"Exactly," Gerald chuckled good-naturedly. "He told me the same thing. Charlie, and imagine, Richie practically wrote a script for a fantasy story. It's like there are wizards living in hidden reservations right next to us, with a school of magic and their own secret ministry. And when he turns eleven, they'll take him to a school of witchcraft and wizardry."
Instead of the expected laughter from Prince Charles, who was extremely serious, a question came:
- Richie, how did you find out about this?
"I just found out, Uncle Charlie," Richard shrugged. Unsure how to present this information, he decided to play dumb. "This knowledge popped into my head, and I was perfectly aware that I was seeing a possible scenario for the future."
"Richie, how often can you predict the future?" Prince Charles asked curiously.
"That only happened to me once, a little over a year ago, after a powerful magical surge, but I didn't realize I was a wizard back then. And when I realized I had superpowers, I couldn't believe it for a long time. At first, I thought I was a mutant, like in the X-Men comics, but then I suddenly realized I was a wizard."
"Now, Charlie, don't play along with the kid!" Gerald said.
"Actually, G, your son is right," said Prince Charles. "But I was surprised that he knew so much about the wizarding world before he'd even met a Hogwarts teacher."
"Hogwarts?" Gerald raised his eyebrows questioningly.
"That's the name of the school of magic and wizardry in Britain, Scotland and Ireland," the prince explained.
"Oh, Charlie," the elder Rich rolled his eyes at the ceiling, looking like a man tired of the joke. "Please! This isn't funny anymore."
"Gerald, have you ever seen me joke?" the prince asked, keeping a straight face. "It's true. Wizards have been hiding from ordinary people since the Inquisition. They have their own educational institutions. If a child is discovered to have the gift of a wizard, they are required to attend a school of magic and wizardry to learn to control it. Only a few people know about the existence of wizards: myself, the Queen, the Prime Minister, the heads of the secret services, and some special agents. And also the parents and close relatives of wizards born into ordinary families. Or ordinary people born to wizards."
"Are you and Richie in cahoots?" asked Rich Sr.
"Gerald, you don't believe me?" Prince Charles asked seriously. "After so many years of friendship..."
Gerald could tell from his friend's tone that Charles wasn't joking. But the Duke couldn't fathom the idea that magic could exist in reality.
"Charlie, are you serious?" Gerald's eyebrows rose even higher in astonishment.
- I'm completely serious, G.
"But that sounds like complete nonsense!" the elder Rich looked stunned.
"Nevertheless, G, it's true. Wizards exist. They actually live in reservations, though not all of them. Some of them live alongside ordinary people. And a handful of them are even aristocrats. In the past, wizards often tried to intermarry with the aristocracy, which is why many lords knew about Hogwarts."
"So, Richie really is a wizard?" Gerald looked at his son in surprise.
"Perhaps," Prince Charles shrugged uncertainly. "That will definitely be known in the summer of the year Richie turns eleven."
"Uncle Charlie, Dad," Richard joined the men's conversation, "don't doubt it-I really am a wizard. So I'd like to learn as much as I can about the world of magicians. It would be best to find a tutor among them. Is that even possible?"
"Hmm..." the prince thought. "I suppose we can come up with something. We have connections to high-ranking wizards."
"Wait a minute, Charlie," said Gerald, "doesn't the existence of the Ministry of Magic mean that it obeys orders from higher authorities?"
"In fact, the Ministry of Magic is completely autonomous. Wizards themselves elect the Minister of Magic. The main purpose of this organization is to conceal the existence of wizards from ordinary people."
"But why?" Gerald asked in surprise.
"Fear," Prince Charles replied calmly. "The wizards were so terrified by the Inquisition that they still haven't recovered. And it benefits us to have the wizards waste their energy controlling each other."
"And what, Charlie," continued Rich Sr., "do you tolerate an uncontrolled community under your nose?"
"We tolerate it," Prince Charles nodded. "The truth is, firstly, we have leverage over the mages. Secondly, it's advantageous for us that the mages think they're free and in control. As long as they don't interfere with the common people or try to seize power, we don't care. Likewise, we don't care who rules the wizards."
Richard recalled that in the series, an evil wizard was trying to either destroy the world or seize power. Since he didn't have the same memory back then as he does now, the transmigrator was confused. He decided to intervene in the conversation and clarify some details:
- Wait, Uncle Charlie, what if some maniac comes to power in the Ministry of Magic and commits genocide?
"Richie, forgive my frankness, but we don't care what happens to the mages as long as it doesn't affect ordinary people. Even if the mages kill each other, it will only make things easier for us. But if a maniacal mage comes to power and starts committing genocide against ordinary people, we have a solution. A few missile strikes on the mage settlements will solve this problem completely."
"I see," said Richard. "But what about the magical terrorists?"
"Just like regular terrorists," Prince Charles replied. "Richie, there have always been terrorists, there are terrorists, and there always will be. Regular terrorists are fought by the secret services, while wizards are confronted by the magical equivalent of special forces, controlled by the Ministry of Magic. Wizards even have their own prison for criminals. In the late 1970s, there was a terrorist group of wizards in Britain. For a while, they got too out of control and started carrying out terrorist attacks here. Eventually, we threatened the wizards that if they didn't solve the problem, we would take care of it, and we wouldn't bother figuring out who was good and who was bad. Just six months later, that terrorist group was gone.
"Still, Charlie, I can't believe that there are people with superpowers living right next to us," Gerald said.
Prince Charles responded to this:
"At first, I couldn't believe it either; I thought it was a joke. But... Occasionally, members of the royal family and high-ranking people can receive treatment at a magical clinic where healers perform miracles. Why do you think Mom has lived to her age and is in such excellent health? I myself was treated at a hospital for magicians once, and that's why I feel young."
"Hey!" Gerald protested. "That's where we should have started! Okay, Charlie, we need to talk..."
Rich senior put his arm around his friend and led him aside.