Chapter 798: Hermione's Day
Chapter 798: Hermione's Day
At 11 PM, Hermione, who had been busy all day, finally returned home.
The moment she entered, she rushed straight to the dining table with her midnight snack, completely disregarding manners and image, and stuffed a roasted potato into her mouth.
"Eat slowly, there's plenty more here," Mrs. Weasley hurriedly 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? Is the Ministry of Magic not allowing people to eat?" Mrs. Weasley asked angrily.
Hermione's current state made her look as if she hadn't eaten for three days.
"Of course, the Ministry allows people to eat. She's just not used to it yet," Mr. Weasley calmly took another piece of pie and cut it into small pieces before putting it in his mouth.
Although he was not slow, he appeared much more elegant compared to Hermione's speed.
"So, where did she go?"
"The Muggle Liaison 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."
"So, don't Muggles have shops that sell food?" Mrs. Weasley still didn't understand.
"They do."
At this moment, Hermione finally shifted her attention away from the roasted potatoes and pie. She took a big gulp of pumpkin juice, "Mr. Perlod bought me fish and chips, but I was so focused on recording information and scheduling a plumber appointment for Mrs. Figg that I forgot where I put them.
"By the time I finished arranging everything, it was already 10:30 PM."
Strangely, Hermione didn't feel hungry while working. It wasn't until she had completed all her tasks that she realized she hadn't eaten in over ten hours.
The sudden hunger almost made her faint on her way back to the Ministry of Magic.
"What's a plumber... What is it?" Ron, who had just come down from upstairs, asked curiously, "Is it someone who manages water?"
"No, it's someone who fixes pipes," Hermione hadn't finished speaking when Mr. Weasley interjected, "I never knew they needed appointments. How do they do it? By sending letters or telegrams, or do they use postage stamps?"
"It should be by phone," Harry whispered beside him, "Telegrams are an old method."
"Yes, that's right," Mr. Weasley nodded, "Phone. I've bought one before, it's in the attic of The Burrow, but I didn't bring it with me."
"To be honest, I've always found the Muggle Liaison Committee very interesting. If we don't consider the salary, I'm quite open to this job, but I'm not sure if I can do it well."
Regarding his doubts, Harry felt it was highly unlikely... that he could.
Although Mr. Weasley was exceptionally interested in Muggle things, even to the point of obsession, his basic knowledge was lacking. He didn't even know the names of many things and could only remember a rough idea.
If he were to mediate conflicts between wizards and Muggles, it was likely he would create more trouble, and the Muggles might even call the police.
Moreover, there was one crucial point: for Mr. Weasley, who had to support seven children, the salary issue was unavoidable.
"You don't need postage stamps for phone calls; those are for sending letters," Hermione patiently answered Mr. Weasley's question.
Mr. Weasley took the opportunity to ask more about Muggle-related issues, such as how lawnmowers worked and what gasoline was.
It wasn't until he noticed Mrs. Weasley's increasingly dangerous gaze that he abruptly stopped, "Don't get the wrong idea, I'm just concerned about Hermione. You know, it's her first day at work, and it's normal to have many things she's not used to. I'm trying to help her, not because I'm interested myself."
"That's good," Mrs. Weasley glared at him and then asked, "But what's going on? Why did Hermione suddenly start working at the Ministry of Magic?"
"Honestly, I don't know either," Mr. Weasley shrugged, "Chris only said that Kyle took her to help."
"So, it's related to Kyle again," Mrs. Weasley became even more confused, "He was clearly at home today."
"Not necessarily, Mom," Ron said, "Remember? When I went to call Kyle for lunch, there was no movement in his room, and he was almost an hour late for dinner too."
"It's nothing," Fred said nonchalantly, "When we research new products, we also lock ourselves in our rooms all day. There's nothing strange about it."
"That's true, but..."
"Yes, I did go to the Ministry of Magic," Kyle, who had heard the commotion, came down from upstairs and glanced at the time.
"It's so late, aren't any of you going to sleep?"
"I can't sleep," Harry said, "Besides sleeping, there's nothing else I can do. But Kyle, you said you went to the Ministry of Magic?"
