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*****
"Dear Mr. George,
Your application for employment has been approved. Your position is Assistant in the Office for the Prohibition of Improper Use of Magic, under the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.
Please report to Level B2 of the Ministry of Magic in two weeks."
Reading the Ministry's reply, a faint smile appeared at the corner of George's mouth.
Assistant in the Office for the Prohibition of Improper Use of Magic—this was the position he had managed to secure after Amy spent a hefty sum of gold on his behalf.
Don't underestimate the title of "assistant." This is one of the most sought-after roles in the Ministry of Magic, fiercely contested by countless aspiring wizards.
The Department of Magical Law Enforcement is the largest division in the Ministry. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, its head is almost always next in line to become the Minister for Magic.
The previous head of this department was Barty Crouch Sr., who was originally expected to be the current Minister. However, due to the scandal involving his Death Eater son, he was reassigned to head the Department of International Magical Cooperation, allowing Cornelius Fudge to seize the position instead.
The Department of Magical Law Enforcement is comprised of three major branches: the Wizengamot Administration Services, the Auror Office, and the Office for the Prohibition of Improper Use of Magic.
The Wizengamot is made up of around fifty members, with the presiding official titled the Chief Warlock—a role Albus Dumbledore has held for many years.
Wizengamot members wear crimson robes with an embroidered silver "W" on the left breast and are authorized to award the Order of Merlin.
Most members are high-ranking Ministry officials, including the Minister for Magic and the Deputy Minister.
The Auror Office requires little introduction—it's the Ministry's most powerful combat and enforcement division.
On par with these is the Office for the Prohibition of Improper Use of Magic, which holds tremendous authority.
Its main duties include preventing the use of magic in front of Muggles, enforcing restrictions on underage magic, reversing accidental magical incidents, and investigating violations involving magic performed either in front of Muggles or by underage wizards.
They also deal with reversing consequences of such magic, such as modifying Muggle memories.
Ron's father, Arthur Weasley, works in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office, which is a subordinate branch under the Office for the Prohibition of Improper Use of Magic.
Typically, the Minister for Magic is chosen from former heads of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and that department's head is usually selected from either the Director of the Auror Office or the Director of the Improper Use of Magic Office.
So, by becoming Assistant to the Director of that office, George now had a shot at being promoted to Director himself—eventually climbing the ranks to become Head of the Department and potentially Minister for Magic.
But that wasn't the only reason he'd chosen this role.
He'd learned from Amy that the current Director of the Improper Use of Magic Office was none other than Dolores Umbridge.
Yes, that pink toad.
Why deliberately choose a superior like her?
The answer was simple—because killing such a boss and taking her place wouldn't come with any psychological burden.
If he wanted to rise quickly, the best method was to make the person above him disappear.
As long as he became the Director, he would effectively become part of the Ministry's upper echelon. From there, everything would be much easier to manage.
Of course, such a rise would require some maneuvering—but for him, it was nothing he couldn't handle.
"How'd it go?"
In the library, Hermione, Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Luna all looked eagerly at George.
George smiled and passed the letter around.
"Approved. Assistant in the Improper Use of Magic Office. I start in two weeks."
"The Improper Use of Magic Office? That means you'll be working with my dad!"
The group huddled around the letter. Ron and Ginny exclaimed almost in unison.
Harry adjusted his glasses and said,
"It's hard to believe—you started school a whole year after us, and now you're graduating and going straight into the Ministry."
"I might not be able to graduate early," Hermione said, clenching her fist and looking at George as if making a solemn vow, "but I'm going to work twice as hard in the next few years and join the Ministry after graduation!"
George offered them an encouraging thumbs-up.
In four years, when Hermione and the others graduate, he might not even still be at the Ministry.
"Focus on your studies—you've got finals tomorrow," he reminded Harry, Ron, and the others, slipping the Ministry letter back into his robes and leaving the library.
At his words, Harry and Ron slumped over the table like over-frosted eggplants—they hated finals more than anything.
"I'm so jealous of George," Ron groaned as he watched George's retreating figure. "He never has to take exams again… and he earns his own money to spend."
"He always has earned and spent his own money," Ginny chided her brother.
Ron scratched his head. "Right, I forgot he's an orphan—and he runs that shop in Knockturn Alley."
"Work has its own hardships, and school has its own struggles," Luna said softly, surprising everyone. "The adult world will be even tougher."
"Growing up, we always wanted to be older," she added. "But once we're grown, we long for childhood again."
George, already at the library door, heard every word. Clutching the Ministry's letter, he headed first to see Dumbledore and Snape, then visited his fellow Slytherins and older housemates.
As a Slytherin, he got along very well with his peers—perhaps better put, they admired him: his power, the triumphs he'd led Slytherin to, even Malfoy now treated him with deference.
Upon learning he'd scored Outstanding on all twelve N.E.W.T.s and secured a position as Assistant in the Office for the Prohibition of Improper Use of Magic, even the seventh-year prefects grew markedly humble.
Harry and the others didn't realize just how prestigious that assistantship was—they assumed it was akin to Percy's position in International Magical Cooperation. But Slytherin upperclassmen understood: with George's stellar record, seven or eight years as assistant would likely see him promoted to Director, fifteen or sixteen years might yield Department Head, and in twenty years he could even become Minister for Magic.
And George was only twelve—truly, his future was boundless.
Over the next few days, while first through sixth years sat their finals, George—like any seventh-year graduate—had no more exams. He spent his time studying the Room of Requirement.
Once exams concluded, he attended the final school banquet. After bidding farewell to Snape, he boarded the train back to London alongside the other young witches and wizards.
(End of Chapter)