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Chapter 350: The Ministry of Magic
Chapter 350: The Ministry of Magic
Overall, the gathering at the Fire Dragon Sanctuary turned out to be quite pleasant, and it wasn't as chaotic as Chris had described it.
At least, Kyle didn't encounter any strange people there.
It was just that the shop owners were a bit unscrupulous, always trying to sell him overpriced and impractical products.
Fortunately, Charlie was with him, and as a "local" who had lived here for two years, he was familiar with every shop.
Most of the shop owners heaved a sigh of disappointment when they saw Charlie with Kyle, and they didn't try to push their so-called bestselling products on Kyle anymore. Instead, they brought out their best goods from the corners of their stores.
In short, Kyle had a very fruitful trip and bought nearly three hundred Galleons worth of items.
By the end, Charlie was stunned as he watched Kyle's purchases pile up.
He knew Kyle was wealthy, but he hadn't expected him to be this rich... Kyle was buying things by the crate, especially when it came to accessories; he almost bought out the entire store's inventory.
Even with the discounts, three hundred Galleons was still a small fortune, and Kyle had spent it without batting an eyelid.
Charlie tried to advise Kyle to slow down and not be so wasteful, even if he had money to burn.
But Kyle shook his head. "You don't understand, Charlie. This might not even be enough."
If it weren't for the fact that his trunk had been borrowed by Newt to observe Norbert, the Norwegian Ridgeback dragon, and the limited space in his Charm-expanded lizard skin bag, Kyle would have wanted to buy another two hundred Galleons worth of items to take back.
"Not enough?!" Charlie exclaimed, his eyes wide. "Do you have over a hundred friends?"
"If we're talking numbers... it's only more, not less," Kyle said after some thought. "But I'm not buying these for myself. Most of my classmates at Hogwarts don't get the chance to come here, so they definitely haven't seen these amazing local specialties. I'm buying these for them since I rarely get to come here myself."
"Huh?" Charlie didn't quite understand what he meant.
However, Kyle didn't explain further, and Weasley wasn't the brightest when it came to these things.
"Anyway..." Kyle gathered the mountain of parcels and said, "I might write to you later and ask you to help me buy some more things to be sent to Hogwarts."
"That's no problem." Charlie readily agreed without a moment's thought. "But I might not be able to do it that promptly. As you know, we only get two days off at most per month."
"That's fine," Kyle said with a smile. "Also, I'll pay you back at the original price. You can keep the discounts the shop owners gave us..."
"That's out of the question!"
Charlie interrupted Kyle before he could finish.
Charlie seemed to feel a little insulted. "No matter how much you need, I'll help you get a good discount. I can at least do that much."
"No, that's not it..." Kyle tried to explain. "I meant that the discount would be your payment."
"What nonsense are you spouting now?" Charlie was even more displeased. "We're friends; there's no need to talk about payment for such a small favor. Don't take me for an outsider!"
"That's not what I meant..."
The two bickered all the way back to the sanctuary but still couldn't come to an agreement.
No matter what Kyle said, Charlie insisted that he was willing to help buy things but refused to accept any form of payment.
Charlie understood what Kyle was trying to do.
He wanted to bring these specialties back to Hogwarts and sell them to others at a markup.
Charlie got the logic, but he just didn't want to take Kyle's money.
Moreover, Charlie didn't think Kyle would be able to sell much... After all, he wouldn't be the first one to do this.
There was a shop in Diagon Alley that sold specialties from famous places, and the last time Charlie went home, he saw Old John's handmade dragon tooth necklace there.
But the business... Well, let's just say he had never seen more than two customers in the store at any given time, not even during Christmas or right before the start of the school year when there were usually more people around.
If a store in Diagon Alley couldn't make it work, it was even less likely to succeed at Hogwarts, where the students didn't have much money to spend.
Charlie firmly believed that the items Kyle had bought this time would last him several years.
So, as soon as they returned to the sanctuary, Charlie patted Kyle on the shoulder and walked away without looking back.
Kyle could only smile helplessly at this.
Oh well, he would cross that bridge when he came to it.
...
In the last few days of August, the people who had come to help started leaving the sanctuary one after another.
"Once I've organized the data on the new species, I'll send you a copy," Professor Lockhart said before departing through the Portkey.
Before leaving, Edward Lima also expressed that he would send Kyle a new edition of 'A Monster's Book of Monsters'.
...
Since Chris had one more procedure to complete and needed to make a final handover with the Romanian Ministry of Magic, Kyle and Newt stayed for another day to wait for him.
The Portkey's destination was set to the Ministry of Magic.
When they arrived, a haggard-looking wizard hurried over to them.
"New arrivals from abroad need to register here and have their belongings inspected... Oh, it's you, Chris."
"Arnold?" Chris looked at the man in confusion. "When did you get transferred to the International Magical Cooperation Department?"
"It's not a transfer," Arnold replied. "I'm just here to help out."
"Help out?" Chris surveyed the surroundings.
There were indeed many people, with a long queue in front of the registration desk.
"Are you here to help maintain order?"
"There's just no other way..." Arnold sighed. "As you know, because of Sirius Black's escape, things have been very strict here lately, and we've been short-staffed."
"You must be exhausted," Chris said as he prepared to join the queue.
"Oh... Chris, you don't need to bother," Arnold said, stopping him. "The Portkey indicated that you're coming from the Romanian Ministry of Magic, so you definitely can't be involved with that guy, right?"
"Of course not," Chris nodded. "There were at least a dozen people present at that time."
"That's why I said you don't need to register," Arnold said, making a few quick marks in a notebook while muttering, "And it seems the Minister has some important business with you. I don't think he'll be patient enough to wait for a few hours, and I'll be the one in trouble then."
"The Minister is looking for me?"
"Yes, he came by about half an hour ago," Arnold said, lifting his head to look at Kyle and Newt.
"This is Mr. Newt Scamander, and my son, Kyle," Chris introduced them. "We came together."
"Oh, Mr. Scamander..." Arnold was a little surprised, but he didn't stop writing in the notebook.
"Alright, three people in total, registration complete!"
Soon, he closed the notebook and said, "Go on, don't keep the Minister waiting."
A few minutes later, Kyle found himself wandering the corridors of the Ministry of Magic with a bewildered expression.
He had been thinking about how to switch his trunk to Muggle-mode, but he never expected the process to be so easy, and that they wouldn't even need to go through any formalities?
"Arnold Peasegood is a Memory Charmer, we've collaborated a few times before," Chris explained. "And before our departure, the Romanian side must have already contacted the Ministry of Magic. In such cases, registration is usually not required."
Soon after, the trio turned a corner and entered the magnificent main hall of the Ministry of Magic.
Due to their different itineraries, they parted ways upon arriving at the Ministry.
Chris headed for the elevator to meet with Fudge, while Kyle and Newt weaved through the crowd towards the two long rows of fireplaces.
Like Hogwarts, the Ministry of Magic prohibited the use of Apparition, so they decided to use Floo powder to get to the Leaky Cauldron first and then make their way back from there.
Kyle wanted to make a trip to Diagon Alley, and Newt just needed to find a place where he could Apparate, so anywhere would do.
The Ministry of Magic received many visitors daily, and even with over a dozen fireplaces, they still weren't enough. People kept emerging from them, and as soon as the green flames died down, they would ignite again.
After waiting for a few minutes, one of the fireplaces finally became vacant, and Kyle quickly stepped forward and threw a handful of Floo powder into it.
Stepping into the fireplace, Kyle's surroundings transformed, and he soon found himself transported from the bustling Ministry of Magic to the equally lively Leaky Cauldron.
(End of Chapter)
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