Chapter 9 - 9. Accidental & Deliberate Magic
"Please close the door, Mister Grant, we will disperse the crowd. Sorry for the inconvenience." The policeman told him.
Adam quickly closed the door and looked at Grace and Magnus who stood in the hallway and stared at him.
Adam chuckled, "Haha... I think our little Magnus has become famous now."
"Good thing he doesn't have school for the next 5 days. He should stay at home and let the matter settle itself." Grace advised.
"Mummy, I have asked Bobby to come over for 5 days. Can he stay with me?" Magnus asked.
"Sure, sweetie. I will bring lots of snacks and storybooks tomorrow for you two." She agreed instantly.
So, Magnus happily went to his room to sleep. But, on his bed, he just rolled over from one side to the other. He waited for an hour, 2 hours, 3 hours. He still couldn't sleep.
His mind was not at ease. What happened today was so bizarre in all sense. Magnus was a kid who liked the stories of heroes and superpowers. But he also understood that all these were fake made up stories.
But what happened today had changed that thought. First, the talking portrait. Then the bus incident. Him being able to bend steel and then not getting burned by fire.
He decided to try something to check things. He got up, slowly opened the door of his room and went to the bathroom. Luckily, they had 2 bathrooms, one downstairs and one on the first floor, which only he used.
He locked the door and went to the sink. He put some water in a mug and then dipped his hand in it. He felt that the water was cold at that moment.
Then he tried to replicate what he did with the metal rods in the bus. He imagined his hand on fire.
Soon enough, he felt it, the water's temperature had changed and it was still rising. But he didn't think about the heat limit of the ceramic mug.
*CRACK*
It cracked with noise and the water fell in the sink. It was radiating steam, that's how hot the water had gotten. It was boiling.
Magnus looked at his hands with worry. He didn't know if this was a blessing or a curse. ~What is wrong with me?~
He continued some experiments while being more careful now. He spent an hour or so using his powers and he finally felt somewhat tired. So, he went back to his room and fell asleep.
During the night, while sleeping, Magnus felt something hurting him on his neck. As if some kind of a sharp stone.
His eyes lightly opened while still being sleepy. He felt something around his neck. A locket. In his sleep, he simply pulled it and threw it away.
As he slept, the locket that had fallen a good distance away. Flew back to Magnus and tied itself around his neck.
...
Next Morning,
Magnus woke up with the same itchy feeling on his neck. He saw what it was and to his shock, it was the same wooden locket, tied with a black thread around his neck.
~Weird, didn't I throw it last night?~ he wondered.
But then he remembered what he did last night and felt very excited. He really had powers like a superhero.
~I wonder if I will be like Superman. But I'm weak right now. I know what happens to heroes who try to act before training properly. They get beaten and realise they are not strong enough.~
He quickly went to the bathroom, brushed his teeth and went downstairs. He was staying at home but his parents still needed to go to work. The news was still talking about him and a few journalists were still outside their house.
He took a seat at the dining table where his dad was reading the newspaper calmly. He was reading a report about Magnus. There were speculations that Magnus would get some kind of reward. But he didn't care. Magnus was safe, that was the best reward. He put the paper down and ate breakfast.
Breakfast was simple sandwiches and orange juice. Magnus too, happily ate. But when he proceeded to pick another sandwich from the tray, his hand bumped onto the glass.
It started falling down. Magnus rushed to catch it mid-air and to his shock, it was hovering in the air until Magnus grabbed it.
He thought that nobody saw it, but in fact, his father did. Adam rubbed his eyes, ~Why am I seeing such things? Did I not sleep well last night?"~
Magnus happily continued eating. Grace didn't see anything so she didn't react.
*DONG DONG*
The doorbell rang. Grace went and checked. It was Bobby. He had come with a small backpack with his clothes to stay at their home.
"Good Morning, aunty, uncle." he politely greeted and came into the dining room.
"Okay, Mag. We're leaving for work too. I have cooked lunch for you two. There are also a few snacks. Have fun." Grace instructed him and then left after giving him a kiss on the cheek.
As soon as they went out, they were confronted by some journalists, asking them to interview Magnus. They had been waiting there like hyenas. They tried to come to them and talk but the couple ignored them and left in their cars. Journalists also didn't have enough guts to push it too far as both were military personnel. They didn't want to end up in the news themselves for trespassing.
Magnus closed the door and looked back, "So, what do you wanna do today, Bobby?"
Bobby shrugged his shoulders, "It's your house, you tell me."
"Hmm, let's watch a movie. We can't really go out today with all of them waiting for me." Magnus decided.
