Ancient Wizards Return to Hogwarts...

Chapter 389 Hermione, Domain?

"Excuse me, Mr. Greengrass, I may have misheard you—"

"You heard me right, this is the Ministry of Magic's latest strategic direction, a key project," Henry said earnestly.

Percy was still completely confused, but he clearly heard the phrase "key projects".

A key project—that meant a bright future, meant being forever within the sights of important figures. This was far better than his father, who had spent his entire life sitting on the sidelines. Percy was immediately drawn to this lucrative prospect.

"Could you elaborate?" Percy asked earnestly, staring at Mr. Henry.

"It's like this..." Mr. Henry repeated Lord Slytherin's idea to the Weasley lad in front of him, hoping the young man would understand the importance of this job.

Percy's expression turned serious.

He has a particular personality trait: obedience to authority. In his mind, the orders of his superiors always take precedence, so while in school he followed the instructions of the principal and professors, and after graduation he obeyed only the Ministry of Magic.

So when Mr. Henry explained the Ministry of Magic's position to him, he immediately took it to heart and stood firmly on the side of the Ministry of Magic.

"That's right, the wizarding world can no longer let Muggles run rampant; we need to strengthen our control over them—"

"It's not about control, it's about surveillance and observation." Seeing that the young man seemed to have a somewhat extreme understanding, Mr. Henry quickly corrected him, "The most important thing about this job is to infiltrate the Muggle government, gather intelligence, and guide the Muggle leaders so that they don't make policies that are detrimental to the wizarding world—of course, I don't think such policies will actually exist, but it's very necessary to plant a seed."

Percy was deeply moved.

Clearly, this was a very important job; the safety of the entire magical world rested on his shoulders. He couldn't wait to serve the magical world.

"This job is quite important. You will be working directly with me. I will set up a separate office for you. Once you have established yourself, it will be perfectly feasible to upgrade this office to a department within the Ministry of Magic."

Percy: !!!

He was stunned, as if he had been hit by a pie falling from the sky.

Seeing that young Weasley was so smug, Mr. Henry decided to pour some cold water on him and calm him down.

"However, this job demands a great deal from people. You need to hide your identity in the Muggle government and deal with the most cunning old foxes. Although we have approved your use of Confusion Charms and Forget Charms, you still need to be vigilant and alert. You also need to brush up on your knowledge of Muggles. This is hard and demanding work."

To everyone's surprise, Percy's enthusiasm wasn't dampened by this cold water at all; instead, it soared even higher. It was as if he'd been doused with a bucket of hot oil, not water.

"I'm not afraid of hard work. I have a strong learning ability, and Muggles definitely won't be able to tell anything about me." Percy was completely fired up.

This surprised Mr. Henry a little: as expected of the Weasleys, they were down-to-earth, hardworking and able to endure hardship.

Moreover, he had reason to suspect that Percy’s enthusiasm for the work was influenced by his father.

Old Arthur's obsession with Muggle creations was common knowledge within the Ministry of Magic. If it weren't for his advanced age and his highly questionable, half-baked understanding of those creations, Arthur would have been the most suitable person to be sent there.

"Percy's attempt to infiltrate the Muggle government—is it perhaps a way to get closer to Muggle creations?" Henry couldn't help but wonder.

That's a misunderstanding of Percy; he's just interested in authoritarianism.

How can there be such a wonderful thing in the world: being able to be both the head of the Ministry of Magic and a civil servant in the Muggle government?

After asking several more questions, Mr. Henry finally confirmed that the boy before him did indeed have a heart set on venturing into the non-magical world.

Since that's the case, he has nothing more to say.

"Okay, I personally think you're very suitable for this position."

Mr. Henry's words made Percy's breathing become heavier.

This is an affirmation from the second-in-command of the Ministry of Magic, so what difference does it make if I've already been accepted?

