Chapter Text
Alex and Harry faced each other. The older boy’s footing in the soft grass was sure. Each step forward was light, while the younger boy was frozen in place.
They were in a small meadow. In the distance was Diggle’s shop. They didn’t bring their brooms, since there were no games today — as planned.
Diggle sent a letter to Alex during the previous school year, discussing his vacation plans. The small hat-wearing wizard was off to a small eastern European country. Alex couldn’t remember the name of it.
As Alex started closing the distance, he called out, “Keep the sword firm in your grip, Harry! Now — rush forward.”
His cousin’s short sword was blue-tinged in the light as Harry clumsily scampered forward.
“I’m not going to hurt you, right?” panted Harry.
“Nope,” Alex said as he sidestepped and parried an overhead slash with a wooden sword. In his hand, he held a fake wand, mimicking most of this world’s wizards.
As he lightly poked his cousin, Alex added, “Remember to go for my wand.”
Harry turned quickly, slightly stumbling in the wet grass. He recovered and attempted stabbing at his cousin’s wand hand.
“Good try.”
Alex stepped back as Harry lurched forward from the attempt.
“You can also cut me somewhere else. Try to get your opponent distracted. It’ll make it easier for you to fight them or run away.”
Harry caught his breath for a moment, nodding. He fixed his posture and stance as he asked, “Won’t they have a shield charm?”
Alex stepped forward, aiming for an exposed arm.
“I’ve told you this before, Harry.”
Harry deflected the attack.
“I know, but I’m forgetting. You said something about the metal?”
Alex circled him, working on his cousin’s sense of balance. He replied, “The sword is infused with magic. It’ll cut through shields and —”
He stopped his sentence short as he leaped forward towards his cousin with an overhead swing. Harry rolled in the grass, quickly popping back up. Grass stains covered his shirt and pants.
“— no disarming charm or hex will get the sword away from you or push it away from its target.”
Alex smiled as his cousin dodged his quick attack. His reaction times were getting faster.
Harry remembered the rest as he slightly mocked Alex’s serious voice, “One hit, and you’ll have the advantage.”
He huffed but stopped short as Alex lunged again.
He mostly dodged the attack, quickly sidestepping. The sword moved while Alex was still lunging, and got him in the arm.
Harry tossed his sword down, panting.
“I’m done. I haven’t been able to hit you at all!”
He rubbed his arm as he plopped down, moping. They had practiced for most of the morning.
“You’ve only done this for a couple days, Harry. You’re going to get better, and you’re already doing great. Not many people can dodge my attacks, and you just did.”
Harry looked away from his cousin. He took the collar of his shirt, wiping away the sweat from his face.
“I’m taking a break.”
Alex nodded as he sat down in the grass with him. He pulled out a water bottle and handed it to his cousin.
“When we’re done, we’ll practice sprints. Regardless of whether it’s a spell or sword attack, you need to cover some distance — either further away or closer to.”
Harry lay down as his cousin talked. He knew it was important to learn this stuff, but he was tired and annoyed. Every time he was out here, he was tripping, missing, or just failing miserably.
He complained, “Shouldn’t I just run away? Someday — maybe — I’ll feel more confident, but — not right now.”
Alex looked towards his cousin, still facing away from him.
The silence stretched out.
Harry turned his head back to his cousin.
His cousin’s face was hard to read. Eventually, Alex spoke quietly, “Would you run away from Voldemort?”
His cousin turned away from his cousin and looked at the sky, as his face became more serious.
“Could you run away if a crowd of Death Eaters surrounded you?”
Harry sat back up.
“But you’ll be there, remember?”
He shook the hand his ring was on.
“And if I’m not?”
His cousin looked up. His face went back to the same odd look. Harry’s eyebrows furrowed.
“But you will be.”
It was a statement. Alex promised Harry. He would be there to protect him. Someday, Harry wanted to be like Alex, but he wasn’t silly enough to think it was right now.
He looked away from his cousin. He was acting weird.
The silence stretched out again.
“I want you to be ready, Harry. Unfortunately, by the time you’re ready, I —”
His cousin sighed.
Harry looked at him. He didn’t finish his sentence.
“What? Alex?”
Alex sighed again before he spoke, “I don’t know if you’re going to be ready. It’s why I’m pushing you now. I don’t know know where he is, or what he’s up to. For all I know, he could try something next year — just like in your first year.”
They both looked at each other. Alex wasn’t telling everything.
