The next day, Aiden walked to the living room and found Astoria standing silently by the window, lost in thought.
"Aiden, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have wandered around. I just..." Astoria began cautiously, her voice uncertain.
"Have you decided where you want to go?" Aiden asked, settling casually onto the sofa.
"The Greengrass family must be looking for me everywhere," Astoria said, lowering her head with obvious worry.
Seeing her like this, Aiden didn't know quite what to say.
"I'm planning to go to Knockturn Alley," Astoria said after a long moment, mustering her courage and speaking to Aiden with newfound determination.
"What about Hogwarts? Not going back?" Aiden asked with concern.
"They'll send people to block me there, so what's the point? Besides, the wizards in Knockturn Alley should be able to teach me through fifth year," Astoria explained practically.
"Alright, if that's your choice," Aiden said, respecting Astoria's decision despite his reservations.
He arranged for two dark wizards from Knockturn Alley to escort her safely, but what Aiden didn't expect was that all of Knockturn Alley was about to welcome a new master.
After Astoria left, Aiden prepared to handle the Peaky Blinders' affairs. As London's largest criminal organization, they had already influenced British politics to a certain extent through systematic bribery and intimidation.
He had an owl carry a carefully worded letter to the Department of Mysteries.
That evening, Aiden Apparated to the Birmingham area, arriving at the familiar door of the Garrison Tavern.
Walking through the heavy door, Tommy Shelby was smoking pensively at the bar. Seeing Aiden enter, he stood up with barely contained excitement despite trying to remain composed.
"Tommy, are your people ready?" Aiden asked without preamble.
"Yes, just a few of our most trusted brothers for now," Tommy nodded with quiet intensity.
"Good, let's go to the place you prepared," Aiden instructed.
Tommy led Aiden through the tavern, winding through several narrow passages, finally arriving at a hidden side door. Without Tommy's intimate knowledge, ordinary people would have great difficulty finding this concealed entrance.
Opening the door carefully, several Shelby family brothers were already waiting inside with obvious anticipation.
Aiden took out his staff, and under the fluctuation of magical power, a figure in distinctive black-gold robes was summoned, carrying a heavily sealed container in his hands.
"Sigh, I find that encountering you always brings constant surprises," Oliver said with weary resignation.
"But technology developed should always be put to use. We can't just let it collect dust in your Department of Mysteries," Aiden replied with a mischievous wink.
"So, who does our kind Mr. Prewett want to transform into a wizard today?" Oliver asked with dry humor.
"There," Aiden pointed to the expectant Shelby brothers nearby.
"Hello, I'm Tommy, and these are my brothers," Tommy stepped forward to make introductions with characteristic directness.
"Let's begin," Oliver nodded to him with professional efficiency.
Aiden waved his wand with practiced precision, and glowing runes began appearing on the concrete ground. Multiple symbols connected together in intricate patterns, and a simplified alchemical matrix was completed.
With the Bone Church's power, Aiden could have it briefly cover the ritual space, preventing the mystical rhythms from Avalon from conducting dangerous signals to the Deep Realm.
This protective measure allowed the alchemical matrix for Aiden's transformation ritual to be greatly simplified and much safer.
"Go ahead, Tommy," Aiden said encouragingly.
Tommy walked onto the alchemical matrix with a nervously beating heart.
Oliver opened the sealed container and carefully extracted fragments of the Deep Realm King called Foolishness from inside.
"Speaking of irony, as the Deep Realm King who blinds people's minds, after being captured it can actually be used to open the path to magical power for Muggles," Oliver observed with philosophical resignation.
"So we should thank the goblins for their devoted contribution," Aiden said, narrowing his eyes with dark satisfaction.
"My suggestion is to increase the intensity of their cooperation," Oliver replied with matching dark humor.
Implanting the Deep Realm King's mystical tendrils into the alchemical matrix, Tommy connected with the cloud server on Avalon, allowing his mundane mind to be enhanced beyond human limitations.
