An Acceptance Letter

Aaron placed the Dragon Egg on his bedroom bed to bask in the sun. Though the light might shift as the sun moved, the little fellow was so spirited that it would surely roll itself over to wherever the sunlight was.

"Young Master, we should get going. You're already an hour later than usual."

"I know. I'm the boss, not some wage-earning clerk. I'll decide when I go." Aaron spoke impatiently.

"Then how about we not go today? You seem to be having fun, Young Master. Compared to happiness, Galleons aren't worth mentioning." That was genuinely what Jeans thought.

"That won't do. As the boss, inspecting the business is necessary.

You wouldn't want me to be as irresponsible as my father when I take over the family business, would you?"

Jeans rubbed his nose awkwardly. This sort of criticism of the family head was not something a mere Butler like him could say.

A few minutes later, the two arrived at the fireplace and used Floo Powder.

After the green flames flashed, they arrived one after the other at Aaron's beverage shop in Diagon Alley.

"System, check in."

"Checked in at Diagon Alley. You have received two Magic Points."

Hearing that familiar voice, Aaron nodded in satisfaction before throwing himself into a day of work—learning a few simple spells, reading the news in the papers, watching his employees work, and incidentally thinking about how to dock their wages for the month.

After all, he was the boss! In an era when information networks were still underdeveloped, these were about the only pleasures available to him.

Several hours later, Aaron lazily rose from his recliner. "Jeans, how about I head back first to check on the little fellow? Please keep an eye on the shop for a while."

The next moment, Jeans Apparated directly in front of Aaron and said righteously, "Wherever Young Master goes, I go. That was the order the master gave me before he left."

"Wonderful." Aaron's mouth twitched, but he could not say much else.

With his current strength as an Intermediate Mage, he truly had no way to deal with Jeans. This Butler was at least an Archmage, perhaps even a Grand Archmage.

Still, it was not a big deal. Outside, he had to give Jeans some face, since he was the bodyguard Vico Gaius had assigned him.

But once they entered the castle, Aaron was in charge. The Butler had no right to interfere with whatever he wanted to do.

"I want to experience Apparition. Is that okay?"

"This..." Jeans hesitated. "Young Master—no, Boss—you're really putting me in a difficult position. I have no problem Apparating by myself, and bringing another person isn't an issue either, but I can't guarantee your safety one hundred percent.

What if—just what if!

What if it causes some kind of injury? I wouldn't be able to answer to the master.

Besides, you won't like how Apparition feels. Many wizards would rather take other forms of transportation than use this spell, even though they know how convenient it is."

"Tch, how boring." Aaron lost interest. "In that case, let's just go back at six this afternoon. Going back and forth all day would just waste Floo Powder."

"Whatever makes you happy." Jeans did not care either way.

Over the next few days, Aaron continued his previous routine. But each day brought a little more anticipation, because it meant the Dragon Egg was one step closer to hatching.

On the seventh day, Aaron broke precedent and did not go to Diagon Alley to check in. Instead, he stayed home, staring at the pristine white Dragon Egg, afraid he might miss the moment the little fellow was born.

"Young... Young Master."

A faint call came from behind him. Aaron turned and saw the House Elf approaching with a letter.

"Today really is a fine day. Have my father and mother finally remembered that they have a son?"

"No, Young Master.

This letter was not sent by the master and mistress, but it is addressed specifically to you. When would you like to read it?"

"Addressed to me?" Aaron was somewhat surprised. He smiled. "Now this is interesting. I don't know who else besides those two would send me a letter."

It was not that Aaron had poor relations and knew no one besides his parents.

He had relatives, but if they wanted to send a letter, they should have sent it directly to Vico Gaius or Lisana Gaius, rather than to an eleven-year-old boy like him.

He had friends as well, but most of those relationships were not particularly close—not close enough to exchange letters.

"Bring it here!"

"Yes, Young Master." Yobi stepped forward and respectfully placed the letter in Aaron's hand.