"However, the process still needs to be followed, Mr. Weasley. I need to prove to my colleagues that you are good enough. Let me be clear, a NEWT certificate with all excellent grades will be the strongest evidence."

Percy nodded seriously, then he suddenly remembered something very important.

"Oh, Mr. Greengrass, I didn't take a course in Muggle Studies, so I can't get the NEWT certificate in Muggle Studies..." Percy's forehead began to bead with sweat as he spoke. He believed he would regret it for the rest of his life if he had missed this job because of a momentary lapse in judgment back then.

"That's not important. The textbooks used for Muggle research are far outdated and won't be of much help to your work. After you graduate, the Ministry of Magic will provide you with special intensive training. What you should worry about is whether you can survive the training."

Mr. Henry's words reassured Percy. As for the so-called "intensive training" he mentioned, Percy was full of confidence in himself.

It's just studying hard, why would he be afraid of that?

After reaching an agreement with Percy, Mr. Henry finished his tea in one gulp and hurriedly left—he was going to meet with Dumbledore next.

Percy felt his future was bright; he was certain he would become the most dazzling member of the Weasley family, and his father, mother, brother, and siblings would all be proud of him.

Percy trembled with excitement at the thought of his family proudly saying, "Percy Weasley is my son/brother/sister."

About fifteen minutes later, Henry Greengrass appeared in Dumbledore's office.

Good morning, Professor Dumbledore.

"Good morning, Mr. Greengrass. Would you like some dessert?" Dumbledore said, conjuring up a large plate of desserts as if by magic.

Henry: ...

He quietly took a éclair as a token gesture, then sat down opposite Dumbledore.

"I just finished talking to Percy, that Percy Weasley, do you remember him?" He didn't start the conversation directly, but instead talked about his interview with Percy.

"Of course, he is a very energetic and obedient boy." Dumbledore pictured a face with fiery red hair in his mind.

"I just finished interviewing him, and I think he's a good fit for the Muggle Liaison Office that's about to be established."

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow: Arthur's child joining the Muggle Liaison Office—what a cruel joke fate had played on him. But the name of this organization…

Dumbledore had a vague premonition.

Sure enough, Henry shared the Ministry of Magic's future policies with Dumbledore and explained the reasons for doing so. This was an order from Lord Slytherin, and he needed to relay the Lord's will to Dumbledore.

Rhys hoped that through the words of Henry, Helga, and others, he could make Dumbledore understand the necessity of communication between the wizarding and non-wizarding worlds, so that Dumbledore would at least not explicitly oppose his plans in the future.

After listening to Mr. Henry's explanation, Dumbledore actually breathed a sigh of relief.

Initially, he had prepared for the worst. If the "Muggle Liaison Office" that Henry mentioned was essentially Grindelwald's system, then he would definitely try to prevent its establishment.

However, from what I've heard now, it seems to focus more on "observation" and "prevention," so this organization is actually not bad. Dumbledore believes that the wizarding world also needs some fresh air from the Muggles.

"So it seems Mr. Percy Weasley has quite a heavy responsibility on his shoulders," Dumbledore said with a smile.

Mr. Henry also sighed, hoping that Percy could pull through, as finding someone else suitable for the position would be extremely difficult.

"Besides the Muggle Liaison Office, you must have something else to say to this old codger, right? I don't believe you came all this way just to mooch my desserts." Dumbledore asked his question in his usual humorous tone.

"Yes, and there's also the matter of the Triwizard Tournament. Of course, it's not really appropriate to call it the Triwizard Tournament anymore."

Dumbledore's eyebrows rose again.

He had heard about this, that the Ministry of Magic wanted to revive the ancient competition that had been suspended for centuries and expand its scale, which surprised Dumbledore somewhat.

It seems that the Ministry's operating style has changed drastically since the change of Minister of Magic. He found it hard to imagine Cornelius Fudge making such a groundbreaking move.

It would be quite an achievement if he could even re-organize the Triwizard Tournament; there's absolutely no possibility of him changing the rules.

