Chapter 691: The Weasley brothers join the Ministry of Magic
Chapter 691 The Weasley brothers join the Ministry of Magic
In the evening, in order to welcome everyone home for the holidays and to celebrate the successful graduation of Fred and George, Mrs. Weasley specially prepared a large table of delicious food and invited Moody, Tonks, Kingsley and others. Members of the Order of the Phoenix come for dinner.
Even Professor McGonagall, who had just been on vacation, came.
When she opened the door and walked into the foyer, she was immediately greeted by Mrs. Weasley, who was pleasantly surprised.
“I'm so glad you came, Minerva,” she said with a smile.
"I also happened to be coming to London on business." Professor McGonagall said, "Sasia has prepared a new healing potion, which is said to be very effective against wounds caused by black magic."
"Merlin, the potion for dark magic..." Mrs. Weasley said with some surprise, "It's so good. Have you already got it?"
"Not yet." Professor McGonagall shook her head, "I just arrived in London."
"Is it okay for you to come here first?" Mrs. Weasley said, "How about I ask Arthur to take you to St. Mungo's first?"
"It doesn't matter. The time we agreed with Sasia is eight o'clock, and we can just have dinner now." Professor McGonagall said.
"You?" Mrs. Weasley glanced in the direction of the door, "Is anyone else coming?"
"No, it's just me." Professor McGonagall walked towards the restaurant. "Severus won't come here to eat. We'll meet at St. Mungo's then."
“Well then…” said Mrs. Weasley.
If it were Snape, let alone coming to Sirius's house for dinner, he might even take a detour when passing by the door.
“Mom, who’s here…”
At this time, Ron and Ginny happened to run down the stairs, but when they saw Professor McGonagall, they stopped at the same time.
"professor?"
“Well, hello, Mr. Weasley, Miss Weasley.” Professor McGonagall said calmly.
"Come in, today is a big day." Mrs. Weasley opened the door to the dining room, then turned to Ron and Ginny and said, "Don't be stunned, go and call Fred and George." Let’s eat, they are the protagonists today.”
It was not until Professor McGonagall walked into the restaurant that Ron and Ginny came back to their senses.
"We're on holiday, right?" Ron asked uncertainly.
"Obviously," Ginny sighed, "but you can also go to bed and take a nap. Maybe when you wake up, you'll find yourself in your dormitory at Hogwarts."
"Forget it, I'm starving." Ron said, "But why did Professor McGonagall appear here...I mean, she has never been here."
"Just because you haven't been here doesn't mean you won't come." Ginny had already accepted the reality. "Don't forget that this is the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. All members may come, including Professor McGonagall."
At the same time, Fred and George also apparated into the restaurant.
Like the two people just now, they were smiling playfully and wanted to say something witty. When they saw Professor McGonagall, their expressions instantly became serious and they stopped talking.
But the next second, they realized that they had graduated, why were they still afraid of Professor McGonagall?
The two looked at each other, smiled, and greeted each other warmly.
“Welcome, Professor McGonagall…”
“I really hope to see you here often…”
“Would you like us to recommend a room to you?”
“The sunshine on the third floor is the best.”
The two of them were singing and talking in harmony, just like two real estate salesmen.
But these words made Ron, who had just walked into the restaurant, freeze on the spot again.
Because his room is on the third floor.
Ron had reason to suspect that Fred and George did it on purpose.
"Thank you, Mr. Weasley, but no need." Professor McGonagall said with some laughter, "I will not stay here for the night."
“That’s such a shame,” said Fred sadly.
George also clutched his chest,
It can be seen that they are really sad.
"Come here quickly and get ready for dinner." Mrs. Weasley put a plate of fried fish on the table, turned to the two of them and said, "Professor McGonagall has other things to do later, so don't waste your time."
“Okay mom.”
“We just feel sorry for Ron…”
“He missed the opportunity to improve his performance.”
Fred and George sat down on the table with smiles, and Ron came over muttering softly.
"Okay." Mrs. Weasley stood up and said with a smile: "First of all, I would like to congratulate our two new members on their successful graduation and finding a great job..."
Everyone clapped their hands in cooperation.
Fred and George stood up immediately and bowed gracefully around them to express their thanks.
They specially put on the black fire dragon leather jackets today, and their movements were impressive.
“Then, the next step is the gift...”
“And there are gifts?” Fred asked in surprise.
"Of course, Bill and the others all got gifts when they graduated, and you are no exception, Arthur..."
Mr. Weasley stood up quickly and handed over two small boxes.
