[Special] The New King of England
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N/A: Remember that in the first chapters I already mentioned that Excalibur would also serve as the Sword in the Stone. Even though they are different swords in the real lore, here they were always going to be the same one.
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Avalon, the island that had once been devoid of life, functioning only as an immortal prison for a single person, had now practically become the family's vacation island.
Though, to be honest, the little troublemakers had already been using it as their personal vacation island, only having to pay tribute to its owner with delicious sweets. Though now that the rest of the household could access it through the fireplace...
Mor liked to take advantage of it after an exhausting day of work by going there to sunbathe on what had once been her island, or her kingdom, which no longer existed.
It could be said that seeing her sitting on a beach chair sunbathing in a not particularly revealing bikini, by the way; she didn't want to ruin how the boys viewed women in the future. Or maybe they would never be able to find partners if they spent their lives looking for someone with even a fraction of Aunt Mor's beauty.
Anyway, moving on.
Seeing Mor sitting in the middle of the island where her kingdom should once have stood, essentially sunbathing on top of the remains of her kingdom...
Was interesting.
Not far away was Dred, as always, in his outdoor living room. Though now a few modifications had been necessary, because before there had been no rain or wind due to being... well, thousands of meters beneath the sea under a seal.
So he had been forced to set up a sort of tent to use instead.
Though don't get confused.
From the outside it looked like an ordinary tent, barely two meters tall and four by four.
But inside it was a genuine mansion thanks to expansion magic.
Dred was, as always, simply sitting there eating a cream pastry while reading a book about modern history.
Which would make it seem like both mother and son were naturally lazy people.
But that only applies if you ignore the fact that they spend every day of their possibly immortal lives going out to kill monsters emerging directly from Tartarus that now roam across Europe.
Or, as Mor likes to call it...
Doing some cleaning.
But the peace of both of them was shattered rather quickly by the first words spoken by one of the two chaotic brats in this household.
Sorry.
Now there are three.
"So... does that mean I'm the King of England now?" Percy asked while looking at Excalibur in his hand. He even gave it a small shake, letting the sunlight reflecting off the blade shine directly into Dred's face while he was peacefully reading, making him close his eyes for a moment and slowly turn his head toward Percy.
Mor, who had also heard the question, couldn't help making a face as memories of the past surfaced for a moment.
Meanwhile Tyson, standing beside Percy, stared at him with excitement shining in his single eye.
"Percy, you're a king? I didn't know that," the innocent Cyclops said.
He even looked ready to kneel before Percy.
"At best, you'd be the King of Idiots, Seaweed Brain," Harry's voice came from nearby. He was standing close to the fireplace in the center of the island, writing something down while looking at his brother as though he were a hopeless idiot.
"Are you jealous, Pig Potter? According to the legend, whoever carries King Arthur's sword becomes the King of England. Besides, we technically defeated Arthur himself, so that counts as committing regicide and usurping his throne," Percy immediately argued while looking more and more proud with every word.
Harry, who had been about to respond, suddenly fell silent for a moment because, strangely enough, Percy's argument made a disturbing amount of sense if you really thought about it.
But just imagining Percy as the King of England...
Mor, tired of hearing Arthur's name, couldn't help letting out an annoyed sigh.
"You're not king of anything just because you own a sword that happens to be slightly stronger than other swords. That was just the arrogant speech of an idiot trying to glorify his stupid pet. And the fool who carried the sword before you. Besides, you can't compare a kingdom from the past to modern nations," Mor said while giving him a dry look before returning to enjoy the afternoon sun.
"I don't think it's that different," Percy muttered, unwilling to give up his throne.
"Well, if you want to attack the palace and its ruler to take their power, I wouldn't mind helping you. After all, the day we met, I promised you I would. Conquering a kingdom or two," Dred said calmly, while the look in his eyes made it seem like he was one hundred percent serious. "Although according to modern history, people stopped using swords and melee weapons to fight a long time ago. If you can withstand the bullets from their current weapons, we could go right now," he added with a faint smile.
Percy, upon hearing the part about dodging bullets in order to usurp the current monarch's throne, couldn't help reconsidering it.
Besides, a place as secure as the king's palace, and some kid trying to overthrow the monarch...
Well, right now it didn't seem very plausible.
"No... I think I'm fine with just having the honorary title," Percy said as his dreams of becoming a supreme ruler deflated a little.
"I still think Percy is really cool," Tyson immediately added.
But that didn't seem to cheer Percy up very much.
And he simply said:
"Thanks."
While looking down at Excalibur in his hands, feeling that besides being somewhat special at cutting things, it had just become a little less impressive.
Harry, who could usually tell what his brother was thinking without much effort, gave him a look before turning back toward the fireplace and continuing to write something in a small research notebook.
At that exact moment, Sally stepped out through the fireplace flames with a gentle smile.
"Boys, the Weasleys are here to pick you up," she said.
"Oh, is it already time?" Percy said, having spent the entire morning talking about being the King of England and playing around with Excalibur while he stored it back inside his necklace.
Harry also seemed to perk up and quickly put away his notebook, genuinely excited to see his friend again after so long without being able to stay in touch.
After all, he had been more focused on surviving the summer than keeping up with his friends.
Tyson, hearing that both of them were leaving, slowly lowered his head, looking a little sad.
Because he understood that the day they returned to Hogwarts was getting closer and closer.
Percy, who noticed this immediately, spoke up.
"Don't worry, Tyson. We'll bring you those Chocolate Frogs you like so much and lots of other magical sweets."
"Yeah. And some interesting objects you can take apart and put back together again," Harry added.
"Okay. Thank you," Tyson said.
But he still didn't seem very excited.
Making both Harry and Percy feel a little bad for their younger companion, who had become genuinely attached to them over the past few weeks.
Sally, who had been watching the interaction, couldn't help smiling slightly before interrupting.
"Maybe you can take Tyson with you. After all, he'll need to buy his school supplies too," Sally said with an amused smile.
Harry and Percy turned around, completely confused by what she meant, until their eyes landed on a very familiar letter in Sally's hands.
The same letter they had received during their first year at Hogwarts.
And the same kind they had received again this year with their school supply lists.
But unlike their letters, which had their full names written on them, Harry Jackson Potter and Perseus Jackson, this one had the name Tyson Jackson written across it.
Making both Harry and Percy freeze.
"The name still feels weird," Percy muttered.
Because he still wasn't used to Tyson carrying their surname too. It had simply been the easiest way to get him proper documents.
They could have used one of the knights' surnames, but that would have caused far too many complications.
Because almost all of them held some kind of noble title.
But it was still just as surprising that Tyson had received a Hogwarts letter.
Even Tyson himself looked confused.