“But you’re going to be there next year. You’re a professor. We have the rings and the necklaces.”
Harry showed the metal chain. The dragon emblem was stuck to his chest, sticky with sweat.
“You said evil should be vanquished. Isn’t that your code?”
Alex nodded.
“It is, Harry, and he’ll be….dead someday. But I need to know where he is. I need to know his plan, and I don’t.”
Harry was done dodging the question.
“What are you not telling me, Alex?”
“I don’t think I can kill him.”
He quickly added, “It’s not because he’s powerful. It’s — something else. And no, Harry, I can’t tell you what that is. Not yet.”
“Okay, we don’t kill him right away. But you’re still dodging the question. You’re still not telling me everything.”
Harry tripped over the word kill. He knew his cousin was oddly fine with the word, but he also knew Alex had killed before — in the Known Worlds.
Alex turned away from him, looking up at the sky.
“Things are going to change this year. A lot of stuff, Harry. By the end of the summer, I want to make sure you know enough to handle things yourself. You’ll have your friends and Lupin is going to be a professor this year. So I —”
Alex ran his hands through his hair.
“I’m going to be leaving often, and I might be preoccupied with things. So I need you to be prepared by the end of the summer. At least partially. I don’t think you’ll need to fight Voldemort, but I want you ready to fight a wizard or two.”
He turned to look at his cousin.
“And you and I need to stop acting like family. Publicly, I mean. I’ve been hearing more and more rumors about you and me. Some reporters want to investigate.”
“That we’re family? Why is that bad?”
He tried to not take it personally. Alex must have his reasons.
“When I leave, people can’t ask questions about where I’m off to. When Voldemort comes back, you and I can’t have the truth come out. There are things I’m going to do and have done that I can’t have him figuring out about.”
“Like your personal projects? The weird ones Mr.Roberts and I can’t know about?”
“Yes, stuff like that.”
Harry tilted his head slightly.
“Is this another reason why you wanted me to practice guarding my mind?”
Alex nodded.
“One of many, but yes. Another key one is the Known Worlds.”
He smiled briefly before continuing, “You’ve never gone, and I haven’t gone back in a while. But, this summer, I’m going to give you one last test. If you pass, we’re going to go visit.”
The boy smiled, showing a bit of dirt unfortunately stuck in his teeth after a tough fall. Harry frowned as he noticed his cousin’s eyes still weren’t meeting his.
“There’s something else,” Harry sighed.
He complained, “How many more?”
“Plenty. But, I’m going to tell you one more, then we’re leaving for today. We’ll skip the wind sprints.”
Alex always insisted on them, regardless of Harry’s complaints. He raised an eyebrow, waiting.
He turned towards Harry completely, leaning forward.
“If your parents were alive, brought back to life today, would you want them back?”
His cousin had a serious look on his face.
Harry furrowed his brow, upset.
“But that’s not —”
“Harry, just answer the question,” he said sternly.
His eyes were set. His cousin was waiting for a response.
“Of course, I would.”
“What if they were alive, but didn’t understand what was going on? If they only knew you as a baby, but not anything else.”
Harry paused, thinking about everything he’s done so far.
“I want them to see how I’ve changed. I think they would want to see me if they could.”
“What if they came back, but didn’t know anything? They couldn’t recognize you — and do many things on their own?”
Harry looked carefully at Alex, trying to figure out the odd question. His cousin’s face didn’t change.
He picked at the grass as he thought aloud, “Would they be in pain?”
“No.”
“Would they,” Harry faltered before he finished “enjoy being alive?”
Alex didn’t answer right away.
“I don’t know. In this case, they might feel better after I help.”
Harry’s eyes widened. He didn’t think this was an if situation anymore. His cousin stood up, turning to Harry.
“Final question.”
Harry started to stand up as Alex asked, “If there was a way to do this — to bring a family back together, but it would risk us — or at least me. Would you want me to still do it?”
“But you can’t bring back the dead, Alex.”
Harry added, clarifying, “It’s not possible.”
“Let’s say in this situation, this isn’t our family, and this isn’t quite death. And, Harry, I can’t tell you who they are, or what happened to them.”
He sighed as he saw Harry’s face ready to question him.
He finished, “You might hear about it — if I decide to do it — but you can’t tell a soul. You can ask me general questions about it, but I’m going to answer everything vaguely.”
Harry’s mouth opened and closed, shocked. His mind raced. Slowly, Harry pieced together an idea.
