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Chapter 802: The Magical Contract
Chapter 802: The Magical Contract
The Minister's office was quiet, with Bones sitting silently, deep in thought.
Kyle sat across from her, idly fiddling with the Galleon on the desk.
During this time, someone came to report to Bones, but she sent them away, continuing her reverie.
Kyle didn't rush her.
After an unknown amount of time, Bones finally snapped out of her trance and looked up at Kyle.
"One hundred thousand Galleons, I can't agree to that, and I don't think any Minister would," she said. "The amount is too large, it could even affect the normal operations of the Ministry of Magic."
Kyle shrugged. "So, there's no room for negotiation?"
Bones stood up. "I've thought of a compromise."
"What is it?"
"The Ministry is willing to pay two thousand Galleons for the temporary use of this communication device, starting now and lasting until we defeat the Dark Lord."
Kyle asked curiously, "What does that mean?"
"The same as before," Bones explained. "This communication device can only be used by the Ministry, and it cannot appear anywhere else. But the time is not permanent."
"If we defeat the Dark Lord, this restriction will be lifted, and you can do whatever you want without the Ministry's interference."
"Two thousand Galleons, I still feel a bit cheated," Kyle said after some thought.
"I'm not good at haggling," Bones said. "This is the highest price I can offer. The Ministry must keep sufficient funds in reserve. If I were to offer more, I could only apologize."
"Alright," Kyle said. "What if the Dark Lord is defeated tomorrow?"
"The Ministry will still pay you two thousand Galleons," Bones said without hesitation.
"That sounds good," Kyle continued. "But what if the Dark Lord doesn't fall for ten or twenty years?"
Bones shook her head. "If that were to happen, it could only mean that the Ministry no longer exists. In that case, you wouldn't need to abide by the agreement, right?" she said calmly.
Kyle paused for a moment.
"Then, let's do as you say."
"Okay."
Bones took out a piece of parchment and a quill, quickly drafting a magical contract.
The content was brief, taking up less than half a parchment, even less than a first-year Hogwarts student's homework.
After finishing the content, she placed her wand on the blank space of the parchment and whispered a spell.
A golden light shone from the tip of the wand, and a special symbol appeared in the blank space of the parchment.
It was a bold, capitalized 'M' with a wand standing upright in the middle.
This was the symbol of the Ministry of Magic, a special magical contract that only the Minister could use. All important documents of the Ministry bore this symbol.
Bones turned the parchment around and pushed it towards Kyle.
Kyle glanced at it, and with a wave of her wand, she changed the number "2000" on the parchment to "1800".
"What do you mean by this?" Bones asked.
"I mentioned before that Susan is like an old customer of ours, and she's from the same House as me. For the sake of this, I should at least offer some discount," Kyle explained.
"Only a ten percent discount?"
"That's not bad," Kyle said, taking the quill and signing her name next to the symbol. She then tapped the parchment with her wand.
Name magic, only the person themselves could use it, was a critical part of a magical contract.
The symbol represented the Ministry, and Kyle's name represented herself. Once the magic took effect, it meant the contract was formed, and the content could no longer be altered.
"Then, let's work together happily," Bones said with a smile, extending her hand. "To be honest, graduates like you are rare. If possible, having you as a Deputy Minister might be a good choice."
"But you said it takes time, right?"
Kyle also extended her hand, and they shook lightly.
"That's true," Bones said. "It's a rule of the Wizengamot, originally intended to prevent the Minister from having too much power. But I believe that with some patience, you have a great chance of taking that position, or even... becoming the youngest Minister."
"Hmm... let's talk about it later," Kyle said with a smile.
"What a pity," Bones sighed, changing the subject. "As you can see, I have a lot of work to do."
She pointed to the documents that had just been delivered, "What about the other tasks, including the communication Sickles and these signal badges?"
"Of course," Kyle nodded. "How many do you need?"
"Based on the current number of Aurors and Hit-Wizards, and keeping some in reserve... let's make three hundred and fifty for now," Bones said after some thought. "The logistics department has some tools you might need. Or do you want to make them yourself?"
"No need, I'll do it here," Kyle said. "Is my old office still available?"
"Of course, I said I'd keep it for you," Bones said. "Do you need anything else?"
