Alex had no ti to think. Pouring every ounce of his magic into his wand, he t the infernal blaze head-on. His grip tightened, magic bursting from the tip as he roared the incantation. "Finite Incantatem Omnia!" A violent shockwave exploded from his wand, rippling outward like a tidal wave of force. The impact shattered every window, splintered furniture, and sent enchanted artifacts flying across the shop. The raw force of his spell smothered the flas, compressing the wild, untad magic of the Fiendfyre. It writhed, resisted, then, as if doused by an ocean of ice, it collapsed in on itself and extinguished.
Silence followed.
The aftermath left the shop in ruins. The air was thick with the acrid scent of burned magic and splintered wood. Wimzy, Fang, and dea had been thrown to the ground, the sheer force of the blast knocking them off their feet. As they groaned and pushed themselves upright, they found Alex standing in the center of the destruction, his face dark with barely restrained fury.
Rage burned in his eyes. So, they had dared to co after him first. A slow exhale left him, but his hands curled into fists. He had been planning to find them, to uncover their secrets, but they had struck first. That only ant one thing. They wanted him dead.
A dangerous glint sharpened in Alex’s gaze.’ Fine. If war was what they wanted, war was what they would get.’ He turned sharply, his expression cold and controlled despite the fury beneath. His voice was clipped, businesslike. "Wimzy," he commanded, "restore the shop and take inventory of the damage."
Wimzy, still shaken, nodded quickly, not daring to argue. Then Alex turned to dea, who was still rubbing her head from the impact. "dea, inform the Ministry of Magic about what happened here. Tell them exactly what spell was used and how close it ca to wiping this place out. I have things to take care of. I'll check in later."
Without waiting for a response, Alex turned on his heel and vanished with a sharp crack of Apparition.
Wimzy stiffened, exchanging a look with Fang. There was sothing terrifying about the way Alex had looked just now. He was angry, really angry. And when Alex got that angry, sothing big was about to happen.
dea had co to the sa conclusion. Soone had just attacked Alex’s business, openly, without fear of the consequences. And judging by the strength of that Fiendfyre, the attacker hadn’t just wanted to send a ssage. They had ant to destroy everything. Heart pounding, she didn’t waste a second longer. Rushing to the fireplace, she grabbed a handful of Floo Powder and stepped inside. "Ministry of Magic!" With a flash of green fla, she disappeared, leaving the wreckage of the shop behind.
***
When dea returned to Wilson’s Arcane Alchemica with Moody and a dozen Aurors, the shop appeared to be in perfect order, thanks to Wimzy’s restoration work. However, while the structural damage had been repaired, many of the civilian products had been removed, clearly lost due to the lingering effects of the attack.
As the Aurors moved cautiously inside, the tension in the air was palpable. It wasn’t long before Alex erged from the back room, his expression dark and unreadable, a white mask clutched tightly in his hand. "Alex, I ca as soon as I got the report. How are you holding up? Are you hurt?" Moody asked as he approached, leaning on his cane, his one good eye filled with concern.
"I'm fine," Alex said, shaking his head dismissively. "But more importantly, my research on the masks has paid off. Now, I can take you straight to the bastard who tried to burn my shop down."
Moody hesitated. "Alex, listen to , you need to stay calm. I know you’re furious, and you have every right to be, but these people are dangerous. Let us handle this."
Alex scoffed. "Isn't it just the Silver Wands?" His cold gaze locked onto Moody’s. "They ca after . Do you think I’m soone to ss with?"
Moody stiffened. "How did you, ?" He stopped short, his expression shifting to one of shock. "How do you know it was them?" He hadn't expected Alex to identify the group so quickly.
Alex didn't answer imdiately. Instead, he gestured toward the back room. "Co inside."
Moody understood the implication, whatever Alex was about to say wasn’t ant for prying ears. With a curt nod, he motioned for the Aurors to remain where they were before following Alex inside. Once they were alone, Moody wasted no ti. "Talk. How do you know about the Silver Wands? And what makes you so sure they were behind this attack?"
Alex leaned against the desk, folding his arms. "Have you already forgotten?" he asked, arching a brow. "I’ve been looking into them for a long ti. Two years ago, I asked both you and Arthur about them."
Moody frowned, recalling those conversations. Back then, he hadn’t thought much of Alex’s curiosity, just another wizard interested in gathering information. But now… "As for why I know they were behind this?" Alex continued, his voice edged with frustration. "I saw the attacker’s wand. Aspen wood. And I don’t need to tell you what that ans."
Moody’s eye narrowed. "Thunderbird."
"Exactly," Alex said grimly. "The one who showed up today was him."
Moody exhaled sharply. "Bloody hell. You even know their code nas?"
Alex gave a humorless smile. "You sound surprised."
Moody’s gaze sharpened. He knew Alex well enough to tell when he was holding sothing back. "Alright, out with it. What else are you keeping from ? If we're going to be dealing with this, I need to know everything."
Alex didn’t respond right away. He considered his next words carefully. Then, finally, he exhaled. "You’ve already figured it out, haven’t you?" he said, studying Moody’s expression.
Moody said nothing, waiting.
Alex t his gaze. "Fine. Yes, I was the one who helped the Scamander family that night. And yes, I was the one who took down those two Silver Wands"
Moody’s eyes widened slightly, though he recovered quickly. "It was you?" His voice was low, asured.
"Who else?" Alex said dryly. "I’ve had my reasons for keeping quiet about it, mostly to protect myself. But since they’ve now decided to openly attack , what’s the point in pretending anymore?" His fingers curled slightly around the mask. "They started this. And I’m going to finish it."
Moody stared at him, taking in the revelation. At first, he had assud the person who had wiped out the Silver Wands that night was just another bounty hunter skilled in alchemy. But now, knowing it was Alex all along, soone who had been investigating them for years, everything suddenly made a lot more sense. "rlin’s beard," Moody muttered, rubbing his face. "You’ve had this planned for a long ti, haven’t you?"
"Planned? Not exactly," Alex admitted. "I learned from one of the surviving Silver Wands that a man with the codena 'Thunderbird' was operating in the UK. I wanted to break the mask’s encryption so I could track him down, but, " His expression darkened. ", turns out, I didn’t need to. He ca to . Right through my front door."
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