Ron felt himself getting knocked off of the floor as an intense pain assaulted his chest. His half-broken wand flew through the air. Time seemed to have slowed down for him as he saw another streak of light heading towards him but instead of hitting him, it passed by him from the side.
He accepted his face as he closed his eyes, bracing for the impact but only felt something soft on his back. He opened his eyes, looking surprised but the only thing that greeted his eyes was the cold, hard floor.
Alex turned to look at Snape, "That was how you did it right?"
"You went overboard. If not for your cushioning charm, I'm afraid he would have broken a few bones. Good job."
"Thank you, Professor.", he said as he walked back down and waited for the next pair.
Ron walked down a few seconds later and thanked him before heading over to his Gryffindor group. Fate worked in mysterious ways as Malfoy and Harry were called upon the stage and everything went according to what Alex had expected.
'Weird, but interesting…. Seems like this so-called butterfly effect doesn't really have too much of an effect or maybe I have to wait for a few more years?'
While Alex was deep in thought, Ginny who was a few meters away from him, fainted. The whole gathering had to be dismissed due to the various accidents but Snape stared at Harry as the boy exited the Great Hall.
'Is there a connection?'
**********
Alex packed his things and left the grounds to board the Hogwarts Express along with Neville, Hermione, Aman and a few others he was close with.
Aman, Hannah, Susan, and Aman's cousin Jane took one compartment to themselves while Alex, Neville, Hermione, and Luna took one.
It was a peaceful ride back to platform nine and three-quarters where Toffy quietly waited for Alex.
Alex bid his friends farewell and walked towards his elf, "Let's go. We have a lot to do after all."
********
Alex stared at the two kids for a few seconds before glancing back at Nyeta, "So…. They're called Lucio and Luciana?"
"Mhm.", Nyeta nodded as she hugged the twins.
Alex rubbed his temples and shook his head, 'Oh god… I thought he was my own kid. Looks like there's something else at play here.'
"Okay… I'll go get your husband tomorrow. I'll try my best so you don't have to worry."
He received a nod in response and headed to bed as he wanted to be in his best condition before going on a dangerous mission.
Early morning the next day, he sat with Toffy and placed both his wands on the table.
"Hey Toffy, I got this weird feeling when I used magic with the new wand I bought from Olivanders and after I got that feeling, I never got it again until I used magic against that buff dude a few months ago. I have a feeling that it is related to the underage magic tracking thing but I want to hear your opinion on this matter. Do you have an idea of what's happening right now?"
"The tracking spell, master. Your first wand was crafted by your father so it didn't have a tracking spell on it but the one you bought from Olivanders did. Once you enter Hogwarts castle while you are equipped with a wand that has a tracking spell, the spell gets activated and moves into you.
From that point onwards, the ministry will get notified anytime you do magic or anyone does magic near you."
"So, it was as I expected…. Do you know how to take this tracking thing off of me?"
"No master, I do not know how to take it off. I do know the person who can do it for you but it will require force as the person won't listen if you ask directly."
"You mean Olivander?"
Toffy nodded and Alex sighed in response, "I really didn't want to get too involved with him this early on… all right, we have to do some preparations."
***********
Olivanders finished working on his latest wand and put it in a clean box before placing it along with his other wands on one of the shelves. He then walked to the door, flipped the sign to (close) and headed to the back of the store.
He picked up a small bag and took out a handful of floo powder before walking over to the fireplace. He was about to throw the powder in but stopped when he felt a presence in the room.
He turned around and saw no one. He shrugged, thinking that it was just a feeling, and threw the powder into the fireplace before walking in. He said his address and was about to vanish when he felt something or someone hold his arm tight.
"Wha-"
The surroundings had changed and it was clearly not his house. It was a cave and a dark one at that. The hand that held him was gone and he looked around nervously as he went for his wand.
The moment he took out his wand, it was pulled out of his hand by a force he couldn't fight against.
"Just… what do you want? Please. Just leave me alone. I believe I have done nothing to you."
"Nothing? Don't delude yourself, old man.", said a loud distorted guttural voice. The sound echoed and it didn't help in calming down.
"I- if you could tell me what I did wrong, I will correct my mistake, dear sir."
"You see, my son bought a wand from you recently and the tracking spell took effect. I hate the idea of being spied on. Yes, even if my son is underage, I do not like people tracking him. We move around to different places to teach him things and the tracking spell just makes it hard."
"Why would you want to take your child to different places when you can just send him to Hogwarts or some other school?"