“You are all lacking other things, so I specially picked this one.”
Fred and George took it and immediately opened it excitedly. Ron also looked at it curiously.
“Dad, what is this?”
"Tie." Mr. Weasley said excitedly: "I asked Mr. Granger before. He said that Muggles would wear this when they go to work in places like the Ministry of Magic, so I asked him to help me choose it. Got two.
“To be honest, this thing is really not cheap. If you exchange it for galleons, you can almost buy a broomstick.”
At this time, Fred and George had also opened their respective gift packages.
The joy on their faces quickly faded and turned into confusion.
"etc…"
“Dad, did you just say the Ministry of Magic?”
“But you know, we are going to open a joke store, and we have even found a location for the store.”
…
"ah?"
Mr. Weasley was stunned for a moment, and then took out two pieces of parchment.
“But you have already signed the application for employment at the Ministry of Magic.”
Fred and George immediately stepped forward to take a look.
【Application for employment at the Ministry of Magic (Office for the Detection and Confiscation of Counterfeit Defense Charms and Protective Equipment)】
…
It was a whole piece of parchment, and they didn't even look at it carefully, they just focused their attention on the end.
When they saw the two familiar names, Fred and George were both stunned. It seemed that it was indeed their signature, but the problem was that they were sure that they had never signed such a thing, and they would not sign it. .
“This must be fake!” Fred blurted out.
"Wait..." George seemed to have thought of something and said stiffly, "Fred, do you remember that when we just finished the exam, Cedric said he wanted to comfort Kyle, so he made two fake employment applications. ?"
After being reminded like this, Fred also thought about it.
This has really happened.
At that time, Cedric thought they could prank Kyle and pretend to go to the Ministry of Magic to work with him. They thought it was interesting and agreed.
“But isn’t that application form fake?” Fred said, looking at the form on the table again.
"Yes, that's it, the Office for the Detection and Confiscation of Counterfeit Defense Charms and Protective Equipment... I've never heard of this office in the Ministry of Magic." "Ahem..." Kingsley suddenly coughed twice, suppressing a smile. Said: “In fact, this is a newly established department.
“Because the return of the mysterious man has made people panic, and there are people everywhere selling fake products that are said to be able to defend against Death Eaters. In order to prevent these fake products from harming the people, Assistant Kyle proposed to establish a new office... The minister has agreed.”
With a snap, Fred loosened his grip and the box he was holding fell to the ground.
He suddenly realized something.
"You are right." Kingsley tilted his head slightly, "It's true, you are the first batch of employees, and the office is next to Arthur."
Fred and George were both in bad shape.
They never imagined that things would turn out like this.
If Kyle had come with the form that day, they would definitely not have signed it, even if it was fake... because they knew Kyle too well, and no matter what he said, they would have just refused.
But Cedric was different. In their impression, including everyone's, Cedric was a standard Hufflepuff, honest and loyal... It was precisely because of this that when the parchment appeared in front of them , they signed their names without thinking.
Unexpectedly, Cedric, that guy with thick eyebrows and big eyes, also rebelled!
"Sure enough, anyone who can be with Kyle is not a good thing." George couldn't help but muttered.
But he didn't notice at all how strange everyone's eyes were at this time.
Most of the people present had the experience of being Defense Against the Dark Arts professors at Hogwarts, so they knew very well how good the relationship between the Weasley brothers and Kyle was.
This is a cruel person who even scolds himself.
"Can we not go?" Fred said, "We didn't know the truth when we signed, so it shouldn't count."
“That’s right.” George nodded repeatedly.
"Of course... you can." Kingsley said, "Although you have been admitted, you are free to come or not."
"but…"
Before Fred and George could breathe a sigh of relief, Kingsley continued.
“Assistant Kyle once said...well, I think what he said at the time was about you, so I’ll just say it.
Kyle said that if you do not fulfill your application and go to work at the Ministry of Magic for at least two months, then he will take a striker to Diagon Alley to inspect your store's anti-dark magic measures. The store will not be opened until the inspection is passed. "
Fred and George stood there dumbly as if struck by lightning.
Professor McGonagall wanted to laugh a little. She didn't expect that she just stopped by for dinner and saw such an interesting scene.
There are not many people who can make the famous troublemaker of Hogwarts look like this.
“I’ve never heard that opening a store requires anti-dark arts inspection...” Fred said through gritted teeth.
“He must be trying to trick us into going to the Ministry of Magic this way!”
