Chapter 148: The Feast
With a wave of my wand, a Patronus appeared before me.
"Prepare a party. I became a master!"
I did not even try to restrain myself, and my voice was full of joy and smugness. But today I could afford to. Today I could do almost anything.
I looked at Flitwick with a slight smirk.
"So, will you arrange an exam for the girl?"
"Let's do it right now..."
He smiled, and he and I went toward the exit, into the main hall where the registration desk was located. What we did not expect to see, however, was some boy mocking the registrar.
"Who would take you as a student? And she's going to take time off too! You need to work, not waste time on nonsense! You're Muggle-born, so your ceiling is that of a journeyman, and if you keep deceiving..."
"Young lady..."
Flitwick approached the desk, ignoring the boy, though apparently he was not a boy at all, but the girl's supervisor. Moving closer, I noticed a master's badge with one small difference. The guy was precisely the kind of master who had not completed the additional year of training beside a mentor.
"...I see they are not letting you leave your workplace?"
"And who are you?!"
The guy looked at Flitwick with contempt.
"No, Master Flitwick..."
The girl shook her head, and the guy turned to stone. After all, Flitwick's name carried considerable weight, and being rude to him was not the wisest act.
"Master Flitwick, it is a great honor for me to meet you..."
The guy began fawning.
"...allow me to help you. After all, I am a representative of an ancient House and will be able to give you a more precise answer to the question at hand. Have you come for the defense of the journeyman title?"
He cast a dismissive glance my way, though he tried to hide it.
"No..."
Flitwick shook his head.
"...my student, Draco Black, became a master today."
"A master?!"
Surprise and disbelief filled the man's voice, though he was probably a young man.
"Yes, a master, and since he noticed this girl, I've decided to give her a real chance to become my student."
"But she is Muggle-born!"
"And?"
Flitwick looked at the man in confusion.
"I've never placed much importance on bloodline. Ksenia, since they won't let you leave your workplace, I'll conduct a short exam right here. Do you object?"
"No, Master Flitwick..."
Tears filled the girl's eyes. Judging by her voice, she couldn't believe such an opportunity had come to her. Though in my opinion, she could easily have approached one of the masters while working here. But apparently, either she had only been working here a short time, or her supervisor was pressuring her too much.
"Excellent. Can you create a Patronus?"
"Only a mist."
"Show me."
"Expecto Patronum!"
The girl raised her voice slightly, and a Patronus mist appeared beside her, meaning she possessed the minimum magical strength required for training. Still, one could take on someone with less, as would be the case with Blake, but then one would have to not only teach, but also build up their strength. And that would take time as well.
"Good..."
Flitwick nodded, and over the next five minutes had the girl perform more than twenty spells. Activity in the hall ceased, and many watched with curiosity.
"Master, as you can see, her skills are insufficient..."
"Your skills suit me."
Flitwick interrupted the man, who seemed to hit a brick wall upon hearing my former mentor's words.
"Of course, your movements lack precision, but we will improve that if you become my student. Where did you study?"
"Koldovstoretz."
"Grade in charms and spells?"
"Excellent. I earned the title of journeyman independently!"
She said it with pride, though she tried to hide it.
"Good... then answer three questions. Just don't quote the textbook. In your own words, and briefly..."
She answered two of the three questions.
"You see..."
"You suit me."
The man froze again.
"But... she... this is... wrong..."
Flitwick ignored him.
"Do you need time to resign, or...?"
"No..."
She shook her head and looked at the man.
"Under clause six, section two of the contract, I resign because I have found a master willing to teach me charms and spells."
The man simply nodded. She quickly wrote a resignation letter, certified it with her magical signature, and was about to leave when Flitwick stopped her.
"Wait, Ksenia... give me the resignation letter."
She handed it to him in confusion.
"Right... I, Filius Flitwick, confirm that Ksenia..."
He looked at the girl.
"Rurikovich."
"...Rurikovich..."
Despite Flitwick's surprise, he continued writing.
"...has been accepted by me as a student."
He added his magical signature, then handed the statement to me.
I wrote my testimony that Flitwick had accepted the girl as a student before my eyes.
After that, we handed the statement to her supervisor and waited for his approval.
Then we gave one copy to Ksenia, one to the supervisor, and sent one to the personnel department.
"Um..."
When we transferred to my Quarter, the girl finally began to come to her senses.
"...Master, I am grateful to you, but I don't have much money, and I won't be able to pay for training with you immediately..."
"You needn't worry about that..."
Flitwick shook his head.
"...now we'll head to Draco's manor, and there we'll draw up the contract. The training costs... we'll structure this two ways. If you manage it in five years, you'll pay ten thousand a year. If you don't, then fifty."
"Fifty?!"
"And why are you so surprised?"
Flitwick looked at her.
"I don't need idlers as students, and if I'm to teach an idler, it'll cost top dollar. So it's in your best interest to finish training in five years. Look, Draco earned the title of Master in two years and spent another year honing his skills with me."
