499 499. The Virus
[A/N: This fic ends in 4 more chaps.]
The financial crises luckily didn't loom for too long over the world. It only lasted 7 months. After that, the world went back on recovery. Magnus had a lot to do.
He now sent his daughter on political missions to solve them. She needed to have a taste of the power that Magnus held, it was better to make her used to it before the power gets to her head.
It was 2019. Magnus will turn 60 next year and officially retire from a few of the companies. Not just him, Bobby too, as he was old but looked young, all because he was being kept alive and his age prolonged with all the potions and elixirs.
They will still rule the world and run things but just from the shadows. Just like what the Round Table should be. Currently, there are a few additions to the Round table. Originally, there were Magnus, Ragnar, Bobby, Severus and Emma. But then, Ted was included. Now, there were also Athena and Clementia. So, a total of 8 people were in it. Two more places were empty, though 10 was the limit.
"Bobby, where are you?" Magnus asked his best friend on the smartphone. Technology had changed so much, the internet made everything easy these days. There was no need for maps or sending long letters. Even Hogwarts had adopted the technology of the internet. A Wikipedia of magic was being made for students now.
Bobby texted back his location. Without waiting, he took out his old car and rode to the location. London city had changed a lot by now. Crimes all over the nation were at a record low, all because of the use latest technology. The police officers now wore a thing called the Central Identification Virtual Reality Headset.
With this, every single person that appears in front of them gets their face automatically searched in the criminal database in real-time. With this, any violent criminal on the streets gets quickly apprehended.
There were tall skyscrapers all around the city now. London was the world's biggest economic centre. It was important to reduce traffic in such a city though, hence the public transport system was made to be the most efficient in the world. Each person was always just a 5-minute walk away from a bus, metro or tram.
Driving a car was not cool anymore for the new generation. For Magnus, it was. He stopped in front of a nice looking building in a posh area. A few people were standing outside it, the door was also open.
Seeing him coming, most people gaped in shock, but nobody stopped. As Magnus entered, he heard a few voices, one was particularly loud. "You fucking donkey,"
"Hahaha, I love that. You are a meme mine for the new generation." Bobby's voice also came.
Soon, Magnus was face to face with the situation. The sound was coming from inside the kitchen, and there seemed to be a lot of cameras focused on the cooking station. There stood Bobby and another famous man, a world-renowned chef, Gordon Ramsay.
"What's going on here?" He asked loudly.
Heads turned, jaws fell. Gordon Ramsay's, too. "I-I thought you were kidding, Mr Prime Minister,"
This time Magnus' head turned, "Prime Minister? When did this happen, Bobby?"
"I thought you would not come," Bobby replied.
There was too much confusion in the room, the cameras were still rolling. They had just captured a comical scene that would be a meme for years to come.
"CUT!" the director quickly stopped the cameras, fearful of getting into trouble.
Magnus walked forwards, "What's going on?"
"Oh, I just won the elections and became the Prime Minister. You remember I told you when we were kids that I had a dream, a goal. This was it, to become the prime minister, it was too easy though. I was going to come to you next to be officially permitted to form a government." Bobby confessed to everything.
"But you said you were going to retire, you're going to be 60, Bobby," Magnus said. He was hoping to spend some nice time in Camelot, drinking a few beers with his bro while Ragnar was still trying to impress a girl in Russia.
"I am retiring from the companies as I can't hold a private business while serving in public office. Anyway, I came here to shoot an episode of "Can They Cook?" with Gordon Ramsay. Why don't you join?" Bobby invited him.
Gordon Ramsay's eyes popped out at this proposal. Will the king of the United Kingdom be a guest at his show? He had never even entertained this possibility before. The royal family rarely made public appearances, after all.
"Sure, I can easily beat your ass in this. Just like how I beat you in tag in school all the time," Magnus took his blazer off and folded his sleeves.
Bobby scoffed, "Huh, I was fat back then, that's why you won. But now, I am a good strong lad. What's the wager?"
Deciding on a wager was always hard. Both of them were filthy rich, there was nothing they could not have. Magnus thought long, "Ah, got it. The loser volunteers for a day at the animal rescue centre and picks poop there for the whole day."
*SPIT* Bobby spat on his palm and shook hands, "You got a deal, mate. Let's see who can cook better. Gordon, you be the judge."
Gordon started sweating. He didn't want to offend either of the two, one was the most powerful and richest man on Earth and the other was the second richest and head of his nation.
"T-This... fuck, the mental pressure is even more than my apprentice days." Gordon cursed, but he agreed. If he lives to see another day, this will be the highest viewed episode of any of his shows ever made.
Quickly, the show's plot was changed. A few simple dishes were decided and the best out of three wins. The first dish they had to make was classic, fish and chips.
Magnus scoffed and got to work, his mastery over blades made him look like a professional. But Bobby had more experience cooking at home. Both had positives and negatives.
They only had 20 minutes to prepare for it. They easily did it, but the taste mattered, also the presentation. Both had a great presentation.
Gordon Ramsay quickly took a bite from both plates. He felt the intense gazes of the two powerful men and felt like digging a hole and hiding there forever. It was a tough choice, ~Good god, both of them cook like my dead grandma with dead taste buds,~
So he had to decide whose dish was the worst. In the end, it turns out that Magnus' oil was not hot enough, hence his fish was too oily. Bobby won the round.
Magnus felt pressure, the next dish was supposed to be breakfast, they could make whatever they wanted. Gordon decided to do this so he won't be blamed later for selecting a dish that the other one knows better.