“But it would be like bringing back the dead? Like they were in a coma?” Harry asked slowly. He was starting to understand the odd questions now.
Alex nodded.
As they both started to walk back to the car, Harry got lost in thought, nearly tripping several times, while Alex’s smile was less strained.
“Alex, you said it would be risky. In what way?”
Alex’s smile wavered.
“It wouldn’t be quite a deadly risk for me. It would…could be revealed that I can do this, then things — not great things — could happen.”
He opened the car door for his cousin, then got in his own.
“Like what?”
He started the car as he began, “The ability to revert one of the three forbidden curses is essentially impossible.”
After he backed out of the driveway, he looked into the mirror at his cousin.
“The only person who survived or reversed one of those curses is you.”
Alex slowly put his foot on the gas while focusing on casting his disguise and illusion spells. Every half hour, the color of the car would change to a different color slowly — from light brown to dark brown to black. The license plate would change too at least to the eyes of wizards.
Harry’s eyebrows furrowed in thought, as he shook his head.
“What about the Imperius curse? People could fight their way through that, right?”
His cousin answered, slightly distracted, “A person who can successfully cast that spell is powerful. They are also probably experienced with controlling people — under that particular curse.”
He stopped speaking as the car passed a group of bikers. He slowly hit the gas to overtake them, shifting the car to the other side of the street.
He moved back to the correct side of the road and then checked the mirror to see if he was far enough away. He continued, “It’s not likely that someone will shrug off a spell like that. A person would need an incredible amount of willpower that most people don’t have.”
Harry stayed quiet.
Alex glanced quickly behind him to look at his cousin, then back to the road. His cousin wasn’t sad, just thinking. They passed through meadows, farmland, and a small town before Harry spoke again.
“The not great things,” Harry started. “It would be like how people see me. I’m famous because the killing curse couldn’t kill me.”
“Along with other important things,” Alex quickly interjected, before letting his cousin continue.
Harry nodded, thinking aloud, “Out of all those spells, you’re talking about the torture curse, right?”
“I could — technically — be talking about at least two of them,” his cousin deflected.
“Sure,” Harry asked, slightly sarcastic before he became serious again.
“You think what you’ll do will make people search for whoever did it. You’ll try to hide yourself — but you’re worried someone will tell on you.”
He said it confidently, but by the end, he was still confused.
“Why is it a bad thing to be known for helping people? You’ve done it before. It’ll be a good thing if it helps.”
“Yes, but like you — it shows I’m different. A potential problem for Voldemort.”
“Ohh,” Harry exclaimed as he reasoned. “You’re worried doing this will mess with your plans. You need to stay hidden. Act normal.”
Alex briefly looked back at his cousin. His smile didn’t reach his eyes completely. It was a bitter-sweet smile.
“What’s with the smile?” Alex asked, trying to keep his voice light.
“I think you should do it. I think that family is going to be really happy.”
He nodded his head as he thought aloud, “They’re all still alive, but with you — they have a chance to have things go back to what they used to be.”
The two looked at each other through the mirror.
“You should do it,” Harry said simply.
Alex looked back towards the road as he sighed, “If they accept, then I’ll try. We’ll see what happens.”
He thought back on his meetings with Neville. The kid was always so nervous, worried about failing whatever it was. Even with herbology, the young Gryffindor was nervous helping Professor Sprout and Alex in the greenhouses. He never understood the boy’s nerves, but a couple weeks ago, it clicked.
Since Alex was Professor Talon, he was able to carefully monitor every step of the Dragonsbane potion — from plant to consumption. The potions were locked in his personal office, but at the end of this summer he brought them all to St. Mungo’s. Alex made sure each person who got the potion would need it the most and monitored them as he gave them the drink. He saw people the doctors wrote off as fatal or comatose get better. Some of them even woke up before Alex left the room.
From the very start, his potion got a lot of attention, along with people’s curiosity towards its creator. First, the attention was only on Hogwarts, which was fine. Now, with the hospital, the attention was getting bigger. Dumbledore stopped the media, but the word spread regardless. The attention wasn’t great, but the risk was worth it.
This new challenge, however, could really get people’s attention. Most people in the hospital were aware of the potion’s effectiveness and understood that it was carefully monitored and in small quantities. At the hospital, news of his arrival drew a crowd — for the potions, and fortunately not to question him. He told St. Mungo’s staff months ago about the potions and when he would arrive. It seemed the news spread further than he wished.
