The old man sighed and pulled out his wand. With a casual flick, the tip of his wand transformed, becoming a floating cat teaser, complete with colorful feathers and a jingling bell. The cat in his arms immediately perked up at the sight. "Not for you," the old man said with a chuckle, shaking the teaser.
The moment the bell jingled, the two mischievous cat-raccoons, Huobie and Millie, froze in their playfight, ears twitching. Seconds later, they raced toward the house, completely forgetting their quarrel. Rolf watched in awe. “Grandpa, you’re amazing!” he said, eyes shining with admiration.
The old man chuckled, watching the two creatures eagerly pounce at the toy. “Every magical creature has its own nature and instincts,” he said warmly. “Learn to understand them, and even their wildness can be turned into something wonderful.”
For a moment, the atmosphere was peaceful. The old man smiled contentedly as he took in the snow-covered valley, the warmth of his home, the happy chattering of his grandson, And then. His expression shifted. His sharp gaze turned toward the hillside. Alex immediately tensed. ‘Did he just, No. Impossible.’ He was completely invisible. The cloak masked both his presence and magical fluctuations. Even if the old man somehow sensed something, the thick birch tree he was hiding behind should have blocked any line of sight. And yet, There was no mistaking it. For a brief moment, the old man had looked right at him.
He didn’t say anything. But Alex wasn’t the only one who noticed. The old man tightened his grip on his wand. "Come inside now, Rolf," he said, his tone suddenly too calm. Without hesitation, he cast a Levitation Charm on his grandson, pulling him gently toward the house.
Just as Rolf floated toward his grandfather, The ground exploded. A patch of earth just meters away from them burst open, scattering snow and dirt into the air. A masked wizard, clad in black and wearing a faceless white mask, shot upward from beneath the ground. Without hesitation, he raised his wand, sending a hex flying toward the old man. At the same time, his other hand snatched Rolf out of the air. The boy screamed. Before the old man could react, the masked figure vanished, retreating swiftly, Rolf trapped in his grasp.
More figures appeared. Three more masked wizards erupted from the earth, forming a semi-circle around the old man. Silent. Expressionless. Wands raised. It all happened in seconds. The old man barely had time to react. His grandson had just been ripped from his grasp. His eyes narrowed.
Boom!
The first hex flew toward him, but he countered instantly, sending it flying off course. Now that he could see them properly, his expression darkened. His eyes flicked to their faceless masks, And the white aspen wands in their hands. “You,” he muttered, voice low and dangerous.
Alex, still hidden, felt the weight of the situation settle over him. ‘The Silver Wand. They had been here all along.’ Alex clenched his fists. ‘So that’s why I couldn’t find them before. They hadn’t been hiding. They had been underground.’ They must have used some form of Earth Magic, a technique so good that not even Alex’s detection spells had picked up on them. That’s dangerous. Very, very dangerous. And now, the old man was surrounded.
Rolf, still struggling in the arms of his captor, cried out in panic. “G-Grandpa, ! Who are you? What do you want, ? Let me go, !” The masked man holding Rolf barely reacted to the boy’s desperate call for help. With a simple flick of his wand, Rolf’s small mouth sealed shut as if an invisible force had glued his lips together, silencing him instantly.
"Silver Wands? What are you doing in England?" Newt Scamander’s voice remained calm despite his grandson being held hostage, but his expression darkened. "Last I heard, after the Saints Party collapsed, you lot went into hiding in Germany. And now you’re back, what, poaching and smuggling?"
The masked man gripping Rolf inclined his head in a formal, almost respectful manner. His voice, a deep tone with an ambiguous quality, made it hard to tell if he was male or female. "Mr. Scamander, we’re honored that you still remember our old club. I regret that we have to meet under such circumstances, but we have no choice."
Newt’s lips curled in disdain. "No choice? Don’t make me laugh. I know exactly what kind of people you are. That club of yours started as a dueling society, but your leader was always working with dark magic behind the scenes. Pretending to be honorable duelists while running black market operations."
"The truth isn’t always so black and white," the masked man countered evenly. "To you, we might seem like nothing more than scavengers, but we’re just people struggling for our own ideals. Everyone is trying to survive, Mr. Scamander. No one is inherently superior."
"Oh, is that right?" Newt’s eyes narrowed, his voice growing colder. "I only remember that half the tortured magical creatures I rescued over the years came from your operations. If the Saints Party hadn’t fallen when it did, I would have made sure to wipe every last one of you off the map."
The masked man let out a low chuckle. "Then I suppose we should be grateful for your mercy back then. Still, you intercepted a great deal of our shipments, yet we never sought revenge, did we? Maybe today is the right time to settle those old debts."
Newt’s patience thinned. "Kidnapping my grandson, that’s your idea of ‘settling the past’?" His gaze sharpened. "Enough talk. What do you want? You didn’t come all this way just to reminisce. And while we're at it, shouldn’t you introduce yourself first?" Newt’s sharp eyes locked onto the masked figure. "Everyone in your club has a codename, don’t they? I seem to recall rescuing a Thunderbird from someone called ‘Leopard.’ You don’t seem like the type to operate without a name."
The masked man chuckled again, this time with a hint of amusement. "You flatter me, Mr. Scamander. Allow me to introduce myself properly, I am 'Thestral' of the Silver Wands. I oversee tonight’s operation, and believe me, we have no real desire to be your enemy."
"Then why are you here?" Newt demanded.
Thestral sighed as if reluctant. "Originally, we had planned to slip in quietly while you were asleep, borrow what we needed, and be gone before dawn. We underestimated you, it seems. Our precautions were thorough, yet you still noticed something amiss, forcing us to take this… regrettable measure."
Newt frowned slightly. Had he truly detected them? He thought back to the birch tree in the distance, where he had sensed something off. Was that what had tipped him off? But if that was their hiding spot, why were they stationed so far away instead of inside the house?
Meanwhile, a short distance away, Alex, who had been stealthily watching the exchange, discreetly wiped the sweat from his forehead. Damn, the old man noticed me. But at the same time, Newt’s wariness seemed to have drawn out another hidden enemy, one that had been lurking even more skillfully.