The dark glow on his wand grew brighter, and Alex khat whatever was ing would end the fight—and possibly Sirius's life.

  ‘I have to do something.’

  He knew he couldn't just sit bad wait for the battle to end. It was unrealistic to expect the Death Eaters to leave without notig him. Taking a deep breath, he seized the moment.

  Raising his wand, Alex silently cast a powerful Impedimenta, aiming it like an invisible onball at one of the Death Eaters. The jinx flew toward Avery, one of the two dark wizards attag Sirius Bck.

  Avery, caught off guard, had been preparing a stronger curse to take down Sirius. The sudden attack from behind startled him so much that he abandoned his spell and reflexively cast a shield charm to block Alex's jinx. In his fusion, Avery wildly fired a curse ba Alex's dire but struggled to see where the attack had e from.

  Alex moved swiftly. He had already anticipated a terattack. Dug low, he closed the gap between them, using the element of surprise. With a quick sweep of his leg, Alex knocked Avery's wand out of his hand, sending it cttering to the ground.

  Avery barely had time to react before Alex delivered a sharp kick to his midse, causing him to double over in pain.

  "Oof!" Avery groaned as the air left his lungs, his body folding forward from the blow. But Alex wasn't done. With a fluid motioepped in and grabbed Avery's head, smming his ko the Death Eater's face with a siing thud. Blood spurted from Avery's nose as he fell backward, unscious before he hit the ground.

  It had all happened in the blink of an eye. Alex's training paid off—his precise, calcuted movements had taken down Avery before the man had a ce to fight back.

  Quickly regaining his focus, Alex turned his attention to She other Death Eater. He raised his wand and fired a pressed version of Impedimenta at Snape, who was still dueling Sirius.

  Snape, always sharp in battle, noticed the ining spell just in time. He blocked a hex from Sirius with one hand and spun around, castiumsempra. The curse sliced through the air like a bde, cutting through Alex's jinx as if it were nothing.

  Alex's eyes widened. ‘What kind of spell is that?’ he muttered to himself.

  Realizing the danger, he immediately jured a shield using Protego to bloape's deadly curse. But Sectumsempra was too powerful. Alex watched in horror as his shield began to crader the pressure, the curse slowly cutting through it.

  Just as Alex was about to dodge out of the way, a bright fsh of silver light erupted from his body. A glowing shield formed around him, and within it, the shimmering figure of a silver-white doe appeared. The doe blocked Snape's curse pletely, proteg Alex from harm.

  Snape's expression ged for a moment when he saw the Patronus-like shield. His eyes flickered with emotion, but he said nothing. Instead, he shot one final curse at Sirius, then quickly moved to Avery's unscious body, grabbed him, and disappeared with a loud crack as he Apparated away.

  Alex let out a shaky breath, the tension finally leaving his body. "That was too close," he muttered. His heart ounding.

  ‘Is this what dueling adults feels like?’ he thought. If not for that mysterious shield, he might not have survived.

  Remembering the shield, Alex reached into his jacket and pulled out the small copper token that Lily Potter had given him. The once-shining surface was now dull and lifeless.

  "So this really rotective charm... It saved my life."

  While Alex was still rec from the shock, Sirius Bck approached, his face full of curiosity and . Alex quickly raised his wand in defense, unsure of the man's iions.

  "Whoa there, kid, o be jumpy. I'm not one of them," Sirius said, raising his hands in surrender. "You were the one who helped me back there, weren't you?"

  Alex kept his oi Sirius but rexed slightly. "I only mao cate of them by surprise," he replied cautiously, still wary of Sirius.

  Sirius chuckled, clearly impressed. "You did more than that, kid. You took that guy down with three moves. I saw the whole thing. I'm Sirius Bck, by the way. You just call me Sirius."

  "I got lucky," Alex replied, l his wand further. "It was the other ohe man you called Snape, who almost got me. Are you an Auror or part of the Order of the Phoenix?"

  Sirius raised an eyebrow. "You know about the Order of the Phoenix? Well, yeah, I'm part of the Order. It's not much of a secret these days," he said with a smirk. "But you—what's your name? You're a bit young to be handlih Eaters like that."

  "Alex Wilson," he answered. Now more rexed, Alex couldn't help but smile. "I've just been practig a lot, I guess. And I got lucky that the man you called Snape didn't keep attag me."

  "Wilson, huh? Well, you've got some serious guts for a kid. The protective spell you used back there—that was no ordinary magic. I've never seen a student cast something like that."

  "That wasn't me," Alex admitted. He held up the copper charm. "Lily Pave me this. She told me it was a good luck charm, but it turned out to be something more."

  "Lily?" Sirius's eyes widened. "You know Lily Potter? How'd you e across her?"

  "I met her when I came to Diagon Alley to get my school supplies," Alex expined. "She and her husband, James, were shopping, and she gave me this charm. I didn't know it would actually protect me like that."

  Sirius ughed warmly. "That sounds like Lily. She and James are my closest friends. They're good people, the best I know." His tone softened, and there was a hint of fondness in his voice.

  "Since you know them, I guess we call ourselves friends, too," Sirius said with a grin. "You're just starting at Hogwarts, aren't you? Hard to believe a first-year like you just took on a Death Eater."

  "Yeah, I haven't even started yet," Alex admitted, feeling a bit self-scious. "But I've been practig a lot, and I guess tonight it paid off."

  Before they could tiheir versation, the sound of several loud cracks filled the air as more people appeared in the alley. Sirius's expression turned serious as he looked around.

  "Looks like we're not alone anymore."