People — for good reason — asked for them, or if they saw him empty-handed, asked him to save a potion for next time. Everyone knew the potions were helpful. No one yet knew about Alex’s healing magic, but the Longbottoms would reveal it. Of course, only if he failed to keep it a secret.
One of the many people, who learned about the potion, was Neville’s grandmother. She was there in the crowd and wanted to use it for her son and his wife.
The return letter to Alex from the hospital was a list of people to help. They didn’t list the Longbottoms. Regardless, he agreed to go with her. Alex knew he had spare potions in his magic bag.
He first checked to see if the two Longbottoms needed the potion. He held their wrist, checking for any odd magical anomalies, after Augusta explained what happened.
Nothing particularly unusual, until Alex checked their minds. Most of their memories were beyond the Wall, the barrier between life and death. He never knew it was possible to split in that way — some parts of you were alive, while others weren’t.
As he looked at Neville’s parents, he wasn’t confident the potions would work — but he was determined to help. There had to be a way.
After all, Alex was the Guardian of the Wall. He kept the dead on the other side and did his best to keep the living from doing things to unnaturally boost their lifespan. He was supposed to be unbiased and responsible with the power — but Neville’s parents were still alive. There were just parts of them past the Wall. He was going to help them — if he could just figure out how to do that.
Once he identified where the memories were Alex learned something new about the Crucio spell. He never understood how the torture spell drove a person insane permanently. He realized as he looked into their minds that the spell caused a splintering as it slowly killed the victim. If the curse was done often enough or long enough, it would drive the person fully past the Wall and to their deaths.
The Longbottoms were at their limit when the torture stopped. Parts of them splintered off and died that day — going past the Wall. Those pieces stayed there, which is where the “insanity” part came in. Alex predicted if he got the parts of them back to the living, they would get better. It would take time for all the parts to connect and for them to go back to ‘normal’ whatever that might be. He had a feeling that it could work.
With Neville’s grandmother watching over him, Alex would have tried it that day, but he stopped himself. He would need to plan before he did anything.
Out of his bag, he pulled out the two potions. Alex could tell she was hopeful, and he tried to keep his face neutral. He knew the potion wouldn’t be all that they needed, but he couldn’t do everything. It would reveal too much.
He handed the potions to the two patients, and they slowly drank it. There was always a chance he was wrong, and the potion would be enough.
He kept watch over them for over an hour, going between the two.
As he checked one final time, Augusta’s face fell as Alex shook his head. She put on a strong appearance, but Alex could tell she was hurt. She had hope, and it got crushed.
He tried to say some comforting words, but she waved it off and thanked him for trying. The old lady stayed and watched over her son and daughter-in-law as he left.
Now, Alex believed, that even with the risk, the attempt should still be made. Neville and Augusta wouldn’t need to worry about Neville’s parents dying if he failed. If it didn’t work, nothing would change. However, the Longbottoms would need to worry if the two wizards got better. The Longbottoms could get the wrong sort of attention, and Alex didn’t know what to plan for or how to prevent it.
To try and help, Alex would need to put on a show. It needed to be good enough to trick everyone. A show that proved Alex could never do it, and some mystery stranger did. He couldn’t do a simple disguise either. He needed help from someone the wizarding world would never know.
As Alex and Harry got back to the Happy Dragon, he sent a letter to Whalen. He knew waiting longer — until Harry was prepared — would be better, but he decided against the delay.
As the two split ways, with Harry going back up to their room, his younger cousin promised he’d keep practicing every day. He could be a very stubborn kid, and Alex knew his cousin was determined from the look on his face. He knew Harry would be ready by the start of the school year.
Mr. Roberts waved at Alex, before jogging past him. He was likely late to a grocery sale since Alex could hear the muttered cursing and the clicking noise of his car unlocking.
With the empty first floor as a quiet place, Alex thought about all the risks of helping the Longbottoms. If it worked, a lot of things could go wrong.
A so-called miracle couldn’t be covered up. Dumbledore wouldn’t be able to stop the media from covering it. Everyone knew about the Longbottoms and what happened to them. When they recovered, the parents would want to go back to work, and they would want to spend time with Neville.
Alex nodded to himself as he thought.
People would notice. Good and bad wizards would see the news or the Longbottoms themselves. People would ask and investigate. He needed to use the media to his advantage.
Whalen and Alex needed to put on a performance to cover up how the Longbottoms recovered. Hopefully, Alex thought, it would help hide his part in the recovery, and protect the family.
