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Chapter 800: Ron Gets Involved
Chapter 800: Ron Gets Involved
"Kyle, if we ever believe you again, we'll be as foolish as Bowtruckles..."
"It's Ferro seeds!"
"No, it's Bowtruckles that have been stepped on by Ferro seeds!"
At the dining table, Fred and George glared at Kyle, their eyes flashing with anger.
They regretted believing Kyle's words and wondered why they had fallen for his trick.
The night before, Kyle had tempted them to rejoin the Ministry of Magic by offering the Hufflepuff Golden Cup as a bargaining chip, and they had agreed, unable to resist the allure.
After all, it was a relic left by the Big Four of Hogwarts, and no alchemist could refuse such a temptation.
Although they disliked the idea of working for the Ministry, Kyle had persuaded them by saying that the Beast Division and the Muggle-born Registration Commission were different. He assured them that the workload would be lighter since there would be more people, and they wouldn't have to be stuck in an office or wander the busy streets of Diagon Alley.
So, they reluctantly agreed to lower their standards just this once.
However, what they didn't expect was that when they arrived at the Ministry, they found out that things were not at all as Kyle had described.
While it was true that the Beast Division had a large number of employees, there were also many departments: Beasts, Beings, Spirits, Beasts, Centaurs, Werewolves, and House-elves. Essentially, anyone who wasn't human fell under their jurisdiction. When you added up all the small and large offices, there were almost a dozen of them.
With so many departments, each office could only spare two or three people, which wasn't much different from Hermione's situation.
In fact, they had even returned half an hour later than Hermione today.
If it weren't for the enticement of the Golden Cup, they would have loved to hang Kyle from the roof.
"What's going on here?" Mrs. Weasley asked, walking in from the kitchen with a tray of freshly baked bread. "Is there a problem?"
"It's nothing, Mrs. Weasley," Kyle said casually. "I just found them a new job, dealing with some of the messes left behind by Death Eaters."
"Is it dangerous?" Mrs. Weasley asked, her eyebrows furrowing.
"Not at all," Kyle shook his head. "It's very safe. They won't have to face Death Eaters directly, nor will they be stuck in an office at the Ministry or wandering the busy streets of Diagon Alley. All they need to do is go out and about, dealing with magical creatures."
"That doesn't sound too bad," Mrs. Weasley remarked.
"But they don't seem too pleased about it," Kyle shrugged.
"What more could you two want?" Mrs. Weasley turned to Fred and George, her voice rising slightly. "It's time you took on some responsibility instead of always thinking about your magical pranks..."
"Mom, we're not trying to shirk our responsibilities," Fred protested.
"It's not like what Kyle is saying!" George added.
The twins wanted to explain, but they didn't know how to put it into words. Yes, they didn't have to stay in the office all the time, but that was because they were always out and about, and only returned to the office in the evenings.
As for the creatures they had to deal with... which 'little animal' had three heads and seven legs? Those were monsters, not animals!
As they stumbled over their words, Mrs. Weasley grew more irritated.
"Even Hermione understands that this is a time when help is needed. Why are the two of you so unwilling? Don't you dare try to slack off. If I find out that you've given up halfway, I'll twist your ears off."
Mrs. Weasley's reprimand left Fred and George cowering in their seats, their heads lowered. They dared not speak back, but they shot Kyle angry glares from under their eyelids, silently threatening him.
But did Kyle care? Not in the slightest.
After all, the Weasley brothers weren't basilisks whose gaze could kill. Let them glare all they wanted.
"Oh, and Kyle..." Mrs. Weasley suddenly turned back to him, "...if it's not too dangerous, could you ask Ron to help out as well? As a fully qualified adult wizard, he can't continue to be so lackadaisical. He spent the entire day playing Wizard's Chess today."
At the mention of his name, Ron, who had been snacking and enjoying the show, froze. Why was Mrs. Weasley suddenly bringing him into this?
"Of course, that's fine," Kyle said without hesitation, a smile spreading across his face. "Let me think... since Ron is a bit younger, perhaps he could work in an office instead of running around outside. How about we place him in my father's office?
"Of course, if he wants to work with Mr. Weasley, that's fine too, but it might be a bit troublesome since I've already resigned. My influence isn't what it used to be."
"No, your father's office is fine," Mrs. Weasley said with a smile. "And I'd rather he not work with Arthur. Knowing Arthur, he'd just help Ron find ways to slack off."
