Chapter 484: Percy's Journey to the Ministry of Magic (Edited)

Fawkes arrived silently and left silently. Apart from Tom and Hermione, no one else knew. But on this train, it wasn't just Tom who received a letter.

A small, furry creature rushed into Harry's compartment and delivered a letter from Sirius.

[Dear Harry,

I hope this letter arrives on time because I'm not sure if your aunt and uncle are used to messenger owls.]

They should be used to it, but being used to something doesn't mean they like it... Harry complained in his mind, recalling the commotion when Hogwarts sent the acceptance letter to the Dursleys' house. I'm sure Uncle Vernon will never forget that episode.

[To be honest, I don't have much faith in her. The little owl doesn't seem that reliable, but she's the best owl I could find.]

Sirius's words made some sense because the owl seemed too excited, flying rapidly around the train compartment. Harry caught her and felt like he had caught a golden, furry Snitch. He looked at Hedwig by his side and felt fortunate to have her, as she was very calm.

Hedwig seemed to sense her owner's mood and clicked her beak, showing a noble demeanor.

[Next year, I'll be very busy, and I won't be able to see you or spend Christmas with you. I'm sorry about that. By the way, don't let Hedwig send me letters; she can't find me.

Oh, by the way, forgive my carelessness. I attached two things for you in this letter. I think they'll make your life easier and more enjoyable both inside and outside Hogwarts.

With love,

Sirius

---

By the way, I suppose your friend Ron would be willing to adopt this owl, if he doesn't mind it being too noisy. After all, in a way, I was responsible for him losing his rat. Merlin bless him; I hope he sleeps well.]

Harry turned the envelope over and took out what was inside. In addition to a parchment letter, there were some ten-pound notes with an attached note.

Harry took the note, which had Sirius's handwriting: [It seems that the elders should give a bit of money to the younger ones. After thinking it over, I guess you won't be short of money from the wizarding world, so I got some money from the Muggles; I hope it's enough. Lupin's money is also included.]

"Ha! Money from Sirius and Lupin for personal expenses!" Harry exclaimed happily and carefully stashed away the new bills. It wasn't much money, but it would be enough to buy plenty of ice cream and enjoy it on a hot summer day.

As for the parchment, it was a Hogsmeade permission form signed by Sirius for Harry.

Harry and Ron were thrilled. Harry could go to Hogsmeade openly, and Ron would have his own owl. The compartment's atmosphere brightened with the small owl's excited chirps.

...

"Attack!" Hermione directed her knights to decapitate Tom's king.

"Do you want to give me a few tanks?" She collected the chess pieces with a smile.

"No need. I just had bad luck, and my pieces didn't follow my tactics well," Tom tried to justify himself, refusing to confront the real reason for his failure.

"Alright, you're right," Hermione didn't dwell on this matter with Tom and decided to make the next game "a bit easier" for him so he wouldn't completely lose enjoyment of the game. "Do you want to play another round?"

"Wait, I think I hear the food trolley," Tom wasn't mistaken; the old lady with the trolley appeared in the corridor a few seconds later, pushing a cart full of food.

After enjoying a hearty lunch, Ron brought good news: the Ministry of Magic allows Muggle relatives of wizards to attend the Quidditch World Cup; they just need to make a note when making the reservation and also have a guarantee certificate for their magical children.

"No final hurdles," Tom sincerely rejoiced at this. Crookshanks also meowed a couple of times, as if reminding them not to forget to bring him when they went to watch the match.

The train arrived at King's Cross station, and Tom pulled Hermione through the crowd, passed through the brick wall, and entered the Muggle world. At first glance, he saw the Grangers next to the Weasley family, and in the distance, he could see the portly figure of Vernon Dursley. Summer vacation had begun.

...

"Percy Weasley?" The witch looked up and at the tall boy in front of her with a studious expression on his face, reached out, and sifted through a pile of documents for a moment, finally finding a small pamphlet.

"Let me see... are you a recent graduate?"

"Yes," Percy pushed up his glasses and nodded nervously, adding, "I'm here to process my entry into the Department for International Magical Cooperation."

Today was the day Percy was processing his entry, so he wore his formal suit and carefully groomed his hair.

"Oh, yes!" The witch finally found Percy's name on the long list. "On the fifth floor, the elevator is on the other side of the door."

Although Percy didn't want to have too much connection with his father, Mr. Arthur Weasley, he had to admit that, with a father who worked at the Ministry of Magic, he had become familiar with many common knowledge. Like the location of the elevator and the fact that visitors to the Ministry of Magic had to undergo wand inspections at the entrance, which was a somewhat inexplicable measure since even if wand information was registered, it couldn't prevent dark wizards from using dark magic. However, as a common wizard, he would obediently comply with wand inspection.

In theory, when his son entered the Ministry of Magic, his father would surely accompany him, but Percy declined his father's kindness. He didn't want his father to accompany him through the entry process, which gave him the feeling of receiving special treatment.

Although he would feel safer if his father guided him, Percy decided to go alone.

After completing the registration, Percy followed the crowd through the door and arrived in a smaller lobby next to the main lobby. There were at least twenty elevators with golden grill doors, and a never-ending stream of wizards stood in line in front of the elevator doors.

Next to him was a tall wizard with a unkempt beard holding a large cardboard box. From inside the box, there were some dog barks, accompanied by bursts of cold air emanating from it.

"Bob, what have you brought this time?" a familiar wizard curiously asked the man.

"A dog that exhales cold air," the shivering wizard replied.

Interesting, but it seems to seriously violate the "Experimental Creature Ban" statute, Percy thought to himself.