Hogwarts 1991

Chapter 172 The London Ministry of Magic

Then the next morning, a little after 7 o'clock.

While everyone was eating breakfast, things suddenly changed.

The reason was that the Ministry of Magic had sent an owl to inform McGuffin that his transcript was just this morning, presided over by David Goodman.

Mrs. Weasley's face became very ugly when she heard the name.

"Arthur, isn't Goodman... Fauci's chief secretary? Why would someone like him preside over such an inquiry... Shouldn't it be someone from the Auror Office or the Department of Magical Law?"

"This should be an ordinary inquiry...how come?"

Her tone was full of concern.

Mr. Weasley tossed and studied the itinerary change paper. Unfortunately, apart from a purple notice, there was only a silver-white square badge in the envelope, which read McGuffin Albert, David Goodman, questioning, transcript, temporary permit, 9:00, etc.

"McGuffin, I'll hold this and wait until the Ministry of Magic to give it to you!" Mr. Weasley finally put down the envelope, "You and I will go to the Ministry of Magic first,...by the way, let me find out what's going on here?"

The conversation between the two made the little wizards who were having breakfast find something to talk about.

Percy frowned and said, "David Goodman... I've heard of this man. It is said that he is a weirdo in the Ministry of Magic, but... he is undoubtedly the celebrity in front of Minister Cornelius Fauci. It is really strange that he is responsible for such a small questioning in his busy schedule."

"Harry, McGuffin, what happened that night? Such a big man..." He turned to ask curiously.

The twin brothers on the side also looked at McGuffin and Harry.

Fred pulled Ron's arm and wanted to ask what happened, because he knew that Ron should also know about it.

- Now it was Ron's turn to pretend, he coughed a few times.

Then he said, "Dumbledore personally asked me not to tell anyone about this matter."

"What's a foreigner... your own brother... and so many relatives? Could it be someone else?" George said. "Tell us quickly what else is going on besides the Philosopher's Stone and Quirrell turning into gold? Could it be that there is an elixir of life under there? Is that why the Ministry of Magic wants to extract information from McGuffin by any means?"

"Enough..." Percy couldn't listen anymore, and couldn't help retorting, but he didn't finish yet...

"Enough!" Mrs. Weasley heavily placed a pot of milk soup on the table, her tone a little scary.

"McGuffin has had enough, stop whispering at the dinner table!"

Soon, at the dining table... the air was so silent that there was only the sound of eating soup and chewing rice.

After hastily finishing a few bacon sandwiches and drinking a glass of milk, Mr. McGuffin and Mr. Weasley put on their coats and came to the kitchen fireplace.

McGuffin, he took the two Nifflers with him.

(Garon and Sik were beating goblins because of McGuffin's tough weight loss exercise yesterday. For some reason, the two little guys had vomiting and diarrhea, and their appetite was poor. They have not eaten twice.)
This made Mrs. Weasley, McGuffin, and Harry very worried about the two Nifflers.

Mr. Weasley suggested that he take it to the Department of Magical Creatures Cooperation at the Ministry of Magic. (It's more professional than the magical creature shop in Diagon Alley. And there are wizards that Mr. Weasley knows... would be very convenient)

This really made McGuffin, who was a little worried about this trip, look a lot better.

Mr. Weasley lifted a pot of Floo powder from the kitchen mantelpiece.

He presented the flower pot to the MacGuffin.

"Remember 'England Ministry of Magic Fireplace No. 48'!"

"This is my usual fireplace. This one is safer and more stable..."

Mr. Weasley asked again and again worriedly, "McGuffin, remember to close your eyes... There is soot, and it will not be as dizzy as last time..."

"Elbows tight...don't move, or you might be thrown from the other fireplace."

"...When you are about to reach the end, you can feel the speed of the rotation slowing down...Try to put the center of gravity on the lower body, otherwise you will be thrown out like last time. If you don't master the balance...Remember to stretch out your arms at the end..."