"Don't worry, he'll be fine," Kyle waved his hand dismissively. "The work is very simple – just organizing files and transcribing some information. He'll get the hang of it quickly."
"That's wonderful," Mrs. Weasley said, looking relieved.
It was only then that Ron realized that his fate for the rest of the holidays had been decided over a single meal. Thinking of Hermione's listless state these past few days and Fred and George's complaints, Ron felt a strong reluctance building within him.
He didn't want to go to the Ministry; he just wanted to stay at home, chat with Harry, and pass the time with a game of Wizard's Chess.
Ron's expression froze, and he turned to look at Harry.
But Harry just kept his head down, munching on his bread, giving no response to Ron's unspoken plea for help.
However, from Kyle's perspective, Harry's demeanor seemed a bit too deliberate, as if he didn't really oppose the decision, or at least he wasn't insistent on having Ron by his side.
Kyle could be certain that the reason had nothing to do with him, as he and Harry really had nothing much to talk about... unless Harry wanted to learn the Mind-Blocking Charm again.
"I, I still have homework to do." Without the support of his friends, Ron thought of another excuse, "Oh right, I haven't finished my homework yet. If I go to the Ministry, I won't have time to do it."
"The holidays have been going on for so long, and you still haven't done your homework?" Mrs. Weasley looked at Ron incredulously, "Then why were you fiddling with the Wizard's Chess set today?"
"I... I was planning to do it tomorrow." Ron stammered, "I'll definitely do it tomorrow."
"No need, you're going to the Ministry." Mrs. Weasley's tone was resolute, as if she had made up her mind about something.
"Don't make excuses, I know you well enough. If you don't go now, you won't remember about your homework until the school term starts. Since that's the case, you might as well do something more meaningful."
"You'll have three days before school starts, which should be enough time to finish your homework."
"But..."
"It's settled!"
Before Ron could say another word, Mrs. Weasley cut him off: "Starting tomorrow, you'll go to the Ministry with Fred and George, and you two keep an eye on him."
"Yes, Mom!"
"No problem."
"Leave it to us!"
Fred and George, who had been looking glum earlier, suddenly brightened up and smiled broadly.
Although the tedious work was displeasing, the prospect of having their younger brother join them made it more enjoyable.
After experiencing a day of work, they were well aware of how busy the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures was, and the more cases they had, the more cumbersome the office work would become. Ron's remaining holidays would certainly be fulfilling.
At this thought, they couldn't help but smile with relief.
It was all for Ron's own good.
...
After supper, the self-aware Kyle hurriedly left for his room upstairs before Mrs. Weasley finished her work in the kitchen.
Once in his room, he took out his wand and cast vibration and soundproofing charms on the door, only then did he nod in satisfaction and sit down at his desk.
Now that Fred and George had other work to attend to, they probably wouldn't have time to research a suitable communication device for Aurors. So, this task fell squarely on his shoulders.
Fortunately, this wasn't a troublesome matter.
Fred had been right; there was nothing absolutely safe in the wizarding world. Informants, Legilimency, Polyjuice Potion... any of these could render security measures useless.
So, the focus had to be on concealment; as long as they knew the direction to take, the rest would be simple.
Kyle took out a button and began engraving it with magical runes.
Meanwhile, outside his room, someone was continuously knocking on his door, and the force of the knocks was increasing.
The oak door rattled with each knock, sounding like someone was playing Exploding Snap in the corridor, yet the room remained eerily silent.
"This is pointless."
Fred rubbed his sore palm, "That jerk must have cast a spell on the door. Our efforts are futile."
"What now? Are we just going to give up?" George asked reluctantly.
He then pointed his wand at the door lock.
"Alohomora!"
There was no response.
Of course, this was to be expected. If Kyle had anticipated their return and silenced the room, he surely would have thought of countering unlocking spells as well.
"Forget it? How can we?" Fred knocked on the door again, his voice filled with resentment, "Consider this his lucky day, but he can't hide from us forever in a place this small. One day, we'll catch him."
"You're right." George nodded in agreement.
"So, what do we do now?" Ron asked, standing beside them.
He had followed Fred and George here because, in a way, he blamed Kyle for the fact that he had to go to the Ministry.
"What else can we do? Let's go to bed." Fred said impatiently, "We have to get up early tomorrow for work at the Ministry."
