Apolo stepped out of the Ministry of Magic's office with a grin from ear to ear. The young man had not only become a wizard, but he was also about to receive a hefty sum of money falling from the sky. This had him happier than ever.
Exiting the office, Apolo noticed a long line of people waiting to get in. There were easily 60 people in line, suggesting that almost all the aspiring wizards were getting approved by the wizard Hefesto in the oral round. At the front of the line was the red-haired boy, arguing with the chubby, sweaty man who had hugged Apolo a while ago.
—Look who's emerged! —The chubby man shouted, paying no attention as the clever red-haired boy darted to knock on the Ministry of Magic's office door, trying to secure his spot in line this time—Our Hero: The cleverest and wisest wizard of all! The only wizard who cared for the commoners and the abused in this cruel system!
*Plaf, Plaf, Plaf *....Thunderous applause echoed throughout the line, and the castle's hallways became livelier than ever. It didn't take long for a grace-filled man to forget all his manners and shout from the depths of his jubilant heart. Gradually, everyone caught the contagious joy of the moment and began celebrating boisterously the success they had achieved.
Unable to contain himself, tears of happiness streaming down his face, the chubby man ran toward Apolo desperately, as if he were not just a malnourished nobleman but the very hero who had returned triumphantly from a long and bitter war. Without asking, the chubby man proceeded to lift Apolo into the air, causing some aspiring wizards to join his frenzied celebration.
Tonight, sanity and etiquette had been entirely forgotten within the castle; there existed only a group of men and young folks blinded by success. They were humans lost in the darkness of a cruel and heartless system who had finally found the words of enlightenment at the right moment and in the right place. In the minds of these exultant human beings, there was room only to praise the young man who had changed their lives forever.
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For his part, the central figure of this story observed the unfolding scene before him with bewilderment, completely unaware that he had indeed changed these people's lives forever. However, Apolo was frozen by a sight he had never believed could happen to him in his lifetime. While he didn't understand why these men were so joyous, what the young man did comprehend was how his heart was finally feeling the same as the heroes in his family had felt upon returning victoriously to the castle. Unbeknownst to him until now, the young nobleman could immediately sense in his heart that these were the looks he wanted to receive. These overwhelming applause he had never heard before, these his soul had been unfamiliar with yet needed. These cries of jubilation and overly exaggerated exclamations were causing Apolo to grin like a fool as he looked down the length of the castle corridor each time he was thrown into the air, as if not wanting any part of this moment to be forgotten from his memory.
And what was most curious of all was that, no matter how wildly the young man entertained the idea, he still couldn't grasp why these people were so happy with him. Nevertheless, his solitary heart was feeling more alive than ever at this moment.
In Apolo's mind, perhaps this was due to having endured a 6-month journey in a carriage, or maybe it was for having become a wizard, or perhaps it was simply because he had followed his ancestor's advice and had been acting like the commoners all day.
The truth was, all of that mattered little to the young man, because the only thing resounding in Apolo's dizzy mind after being lifted into the air so many times were the words of his ancestors: "You will become what you never thought you could be". And so it had been. Apolo had become a hero. Finally, he had become the central figure in his own "celebration".