"Little Sirius, what's the situation?
There was a magical disturbance here just now, so I came quickly."
The voice came from the leader of the group that had just arrived.
He was leaning on a cane, his face heavily scarred, and his appearance was rather unsettling.
One of his eyes was covered with a magical eye that moved independently, scanning the scene in all directions.
It was none other than Mad-Eye Moody, the famous Auror.
Alex glanced at the new arrivals and quickly deduced that they were likely Aurors.
He couldn't help but think sarcastically, 'Took them long enough to get here.'
Seeing the new arrivals, Sirius led Alex over to meet them.
"It was two Death Eaters—Snape and Avery.
I know them well, but unfortunately, they were both masked, so there's no way to officially accuse them.
Those two scoundrels had been tailing me, and I ended up in Knockturn Alley.
If it weren't for Alex here, I might not have lasted until you arrived," Sirius explained with a wry smile before introducing everyone.
"Mad-Eye, this here is Alex Wilson, a little wizard I just met.
He's the one who took down Avery—kicked his backside quite thoroughly!
And would you believe it, he's just about to start at Hogwarts."
Sirius grinned at Alex proudly.
Moody's magical eye focused on Alex, looking him over thoroughly.
"Boy, you've done a brave thing, but situations like this are no place for an underage wizard.
Don't be so reckless next time.
If you'd gotten hurt, your family would've been devastated."
"Mr. Moody, I understand.
I won't act rashly again."
Alex agreed, although he couldn't help but think, 'If you Aurors had arrived sooner, I wouldn't have needed to step in at all.'
But he didn't argue and kept his thoughts to himself.
Moody grunted in response, accepting Alex's promise.
"Alright, I'll overlook the fact that you were casting spells outside of school grounds this time.
I'll follow up with Sirius on the details.
Frank, see to it that he gets home safely."
Alex looked up and said, "Mr. Moody, I'm an orphan.
I'm staying at the Leaky Cauldron for now.
I can find my own way back."
Moody paused for a moment, seeming to take in Alex's situation before nodding.
"Alright, but Frank, you still make sure he gets back safe."
He gestured to Frank Longbottom, one of the other Aurors.
Alex shrugged and followed Frank out of the alley without complaint, feeling more exhausted than anything after the night's events.
'What a night of bad luck,' he thought to himself.
As they were leaving, Sirius called out, "Thanks again, Alex! I'll stop by to visit when I can."
Alex waved back, feeling slightly embarrassed by Sirius's loud goodbye.
' Does he have to shout like that in the middle of the night?'
Once back at the Leaky Cauldron, Alex thanked Frank for escorting him and headed straight to his room.
As he lay down, the events of the night played through his mind on repeat.
'The Death Eaters are no joke.
That spell Snape used—it was terrifying.
The power behind it broke through two of my Obstruction Jinxes like they were nothing.
I need to work on strengthening my magic.
My practice isn't enough if I want to survive against people like that.'
Alex made a firm decision right then and there.
He wouldn't be leaving the Leaky Cauldron until school started.
He planned to train rigorously, using every moment to improve his skills.
With that thought in mind, he pulled out the copper amulet that had saved his life.
He stared at the now-dull piece of metal and felt a surge of gratitude toward Lily Potter.
'I need to thank her properly for this.'
The next day, Alex wrote a letter to Lily, thanking her for the life-saving gift.
A few days later, Lily wrote back, thrilled that her experimental amulet had worked so well.
In her letter, she explained that the amulet was a practice piece she had made to test some of her alchemy skills.
She was overjoyed that it had proven so effective.
Alex couldn't help but feel a bit surprised at how casually she had given him such a powerful item.
'Who just hands out experimental magic like that?' he wondered.
Still, his curiosity got the better of him, and he asked Lily more about how the amulet worked.
To his delight, Lily explained the basic principles behind its magic.
The amulet, she explained, had two key enchantments.
The first was a stress-activated charm that would trigger automatically if the wearer was in danger.
The second was a protective shield spell, something Lily had developed with her own unique understanding of magical defense.
She mentioned learning the technique from an old book at Hogwarts and offered to tell Alex more when they were at school.
Meanwhile, Sirius also kept in touch, though not as frequently.
One day, Alex received a package from Sirius—inside were 200 gold Galleons, along with a note thanking him for his help during the Knockturn Alley encounter.
Sirius, in typical fashion, had written, "I could've handled them myself, but I appreciate the backup!"
Alex couldn't help but smile.
' This guy loves to play the hero,' he thought.
His impression of Sirius had improved, though.
The man was generous, and despite his bravado, he was genuinely thankful.
Still, 200 Galleons felt like an excessive reward.
But knowing Sirius, Alex decided it was best not to argue.
He wrote back, thanking him for the gift and keeping up correspondence, even if Sirius's letters were filled with bragging and tales of his own daring adventures.
Time passed quickly, and soon, it was time for Alex to head to Hogwarts.
Over the past month, he had made tremendous progress in his studies and training, pushing himself hard to master the spells in the beginner's spellbook as well as several defensive spells.
He had even begun studying Transfiguration, Herbology, and Potions, though he knew these subjects would need more hands-on guidance at school.
On the day of his departure, Alex packed his luggage, said his goodbyes to Tom, the innkeeper, and headed for King's Cross Station.
Tom, who had grown fond of Alex during his stay, gifted him a small barrel of butterbeer as a parting gift.
Alex, in return, left Tom a few simple recipes, including one for fried chicken, which earned him a warm, fatherly smile from the old man.