"Kyle, if we ever believe you again, we’re Crups..."
"Flobberworms!"
"Flobberworms stepped on by Crups!"
At the dinner table, Fred and George looked like they were ready to burst into flas as they glared at Kyle.
They were furious with themselves for ever trusting him.
Just last night, Kyle had dangled Hufflepuff’s Cup in front of them as bait, convincing them to rejoin the Ministry of Magic. And they’d caved—how could they not? It was one of the artifacts left behind by the Four Founders of Hogwarts. No one with a passion for alchemy could resist sothing like that.
Sure, they didn’t particularly enjoy working at the Ministry, but Kyle had assured them that the Departnt for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures wasn’t like the Muggle Liaison Office. There were plenty of people, and the workload wasn’t too heavy.
So, they clenched their teeth and decided to lower their standards just a little.
But the mont they stepped foot in the Ministry, they realized Kyle’s words were complete rubbish.
Yes, the departnt was big—but so were the number of divisions: Beasts, Beings, Spirits, Goblins, Centaurs, Werewolves, House-elves... basically, if it wasn’t human, it fell under their jurisdiction. And there were a dozen offices, big and small, to manage them all.
Once everything was split up, each office barely had two or three people—no better off than Hermione.
In fact, they’d gotten ho half an hour later than her today.
If it weren’t for the Golden Cup, they might have strung Kyle up from the rafters already.
"What’s gotten into you two?" Mrs. Weasley ca out of the kitchen carrying a tray of freshly baked bread, eyeing them curiously.
"Oh, nothing, Mrs. Weasley," Kyle said quickly. "I just found them a new job—helping clean up so of the sses the Death Eaters left behind."
"Is it dangerous?" Mrs. Weasley asked.
"Not at all," Kyle said, shaking his head. "It’s perfectly safe. No need to go up against Death Eaters, and they don’t have to hang around the Ministry or Diagon Alley either. Most of the ti, they’re just wandering around, working with magical creatures."
"Well, that sounds lovely."
"They don’t seem to think so," Kyle added with a shrug.
"What more do you want?" Mrs. Weasley turned to Fred and George, raising her voice a little. "You should be doing your part, not wasting ti with all those magic tricks..."
"Mum, we’re not—"
"It’s not like Kyle said!"
They tried to explain, but for a mont couldn’t figure out how.
Yes, technically they didn’t have to stay in the Ministry, but that was only because they were constantly being sent out on assignnts and didn’t get back until the evening.
And as for the "working with magical creatures" part... what kind of creature has three heads and seven legs? That wasn’t a pet—it was a monster!
Seeing them stamr without forming a full sentence only made Mrs. Weasley angrier.
"Hermione understands how important it is to help out right now—why don’t you two? Don’t think you can slack off. If I find out you’ve quit halfway through, I’ll twist your ears off."
She scolded them fiercely, and Fred and George fell silent, heads bowed. Every now and then, they shot Kyle a venomous glare from under their brows, silently threatening him.
But did Kyle care? Not a bit.
It’s not like the Weasley twins were Basilisks—their glares couldn’t kill. They could look all they wanted.
"Oh, Kyle..." Suddenly, Mrs. Weasley turned back to him. "If it’s not too dangerous, could you bring Ron in to help as well? He’s an adult wizard now—he can’t keep lounging around doing nothing."
"Everyone else was working today, and he spent the whole day playing wizard chess."
At the table, Ron—who’d been eating his late-night snack and enjoying the show—froze mid-bite, completely blindsided by being dragged into the conversation.
"Ah, of course. No problem at all."
Before Ron could react, Kyle was already smiling and saying, "Let think... Right, since Ron’s still a bit young, maybe running around outside isn’t the best idea. How about sothing in the office—my dad’s office, for instance?"
"Of course, if he wants to work under Mr. Weasley, that’s fine too—it’s just a bit more complicated. You know I’ve already resigned, so I don’t have as much sway as I used to."
"That’s fine. Chris has a nice office, and I’d rather Ron not be with Arthur anyway—Arthur might end up helping him slack off," Mrs. Weasley said with a chuckle. "But are you sure he’ll manage? Ron’s never worked at the Ministry before."
"He’ll be fine," Kyle said, waving it off. "The job’s simple—just so filing, copying docunts, stuff like that. He’ll pick it up quickly."
"Well, that’s wonderful," Mrs. Weasley said.
It was only then that Ron realized—over the course of a single al, his entire vacation had been decided for him.
