Everyone finally relaxed after the exams. But not Fred and George, who were frantically working to complete their first game table. It was the last week before they’d leave Hogwarts and await their results from the professors.

“Alexis won’t be with us at home--”

“--so we won’t have any chance to work on the game table over the summer!”

“If we don’t finish it before we’re on the Hogwarts Express, we’ll have to wait until the next term to continue our experiments!” Fred declared, clenching his fist.

“And we can’t let that happen.” George nodded, equally determined. “Just a little bit more...Just you wait!”

Alexis sighed, “Ugh, yeah. It’s, like, super hard for me to go over to their place, and they can’t just come to mine either. So, it’s now or never before summer break kicks in.”

Scarlet sat in her training room, observing the Weasley twins at work. They salvaged an old table Hogwarts’s house-elves had intended to discard, and were renovating it with enchanted runes and glass shards, which they pre-programmed with certain magical circuits. Essentially, they were using the charmed glass shards like Lego pieces, piecing together a functional “game.exe” by connecting the, with hand-carved runes filling in where pieces were missing.

This game table was still a demo version. Eventually, they planned to use a large single pane of glass – or, if proven more effective in channeling magic, an affordable gemstone – rather than attaching numerous individual glass pieces. But that stage was a long way off. For now, they had to fit each glass shard one by one, following a circuit-like diagram they’d designed. It was slow work, but they were making progress.

Scarlet, meanwhile, had wrapped up her own project. Her book was now in the publisher’s hands. She reduced the number of assistants, as most of them had managed to save enough pocket money for a better life at Hogwarts, also because she had a clearer understanding of the wizarding world now, so she kept just two to help her with gathering information, and one to summarize the latest wizarding news. The last role was Neville’s; he was excelling at it, gaining confidence daily. And since he took part in the healing ritual Scarlet set up for his parents – a gesture for which he was deeply grateful – he benefits from it and his memory has started to improve. And with the enchanted watch he commissioned from the Weasley twins, he was no longer teased as the “forgetful Gryffindor”.

Alexis was impressed by these transformations. Secretly, she thought of Scarlet as the modern-day Kakashi and couldn’t help wishing Scarlet had white hair, though she admitted maple-coloured hair was nice too. Still, in her mind, all great teachers just seemed to have white hair, and the more she got to know Scarlet, the more she was sure Scarlet was a great teacher.

Anyway, Scarlet found herself with a rare stretch of free time this week. She spent most of it reading Muggle school textbooks, preparing to sit an exam before her return to Hogwarts and secure her academic standing in the Muggle world.

As Scarlet skimmed through the science textbook, she heard Alexis lean in beside her and speak in a low voice. “Sooo...what’s your plan for summer?”

“Sure you don’t need me on standby for you?” Alexis whispered, her gaze still fixed on the busy twins. “Y’know, for the whole hunting thing.”

“No, just enjoy your holiday,” Scarlet said, smiling. “We’ve gone over all the backup plans. Worst case, I could summon the Queen for help - though I’d rather not have to.”

“If you’re cool with that, then I’m thinking of heading back to America for the summer,” Alexis said, looking like she was mulling something over.

Scarlet raised an eyebrow. “I thought things weren’t great between you and your ‘mother’?”

“Right, she’s...not exactly ‘Mother of the Year’,” Alexis sighed, lowering her voice so the twins wouldn’t overhear. “The original Alexis literally died falling down the stairs ‘cause she wasn’t taking care of her. And honestly, she’s...well, let’s just say she’s had way too many boyfriends. But she’s a good actress – a real pro. She’s been up for big awards, she looks out for young actresses, and she totally fights for women in the industry. So...that’s why I decided to have a talk with her.”

“What for?”

“To see if I can work with her, do some acting over the summer.” Alexis’s expression was a mix of emotions. “I mean, I can’t really blame her. I got a second shot in this body thanks to her negligence, but I also don’t think I can just...be close to her. That wouldn’t be fair to the poor ‘real’ Alexis, y’know? So I’ll leave once I’m eighteen. Till then, I’ll just treat her as...my boss. And now, I’m gonna go ask my ‘boss’ for a job.”

Scarlet studied her, intrigued. “Didn’t know you were interested in acting.”

“Oh, I’m totally not! But it’s a network I can use to make good money,” Alexis replied, “Remember my indie game studio plan?”

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Scarlet nodded. “I’ve heard Hollywood’s a complicated place. Are you sure you’ll be able to make any income there?”

“Honestly, no idea,” Alexis shrugged. “But we’ll see if Michael can hook me up. He sent me an express, freakin’ out about me being all alone in, like, ‘a foreign country, at a Catholic school in the middle of nowhere, practically training to be a nun’.”

Scarlet chuckled. “Take care, then. I’ve got no connections in America, so if anything happens, keep the pendant close. And if you ever need serious help, call the other numbers on my card or head to Japan or Hong Kong - you’ll be safe there.”

