After spending the day in the magical world, the family returned home. Marguerite entered the house with a huge bag in her hands, containing everything she had bought today.
"Marguerite, take your things upstairs; I'll prepare dinner."
"Alright!"
Without hesitation, Marguerite ran upstairs with the bag of magical items. Rachel changed clothes, washed her hands, and began cooking. But before she could finish chopping onions for the Bolognese pasta, someone knocked on the window.
"Oh, another owl? Perhaps a message for Marguerite..."
Rachel opened the window, and a owl perched on the sill. It delicately handed her a letter from its beak.
"Oh, is this for me? Thank you. Wait, this is for you."
Rachel took the letter, to her surprise, it had her name on it, and she paid the courier with a small piece of meat she had planned to use for the filling.
"Dear Miss Torbils, I am Asmodeus Morningstar, pleased to inform you that you can become a sorceress. Follow the instructions in this brochure. May magic be with you!"
As she finished reading the letter, it burst into flames, and a small brochure appeared in its place, a few pages thick.
"I can become a sorceress...?"
Rachel was astonished; she had always believed that wizards were born, not made. Yet, here she was, offered the chance to join this colorful world of magic. She was relieved, knowing that Marguerite wouldn't drift away from her. Rachel had feared that their paths would diverge since Marguerite was a sorceress, and she was a non-magical person, but now that wasn't an issue.
Suppressing her excitement, she continued with the cooking. Over the next week, Marguerite and Rachel delved into the world of magic. Rachel crafted a magic ring and decided to study magic alongside Marguerite. Although Rachel wasn't considered a full-fledged sorceress or magical knight, she could now unleash a few minor spells each day. However, as her brain wasn't as agile as Marguerite's, her magical training took more time. Marguerite wanted to cheer up her mom, saying,
"You're doing well, and you have good conductivity. Look, 6.5! You just need more exposure to magic!"
"Thank you."
After this conversation, both girls, one young and one mature, increased their diligence in practice, naturally leading to more frequent accidents. Honestly, neighbors visited them several times, thinking something had exploded.
Such a peaceful life continued until Rachel, playing with Margaret, heard a knock on the door.
"Knock, knock, knock!"
"I'm coming, I'm coming!"
"Oh, William, did you bring the mail?"
"In a sense..."
"What's wrong? Has something happened in the village?"
"Um... in the village, in the world, in short, the mayor didn't allow me to tell, but he said to gather everyone at his house. He received a letter from the government!"
"Wow!"
After the magical world's judgment day, communication with the government was conducted through mail and some extremely rare, ancient transportation that worked without electricity. Such as an old steam locomotive that used to be a museum exhibit but now served as the only way to reach London from their village.
"Okay, go call the Rankliffs; we'll be there soon."
"Alright, in half an hour, don't forget. The mayor said it's very important!"
"Okay, we're getting ready."
Closing the door, Rachel told Margaret to stay home and, after changing, headed to the local "mayor's office," though it was just the village head's house, referred to as the mayor's office by everyone.
Approaching the mayor's house, Rachel noticed people gathering around.
After some time, they began to let people into the house. When Rachel entered the living room, which was now filled with many chairs, she heard the voice of Mr. Bry, the village head, who was about to turn 90 but remained active and surprisingly didn't look his age.
"Take your seats, everyone. Our town has received a letter from the British government. It says to open it only when all adults in the town are present."
Upon hearing Bry's words, everyone took their seats. Rachel sat in the second row and looked at Mr. Bry. She felt like the cane he leaned on today was somehow different. She couldn't quite pinpoint why...
Fifteen minutes later, everyone they had invited was present at the meeting.
"Cough, cough. You already know why we've gathered today. Our town has received a letter from the government. The letter explicitly states that it can only be opened and read when all the adults in the village are present at the meeting. So, I'll begin."
Mr. Bry took the letter out of his pocket. Surprisingly, Rachel, who was sitting not far away, recognized one of the crests on the letter's flap.
The letter bore two crests - the Coat of Arms of Great Britain and the Coat of Arms of the Wizard Council. Rachel had recently seen the latter in the brochure she received from Asmodeus. On the crest, a table was drawn with a world map laid upon it, covered by a dome. Seated around the table were 13 wizards directing their magical wands, staffs, swords, etc., toward the center of the table.
Rachel barely had time to ponder the possible significance of this crest on the letter when Mr. Bry began to read.
"Cough, cough. Good day, dear fellow citizens. This is a message from your government and the Queen to you. Due to the current circumstances in the world and the failures in restoring the electrical power grid, we are compelled to seek new directions for the development of our civilization. At the moment, the food reserves for cities nationwide will last for five months on average. Without the restoration of production and the functioning of the power grid, we won't be able to feed the population."
Upon hearing the first paragraph read by Mr. Bry, everyone swallowed hard. The old man took a sip of water and continued reading.