Thinking of how tired and listless Hermione had been lately, and recalling Fred and George’s earlier grumbling, Ron could already feel a wave of reluctance washing over him.
He didn’t want to go to the Ministry. He just wanted to stay ho, chat with Harry, and kill ti playing wizard chess.
"Mum, I’m not going to the Ministry," Ron said imdiately. "I’ve got to keep Harry company. He’s too lonely on his own."
"He’s not lonely," Mrs. Weasley replied without even turning around. "Besides, Ginny and Kyle are both here."
Ron’s face fell, and he turned to look at Harry.
But Harry just kept his head down, munching on his bread, offering no help whatsoever.
From Kyle’s perspective, though, Harry’s reaction was telling. He didn’t exactly seem opposed to the idea. In fact, it looked like he wasn’t particularly keen on having Ron around at all.
And Kyle was sure it had nothing to do with him—he and Harry had next to nothing to talk about... unless Harry was planning on asking him to teach Occluncy again.
"I still have howork to do." With no allies to back him up, Ron quickly thought of another excuse. "Right, I haven’t finished it yet. If I go to the Ministry, I won’t have ti to work on it."
"The holidays have gone on this long and you still haven’t done your howork?" Mrs. Weasley looked at him in disbelief. "Then why were you fiddling with wizard chess all day?"
"I... I was going to start tomorrow," Ron mumbled. "I promise I’ll do it tomorrow."
"No, you’re going to the Ministry," Mrs. Weasley said firmly, as if she’d made up her mind once and for all.
"No more excuses. I know you—you won’t even think about howork until the night before term starts. Since that’s the case, you might as well spend your ti doing sothing more useful."
"You’ll have three days before school starts—plenty of ti to catch up."
"But—"
"That’s settled!"
Before Ron could say another word, Mrs. Weasley cut him off and said, "You’re going to the Ministry tomorrow with the others. Fred, George, make sure you keep an eye on him."
"Yes, Mum!"
"No problem."
"Leave it to us!"
Fred and George, who’d been scowling a mont ago, suddenly lit up with grins.
Sure, the job was a pain, but if their little brother had to suffer too, it would be way more entertaining.
After just one day of work, they already knew how hectic things were at the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures. And with more tasks piling up, the office was only going to get ssier. Ron’s "vacation" was about to beco anything but relaxing.
The thought alone made them smile with satisfaction.
All for Ron’s own good, of course.
...
After the late-night snack, Kyle, fully aware of the situation, made sure to leave the dining room before Mrs. Weasley did and quickly retreated upstairs to his room.
He pulled out his wand and cast a Anti Unlocking Charm followed by an Imperturbable Charm on the door. Only after that did he nod with satisfaction and sit down at his desk.
Now that Fred and George were tied up with other responsibilities, they probably wouldn’t have ti to keep working on communication devices for Aurors—so the task fell back to him.
Thankfully, it wasn’t too much trouble.
Fred had been right—there was no such thing as sothing truly secure in the wizarding world. Traitors, Legilincy, Polyjuice Potion... any of those could turn a security asure into a joke.
So, concealnt was the key. Once you figured out the right approach, the rest ca easily.
Kyle pulled out a button and began carving runes into it.
anwhile, just outside his door, several people were banging on it with increasing force.
The oak door rattled loudly, as if soone were playing Exploding Snap in the hallway. But inside, the room was dead silent.
"No use," Fred muttered, rubbing his sore palms. "That bastard definitely enchanted the door. This isn’t doing anything."
"So what, we just give up?" George asked, clearly frustrated.
He pulled out his wand and aid it at the lock.
"Alohomora!"
Nothing happened.
Of course, they’d expected that. If Kyle had the foresight to silence the room against their knocking, there was no way he’d forget to block the Unlocking Charm too.
"Give up? Not a chance!" Fred slamd the door again with a scowl. "He got lucky this ti, but the house isn’t that big—he can’t avoid us forever. We’ll catch him eventually."
"Exactly," George agreed with a nod.
"So what do we do now?" Ron asked from the side.
He’d followed Fred and George over—after all, in a way, it was Kyle’s fault he’d been drafted into the Ministry job too.
"What else? Go to bed," Fred said irritably. "We’ve got to be up early for work."
"I suggest you get up with enough ti for breakfast."
"Skip it, and you’ll regret it."
With that, the two of them headed off to their rooms, leaving behind only the echo of their retreating footsteps.
"What do they an by that?" Ron asked, his voice trembling.