Ron and the others reminded each other word by word, which made McGuffin even more nervous.

——He remembered that there seemed to be a passageway for guests in the original book (Muggle red telephone box as the entrance).

It's a pity that I'm not in London now, and I can't explain why I know about it.

McGuffin swallowed, and looked at Mr. Weasley in front of him.

He lit the flame with his wand, threw a handful of Floo powder, and then stepped into it by himself. The emerald green flame shot up so high that it was almost higher than the top of McGuffin's head.

Green flames immediately engulfed Mr. Weasley.

McGuffin put the sluggish Garen and Sigg into his pocket, then picked up a pinch of shiny powder from the flowerpot, and threw it into the flames as well.

Then he walked into it and disappeared from the Burrow in an instant.

……

This time McGuffin went much smoother, but when he came out, he still didn't have a good grasp of the center of gravity and almost fell down.

He was supported by Mr. Weasley, so he didn't fall to the ground again.

After standing up, McGuffin looked up at the Ministry of Magic in front of him.

He opened his mouth wide for everything that was familiar and unfamiliar, unable to speak.

"Welcome to the Ministry of Magic! McGuffin!" said Mr. Weasley, smiling.

Although I have watched it repeatedly on the movie screen, but...!
——This is really magical!
Only at this time, McGuffin can feel the pure beauty of magic most purely and intuitively.

It has a completely different feeling from the wonder of Diagon Alley and the magnificence of Hogwarts... Every screw and crack in the wall can feel the presence of magic.

The hall was imposing, stretching into the distance, even larger than a rectangular Muggle football field.The ground is covered with a black wooden floor, which is very shiny and full of luster, and McGuffin even thought it was paved with black crystals for a moment.

Until he found that the fireplace in front of him was also made of the same material, knocking, thumping... It was that dull, knocking sound on wood.

— Incredible!

Just when he wanted to study it carefully...

"Damn it... Let it go? Don't just stand there like a fool..."

"Time is the Galleon!"

A harsh and sharp voice came from behind McGuffin, and pushed him away from the waist unceremoniously.

The goblin dressed in a suit and leather shoes hurried past the two of them, carrying a black briefcase, ignoring them.

Walking with a step that the six relatives did not recognize, while talking, he swept the body with the back of his hand, as if he was afraid that the two of them would get some "stupid bun" breath.

Mr. Weasley hastily pulled McGuffin away from the fireplace.

really……

Within a few seconds, with a slight rapid movement, another witch in a purple robe and a pointed wizard hat came out from inside.

The emerald green flame burned the bright black wood again and again, shining brightly, and the green light continued to spread along the golden thin line between the two wooden cuboids, and even extended to the black floor, which was also reflected slightly green and shiny.

The wall outside the fireplace is engraved with many complex and changeable gold-colored magic patterns. I don't know if it is purely for decoration, or it is used to make the wood fireplace fireproof.

The fireplace on the side of the MacGuffin is the entrance, and witches and wizards are constantly coming out of it, while on the opposite side, wizards lined up in small groups in front of each fireplace are waiting to leave.

In the rush of people, McGuffin saw a few young goblins in shabby clothes pushing carts through it, hawking.

There are two floors on the trolley, and the top is some cloth Floo powder, and some other gadgets like cigarettes. There are magic newspapers on the side, and on the bottom are some magic snacks such as chocolate frogs and multi-flavored beans.

"It's urgent, it's urgent, a small packet of Floo powder is enough for you to travel to and from Diagon Alley... as long as..."

"The Daily Prophet, the Daily Prophet, the Daily Wizard,... the latest news released today..."

"Girls and gentlemen, who wants a copy of the Daily Prophet..."

The cries of selling came and went one after another in the crowd.

Goblins are probably the other magical species that can adapt well in this world of human wizards.

