Andre's eyes widened, caught completely off guard. "Wait… you're saying he's been hiding his real identity for more than ten years? Pretending to be just another Ministry official while secretly running an international crime ring?"
He shook his head, still processing. "That just doesn't add up.
Why would the leader of a smuggling empire take a huge risk like that? He's been putting himself right in the public eye, showing up at Ministry events, diving headfirst into politics. Wouldn't that be suicide?"
Alex chuckled quietly. "That's what makes him brilliant. You don't get it, he's hiding in plain sight.
The bolder the position, the less suspicious he seems. Who would ever guess the head of a criminal organization would sit in the heart of the Ministry of Magic?"
He gave Andre a pointed look. "Think about it. Before Eisenberg turned forty, do you know anything about him?"
Andre paused, then his eyes narrowed as realization crept in. "Now that you mention it… Eisenberg's past is a complete mystery.
He never talks about where he went to school or what he did before arriving in Germany. All anyone knows is that he showed up as a so-called Charms expert and quickly became a well-liked figure among the magical elite. Everyone just assumed he was some quirky, polite old wizard."
"Exactly," Alex said, his tone more serious now. "I dug into his background. There's no record of him publishing any real research before forty.
Sure, there's paperwork, birth records, certificates, but none of it checks out. And all the people who might've seen or known him before then? Dead. Missing. Or conveniently out of contact."
He leaned back slightly, his eyes scanning the room. "I even brought in Franz to help with the investigation. But he's gone dark lately, hasn't sent word in weeks."
Andre folded his arms, still wrestling with the implications. "But why? What's the point of living a double life for so long?
Eisenberg's been working his arse off for years. I've seen it myself, he's the first one in and the last to leave. How could someone like that find the time to run a massive underground network?"
"That's what I'm still figuring out," Alex admitted. "His time management is suspicious at best.
But look at the big picture. Why do you think he's so obsessed with splitting Germany?"
Andre's brows drew together, thoughts racing. Then his eyes widened as the pieces began to click.
"You're saying… all this time, that's been the plan? To break the country apart?"
Alex gave a slow nod. "If he really is the leader of the Silver Wand, then he's not just running a smuggling gang, he's trying to create a nation built on black market power. A place where the only laws are the ones his organization writes."
Andre looked deeply unsettled. "But... why? What does he get out of turning Germany into a haven for criminals? Why would anyone go through decades of deception just to pull this off?"
Alex leaned in slightly, his voice low and steady. "Isn't it obvious? Think about who these people really are, where they come from. Especially those who were around sixty years ago."
"Sixty years ago?" Andre frowned, his mind drifting to that turbulent period in magical history.
"Right… their predecessors were the Saints Party. That explains why they'd want to take down the secrecy laws. I know Bagnold and Amelia have similar theories, but I never imagined their goal was to control an entire country."
Alex nodded slowly. There were some things he still couldn't say, especially the connection between magical creatures and the Rebirth Draught.
That secret was too dangerous to risk exposing. If the world found out the Silver Wand might have access to immortality, even the most upstanding wizards might lose their way. So he kept that knowledge locked deep inside.
As for why he was willing to share this much with Andre and the others, well, it was simple. Wizards of their generation had lived through the rise and fall of Grindelwald. The Saints Party had left scars that never fully faded, and just the suggestion that the Silver Wand was tied to Grindelwald's movement would be enough to stir fear and suspicion.
Andre let out a breath. "This is all unexpected. But do you have anything solid? I mean real proof connecting Eisenberg to all this?"
Alex knew that no matter how well he laid out the logic, people would still need more than theory to believe it. Especially someone like Andre.
"You know Claremont, right?" he asked.
"You mean the one who runs the magic item shop?" Andre nodded, then added, "Yeah, I've looked into him. He's got connections to the Silver Wand and handles a lot of their black market operations. But as far as I can tell, he's just a collaborator, not a full member."
Andre spoke with confidence. After all, he had been tracking the Silver Wand for years.
Both of their major bases were in Germany, and he'd clashed with their people more than a few times. Over time, he'd learned their methods.
The official members were few and operated under code names, while most of the dirty work was handled by outside collaborators like Claremont. Despite arresting or even killing a number of Silver Wand agents, he'd never been able to break through their inner circle, not even when Alex captured Iseron. Their organizational structure remained a mystery.
But Andre had pieced together a lot. He knew many of their recruits came from families linked to the Saints Party, and their smuggling operations were massive, especially with magical creatures. They moved huge quantities every month.
The Silver Wand wasn't exactly a secret in Germany; most wizards thought of them the way British folk thought of Knockturn Alley, a shady but tolerated part of the magical world. Even some licensed shops quietly did business with them.
Alex leaned forward. "That's exactly it. But I found something through a few... unusual channels.
Claremont's role is bigger than you think. He doesn't just help out, he runs one of their largest magical beast breeding ground. And I'm sure he knows exactly who Eisenberg is."
Andre's eyes widened. "Claremont's running a breeding ground too?"
That was news to him, and the seriousness of the situation sank in. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's arrest him right now, bring him in and confront him with Eisenberg!"
Alex gave him a tired look and rolled his eyes. "Director Andre, don't be so naive. You already know how the Silver Wand works.
You think a simple arrest is going to get us anywhere? Even if we throw Claremont in a cell, what makes you think he'll talk? Or that he even remembers where the breeding ground is?"
Andre's face stiffened as the realization hit. 'Right.' It wasn't that he hadn't arrested members before, it was just that every time, they remembered next to nothing.
Their minds were sealed tight, bound by magical contracts. Even with Veritaserum, they revealed little more than fragments, random names, locations with no context, vague memories. Nothing useful.
He sighed. "So, what's your plan then?"
He glanced at Alex and noticed the calm certainty in his eyes. That, more than anything, made him believe the young wizard was holding onto something important. And it reminded him of the letter Newt had sent, one that hinted at just how much Alex might truly know.