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Chapter 177: Ministry of Magic
Chapter 177: Ministry of Magic
The process of entering the Ministry of Magic was much stricter than it used to be.
However, when it came to inspecting the wands, Sherlock only handed over the one he commonly used. The Ministry of Magic was certainly aware that he had more than one wand, but they did not insist on checking all of them.
The personnel department of the Ministry of Magic was integrated into the Logistics Department of the Minister's Office, which handled all ordinary staff recruitments, except for Aurors, and was also the department that issued the appointment letter Sherlock received.
So, Eddie first took Sherlock to the basement level one Logistics Department to complete the onboarding procedures and obtain a slip of paper.
With this slip, they could go to the Department of Magical Transportation to have Apparition permissions set up for Sherlock within the Ministry of Magic.
Before that, however, Eddie took Sherlock to meet the current Minister of Magic, Harold Muncle.
He was a wizard who looked extremely stern, and his speaking and acting style was somewhat similar to Scrimgeour's.
According to Sherlock's understanding of history, in 1980, due to Voldemort's growing power in the Wizarding World and the increasing disappointment of the public, the Minister resigned and was succeeded by a more capable witch, Millicent Bagnold (Fudge's predecessor).
Muncle first expressed his gratitude to Sherlock for helping the Ministry of Magic protect the Department of Mysteries.
He then hinted that if Sherlock wanted a better career at the Ministry of Magic, transferring to the Auror Office might be an excellent choice.
Sherlock did not outright refuse. He ambiguously stated that he was still interested in the mysterious and peculiar aspects of magic, but if his interest waned, he might consider transferring to the Auror Office.
Muncle was satisfied with this response and encouraged him a bit more. Then, Eddie and Sherlock left his office.
"Did you say that on purpose?" Eddie clearly saw through Sherlock's insincere words.
Sherlock shrugged.
"Of course, I had to give the Minister some face. Otherwise, if he forces me to transfer to the Auror Office, I wouldn't have any choice."
Eddie frowned slightly.
"But if you make such a promise, Muncle will likely bring it up again and transfer you before long."
"How long do you think that will be?" Sherlock asked.
"Probably around six months to a year. It will depend on the actions of the Death Eaters."
Sherlock responded with a mysterious smile.
"If he really does that, I might as well listen to him and transfer from the Department of Mysteries to the Auror Office."
If Sherlock couldn't find any valuable clues in six months, there would be no point in staying at the Ministry of Magic any longer.
In fact, Eddie had always been skeptical about Sherlock's motives for joining the Ministry of Magic.
He thought that with Sherlock's abilities, getting a position at the Ministry wouldn't be difficult, so there was no need to wait until now.
However, he didn't press the issue further.
While setting up Apparition permissions at the Department of Magical Transportation, they ran into Sophie.
She had benefited from Sherlock's influence and had been promoted from a regular employee to the deputy head of the Portkey Office.
The Department of Magical Transportation is one of the busiest departments in the Ministry of Magic. Despite this, Sophie still set aside her office work and took Eddie and Sherlock to process the Apparition access permissions.
After leaving there, Sherlock asked with a curious look on his face.
"Does she like you?"
Eddie replied calmly.
"Without Amy, we might have been together back when we were in school."
Sherlock raised an eyebrow.
"Childhood sweethearts?"
"Something like that. We've known each other since we were kids. Later, when she found out I had a child without telling her, she broke off contact with me, and we lost touch."
Sherlock tried to console him.
"It's clear she still cares about you. If you explain everything to her, she should understand."
Eddie shook his head.
"I don't have the heart to think about these things right now. And at this stage, no Auror can be sure they'll see the next day's sun."
Eddie was right. Given the current situation, Amy was a burden to him, and he didn't want to think about any other relationships.
Sherlock had only mentioned it in passing and didn't press further. They took the elevator down together, arriving once again at the Department of Mysteries on the ninth subterranean level.
Nothing had changed since his last visit.
The elevator was crowded, but only he and Eddie got off at the ninth level.
They walked down a long corridor and pushed open the black door at the end, entering the circular room with twelve black doors on the walls.
This time, they didn't need to search one by one. As they entered the Department of Mysteries, one of the black doors opened, and Madame Selwyn walked out.
Eddie had completed his mission. He informed Madame Selwyn and said goodbye to Sherlock before leaving.
"Nice to see you again, Mr. Watson." Madame Selwyn's voice was gentle, without the coldness that kept people at a distance.
Sherlock knew who to befriend. Compared to the Minister of Magic or his direct superior, the Head of the Department of Mysteries was the key person to maintain a good relationship with.
"Call me John, Madame."
"Regarding the last incident, I must thank you again. You arrived just in time."
"It was my duty."
After the formalities, Madame Selwyn got straight to the point.
"Since you've applied to join the Department of Mysteries, I welcome you wholeheartedly. However, the research in the department is diverse. Which area are you most interested in?"
Sherlock hesitated for a moment, glancing around the twelve black doors, then said,
"Can I stay here for a few days and look around before making a choice, Madame? I'm still not clear about the specific magical research in the department, so I don't know how to decide."
Madame Selwyn nodded.
"If you want to get a feel for things, you can start in the Office of Time. Before you arrived, you should have heard that we have very few staff in the department. Including you, there are only five of us. Each has their own research focus, so even though we're in the same department, we rarely interact."
"Regarding your friend's daughter, I'm aware of the situation. Unlike other departments, once you choose an office, you can even live here. If you need to take care of the child, you can bring her along."
(End of Chapter)
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