They switched on the television and started watching. There were just three channels in that era. BBC1, BBC2 and another one.
And right now, there was no movie showing on any channel.
"Well, here goes the movie plan. Let's go to my room and play some board games." Magnus decided.
Both of them went upstairs. Magnus had some cards, monopoly and some other toys.
They played for a few hours while eating some snacks. But one can not spend the whole day doing this. They later went to eat lunch.
"Ah, these are cold," Bobby said as he filled his plate. There were some sausages, mashed potatoes and bread.
"Bring it to me, I will show you a trick," Magnus said.
He took the plate and placed it on his palm. Then he hovered his other hand over the food. After a few minutes, the food started releasing steam.
"Holy smokes, how did you do this?" Bobby was shocked as his eyes widened.
"Hmm, it's a secret. I can't just tell everyone. Not even mummy and daddy know this." Magnus said smugly.
"Come on, mate. I will keep it a secret. I don't have any other friends anyway, and telling my parents is out of the option." Bobby pleaded.
Magnus actually felt a bit bad. That Bobby didn't have any other friend, well, even he did not have a friend beside Bobby but that was his choice. On the other hand, Bobby was very friendly to all but was still ignored.
"Okay, you have to promise me in the name of the god or whomever you love the most. No matter what happens, you will not tell this to anyone, even mistakenly." Magnus stated.
Bobby gulped his saliva seeing the seriousness of the situation. He nodded, "I promise. I promise. This will be our secret for forever. Oh, I saw this once on television somewhere... Until death do us apart."
Magnus facepalmed himself, "Stupid, that's what married people say to each other. Anyway, come with me."
He took him to the bathroom and put some water in the mug. "Touch the water and feel its temperature."
Bobby did as asked. "Hmm, it's cold."
"Now, wait," Magnus said and put his hand in it.
2 minutes later, he gave the water back to Bobby, "Now check."
Bobby had just touched the water with his finger that he retracted it quickly, "Bloody hell, it's so hot. My finger nearly burned. How did you do that?"
"I don't know. But something happened the day I was lost. Since then, I never feel cold, I can run and cycle faster and longer, I no longer get tired easily. I can also generate heat from my hands. I don't know what else I can do though." Magnus explained.
"Woah, you're like some superhero. I'm sure your powers will grow as you grow, that's what happens in the comics." Bobby thought loudly.
"Yes, that's what I guessed. Also, didn't I tell you about the talking portrait in Buckingham Palace? I was not lying." Magnus added.
"Really? Then we must go and talk to it. Maybe it knows about your powers." Bobby advised.
"I know, that's my plan. But I guess it will take some time before these people go away from outside our home. You should come with me when I will go." Magnus said.
But suddenly, he saw Bobby's face turned sad.
"What happened?" Magnus asked.
"Mag, I don't think I will be here any longer. I heard mum and dad talking. We will be leaving this place soon, I will be changing schools too." Bobby revealed.
"What! Why?" Magnus asked. He was also saddened as he didn't want to lose his best friend.
"I heard that... we don't have the money to pay the mortgage this time and the bank will take our home," Bobby said with a sad face.
Magnus felt bad, Bobby was his only friend. He patted his shoulder, "Don't worry, I'm sure things will work out. You heard them talking. If they were sure then they would have told you as well."
*Sigh*
"I hope you are right, Mag."
...
Buckingham Palace,
Queen's assistant came to report to her, "Your Majesty, all the records of the past 10 years have been checked. There has been no child with the surname Pendragon."
The queen was still young right now and had the vigour, she broke the pen in her hand in anger.
"Call the wizards again and tell them to get me in touch with this... Dumbledore. Give them whatever they need but I need this task done." She sternly ordered and bumped the desk with her fist.
The assistant left her alone in her office. She looked down at the papers on her desk. These were there for her signature.
"Hmm? A 9-year-old recommended for George Cross?" She then read the documents completely. Soon, she had a smile on her face.
She quickly called her assistant, "Make sure this next George Cross Award ceremony gets the highest coverage. I will be personally giving it. What better way for a good PR than giving the highest civilian medal to a brave 9 years old child."
"Yes ma'am. It will be done." the assistant left with a bow.
To the queen, keeping the image of the royal family in its highest honour was the biggest priority. People must never lose faith in the crown and as long as people had faith, no one could threaten her.
Though her thinking was flawed because magic does not care about your image.
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Special thanks to *Douglas Flower* *Umar Latif* *Julian Rocamora* *Darrien Steely*
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