Truth be told, he’d been regretting it ever since dinner. He never should’ve gone down for that snack—if he hadn’t been in the dining room, Mrs. Weasley might not have rembered him, and none of this would’ve happened.
"I don’t know," Harry said, who had co along as well.
"Why didn’t you help back there?" Ron grumbled. "If you’d just told Mum you needed to stay, maybe she wouldn’t have sent to the Ministry."
"I wasn’t paying attention," Harry said, his eyes darting away. "And honestly, I’m not that fragile—I don’t need soone around all the ti."
"Actually, I’d rather trade places with you. I’d rather be out doing sothing—even if I’m too busy to eat—as long as I don’t have to sit around here all day."
"No one would allow that," Hermione said, walking up the stairs with a serious expression. "Right now, your safety is more important than anything else."
"I know, I just think everyone’s being a bit too paranoid."
"No, it’s necessary," Hermione said firmly. Then she turned to Ron.
"Harry’s right—he doesn’t need babysitting. And you can’t stay at Hogwarts forever."
"Of course I know that," Ron muttered. "That’s exactly why I wanted one more year to relax."
"Ha." Hermione let out a short laugh, not bothering to argue. "They’re right, though. You’d better get so proper rest. You’ll regret it if you miss breakfast tomorrow."
She yawned and headed back to her room.
"Why does everyone keep saying that?" Ron sighed. "And I’m not even tired."
After the two of them left, the corridor fell silent again.
Kyle, of course, had no idea what was going on outside. The protective spells he’d set up were working perfectly—not a single sound leaked in.
As for Fred and George’s plan to catch him later, that didn’t work either.
They were out of the house early and didn’t co back until late, so their schedule was too easy to predict. As long as Kyle made it back to his room before ten, he could avoid them without any trouble.
For the rest of August, the only ti they really saw each other was at breakfast.
...
On the twenty-fifth, Kyle went to the Ministry of Magic again. This ti, though, he didn’t have Fawkes take him—he left Number 12 Grimmauld Place with a few mbers of the Weasley family, marking the first ti he’d been outside in half a month.
It was a test run. He couldn’t hide from Voldemort forever. At so point, he had to step out.
The streets were bustling, full of chatting Muggles with not a hint of fear or tension in sight.
Mr. Weasley was driving a car down the road.
"If you ask , you should stay put a little longer," he said, clearly nervous. "At least until Hogwarts starts up again."
"It’s fine. If You-Know-Who really wants to co after , the timing won’t make a difference," Kyle replied.
It was just the two of them. Fred and the others had originally planned to co along—they usually went to the Ministry this way—but for safety’s sake, Mr. Weasley had insisted they go with Lupin and Tonks instead.
"I heard there haven’t been any Death Eater sightings lately?" Kyle asked.
"Well, not none—but fewer than before. Not as frequent," Mr. Weasley said. "I’d bet the attack at Godric’s Hollow hit them hard. They probably need ti to recover."
"Maybe it’s just You-Know-Who who needs to recover," Kyle said quietly. "He doesn’t care if his followers live or die."
"Still, with so few people under him, it’s hard for him to get anything done," Mr. Weasley said as the car turned a corner. "But that’s good news. Hogwarts will be back in session soon, and once the students are there, we can focus more on fighting back."
"Exactly."
The car zipped along, arriving at the Ministry of Magic even earlier than usual.
Fortunately, the trip was uneventful. No Death Eaters appeared.
"Don’t let your guard down—this is when things get tricky," Mr. Weasley said as he led Kyle into the Ministry’s main hall. "I don’t know who, but I’m sure there are Death Eater informants in the Ministry—and not just one or two."
"I know."
As they reached the fountain, Kyle noticed that more and more people were starting to look his way.
But that didn’t an much. He’d worked here before—people looking up when they saw soone familiar was completely normal.
And just from their glances alone, Kyle couldn’t tell who had any hidden motives.
"Where are you headed?" Mr. Weasley asked as they stepped into the elevator.
"First floor," Kyle said, pulling out a small box. "I finally finished what I promised Minister Bones half a month ago."
"Oh, the communication device for Aurors?" Mr. Weasley asked. "The parchnt you created has already been distributed across the Ministry."
"I have to say, it’s made things so much easier. At least now when you’re in the lift, you don’t have to worry about a paper airplane stabbing into your hair."
"The parchnt was just a prototype," Kyle said with a smile. "I’m thinking about upgrading it—maybe even making it look like a telephone."
"That would be brilliant!"
Mr. Weasley’s eyes lit up like a lamp. "If you need any help, you know where to find ."
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