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Chapter 691: The Weasley Twins Join the Ministry of Magic
Chapter 691: The Weasley Twins Join the Ministry of Magic
That evening, to welcome everyone home for the holidays and to celebrate Fred and George's graduation, Mrs. Weasley prepared a sumptuous feast. She had also invited Moody, Tonks, Kingsley, and several other members of the Order of the Phoenix to join them for dinner.
Even Professor McGonagall, who had just started her vacation, was in attendance.
As she pushed open the door and entered the foyer, Mrs. Weasley greeted her with delight.
"I'm so glad you could make it, Minerva," she said with a smile.
"I happened to have business in London as well," Professor McGonagall said. "Sestia has formulated a new healing potion that is said to be effective against Dark Magic wounds."
"Merlin's beard, a potion against Dark Magic..." Mrs. Weasley said, a bit surprised. "That's wonderful. Have you gotten your hands on it already?"
"Not yet," Professor McGonagall shook her head. "I've just arrived in London myself."
"Well, I hope it's alright that you came here first?" Mrs. Weasley said. "Would you like Arthur to take you to St. Mungo's instead?"
"No, that's quite alright. I have an appointment with Sestia at eight, so this timing is perfect for dinner," Professor McGonagall said.
"Are there more guests arriving?" Mrs. Weasley asked, glancing toward the door.
"No, it's just me," Professor McGonagall said as she made her way toward the dining room. "Severus won't be joining us for dinner. We'll meet up with him at St. Mungo's later."
"Alright then..." Mrs. Weasley said.
If it were Snape, not only would he not come to eat at Sirius' house, but he would probably go out of his way to avoid even passing by the front door.
"Mom, who's here...?"
Just then, Ron and Ginny came running down from upstairs, but they both stopped in their tracks upon seeing Professor McGonagall.
"Professor..."
"McGonagall...?"
"Yes, good evening, Mr. Weasley, Miss Weasley," Professor McGonagall said calmly.
"Please, come in. Today is a special occasion," Mrs. Weasley said as she pushed open the dining room door. She then turned to Ron and Ginny and said, "Don't just stand there, go and call Fred and George for dinner. They are the guests of honor today."
It wasn't until Professor McGonagall entered the dining room that Ron and Ginny snapped out of their daze.
"So, we're on holiday now, right?" Ron asked uncertainly.
"Obviously," Ginny sighed. "But you could always go to bed and hope that when you wake up, you'll find yourself back in the Hogwarts dormitory."
"Never mind, I'm starving," Ron said. "But what's Professor McGonagall doing here... I mean, she's never come here before."
"Just because she hasn't doesn't mean she won't," Ginny said, having accepted the situation. "Don't forget, this is the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. Any member might drop by, including Professor McGonagall."
At that moment, Fred and George apparated into the dining room.
Much like Ron and Ginny earlier, the twins, who had been all smiles and ready with a witty remark, suddenly turned serious upon seeing Professor McGonagall, and they fell silent.
But the next second, they realized they had graduated and there was no longer any reason to fear Professor McGonagall.
They shared a quick smile and greeted her warmly.
"Welcome, Professor McGonagall..."
"We wish we could see you here more often..."
"Would you like us to show you to a room?"
"The sunlight on the third floor is simply marvelous."
The two of them took turns speaking, sounding like a pair of real estate agents.
However, this exchange left Ron, who had just entered the dining room, standing there dumbfounded once again.
That was because his room was on the third floor.
Ron had good reason to suspect that Fred and George were doing this on purpose.
"Thank you, Messrs. Weasley, but that won't be necessary," Professor McGonagall said, trying to hold back a smile. "I won't be staying the night."
"What a pity," Fred said, feigning sadness.
George also put a hand to his chest, clearly sharing in the sorrow.
It was evident that they were truly disappointed.
"Now, now, come and get your dinner," Mrs. Weasley said as she placed a plate of fried fish on the table and turned to the twins. "Professor McGonagall has other matters to attend to, so let's not keep her waiting."
"Yes, Mum," they replied.
"We're just feeling sad for Ron..."
"...who missed out on an opportunity to improve his grades."
Fred and George grinned as they took their seats at the table, while Ron muttered under his breath and joined them.
"Alright then," Mrs. Weasley said as she stood up. "First of all, let's congratulate our two newest members who have graduated and found fantastic jobs..."
Everyone politely clapped their hands.