"Professor..."
"Call me Filius now. We're equals now..."
"Ahem... Filius..."
I was slightly thrown off by the realization that I could actually call him by his first name now.
"...in truth, less. After all, when you took me on as a student, although I was close to the rank of journeyman, I wasn't one yet."
"Well, yes..."
Flitwick nodded.
"But... this..."
"What?"
Flitwick looked at her with a stern gaze.
"Are you afraid? Until we've signed the contract, you can still refuse... You'll go back behind the registration desk and once again..."
"No! I agree!"
"Very good..."
We reached my manor, and the moment we stepped onto the grounds, fireworks began exploding overhead. It was beautiful.
"Con-gra-tu-la-tions! Con-gra-tu-la-tions! Con-gra-tu-la-tions!"
The shouts of my moms, my grandmother, my fiancées, Blake's team, and Summer echoed across the Quarter. My friends and companions also emerged from everywhere, all of them shouting a single word.
"So, since OUR son received the title of Master... the whole Quarter is celebrating!"
Bella shouted, and tables laden with all manner of treats began appearing in the streets.
"Draco..."
Fleur and Penny appeared at my side, literally dragging Blake with them.
"...now we want to claim a little luck for ourselves."
After that, amid the crowd's cheerful whooping, they kissed me. And damn it, that was even more pleasant than realizing I had defended my mastery.
"Come on..."
Flitwick pulled his future student along with him.
"...before taking part in all this bedlam, we need to finalize the contract."
"I agree..."
I nodded.
"...girls, I suggest you follow me."
Flitwick and I, along with our future students, went into the house and settled in the dining room.
"So, let us sign the contract..." I said, and with a snap of a house-elf's fingers, a contract appeared before each of my students. Then, at my request, a blank scroll materialized before Flitwick, and he quickly began writing the final version.
"Blake..."
I paralyzed the girl, who had already grabbed the blood quill and was about to sign.
"Take a lesson from Fleur and Penny. Despite having signed the agreement of intent, they are reading the contract. Please read it too."
I lifted the spell, and she rolled her shoulders before beginning to study it.
Meanwhile, Flitwick conjured a contract and handed it to his future student.
"Study it."
"Yes..."
"So, what are your plans, my dear student?"
"Aside from the fact that I plan to teach three beautiful girls at once?"
"Yes..."
Flitwick snorted cheerfully.
"Well, I plan to approach the Founders and learn Malefica from them. It will help greatly with my gift, which is aimed at removing curses. Of course, I am already pretty good, all thanks to my mastery of Charms, but if I become a master Maleficist..."
I closed my eyes.
"Yes..."
"Well, I'm finally going to start earning openly with my gift. I'll post offers to remove curses at several guilds. And since I'm already a master, they won't dismiss something like that out of hand. So soon I'll be able to do more than just find people who need help through acquaintances."
"Uh-huh... so you'll take your second mastery in Malefica..."
Flitwick thoughtfully tapped his fingers on the table.
"Well, actually, I was thinking of pursuing two specializations at once, both closely related to charms and spells. Malefica and Healing."
"Can you handle it?"
Flitwick looked at me seriously.
"Now I'm not limited by time. I'll work out a fairly flexible schedule and study gradually. Over the remaining four years, I'll master both fields without rushing."
"Without rushing?!"
Ksenia looked at me.
"Ksenia, don't get distracted..."
Flitwick shook his head.
"And for Draco, it really won't be very difficult. After all, the fields really are adjacent to charms and spells, so he already has the foundation. Of course, he'll need to expand it a little..."
"Healing won't need to. Mom taught me, so although I'm not a journeyman, I can already distinguish a fracture from a cut."
Flitwick snorted.
"All right, that works for me."
Fleur was the first to sign the contract.
"Works for me too."
"And me."
My girls signed their contracts and handed them to me. Then I signed them and, making copies, immediately gave them to the house-elf to send to the Guild so they'd know I'd already accepted the obligation to take on students.
"I... I agree..."
Ksenia also signed the contract, then Flitwick signed it, and just as I did, he sent a copy to the Guild.
"Now I suggest we go ahead and celebrate my mastery. We'll begin working tomorrow."
"Agreed..."
Flitwick nodded.
"...you need a good rest, especially since you still have to go to Hogwarts tomorrow and deal with Dumbledore and McGonagall."
I snorted quietly.
"No, I won't go to them tomorrow. I'll get confirmation from the Guild first, and only then, with those documents and the badge, will I go to Hogwarts."
"Do you think they won't believe you?"
"No..."
I shook my head.
"...they will believe me. I just want to rub Snape's nose in the fact that he's no longer Britain's youngest master."
"Ha... a worthy goal... and with the regalia, it will carry more weight, but in front of the others, I'll condemn such a thing..."
I nodded in agreement, and together we went to the celebration in my honor...
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