"Yes, I had something to take care of," Kyle nodded and looked at Mrs. Weasley, "I'm sorry, I know I can't leave through the front door, so I had to use another method."
"You shouldn't have hidden it from me," Mrs. Weasley was a bit unhappy, "What if something happened to you on the way?
"It won't," Kyle said. "In fact, I haven't even left the house."
"You haven't left the house?" Ron asked in confusion. "Then how did you get to the Ministry of Magic, the Floo Network?"
"Impossible," Hermione said, taking another pie. "The fireplace here isn't connected to the Floo Network, and even Portkeys and Apparition are prohibited."
"Then how did you do it?" Harry also felt curious, and as he spoke, he looked at Kyle with anticipation, seemingly interested in his method of reaching the Ministry.
"The Phoenix, didn't you just experience it yesterday?" Kyle said matter-of-factly. "Phoenix Apparition has no restrictions; you can do it right in the room."
The room fell silent, and no one spoke. Everyone seemed to recall the same unpleasant memory.
Harry instantly felt that if he had to rely on the Phoenix to leave, then sleeping in the room wasn't too bad.
Hermione couldn't even finish her meal. For some reason, she felt a surge of emotion and was touched. She never expected Kyle to pay such a high price to help her get to the Ministry of Magic.
"Wait..."
Hermione suddenly thought of something. "That's not right. I remember you looked quite normal when you arrived at the Ministry."
"Is there a problem?" Kyle blinked, not understanding why she said that.
"I mean, Apparition with the Phoenix shouldn't be so calm, right?" Hermione explained.
When she was first taken by the Phoenix from Godric's Valley to Hogsmeade, she almost threw up yesterday's breakfast.
If it had been just her, it would have been fine, but everyone was like that, even Sirius and Auror Tonks didn't fare much better.
But Kyle looked like he was just a bit unsteady on his feet, and everything else was no different from usual. He didn't seem to be in distress at all.
"Oh, you mean that." Kyle said nonchalantly. "It's like taking Flying lessons. After a few times, you get used to it and it becomes natural."
Hermione hesitated and didn't speak... She felt she wouldn't be able to get used to it, and unless absolutely necessary, she would never try it a second time.
"I must apologize for what I said before." Hermione said seriously after swallowing the pie and looking at Kyle. "Regarding the Muggle Liaison Committee, I didn't know the truth."
"It's fine. They don't know either." Kyle waved his hand. "How do you feel?"
"It's 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 tape recorder, repeatedly explaining various Muggle world knowledge to the wizards countless times.
Even once wasn't enough; they didn't understand at all. She had to repeat it three times, combining it with similar situations in the Wizarding World and explaining it from different directions and angles.
Hermione felt she had never spoken so much in one day. If it weren't for the potion Mr. Perlod had prepared in advance, her throat would probably be hoarse by now.
"Is the job really that busy?" Ron asked curiously, and even Harry found it incredible.
After all, before this, they hadn't even heard of the Muggle Liaison Committee in the Ministry of Magic.
"I'd say there's absolutely 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?"
"Exaggeration? Not at all, it's the truth."
"Then how did you travel? Apparition?" Harry asked.
"Portkeys." Hermione said.
"Did you make them yourself?"
"Of course not." Hermione shook her head. "Mr. Perlod is only allowed to make Portkeys that return to the Ministry of Magic. The rest have to be picked up after we solve a problem."
"And go back to the Ministry?" Ron muttered. "That's too troublesome."
"That's the situation. Anyone can use Portkeys, even Muggles, so they've always been restricted by the Ministry of Magic." Hermione sighed. "The Portkeys I used today are more than the total in the past few years combined."
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Speaking of this, Hermione sighed and took a big sip of pumpkin juice.
"What did you do?" Ron continued to ask.
"Well, they're all tedious tasks. The most common issue I encountered was clothing. For example, this afternoon, there was a wizard living in a Muggle community who didn't understand why he was suddenly arrested by the Muggles."
"Arrested by whom?"
"The Muggle Aurors." Mr. Weasley said excitedly, then looked at Hermione, as if seeking affirmation.
"If we're talking about their duties, they're more like enforcers." Hermione said. "But you can call them Aurors too.