If the plan worked, no one would be able to get angry or seek out the Longbottoms. If it worked, while people might pester everyone involved, no one would be able to figure out the truth. Slowly, Alex might be able to help more people, but it would have to be done carefully.
As Alex penned other letters to his friends, Harry came back down with a book and a stack of papers. He sat down across from him, working on his summer essay — something to do with burning witches.
Every once in a while, Harry grumbled about the trouble of “proving pointlessness” — likely the witch burning. Alex summoned a geeb and handed the stack of letters, along with a small gem to pay for the delivery.
It dinged as it jumped in the air, disappearing with a small poof. Just as suddenly, another geeb popped into existence in its place. He double-checked it wasn’t the same creature as before.
As the geeb honked for attention, he noticed it held a thin letter.
“Thank you,” he said politely to the funny-looking creature as he read Whalen’s reply.
The old wizard had plenty of free time since he finished his search for the remnants of the Brotherhood. He would be there tomorrow morning in Mr.Clutter’s Bookstore, waiting.
Alex looked at Harry, who was busy with the essay. He tapped the quill into the ink pot as he slowly wrote another line.
“Alex! Can you help me with these?” Mr. Roberts called out. His hands were filled with bags, nearly ready to burst out.
He waved his hand towards the bags, letting them march towards the kitchen on their own.
“Thanks,” Mr. Roberts said, as he walked towards the table. “Would you mind if you could help me out with the rest?”
The two walked out of the inn, and Alex saw the car was stacked to the top with paper bags.
“Wow, are we expecting the entire town?”
Mr. Roberts swatted him on the arm.
“Ha-ha, " he deadpanned. “No, we are not.”
He motioned back towards the inn.
“So, have you told Harry about your future trips?”
Alex nodded.
“Known World and school trips.”
“Does he know why?”
“Mostly,” Alex said, trying to grab as many bags as he could hold.
Mr. Roberts nodded toward some people walking by. He grabbed his own fair share of bags, before turning around.
“He knows it’s because you’re trying to figure out where he is, right?”
Alex nodded, then as Mr. Roberts repeated the question, said, “Yeah, he knows.”
“Oh, well, then that’s the important thing. Even though you probably dodged some of his questions — as usual.”
“You know why I’ve kept the both of you in the dark, right?” Alex said. He shifted some bags to see his reaction.
Mr. Roberts waved the question off, nearly dropping a bag.
“Of course, I know, Alex. I’m messing with you. I know I can’t guard my mind against a mind-reading evil wizard, and Harry is — trying his best.”
“He’s gotten a lot better, which is good,” Alex responded proudly. “His memory trick is his strongest strategy. I made sure he could keep it up even when he was talking with people, so he’s nearly there.”
“And if those necklaces and bracelets are ever taken off of him, what then?” Mr. Roberts asked. His voice was joking, but the question was a serious one — both of them knew that.
“Hopefully, we won’t need to worry about that. He knows to keep it on. Plus, he’ll know when people are trying to read his mind — regardless of my magic helping him. Harry’s gotten better at noting even the slightest bit of mind-reading. He’ll just need to quickly get some of his stuff on to stop it from happening — if it gets rough.”
Mr. Roberts sighed.
“I’m not trying to be a pessimist, Alex, but — are you sure leaving is the best idea? There’s a reason why you haven’t left him alone for long. The boy is a danger magnet.”
He chuckled, remembering when the boy was young, running around the inn.
“I know he’s still relatively safe, so I should try to leave him be. He’s becoming too reliant. It’s my fault, but he’ll need to learn how to handle things himself.”
Mr. Roberts nodded.
“Don’t worry too much. He’s a quick learner. I feel like soon enough he won’t even want your help. Remember when you were a tween. Oh my —”
“Hey, " Alex cut him off. “No embarrassing me, please.”
“Too late. Remember when —”
Alex got the door as Mr. Robert continued retelling his “emo” tween years. Harry stopped his essay-writing to laugh.
A hard stare of Alex’s made him act like he was at least trying to write. As the two adventurers walked back out, Alex waited until the door closed.
“I’m going to be gone for a while, starting tomorrow. Can you watch over Harry?”
“Is he going anywhere special?” Mr. Roberts asked, with a single eyebrow raised.
“Just the park. He’ll be doing his warm-ups and practice there until I get back.”
“Yeah, I can watch over him. Remus can watch over too if I get busy. He’ll be coming back this summer, right?”
Alex nodded.
“He’ll be doing school prep, but he should be able to keep an eye on Harry.”
