Hogwarts: Don't call me the Staff Maker

Chapter 527 Phoenix Society Discussion

Chapter 527 Phoenix Society Discussion

Starting from the third day of their holiday, Fred and George left the Burrow, making an excuse that they were going on a trip to Wiltshire with Lee Jordan.

But Celyn knew they were actually in Diagon Alley, because everyone had already celebrated the most important Christmas holiday, and all the helpers they'd found at school were free. The two decided to stay in the still-under-construction shop until school started, to make the most of their time.

There's also some good news: Percy can finally return to work at the Ministry of Magic, a message brought to us yesterday by Kingsley Shackleton.

Since Umbridge couldn't prove Percy was Barty Crouch's accomplice, he couldn't be disqualified from working at the Ministry of Magic. Perhaps not wanting to waste too much energy on such matters, or perhaps not wanting to completely sever ties with Dumbledore, Fudge ultimately agreed to reinstate Percy as a recorder in the Department of International Magical Cooperation. It's unclear what Fudge was thinking, but since Barty Crouch's incident, the position of Director of the Department of International Magical Cooperation had been vacant, making the department itself the least busy in the entire Ministry. Fortunately, Percy himself was quite satisfied and happily went out with Mr. Weasley.

Bill was with them. He had originally taken a long vacation, but after a few days at home, he felt uncomfortable with the sudden free time. So he decided to cut his vacation short and apply for an office job in the UK.

Although he missed those ancient tombs, traps, and curses, there was nothing he could do; Egypt was too far away, and it was difficult to receive timely notifications from the Order of the Phoenix.

Charlie also returned to Romania, and he promised to keep an eye on the Dragon Blood Tree for Sirendo.

Everyone had their own things to do. Overnight, Siron and his friends became the most idle people in the Burrow. Mrs. Weasley even forbade them from being involved in any decisions related to the Order of the Phoenix, citing their young age. This made Ron and Harry very unhappy, feeling looked down upon. Fortunately, Hermione quickly found a solution—the overwhelming amount of homework became the best way to pass the time. Once they picked up their quills, they had no time to think about the Order of the Phoenix anymore.

Even so, with Hermione's help, a week later they still had papers to write for Potions and History of Magic.

"What kind of holiday is this—" Ron finally snapped after breaking his quill for the fifth time, complaining hysterically, "Why do Fred and George have time to go out with their friends, and Ginny can go see Luna Lovegood, while we're stuck here every day with this seemingly endless homework!"

"Because Fred and George have already taken the O.WL exam, and Ginny, who is in fourth year, doesn't have to take it, only we—" Hermione looked at Ron and said expressionlessly, "O.WL is the most important first step for all wizards. If you still want to get the certificate, you'd better get a new quill pen quickly."

Ron muttered something under his breath. No one heard what he said, but he still got up and left the tent to go back to his room to find a quill pen.

But a few minutes later, he came back.

"So fast?" Harry asked in surprise. The last few times Ron went looking for the quill, he would secretly play with his Quidditch model in his room for a while before returning half an hour later—Ginny had seen this and told them.

"Never mind that for now, come with me!" Ron said, excitedly grabbing Harry's hand and pulling him towards the tent exit. "Hurry, they forgot to close the door when they were discussing things today!"

Hermione, who was about to stop him, suddenly shut her mouth and lowered her outstretched hand. Seeing Ron about to pull Harry out of the tent, she hurriedly said, "Come back quickly, it's wrong to eavesdrop on their conversation."

Unfortunately, Ron and Harry had already slipped out and didn't hear her. Hermione stamped her foot and got up to chase after them.

Tsk, that excuse is really—so lame. If they want to go, they can just go. Even if they get caught, so what? Can they deduct points from Gryffindor? Xiren also left the tent.

The door to the humble dwelling was indeed open, with a noticeable gap, likely left loosely closed by the last person who entered.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione were pressed against the door, straining to hear. Perhaps because they had been doing homework non-stop for the past few days, and had gotten used to not seeing anyone all day, the Order of the Phoenix members who came here had become quite lax. Siron immediately went over.

Unfortunately, the meeting seemed to be nearing its end.

"That's it, Dedalow. You continue with the tasks Dumbledore assigned you. Nothing has changed."

They heard a familiar, husky voice; it must be Alastor Moody.

"The Ministry of Magic is deliberately downplaying its ties with other countries, and Dumbledore needs to gain as much support as possible from members of the International Wizarding Federation, so this meeting in Finland is crucial."

"The meeting might take a while, at least three days, maybe a week or even longer. During this time—Blake, I'd like you to take on the role of liaison among the members of the Order of the Phoenix, is that alright?"

"No problem, leave it to me," Sirius's voice came from inside the house.

"Very well." Moody sighed. "That idiot Fudge actually thought he could cover up the attacks that had already happened by saying nothing—I really don't know how he became Minister of Magic."

"He wasn't like this before," someone whispered.

Then came the sound of stools scraping the floor and increasingly closer footsteps; it seemed the people inside had stood up and were heading towards the door. The people at the door quickly held their breath and tiptoed back into the adjacent tent. Xiren doubted whether their efforts would be effective, after all, Alastor Moody was among those who had come; his magical eye could easily see through the door and see the people lying on the outside.

And indeed, as the group emerged, Moody stopped at the entrance to their tent, his blue demonic eye darting around in its socket. But the next second, he asked an unrelated question.

"Who was the last person to come in?"

"It looks like Mundungus," Kingsley said.

"Where are the others?"

"He left," Tonks said. "Have you forgotten? Halfway through the meeting, he suddenly said he had something extremely urgent to attend to and left."

"What's the rush? He must be rummaging through those shady things again, that thief!"