Chapter 798: A Day in Hermione's Life
Chapter 798: A Day in Hermione's Life
At eleven in the evening, Hermione, who had been busy all day, finally returned.
As soon as she entered the door, she rushed straight for the dinner table, ignoring all manners and elegance, and grabbed a roasted potato, stuffing it into her mouth.
"Eat slowly, there's plenty more here." Mrs. Weasley quickly pushed a whole basket of roasted potatoes towards Hermione and placed the pie intended for Mr. Weasley in front of her.
"Arthur, what's going on? Doesn't the Ministry of Magic allow people to eat?" Mrs. Weasley asked angrily.
Hermione's current appearance made it seem as though she hadn't eaten in days.
"Of course, the Ministry of Magic allows people to eat. She's just not used to the workload yet," Mr. Weasley said calmly as he took another piece of pie and cut it into small pieces with a knife before popping them into his mouth.
Though his speed was not slow, compared to Hermione's, he ate with far more elegance.
"So, what exactly was she doing?"
"The Muggle-Worthy Excuse Committee, one of the most tedious positions in the Ministry of Magic," Mr. Weasley explained. "She's been out all day and only returned ten minutes ago."
"Then, don't Muggles have shops that sell food?" Mrs. Weasley still didn't understand.
"They do."
At this point, Hermione finally shifted her attention away from the roasted potatoes and pie. She took a big gulp of pumpkin juice and said, "Mr. Perod bought me some fish and chips, but I was so focused on registering information and scheduling a plumber for Mrs. Figg that I forgot where I put them.
"By the time I finished organizing everything, it was already half-past ten."
Strangely enough, Hermione hadn't felt hungry at all while she was working. It was only after she had completed all her tasks that she realized she hadn't eaten anything in over ten hours.
That sudden wave of hunger almost caused her to faint on her way back to the Ministry.
"Plumber... What's that?" Ron, who had just come downstairs, asked curiously. "Is it someone who manages swimming pools?"
"No, it's someone who fixes pipes," Hermione replied. But before she could say more, Mr. Weasley interjected.
"I never knew they needed appointments. How do they do it? Do they send letters or telegrams, and do they need stamps?"
"I believe it's done by telephone," Harry said softly. "Telegrams are quite outdated now."
"Yes, that's it. Telephone," Mr. Weasley nodded. "I've bought one, too. It's in the attic of our old house, but I didn't bring it with us."
"To be honest, I've always found the Muggle-Worthy Excuse Committee fascinating. If we put salary aside, I'd be quite interested in that job. I'm just not sure if I'd be capable enough," Mr. Weasley admitted.
Regarding his doubt, Harry felt that the odds were... unlikely.
While Mr. Weasley was exceptionally curious about Muggle objects, one could even say fanatical, his fundamental knowledge was lacking. He didn't know the names of many things and could only remember vague nicknames.
If he were tasked with mediating conflicts between wizards and Muggles, he would likely create more chaos, and the Muggles might even end up calling the police.
Moreover, there was one crucial point: Mr. Weasley, with his seven children to feed, couldn't afford to ignore the salary aspect.
"You don't need stamps for phone calls; those are for sending letters," Hermione patiently answered Mr. Weasley's questions.
Seizing the opportunity, Mr. Weasley asked more about Muggle life, such as how lawnmowers worked and what gasoline was.
It wasn't until he noticed the increasingly dangerous glances from Mrs. Weasley that he abruptly stopped. "Don't misunderstand, Molly. I'm just concerned about Hermione. You know, it's her first day on the job, and there are bound to be many things she's not accustomed to yet. I'm trying to help her, not satisfy my own curiosity."
"Well, you better be," Mrs. Weasley glared at him before turning to Hermione. "But what's going on? Why did Hermione suddenly start working at the Ministry?"
"To be honest, I don't know either," Mr. Weasley shrugged. "Chris only mentioned that Kyle took her there to help out."
"How is this related to Kyle again?" Mrs. Weasley became even more confused. "He's been home all day."
"Not necessarily, Mum. Remember when I went to call Kyle for lunch, there was no response from his room. He was also over an hour late for dinner," Ron pointed out.
"So what?" Fred said nonchalantly. "When we're working on new products, we often lock ourselves in our rooms for an entire day. There's nothing strange about it."
"That may be true, but..."
"You're right, I did go to the Ministry," Kyle, who had been drawn by the noise, walked downstairs. He glanced at the time. "It's pretty late. Aren't any of you planning to sleep?"