Magnus giggled, pancakes were his speciality. For a man who's been in love with a dish for 60 years, there was no way he could go wrong. So he decided to make his special fluffy pancakes, so smooth that even butter would feel ashamed. Plus his special maple syrup.
Bobby decided to make an egg toast with sugarcane and mint juice. This was his personal favourite breakfast. The juice didn't taste that sweet due to mint, and also made him feel fresh.
They had an hour to make. Ample time to do anything. Heck, Gordon didn't care about time anymore. Soon enough, it was time to taste it. The cameras focused on his face. Gordon took the first bite from the pancakes.
"Umh..." He nearly let out a moan. ~My fucking god, I'd kill a guy to learn this. So smooth, so good, so tasty and the syrup... ah. A perfect breakfast."
Next, he tried Bobby's dish. He had a similar reaction, ~Bloody hell, both of them are masters of what they know to cook. This toast is yummy and the juice, so refreshing. Adding mint is genius. I'd give everything to them in return for putting these dishes on my restaurant's menu.~
But, he had to select one. Knowing he won't get another chance, he decided to give this win to Magnus, as this will lead to the third and the final round.
The last round was the main course. They had to cook something for dinner. Magnus went with cooking smoked gravy chicken with toasted baked bread. He learned to make it from Ragnar. Bobby made another fish dish, but this used high-grade salmon.
It was a heated battle, like none seen in history. Magnus and Ragnar tried to demotivate the other one with words.
"Bobby, just admit it, you can't win against me. Don't you remember the kindergarten trip to the park, you made the worst mashed potato. How can one mess up mashing potatoes?" Magnus reminded.
Bobby scoffed, "I don't need a lecture from the guy who was surrounded by girls. You made the girls cook for you, all in return so they can hold your hand."
"They just used to think my hands are always very warm, that's it." Magnus defended.
"Well, the potatoes I mashed that day were not properly boiled," Bobby responded.
Seeing them like this, no one could say they were not childhood best friends. But friendship was not the issue today. An hour later, the food was served to be judged.
Gulping his saliva, Gordon took a bite from the dishes. Both were impeccable, there was no denying it. But he silently cried, he didn't want to select one.
*BEEP BEEP*
*BEEP BEEP*
Stopping all their goofiness, Magnus and Ragnar immediately took out their phones and looked at the text. Their faces frowned in an instant.
"STEP ASIDE! Mr Prime Minister, Your Majesty, with us please." members of the Secret Service entered urgently.
"It seems the competition ends here. Take care, everyone," Magnus waved his hand and left. Bobby too. They sat in a car that escorted them straight to 10 Downing Street.
Magnus was constantly looking at his phone screen, "How the fuck do they not know where the virus came from? And if it's human to human transmissible, why are they not shutting flights?"
Bobby was the head of politics, he sighed, "Bloody greedy assholes. They are manipulating information. They won't allow the world to know it can spread human to human,"
...
In 20 minutes, a meeting was called. All of the members of Bobby's cabinet were Order members, so there was no need for Magnus to stay hidden. "What's the situation?"
The Secretary of health briefed, "Your Majesty, sir, the whole city of Wuhan of roughly 11 million people has been locked down. Because of how tough the Chinese government is going, it's safe to assume it's the early signs of a future pandemic."
Magnus nodded. He called MEDA chief, Adrian, to the office. The man appeared with a big suitcase. The suitcase turned out to be a high tech device.
There was a small handprint scanner on it. Magnus put his palm over it. *WOOSH* A giant hologram of a screen appeared in the middle of the room. One by one, faces started to appear on it. These were all the heads of state of each country under Magnus' influence, or with good relations.
Together, he addressed all of them, "Initiate the highest health alert in your nation. We are most likely facing a pandemic, like the Spanish flu and black death. Test every single citizen that comes from Asia. Stop all flights from leaving and test every single person who is returning from any nation. Use your local wizards for help.
"I repeat, we need to stop this virus before it spreads too far and wide. If you need money, ask WHO, I didn't make them create the emergency fund for nothing."
The wizard leader of China was also among the people on the holographic screen. Magnus had made a deal with them, that if they helped him keep things peaceful in the region, he would help them spread their business. They were members of ICW too.
"Your Majesty, we shall take control of the medical body of the muggle party here. All our wizards will be deployed." The man was notified.
Magnus warned all of them though, "To all wizards, wear the highest grade of protection, not even a speck of dust should touch you. We have no idea how the virus will react in a wizard's body. The last thing we need is a magical airborne virus. I will also try to create an antidote immediately."
The meeting came to an end as quickly as it started. Red alerts started to get issued in nations across the world. Most people didn't even know about a virus in a faraway nation. But now they were reminded that this was not the first time humanity was facing such a condition.
Magnus was doing all this not just to save people, but to save the economy. As long as the virus is kept isolated, world trade can keep going.
But, the world was being naive to think that this spread was not intentional by a certain someone. Who, after years of being silent, not killing or torturing, finally decided to act on the last stage of his plan.
Magic shall once again reign supreme. The muggles shall bow, the man knew, it was do or die now. ~It's time to meet, Mr Pendragon. But let me prepare a gift first.~
But whoever this person was, was he really in control of his own actions?
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Special thanks to *DougErNuts* *Oluwatimileyin Olayemi* *BirdRant* *Franklin Walley* *Brennan Tubbs*
