14. The Mission I

3rd July 1969.

It was the day Magnus was going to be awarded the George cross. Grace had specially bought a nice new formal suit for him for this day. Even his Grandparents were coming. Just from his mother's side though as his father's parents had passed away.

It was a moment of happiness and excitement at the Grant family home. The neighbours were also very excited for some reason and many aunties from around would come to have small talk with Grace. One even proposed that in the future Magnus and her daughter should marry. Grace kindly ignored her words and didn't answer.

They were to go to Buckingham Palace. This was something out of the ordinary as in normal circumstances, these award ceremonies were not planned on such a scale and the queen doesn't give it personally. But maybe because the recipient was 9 years old, everyone accepted this reasoning.

"Where is my handsome Grandson?" Martin Lewis, Magnus' maternal grandfather, asked.

He was just a wounded retired World War 2 veteran. His face had a long stitch mark going from the right side of his forehead to the left bottom side of his chin. It had occurred when he was caught in a barbed wire during some covert mission. It honestly made him look badass but also scary to some. Magnus remembers that when he was small he would start crying by even looking at his face.

Magnus heard the voice of his grandpa so he ran downstairs. Most kids loved their grandparents, that was the general rule.

"Grandpa! When did you come?" Magnus was delighted and ran to hug his grandma and grandpa.

"Here comes our little lion... look at you, so strong." his grandpa said while ruffling his hair.

Magnus giggled for a while and then turned to his grandma. As always, she had brought chocolates for him. "Come here, my little soldier."

"Hehe, thank you, Grandma." He took the chocolates happily. Such small things did make him happy. He may be developing faster but that can not make him stop acting like a child.

*CLAP CLAP*

Adam clapped to get everyone's attention, "Okay everyone, it's time to go now. Mum and Dad, you two will go in Grace's car with her. I will bring Magnus and Bobby with me."

After that, everyone got out, Grace locked the home and they left in two cars. Magnus, though, stayed silent because something very important was going on in his young mind and it was keeping him on edge.

"What are you thinking, Magnus?" Adam asked.

"Nothing Dad, just feeling strange. Is me getting this award too abnormal?" He asked.

"No, Mag. You are a brilliant, intelligent and good kid. You are not normal, you are the best. I'm sure all the parents of your classmates you saved think the same about you." Adam cheered him up.

"If you say so, I will believe you," Magnus muttered. Soon they came to Bobby's home and picked him up. He was wearing a green suit for kids. Magnus also jumped to the backseat to talk to his friend.

"Since when did you have this new suit?" He asked Bobby.

Bobby proudly lifted his chin, "Hehe, mum bought it just for today."

~They must have taken money from their strict budget to keep him happy.~ Magnus thought. But, he could understand that a simple boy like Bobby wouldn't understand such a thing.

Magnus then whispered something into his ear, "I will get you the money today, take it to your home. Do as we planned, okay?"

Bobby's eyes widened. He was obviously happy that with this help he wouldn't have to move away from here. He quickly put his arm on Magnus' shoulder, "Magnus, you are my brother."

"Heh, I know I know... now don't spoil my hairstyle. I need to look handsome on live television." Magnus said.

"What about the queen?" Bobby asked.

"Oh, who cares about her?" Magnus shrugged. Adam's brows twitched hearing his such sharp words.

"Dad, will they come to get my interview again?" Magnus inquired.

Adam smiled wryly, knowing where this was going, "They will, but I recommend you stop thinking so much about money. You are still too small for all that."

Magnus protested, "Come on, dad, it is strictly business."

After a while, they came to the Palace where the ceremony was to take place. Magnus wasn't the only one getting this award though because then it would have been too much. Instead, there were 5 more recipients but all of them were at least 30 years older than Magnus. Some of them were from the military and some were ordinary people.

Their car was allowed into a special parking zone. They regrouped with the family and entered. They were given seats in the front row. The big hall was the throne room. The queen would sit at the front, at the centre along with her husband.

The crowd was slowly increasing. There were mostly the family members of other award recipients and some more high-level nobles. All of them looked as Magnus expected them to be. Overly spoiled rich people who probably held common people with disregard for being common. Most of these people were still able to afford this luxury lifestyle because of the money and land taken from the commons and they still get to spend the tax money every once in a while.

Magnus didn't understand the bigger complexities, but all he knew was that these people were up to no good.

After waiting for a while, an announcement was made and the Queen and prince entered with prideful faces.

Soon, another man who was supposed to be the announcer started to tell the stories of the bravery of each recipient one by one as they were called to get the award. It was a medal that the queen would put around the recipient's neck. For that, men would have to kneel and there was a small cushion left there to place the knee on it.

She would come, give the award, get her pictures done and send the man back. This went on until 5 awards were sent out. Then finally it was Magnus's turn. He looked too out of place with his little size.

"Next is the last awardee of today. A child who showed adults what it means to be a true British hero. A child who set up a milestone of bravery that not many would be able to break easily. His deed was so great that along with the recognition from the government and the monarch, he has also been awarded with his name being written in the Guinness book of records.

"Now, let's give Magnus Grant a big round of applause." As soon as the voice stopped, people clapped.

Magnus went to the queen and kneeled on the cushion. But he was too small so the queen had to bend a little to put it on his neck.

She lightly placed it around his neck. Then when he got up, the queen patted his head and got many pictures taken. These pictures were a lot more than any other award winner. Magnus quickly had an idea in his mind, ~So I was indeed a tool for her.~

Soon, he returned to his seat as an announcement was to take place.

"We have clearance from our side that from now on all George Cross recipients will be granted an allowance of £1000 each year as living expenses. These numbers will also change with inflation." The announcement came. It was very relieving for them. Especially Magnus, who was now on cloud nine because he now has enough money to help Bobby easily.

After this was dinner night. Everyone was busy talking with each other. So Magnus took Bobby to the side and asked.

"Bobby, you know the plan, right?" he asked

"Yes, I remember it. Just as we planned," Bobby answered confidently.

"Good, we are going to get that talking portrait out of here back to my home. There we will be able to talk to this portrait forever and learn about magic. You will stay at the door of the exhibition and be my distraction.

I will go in and get the painting. It is invisible for people so we don't have to worry about getting caught. But, it is too big and lifting something that big means my hand will be in air which will make me look too out of the ordinary. We need to come up with a plan quickly." Magnus explained.

"Umm, why don't you tie it to your back or something?" Bobby asked.

"Because only the painting will be invisible, not the ropes that will touch it. Maybe I can just hold it under my arm. All I need to do is make sure I don't drop and don't raise my hand. Okay, I am going in now." Magnus decided.

"Do you know the way?" Bobby asked.

Magnus smirked, "My memory has become good, Bobby. This is the way, I'm sure of it..."

He took a long breath and started moving sneakily.

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