Alex guessed the rest easily. "Then your teacher appeared again and offered a cure?"
"Exactly," Azalea sighed heavily. "She gave my sister a potion that improved her symptoms, but said it was costly and rare. She told me if I joined Silver wand, I could earn enough to buy more medicine for my sister. She even promised she'd look after Elanoise personally."
Alex looked at her sympathetically, shaking his head slightly. "Did you never suspect it was all too convenient?"
Azalea's face turned pale. "What do you mean?"
Alex sighed and took out his metal spellbook, flipping through the pages before showing her something, "Have you ever heard of this curse? It causes symptoms exactly like dragon pox and can't be cured by normal treatments. Your sister's illness might have been intentionally caused."
Azalea stared at the book, horrified. "Are you saying… she cursed my sister on purpose?"
Alex leaned back, nodding gravely. "Think about it, if standard treatments didn't work, but your teacher had a miracle cure, wouldn't you become loyal out of gratitude and desperation?"
Azalea stared at the page, horrified realization dawning in her eyes. "You mean… my teacher cursed Anais herself?"
"Exactly," Alex said gently. "Think about it. If ordinary methods failed, but your teacher miraculously cured your sister, wouldn't you trust her completely?"
Azalea trembled, anger and despair mixed in her eyes. "How could she be so cruel?"
Alex put the book aside, his voice calm yet firm. "Your sister should be eleven by now, right? Shouldn't she be attending a magical school?"
Azalea nodded anxiously. "Yes, she should have gone to Hogwarts or Beauxbatons, but my teacher convinced me to let her study at Durmstrang, where my teacher currently teaches."
Alex raised an eyebrow curiously. "Durmstrang? What's she teaching there?"
"Potions," Azalea replied immediately. "She's very skilled at potions, which made me trust her more."
Alex leaned back thoughtfully. "Interesting. I might have contacts there who could help. Your sister should be safe for now since your teacher doesn't suspect you've betrayed them yet."
"Can you help her?" Azalea looked at Alex desperately. "Please, I'll do anything!"
Alex smiled slightly, nodding reassuringly. "Relax. If you're willing to work with me sincerely, I can save your sister and help you escape Silver wand. But I need your full cooperation. Are you prepared for that?"
Azalea took a deep breath, determination replacing fear in her eyes. "Yes. As long as you protect Elanoise, I'll do anything you ask."
Afterward, Alex took a moment to carefully instruct her on how to act naturally to avoid arousing suspicion. Her previous attempts at acting had been too amateurish, so Alex felt it necessary to remind her of certain details again. Honestly, he didn't have much confidence in Azalea's abilities, but at least she could be useful as long as she maintained her cover.
He then reminded her that her primary task was to pass on any messages or instructions from 'Thunderbird' or other Silver wand members immediately.
Azalea agreed quietly, though she expressed concern that since Thunderbird was currently missing, even she couldn't contact him. The masks they used had limited communication range, and her recent attempts to reach him had failed. Alex assured her calmly that it didn't matter; she only needed to be ready for when the Silver wand reached out again. With that, Alex apparated away, leaving Azalea alone to ponder everything that had just happened.
The next day, Alex received an invitation from the Ministry of Magic. Senior officials wanted to hear his account of recent events firsthand, or rather, to complete their reports officially.
More importantly, they wanted to discuss another big batch of alchemy purchases. Minister Bagnold had previously promised that if Alex could help uncover the Silver wand, they'd significantly increase their orders. In the end, the Ministry had achieved more than they expected; not only did Alex locate Silver wand, but he also successfully led the raid against them.
"Alex, I've heard about your decision from Mr. Scamander. On behalf of the Order of Merlin, I sincerely thank you for your help." In the minister's office, Minister Bagnold smiled appreciatively at Alex. Unlike previous meetings, this one was more private, only Alex, Minister Bagnold, and Amelia Bones were present. Even Moody wasn't here today.
"You're too kind, Minister," Alex replied politely. "It's also for my own safety. After all, these criminals threatened me directly. By the way, I've already prepared a special alert that will notify the Ministry immediately if Thunderbird reappears. Still, you should be careful. The Silver wand seems to have mastered Portkey technology, and you've witnessed firsthand the damage Thunderbird can cause."
Hearing Alex's reminder, Minister Bagnold exchanged a helpless glance with Amelia.
"Actually, we might need your help again," Amelia said apologetically. "The Ministry's monitoring enchantment for detecting Portkeys used to work fine, but we disabled it after the war ended. Now it's been inactive for so long, it won't start properly. Professor Dumbledore helped establish it originally, but he's too busy nowadays. Would you be willing to help us repair it?"
"We don't have many experienced alchemists in Britain anymore," Minister Bagnold added with a sigh. "Hiring someone from Egypt would be extremely expensive, and to be honest, it's a bit embarrassing to constantly trouble Dumbledore."
Alex secretly rolled his eyes at their request. They simply didn't want to trouble Dumbledore because it'd be embarrassing, and expensive. Still, he didn't object; he was genuinely curious about the Ministry's large-scale enchantments. "Sure, I can take a look," Alex agreed cheerfully. "However, I can't promise it'll be fixed immediately. Let me try first."
"Of course, that's fine," Minister Bagnold said with relief. "Take your time. If you succeed, we'd be happy to officially appoint you as a consultant alchemist for the Ministry. We'll pay you accordingly for your work."
Hearing this, Alex smiled to himself. This was an excellent opportunity, not only could he study the Ministry's magical protections, but he'd even get paid for it. Minister Bagnold was really too kind.
"Oh, there's another thing," Alex quickly added. "I have a request: that alchemical item your team recovered, the one used by the Silver wand, I'd like to study it closely."
Minister Bagnold immediately exchanged a concerned look with Amelia. "You mean that cursed item? Why would you want to study something so dangerous?" Amelia asked cautiously.
"To find a countermeasure," Alex explained seriously. "If we encounter this kind of thing again, we need to be prepared. Ignoring the threat won't help us handle similar attacks in the future."
Minister Bagnold pondered for a moment, then nodded carefully. "Alright, you can study it, but under Ministry supervision. The item cannot leave our premises, and you must share your findings with us."
"Fair enough," Alex smiled warmly. He wasn't worried, after all, even if he shared his research, would the Ministry officials really understand it?
"One more thing," Alex added cautiously, "I'd also like permission to visit Sirius Black in Azkaban."
Upon hearing this name, Minister Bagnold and Amelia's faces immediately turned serious. "Sirius Black?" Bagnold asked sharply. "Why are you suddenly interested in him?"
Alex explained calmly, "I have reasons to believe Sirius never had a fair trial. I've heard some rumors that suggest he may not be guilty."