"Due to all of the aforementioned, we had to turn to the hidden side of our world. To the magical community! Throughout history, wizards have lived in our world, and governments of various countries and magical governing bodies have worked together to preserve this secret. Wizards and magical beings have always lived among us. We apologize to you, our citizens, for deceiving you for so long. But now, in our hour of need, the magical community of England and the world has decided to help us, non-magical people. They are willing to assist us in agriculture and share some of their knowledge by taking our children for education. Additionally, wizards have ways to teach non-magical people to use magic, and the 'Wizard Council' – the governing body of the magical world – has decided to share this methodology with us. As the Prime Minister of Britain, I make this statement. Any citizen who treats the wizards who wish to help us with contempt will be considered a criminal by Great Britain. Furthermore, I appeal to you, wizards living in the non-magical world, as you call it, please, help our people!"
When Bry finished reading, the entire hall fell silent. Everyone was still pondering the meaning of this letter and its potential impact on their future.
But it turned out to be not the end. Just as the old man was about to start reading another paragraph, a voice echoed from the letter.
"Good afternoon to all wizards of Britain. I am Asmodeus Noren Morningstar, speaking as the chairman of the Wizard Council. You probably have already heard the statement from the non-magical government, and you might be in shock right now. Therefore, I must confirm this statement. Yes, the secrecy law is officially revoked from today. Any wizard can freely use magic if it is not intended to harm others. But in exchange for the unveiling of the magical world, we have agreed to help non-magical people. As you already know, I have invented the technique of creating magic rings, which can turn non-magical individuals into magical knights. They will be able to use magic, and that is crucial. Now, I ask you to help ordinary people understand the magical world and assist them in transitioning their agriculture to a magical way. Don't worry about the possibility of attacks from non-magical people; you are under the protection of the Wizard Council and the non-magical government. Also, after my statement, if you wish, touch one of the letters, and you will hear statements from several other members of the Wizard Council. Please listen to them."
When Asmodeus's last words fell, the letter burst into flames, revealing four more letters—one red, one blue, one yellow, and one gray. However, none of the attendees wanted to touch them; everyone was in shock, looking at each other. The last 10 minutes had dropped information bombs one after another. In this world, wizards exist, some living among them, and there's a shortage of food, and non-magical people won't survive the next year without wizards.
People in the meeting hall had varied emotions, from anger at the government for hiding such information to shock at the revelation of magic in the world.
"Cough, cough... There's a note in the letter... that in every city where this message has arrived, at least one wizard is registered..."
With Bry's words, silence fell upon the hall again. People started glancing around, searching for a wizard.
At that moment, Rachel began to contemplate what to do—stand up or remain silent until the end of the meeting. She had already realized that Margaret was the minimum of one wizard mentioned, but she couldn't shift the responsibility for the village onto her daughter. Moreover, she now also counts as a wizard…
After a couple of minutes, Rachel finally stood up, catching dozens of surprised glances. But before anyone could ask her, a pendant flew out of the gray-colored letter and landed in Rachel's hand. As soon as Rachel's hand touched the pendant, she understood its purpose. It was the creation of Nicholas Flamel, designed to protect wizards in case of danger from non-magical people who do not accept wizards. In times of danger, the pendant would protect the wizard and notify the nearest auror.
Wearing the pendant with Bebe's symbol around her neck, Rachel approached Mr. Bry. Standing in front of him, she turned to everyone present.
"My daughter and I are wizards... I know it wasn't right to hide it from you. You've always been kind to our family, but these are the laws of the magical world."
Mr. Bry decided to help Rachel, who had chosen to reveal her secret.
"Um... Rachel, dear, could you tell us about the magical world? How is it different from ours? How do people live there, and what will we need to do if we acquire magic?"
When the old man started speaking, the others joined in. After all, people here have long been considered not just neighbors but at least close friends. While it was strange to discover that your neighbor is a wizard in a single moment, given the world's current situation and the need for her help, they decided to set aside their emotions for later.
"Yes, Rachel, please tell us about the school Asmodeus mentioned!"
"And how do wizards manage agriculture?"
"Oh, and are there any magical livestock species that are easier to raise in the magical world?"
Questions poured in rapidly, and at first, Rachel sighed with relief as she realized that the villagers had accepted her and were not hostile towards wizards. However, upon hearing the questions, she slumped. How would she know about magical husbandry in the magical world? She only learned about magic a week ago and hadn't even built the second magic ring yet!
"Um, guys, please wait. My daughter is a natural-born wizard, and she was born with magic. I, on the other hand, am not much different from you. I've been using Mr. Morningstar's technique to gradually learn how to use magic. As for the magical world, I only found out about it a week ago, so besides basic knowledge, I don't know much…"
Hearing her words, everyone cooled their enthusiasm a bit. They understood that this poor woman had already struggled to gather the courage to tell them she was a wizard, and now they were practically interrogating her.
But when the hall fell silent, the yellow letter that had been quietly levitating in the air rang softly. "Ding, ding!"
"A living letter...?"
Someone from the crowd whispered.
