Another week passed, and Christmas arrived. During this time, business at Wilson’s Arcane Alchemica was booming. The holiday season meant an influx of young wizards shopping for gifts, keeping the shop lively every day. However, Alex was too focused on his research to bother with sales. Using the excuse of mask analysis, he locked himself away in his lab, leaving Wimzy and Fang in charge of the store. At the same time, he continued taking advantage of the Ministry’s resources while pushing back their expectations.
Even Medea, stationed at the shop under orders from the Ministry, found herself roped into helping. As an Auror, she had little patience for customer service and fumbled through the work, much to Wimzy’s frustration. Though she was technically assigned to keep an eye on things, she ended up taking orders from Wimzy instead.
Meanwhile, Alex remained absorbed in his experiments. He extracted the vision-enhancing function from the identification rune and integrated it into his monocle, significantly improving its utility. Inspired by this, he also began planning an upgraded version of both his tracking glasses and communication amulet, incorporating the new runes to enhance their effectiveness.
Additionally, he was developing a communication locator, using a modified version of the communication amulet’s technology. This device would allow him to track signals through the Floo Network, an innovation specifically designed to counter the faceless masks. If his upcoming bloodline refinement worked, then by following the signals exchanged through the masks’ network, he might finally uncover the location of the enigmatic "Thunderbird."
After finishing his preparations, Alex checked the time. It was getting late, and the shop was about to close, so he decided to step out front and see how business had gone for the day. As he entered the main shop area, he spotted Medea standing listlessly by the counter. The moment she saw him, the energetic Auror perked up and immediately approached. "How’s it going? Any progress on cracking the mask today?" Medea had made it a habit to ask him this every time they saw each other. Usually, Alex found her persistence annoying enough to avoid her, but this time, he didn’t brush her off.
"Actually, yes. I made solid progress today. I'm debugging it tonight, and if all goes well, I might be able to trace the target through the mask by tomorrow."
"Really? That’s amazing!" Medea' tired demeanor vanished as she visibly brightened. "Why don’t I just stay here tonight? That way, I can report back to the department the moment you have something concrete!"
Alex sighed, shaking his head. ‘Why were some Aurors this ridiculously dedicated? Did she not have plans for Christmas?’ Before he could respond, the shop’s door swung open, and another customer stepped inside. Given the late hour, the store was nearly empty, and there weren’t many people left on Diagon Alley.
Medea, still buzzing with excitement from Alex’s update, instinctively turned to greet the newcomer. "Hello, may I help you?" Her time working in the shop had improved her customer service skills, and her enthusiasm at the moment made her unusually friendly.
The visitor barely spared her a glance before scoffing, his tone laced with arrogance. "I have eyes. I don’t need your help picking out useless junk."
The rudeness of the response made both Medea and Alex frown. Alex, curious about the man’s attitude, took a closer look at him. The customer was a wizard in his early forties, dressed in an old-fashioned set of plain wizard robes. This style was uncommon among modern wizards, making his appearance feel strangely out of place. His long black hair framed sharp, angular features, and his cold, piercing eyes held a cruel edge.
The man carried a leather suitcase and wandered through the shop, glancing at the various items on display with clear disdain. His gaze held no curiosity or appreciation, only visible contempt. Medea looked momentarily uncertain, but Alex gave her a quick shake of his head before stepping forward himself. "Sir, I’m the owner of this shop," he said smoothly, keeping his tone polite. "You don’t seem particularly interested in any of these items. Is there something specific you’re looking for?"
The man turned to him with mild curiosity. "You? The owner?" His eyes flicked over Alex as if assessing him. "You’re younger than I expected."
Alex raised an eyebrow. "You’ve heard of me?"
"I know of you," the man admitted, his lips curling into something between a smirk and a sneer. "Word is, you’re some kind of British wizard hero."
Alex gave a light chuckle, shaking his head. "That’s just a title people throw around."
"Hmph, at least you’re self-aware," the man scoffed, his tone dismissive.
Alex narrowed his eyes slightly but kept his expression neutral, offering a practiced smile. "Or you could see it as modesty," he countered. "But putting that aside, you don’t seem particularly impressed by the products here. Anything you’re dissatisfied with?"
The man shook his head. "Dissatisfied? No. More like unimpressed. This is all just a bunch of flashy, useless trinkets, hardly worth my time." He glanced at Alex again, his expression unreadable. "Still, I’ll give you this, you’ve got skill for someone so young. Shame it’s wasted on this."
Without another word, he cast another disdainful look around the shop before turning and walking straight out the door, not bothering to look back.
Alex watched the man disappear down Diagon Alley, his gaze following him until he reached the other side of the street. Just before vanishing, the man turned his head and shot Alex a smirk filled with thinly veiled disdain. Then, without a word, he pulled out a wand, pale white, unmistakably made of aspen, and disappeared with a sharp crack of Apparition. ‘Aspen? A Silver Wands?’ The realization hit Alex instantly, and his heart clenched. He had been suspicious of the man’s arrogance, but now he was certain, this wasn’t just some unpleasant customer. This was an enemy.
"Mr. Wilson, that man forgot his suitcase," Medea noted, pointing toward the leather case left behind in the middle of the shop. She took a step forward, curiosity flickering in her eyes.
Alex's breath hitched. His instincts screamed danger. "Don't touch it!" he barked, spinning toward her with urgency.
"Huh?" Medea froze, looking at him in confusion.
But Alex didn’t have time to explain. He had already sensed the sheer magical energy radiating from the suitcase. Without hesitation, he thrust out his left hand, yanking Medea backward with a forceful pull. She stumbled, nearly falling into his arms as he propelled himself forward, wand flipping into his grip.
Just as Alex leaped, the suitcase erupted. A surge of malevolent magic detonated outward, a wave of raw, destructive power flooding the shop. A blinding explosion of bright red flames roared forth, the fire twisting unnaturally, Fiendfyre.