At the same time, he touched the world's lifeblood, called magical power, for the first time in his life.
"My god, this is incredible. Have I actually become a wizard?" Tommy asked in wonder, looking at his hands as magical power flowed through his body like liquid fire, still unable to control the alien energy.
Aiden reached out and placed his hand on Tommy's shoulder, calming the restless magical power with his own steady influence.
"You'll probably need to attend the magical literacy classes offered by the Department of Mysteries afterward. The Peaky Blinders' activities in London should be scaled back temporarily," Aiden ordered with quiet authority.
"Your will is my command," Tommy said, bending down respectfully with heartfelt submission. Having gained magical vision, he finally saw clearly the unfathomable magical power of the seemingly young man before him.
Subsequently, the other members of the Shelby family also successfully completed their transformation with Aiden and Oliver's expert assistance.
With the Peaky Blinders matter finally settled, Aiden entered another supposedly peaceful summer vacation.
This summer vacation, Aiden was absolutely determined to rest well. To hell with research, to hell with Deep Realm Kings, and to hell with responsibility.
The dragon hiding comfortably on the sofa picked up his refreshing lemon juice and thought with blissful contentment.
But Murphy's Law tells us that people and things going against our wishes always meet at the most inconvenient times.
"Knock knock knock!" The door of the Prewett ancestral home was subjected to urgent, persistent knocking.
Aiden clenched his fist in irritation and personally walked to the door to open it, prepared to unleash his frustration.
"You better have a very good reason for..." Seeing the visitor, Aiden paused mid-threat. "Sirius?"
"I better have what?" Sirius asked, somewhat puzzled by the hostile greeting.
"You've regained your freedom?" Aiden asked with genuine surprise.
He raised an eyebrow questioningly. The chaotic events of the past few days had left him no time to pay attention to current news. The Ministry of Magic, under intense public pressure, had already restored Sirius's reputation and legal status.
And Fudge himself, under the multiple political influences of Aiden and Madam Bones, had been forced to announce early elections.
Now both sides were entering a stage of fierce competition with dangerous undercurrents surging beneath the surface.
Inviting Sirius into the house with proper hospitality, the two sat down in the comfortable living room.
"Actually, I came to give you this," Sirius said, taking out a ticket and handing it to Aiden with obvious pleasure.
"August 1994, Quidditch World Cup?" Aiden read the elegant text on the official ticket.
"Actually, although Fudge announced the start of early elections, some things can strategically delay the election period," Sirius explained, picking up the black tea that Sibby had thoughtfully provided.
"His reason for insisting on holding the competition despite widespread opposition is nothing more than that hosting the Quidditch World Cup would allow him to remain in the Minister's position longer."
Obviously, Sirius, being from an ancient pure-blood family, was quite familiar with these political maneuvering tactics.
"Extending his term serves two purposes. On one hand, it allows him more time to prepare his campaign, and on the other hand, hosting a spectacular international competition would bring him great prestige, which could significantly boost his approval ratings."
Aiden felt that the political script Fudge was following seemed very familiar. The president of a certain country with hundreds of years of deep friendship with Britain seemed to be using the same playbook twenty years later.
Shrugging with cynical amusement, Aiden was too tired to pay serious attention to these political machinations.
"I want to properly thank you on Harry's behalf. He told me that over the years at school he's been well cared for by his friends, and I also want to compensate on James's behalf for some of what Harry's missed over the years."
Speaking of this, Sirius thought of the boy who had inherited his best friend's warm smile, and a knowing, affectionate smile appeared on his own face.
"Of course, I'll attend on time. Thank you for the invitation," Aiden said solemnly, carefully putting away the precious ticket.
Seeing Aiden accept the invitation with genuine appreciation, Sirius smiled with satisfaction. After exchanging farewells, he turned and left the Prewett ancestral home with a lighter step.