"If possible, send me some raw materials," Kyle requested.
"Kyle," he said, "don't use real Sickles; there's too much Elf magic on those, and they're useless for anything."
"No problem," Bones replied. "I'll have someone bring it over to you shortly. And I'll also have the Galleons ready in advance. You can take them whenever you're done."
"That's great," Kyle said with a smile.
But all the other words were useless; only this was the key.
...
Kyle then went to the office next door.
Before long, the items he needed were delivered. It was Cedric who brought them, which was no coincidence.
"Kyle?"
He placed a large lump of silver on the table. "I was wondering who would want something like this."
The silver he had brought was unrefined and of little value. Of course, the real Sickles were similar, but with an additional process unique to the Elves.
"This is the raw material," Kyle explained. "Did Minister Bones just ask you to deliver things? You're not here just to help, are you?"
"She also said that if needed, I could stay and assist," Cedric added.
"Do you have time now?"
"Yes," Cedric said with a smile. "With the arrival of the Weasley brothers, we can finally breathe a sigh of relief. You've been a great help. With three helpers, the other departments are envious."
"It's no big deal. You don't need to treat me to a meal." Kyle waved his hand dismissively. "Since it's like this, you might as well stay. This time, we have a lot to do. With just me, I might not have finished today."
"What exactly are you doing?"
"Didn't Minister Bones tell you?"
"No, she just asked me to deliver the items and help." Cedric said, "Before coming here, I didn't even know you were at the Ministry."
"Okay... In simple terms, it's my old trade."
As Kyle spoke, he took out his wand and with a light wave, cut a small piece from the silver. He then waved again, turning it into a round silver coin. The details were even simpler; within half a minute, he had a prototype ready.
Seeing Kyle's actions, Cedric immediately understood.
"I get it," Cedric said, glancing nervously at the door. "But this money can't be spent. Others can tell it's fake at a glance, and if it gets out, the Elves won't let you off easily."
"Did you leave your brain in the office drawer when you came here?" Kyle glared at him. "This is the Ministry. Do you think I would make something like this?"
"Then what are you..."
"This is just a fake," Kyle pointed at the silver coin on the table. "The shape, size, and pattern are all different from a Sickle. There are five differences, but it just looks similar."
"So, what are you doing?"
"Communication Sickles."
"You should've told me earlier." Cedric glanced at Kyle. "If you had, I would've understood."
"I think you left your brain in the drawer." Kyle shook his head. "Never mind, let's get to work. Just follow the standard I just showed you."
Cedric didn't say anything further and immediately got to work.
With his experience from school, he worked quickly, averaging one prototype per minute, and his work was meticulous.
While Cedric worked, Kyle sat beside him, engraving magical runes and symbols on the coin prototypes.
This was the most challenging step. If he was just making silver coins, he could handle it alone without Cedric's help.
Fortunately, this was much simpler than the golden coins. With a magical rune formula and a symbol in the middle, it would be done in about five minutes.
By noon, Cedric had learned from Kyle for half an hour and was already able to grasp the basics, ready to assist.
This work was originally organized by 69 Book Bar. Although Cedric's proficiency couldn't compare to Kyle's, he occasionally made mistakes. However, this had no impact; he could simply use a spell to wash away the unfinished symbols and start over.
Once the symbols were completed, they couldn't be modified, so he discarded the flawed ones. It didn't matter; Minister Bones had provided plenty of raw materials.
The two worked from morning till evening and finally completed... half of the task.
There was no choice; Minister Bones had requested a large quantity. After a whole day of engraving magical runes and symbols, Kyle's wrist ached, and he was truly reluctant to continue.
"Let's go eat!" Kyle stood up, wand in hand.
After sitting for so long, he felt a bit dizzy when he stood up and almost sat down again.
"Are you okay?" Cedric asked, rubbing his wrist.
"I'm fine," Kyle said. "Just a bit regretful."
"Regretful?"
"If I'd known the workload would be this heavy, I wouldn't have offered a discount."
Kyle had originally thought that making a hundred coins would be enough, which could be completed in a day. However, the quantity tripled, and the workload increased significantly.
"A discount?" Cedric was perplexed. "What's that got to do with anything?"
"You wouldn't understand." Kyle stretched his body. "How about we go to Grimmauld Place today? It seems you haven't stayed there before, so we can go together tomorrow."