However, he still needs to carefully consider the matter of getting so many schools to come to Hogwarts. Perhaps it would be better to find some time to talk to Professor White.

Since Dumbledore harbored such thoughts, Mr. Henry naturally returned empty-handed. The lack of progress in the discussion about the match was making him somewhat anxious.

Without Dumbledore's approval, his next plan simply could not proceed.

Imagine the awkward situation it would be if he sent invitations to the headmasters of major magic schools around the world, and then Dumbledore refused to hold the competition.

But this can't be rushed, which is very annoying.

Mr. Henry left Hogwarts feeling dejected. Little did he know that someone else at Hogwarts was just as anxious as he was, and that person was a very important figure.

Rowena Ravenclaw has been a bit anxious lately: Salazar and Helga's students are making progress every day, some even touching the threshold of their domains, and who knows when they'll awaken their domains. But his own good student hasn't made any progress at all, spending his days just reading in the library.

This made her a little uneasy: aside from Godric, she was currently in last place, which Ravenclaw, who had a very high opinion of herself, could not accept.

She would occasionally reflect, wondering if she had wasted too much time on sandplay therapy. While she was enthusiastically playing with the sand, her two old friends were secretly mentoring students, giving them private lessons...

These are all bitter fruits of fleeting pleasure!

However, she had already taken remedial measures. She showed Hermione the wonders of the Realm through her own private classroom, hoping that Hermione could gain some understanding and benefit from it through her own wisdom.

Due to her own limitations and geographical location, Rowena could not provide her students with the hands-on guidance they received like Helga, nor could she offer them extremely precious tools like Salazar. She could only pass on her wisdom to her chosen successors and place her hopes on the inherent spirituality of the young girls themselves.

As for asking her two other old friends for help, her pride prevented her from even asking.

However, just as the semester was coming to an end, Rowena suddenly noticed something was amiss.

The source of the anomaly was Hermione Granger.

Rowena's intuition told her that this strange fluctuation was inextricably linked to the domain, which brought her a long-lost sense of joy.

After confirming the information several times, Rowena used the crystal ball Salazar had created the previous year to contact him.

"Hermione has actually reached the threshold of the domain?" Lesby Rowena was even more shocked.

He was well aware of Rowena's current situation; aside from theory and a few insights, Rowena couldn't offer Hermione much help in terms of awakening her domain. Therefore, it was truly remarkable that Hermione had come this far; she was also the most independent of the three students.

In other words, Hermione is least influenced by her teachers, and the form of her domain is the least controllable.

Rice couldn't help but wonder: What kind of domain could Hermione Granger have? Could she inherit her teacher's wind-based domain? He seemed to have dealt with her quite a bit; if her domain was related to water, that would be hilarious!

Of course, Rice also considered another possibility: the little girl had worn the time converter for a long time during the first half of the school year, so her domain might be an extremely rare time domain.

Despite having a barrage of questions on his mind, Rice acted with remarkable speed.

When you are contemplating a field of knowledge, it is best not to be disturbed, otherwise your precious inspiration may be lost, which will be a lifelong regret.

Rice's task was to get to the library as quickly as possible to ensure that Hermione would not be disturbed while comprehending the domain.

Upon entering the library, Rice immediately located Hermione. He rushed over and cast several spells around the outer perimeter to prevent bystanders from noticing anything amiss.

Then he quietly moved closer, wanting to observe which realm the little girl had awakened.

However, when Rice got closer, he froze. He found Hermione's condition and the magical fluctuations emanating from her to be very strange and eerie.

Normally, when a wizard awakens their domain, their body undergoes a transformation, merging with the domain's elements. Daphne was in that state when she mastered the Magma Domain; her entire body became a mass of magma. But Hermione was different. Although her body was uncontrollably radiating magical energy, her physical state remained unchanged.

She continued reading, as if nothing had happened.

This unusual situation made Rice squint.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

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(End of this chapter)