Inside the grand boardroom, the governors sat upright, their eyes occasionally flicking toward the boy who had his feet casually propped up on the round table.
"Well, let us continue with the agenda," Dumbledore's voice rang out, tapping the table to command attention. "Shall we now vote on whether to retain Mr. Lucius Malfoy as a member of the board?"
A chorus of voices rose: "Oh, certainly," "He should be removed," "Agree," "Oppose..."
Poor Lucius. His reckless actions had clearly alienated the other governors. The only dissenting vote was his own.
"The result is eleven in favor and one against. The motion passes," Dumbledore declared, hammering the decision down with finality, leaving Lucius no room to protest.
"Humph," Lucius sneered, rising to his feet. "Remember this day, all of you. The House of Malfoy will return to this seat." With a final glare, he turned and left, his pride wounded but his resolve unbroken.
"Now that the troublemaker is gone," Dumbledore continued, "let us discuss the redistribution of shares and the new voting system."
Aiden rose, tossing the prepared motion papers onto the desks with a casual flick, like autumn leaves drifting to rest. The room erupted into a heated debate.
After much deliberation, the shareholders received their desired shares. Yet, amidst their power struggles, they failed to notice the subtle reform attached to the motion.
From this moment forward, resolutions in the Hogwarts board of governors would be decided not by one vote per person, but by the proportion of shares held. To pass a resolution, directors holding more than two-thirds of the shares must approve it.
In other words, no resolution would pass without the nod of the headmaster, the Prewett family, and the Lestrange family—the major shareholders. The naive shareholders had been mercilessly played by two masters of the mind. Aiden had secretly modified their focus with his abilities, while Dumbledore, as the focus of resistance for superficially fighting for shares, worked in tandem to complete the change in voting rights.
With the adults' affairs settled, Aiden could finally return to his campus life, though he knew such peaceful days were fleeting.
The next day, as Aiden stepped out of the academy, Professor Flitwick gathered the second-year students. The young wizards, nearing the end of their second year, were about to select their elective courses.
Professor Flitwick distributed the course schedules, and the students buzzed with excitement.
"Let's see what our great genius will choose," Edmund and Ethan teased, reaching out to hook Aiden's shoulders. But their hands passed right through him, turning into butterflies that scattered away.
"Uh, sorry," Aiden said, a faint smile playing on his lips. "I was just lost in thought." The butterflies flew back and filled in the missing parts of his form.
Oliver cautiously reached out, confirming Aiden's physical presence, then helped his two roommates to their feet.
"Merlin's spiral staff," Ethan and Edmund exclaimed, their faces a mix of shock and awe. "What was that just now?"
"It's a variation of the Patronus Charm," Aiden explained calmly, his eyes never leaving the course schedule. "Developed in combination with my own abilities." He was thinking about the courses he wanted to choose, unable to pay attention to the clamor of his roommates.
As someone with a certain understanding of the plot, Aiden knew that by selecting all the elective courses, he could gain access to the most mysterious of artifacts: the Time-Turner. However, as a lazy dragon with ideals, he had no desire to study useless courses—Muggle Studies, for instance. Aiden couldn't understand why wizards, whose impression of Muggles was still stuck centuries in the past, would want to open such a subject.
Sighing, Aiden asked his roommates, "What courses are you planning to choose?"
"Me? Runes, Divination, and Muggle Studies," Ethan said with anticipation. "I want to know how you wizards view Muggles."
'Okay, let's congratulate this child for choosing two-thirds of the useless courses,' Aiden sighed silently. Then he turned his attention to Edmund.
"Me? Arithmancy, Runes, and Care of Magical Creatures," Edmund said, his choices practical and well-reasoned, as expected of a child from a governor's family.
Afterward, Oliver opened his mouth. "All of them," he declared. As soon as the "liver emperor" spoke, an aura called 'involution' began to spread. Aiden quickly pinched his nose, fearing that he might accidentally inhale it.
Finally, all eyes focused on Aiden.
"Me? Divination, Runes, and Care of Magical Creatures, I guess," he shrugged.
"Something's wrong." "This guy is not involuting anymore." "Boring." The three roommates expressed their respective views.
"Hey, this is the result of comprehensive consideration," Aiden defended himself.
"First of all," Edmund said sternly, "you should know what Divination is like. You just want to slack off."
"Also, do you need to specifically go to class to learn your runes?" Oliver condemned, and Ethan nodded in agreement.
Before long, the young wizards had chosen their courses, and Professor Flitwick took back the schedules. Seeing that things were over, Aiden wanted to slip away, but was caught by a certain professor who was itching to do something.
"Ahem, Aiden, come with me," Professor Flitwick said, stopping him just as he was about to slip away. The three roommates gave him a look of good luck and ran away without any loyalty.
Helping Professor Flitwick with the course schedule, he came to his office all the way.
"That just now," Flitwick began, clearly having discovered Aiden's charm earlier. "Do it again."
The corners of Aiden's mouth curled up slightly, and he said to Professor Flitwick, "If Professor is so curious, why not try it yourself?"
"Oh, can I?" Professor Flitwick raised an eyebrow, and an Expelliarmus flew directly from behind Aiden. This method of casting spells outside the body really made Aiden envious.
At the same time, Flitwick's attack did not work on Aiden. The charm passed straight through Aiden's body and flew towards Professor Flitwick in front of Aiden.
Professor Flitwick cut off the magic supply, and the Expelliarmus dissipated before reaching his body.
"Hmm, how did you do it?" Professor Flitwick asked excitedly.
"This is the Patronus Charm, Professor," Aiden said. Then a swarm of butterflies flew out from his robe, filling Professor Flitwick's office.
Under Aiden's will, the swarm of butterflies condensed and eventually formed a silver-white dragon.
"Your Patronus is also a magical creature," Flitwick observed carefully. "I thought Dumbledore was a special case. He always told me that it was innate back then. I thought he was lying to me."
"Well," the knowledgeable Professor Flitwick recognized the uniqueness of Aiden's Patronus. "The magic power and casting methods are the same as ours. As for the butterflies, you used Transfiguration. This should be Dumbledore's improved Patronus."
"But I can't figure out how you managed to avoid attacks with it," this field puzzled Professor Flitwick.
"This is really talent, Professor," Aiden said with a trickster's smile. "Do you want me to take you to see it together?"
"Of course," Professor Flitwick said, his eyes gleaming with excitement. "I couldn't ask for more."
[Chapter Complete]
***
Want more? Check out my Patreon for:
✓ Advanced chapters of all my stories
✓ Exclusive novels & fanfics
✓ Early access content [email protected]/meowthtl
💪 Community Goal: 500 Power Stones unlocks a bonus chapter!
Thanks for reading and supporting the story!