Chapter 24 - 24. Poorly Designed
It was July, the train to Hogwarts leaves on the 1st of September. So, Magnus had ample time to do everything he wanted.
But first, they needed to get Magnus out of his school. He could have completed his high school and aced the exam by now but he did not do that as it would have put him under the radar of news agencies again.
He valued the knowledge anyway so it didn\'t matter to him anyway.
"Woah, this letter looks like it was written a thousand years ago," Bobby exclaimed while reading the Hogwarts acceptance letter of Magnus. Magnus had by now probably broken more than 10 rules of the Ministry of Magic and Hogwarts.
"Haha, I know. You should have seen the old headmaster who had come to give the letter. He looked like he was 200 years old or something." Magnus jokingly said.
"That can\'t be true, right?" Bobby asked back in shock.
Magnus shrugged his shoulder, "Who knows, I read about a french wizard named Nicolas Flamel. It said he is more than 600 years old."
"IS? YOU MEAN HE\'S ALIVE? HOLY... how did he do that?" Bobby was jumping on the bed.
"I don\'t know. The book didn\'t say. But I am going to learn it, one way or another. I am going to that school to get knowledge and I will make sure to squeeze every ounce of it, whether they like it or not." He firmly stated.
"Man, I can\'t imagine the awesome adventures you will be having." Bobby dejectedly said.
"Cheer up, I will be coming for Christmas and Easter holidays. Also, after each school year, I will have 2 months of holidays. I will show you cool magic when I return." He assured him.
"Then I will be waiting. I guess I can\'t go with you to this alley?" Bobby asked.
"No, they might find out you are unrelated to me. But don\'t worry. I will buy something for you." Magnus said.
"MEOW..."
"CHAD... where were you? You missed that old man\'s beard. You could have played with it." Magnus noticed his cat, sleeping under his bed.
Soon, the voice of Grace came from downstairs, that someone had come to their home. It was probably the faculty from Hogwarts.
"Bobby, you stay here and watch Television. I will return and show you all the cool stuff." Magnus told him.
Bobby nodded and let Magnus go. He sat near the closed door and heard what was going on down there.
...
Magnus was already in neat clothes. He had changed his damaged underwear too. When he reached the living room, he saw a very tall old thin lady. She sat on the sofa and drank the tea that Grace made. Grace was very happy that a lady had come as she felt more comfortable asking the questions.
Magnus saw the old lady was also wearing strange old looking clothes. Old-style black and grey robes and a pointy hat with a feather sticking out. Her face seemed to be of a serious and strict kind of lady.
But Magnus wasn\'t going to cower from anybody because for one, he didn\'t really fear anything, even less so since he got this magic, it had for some reason had made him more daring. The second reason was that he knew he was going to a strange environment, he would surely be bullied and if he let them do it they would never stop, so, he wanted to assert dominance. A very not so human-ish thought if one were to hear.
"Hello." He greeted like a gentleman.
The old lady checked Magnus out from top to bottom. She tried to sense his magical presence and indeed it was very distinctive. By now, she had asserted who this young man was, also, Dumbledore had briefed her.
[Flashback]
"Minerva, that boy is the future of the British magical world... he embodies my hopes that one day, all witches and wizards will be equal. He is the inheritor of Merlin. Not only that, but he has also inherited the Dragon king Arthur Pendragon. He is the rightful heir of the British throne. We must give him a good education and make him a just and upright wizard. So he can lead the magical community with his great influence." Dumbledore told her.
To be honest, McGonagall was excited to hear all this. She had read the stories of both Merlin and Arthur since she was small, now, to have the chance of teaching the inheritor of their will was a great honour.
"Albus, how many people know about this? Does he know this and how will the world react to it?" She asked him with worry.
"Calm down, Professor. Magnus does not know. But from my meeting, I have realised that he is very smart, much smarter for someone his age. Although it was not very pleasant meeting his parents, he was brilliant. To your other questions, the Queen knows about a new king as Merlin had left behind the stone tablet with the will of Arthur. She must vacate the throne or face the ire of Merlin\'s ancient magic, but she does not know who it is. As for the magical world, I\'m sure many will try to lure him to their side. That is why we must tread carefully." Dumbledore briefly said.