“Alright, Bruce Wayne, enough with the backup plans!” Alexis rolled her eyes. “I’m not Harry Potter, no Voldy or Death Eaters chasing me down year-round.”

Scarlet laughed. “Unbelievable - I’ve managed to earn myself a whole collection of nicknames.”

Alexis can’t help but chuckled along.

Three days before their departure on the Hogwarts Express, the Weasley twins finally completed the game table, v.1.

They whooped and cheered like maniac, running a test with Alexis to ensure everything worked perfectly.

Alexis was in charge of the game’s visual design, from characters concepts to maps, and from the card designs to how each character used their abilities. Her artistic flair gave the game a unique aesthetic. Once, Fred and George had found her tossing away a massive sack of crumbled paper – discarded drafts. And truth be told, even the discarded drafts looked impressive, so they secretly kept them and later showed them to Scarlet during a discussion while Alexis wasn’t around.

Fred and George were in charge of coding the game from scratch, starting with inventing their own “programming language” for game development. Inspired by Lego, they devised an “arrange and run” method using pre-programed glass shards - the cheapest materials they could find. When arranged in specific patterns on the enchanted table, these glass shards would trigger coded responses, saving them the trouble of carving runes for each command.

The final result was a game table covered in colourful glass pieces arranged in whimsical patterns. It had a striking, almost magical look, and Scarlet knew Amelia would fall in love with it at first sight.

The initial test went smoothly. The game makers hugged and cheered, jumping around in excitement. But before bringing the table to Gryffindor’s common room for a beta test, Fred and George turned to Scarlet with a gleam of mischief in their eyes.

“O, Lady of the Red House, might we have the honour of challenging you to a duel?”

Scarlet grinned, intrigued by the game mechanics. “Why not?” Scarlet replied, stepping up to the table and watching as the two stacks of cards – one for characters and one for “enhancement” - were shuffled automatically by the game table and set aside.

The game began with a forest map as the setting was picked out randomly.

They drew cards, and the twins pulled a bowman while Scarlet’s card revealed a spearman. She raised an eyebrow as she noticed the red-haired spear-wielding warrior awaiting her orders on the map...Alexis had clearly drawn more inspiration from her for the character’s design apart from the voice, down to the silhouette.

Each player, or “commander”, directed their character using magic. They could choose to use their wand or go wandless; as long as their magic conveyed clear intent, the character would respond – no incantation required, just focused intent.

Fred and George took out their wands, while Scarlet opted for wandless control by laying one finger on the edge of the table. She usually remembered to use her wand around others, but in the privacy of the training room, she had grown used to casting wandlessly. By now, the twins didn’t even question it.

The characters leapt into the map and began moving stealthily through trees. Onlookers could see the entire forest landscape displayed on the game table, but if they stood behind the players, they’d see a second view – the character’s point of view – which was hidden from the opponent. Using both views, the players could strategise and outmanoeuvre their opponent to win the game.

The twins were brimming with confidence, certain of their victory. After all, they built the game themselves.

Much to the twins’ surprise, before they even reached the one-minute mark for card-picking, their bowman took a fatal hit. They hadn’t had a chance to use the healing power – the three orbs set in the corner of the table – or to draw an enhancement card.

Stunned, they stared at the game table, trying to make sense of what just happened.

“Hmm,” Scarlet mused, rubbing her chin thoughtfully, “it seems the characters can pick up certain perks from my magic. I’m quite good at stealth charms, and complex terrain works in my favour. If this was an empty room with just my character and yours, I might not have won so easily.”

Fred nodded, wide-eyed, “We did put in a hidden feature, so each player’s character would have unique traits, even within the same class. But we never imagined someone would figure it out in their very first game.”

Scarlet shrugged with a smile. “What can I say? I’m good at analysing information.”

The twins exchanged a look, then gave a deep, exaggerated bow. “You’ve earned our respect, Milady!” They said in unison, before cheering and levitating the table with their wands. “Right, let’s test it in the common room! Milady shall be our final boss - none may challenge her until they’ve defeated every other opponent!”

“Wait, I never agreed--”

“Just you wait, Milady,” Fred called over his shoulder with a mischievous grin. “We’ll find the greatest warrior to challenge you.”

“A warrior who can hold their own against you for at least an hour!” George added, winking as they carried the table out of the room.

Alexis, watching them go, couldn’t help but giggle. Waving to Scarlet, she chimed in, “I’ll keep you updated on who’s brave enough to face the ‘last-level boss’!”

“I never agreed to be the final boss,” Scarlet muttered, casting a mock glare at the blonde girl.

“Oh, but it’ll be fun!” Alexis replied with a grin. “My money’s on Ron – he's amazing at wizard chess, you know.”

“And I’m rubbish at chess,” Scarlet retorted with a sigh.

Alexis just laughed, skipping out of the room, leaving Scarlet with a small smile as she watched her go.