Fred and George immediately stood up and bowed gracefully to everyone in the room to express their thanks.
They had deliberately worn their black dragon-hide jackets today, and they looked quite dashing as they did so.
"Now, for the gifts..."
"There are gifts?" Fred asked excitedly.
"Of course," Mrs. Weasley said. "Bill and the others received gifts when they graduated, so you two are no exception, Arthur..."
Mr. Weasley quickly stood up and handed over two small boxes.
"You don't lack anything, so I specifically chose these.
"It's a tie," Mr. Weasley said excitedly. "I asked Mr. Granger about it, and he told me that Muggles wear these when they go to places like the Ministry of Magic, so I had him pick a couple out for you."
"They're not cheap, let me tell you," Mr. Weasley continued. "They cost almost as much as a new broomstick!"
By this time, Fred and George had unwrapped their presents as well. The joy on their faces quickly faded into confusion.
"Wait a minute..."
"Dad, did you say the Ministry of Magic?"
"But you know we're planning to open a joke shop, and we've already scouted a location for it," George added.
...
"Huh?"
Mr. Weasley paused, then pulled out two rolls of parchment.
"But you've already signed the Ministry of Magic's employment application forms," he said.
Fred and George immediately moved closer to take a look.
[Ministry of Magic Employment Application (Counterfeit Defensive Spells and Protective Items Investigation and Confiscation Office)
]
...
The parchment was filled with dense text, but they didn't bother reading it and instead, their eyes went straight to the bottom.
Upon seeing the two familiar signatures, Fred and George froze. They recognized their own signatures, but the problem was, they were certain they had never signed such a document and never would.
"This has to be a fake!" Fred exclaimed.
"Wait..." George said, a thought occurring to him. "Fred, do you remember after our exams, Cedric wanted to cheer up Kyle, so he got two fake employment applications?"
Fred recalled the incident.
Indeed, there was such a thing.
At the time, Cedric thought it would be a great prank to play on Kyle, pretending that they would all work together at the Ministry of Magic. Fred and George had found the idea amusing and agreed to it.
"But that application was a fake, wasn't it?" Fred said, glancing at the form on the table.
"Yeah, that's right. Counterfeit Defensive Spells and Protective Items Investigation and Confiscation Office... I've never even heard of such an office in the Ministry," George added.
"Ahem..." Kingsley suddenly coughed, barely suppressing his laughter. "Actually, it's a newly established department.
"Due to the return of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, there's been a rise in the sale of counterfeit products claiming to protect against Death Eaters. To prevent these fake items from harming the public, Assistant Kyle proposed the creation of this new office... and the Minister has approved it."
Fred's hand slipped, and the box he was holding fell to the floor with a thud.
He had just realized something.
"You're right about that," Kingsley said, turning his head slightly. "This is the real deal, and you two are the first employees. Your office will be right next to Arthur's."
Fred and George were stunned.
They never imagined that things would turn out this way.
If Kyle had been the one to bring the forms to them, they would have refused to sign, even if they knew it was a prank... because they knew Kyle too well, and no matter what he said, the answer would always be 'no'.
But Cedric was different. In their minds and everyone else's, Cedric embodied the values of Hufflepuff—he was honest and loyal. And so, when presented with the parchment, they signed without a second thought.
Who would've thought that even Cedric, with his bushy eyebrows and trustworthy appearance, would betray them!
"As expected, anyone who associates with Kyle is no good," George muttered.
But he failed to notice the strange looks everyone was giving him.
Most of the people present had taught Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts at some point, so they were well aware of the close relationship between the Weasley twins and Kyle.
Now that was a true schemer, willing to drag himself into the mud.
"Can we back out?" Fred asked. "We signed without knowing the truth, so it shouldn't count."
"Absolutely," George nodded vigorously.
"Of course... you can," Kingsley said. "Even though you've been accepted, it's up to you whether or not to take the job."
"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 two. Let me be frank.
Kyle mentioned that if you don't honor your applications and work at the Ministry for at least two months, he will personally lead a team to Diagon Alley to inspect the anti-Dark Arts measures in your shop. Your shop won't be allowed to open until the inspection is passed."
Fred and George stood there, petrified.
Professor McGonagall was fighting the urge to laugh. She had only stopped by for dinner, and yet she had stumbled upon such an entertaining scene.
It was rare to see the famous pranksters of Hogwarts looking so dumbfounded.
"I've never heard of shops needing to pass anti-Dark Arts inspections before opening..." Fred said through gritted teeth.
