"Back to Hogwarts and New Beginnings"

  Upon arriving in Engnd, Stephen received several letters addressed to Steve Rogers, including an invitation from Cornelius Fudge to meet him. It seemed Fudge was preparing to run for Minister, and his grandfather had also received several letters. Though Stephen ignored the man—who seemed trustworthy—he knew that Fudge would eventually become an ambitious politician whose thirst for power would cause great harm. His rise to power could allow Voldemort to build an even more formidable army.

  Stephen bid farewell to Flitwick and returned to his room, as there were still a few days of csses left before the school year ended.

  Stephen's participation in the tournament was an open secret at Hogwarts—everyone knew about it. However, no one would openly acknowledge it out of respect for Stephen.

  When he arrived at Gryffindor Tower, he was greeted by a party organized by the Weasley twins, with all the Gryffindors in attendance.

  "I don't know, boss," said one of the twins.

  "Of course, it’s not fair!" excimed the other.

  "You taught us alchemy, but not that fabulous way of fighting," the first one continued.

  "That was amazing, especially the final battle!" they both added excitedly.

  "Mhm, if you want, I can teach you. But this magic uses stamina, so you’ll have to train your bodies as well," Stephen replied while munching on some sweets his housemates had brought from the kitchens.

  "Me too, me too, please! I don’t mind working out. I might even look better," said Lee Jordan, who was sitting next to Stephen.

  Some girls and a few other boys also showed interest in training—some to get in shape and others because they wanted to learn the magic Stephen had demonstrated.

  All the Gryffindors had watched the battle since Stephen had sent the footage to the twins through Misty.

  "Speaking of which," the twins said, "we need you to teach us how to make that image-reproducing box."

  They were referring to the box in the corner that was repying the duel.

  This device was created by Nicos Fmel and Stephen to dispy "videos," though its mechanism was quite simple. The box took pictures every ten seconds, sting the maximum duration of motion in a magical photo. Then, the photos were arranged and pyed back inside a trunk enchanted with an undetectable extension charm. They were moistened with a potion to allow movement, but that was the easy part. On one side of the trunk, there was a convex lens and a set of summoning runes that activated every ten seconds, swapping the images.

  The only real challenge was modifying the rune enough so that the transition between images was seamless. Additionally, it had no sound, but Stephen’s grandfather left that part for him to figure out with the twins' help, as this invention could revolutionize the magical world. With it, his grandson could build his own commercial empire.

  Although the Fmels were by no means short on money, Nicos wanted to see how his grandson would change the world and push the stagnant magical society forward.

  "Yeah, about that, maybe we can come up with something interesting. But let’s save it for ter. If you want, you can come to my house during the holidays," Stephen told the twins.

  "Your house?"

  "You mean… where Nicos Fmel lives?!" the twins excimed in unison, excitement evident in their voices.

  "Yeah, but if you don’t want to, that’s fine. We can meet at your house instead," Stephen said with a teasing smile.

  "NO!" the twins shouted.

  "We’d love to go to your house!"

  "Please, boss!" they pleaded, afraid Stephen would take back the offer.

  "Haha, alright, don’t worry. You just need to let your parents know. Maybe I’ll introduce you to my friends in France."

  "France? But isn’t your house in Hogsmeade?" the twins asked.

  "Yeah, but you’ll understand when you visit," Stephen replied with a grin.

  After a few days of rest, the time came to board the Hogwarts Express to return home, which Stephen also took.

  "You don’t live in Hogsmeade, so why are you taking the Express to King’s Cross?" Angelina asked, eyeing Stephen.

  "It’s obvious that to get home, you have to take the Express," Stephen replied, looking at her as if she had just asked a completely obvious question.

  Angelina rolled her eyes and decided to ignore Stephen’s nonsense.

  The trip was uneventful. He had fun chatting with the twins about ways to improve some prank products. This time, Lee Jordan was with them, eating snacks and pitching ideas.

  When they arrived, Stephen accompanied the twins to ask their parents for permission to stay with him and possibly visit France. The Weasley family hesitated, both due to financial concerns and because they weren’t sure about letting their mischievous twins stay at Nicos Fmel’s house.

  But Stephen convinced them, expining that it was his grandfather’s idea and that he would be teaching them alchemy. He also assured them that the trip to France wouldn’t cost anything since he had a door connected to his home there. This piqued Mr. Weasley’s interest, but he refrained from asking further questions, assuming it was a secret of Mr. Fmel.

  In the end, they agreed, on the condition that the twins visit home on weekends and return the week before Hogwarts started again.

  Of course, there was also the threat that if they misbehaved, their parents would come to fetch them immediately.

  The twins eagerly agreed and then followed Misty, who was already waiting.

  The reason Stephen didn’t use the portal was that, according to Dumbledore, a magical transfer system needed extensive regutions and testing from the Ministry of Magic before it could be approved for public use.

  So Stephen had to dey publishing his book for another year. However, some of his friends and their families already had copies thanks to him.

  When they arrived at the Fmel house, Stephen watched in amusement as the twins behaved so politely while introducing themselves to Nicos Fmel, earning a chuckle from Stephen.

  "So these are the little troublemakers Dumbledore spoke of. They make the school more lively, jojo," Nicos said, studying the boys carefully.

  "Yeah, Grandpa. These are Fred and George Weasley. They want to learn alchemy to create their own prank shop," Stephen expined, observing the twins' nervousness.

  "Pranks, huh? I don’t mind how you use alchemy, as long as you’re serious about learning. It doesn’t bother me to teach you," Fmel said with a smile, reflecting on how he had never taken on students, though he had guided many wizards in the path of alchemy. Technically, his grandson had taught himself and had been helping him since he was nine years old.

  "Alright, follow me to the library. First, we have a lot of reading to do, and then you’ll show me what you know," Fmel said as he slowly began walking.

  "Yes, sir!" the twins responded in unison, earning a warm smile from Perenelle, who had been watching everything while Misty served her tea.

  "Looks like the house is going to be a bit noisier from now on," Perenelle said, fondness in her eyes.

  Days passed. The twins initially struggled with all the studying, but when Fmel began teaching them practical applications, their enthusiasm was rekindled. Occasionally, they would visit France through the permanent portal—something that both surprised and delighted the twins.

  There, they met Fleur and the others, spending an entire week sightseeing with them. Although the twins didn’t know French, everyone else was multilingual. The one who knew the least was Ricky, who only spoke French, German, and English.

  A sort of competition had started when Stephen, at the age of seven, had already learned seven nguages. Perhaps this competitive spirit rubbed off on the twins, as they started learning basic French words but quickly gave up upon realizing the nguage's complexity.

  And so, the day came to return to Hogwarts...

  Thanks for Reading Dear readers, Thank you for joining me on this literary journey. If you enjoy my novel and want to continue reading, I invite you to support my work through Patreon and Ko-fi. Your contribution will allow me to keep creating and sharing more exciting chapters. I hope to count on your support and keep bringing you unforgettable stories!

  ko-fi.com/yodarki https:///c/YoDarki