"I took him on as my apprentice," Edward said. "Kept who he was a secret and asked Mike not to tell anyone."

Fudge blinked, a bit taken aback. "You... took him as an apprentice? The son of Britain's prime minister?"

Edward nodded. "Yes. He's talented, and I saw potential in him. Where he's from or what family he belongs to doesn't matter to me."

Fudge could only gulp at Edward's straightforward confidence. He had no argument, after all—no rules were broken.

Edward then shared the usual background story they had now told many times to many people.

Just as Edward finished telling Fudge about Maverick, the Queen made it clear why he was here.

"Help get the boy registered and set up his identity," Queen Elizabeth asked Fudge.

Finally understanding why he had been called, Fudge's face quickly changed to one of flattery. He cleared his throat and offered a smooth smile. "Of course, for Speaker Garling's apprentice, it would be my pleasure."

Being the politician, he quickly thought about how he could benefit from the situation. And what could be better than earning a favor from an Arch-Magus?

Edward didn't mind; if it kept things quiet, all the better. Taking Maverick to the Ministry would only attract too much attention.

"I'll have things ready by tomorrow," Fudge said. He paused, then asked, "Should I bring it here, Your Majesty?"

The Queen looked to Michael. "Please send it to the Prime Minister's house."

Fudge glanced at Michael. "Very well. I'll make sure they are sent to your house, Mr. Prime Minister."

Michael nodded. "Thank you, Minister."

Once the important discussions wrapped up, Fudge asked Maverick a few more questions about his future plans and his views on the country's magical community. Maverick answered, choosing his words carefully to avoid further questions.

Then they shifted to small talk, with Fudge sharing the latest news from the British magical community. The Queen, Michael, and Edward joined in, adding both official and unofficial stories, while Maverick mostly listened quietly

The Queen's small banquet ended soon after, and Fudge made his exit first, throwing in more flattery toward Edward and once again promising to handle the favor.

Maverick saw the Minister's political side firsthand—the man didn't even try to hide his shamelessness, making it clear that he was doing a favor.

Fortunately, Edward wasn't petty; he simply nodded, showing his experience in handling people like Fudge without reacting.

After the Minister left, the Queen invited Maverick to return for a brief orientation with the Zero Squad before he began his travels.

Maverick promised to return soon, after Edward and his family left for America at the end of the weekend.

Then Edward, Michael, and Maverick said their farewells and left the palace. Just like when they arrived, they left quietly, without any sign they had even been there. By the time they got back home, it was nearly three o'clock in the afternoon.

As soon as the three of them entered, they saw Silvia and Ariel sitting on the living room sofa with Isabella between them, engaged in a deep conversation.

"Ah... you're back," Ariel called out, standing up.

Maverick glanced at Isabella and noticed her looking down, her cheeks slightly flushed.

It was clear that Silvia had filled in the blanks for his mother, and the two women had likely gossiped about him to Isabella during his visit with the queen.

"How did it go, meeting the English queen?" Silvia asked as she too stood up and walked over to them.

"Good... better than expected," Edward replied.

"She was pretty badass," Maverick said as he walked over to the sofa and sat down beside Isabella.

Edward and Michael followed and took seats, while their wives moved next to them.

"Really? What happened?" Ariel asked, looking at her son.

"Well..." Maverick glanced at his teacher. "She spoke to him without even flinching. You know... the teacher is..." He paused, searching for the right word. "Famous for being..." He cleared his throat, already regretting bringing it up.

Edward raised an eyebrow, curious to hear his student's take on his reputation.

"Well... very powerful... frightening to a lot of people," Maverick managed to say.

"Is that how you think people see me as?" Edward asked with amusement.

The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

Everyone gave him a knowing smile, sensing his slight embarrassment.

Cough.

"That's not the point, teacher," Maverick said quickly, trying to hide his shyness. "She was just a regular human, but the way she talked even made me feel intimidated." He paused, remembering something. "Unlike her magical counterpart, who was sweating buckets as soon as he laid eyes on you."

Edward chuckled. "Yes, Fudge is quite the character. Actually, I've never even spoken to him before this… no idea why he reacted that way."

'Because you're the Golden Lion of America. The guy who took on Grindelwald, even when you were a rank lower back then,' Maverick thought, but held his tongue.

"So, what did she want?" Ariel asked, glancing at her husband.

Michael scratched his head. He certainly wasn't about to spill everything. It was tough enough for him to accept the queen's arrangements for Maverick.

Though the benefits were impressive, especially since he would be doing very little most of the time, the risks were enormous when the time came.

But he had accepted, because by now, he had some idea of how powerful his son might become. His wife, however, he was sure, had no clue.

"She just wanted him to work closely with me... you know, when it comes to things related to magic," Michael explained, downplaying things as much as he could without outright lying.

"Really?" Ariel raised an eyebrow, skeptical.

"It's true," Edward chimed in, coming to Michael's rescue. "She just wanted him to work for the government. But my student here did some impressive talking and pretty much made himself a free-loader."

Silvia cocked her head, looking confused.

"Well... he'll get paid, he just doesn't have to work much," Edward clarified. "And he won't be working for anyone until he finishes his journey traveling the world."

Ariel nodded, getting some idea of what had happened.

Meanwhile, Maverick glanced at Isabella, leaned in, and whispered, "What's up? You look tense..."

"I'm fine," she whispered back quickly, glancing at him briefly.

Silvia noticed the brief exchange between her daughter and Maverick. She turned to Ariel and winked before calling out, "Alright, since Maverick's business is done, why don't we all head out for a little fun?" She glanced at her husband afterward.

Ariel also looked at Michael.

Edward and Michael exchanged a quick glance before making up their minds. "Nah," they both replied in unison.

Michael then asked, "Let's go watch tonight's game. United's playing..."

Edward thought for a moment. "Hmm... No-Maj sports... Sure, but there better be some betting involved..."

Michael chuckled. "Of course." He then glanced at his wife. "Sorry, honey... but take Maverick and Isabella with you."

Silvia's brow twitched, but Maverick cut in before she could respond. "I'll take Bella around Diagon Alley." He glanced at Edward. "Teacher..."

Edward raised his hand. "Just be careful..."

Silvia and Ariel exchanged looks, sighed, then advised the same. "Be careful."

They had initially planned to go together—do a little shopping and then head to a restaurant, two families enjoying the day.

Silvia had, in fact, told Maverick's mother about her daughter and Maverick's relationship, so Ariel suggested a nice outing—a little celebration, some fun around London. With the two families now becoming more closely connected, it seemed like a great idea.

Unfortunately, their husbands had other plans. But this worked out just as well. Though they wouldn't all be together, everyone would still have some fun—just not in the same way.

They quickly changed into casual clothes, except for Maverick and Isabella, who wore their wizarding robes since their destination was the heart of wizarding Britain.

Michael's house had three cars—one for him, one for his wife, and one for Maverick. The women left first, while Edward and Michael weren't in a hurry since the football game they planned to watch was later that day.

Not long after the women, Maverick and Isabella also took a car and drove off, heading toward Charing Cross Road.

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Author's Note:

Just a quick update — up to Chapter 68 is already available on P AT r30n!

PAT r30n [.] com / RyanFic