Chapter 16 - 16. Friendship First, Money Second
Magnus awkwardly walked with his family to the parking lot. He again sat in his dad\'s car in the back. Bobby sat beside him.
"Dad, can we go to the bank first and get the check?" Magnus asked.
Adam understood his meaning and nodded. It was not too far from where they lived anyway. Bobby had also done his research and had gotten the information from his father.
Now, they knew that the mortgage left on their house was £2000(£28,412). With this paid, all their mortgage will be solved and Bobby will never have to leave his home. Bobby himself was feeling weird taking money from his friend but it was a bit relaxing knowing that it was not the money of Magnus\' parents but instead his own money, money that he was going to repay himself when he grows up.
They reached the bank and cashed the check given to Magnus today at the ceremony. He was too young to have his own bank account so the money went directly into his dad\'s account.
Then, Adam signed a cheque in the name of Bobby\'s father. He then gave it to Magnus. Magnus happily handed it to Bobby.
"Here, tell your parents that I won the money with the award. Just tell them that you will pay back when you grow up or something." Magnus advised. Though he was not planning on asking for this money ever again.
Bobby nodded continuously while holding the cheque. It was an amount he couldn\'t even imagine of ever holding.
He looked at Magnus\' smiling face and gave a brotherly hug, "Thank you, Mag. Now I won\'t have to go."
Then he looked at Adam, "Thank you, uncle."
Adam just patted his shoulder, "No need to thank me. It was Magnus\' doing. Now let\'s get you to your home."
Soon after, they dropped Bobby off at his home and Magnus jumped back into the front passenger seat.
"You did a good thing, Magnus." Adam praised him.
"I know. I like money but not at the cost of losing my friend. I don\'t have anything to buy anyway." Magnus shrugged.
"You still have £900 to your name. You can buy whatever you want." Adam reminded him.
"Save it then, I already got all I need. Mummy cooks tasty food for me and you bring me to places." Magnus replied. Making Adam feel awkward.
~What do you mean? We are your servants ?~ Adam thought to himself.
After 20 minutes, they reached home. Magnus sneakily picked up the portrait. His mom\'s car had already arrived and his grandparents were also in the house. So, he had to first quickly go to his room and hide the portrait.
So, as soon as he got out of the car, he intentionally fell down and dirtied his knees. Adam saw it but didn\'t say anything. When they entered, he went upstairs, "I will change my pants."
Finally, in his room, he put the portrait behind the headrest of the bed, because nobody looks or touches there.
"Hmm, a big change from that big depressing hall to this cosy home. Thank you, boy." The portrait said.
"Okay, tell me who you are first or I will throw you out." Magnus suddenly threatened.
"That was quite a greeting, kid. Well, I am the one and only, the greatest, the best, the strongest... King Arthur Pendragon. Yeah, that\'s me." Arthur introduced himself proudly.
Magnus scratched his head, "Who is that?"
Arthur\'s shoulder fell, "I am the first king of unified Britain. My legends must have been written in all kinds of books by now. Don\'t tell me you haven\'t heard of me."
"I have not heard of you. I think I read a fairy tale about you once." Magnus replied.
Arthur raged, "HOW COULD THEY... THOSE DAMN BAST..."
"I was a real person, Magnus," Arthur tried to convince him.
"Okay, I want you to teach me magic. My friend just told me that I have magic and I will go to a special school when I turn 11." Magnus explained.
"Of course you\'d be magical, after all, you have... ah wait... I can\'t tell you that. I bet he\'s waiting to see your reaction. Anyway, I am not a wizard, kid. I am a Magbob or Muggle as they call it now. It was my friend who was a wizard that made this portrait." Arthur explained.
"Where is his portrait?" Magnus asked.
"At Hogwarts most probably. That damn ba... he left me invisible probably so he gets to meet you before me. Haha, how the fate works." Arthur started laughing while talking to himself.
Magnus shook his head in disappointment. Feeling that he took the risk for nothing.
"I\'ll talk to you later. You are of no use to me anyway." Magnus muttered and left.
"WAIT... I CAN STILL TEACH YOU SWORDS..." Arthur shouted.
"No thanks, I\'d rather learn to use guns," Magnus countered.
"Ah, those things are not gonna be of much use in the magical world. Come on, let me teach you." Arthur pleaded.
~Hehe, I will teach him before that Bastard Merlin gets a chance.~ He gloated.
But Magnus ignored him and went downstairs to play with his family.
...
Bobby\'s Home,
His home was a modest house with 3 bedrooms and a small garden in the back and a parking space in the front. It was not as big as Magnus\' but not small either. Bobby\'s parents had bought this a few years ago but it was still not cheap back then as it was in London. They had paid 60% of the mortgage already.
But due to some losses in Bobby\'s father\'s own printing press, they were short on funds. His mom was a kindergarten teacher and earned little money. But it was not all enough to pay the mortgage and also have decent food on the table.
Hence, they had decided to move on. Getting a loan to pay the mortgage was not possible and no family friend would lend that kind of money. £2000 was a lot of money at that time.
But then, help came from someone they never expected.
"Mummy, Daddy, I have something to show you." Bobby meekly came to his parents, sitting in the living room.
"What is it, honey? How was Magnus\' award ceremony?" His mother asked. Because she dealt with little kids on a daily basis, her nature was very kind and calm. She would rarely get angry, even less on Bobby because he was a good kid that studied well. He just ate a lot and that was his only downside.
"It was good. Mummy, umm... are we going to move away from here?" He asked.
His mother looked at her husband. They were not being very discreet about it anyway so it was normal for him to find out.
"Sweetie, we will return in the future. Right now, your dad is having some trouble at work so..." She was in the middle of speaking when Bobby took out the cheque and handed it to her.
"Look mummy, Mag gave it to me. He made all this money by himself by talking to the newspaper and today\'s award. He said we should use it and stay here. I promised I will give it back to him when I grow up. I don\'t wanna go away from here, mummy." He innocently pleaded.
It was enough to make his mother\'s heartache. She understood that Bobby was worried about leaving his friend behind. She put the half kitten sweater aside that she was knitting and hugged him.
"Don\'t worry about such things, Bobby." She said with him in her arms.
Bobby\'s father came and looked at the cheque. He was a reasonable man, just a bit tired from all the work. This cheque was like a light at the end of a dark tunnel for him. But he could not just take it.
He knelt and patted Bobby\'s head, "I believe you, Bobby. But, this is a lot of money. So let me and your mum talk to Mag\'s parents once. If they have agreed to this then we will use this money. Let\'s visit the Grant family house this evening."
Bobby nodded. He knew that no matter what he said, his parents would still want to confirm it. But, he was happy now. He was afraid his parents would get very angry but that was not the case. He was fairly sure that he would not have to go away now.
~I wonder if Mag will find a way for me to look at the portrait.~ he wondered.
[A/N: Bobby, as you might have already guessed, will be a recurring character. Although he is a muggle, he will be like a brother to Magnus. He will have big roles in the future too. In total, I have planned 2 major OC side characters. One was Brandon(Bobby) and the next will appear in Hogwarts. There will be many more ordinary OC characters though because this novel is a prequel to HP and not many characters are known from that era. But when Hogwarts part starts, most original characters will be the focus.]
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