Gaius Castle To Mr. Aaron Gaius

"Pretty concise." Aaron chuckled as he turned the envelope over. The moment he saw the emblem on it, he froze.

At the center of the shield-shaped crest was a large letter H, while a lion, serpent, badger, and eagle occupied its four corners.

That was not the most important part. The most important part was the word "Hogwarts" above the emblem.

"Yobi, hurry and get Uncle Jeans." Aaron said excitedly as he opened the envelope with trembling hands.

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore
(Chairman of the International Confederation of Wizards, First Class Great wizard of the Order of Merlin, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot)

Dear Mr. Gaius,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

A list of required books and equipment is enclosed.

Term begins on September 1st. We await your owl no later than July 31st.

Yours sincerely, Albus Dumbledore

"Hahahaha!"

After reading the letter word for word, Aaron wore a foolish grin. His laughter was somewhat strange, yet not frightening. Instead, it made people feel a little sad for him and sympathize with him.

"Young Master, you were looking for me?"

Jeans suddenly appeared behind Aaron.

"Yes, that's right." Aaron composed himself, sprang to his feet, and slapped the acceptance letter into Jeans's chest. "Take a good look. What is this?"

"A letter from Hogwarts?" Jeans raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean, Young Master? Are you going or not?"

"Going, of course I'm going.

My father said that once I received an acceptance letter from a magic school, none of you could follow me until I graduated. This is what I've dreamed of!"

Jeans blinked and gave an awkward laugh. "The Headmaster of Hogwarts is the strongest White Lord alive today. The master believes he can protect the students, which is why he won't let us accompany you. Of course, we also can't play tricks under the nose of a Grand Archmage.

But the master actually favors Durmstrang more. They only admit pure-blood wizards, their teaching staff is quite good, and most importantly, the Gaius Family can negotiate with the school so that someone can remain by your side to look after you."

"What? Someone to look after me?" Aaron's eyes widened, and he said angrily, "No, I'm not going to Durmstrang. I won't go even if you beat me to death.

Hogwarts. That's right, I'm going to Hogwarts. I want freedom, and no one can stop me."

The corner of Jeans's eye twitched as he complained inwardly, What do you mean, you won't go even if you beat me to death?

"Of course, the final decision has always been yours, Young Master. Hogwarts it is, then!

However, this is a major matter, so we should still inform the master and mistress."

Aaron fell silent for a moment before saying, "Fine. But I won't change my mind.

Still, be quick about it. Today is already July 24th. If they're having too much fun on the other side of the world and fail to make it back in time, they probably won't see their beloved son for half a year."

"Of course. I'll write to them now." Jeans smiled. Then he looked at the Dragon Egg on the table, sensing the faint magical fluctuations, vitality, and inexplicable holiness emanating from within. "Young Master, shouldn't the master be told about this Dragon Egg as well?"

"That's fine." Aaron nodded. If he wanted to openly bring the little fellow around in the future, he truly could not do without his parents' help. At the very least, he needed to obtain a proper permit.

"Yobi."

"Here." The House Elf immediately stood straight. "What are your orders, Young Master?"

"Where's that owl that delivered the letter? I was planning to use it to send a reply."

"Yobi will bring it over at once." The House Elf hurried outside. When he returned, a gray owl about half his height was following beside him.

Aaron tore a sheet of paper from the table and wrote a single sentence:

I am honored to receive this acceptance letter. I will report to Hogwarts on time on September 1st.

Yours sincerely, Aaron Gaius

"Isn't that a little too simple?" Jeans asked. It was the simplest letter he had ever seen, bar none.

"There's no need for more." Aaron waved his hand and sealed the paper in the envelope. "First, I'm only eleven years old—a child. I don't have such elaborate literary talent.

Second, Hogwarts only wants a reply. They won't give special treatment because someone writes well, nor will they discriminate against someone because their writing is poor.

If I wrote them a lengthy essay, they might not even have the time to read it. They might even suspect I had someone else write it for me."

Jeans thought it over, and it did seem to make sense. Still, he discreetly tapped his Wand and replaced the envelope with a rather more high-end one.