Chapter 24 The Vast Muggle Market
Conflicts between boys come and go quickly.
Especially with Basil's regal bearing, reminiscent of a legendary British king.
A little boy like Ron simply couldn't handle it.
So, unlike yesterday's conflict with Harry, which Basil resolved by questioning Professor McGonagall,
today's small conflict...
Basil glared at Ron, and Ron was defeated.
"My fault. If Fanta really wanted to eat Scabbers, she probably would have done it already."
"Ugh," Ron rubbed his stomach, walked to the bedside, and picked up a half-open, barely active Chocolate Frog from the cabinet. "Want some? It's leftover from yesterday's train ride."
"No." Basil felt a little nauseous.
Although he'd cleaned off the remaining Scabbers sauce with a cleaning charm, he still couldn't accept it psychologically.
"Let's go see Harry. I asked where the school hospital was yesterday."
This was a lie!
In reality, he had just found the school hospital on the second floor of his mental Hogwarts.
"Okay." Ron swallowed the Chocolate Frog whole and nodded.
Have you ever seen the Gryffindor common room at 6 a.m.?
Percy often did.
The Scottish Highlands sun, rising earlier than elsewhere, streamed through the round windows, illuminating the scarlet tapestry.
The witch, always with her back to them, dressed in a long scarlet robe, hat held behind her back, looking down at a black cat sitting at her feet, would reveal her true face at this time.
Young Professor McGonagall.
He saw this scene almost every day.
As the Gryffindor overseer, he had to get up early every day to update the bulletin board beside the round entrance,
posting school notices, advertisements, and posters.
Especially today, when the first-year students were starting their first classes.
He needed to distribute the timetables to each new student.
Thinking this, he used a sticky charm to attach the "Forbidden Items in the Castle" notice to the wooden board.
Ron and Basil arrived at the common room to find this scene.
Percy, yawning, sat sprawled out, waving his wand.
Ron's expression was complicated, as if he had seen something that made him ashamed.
However, he was ashamed of himself.
He only saw the glory of being a superintendent, without noticing the hardships behind it.
Percy saw them too.
He quickly sat up straight and tidied his appearance.
"You're up so early?"
Basil: "We're going to see Harry. He didn't come back last night. He's still in the school hospital."
At this moment, Ron spoke up, "This is the first time I've seen you so tired."
"Is being a superintendent this hard?"
"Is power really that important?"
Percy was stunned.
He didn't expect Ron to ask such a profound question.
Then, he nodded without hesitation, "It's important. And it's not hardship. It's the headmaster and teachers' high regard for me."
"The fruit of this power is not bitter. On the contrary, it's incredibly sweet."
"The thought that someone values me, that this resume will be a plus when I look for a job after graduation, makes me incredibly excited, I'm very happy!"
He looked at Basil, "From your picture, I can see your ambition."
"The best job in the world is at the Ministry of Magic."
"It controls everything for all wizards in Britain—their food, clothing, shelter, and transportation!
"Money, honor, dignity."
"You can get everything you can imagine there. " "
His expression darkened. "As long as we don't follow in our father's footsteps, content with mediocrity, sacrificing our future for so-called dreams."
"Content with working in the undignified, disrespectful, and low-paying position of Director of the Office Against Muggle Misuse."
He looked solemnly at Ron. "Ronnie, do you know? Have you ever seen Dad's work environment?"
"On the second floor of the Ministry of Magic, at the end of the corridor, opposite the broom shed, it's even smaller than the broom shed. As the director, he only has one subordinate. Their two desks are crammed into the space, taking up the entire area. It's difficult to even stand up and move around."
"A row of filing cabinets runs along the wall around the desks, overflowing with documents. On top of the cabinets are stacks of documents that are about to fall over."
"Personal space was pitifully scarce. The only usable space on the office walls was covered with things Dad had a particular fondness for: several car advertisements, one of which depicted a disassembled engine; two mailbox illustrations cut from Muggle children's books; and a diagram of how to install an electrical outlet. Next to the overflowing mail rack on the desk was a family photo."
Percy's voice was deep; even after so many years, he still remembered the entire layout of the office perfectly.
Ron lowered his head, his face as red as a monkey's bottom.
Basil was full of doubt.
Their family was quite familiar with the structure of the Ministry of Magic.
Before his memories awakened, he had also picked up this knowledge from his daily mushroom-gathering.
"Your father's position is Director, right? And the Office for the Prohibition of Muggle Items is a separate department, right? Under the Department of Magical Law Enforcement of the Ministry of Magic."
Percy nodded. "Is there something wrong?"
Basil asked tentatively, "Where does your knowledge of the Ministry of Magic come from?"
Percy composed himself.
He wasn't Ron; he keenly sensed Basil's implication.
Was his father's job really that important?
"My father, and that picture of yours. I don't know much else, I've been working hard on my studies. I'm taking 12 courses while also serving as a student monitor."
Basil took a deep breath.
"Alright, I'm about to tell you something revolutionary. Don't be surprised."
"The Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement is not someone the head of any other department can compare to. Not to mention your father's department is independent."
"To some extent, if your father doesn't want to, neither the Minister of Magic nor the Director of the
Department of Magical Law Enforcement can order him to do so." "Judging from the department's name, it's likely that only your father could draft laws related to Muggle goods."
"Even laws related to Muggles, if your father wanted to, he could take the lead in drafting them."
Percy was still a little doubtful. "It's certainly good that no one can interfere. But Muggles? What's the profit in that?"
"Work related to Muggles… although discriminating against Muggles is politically incorrect, no wizard would respect it."
Basil was incredibly frustrated. "Are you crazy? Do you know the global population statistics for 1991? That is, how many Muggles were there? 5.383 billion!"
"There were 57.4249 million Muggles in Britain alone!"
"And all the wizards in Britain combined only numbered four thousand!"
"Don't you understand? The Muggle world is such a huge market!"
"And the laws in this area were drafted and spearheaded by your father."
"Especially now that there are supposedly protective laws, in reality, every aspect of the Muggle world has already infiltrated the wizarding world."
"For example, Ron's sneakers, Fudge and other high-ranking officials in the Ministry of Magic like to wear suits!"
"Even our wizarding robes, the kind we all wear normally, can be mass-produced in factories in the Muggle world. Or you can buy the fabric and make them yourself!"
"And magic cameras, apart from the spells cast on them and the developing potion, are actually no different from Muggle ones. You can buy them in the Muggle world and have them custom-made. There's no need to buy a finished product from the Wiz'eke Magical Supplies Shop that costs 100 Galleons."
"Let me do the math for you. According to the current exchange rate, 5 pounds equals 1 Galleon."
"Now, cameras in the Muggle world are far more advanced than those in the magical world, costing only around 300 pounds, which is only 60 Galleons. And the developing potion costs 1 silver sieco. The spells for magic cameras aren't difficult either; you can learn them yourself."
"For just 60 Galleons and 1 sieco, you can have a magic camera."
"And my exchange rate is the official Gringotts rate. There's a limit to how many Galleons a normal Muggle family can exchange. On the black market, you can get 5 pounds per Galleon, or even 40 pounds per Galleon."
Ron: "50 pounds? Would anyone trade that?"
He was already fantasizing about exchanging his silver shicos for pounds, then going to the Muggle world to buy cloth, stationery, and other things to sell back in the wizarding world.
Basil: "Twenty Galleons are roughly one-tenth of a kilogram, and gold costs about 10,000 pounds per kilogram, so one Galleon is worth about 50 pounds."
"If it were really 50, or even more, wouldn't people exchange it for gold and go to Gringotts to exchange it?"
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(End of Chapter)