A silver-white dragon flew into the old Prewett mansion, and Aiden's figure emerged from the Patronus.
Having returned to his home after a long absence, Aiden sat down on the sofa and let out a long breath.
"The affairs of this school year have been truly colorful," Aiden said, rubbing his temples.
In the afternoon, Aiden went to Diagon Alley to purchase materials.
Back home, he prepared a potion and sent Ophelia with a message and the potion to help Astoria advance.
Returning to his room, he closed the door and dove onto the bed, sincerely hoping he could spend the summer holidays at home studying magic.
Unfortunately, fate had other plans. A black owl carrying a letter completely shattered his hopes.
Knock, knock. The sound of an owl tapping on the window came from outside. Aiden took the letter from the unknown owl.
He fed it some nuts, stroked it a few times, and then unfolded the letter. A line of elegant, cursive script met his eyes.
'My dear Dragon, greetings. Do you remember our chance encounter on the streets of London? It's truly rare to see a dragon on a London street.'
After reading the first paragraph, a vein popped on Aiden's forehead.
He threw the letter to the ground. The back of the paper was revealed, and his sharp eyes caught the writing on it.
'I was wrong, dear Dragon, don't be angry. Do you remember what I told you about the goblins? We now have a lead. I formally invite the head of the Prewett family to work with my department to handle a potential goblin rebellion.'
Seeing this, Aiden's heart skipped a beat. 'This person can see me throwing the letter, so it's most likely...'
"It's a prophecy," the system decisively confirmed Aiden's guess.
"&%*&￥%…%￥#@" Aiden then prepared some choice words for the Director.
Watching this letter, filled with expressive language, being sent off, Aiden sighed.
"So, Host, are you still going?" the system asked.
"What choice do I have? The source of my funds is the Prewett family. Whether it's to reclaim the Prewett family's assets or deal with these damn goblins, something has to be settled."
Aiden's eyes gazed into the distance, lost in thought.
In July, a gloomy rain covered London. Ophelia arrived at the Department of Mysteries with a letter, signaling the start of a new round of turmoil.
On the second day of the summer holidays, a silver-white butterfly gracefully entered the Ministry of Magic along with a visitor.
The butterfly danced leisurely, yet no one seemed to notice it.
Passing through the floor, the butterfly arrived at the circular hall of the Department of Mysteries.
In the center of the hall, a man in a white robe was already waiting. He extended a finger, and the butterfly gently landed on it.
"Dragon, why have you taken this form?" the Director asked.
Then the butterfly began to slowly disperse, its number suddenly multiplying, and a human figure emerged from the center of the butterflies, stepping onto the hall floor.
"You damn..." Aiden had a bellyful of choice words ready to greet the Director.
Unfortunately, he was interrupted by a report the Director shoved at him.
"Here, a report on the assets misappropriated by the goblins over the years. It seems the goblins are secretly preparing something big."
The Director smiled. Following his gaze, the greedy dragon was stunned by the astronomical figures in the report.
"Ahem, you can't have all their gains. The Department of Mysteries will take a portion, but the commercialized parts can be entirely handed over to the Prewetts for operation," the Director made a very tempting offer.
The Director turned around in confusion, wondering why the dragon behind him wasn't reacting. When he looked back, he saw someone with gleaming eyes.
"What are we waiting for? Let's go," Aiden urged.
"But there's a problem now," the Director said, pouring cold water on Aiden's enthusiasm.
"What?" Aiden asked, puzzled.
"We have no direct reason to intervene in goblin affairs," the Director said, clasping his hands, a cunning glint in his eyes.
"Are you kidding me? With the power you've shown, don't tell me those insects above can stop you." Having dealt with the Director for a while, Aiden's manner of speaking had changed.
"No, you don't understand. When these 'weapons' were built, everyone signed a contract. We, the administrators, cannot arbitrarily interfere in the internal affairs of the builders," the Director explained.
"Ah, what if the builders defect to the enemy?" Aiden asked, confused.
"So you haven't read the Unspeakable's contract carefully, have you?" The Director gave Aiden a dead-fish stare.
Aiden's face flushed. "I'm not an Unspeakable."
"If a builder defects, we administrators will conduct an assessment. If the stone tablet detects the enemy's power on you, then you will face a lightning strike."
The Director shrugged, took out a bone-like wand, and with a wave, a water mirror appeared, showing an image. One half showed the scene of Aiden's last encounter with the Director on a London street, while the other half, from the Hall of Time, showed a giant clock locked onto Aiden's image.
Aiden swallowed and said, "That's not right. How come I couldn't sense you locking onto me with a weapon?"
"That thing is called the Retracing Pendulum. It aims at the past. It was originally designed to hunt down someone who could escape into the past," the Director said in a calm yet domineering tone.
"Tsk, we're not sitting on some kind of magical particle collider right now, are we? And if you confirm I've defected, you'll just push me in to be blown up?" Aiden clicked his tongue.
"Mmm-hmm~" The Director gave a mysterious smile.
"Forget it, no time for jokes. Let's lay out the plan."
The Director didn't continue the topic, and the two tacitly avoided going deeper.
"So, what does the Department of Mysteries want to do?" Aiden asked.
"First, we can't alert the goblins. Second, we need you to help us create a pretext to intervene. Third, the whole process must be swift, or it will lead to unforeseen consequences."
The Director laid out three requirements, but each one seemed extremely difficult.
"Ah, I have to handle all this by myself? I can't do it." A certain dragon threw himself onto the sofa and started playing difficult.
"You'll get a ten percent cut of the confiscated income." The Director knew what he wanted without even looking.
"Deal." Looking back at the sofa, he saw Aiden sitting up straight and proper.
Just as Aiden was about to speak again, a knock on the door interrupted him.
A young woman in a black and gold robe walked in, holding some documents.
"Director, we've confirmed the movements of that group," she said, handing a report on a clipboard to the Director.
"Oho, this is interesting," the Director smiled.
He handed the report to Aiden. The cover of the report was clearly written with the words—Bibury Village.
"Huh? My home?" Aiden was stunned.
[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!