Mr. Roberts grabbed the bags from the trunk as he asked, “So what will you be up to? Or is it one of your projects?”
“Whalen is coming in to help me. He and I will be in the London area for a week or so. We need to build our fake reputation — in disguise — before doing something.”
“Hmm, so another secret project.”
He laughed.
“When this is all over, you better tell me some of these funny ones. Let me guess — the disguise is going to make you seem like an old man?”
Alex faked a gasp before he sarcastically said, “Like I’m going to dress like you?”
“Ohh — low blow,” Mr. Roberts smiled as he mocked as he got punched.
They both chuckled, then went back inside.
After Harry gave up for the day on his essay, the three of them made dinner in the kitchen before they went to bed.
The next morning, Alex waited for Lupin to walk in, notifying him of his week-long absence, before heading to Sildon Lane.
He found the familiar magical cardboard sign and walked in. A bell jingled to let Mr. Cluster know someone arrived.
“He’s waiting in the usual room,” Mr. Clutter called out. The voice emanated out behind a stack of papers.
“Thanks, Mr. Clutter.”
“It’s no problem, Alex!”
As he walked further into the store, then into a smaller hallway, he could hear Whalen sipping tea.
He laughed as he opened the door, “Whalen!”
The old wizard turned around in his chair with a smile. He put down his tea, just finishing it.
“It’s been a while, hasn’t it?” remarked Whalen, standing up.
“It has.”
Alex nodded as Whalen picked up his staff.
“Shall we? I recall you saying you’d like this started as early as possible.”
The young wizard smiled.
“I would. We’re acting like a doctor and assistant duo.”
Whalen’s eyes twinkled as he said, “I’m the doctor, I presume.”
Alex turned back, opening the door to the hallway.
“Yes, and I’m the assistant.”
“So, who are you trying to distract? You’re the healer, and yet I’m the doctor,” Whalen asked slowly, grinning slightly.
“I need you to grab all the attention, so no one looks at what I do. You’ll do big flashy magic if needed, and try to be very — vocal. In London, we need to get a lot of peoples’ attention, so much so that a certain witch arrives.”
“What does this witch look like?”
“Augusta Longbottom. She’s a formidable-looking witch. Tall, thin, and bony with a bright red handbag. She also seems to enjoy very big hats with feathers. Her favorite hat had a vulture on it.”
“Personality traits?”
“Strict. Proud. Brave. Loyal to her family — but wants more from her grandson. She’s got a strong moral compass. If she thinks we’re deceiving her or not worth her time, that’s it.”
Whalen nodded.
“We’ll have to be credible, not a circus act. Do you have anyone who can work with us? Boost our credibility?”
“I’ll send a letter. He’ll have a connection to a big newspaper. If he shows, we’ll attract a crowd.”
Whalen smiled.
“Then, let’s start changing into the right outfits.”
He waved his staff over himself. His robes turned to a plain dark blue, and a blue-black top hat appeared on his head. He tapped his staff on the ground. His staff changed appearance to seem like a pure oak staff with a fist-sized clear quartz stone at the top. As the light shined on the staff, other gems — amethyst and turquoise — could be seen.
“Clever,” Alex said as he tapped his staff on the ground.
In the place of Alex, a young man appeared with bleach-blonde hair and bright blue eyes. His clothes changed to a clean, white robe with his hair pulled back in a tight ponytail. His staff went into his bag.
“I believe this changes me completely,” he said in a higher pitch, magically altered.
Whalen smiled, “I believe it does. I’m glad I won’t need to do that.”
He waved his hand towards his neck, as he stepped out on Sildon Lane.
“I don’t think I’d pull it off at my age.”
“You’d figure it out.”
“Hmm,” Whalen hummed skeptically. “You’ll have to lead the way. I haven’t been here for a while.”
They made their way to the nearest train station with Alex quickly updating Whalen on common wizard customs. On the train, he sent a letter to Dumbledore through geeb. He made sure the creature would deliver it without the wizard noticing.
As they made their way off the train towards the Leaky Cauldron, an owl dropped off a letter. Alex glanced through the note, as he explained the story. Dumbledore would be waiting for them in the inn. The doctor and assistant would check in, and meet with him for a loud lunch.
Dumbledore made an anonymous tip-off, which would lead to some media attention. The three of them would loudly discuss two key stories. It would explain why they were there, how they were connected to Dumbledore, and their ability to do things St. Mungo couldn’t.