The goblins in the crowd were divided into two categories, one was the kind of suits and leather shoes, full of style, or wearing a gold monocle, or carrying a black briefcase, walking with eyes above the head, while the other group of goblins were mostly wearing some worn-out robes to sell newspapers, shoeshine, and sell various magic gadgets.

Mr. Weasley pulled the McGuffin into the crowd.

In the process of passive walking, he opened his eyes and looked into the distance.

The ceiling of the entire hall here is peacock blue, and it is inlaid with gleaming golden symbols, which are constantly wandering in it, as if data codes are flowing.

Mr. Weasley pulled McGuffin through the crowd, telling him that the symbols were used to protect the Ministry of Magic's structures, and that people were forbidden to use magic such as [Apparition] in the Ministry of Magic.

"The only way to leave here is through those fireplaces, or the main entrance, or the guest passageway....This is the safest place in London." Mr. Weasley said proudly.

Although McGuffin has seen all kinds of wizards in Diagon Alley, but here... it seems that more than half of the wizards in London, or England, are here.

There are all kinds of...

Victorian trench coats, knights in medieval armor, and even a very unrestrained old 'male' wizard just wearing a Muggle pink printed pleated skirt (with lace trim)... Of course, there are more wizards and wizards wearing robes of different colors and styles.

Some, like Mr. Weasley and MacGuffin, dress up as wizards in modern Muggle attire.

McGuffin can see the eyes of these people from the actions, and can distinguish several types... or groups from the way they dress.

For example, most of the wizards dressed in Muggle costumes are shabby and greet each other warmly, and Mr. Weasley is also one of them.

Contrary to this group, there are those who wear exquisite robes and have wizard hats on top of their heads. They are usually black and purple in color.

As for the rest of the people, they either have colorful robes or strange costumes. They can almost participate in Halloween...

and……

"Don't run! Archie..." There was an exasperated voice from the crowd.

"Why! It's my freedom to wear whatever I want..."

"But you can't wear that stuff at the Ministry of Magic, it's for female Muggles...and can you wear a pair of trousers? Please!"

"I don't wear it? The wind blows..."

Even though the old wizard looked weak, he was able to navigate through the crowd like a fish in water... In the blink of an eye, he left those who looked like Ministry of Magic employees far away.

During the running process, there was a fierce sound, but the wizards here seemed to be used to it, busy with their own affairs, and hurriedly moved towards their respective destinations.

Mr. Weasley also pulled him along quickly.

It's just... Originally, I wished that I had eight eyes, and McGuffin, who could see everything about himself, was naturally attracted by the sound, and turned his head to look back...

Ah!
—Damn it, blind!

Although it was only a short 0.000...1 second, but a certain person was running against the wind, and the printed skirt was swaying...the old light PP leaked from the upward movement...

This sharp and shocking scene pierced McGuffin's eyes and brain like a foot-long silver needle.

His brain stopped for an unknown period of time, and by the time his sanity recovered, he had been taken away from the long corridor full of fireplaces by Mr. Weasley.

They came to the middle of the hall, and from here it seemed that they had officially entered the scope of the Ministry of Magic.

Among the wizard crowd coming and going here... Those who are dressed in strange clothes are very rare.

It seems that most of them are employees of the Ministry of Magic, which are the two types of wizards that McGuffin observed before. The staff dressed as Muggles usually hold a large stack of rickety parchment in their hands, while others in suits carry briefcases and keep their heads down, frowning forever, as if thinking about something... The rest of the wizards in robes are mostly walking and reading [Daily Wizard].

Of course, all of this is not rigid and fixed. There are also people dressed as Muggles who also hold newspapers, but most of them hold [Daily Prophet] in their hands.

Probably the only thing in common between them that made McGuffin curious was that each of them was not looking at the road, but somehow managed to avoid the passing crowd.

Soon, a group of fountains appeared in front of the MacGuffin.

Golden statues of various sizes stand in the center of the circular pool.

The tallest and most striking of these statues was a noble-looking wizard, about as tall as a small two-story villa.