She was still feeling a bit numb in the head just thinking about all this. "I can\'t even imagine the storm it is going to create. He\'s going to have a massive influence. Merlin is like a god to so many wizards."
Then, her eyes fell on a book in the cabinet, "Are you going to give it to him?"
Dumbledore sighed, "It\'s his right to have it. Besides, neither I nor my predecessors could make heads or tails out of it. It is an enigma."
She nodded, "He wrote it after all. Okay, I will go and meet him then."
"Remember, he is very smart. So don\'t treat him like an innocent child, although he is one." He warned her and let her go.
[Flashback ends.]
She got up and greeted him, "Good morning, Mr Grant. I am Minerva McGonagall, the Deputy Headmistress of the school and I will be your Transfiguration teacher."
"We should move now." She spoke in her monotonous voice.
Soon, all of them got into Adam\'s car. McGonagall had come via apparitions and she had to join them for the ride.
"Mrs McGonagall, how long have you been teaching at Hogwarts?" Grace made small talk.
"Very long time dear, I\'ve been teaching for more than 44 years." She answered.
"What do you teach?" Grace inquired.
"Transfiguration," McGonagall replied and took out her wand and pointed it to the small ring on her finger. She spoke a spell and turned it into a butterfly.
It flew for a few seconds and then she reversed it to be a ring.
"That was a small example." McGonagall proudly said.
Grace\'s face looked like she was back in her childhood and was excited, "Oh, I so much wish I was also a witch."
McGonagall chuckled, "Dear, from what I know, you are no less than that. Saving a life by performing complex surgeries on hearts is no less than magic."
Grace blushed, being praised by the old lady. Then she asked, "Is there medical magic too?"
"Of course, there is a whole branch of magic dedicated to it. It can cure almost anything, from missing organs to missing bones, anything can be grown back." McGonagall revealed.
Grace had stars in her eyes. "That\'s so amazing. MAGNUS... be sure to learn this at your school."
"Yes, mummy," Magnus replied while rolling his eyes.
~Of course I will learn it. I\'m going to suck Hogwarts dr... I mean the books of Hogwarts dry.~ He thought to himself, though nearly slipping his tongue.
Their ride was not long but he felt it was taking forever due to hearing his excited mother. McGonagall was also indulging her question and that was not helping.
They soon reached Leaky Cauldron on Charing Cross Road. It was an old-looking inn.
"Is this the entrance?" Adam wondered.
"Magic can make many impossible things possible, Mr Grant," McGonagall interjected and led the way in.
But when they entered, they were very much disappointed by the look of it. Leaky Cauldron was really leaking some very unpleasant stench. It also looked unmaintained.
"Don\'t you think that this place should look better? After all, for many, this is the introduction to the magical world. Don\'t want it to be unpleasant." Adam questioned.
"I can understand, Mr Grant, but this look and condition are purposefully created in order to discourage any muggles wanting to stay here," McGonagall explained.
Soon, that came to a wall. McGonagall tapped her wand on it and the bricks on it immediately started to move away. Creating a path for them. And it was a sight to behold, on the other side of the wall was a bustling market.
Mouths of Magnus, Adam and Grace were hung open. But it was Magnus who spoke first, "Are you sure these buildings won\'t fall on me? They look... poorly designed."
"Yes, they are indeed very old. But don\'t worry, most things you see in Diagon Alley have magic involved, so you might be deceived by just the outside look." McGonagall advised them.
The three looked around at the various shops. There were many magical, unexplainable things around them.
"THIS IS... Like a dream." Grace muttered to herself when she saw a magically moving, empty set of clothes in a shop.
[A/N: In school, I am going to create 7 random named wizards as DADA professors. There is no info about DADA teachers in the Marauders Era.]
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