"Can't sleep," Harry replied. "All I do every day is sleep. But Kyle, did you really go to the Ministry earlier?"
"Yeah, I had something to take care of," Kyle nodded. Turning to Mrs. Weasley, he apologized, "Sorry, I knew I couldn't get out through the front door, so I had to use another method."
"You shouldn't have kept this from me..." Mrs. Weasley began, her voice trailing off as she seemed to realize something.
"You didn't leave the house?" Ron asked, puzzled. "Then how did you get to the Ministry of Magic? Did you use the Floo Network?"
"Impossible," Hermione interjected, taking another pie. "The fireplace here isn't connected to the Floo Network, and Apparition and Portkeys are prohibited."
"Then how did you do it?" Harry chimed in, his eyes sparkling with curiosity as he looked at Kyle, clearly interested in his mode of transportation to the Ministry.
"Phoenixes," Kyle said matter-of-factly. "Didn't you experience it yourselves yesterday? Phoenixes can Apparate without any restrictions, even from within a room."
The room fell silent as everyone seemed to recall the same unpleasant memory.
Harry suddenly felt that if he had to rely on a phoenix to leave, sleeping in his room didn't sound too bad.
Hermione lost her appetite, and for some reason, her heart stirred with emotion. She hadn't expected Kyle to pay such a hefty price to help her at the Ministry...
"Wait a minute..."
Hermione suddenly realized something. "That's not right. I remember when you arrived at the Ministry, you looked perfectly fine."
"What do you mean?" Kyle blinked, not understanding her line of questioning.
"I mean," Hermione explained, "Shouldn't Apparition with a phoenix be a bit more turbulent?"
The first time she had been carried by a phoenix from Godric's Hollow to Hogsmeade, she had almost vomited up her breakfast from the day before.
And it wasn't just her; everyone else had experienced the same, even Sirius Black and Auror Tonks hadn't fared much better.
Yet Kyle looked like he had merely stumbled a bit; otherwise, he seemed perfectly fine and didn't appear to be in any discomfort.
"Oh, that," Kyle dismissed it with a wave of his hand. "It's like taking flying lessons. After a few tries, you get used to it, and it's no big deal."
Hermione hesitated, unsure how to respond... She felt she could never get used to it, and unless absolutely necessary, she would never attempt it again.
"I must apologize for what I said earlier," Hermione said after swallowing her pie. She looked earnestly at Kyle. "Regarding the Muggle-Worthy Excuse Committee, I didn't know the full story."
"It's fine. They don't know either," Kyle waved his hand dismissively. "How was it?"
"Troublesome," Hermione sighed. "The work isn't difficult, but it's tedious, and I haven't thought of any solutions yet."
Throughout the day, she felt like a broken record, repeatedly explaining various Muggle common sense to the wizards.
And even that wasn't enough; they didn't understand, so she had to explain it from different angles and perspectives, combining similar situations from the wizarding world, and repeat the explanation three times before they comprehended.
Hermione felt she had never spoken so much in a single day. If not for the potion Mr. Perod had prepared in advance, her throat would have given out by now.
"Is that job really that busy?" Ron asked curiously, and even Harry found it unbelievable.
After all, up until now, they hadn't even heard of the so-called Muggle-Worthy Excuse Committee in the Ministry of Magic.
"Let's just say there's no time to rest," Hermione sighed. "From morning till now, I've either been solving problems or on my way to solve them. I feel like I've circled around Britain in a day."
"That's a bit of an exaggeration, isn't it?"
"No, it's not. It's the truth."
"Then how do you get around? Apparition?" Harry asked.
"Portkeys," Hermione said.
"Do you make them yourself?"
"Of course not." Hermione shook her head. "Mr. Perod is only allowed to make Portkeys to return to the Ministry of Magic. For the rest, we have to wait until we've solved a problem before we can get another one."
"You have to go back to the Ministry?" Ron grumbled. "That's too troublesome."
"It can't be helped," Hermione said. "Portkeys can be used by anyone, even Muggles, so they're always restricted by the Ministry. I've used more Portkeys today than in the past few years combined."
At this point, Hermione sighed softly and took a big gulp of pumpkin juice.
"What else did you do?" Ron continued his interrogation.
"Well," Hermione said, "It's all tedious stuff. The most common issue I encountered today was about clothing. For example, this afternoon, there was a wizard living in a Muggle neighborhood who didn't understand why he was suddenly arrested by the police when he was just walking along."