He was wearing a triangular wizard hat that looked very old-fashioned, his magic wand was pointing straight to the sky, and in his other hand was holding a golden egg of an unknown dragon...or a phoenix.

Not far away, around the statue of the wizard, or in other words, there is a group of fountains on the opposite side, and the golden sculptures on it are also relatively tall: a beautiful long-haired witch, a centaur, a goblin and an elf.

Among them, the sculpture belonging to the wizard is the tallest, and then there is the witch.

The other three smaller statues all face the wizards and witches with reverent expressions.

——This is political propaganda all the time!I'm afraid that except for the goblins, those elves and centaurs don't think much of it.

——And the current status of the goblin... It is estimated that it was created during the "Fairy Rebellion" hundreds of years ago.

——Otherwise, why don't elves and centaurs walk in the Ministry of Magic openly now!

McGuffin was thinking maliciously, and when he was about to observe carefully, the statues seemed to be tired of the same posture, so they changed their movements.

The horseman stepped from the air, and his two front hooves hit the water heavily, splashing a large amount of water.

But before it splashed onto other wizards, the water was slowly sucked back into the fountain as if time had flowed backwards.

The statue of the witch also lay down from the standing position, leaning on her arm, looking down at the crowd...

Clear water was flying from the gleaming spouts on the tips of their wands, along with a centaur's tow rope, the tops of goblin hats, and the two ears of elves.

Looking from a distance, McGuffin can see that the entire fountain pool is emerald green, like a fine jade, with slight water waves rippling in it.

tinkle--

The sound of falling water came from the gaps in the statues, and hundreds of wizards and witches were scattered at the feet of these statues. Most of these statues were dressed in gray and did not look so golden.And these statues can also move, but compared to the previous ones, they seem to be mechanically sluggish, not as agile as the previous ones.

McGuffin recalled carefully... and found that most of them were famous figures in the history of magic, and many of them graduated from Hogwarts.

— I wonder if there is Dumbledore in it?Or other people you know well.

MacGuffin did not see in it the Big Four, nor any of the outstanding wizards who had been headmasters.

——Also, this made him even more curious about who the wizard of the golden statue was?

Could it be the wizard who founded the Ministry of Magic?Or is it the Merlin that the English wizards talked about?

Those little elves, horsemen, goblins, do they really have such a story, or are they purely made up political slogans to deceive people.

After all... Whether it is the government of the Muggle society in the West, or the Ministry of Magic in the original book, there is such a historical tradition of 'taking pride in lying and deceiving'.

Before McGuffin asked Mr. Weasley about his doubts.

"This way," Mr. Weasley hurriedly pulled him forward, looking very anxious, as if he was going to be late.

McGuffin also tactfully kept silent.

Look straight ahead to a set of golden doors at the end of the hall.

There is the building of the Ministry of Magic. Just like the impression in the original book, the walls are made of red bricks, and the lights inside are brightly lit. From here, people can see people coming and going through the glass windows. The wizards working in the Ministry of Magic are very busy.

I don't know if it's a mistake, but McGuffin always feels that there are fans spinning above the office rooms of the Ministry of Magic.

I squinted my eyes for a long time, but still couldn't see clearly.

Then something else caught McGuffin's attention.

The purple stationery used by the Ministry of Magic for internal communications was turned into paper airplanes, which shuttled through the metal entrance passages deliberately left between floors.

—flying in groups from time to time over the head of the MacGuffin.

After this, they joined the flow, making their way among Ministry staff.

As Mr. McGuffin and Mr. Weasley passed the fountain, he saw silver sickles and bronze knuts gleaming at the bottom of the pool.

There is a sign next to the pool, which reads:

——All proceeds will be donated to [St. Mungo's Magical Hospital] to treat magical diseases and injuries.

Finally, they stepped out of the stream of Ministry employees and made their way to the golden doors of the Ministry.

(End of this chapter)