"I must say..." Kingsley glanced at them calmly, "As a senior assistant minister, Kyle has this right, and he is not an ordinary assistant. His power is even greater than that of ordinary department directors and deputy ministers. I advise you not to confront him."
Ron couldn't hold it back anymore and laughed out loud, but after seeing the fierce eyes of his brothers, he held it back again.
"But Dad." Fred looked at Mr. Weasley, "We have already paid the rent in Diagon Alley, which is a lot of money."
"It's okay." Mrs. Weasley waved her hand, "Kyle has already taken care of it. Kreacher will help. He also invited two elves from Hogwarts who have experience as store clerks to help. They will be responsible. Taking care of the shop.”
“But that anti-dark magic check…”
"If it's a house elf, of course there is no need." Kingsley said with a smile.
“The shop is open as normal, and they also go to work at the Ministry of Magic...” Ron couldn’t help but said: “Doesn’t that mean they can get two salaries?”
“That’s right.”
Mrs. Weasley said, "House elves don't need a salary... Although when Kyle and I discussed this matter, I also mentioned that I could give them a payment, just like Dobby before, but this time The elves seemed to have heard something terrible and kept banging their heads against the wall.
So Kyle proposed that candy could be used instead of salary. "
Ron couldn't stop laughing. He took a bite of the beef pie, and it was like biting a lemon... very sour.
But no one cared about his feelings. Fred and George didn't speak for a long time, and fell back on their chairs slumped.
No wonder Kyle and Cedric asked them to choose black jackets on the train, and no wonder they were smiling so much.
Everything makes sense now.
They also thought about struggling, but Kyle seemed to have blocked all roads. Without going to the Ministry of Magic, the Weasley Joke Shop could not open, which they could not accept.
“Forget it, isn’t it just two months?” Fred slammed the table hard, “We did it!”
Kyle's only conscience is probably not to keep them in the Ministry of Magic all the time. It's not yet July, and it will be the end of August in two months, and it can still catch up with the busiest time before the start of school.
If this were not the case, they would not agree to anything.
"Actually, you don't have to be angry." Tonks suddenly said: "This job is actually not bad. Many people are rushing to get in..."
“But that doesn’t include us,” Fred muttered.
“No, you...”
"Tonks," Kingsley said suddenly, interrupting her.
"Let me just say one thing." Tonks shrugged, "Aren't you running a joke prop shop like Zuko? Working there will be very helpful to you, and you can gain knowledge... Okay, Kingsley, I won't tell you. Come on, stop staring at me like that."
The next second, Fred and George seemed to realize something, but Tonks remained silent.
“Oh, and this.”
Mrs. Weasley took out another piece of parchment.
"Oh, mother, what is this." George's scalp was numb now that he saw the parchment.
“Your shop’s inventory,” said Mrs. Weasley.
Because Fred and George were about to enter the Ministry of Magic, she seemed to be less resistant to the joke shop they opened than before.
“Kyle added a lot of things to you, and right at the end, he said if you insist on not going to the Ministry, let me cross them out.
“It seems that this is not necessary now.”
The two of them took the parchment and looked at it.
Hogwarts map
Warm-up badge
Auto-ink quill pen
…
There are about a dozen kinds, all of which are gadgets developed by Kyle at Hogwarts, and they are all very popular.
“Did he give these to us?” George’s eyes widened.
"Give Kyle his share." Mrs. Weasley said seriously. "We can't take other people's things for free."
“Okay, I’ll just say it casually…”
“Don’t worry, Mom, we won’t.”
Fred and George looked at the parchment, and the anger in their hearts subsided a little bit unconsciously...
This is the real good thing. It has to be said that the gadgets developed by Kyle are very popular and can make their store famous faster.
Let’s take the map as an example...the automatic pathfinding map, except that it cannot display everyone’s name, is already comparable to the Marauder’s Map in other aspects.
They believe that any new student who walks into the store will not miss this kind of good stuff.
But even so, they couldn't just forgive Kyle. The most they could do was beat him... less punches.
“Mom.” Fred took a vicious bite of the pie, “We forgot something at home. Can we go back to St. Catchpole Village tomorrow?”
“Yes, it’s something very important.” George also narrowed his eyes.
"Yes, you can, but as soon as possible." Mrs. Weasley nodded, "Don't forget that you have to go to the Ministry of Magic in the morning. You always have to leave a good impression on others when you go to work for the first time. If you are late, you will not alright."
"Ah, we'll be quick." Fred took another bite of the pie, as if the pie in his hand belonged to someone.
…
(End of this chapter)