"Arrested by what?"
"Muggle Aurors," Mr. Weasley interjected excitedly, then looked at Hermione as if expecting affirmation.
"If we're going by job descriptions, they're more like Strikers," Hermione said, "but you could call them Aurors as well."
Hermione shook her head. "No, it wasn't that."
"Then was it because they attacked Muggles?" Ron persisted.
"No, not that either," Hermione replied.
"Then why?"
"Because it's uncommon for a Muggle man to go shopping wearing only a skirt." Hermione rubbed her eyes. "Let me emphasize: he was wearing only one skirt."
Harry couldn't help but laugh, but quickly covered his mouth at the look on Hermione's face.
"Can you imagine?" she continued. "He wore the long skirt like a coat and went to greet his female neighbor..." Hermione's voice began to shake with suppressed laughter.
"We had to use a Confundus Charm to smooth things over, and then we spent two hours explaining to him that it wasn't a Muggle robe and couldn't be worn alone."
Harry held his mouth, his cheeks puffed out as if he had stuffed two oranges into them.
He couldn't quite picture the scene if one of Uncle Vernon's neighbors had greeted them wearing just a long skirt. Aunt Petunia would have gone ballistic.
His aunt and uncle's family was the epitome of normalcy among Muggles, and they abhorred anything out of the ordinary, like wizards and magic.
However, the day before his birthday, they had all been picked up by members of the Order of the Phoenix, and he wasn't sure if they had returned yet.
As Harry mulled over this, he managed to divert his attention and finally suppressed his laughter.
If he had laughed out loud, Hermione would have killed him.
At that moment, Hermione rubbed her eyes again.
"How are you holding up?" Kyle asked, looking at her with concern. "Do you want to transfer to another department? I also have connections in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, and the work there is much more regular. It would still give you a chance to familiarize yourself with the Ministry."
"No, that's not necessary." Hermione took a deep breath and stubbornly replied, "Regardless, I will stay here for a full month. Besides, I want to try and see if I can do something to make their work easier."
"That won't be easy," Kyle said. "It's hard to change the habits of those wizards."
"I want to try," Hermione said firmly. "Someone has to try to bring about some change. If I can't even do this, then I might as well give up on more troublesome tasks."
"Hmm." Kyle raised an eyebrow and poured two cups of mead, handing one to Hermione. "In that case, I wish you success."
"Hey, Kyle, that's not fair." Sirius protested. "Are we just supposed to sit here and watch?"
"If you want a drink, just say so," Kyle bluntly revealed his cousin's thoughts and passed the bottle to him.
"But can you guys drink?"
"Mead is fine. Even if it affects us, it won't hinder our movements." He poured a cup for everyone, and the bottle was just enough.
Then they all raised their cups and wished Hermione success.
"She's becoming more and more inscrutable," Ron whispered to Harry as they drank. "Why does she insist on staying there? I still think the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures is a better choice. At least it's one of the largest departments in the Ministry."
"Maybe she has her reasons," Harry said.
To be honest, he didn't quite understand either, but since it was Hermione's decision, he supported it.
And to tell the truth, if given the chance, he would like to keep himself busy as well.
However, he knew that neither Mrs. Weasley nor Sirius would allow him to step out of the door.
As for Kyle's method... that was out of the question.
After finishing the mead, everyone dispersed. Mrs. Weasley sent the children back to their rooms and urged them to go to sleep.
Fred and George didn't return to their room but instead sneaked off to find Kyle.
"We've thought about it," Fred said as soon as they entered. "About the new communication item you mentioned earlier tonight."
"Are you sure the Ministry will pay for it?" George asked.
"To be honest, I can't be a hundred percent sure," Kyle admitted. "But from what Bones said, if there's a product that meets all the requirements, she should agree to provide it to the Aurors."
"But does the Ministry have the money?" Fred voiced another concern. "I heard they plan to expand the Auror and Hit Wizard forces, and the larger the number of personnel, the more money they'll need. Do they really have galleons to spare for new magical items?"
"They should," Kyle considered. "At least providing one for each Auror team shouldn't be a problem."
"In that case, we're in," Fred said. "We're due for a new product launch anyway. Even if the Ministry doesn't want it, we can sell it to others."
"Don't worry about that for now," Kyle said, looking at them with a kind smile. "Are you interested in honing your skills or, shall we say, making a significant contribution to the peace of the wizarding world and the stability of the Muggle world?"
(End of Chapter)
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