Hogwarts Raven's Claw

Chapter 62: Date with Penelope

Mike reached out to take the gift box, and took the opportunity to pretend to accidentally touch Penelope's little hand, in return for a pair of big white eyes.

Mike opened the gift box with a smile. Penelope's small hands felt smooth and smooth, but as soon as he opened the gift box, Mike's smile froze.

The gift Penelope gave him was actually a set of wand maintenance tools, and it was not as advanced as the ones he had just bought from Ollivanders. It was just a set of intermediate maintenance tools, which cost about 5 gold galleons.

Mike knew that Penelope's family situation was not very good, and Penelope could not use up the 100 gold Galleons exchange limit that Gringotts gave to Muggle wizard students every year. This set of maintenance tools was probably bought by Penelope with the money she had saved for a long time, and he couldn't help but feel a little touched.

He adjusted his facial expression, restored his original brilliant smile and said, "Your gift is really timely, isn't it? Professor Flitwick just said that my wand was damaged in the battle in the Forbidden Forest last year and needs to be properly maintained, so you gave me a set of maintenance tools. Thank you so much."

Penelope ate her ice cream cone and smiled at Mike, "As long as you like it."

Florin's ice cream cones are very different from those in the Muggle world. The cream and milk used in them are all produced from a magical creature called the English horned bull. The milk produced by this magical creature is not only delicious but also rich in magic. It is said to be very beneficial for the growth of magic power of young wizards.

Therefore, this magical creature was raised in large numbers by wizards. As far as Mike knew, the Malfoy family had the largest scale of breeding.

In addition, Florin’s ice cream cones are attached with a magical spell. After eating them, snowflakes will appear all over the cones, which is very beautiful.

Although Penelope looked very gentle while eating, she ate very quickly. She finished an ice cream cone the size of an adult's palm in no time.

Mike couldn't help laughing when he saw her looking unsatisfied, and handed her his share.

Penelope's face turned red, as if she was afraid that Mike would laugh at her greed, so she hesitated to take it. In the end, Mike forced the cone into her hand and she gave up.

Looking at the greedy girl in front of him, Mike smiled faintly and said, "Senior Penelope is in the fifth grade this year and will graduate in two years. How about it, have you decided where to work after graduation?"

It was Penelope's turn to freeze her smile. She stopped eating the ice cream cone in her hand and said with some disinterest, "It's not that easy. We are all Muggle-born wizards. You know how the wizarding world treats us.

You are so talented that you are loved by Professor Flitwick. Even when you had no place to live during the summer vacation, Professor Flitwick invited you to live in his house. You don’t need to worry about your future employment at all.

I'm different. My magical talent is just average. So what if I have outstanding management talent? The Ministry of Magic will never allow a Muggle-born witch to join the company.

Employment? I think after graduation, I will be lucky enough to find a job in a restaurant like the waiter just mentioned."

"Senior Penelope, you are being too modest. In my opinion, with your ability, you are more than qualified to join the Ministry of Magic. It is their loss if they don't want you."

Penelope didn't respond to Mike, but just shook her head slightly.

"In fact, you still have a chance to work in the Ministry of Magic." Mike said meaningfully, "Of course, the method I'm talking about is not the stupid method of marrying a pure-blood wizard. I guess Percy has been pestering you these days, which must be making you feel distressed."

"What can we do?" Penelope was a little at a loss when Mike hit the nail on the head, but she quickly calmed down.

Mike saw all of Penelope's performance, and he nodded with satisfaction. Not only does Penelope have a very high emotional intelligence, but her magical talent is not as bad as she said. On the contrary, she is one of the best in her grade. Mike decided to win over such a talent. "Do you know Raven's Nest? It is the famous Ravenclaw Mutual Aid Society. The requirements for joining are very strict. Not only do applicants need to have outstanding abilities, but they also need to be recommended by a member who has been a member for more than one year." Mike smiled. "Oh, yes. The current Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and member of the Wizengamot Council, Mr. Barty Crouch, is also a member of Raven's Nest. In fact, I met him just last month, at my initiation ceremony."

Penelope opened her mouth in surprise. She didn't even notice that the cone in her hand had fallen onto the table. She stammered, "You mean...you mean that you have joined Raven's Nest? So what do you mean by telling me this..."

"That's right." Mike snapped his fingers and said, "In my opinion, your potential is enough for you to join Raven's Claw. All you lack is a recommender. After joining Raven's Nest, it will be as easy as snapping your fingers for you to join the Ministry of Magic."

"What do you want?" As expected of a talented person that Mike had high hopes for, Penelope recovered from her initial shock in just a few words.

"You think too much of me. I'm not that kind of person. I will recommend you to join Raven's Nest before you graduate. You and I are both Muggle-borns, so I will help if I can." Mike raised his eyebrows at Penelope and said, "Well, it's getting late. We really shouldn't waste our date time in this crappy soda shop. Let's go out for a walk, beautiful lady."

It turns out that the act of window shopping is just as appealing to women as you complimenting them on their beauty.

At first, Penelope was a little wary of Mike. After all, she couldn't believe that Mike would help her so selflessly. In her impression, Mike was not such a generous person.

However, after walking around for a while, Penelope gradually relaxed and a smile appeared on her beautiful face again.

Especially after visiting Madam Primpenere's Beauty Potion Shop, Penelope was completely different from before, moving among the bottles and jars in an almost frenetic state.

When the two parted in the evening, the small bag that Penelope was carrying was gone, and instead, she had a bag with a woodpecker pattern embroidered on it and pinned it around her waist.

It was filled with the fruits of her day's shopping, from Madam Malkin's custom-made robes to a variety of beauty potions.

Of course, all of this was paid for by Mike.

Penelope initially wanted to finish buying the items on the Hogwarts item list, after all, she only had so many gold galleons on her. But when Mike took out a bag full of gold galleons and waved it in front of her, indicating that she was welcome and that he would cover all the expenses for today, she completely let go.

However, Penelope was just a little girl who was used to being poor. She didn't even know how to spend money. She bought a lot of things but only spent less than two hundred gold galleons.

"Thank you so much for today." Penelope said with a smile, "School is about to start. Where are you going these days?"

"Go stay at Professor Flitwick's house for a few more days. It's getting late, so you should go back early. Be careful on the road." Mike answered absentmindedly.

"Okay, bye!" Penelope quickly lowered her head and kissed Mike on the cheek, then turned around and disappeared into the crowd.

Mike stroked his cheek. The warm touch just now made him a little distracted.

"Damn it, according to normal routine, we should be lying in the hotel by now. What a pity..." Mike sighed in annoyance, and glanced at his little brother while speaking, "What a pity that you are not up to standard."

(End of this chapter)