197. Thought-Provoking Question

In the end, Magnus paid for the big feast that he didn't even organise. But, he liked it. The kind of reaction he got meant that his work was having a positive effect on the students.

But there was someone Magnus wanted to say his thanks to.

"Where are you going?" Severus asked him.

"Underground. Did you ever try to imagine where all the food you eat comes from?" Magnus questioned.

Severus knew the answer, "Of course, it's from the elfs. They cook and keep the castle clean."

"And I'm going there to see them. Wanna come?" He offered Severus to come along.

Severus joined, "Ragnar has gone to sleep anyway, can't do experiments now."

So the two slowly walked downstairs. "So, how is your impress Lily mission going on?"

"She likes you, there is no place for me in her consciousness." Severus quickly replied. It seems he had accepted his fate.

Magnus shrugged, "Well, she can like me all she wants but I don't think I will ever like her. She's too... Gryffindor-ish."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"What I mean is, she is a person who always keeps her moral values above everything else. You know me. The way I got Oscar killed, would she have agreed with my decision if I had asked her? She would have gone on a rant that laws must be followed and killing is bad. My hands are soaked in blood, Severus, and they will be like this until I die of age, because this world is filled with some really wicked people that need punishing.

"I will never be with a person who will try to stop me from doing what's right, even if it's morally wrong," Magnus replied.

"So you want Emma?" Severus blurted.

Magnus choked, "WHAT?! When did I say that?"

Severus smirked with a knowing face, "The kind of girl you are looking for, she's the one. I bet if you turn into a Dark Lord tomorrow she would be your first follower. She can be your crazy Bellatrix Lestrange"

"Pfft... don't run your mind too much, Sev. I bet you and Rag will be my first followers. You two have no interest in being good people if I'm not pushing you around. Ragnar might start acting like a mad scientist, researching on humans and you might go back to being edgy self. Emma, well she just loves brooms and is infatuated with me. The curtains will someday be lifted and she will find someone else to chase after." Magnus tried to reason.

"And what if that never happens?" Severus asked, feeling his situation was like Emma's. He knew that he might never get over Lily.

"Well, then I will probably take her to meet my grandparents. Now, let's go and meet the elfs." Magnus fastened.

Severus was left standing in confusion, ~Did he just confess to being okay with Emma?~

...

Magnus entered the giant kitchen where the elfs worked. It was an exact replica of the great hall, well, not the ceiling part. There were rows of tables without the sitting benches. Where the teacher's seats were supposed to be was now a giant furnace. There were countless elfs and utensils.

They were being very busy with their work, probably already working for the morning's breakfast.

None of them seemed to mind his presence and all of them just kept on doing their own work. But at the very least they were wearing cleaner rags.

"This is where our food is made. They just use magic to teleport the food from here to the tables above. This was the rule of magic theorised by Helga Hufflepuff. That food can not be magically created, it can only be sent from one place to another." Magnus started talking about magical theories.

*BAM*

"AH! Sorry," Magnus bumped into an elf and some empty pots fell from the elf's hand. He quickly helped him get up.

"Are you okay? Any scratches?" he asked apologetically.

"I be good, sir. Don't worry. Are sirs hungry?" The elf asked kindly.

~These poor creatures, forced to become uncaring about their own well being.~ Magnus sympathised, seeing a small bruise on the elf's leg. He quickly put a charm for minor healing.

"No, I just came here to talk to you all. It was my birthday today. You all prepared very tasty food. I thank you all for that from the bottom of my heart." He loudly spoke.

Each elf had a smile on his face now. After all, they take pride in their work and if Magnus was happy with their food then it was a job well done.

"Do any of you know about me?" he asked them. They shook their heads. As expected, the information did not reach down here.

"I am Magnus Grant Emrys Pendragon. The heir of Merlin and the King of Muggles of Britain. As of now, I am also a Wizard King, who rules the land, you all are also my subjects. Just like any other human, or a unicorn, or even a Centaur. You are all my people.

"It is the king's duty to help his people through any problem they face. So, tell me, do you all need anything?" He asked them.

Meanwhile, Severus was in shock, ~Did he just create himself the master of all these elfs? How many are even here?~

The thing with elfs was that there was no official paperwork or magic that defined if a person was the master of an elf. All that mattered was for the elf to feel that the person is their master. And once they feel that, their subconscious mind keeps them subservient, because that's how they were wired to be.

"King? Our King?" the elfs started to murmur.

Magnus nodded proudly, "Yes, you can ask me for anything,"

"Umm, can Zippy have a puppy? Zippy used to care for a dog before Zippy came here, I miss him." one elf requested.

Magnus nodded, "Of course, I will find a cute puppy for you. But, remember to keep him away from this place, you don't want dog hair in the food, right?"

"Yes, Zippy will keep him in the sleeping room." the elf rejoiced.

~Sleeping room?~ Magnus wondered where do these elfs rest. Eventually, he was taken to a side hall. Here, rows upon rows of double-decker beds were placed. Half of them were full of elfs. It turned out, they worked in two shifts. The current shift would go to sleep in the late morning, after preparing breakfast and cutting all the needed materials for lunch and dinner.

~Yes, a depressing place like this can use some cute puppies.~

"Good, then you must also take those puppies out to get some fresh air. And remember, if you all ever have any problem, just come to me. I will solve them all." With that announcement, he left.

Severus was very impressed with him, "Did you just gain the mastership of so many elfs? But don't they have an existing master?"

"Hehe, they don't. Guess what, they were loyal to the school, not a person. Now they are also loyal to me." Magnus gloated inside. This was possibly the best birthday gift to him from himself.

...

2 Months went by in Magnus' rigorous schedule of training, studying and fooling around. It was a perfect balance of a healthy lifestyle.

The finals were coming closer and most students got busy with studying. Magnus didn't as all he needed to be afraid of was the Potions exam.

Instead, he was enjoying the final Slug Club of the year. They were eating dinner and this time it was Magnus' turn to ask a thought-provoking question.

"Okay, my question is simple. Yet, I can guarantee that none of you will have its answer. Is there life out there in the universe?" He asked.

Slughorn's eyes flickered. "Oh dear, this is going to be a long night."

"First, let's reach a quick opinion. Those who believe that life outside Earth exists raise your hands." Magnus asked.

A good many of them did. All except Several, Lily, Slughorn, and a Ravenclaw girl.

"Why? Why do you think so?" He inquired.

Lily spoke first, "Because it's near to impossible for the same condition to occur again on a planet that gave rise to life on earth. The probability is near to non-existent."

Severus had another idea, "Universe is 14 billion years old. If there were some supremely strong powers out there, they would've reached us by now."

Magnus laughed, "Haha, Lily, why do you imagine an alien to be the same as humans? Just because we breathe oxygen and look like this doesn't mean they have to be the same. They could even be silicon-based lifeforms.

"And Severus, what if they've known about us for a long long time. And they are just watching us, like we watch animals in the zoo.

"To me, the question is not about whether they are real or not. What I fear is that they will find us first, and will have an upper hand.

"Because if they do come here to colonise us, then I'm sure we will first hand learn what an intergalactic British Colonial Empire would have looked like."

[You can see the kitchen on my Discord - https://discord.gg/DgHkrAn OR see them on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/mister_immortal_novel]

I LUB STONE!

______________________________

You can read 20 advance chapters or my Naruto fic, and more at -patreon.com/misterimmortal.

Special thanks to *Douglas Flower* *Umar Latif* *Julian Rocamora* *Darrien Steely* *Franklin Walley*

Thank you for your support!