Becoming a School Governor

The recent activities had kept both Edward and Allen busy, but the King still dutifully checked his son's schoolwork.

His spot checks showed that Allen had memorized almost all of it.

His Majesty had no doubt whatsoever about his son's memory. It was a gift that bordered on photographic recall.

Although it occasionally caused Allen minor bouts of confused memories, those effects had all but disappeared after he learned to meditate and began regularly organizing his memories.

Apart from Edward, the old butler, Triss, and the doctor who had examined him, no one knew, and no one could tell.

So even if Allen had memorized all his textbooks, he had probably only read them once or twice.

What Edward really needed to check was Allen's magic practice.

He looked at Allen's textbook with mixed feelings and decided to see a few spells in action, such as the one that could turn a match into a needle.

This thoroughbred Muggle opened with a demand that would have left any normal young wizard gasping: "Turn this desk into... a sofa..."

That was practically asking a child who had just learned single-digit addition and subtraction to do arithmetic with numbers of four digits or more-

It was an impossible demand!

Fortunately, Allen was no ordinary young wizard. He was also a closet, die-hard daddy's boy who took his father's every word as law.

He never considered how unreasonable His Majesty's request was. After a little thought, he took out the supposedly extraordinarily powerful wand.

He closed his eyes and fell silent for a moment, working out a Transfiguration strategy in his mind. Then he tapped his wand toward the desk without even speaking an incantation.

Then, right before His Majesty's eyes, the desk began to transform.

The middle of the smooth desktop rose, both sides contracted inward, and the base spun rapidly, finally assembling into a very simple, entirely wooden sofa.

Edward could not help letting out a soft laugh-

The sofa still bore the desk's original decorative patterns, but they had been jumbled together, with one bending across the seat and another buried inside the sofa.

Allen stood obediently, looking a little embarrassed.

His Majesty was gracious enough to spare his feelings.

He walked around the sofa to inspect it, then even sat down. Feeling its unyielding hardness, he said, "Passable."

Had the Hogwarts professors known, they would certainly have marveled at Allen's genius. Even Dumbledore would have been astonished by his innate command of magic.

After all, the difficulty of Transfiguration increased with the size of the object.

Although Allen had not changed the material, and the sofa he had produced was utterly unremarkable, even ugly,

the fact that he could alter a desk so drastically without an incantation or a teacher's guidance was already proof of an unparalleled gift!

A comparison with ordinary young wizards made that clear.

Even after reading their textbooks and listening to their teachers' explanations, they might still fail to turn a match into a needle while waving their wands and reciting the incantation!

But the Muggle King did not understand the different levels of difficulty in magic.

Although he, too, thought Allen had done very well-the objects specified in the textbook were all extremely small-the sofa really was not particularly attractive.

His Majesty thought for a moment, then asked, "Could you turn it into a cushioned sofa, Allen? Give it a try?"

The textbook had devoted only one sentence to the principles behind that change.

Allen studied the sofa, feeling for the first time that his father's expectations might be too high.

Still, he voiced no objection. He began recalling that passing remark in the textbook, then opened his eyes and waved his wand.

The entire sofa paused. Its wooden seat began to convulse violently, turning into a heap of cotton.

Allen frowned. Gently stroking his wand with his other hand, he circled the sofa, closed his eyes, and carefully recalled the textbook's wording.

His slender fingers wielded the wand with determination.

The sofa paused, began to twitch, and finally became a wooden sofa with leather cushions.

Allen looked at Edward with shining eyes. "Would you try it?"

Edward sat down on the sofa and felt as though he had sunk into a heap of wood shavings.

He hesitated, then praised his son without letting his expression change. He patted Allen's head before pointing to the sofa. "Change it back."

Its master's delight passed into the wand, multiplying the effectiveness of the Transfiguration.

With a light wave of Allen's wand, the sofa returned to its original form as a sober, dignified desk.

A few days before the start of term, Dumbledore sent a letter,

explaining the arrangements concerning the School Governor position and enclosing the Ministry of Magic's confirmation document, the School Governors' joint signatures, and Allen's School Governor Representative Ring.

The old man thoughtfully explained that, because of Allen's special status, he had specifically persuaded an Alchemy Master to come out of retirement and turn the School Governor's ring into an invisibility item to make it easier for Allen to go out.

Pressing the gemstone at the center of the ring would turn its invisibility effect on or off.

Edward pressed the ring and vanished right before Allen's eyes.

Startled, Allen reached out and grabbed him, still managing to catch the King's arm.

Edward reappeared and casually handed the ring to Allen,

"A School Governor needs to open a vault at Gringotts and deposit fifty thousand Galleons as funds for the school's operations. Go and take care of it. Remember to bring pounds."

Allen's name was on the list of School Governors. The wizarding world did not allow a Muggle or a Muggle institution to become a School Governor.

Allen acknowledged the instruction and slipped the oversized ring onto the little finger of his left hand.

Unexpectedly, the ring immediately resized itself, fitting Allen's finger perfectly.

He looked up. "Rest assured, Your Majesty. I'll put the pounds and gold bars in that 'Suitcase.'"

Edward nodded and settled into his high-backed chair, remarking casually, "You don't seem to have spent much time with The Chosen One lately?"

Allen sat in the armchair beside him and replied, "Triss has been keeping him company. Don't worry. Harry is kind and upright by nature, and very considerate toward his friends."

"That's true." Edward nodded, then said thoughtfully, "He's a pitiful child, after all. Show some restraint when making your plans."

"I know."

Allen lowered his eyes and gave a soft huff, his tone a little pointed,

"How could I possibly forget The Chosen One? I'm going to Diagon Alley tomorrow to handle the School Governor arrangements, and I even remembered to take him along for some fresh air!"

Why was the boy getting jealous now?

Edward chuckled and leaned over to stroke Allen's head. "Your father misspoke. My Allen is the cleverest boy of all, isn't he?"

Allen held back a pout, leaned over, and hugged him. "Good night, Father!"

Edward gently embraced his son, then watched Allen leave the room and sighed helplessly.

Allen rarely acted spoiled. He had grown up in the spotlight and had therefore learned to control his emotions at an early age.

In five days, that wizarding school would begin its new term.

It seemed Allen was not as calm as he appeared. He, too, was worried and afraid.

Edward took a small box from a hidden compartment in the bookcase and drew out a Silver Chain.

The long chain was entirely ordinary; only its pendant was a little unusual.

It was a clean-lined equilateral triangle with a line down its center, intersecting a circle inscribed within the triangle.

Edward held it tenderly in his hand and murmured, "Alexia, please protect our son."