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Chapter 691: The Weasley Twins Join the Ministry of Magic
Chapter 691: The Weasley Twins Join the Ministry of Magic
In the evening, to celebrate the twins' graduation and welcome everyone home for the holidays, Mrs. Weasley prepared a grand feast and invited members of the Phoenix Society, including Moody, Tonks, and Kingsley, to join them for dinner.
Even Professor McGonagall, who had just finished her term, made an appearance.
As she entered the foyer, Mrs. Weasley greeted her with delight.
"I'm so glad you could make it, Minerva," she said with a smile.
"I'm here in London on other business," Professor McGonagall replied. "Sasha has developed a new healing potion that's said to be very effective against Dark Magic injuries."
"Merlin's beard, a potion for Dark Magic injuries..." Mrs. Weasley exclaimed, surprised. "That's wonderful! Have you gotten it already?"
Professor McGonagall shook her head. "Not yet. I just arrived in London."
"Is it okay for you to come here first?" Mrs. Weasley asked. "Should I have Arthur take you to St. Mungo's first?"
"It's fine," Professor McGonagall assured her. "Sasha and I have an appointment at eight, so I have time for dinner."
"Anyone else coming?" Mrs. Weasley glanced towards the door.
"No, just me," Professor McGonagall said, walking towards the dining room. "Severus won't be joining us for dinner. We'll meet at St. Mungo's later."
"Alright then..." Mrs. Weasley said.
If it were Snape, he might even take a detour to avoid walking past Sirius' house.
"Mom, who's here..."
At that moment, Ron and Ginny came running down the stairs, but upon seeing Professor McGonagall, they both stopped in their tracks.
"Professor McGonagall..."
"Ma'am?"
"Yes, Mr. Weasley, Miss Weasley," Professor McGonagall said indifferently.
"Come in, today's a special day," Mrs. Weasley urged, opening the dining room door. She then turned to Ron and Ginny, saying, "Don't just stand there, go and call Fred and George for dinner. They're the stars today."
It wasn't until Professor McGonagall entered the dining room that Ron and Ginny snapped out of their daze.
"Are we on holiday now?" Ron asked uncertainly.
"Obviously," Ginny sighed. "But you can go to bed if you want. Maybe you'll wake up and find yourself still in the Hogwarts dorms."
"Never mind, I'm starving," Ron said. "But why is Professor McGonagall here... I mean, she's never come before."
"Not coming before doesn't mean she won't come at all," Ginny had accepted the reality. "Don't forget, this is the Phoenix Society's headquarters. All members might drop by, including Professor McGonagall."
Meanwhile, Fred and George had just Apparated into the dining room.
Like Ron and Ginny earlier, they had been joking around, but upon seeing Professor McGonagall, their faces turned serious, and they fell silent.
But the next moment, they realized they had graduated and had no reason to fear Professor McGonagall anymore.
They smiled at each other and greeted her warmly.
"Welcome, Professor McGonagall..."
"It would be wonderful to see you here often..."
"Do you need us to recommend a room?"
"The sunlight on the third floor is the best."
They spoke in unison, sounding like real estate agents.
Ron, who had just entered the dining room, was left speechless once again.
His room was on the third floor.
Ron had reason to suspect that Fred and George were doing this on purpose.
"Thank you, Mr. Weasleys, but no need," Professor McGonagall said, trying to hold back a smile. "I won't be staying here."
"That's a pity," Fred said, shaking his head in disappointment.
George covered his chest with his hand, clearly showing their sadness.
"Come and get ready for dinner," Mrs. Weasley said, placing a plate of fried fish on the table. She turned to Fred and George and added, "Professor McGonagall has other matters to attend to later, so don't waste time."
"Yes, Mom."
"We're just feeling sorry for Ron..."
"He missed an opportunity to improve his grades."
Fred and George sat down with smiles, while Ron joined them quietly.
"Alright then," Mrs. Weasley stood up and said with a smile, "First of all, let's congratulate our two new members on their graduation and finding great jobs..."
Everyone clapped in agreement.
Fred and George immediately stood up and bowed gracefully to express their gratitude.
They had intentionally worn their black dragon skin jackets, and their movements were graceful and stylish.
"Now, let's move on to the gifts..."
"Gifts?!" Fred asked in surprise.