Just then, the yellow letter opened, and a voice echoed, "Um, good day. I'm Newt Scamander, a member of the Wizard Council responsible for the protection of magical creatures and magical household management. Phew, I'm not used to speaking in public..."
At that moment, another voice sounded from the letter, "Oh, Merlin, Newt, you're almost 90 years old; are you kidding me? Besides, you're not speaking in public, you're recording a message! Calm down and say what you want to say."
Rachel listened with a wry smile as wizards, in the midst of an official message, could banter with each other.
"Alright, so here it is. Attached to my letter is a list of magical creatures that are more profitable to breed than regular pigs and cows. You can raise them for meat, and since they are not under the protection of the Wizard Council, it's legal to breed them for food. The list also includes agricultural crops suitable for non-magical folks to grow. Please don't breed dragons for meat unless you have a wizard with good combat skills."
"Merlin's beard, Newt, where do you think Muggles would get a dragon to breed for meat? And what's the point of warning people not to breed dragons for meat? They're one of the most dangerous creatures in the wizarding world! Besides Asmodeus, no one in their right mind would feed their pet dragon meat!"
"But recently, wealthy families have started breeding dragons..."
"These families have at least 100 experienced wizards under their command! Enough, just write the list and stop this mockery. And why do I have to keep an eye on you anyway?"
"Because I have to keep an eye on you, Grindelwald... Who knows if you won't teach people dark magic in a letter..."
With that, the letter closed, and the voices disappeared. Silence fell in the hall, but old man Bry decided to ask Rachel, "Um, Rachel, in the wizarding world... is it always like this?"
"Um... well, to some extent..."
Someone from the crowd said, "Rachel, did I hear it right? Does someone really breed dragons for meat? And who are these Wizard Council people?"
"Dragon meat is eaten only by rich and very rich wizards; mostly, dragon meat is used in potions, and they don't just eat it as it is. But recent studies say that regular consumption of dragon meat in food can increase a wizard's mana levels, so many families have taken up this practice..."
"As for the Wizard Council... How should I put it? It's like the UN in the wizarding world, but they have real executive power, and all other organizations in the wizarding world must obey them."
"Newt Scamander holds a position in the Wizard Council because the council is divided into two chambers. The upper chamber consists of the most powerful and respected wizards in the world. Newt Scamander is considered one of the strongest wizards and the best magizoologist in the wizarding world. In other words, he has his strong points."
"As for other members of the Wizard Council, you've already heard about the Chairman, Asmodeus Noren Morningstar. He's currently considered one of the top three most powerful wizards in the world and a wizard with the most advanced knowledge. He's the one who created the methodology allowing Muggles to become wizards. Additionally, the council includes two Ents, which are living trees, the immortal alchemist Nicolas Flamel, Albus Dumbledore, who has been considered the most powerful wizard for the last 60 years, Gellert Grindelwald, a revolutionary and an expert in dark magic. I haven't read much about the others, but everyone holding positions in the council is not just a politician but a truly powerful magician and researcher."
"Um, what do you mean by calling Nicolas Flamel the immortal alchemist?"
"Oh, well, he's already 666 years old, so sometimes they refer to him that way. He created something like a stone that can produce the Elixir of Life, allowing one to live indefinitely. Nicolas Flamel is also known as a very powerful seer."
People listened, gradually asking questions. Over the next five hours, Rachel shared everything she knew, occasionally opening letters from the council.
The blue letter was from Grindelwald, discussing how to prevent corruption with dark magic and identify hidden dark wizards.
The gray letter from Nicolas explained how to magically make certain basic tools work independently.
Dumbledore, on the other hand, attempted to explain the basics of magic to Muggles.
Exhausted, Rachel returned home. After eating, wishing Marguerite a good night, and getting ready to sleep, she heard a tap on her window again – the owl had returned.
"Well, what else...? Come in. Here's a treat; I won't go to the cellar for meat."
"Hoo - the sound of the owl."
"Yes, thank you."
The owl flew away, and Rachel opened the letter, stamped once again with the wizard council's emblem.
"Dear Miss Torbils, we are delighted to inform you that, as you have taken responsibility for the settlement, you will receive a monthly salary of 200 Galleons, as well as funds for the development of the town and instilling love for magic among Muggles. A sum of 1000 Galleons will be allocated for the town's development every six months, and you will need to provide the results in your semi-annual report. Additionally, you are now considered a worker of the wizard council. Alongside the monthly salary, you will receive medical insurance and 40 days of paid leave per year. If you agree to take responsibility for your settlement, please sign this letter. You don't need to send the letter back; it has magic on it. If you sign it, a copy of the letter in the Development Department will also bear your signature. Thank you for your attention. Asmodeus Morningstar."
Rachel pondered for just a moment and signed it. You know, getting a job as a de facto civil servant right after the world changed is quite a good option. And they pay well too...
As soon as the pen left a mark on the letter, the ink flared up and dried. Rachel was then presented with her salary and funds for the village's development.