Chapter 5: The Splendid Ministry of Magic

Chapter 5: The Splendid Ministry of Magic

"Being a year younger doesn't matter. What's important is being able to learn magic."

Putting down the newspaper, George continued eating while lost in thought.

He had also considered which house he might be sorted into during the Sorting Ceremony.

He thought it was most likely Gryffindor.

Gryffindor valued courage, and he felt he was quite brave himself. After all, he had just taken over this body yesterday and had already successfully planned and executed the killing of an old wizard.

"Good morning, Dora—oh, I mean, your new name, George!"

The shop door opened, and a young, energetic witch walked in. It was Tonks, the Auror from yesterday.

"Good morning, Miss Tonks."

George put down the egg pancake he was eating and greeted her with a smile.

Tonks sat down across from George without hesitation and ruffled his hair.

"No need to be so formal. From now on, just think of me as your older sister."

George sighed and fixed his messy hair, not rejecting Tonks' friendly gesture. He then brought out a second breakfast he had prepared earlier.

"I made an extra portion this morning. Let's eat together."

"How did you know I hadn't eaten breakfast? Hmm, what's this? It tastes amazing!"

Tonks took a bite of the rolled egg pancake, and her eyes lit up. The soft pancake was filled with vegetables and sausage, creating a unique flavor.

Her own cooking skills were a disaster, so she never made breakfast. She usually just grabbed something quick or skipped it altogether and waited for lunch.

While there were various cooking spells in the wizarding world, they only worked if you knew how to cook in the first place. The spells could save time and help you prepare meals quickly, but if you didn't know how to cook, the result would still be terrible, no matter how many utensils and ingredients were flying around.

It was the same with household spells—you had to know how to do the chores to use the spells effectively.

"This is an egg pancake. It's made with eggs and flour, and the filling is made with shredded green peppers, carrots..."

George briefly explained the breakfast he had made.

Of course, he didn't know whether Tonks had eaten breakfast or not, but preparing an extra portion in advance would help build goodwill, regardless.

"I didn't expect you to be such a good cook. I think you'll definitely be sorted into Hufflepuff during the Sorting Ceremony."

Although she didn't fully understand George's explanation, Tonks gave him a thumbs-up, which made George pause for a moment.

"Would I really end up in Hufflepuff?"

Then he shook his head. Even if he were sorted into Hufflepuff, it wouldn't be a big deal. While he personally preferred Gryffindor, he believed each house had its pros and cons.

However, he still thought the likelihood of being sorted into Hufflepuff was low.

Many Hufflepuff graduates ended up in the food industry, but the house's defining traits weren't about cooking. Instead, Hufflepuff valued hard work, patience, loyalty, and fair play.

The reason so many Hufflepuffs went into the food industry was probably because their common room was near the kitchens, so they were influenced by their surroundings.

As for those traits, aside from hard work, George didn't feel he particularly embodied them.

After breakfast, under Tonks' guidance, George began the process of handling the inheritance paperwork.

Their first stop was the famous Ministry of Magic.

"Hold onto my arm. This might feel a bit uncomfortable, but it'll be over quickly."

Tonks placed George's hand on her arm and carefully explained before beginning to chant the spell.

"Apparate!"

With a soft crack, Tonks and George disappeared from the spot.

Knockturn Alley wasn't far from the Ministry of Magic, so she could directly Apparate there with George, saving them the trouble of using Floo Powder.

"No wonder not all wizards like using Apparition for travel."

George felt himself plunged into darkness, followed by a crushing sensation from all sides, making it hard to breathe.

It felt like his chest was tightly bound by iron hoops, his eyeballs were being pushed back into his skull, and his eardrums were being pressed deep into his head.

In short, it was extremely uncomfortable.

Fortunately, it only lasted a second or two before he was back in the light.

"The first time is always a bit rough. You'll get used to it."

Tonks' laughter rang in his ears.

"Come on, I'll take you to get registered."

With that, George was led toward the reception desk in the center of the hall, and he couldn't help but look around curiously.

"It's really quite splendid."

After a moment, he couldn't help but exclaim.

The floor was made of polished dark wood, and the peacock-blue ceiling was adorned with glowing golden symbols that constantly shifted and changed, like a massive overhead bulletin board.

The walls were lined with gilded fireplaces, and wizards in various robes were stepping in and out of them.

In the center of the hall was a magical fountain, featuring five statues: a handsome wizard holding a wand high, a beautiful witch, and surrounding them, a centaur, a goblin, and a house-elf.

The centaur, goblin, and house-elf all gazed at the wizard and witch with adoration, as if conveying some special meaning.

Of course, that wasn't the main point. The main point was that these statues, two or three times larger than real people, were made of pure gold.

"Daily Prophet, ladies and gentlemen, get your Daily Prophet!"

Near the fountain, a wizard was selling copies of the Daily Prophet.

At noon, after a full four hours, George finally completed all the inheritance paperwork and was Apparated back to the shop by Tonks.

"All show and no substance. No wonder it was so easily dismantled by Voldemort."

This was George's critique of the Ministry of Magic.

While the Ministry looked grand and luxurious, the wizards working there were lazy, inefficient, and highly corrupt.

If it hadn't been for Tonks' help, he felt it would have been quite difficult to fully inherit the estate.

However, it wasn't a complete waste. At least he got to see many interesting things at the Ministry.

There were various magical items enchanted with alchemy, as well as many clever little spells developed to make office work easier.

It was quite an eye-opening experience.

It also made him realize that while the magic in the Harry Potter world rarely had large-scale destructive power and was mostly functional, that didn't mean it was weak.

In some ways, it could be even more dangerous and terrifying.

Because many spells were highly subjective and not solely judged by their external destructive power.

(End of Chapter)