[Pre Note: The first five or six chapters will still be set before the events on Tenrou Island to introduce you to Makarov's successor as Fairy Tail's master.]

Magnolia, 784

"What was your name again?" Makarov asked the boy sitting on the opposite side of the table.
"Magnus," he answered softly, "Magnus Cers."
His voice was low and quiet, calm and monotone. He would have almost sounded outright bored; if it wasn't for that undertone in his voice that revealed how carefully he seemed to observe everything around him.
Making a "m-h"-sound, Makarov started to note something down on the piece of paper in front of him, only to stop abruptly. Magnus knew perfectly well what was going on in the old man's mind.
"It's C-E-R-S," he stated.
"Thank you," Makarov replied, "And your age?"
"Fifteen, since a few weeks."
Noting this down, Makarov took a glimpse at Magnus to examine him a bit. Whereas his blue hair was nothing unique, regarding Levy and Wendy, it clearly made him stand out. From what Makarov could see right now, Magnus was quite in shape and had an athletic body. Regarding Magnus' overall build and face, he would have easily been mistaken for some years older, if it wasn't for his obviously too large white shirt. When Makarov noticed that Magnus started to fiddle with the top button of his shirt, he realized that he had mustered him a little bit too long and that the boy must feel rather uncomfortable right now.

"Ah-hem," Makarov cleared his throat, "So would you like to tell me a little bit about yourself?"
"Ehm..." Magnus looked as if he had never expected this question to come up. "Like what, for example?" he asked with a terribly faked smile to cover his nervousness, scratching the back of his head.
"Maybe you might tell me why you are wishing to join Fariy Tail," Makarov replied softly, trying to make Magnus feel less uncomfortable. "Or about what you have done prior to today."

"Well," Magnus, feeling relieved despite showing almost no change in his expression, started, "Up until now, I had been studying Finances and Economy at the Royal University of Crocus. Our school had a club for mages, where they could train and fight. I joined it and also took part in some battles against other schools. Now that I have got my diploma, I thought I might just enjoy myself and find some nice people to chat with for some time. You know, before the working life with all its exhausting stress begins. That's why I thought it might be a good idea to join a guild."

"I thought you were fifteen, how did you earn your diploma that early?" Makarov asked curiously.
"Well, you are right, you usually get earn your diploma at the age of twenty or even later. I do not to want to show off, but... If you are good, you might be able to fasten this up by one or two years... And if you are better than good, then even by five years," Magnus said. He did not like to talk to other people about his intelligence, because he always feared they would regard him as an arrogant show-off.
"A finance-genius, hu?" Makarov thought ",He might come in handy. After all, we still have tons of debts."
"Interesting, interesting," he muttered while running his fingers through his beard, "And why did you choose Fairy Tail and not any other guild?"
"After all, I was raised in Magnolia," Magnus stated unexpectedly confidently, "The members of Fairy Tail are heroes for everyone in Magnolia! It would have been really weird for me not to want to join Fairy Tail, wouldn't it?"
Makarov chuckled a bit, then replied, "Very well, I think you will fit well into our guild! But you haven't told me what type of magic you use yet, have you?"
"Oh, yes. Well, concerning this..." Magnus took a file out of his bag standing next to his chair, "You might simply regard the data-file the university created for me. It is written on the very first page."
Makarov opened the file and almost exclaimed, "Seven different types of magic? For your age, this is impressive!"
"Thank you," Magnus replied and blushed a bit, "See, it would have taken too much time to list all seven types and explain them in detail, so giving you my file to read them seemed like the better idea to me."
"Hehe, you might be right. Would you mind if I will keep this file for a while and read it? You can just go outside now and ask Mira to give you the guild symbol."
A smile appeared on Magnus' face.
"Thank you! Thank you!" he exclaimed, stood up and over-enthusiastically shook Makarov's hand whose owner was shocked and surprised by the boy's sudden mood-swing. Magnus reached out for his bag, headed towards the door and opened it, before turning back and claiming "I won't disappoint you!" before closing the door behind him-

Makarov continued to study Magnus' file and eventually reached a page with the headline "Battle Statistics".
"'Official battles: 17'," he read aloud, "'Battles won: 17' Hehe, I have the feeling that you will definitely not disappoint me..."

[Author's Notes: I hope you enjoyed the first chapter despite the lack of action. I'd appreciate your comments and feedback^^]