It turns out Ashwinder isn't as simple as it seemed. According to the intel Alex got from Thunderbird, there was no mention of the creature having such a unique ability. It's likely that the two short Warding stationed at the Silver Wand headquarters have some special techniques of their own.
This discovery only deepened Alex's curiosity about the Silver Wand headquarters. After receiving the Portkey and potion from Ashwinder, he left the base. His performance as Thunderbird had gone off without a hitch, and he'd gained a lot of valuable information.
From what he'd gathered, it was becoming clear that several high-ranking officials in the German Ministry of Magic were involved with the club. Most likely, the ones connected were the three directors who sided with Minister Eisenberg.
The bait used to draw them in was probably the "Rebirth Draught." Without that kind of incentive, there'd be no need to offer them positions as Warding, especially since they weren't given any real assignments. In the club's hierarchy, the biggest difference between a veteran Warding and a apprentice Warding, aside from the authority of leading a branch, was access to information and the channels to obtain the elixir.
It seemed the Silver Wand's ambitions had grown significantly. Their actions were far more aggressive now, a clear shift from the cautious and secretive approach the Golden Snidgets and the club used to favor.
Once upon a time, their priorities were stability, secrecy, and safety. But time changes people, even those who've lived for centuries. Maybe these so-called immortals were tired of hiding in the shadows. Still, with this shift toward aggression, the Silver Wand had begun making mistakes. Their flaws were starting to show, and Alex was ready to take advantage of them.
A plan was already forming in his mind. When he got back to his residence, Alex opened his enchanted suitcase. Though it wasn't quite as extravagant as Newt Scamander's, due to the limitations of the Lemay alloy used in its construction, it still held a massive space, tens of thousands of square meters. Inside, he'd set up his personal lab and living quarters, but he had also left a large open area, roughly the size of several football fields.
Now, he intended to put that space to good use. It was time to stop playing defense. He would go on the offensive and launch a surprise raid on several of the club's magical beast breeding facilities scattered across Germany.
Although Alex didn't know exactly how many magical creatures were being used up in the process of refining the elixir, he did manage to learn something important from Ashwinder, who had some inside information. Apparently, the number of magical creatures being smuggled in from outside the country wasn't nearly enough to keep up with long-term demand. In fact, the organization had already started dipping into their reserves.
Surprisingly, the Silver Wand had actually considered a plan for sustainability. This idea came from Golden Snidget. When he first learned about the elixir's ingredients, he quickly suggested creating their own magical creature base to breed and raise them specifically for this purpose.
Snidget understood that magical creatures aren't like crops, you can't just harvest them and expect more to grow back next season. Plus, with smuggling becoming more frequent, it was only a matter of time before governments started cracking down harder.
Laws around poaching and magical creature trafficking were getting stricter, and that made it clear that the number of creatures available through illegal channels couldn't keep rising. It was bound to hit a ceiling, especially with the Ministry of Magic stepping up enforcement.
Take Germany and France, for example. The Silver Wand started their smuggling operations in those two countries, and at first, the creatures they captured there were enough to meet all their needs.
But as their activities grew bolder, the local Ministries of Magic took notice. They launched crackdowns, set up magical creature protection zones, and even deployed powerful guards.
In addition, they placed surveillance wards along the coastlines and strengthened border defenses. That's why the organization never considered shipping creatures from the Americas directly into Germany or France, it was just too risky.
In comparison, the UK had some loopholes. To conserve magical energy, the Ministry of Magic didn't usually stretch its surveillance wards to the western parts of Ireland, an area with low magical activity.
Even if they had the magical power to expand detection spells across the entire country, doing so would unintentionally extend into parts of northern France. That kind of overreach would be seen as more than just wasteful, it could trigger diplomatic issues. Using detection magic across borders without permission was a serious matter.
So even though Minister Bagnold was aware of the Silver Wand's presence within British territory, he never considered using cross-border detection magic to deal with the smuggling situation.
That's why, at the time, the Silver Wand considered Britain an ideal hub for magical animal smuggling, it was a great transshipment point. But relying entirely on external sources for magical creatures was risky and unstable in the long run.
That's why Golden Snidget began establishing breeding facilities early on. Over the years, as Alex learned through the Thunderbird, the Silver Wand had built three large breeding bases in Germany.
When smuggled magical animals arrived, some of them were sold off, but most were sent to these breeding centers. There, they received proper care, especially those in poor condition, to ensure they regained strength.
Healthy pairs were encouraged to breed naturally, and the young creatures were looked after until they reached maturity. This system was also the reason Alex wasn't in a rush to rescue the young Thunderbird, even after forming a telepathic bond with it. He knew it was safe for the time being under the care of the breeding base.
Golden Snidget's long-term goal was for the club to become self-sufficient, relying on these magical "zoo" to sustain their operations. Adult magical animals would breed, the young would be raised carefully, and older or unpaired creatures would be supplied to Horned Basilisk Pharmacy. It was a solid plan. In fact, if everything continued at the current pace and the number of breeding facilities doubled in the next 20 years, sustainable development could realistically be achieved.
In addition to expanding resources, Golden Snidget also focused on limiting unnecessary costs. In the early days, the Golden Snidgets were careful about their use of potions and avoided increasing their number of Silver Wands unless absolutely necessary. Typically, the club would only add new members when they opened a new branch or needed reinforcements, keeping demand for magical animals relatively low.
However, judging by the current situation, Alex guessed that the club might soon add three more Warding in a short time. That would naturally increase the demand for magical creatures.
If the smuggling routes were running smoothly, meeting that demand wouldn't be a problem, they wouldn't even need to touch the breeding base reserves. But with the transport line in Britain now blocked, magical animals from America could no longer be delivered. That meant the club would likely have to dip into its breeding stock earlier than planned.
Still, with the reserves held across their three breeding centers, the club could easily support the Silver Wand's needs for several more years, even under pressure.