"Shut up!" Alex snapped, gring coldly at Yulia. He’d had enough of her. From the momeered the library, she'd been sulking and throwing sarcastients his way. And now she had the audacity to point fingers? Who did she think she was? A high-and-mighty noblewoman?

  "We agreed—all the knowledge in your family, anything I find useful, belongs to me. You have nht to object. Your Travers family means nothing to me, not even the worth of a cockroader my boot. You should pray—pray that I’m in a good enough mood not to squash you."

  Yulia froze, stunned by his threatening tone. Exhaustion and weeks of mental strain caught up with her. She colpsed onto the floor, her legs giving out beh her, and burst into tears. The sound of her sobs filled the room, but Alex didn’t flinch. He felt no pity for her—not even a shred. Instead, her g grated on his nerves.

  "Annoying," Alex muttered. With a flick of his wand, he cast a sonic expulsioo block out the he room fell blissfully silent, auro his task, copying spells from the Travers family’s magic books into his metal spellbook.

  Spells of all kinds—curses, poisons, entments—were easily transferred, one by oo the ented book using his duplication spell. The only challenge was the a lightning rune. Unlike regur spells, the rune held immense raw energy, making it impossible to replicate with magic alone. Without thh analysis, it was unique and irrepceable.

  Lucius Malfoy had likely instructed Yulia to keep it preserved in the inal book for this reason. But Alex wasn’t ied in wasting time. Instead of copying it, he decided to trahe entire rune. His metal spellbook, crafted with rare materials, was more than capable of taining such power. After a bit of careful maneuvering, the lightning rune vanished from the inal book aled into his spellbook seamlessly.

  With that done, Alex moved on to copying the other valuable texts he’d selected. One particurly rare tome, Endless Darkness, tais own magical energy. Normal part wouldn’t have been able to hold its plex runes, so Alex copied it directly into his metal spellbook. Two hours ter, his work was plete. Among the treasures he had secured were Slytherin’s manuscripts and nearly 300 rare books and dots, all carefully curated by Alex himself. Many of these were so rare that the outside world likely had no idea they eveed.

  Satisfied but exhausted after nearly long hour of intense work, Alex stretched his arms a out a relieved sigh. Without sparing a sed g the defeated Yulia, he walked out of Travers Manor.

  Back at the Longbottom house, Alex allowed himself two full days of rest. He spent time pying with Augusta and little Neville, both to rex and to sort through his newly acquired knowledge. Carefully, he ahe materials into categories and stored them securely.

  Finally, the day of the Ministry of Magic’s celebration ba arrived. Alex dressed in a sharp dark suit and desded into the living room, where Augusta was already waiting, impeccably dressed. She smiled at him warmly. "Aren’t you leaving Neville with Algie today?" Alex asked, raising an eyebrow.

  "No, I think it’ll be good for him to get out for a bit. Besides," Augusta added, gesturing behind her, "I’ve even dressed him up for the occasion."

  Alex gnced down to see Neville, who looked adorably dapper in a miniature suit. His hair had beeiculously bed, likely under Augusta’s strict supervision. Alex chuckled and picked Neville up in his arms. "How are we getting there?" Alex asked as an afterthought. "Neville’s too young for Apparition, and I don’t think the Floo work works well for carrying others."

  "We’re taking Muggle transportation," Augusta replied, smiling. "That’s why I had you get ready early."

  By noon, the three of them arrived at the Ministry of Magic. The main hall acked with people, the air buzzing with excitement. Reporters crowded he entrance, cameras at the ready.

  The moment Alex and Augusta stepped inside, someone shouted, "Look, it’s him! That’s the young wizard—the hero, Alex!" All eyes turoward them. In a fsh, cameras started clig, aers surged forward. The sudden otion startled Neville, who was still in Alex’s arms. The little boy burst into tears, wailing loudly amidst the chaos.

  "Merlin’s beard!" Augusta excimed, shielding her eyes from the camera fshes. "What is going on?"

  Before they could react further, a familiar figure pushed through the crowd—it was Vanessa. Grabbing Alex and Augusta, she quickly pulled them into the elevator. "Why are there so many people here today?" Augusta asked, still flustered.

  Vanessa rolled her eyes. "Thanks to Alex, of course."

  "Me?" Alex asked, fused.

  “That’s right. You probably don’t realize just how big a stir you’ve caused,” Vanessa begaone carrying a mix of amusement and exasperation. “This is the first time sihe fall of You-Know-Who that five Death Eaters have been arrested at ond the kicker? It was done by an underage wizard. The Daily Prophet and Wizarding Radio have been having a field day with the headlines.”

  She gave a dramatic sigh before tinuing, “And Minister Bagnold? He’s milking it for all it’s worth. The publiformatioment’s been pushing the story hard, like they want to you a national treasure or something. The award ceremony was announced ages ago, and he even invited a flock of reporters to attend the bahey’ve been camped out by the entrance all m, waiting flimpse of you. Meanwhile, we’ve been stuck outside, trying not to die of boredom.”

  Alex finally pieced it together. No wonder Minister Bagnold had mentiohat the Ministry hadn’t had any “good news” in ages. It was clear the British wizarding world wasly overflowing with excitement if something like this could cause such a otion.

  “So, the captain had us on door duty,” Vanessa went on, brushing a strand of hair out of her face. “As soon as you showed up, we were to get you inside quickly before the reporters mobbed you.”

  “Thanks for handling that,” Alex said, giving her an appreciative nod. “By the way, what about the friends I invited? Are they going to have to deal with all that too?”

  Vanessa waved his away. “Don’t worry, we’ve got other colleagues keeping the crowd in check. Your friends will be fihen, with a thoughtful pause, she added, “ht, I haven’t told you the schedule yet. After the award bahere’s going to be a trial for those Death Eaters. You’re required to attend since you’re directly involved. Not sure why the Minister decided to hold the trial right after the celebration—it’s like she’s trying to squeeze it all into one day.”

  Alex frowned slightly, p the timing. It sounded like Bagnold wao strike while the iron was hot, pressuring the accused families to shift their stances under public scrutiny. The efficy matched his impression of the Minister.