"Of course! Bill and the others received gifts upon graduation, and you're no exception, Arthur..."
Mr. Weasley quickly stood up and handed over two small boxes.
"You don't lack anything else, so I chose these specially."
Fred and George excitedly opened the boxes, and Ron curiously peeked over.
"Dad, what's this?"
"A tie." Mr. Weasley exclaimed excitedly, "I asked Mr. Granger about it. He told me that Muggles wear these when they work in places like the Ministry of Magic, so I asked him to pick a couple for me."
"Seriously, this thing isn't cheap. It's almost enough to buy a decent flying broomstick if we convert it to Galleons!
At that moment, Fred and George had already unwrapped their gift packages.
The joy on their faces quickly faded, replaced by a look of confusion.
"Wait a minute..."
"Dad, you mentioned the Ministry of Magic?"
"But you know, we're going to open a joke shop, and we've even found a location for it."
...
"Huh?"
Mr. Weasley paused for a moment, then produced two pieces of parchment.
"But you've already signed the Ministry's employment application."
Fred and George immediately stepped forward to take a closer look.
[Ministry of Magic Employment Application (Office of Pseudo-Protection Devices and Equipment Enforcement)]
...
The parchment was filled with text, and they didn't bother reading it in detail, instead, their eyes went straight to the end.
Upon seeing the two familiar names, Fred and George were both taken aback. It did seem to be their signatures, but the problem was, they were certain they had never signed such a document and would never do so.
"This must be fake!" Fred exclaimed.
"Wait a second..." George seemed to realize something, and he stiffly said, "Fred, do you remember after the exam when Cedric said he wanted to comfort Kyle, so he made two fake employment applications?"
Fred recalled the incident after George's reminder.
Indeed, something like that had happened.
At the time, Cedric thought it would be fun to prank Kyle by pretending to work at the Ministry of Magic with him. They found it amusing and agreed.
"But that application wasn't fake?" Fred asked, glancing at the form on the table again.
"Yes, it's the Office of Pseudo-Protection Devices and Equipment Enforcement... I've never heard of such an office in the Ministry before."
"Ahem..." Kingsley suddenly coughed, suppressing a laugh, "In fact, it's a newly established department."
"Because the return of the Mysterious Man has everyone on edge, and there are people everywhere selling fake products claiming to defend against Death Eaters. To prevent these fake products from harming the people, Assistant Kyle proposed the establishment of a new office... The Minister has already agreed."
Fred's grip loosened, and the box he was holding fell to the ground.
He suddenly realized something.
"You're right." Kingsley slightly turned his head, "This is true. You two are the first batch of recruits, and the office is right next to Arthur's."
Fred and George were stunned.
They never expected things to turn out this way.
If Kyle had brought the form to them, they definitely wouldn't have signed, even if it was fake... Because they knew Kyle too well; no matter what he said, they would have refused.
But Cedric was different. In their minds, including everyone else's, Cedric was a typical Hufflepuff—honest and loyal. So when the parchment appeared before them, they signed their names without a second thought.
They never expected Cedric, that big-eyed, bushy-browed guy, to turn against them!
"As expected, anyone who can get along with Kyle isn't a good person." George muttered.
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But he didn't notice the strange looks everyone was giving him at that moment.
Most of the people present had experience teaching Dark Arts Defense at Hogwarts, so they were well aware of the close relationship between the Weasley brothers and Kyle.
This was a real tough guy, they thought.
"Can we not go?" Fred asked, "We didn't know the truth when we signed, so it shouldn't count, right?"
"Exactly." George nodded in agreement.
"Of course... you can." Kingsley said, "Although you've been accepted, it's your choice whether to come or not."
"But..."
Before Fred and George could even sigh in relief, Kingsley continued.
"Assistant Kyle once said... Well, I think his words at the time were related to you. Let me just say it straight.
Kyle said that if you don't go to work at the Ministry for at least two months, he will bring the Striking Squad to Diagon Alley to inspect your shop's Dark Arts defense measures until it passes inspection."
Fred and George stood there, stunned as if struck by lightning.
Professor McGonagall felt like laughing. She never expected to witness such an interesting scene when she just came for dinner.
It was rare to see the famous pranksters of Hogwarts with such expressions on their faces.
"I've never heard of needing a Dark Arts inspection to open a shop..." Fred clenched his teeth.