"Alright." Cedric pondered briefly before agreeing.
"Don't you need to inform your father?"
"No, I can let him know through this." Cedric took out a parchment from his pocket.
After a quick tidying up, the two left the Ministry of Magic.
However, they didn't return together.
Cedric used Apparition to go directly to a telephone booth two streets away from Grimmauld Place, a fixed Apparition spot set up by Moody with Muggle-Repelling Charms to ensure no one else would occupy it.
Kyle, on the other hand, first went to the foyer to show his face, ensuring no one was following him, before using Apparition.
Even after leaving the telephone booth, Kyle didn't rush back. Instead, he took a leisurely stroll outside.
As evening approached, the streets were bustling with people, all in a hurry to get home. No one paid Kyle a second glance.
It wasn't until twenty minutes later that Kyle confirmed no one was following him.
It seemed Voldemort had truly let him off the hook.
Well, he was definitely happy about that, but Kyle also felt a bit perplexed.
Seventy Death Eaters, all of whom could be said to have died because of Kyle, including Voldemort's die-hard fan, Bellatrix Lestrange.
Was he just going to let it go? That didn't seem like his character.
As for whether Bellatrix was still alive... Kyle hadn't even considered that question. Even if it was Voldemort himself, he'd have to be bitten again.
Kyle stood in place for a while before deciding not to continue with these thoughts.
In any case, not being watched was a good thing. This realization put Kyle in a great mood, and he even ate half a bowl more for dinner.
And he wasn't the only one eating more these days.
Recently, the amount of food at dinner had increased significantly, mainly due to the three Weasley children's growing appetites, especially Ron's. Every time he returned, he devoured his food as if he was trying to make up for three meals in one.
At the same time, Ron's gaze towards Kyle became increasingly fierce, as if he was ready to pounce and bite him at any moment.
Fortunately, Cedric was there to help divert some of the attention. After all, he had sorted through the most documents, the ones Cedric had sent over.
Ron racked his brains but couldn't understand how Cedric managed to accomplish so much each day, from collecting magical experiment samples to capturing magical creatures wandering on Muggle streets and even assisting other department members in erasing Muggle memories.
It seemed like Cedric was everywhere.
But in the end, all these tasks would be written up in reports... reports that Ron would have to write.
After all, everyone else was busy running around outside, and he was the only one left in the office.
Ron felt like he had written more in the past half a month than in his entire six years at school.
It was precisely because of this that Ron found Cedric irritating, but with Mrs. Weasley around, he didn't dare do anything out of line.
Cedric's room was arranged on the third floor, not far from Kyle's. The next day, before anyone else was awake, the two finished their breakfast and hurried off to the Ministry of Magic.
Kyle was eager to wrap up this matter and get the payment.
One thousand eight hundred Galleons—what if Bones changed his mind? It would be more reassuring to have the money in hand.
...
From dawn to dusk, the two unknowingly spent another busy day, but thankfully, all the Communication Coins were completed.
"I feel like helping you is more tiring than my regular work." Cedric leaned back in his chair, massaging his forehead.
After two days of intense focus on drawing Magical Runes and Symbols, his hands weren't the only part that ached; his head was throbbing, and he felt dizzy. All he wanted was a good sleep.
It had been a long time since he felt this way after graduating... no, not even at Hogwarts did he often feel this exhausted.
Nonetheless, Cedric looked at the metal lump. "So, what's the use of this? Making it look like Natter?"
"No." Kyle shook his head. "This has another purpose. You go back and rest. I'll handle this."
"You don't need my help?"
"No, it's simple." Kyle took out a bottle of blue potion and drank some, offering a bottle to Cedric as well.
This was, of course, the necessary ingredients for making the badges.
It wasn't that he didn't trust Cedric; it was just that Bones had written in the contract that only he and Kyle's own.
But Kyle wasn't wrong; this was indeed simple. Only three Magical Runes were needed, and he could draw them while completing the transfiguration.
So, Kyle took a deep breath and, after three and a half hours, finally managed to create badges matching the number of Communication Coins before nightfall.
Special badges.
Kyle wasn't going to take on the task of making all the badges needed by the Ministry... that would be a different price.
(End of Chapter)
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