herself she'd never tell a soul about today—especially not the ridiculous assumptions she'd made before coming here.
This misunderstanding… it was beyond embarrassing!
How did she even get it so wrong? She honestly wanted to fling herself into the Black Lake and disappear!
Still, it was in that moment of emotional whirlwind—caught between shame and relief—that Cho realised something else.
She was thankful.
Thankful that Aris wasn't the kind of person she'd worried he might be.
That alone made everything alright.
"It's fine if you don't understand it all yet," Aris said gently. "I'll walk you through it step by step…"
As his voice reached her ears again, Cho's eyes slowly shifted back to the strange, glowing array.
That earlier panic gave way to a budding curiosity. A quiet excitement stirred in her chest.
She wanted to know more.
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Drop power Powerstonessssssssss!
[Note: Read up to Chapter - 116 on P patron at: p-atreon.com/Knockturn_Alley]