"He must be trying to get us to the Ministry of Magic this way!"
"I must say..." Kingsley calmly looked at them, "As the Senior Minister's Assistant, Kyle has this authority, and he's not an ordinary assistant; his authority is even greater than that of a typical Director or Deputy Minister. I advise you not to go against him."
Ron couldn't hold back his laughter and let out a snort, but upon seeing the stern looks from his older brothers, he quickly suppressed it.
"But Dad," Fred turned to Mr. Weasley, "we've already paid the rent for Diagon Alley, and it's a substantial sum."
"It's fine," Mrs. Weasley waved her hand, "Kyle has taken care of everything. He's even invited two house-elves with shopkeeping experience from Hogwarts to help out, and they'll manage the shop."
"But what about the Dark Magic inspection..."
"If it's a house-elf, there's no need for that," Kingsley said with a smile.
"The shop opening and working at the Ministry..." Ron couldn't help but speak up, "Doesn't that mean they'll be getting two salaries?"
"That's right."
Mrs. Weasley said, "House-elves don't need a salary... Although when Kyle discussed this with me, I also mentioned giving them some money, just like we did with Dobby before. But these elves kept banging their heads against the wall as if they'd heard something terrifying."
"So Kyle suggested using sweets as a replacement for their salary."
Ron couldn't bring himself to laugh. He took a bite of the beef pie, and it tasted like biting into a lemon... sour.
However, no one paid attention to his feelings. Fred and George remained silent for a while, then slumped back into their chairs.
No wonder Kyle and Cedric had them choose the black jackets on the train, and no wonder they were laughing so happily back then.
Now everything made sense.
They had considered resisting, but Kyle seemed to have blocked all their options. Not going to the Ministry was unacceptable to them, but the Weasley Joke Shop couldn't open without them.
"Forget it, it's only two months," Fred slammed the table, "Let's do it!"
Kyle's only sense of morality, perhaps, was not keeping them at the Ministry all the time. It wasn't even July yet, and two months later would be the end of August, just in time for the busiest period before the start of school.
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, many people are eager to get in..."
"But that doesn't include us," Fred muttered.
"No, you..."
"Tonks." Kingsley suddenly spoke up, interrupting her.
"I'll just say one thing." Tonks shrugged, "Isn't your shop going to be like Zonko's Joke Shop? Working there will be helpful for you, you'll gain experience..."
The next second, Fred and George seemed to realize something, but Tonks fell silent.
"Oh, and this."
Mrs. Weasley took out another piece of parchment.
"Oh, Mom, what's this now?" George was starting to feel a bit numb seeing the parchment.
"It's the inventory list for your shop," Mrs. Weasley said.
Since Fred and George's upcoming work at the Ministry, she no longer seemed as opposed to their joke shop as she had been before.
"Kyle added quite a few things for you at the last moment, and he said that if you insist on not going to the Ministry, he'd cross them off the list.
"It doesn't seem necessary now."
Fred and George took the parchment and moved closer to examine it.
Hogwarts Map
Self-Warming Badge
Auto-Ink Feather Pen
...
There were about a dozen items, all little gadgets that Kyle had developed at Hogwarts, and they were all quite popular.
"Is he giving these to us?" George's eyes widened.
"We have to give Kyle a share," Mrs. Weasley said seriously, "We can't just take other people's things for free."
"Okay, I was just saying..."
"Don't worry, Mom, we won't."
Fred and George looked at the parchment, and the anger in their hearts gradually subsided...
These were truly valuable items, and Kyle's gadgets were indeed well-received. They could quickly help their shop gain popularity.
Take the map, for example... The auto-path map, aside from not displaying everyone's names, was almost as good as the Marauder's Map.
They believed that any new student who walked into their shop wouldn't miss out on such great items.
But even so, they couldn't just forgive Kyle. At most, they'd punch him a little less...
"Mom." Fred took a vicious bite of the pie, "We forgot something at home. Can we go back to Stagford Village tomorrow?"
"Yes, it's something important." George also narrowed his eyes.
"It's possible, but hurry." Mrs. Weasley nodded, "Don't forget that you have to go to the Ministry in the morning. It's important to leave a good impression on your first day of work, and being late won't do."
"Ah, we'll hurry." Fred took another bite of the pie, as if the pie in his hand was someone.
...
(End of Chapter)
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