Ohe trial cluded, Alex bid farewell to the others auro Longbottom House with Augusta. For the few days, the wizarding world buzzed with news from the celebration ba, and headlines domihe airwaves and neers:

  “Minister Bagnold Pledges to Fight Death Eaters to the End!”“Shog Revetion: Barty Barty Jr. Exposed as a Death Eater!”“Director Barty Barty Resigns Amid Sdal, Repced by Amelia Bones!”“Exclusive: The Untold Story of Alex Wilson, as Told by His Close Friend Vivian!”

  Alex paused briefly on that st headline, his brow furrowing. ‘Vivian? What is she talking about?’ But he had little time to dwell on it. During his stay at the Longbottoms’, Alex visited several neighb families, including the Weasleys, Diggorys, and Lovegoods. He shared old stories, strengthened es, and handed out protective amulets he had crafted as gifts. Each family was deeply grateful for his thoughtful gesture.

  He also sat for an exclusive interview with Rita Skeeter. Of course, "exclusive" was a stretch—it was more of Alex handing her a carefully written press release and posing for a few photos. Skeeter, eager to maintain her reputation as the first to secure an interview with the "Ministry’s Hero," was more than satisfied. With Alex holding her Animagus secret as leverage, she wasn’t about to push for more. Ohese obligations were handled, Alex said his goodbyes to Augusta and moved into his property in Diagon Alley. His priority was seg his new home and digesting the gains of his ret exploits.

  The first task on Alex’s list was establishing a solid security system. While the Ministry of Magic’s ret successes had kept Death Eaters in check, Alex wasn’t oo take ces. ‘Foolproof or nothing,’ he thought. He began by designing an intricate protective magic circle for the entire property.

  Using his wand, Alex meticulously etched the spell array directly onto the walls. Each line was drawn with precision, f a seamless work. Ohe etg was plete, he melted the Goblin Silver into fihreads and embedded them into the grooves of the array, ensuring a perfect e. The process ainstaking, akin to crafting stained gss artwork. Every line had to be accurate down to millimeter, every e fwless.

  Over the course of five days, Alex worked tirelessly, c the walls, floors, and even less obvious areas like the firepd sewer entrances with protective arrays. The purpose of the magic circle was twofold: first, to serve as a duit for eling magic power, and sed, to support the coordination spell Alex had retly mastered. The terpiece of the circle was meticulously set up in his basement bedroom.

  This foundation allowed multiple yers of spells to be overid, ensuring a stable flow of magic power to sustain their operation. This desig Alex wouldn’t o stantly recast the spells, uhe methods favored by the Death Eaters. However, maintaining the magic circle required a steady souragic power. To address this, Alex decided to ent the house with an improved version of the “Energy-Abs Charm” he had developed. This charm, when pced both inside and outside the house, would absorb free-floating magi the surrounding enviro.

  Additionally, Alex’s own experiments and spellcasting within the house would produce magic power that could be recycled bato the system. Any excess magic would be diverted to the ste charms he had inscribed, creating a seamless cycle of energy ma. With the energy problem solved, Alex had crafted a self-suffit and durable magic circle. The step was to fortify the house’s defenses. Using the defense blueprint he had drawn earlier, Alex began inscribing various protective aion spells into the rune arrays.

  Over the hree days, Alex meticulously pleted the setup, fortifying the basemerah an array of protective spells. The house was enveloped in a Total Prote Charm, blog external magi influeng its boundaries. A Safeguarding Charm ehat weaker curses were automatically dispelled, while an Anti-Alohomora Charm prevented unauthorized unlog of doors or tainers. To further secure the space, Alex added an Anti-Apparition Spell, barring any teleportation in or out, and an Anti-Invasion Curse to repel forced entries.

  For dete, Alex employed subtle yet effective measures. A Human-Trag Charm monitored nearby activity, while a Trag Curse would tto any intruders who mao bypass the defeo fuse potential infiltrators, he wove in a fundus Charm and used Muffliato to ensure versations and noises remained private. Finally, a Malicious I Dete Spell was set ter an arm if anyone approached with ill iions, pleting a formidable web of security.

  These protes effectively turhe house into a miniature fortress. From the outside, no one could see or hear what was happening within. Anyone harb malicious i would trigger arms, and unauthorized entry via Apparition or unlog charms was impossible. The only way in would be through a brute-force attad even that would be no small feat. “Iure, I’ll add more active and passive defenses,” Alex mused, thinking about miraps, and other defensive meisms. “For now, this will do.”

  Just as he finished his final iion, the house’s warning charms activated. Someone was outside. The arm indicated no malicious i, but Alex remained cautious as a knock echoed through the house. He walked to the door and ope. Standing there was Karkaroff, cloaked and gng nervously around. “You actually came. I thought you’d run away,” Alex said with a smirk.

  “Master, I wouldn’t dare. My loyalty is yours,” Karkaroff replied hurriedly. He stepped closer, l his voice. “The Ministry doesn’t trust me, and the Death Eaters see me as a traitor. I’ve had no choice but to stay hidden.”

  Alex stepped aside, motioning him in. “e in. Enough excuses.”

  Karkaroff followed Alex to the living room on the sed floor, where Alex gestured for him to sit. “I’ve done as you asked,” Karkaroff said hesitantly. “The list has beeo the Ministry of Magic. You should be satisfied with that, right?”

  His voice wavered as he g Alex’s expression. Karkaroff’s mind lingered on the memory of Tokiel—and the metal capsule Alex had forced him to swallow. Tokiel had died a swift, agonizih in front of everyone, and Karkaroff knew he carried the same tig time bomb in his stomach. It kept him obedient and terrified. Alex’s smirk returned. “Rex. As long as you stay ho, that capsule will sit there for decades without issue. I’m not oo kill without reason.”

  Karkaroff forced a weak smile, but his thoughts betrayed him. ‘Tell that to Tokiel. You didn’t hesitate with him.’

  Alex’s sharp gaze narrowed. “You seem to have an opinion?”

  Karkaroff shook his head quickly. “No, master. all.”

  “Good,” Alex said, leaning back. “What’s your pn? You’re ly someone I shelter openly. The Ministry distrusts you, and the Death Eaters want you dead. Staying in Britain isn’t an option for long.”