"I advise you to get up early, so you have time for breakfast."
"If you skip that step, you'll definitely regret it."
After saying this, the two walked back to their room, leaving a dejected Ron behind.
"What do they mean by that?" Ron asked, his voice shaking.
To be honest, he had started regretting his actions earlier. He shouldn't have gone for supper; if he hadn't shown up in the dining room, Mrs. Weasley might not have thought of him, and he wouldn't have been assigned to the Ministry.
"I don't know.
"Also, I'd rather swap places with you. I'd be willing to do something, even if it's so busy that I don't have time to eat. As long as I don't have to stay here all the time."
"Everyone would disagree." At that moment, Hermione walked upstairs and said seriously, "Your safety is the most important thing right now."
"I know, but I feel like everyone is a bit too tense."
"No, it's necessary." Hermione said, then she looked at Ron,
"Harry's right, he doesn't need anyone with him, and besides, you can't stay at Hogwarts forever."
"I know," Ron mumbled, "So I want to relax for another year."
"Ha." Hermione laughed, not arguing with him, "What they said earlier was right, you'd better get some sleep. If you miss breakfast tomorrow, you'll definitely regret it."
After yawning, Hermione returned to her room.
"Why are they all saying that?" Ron sighed, "But I'm not sleepy at all."
Once they had left, the corridor fell silent again.
However, Kyle was unaware of what was happening outside, as the magic he had cast earlier was very effective, and no sound from outside had penetrated the room.
As for Fred and George's plan to catch Kyle later, it also failed.
They left early and returned late every day, and Kyle only needed to return to his room before ten o'clock to successfully avoid them.
Until mid-August, they only saw each other during breakfast.
On the 25th, Kyle once again went to the Ministry of Magic, but this time he did not choose to have Fox take him there. Instead, he left Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place with the Weasley family, marking his first time venturing outside in half a month.
This was an experiment; he couldn't hide from Voldemort forever. Eventually, he would have to go out.
The streets were bustling with Muggles chatting and laughing as they walked, showing no signs of tension.
Mr. Weasley drove a car along the road.
"If you ask me, it would be better for you to stay a little longer." he said nervously, "At least until Hogwarts opens for the new term."
"It's fine, if the mysterious one is determined to deal with me, it's the same anytime." Kyle said.
There were only the two of them, and Fred and the others had wanted to come along. Usually, they would all go to the Ministry together.
But for safety reasons, Mr. Weasley insisted that they accompany Lupin and Tonks to work.
"I heard that there hasn't been any Death Eater news recently?" Kyle asked.
"Not exactly, there are just fewer of them, not as frequent as before." Mr. Weasley said, "Definitely after the incident in Godric's Hollow, they also suffered heavy losses and had to recuperate."
"Maybe the mysterious one just needs to rest." Kyle said quietly, "He doesn't care about the lives of the Death Eaters."
"But with too few people, it's not convenient for him to do a lot of things." The car turned a corner at an intersection, "But that's a good thing. Hogwarts will open soon, and once the students are sent to school, we can focus more on dealing with them."
"You're right."
The car sped along, arriving at the Ministry earlier than usual.
Fortunately, the journey was safe, and they did not encounter any Death Eaters along the way.
"Don't be careless, the next part is the most troublesome." Mr. Weasley said as he and Kyle entered the Ministry's grand hall, "Although I don't know who it is, there must be Death Eater spies within the Ministry, and there won't be a small number of them."
"I know."
As the two approached the magical fountain, Kyle noticed that more and more eyes were fixed on him.
But this didn't prove anything, as he had worked here before, and it was normal for people to look at and greet familiar faces.
Moreover, if it was just a glance, Kyle couldn't tell who had any ulterior motives.
"Where are you going?" Mr. Weasley asked as they stepped into the lift.
"The first floor." Kyle took out a box, "I finally made what I promised Minister Bones half a month ago."
"I know, it's a communication device for the Aurors, right?" Mr. Weasley said, "The kind of messaging parchment you provided has become popular in the Ministry.
"I must say, it's really convenient, at least we don't have to worry about paper airplanes suddenly appearing in our hair while riding the lift."
"The parchment is just a prototype." Kyle smiled, "I plan to improve it further and turn it into a telephone."
"That would be great!"
Mr. Weasley's eyes lit up, shining brightly, "If you need help, feel free to come to me."
...
(End of Chapter)
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