"He must be trying to trick us into working at the Ministry!"
"I must say..." Kingsley looked at them calmly. "As the Senior Assistant to the Minister, Kyle has that authority, and he's not an ordinary assistant. His powers even surpass those of the average department head and deputy minister. I advise you not to go against him.
"It's alright," Mrs. Weasley waved her hand, "Kyle has taken care of it. Kretch will go to help, and he's also invited two house-elves with shopkeeping experience from Hogwarts to assist. They will manage the store."
"But what about the anti-Dark Arts inspection...?"
"It's not necessary if they are house-elves," Kingsley said with a smile.
"Opening the shop and working at the Ministry at the same time... they'll be drawing two salaries!" Ron blurted out.
"That's right," Mrs. Weasley said. "House-elves don't require salaries... Although when I discussed this with Kyle, I did suggest paying them, just like we did with Dobby before. But this time, the house-elves kept banging their heads against the wall as if they had heard something terrible.
So, Kyle suggested using candies instead of money."
Ron couldn't bring himself to smile. He took a bite of his beef pie, and it tasted as sour as a lemon.
However, no one paid attention to his feelings. Fred and George remained silent for a long while before slumping back into their chairs, dejected.
No wonder Kyle and Cedric had suggested the black jackets on the train, and no wonder they had been so amused at the time.
Now everything made sense.
They had considered resisting, but Kyle seemed to have blocked off all alternatives. If they didn't work at the Ministry, their joke shop wouldn't be allowed to open, and that was unacceptable to them.
"Forget it, it's just two months," Fred said, pounding the table. "We'll do it!"
Kyle's only concession was probably not forcing them to stay at the Ministry indefinitely. With it being not yet July, two months would bring them to the end of August, just in time for the busiest period before the start of the school year.
If it weren't for this, they would never have agreed.
"Actually, you don't need to be angry," Tonks suddenly said. "This job is actually quite good. A lot of people are vying for it..."
"But that doesn't include us," Fred muttered.
"No, you..."
"Tonks," Kingsley suddenly spoke up, interrupting her.
"I was just going to say one thing," Tonks shrugged. "Aren't you opening a joke shop like Zonko's? Working there will be very helpful for you, and you'll gain a lot of knowledge... Alright, Kingsley, I won't say anymore. Stop staring at me like that."
The next second, Fred and George seemed to realize something, but Tonks fell silent.
"Oh, and here's one more thing."
Mrs. Weasley took out another roll of parchment.
"Oh, Mom, what's this now?" George asked, his scalp prickling at the sight of yet another parchment.
"It's the inventory list for your store," Mrs. Weasley said.
Due to Fred and George's impending employment at the Ministry, she seemed less opposed to the idea of their joke shop.
"Kyle added quite a few items. At the end, he said that if you insist on not going to the Ministry, he would have me cross them off the list.
"But now, it seems there's no need for that."
The twins took the parchment and peered at it.
Hogwarts Map
Self-Warming Badge
Self-Inking Feather Quill
...
There were about a dozen items in total, all little gadgets that Kyle had invented during his time at Hogwarts, and they were quite popular.
"He's giving all of this to us?" George asked, his eyes wide.
"You'll have to give him a share of the profits," Mrs. Weasley said seriously. "We can't just take other people's things for free."
"Alright, I was just asking..."
"Don't worry, Mom, we won't," Fred assured her.
As Fred and George looked at the parchment, the anger in their hearts unknowingly diminished a little...
These were truly valuable items. Kyle's inventions were indeed well-received, and they would definitely help their shop gain fame more quickly.
Take the map, for example... The self-navigating map was just as good as the Marauder's Map, except that it couldn't display everyone's names.
They believed that any new student who walked into their shop wouldn't be able to resist buying such an item.
But even so, they couldn't just forgive Kyle. At most, they would... lessen the number of punches they would throw at him.
"Mom," Fred said through gritted teeth as he took a vicious bite out of his pie, "we forgot something at home. Can we go back to St. Catchpole tomorrow?"
"Yes, it's something very important," George added, narrowing his eyes.
"It's possible, but be quick about it," Mrs. Weasley nodded. "Don't forget you have to go to the Ministry in the morning. It's important to make a good first impression on your first day of work, so don't be late."
"We'll be quick," Fred said again, taking another bite of his pie as if it were someone he wanted to bite into.
...
(End of Chapter)
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