Having mastered the corporeal Patronus Charm and its use for messaging, Aiden arrived at the Room of Requirement.
He selected a room where he could practice spells. Opening the door, he placed his belongings on a table and walked to the center of the room, holding his short wand. The Patronus transforming into a butterfly had given him some inspiration.
"Expecto Patronum," Aiden summoned his Patronus again. The silvery-white dragon floated freely in the air. Using Transfiguration, he infused a piece of information into the Patronus, and it spoke in Aiden's voice: "T.E.S.T."
[Well, excellent quality,] the System chimed in after a long silence. [Worthy of being my cub.]
"Are you also going to become a quality-control System now?" Aiden rolled his eyes. Then, keeping the Patronus in a sleepwalking state, he activated his Dream Walking ability and rushed toward it.
After a disorienting spin, Aiden successfully entered his Patronus's island of consciousness. It was a pure white island, with many silvery-white sprites playing on it. "Indeed," he murmured to himself, "because the essence of Transfiguration is so close to the heart, it can, to a certain extent, grant consciousness to matter during the transformation process. The principle of Patronus Charm messaging is to grant the Patronus consciousness through incomplete transformation, thereby achieving the purpose of transmitting information."
Aiden strolled around the island, carefully comparing the differences between his Patronus's island and those of others. "The island is more illusory," he noted, "and unlike the islands of consciousness of normal creatures, it is not immersed in the sea of consciousness." Zooming out his perspective, he could see that the Patronus's island of consciousness was a slightly illusory, pure white island floating above the vast sea of consciousness.
Returning to the real world, Aiden found that his Patronus's eyes were now slightly more lively. Then, with a wave of his wand, the Patronus began to transform into a swarm of butterflies. A large group of silvery-white butterflies flew around the room, a truly spectacular sight.
"Hmm, wait," Aiden's mind began to churn again. "If I can sneak into the Patronus's island of consciousness, can I develop a means of transportation exclusive to me, based on the Patronus Charm?" He collected all the butterflies and transformed them back into the form of a dragon. He infiltrated the Patronus's sea of consciousness, controlling it to fly outwards. Aiden sat in the Patronus's island of consciousness, using the external images displayed by the bubbles to determine and guide its movement.
Soon, the Patronus came into contact with a wall, passing straight through without any obstruction. "Unstoppable love?" Aiden smiled.
The mischievous dragon flew around the corridors of Hogwarts, attracting the attention of a group of students. Gradually, more and more people followed behind Aiden's Patronus. Some knowledgeable young wizards had already recognized it as a Patronus, but fortunately, it did not cause too much commotion.
Aiden, riding his Patronus express, floated all the way to the Headmaster's Office. Dumbledore, who was, as usual, slacking off, saw the dragon-shaped Patronus flying in, stopped what he was doing, and prepared to listen to Aiden's message. Then he saw Aiden slowly emerge from the Patronus.
A stunned Dumbledore: "..."
"It hasn't even been half a day, Aiden," Dumbledore sighed. "What new trick have you come up with?"
"Uh, Professor, this might be my unique ability," Aiden explained slightly. "I put the Patronus into a sleepwalking state, and then I hide in its dream."
"Would you like to try casting a spell at me?" Aiden suggested.
Then, a sudden Stunner struck Aiden. His chest shattered from the spell, turning into a cloud of butterflies that scattered, leaving a large hole.
Dumbledore, once again silent: "..."
"Alright, Aiden," Dumbledore said, looking utterly exhausted. "I've been surprised enough for today. Let's just leave it at that." He didn't ask anything else, directly issuing an order to leave.
Aiden, satisfied with showing off to Dumbledore, left the Headmaster's office.
In the afternoon, Dumbledore notified Aiden to come to an empty classroom on the fourth floor. The desks and chairs in the classroom had been moved away, and a huge round table was placed in the middle. Aiden could smell the mixture of wood and stale air. When he entered, many people were already waiting. They were all Hogwarts school board members. Dumbledore, seeing Aiden's arrival, nodded to him. Aiden casually found a place to sit.
After waiting for a while, the focus of the meeting walked in with his cane. It was Lucius Malfoy. He raised his head and looked around at the people at the round table, finally locking his gaze on Dumbledore in the main seat. Lucius frowned, knowing that the visitors were ill-intentioned, but he did not show timidity, striding to an empty seat and sitting down.
"Alright, everyone is here," Dumbledore announced at the start of the meeting. "So let's start discussing today's agenda." The reflection from his half-moon spectacles made it impossible to see what he was thinking.
'Should I also get a pair of double-sided glasses?' Aiden mused from his seat. 'It's cooler when they reflect the light.'
Lucius, sensing the increasingly somber atmosphere, frowned. "Let's get straight to the point, Dumbledore. I believe the board members are all very busy, especially a certain board member, who also has heavy schoolwork to deal with, isn't that right?" Lucius tried to shift the strange attention of the crowd away from himself.
"Some schoolwork is nothing compared to the active performance of a certain board member recently," Aiden didn't humor him, directly exposing his secrets. "Has the family's industry already started to shrink, prompting you to reach into Hogwarts?"
"You..." Just as Lucius was about to say something, Aiden took off his hat. He immediately shut up. The other board members, looking at the sharp horns on Aiden's head, also fell into contemplation.
"Hehe," Dumbledore chuckled, his voice taking on a warm, rambling tone that seemed entirely harmless. It was only then that he dropped the bombshell. "The board members are all so full of energy. Unlike an old man like me. Let's start the agenda, shall we? Regarding the issue of board member Lucius Malfoy's retention."
"What?" Lucius sputtered, looking absurd. "That's ridiculous! You can't fire me!" He scanned the other board members with a threatening gaze, but this time, for some reason, his threat was ineffective.
"Lucius," Overis Lestrange stood up, "in view of your threatening behavior some time ago, the other board members have unanimously reached an agreement to remove you from the ranks of the Hogwarts board of directors. For the equity you vacated, the directors will subscribe according to their existing shareholding ratio." After Aiden and the Lestrange family reached an agreement, they had fully sided with Aiden, now acting as Dumbledore's bridgehead.
"You, aren't you afraid of..." Lucius threatened.
A swarm of butterflies suddenly fluttered into the classroom, condensing behind Lucius into a silvery-white, illusory dragon. It revealed sharp, ethereal teeth, hanging over Lucius's head. The eyes of the crowd immediately focused on the figure who was propping his legs on the table and playing with a black walnut wand.
"What's wrong? Continue," Aiden said with a nonchalant attitude. But the people present were shrouded in the dual deterrence of his mind and magic. Although there was no movement, it made it impossible to ignore the figure sitting in the chair.
"Ahem, alright, Aiden," Dumbledore spoke, a gentle magical and mental force sweeping over, relieving the pressure on the board members, but stalemating with Aiden's power. "Don't interfere with the order of the board's discussion."
Not wanting to go against the old Headmaster's wishes, Aiden took the initiative to withdraw his magic.
"Alas," Dumbledore sighed, seeming to apologize for Aiden, though the corners of his mouth were almost unable to suppress a smile. "Young people are impatient. I hope the board members can be more tolerant."
[Chapter Complete]
***
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