"See, I told you I knew." Mr. Weasley said happily.
"So that's why those Muggle Aurors arrested the wizards." Ron frowned, "Because they performed magic illegally?"
"No." Hermione shook her head.
"Then did they attack Muggles?"
"Not that either."
"So why?"
"Because Muggle men rarely go shopping in just a skirt." Hermione rubbed her eyes, "Listen to what I'm saying, it's just a skirt."
"Pfft!" Harry couldn't help but laugh out loud, but quickly covered his mouth when he saw Hermione's gaze.
"Imagine him wearing a long skirt as a coat and then greeting the neighbors..." Hermione's voice began to tremble.
"We had to use the Confundus Charm to settle the matter, and then it took two hours to explain to him that it wasn't a Muggle robe and couldn't be worn alone."
Harry tightly covered his mouth, his face puffed up as if he had two oranges in his mouth.
It was hard to imagine what the scene would be like if Vernon's neighbors greeted them in a long skirt, and Aunt Petunia would surely go crazy.
Their family was the most normal Muggles, and the most intolerant of abnormal things like wizards and magic.
However, the day before his birthday, they were all taken away by members of the Order of the Phoenix, and he didn't know if they had returned yet.
Harry thought about this while trying to distract himself, finally managing to hold back his laughter.
If he laughed at this moment, Hermione would surely kill him.
At this moment, Hermione rubbed her eyes again.
"How's it going?" Kyle asked, looking at her, "Do you want to switch departments? I have connections in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, and the work there is much more normal. It will also help you get familiar with the Ministry of Magic."
"No, it's not necessary." Hermione took a deep breath and stubbornly said, "Anyway, I will stay here for a month. Besides, I want to try to see if I can do something to make their work easier."
"That's not easy." Kyle said, "It's hard to change those wizards."
"I want to try. Someone has to try to change something." Hermione said firmly, "If I can't even do this, then forget about tackling more troublesome matters."
"Hmm." Kyle raised an eyebrow, poured two cups of mead, and pushed one towards Hermione, "Then I wish you success."
"Hey, Kyle, you're wrong." Sirius said discontentedly, "What about us? Are we just going to watch?"
"If you want to drink, just say so." Kyle bluntly exposed his thoughts and passed the bottle in his hand.
"But can you drink?"
"Mead is fine. Even if we take action, it won't affect anything." He poured a cup for everyone, just finishing.
Then everyone raised their cups, toasting to Hermione's success.
"She's becoming more and more incomprehensible." As they drank the mead, Ron whispered to Harry, "Why does she have to stay there? I think the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures is better. At least it's the second largest department in the Ministry of Magic."
"Maybe she has her own ideas." Harry said.
Actually, he didn't understand either, but since it was Hermione's decision, supporting her was the right thing to do.
To be honest, if possible, he also wanted to keep himself busy.
But he knew that neither Mrs. Weasley nor Sirius would allow him to leave this place.
As for Kyle's suggestion... that was not an option.
After finishing the mead, everyone went their separate ways. Mrs. Weasley sent the kids back to their rooms, urging them to sleep quickly.
Fred and George didn't return to their room but secretly found Kyle.
"We've thought about it." As soon as they entered, Fred asked about the new communication item Kyle mentioned earlier.
"Do you think the Ministry of Magic will pay for it?" George asked.
"To be honest, I'm not a hundred percent sure." Kyle said, "But according to Bones, if there's a product that meets all their needs, she should agree to provide it for the Aurors."
"But does the Ministry of Magic have money?" Fred voiced another concern, "I heard the Ministry of Magic plans to expand the Auror and Hit Wizards, the more people, the more money needed. Do they really have Galleons to buy new magical items?"
"They should." Kyle thought for a moment, "At least one for each Auror team, that should be fine."
"No problem, we'll do it." Fred said, "Anyway, we're going to launch a new product. Even if the Ministry of Magic doesn't want it, we can sell it to others."
"No rush, let's take it slow." Kyle looked at them and suddenly smiled, "Do you want to train yourself, or rather, contribute a significant force for the peace of the Wizarding World and Muggle harmony?"
(End of Chapter)
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