William Calhoun and the Black Feather. Book I. Aik Iskandaryan

things, Green Monogram! They even say that no mailmage dares to go there. Unless his master sends him over there with an errand! But wizards usually try to avoid giving such errands. They understand that things may not go well for their mailmage.»

      «Oh! What can they do to him in there?»

      «Torment! Torture! Pry important information about the Post Office and even kill! Green Monogram! To do this to us, mailmages!»

      «Calm down, Nymus! I won’t send you there, don’t worry. Have there been such cases?»

      «Oh, of course there have, young William, there have!»

      William started pacing the room again.

      «Why is it impossible to enter a MUni right away? Why is it necessary to study for a year before that?»

      «Because it is the preparatory course of magic that reveals the abilities of a wizard! Unable wizards or those who do not want to study will never get invitations from MUnis! But I am quite sure that in a year I will deliver a letter from a MUni to Master Calhoun! And, Post Office save me, let that letter be from Templedoor!»

      «So what’s so special about it that makes it better than others?»

      «Well, the first and the main reason is that it is headed by Fafner himself!»

      «Who is he?»

      «Unsent Letters! Not knowing Ferzibald Fafner is like knowing nothing about wizards!»

      «Well, Nymus, you can excuse me. Don’t forget, I’ve known about wizards for less than an hour.»

      «Wind Take My Letters!» Nymus slapped his forehead with his large hand. «That is right! Ferzibald Fafner is one of the greatest wizards of all times! He founded the Wizard Association and he is the chairman of the Wizard Education Department. He is also one of the founders of the «Carefree Wizard’ Fund that helps wizards from all around the world with problems connected with housing, health, and family. The Fund has helped many those suffering from the incurable Bellini’s Disease to cope with the illness and ease their suffering.»

      «But if this Fafner is so powerful, why is Quentin von Bulberg the president of the International Federation of Wizards, not him?»

      «Quincy!» Nymus corrected him. «Well, Quincy von Bulberg inherited the position from the previous president – Oliver Burke. Burke fiercely hated Fafner for being so loved and respected by everyone, while he, Burke, the president of the International Federation of Wizards, was not taken seriously by anyone. At one time, Burke even wanted to dismiss him from the position of the rector of Templedoor, but as soon as the Wizard Association and the rest of the Wizard Community learned about his intention, the main office of the International Federation of Wizards immediately received several hundred million of letters with threats. The letters said that if Fafner was to be dismissed, all the parents would take the students back home. And the teachers, in their turn, called the Council of Professors where they collected the votes of all colleagues and they threatened to leave their positions if the MUni would be headed by someone other than Fafner.»

      «Wow!» William said emotionally.

      «Yes… I remember that the Magic Post Office played a great part in it… I can still clearly remember my grandfather telling how crazy it was in the building of the Magic Post Office because of such amount of letters!»

      «So this happened in your grandfather’s times?»

      «Yes. About three hundred years ago! Not a line more, not a line less!»

      «Oh! So how old is Fafner?»

      «Well, nobody knows Fafner’s exact age! As far as I know he is about six hundred years with an envelope!»

      «Six hundred years!» William found it incredible that someone could live this long. «And how old are you, Nymus?»

      «Oh, I am quite young, Master Calhoun, I am just a century with an envelope!»

      «Over a hundred years!» he cried out. «Amazing…»

      «So, Fafner,» Nymus continued, «at the time, he was going to run for the president of the International Federation of Wizards, but Oliver Burke used his right to appoint his successor personally, and, of course, Fafner was the last wizard to become his successor. But this only led to increased hate towards Burke and Fafner’s popularity.»

      «So, this Federation governs all wizards?»

      «That is right! The next level of authority after the International Federation of Wizards is taken by the Wizard Association, headed by Fafner.»

      «And besides him being the rector of Templedoor, is Templedoor better than the other three MUnis in some way?»

      «Of course! Under Fafner, students started studying deeper and more efficiently than it had been before him. He dismissed all teachers that had worked at Templedoor before and brought his students and comrades to fill their places, and they turned out to be better teachers that their predecessors. And education at Templedoor entered a new level of quality.»

      «Awesome!» William said with deep admiration towards Fafner. «So are we going to enroll me in the Preparatory Course tomorrow?»

      «Master Calhoun cannot wait to start studying!» Nymus noted with obvious satisfaction.

      «Are you kidding? I couldn’t even dream about this! Studying among wizards!»

      «Do not diminish yourself, Master Calhoun! The Calhoun kin is known for producing real stars of the wizarding world every few generations, and they live in glory and respect for the rest of the days!»

      «Wow!» William managed.

      «Yes, Master Calhoun has all the rights to be proud of his kin,» Nymus added, «rights like no other wizard! No wonder the Calhoun kin is often called the Proud Kin!»

      «What did we do?» William asked stupidly.

      «I have already told Master Calhoun that once, dark times came to the wizarding world! Further existence of wizards was threatened and many of them laid their feathers in the battle against the evil that started dwelling in the Community!»

      «What kind of evil?»

      «Oooh,» Nymus said passionately. «The Dweller of the Dark came from the gloomy swamps to overthrow the rulers…» Nymus dropped down to whisper again. «But May I Never See Letters Again, he failed to do it thanks to your famous ancestor – Deverell Calhoun! My great-grandfather Bommel from the Nymus kin served him faithfully at that time! And now I serve you, Master Calhoun, and my kin, as I’ve said before, is very proud of their wizards! From Kin to Kin, Kin for the Good of Kin!» quoted Nymus, holding his chin high.

      William was so shocked by everything Nymus had told him that he went deep into his thoughts for a while, running each word Nymus had said about his ancestor Deverell Calhoun over in his head.

      Meanwhile, the door to the house opened noisily and a voice drifted up:

      «William! Are you already home, dear?»

      «Mrs. Hoggart!» While Nymus was telling him about wizards, William seemed to have moved into a different world! It seemed to him that there was no other world but the world of wizards. There was only the world with Ferzibald Fafner, the International Federation of Wizards, their presidents, and MUnis headed by Templedoor! He learned all that just then, from Nymus, but he knew he didn’t want to go to any other of the three MUnis. He could hardly wait for the day when he would study magic under Fafner the Great himself and his teachers! But then, he suddenly remembered that he was still in the Blackfriars Lane, in his room. And his only connection to the magic world and wizards was Nymus!

      «You need to leave,» William said. «It’s Mrs. Hoggart and she can enter any minute!»

      «Alright,» Nymus said. «But if Master Calhoun wishes, I can return to him any moment! It is my duty! To summon me, Master Calhoun needs to write my name on a piece