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*****
"Just as I mentioned earlier, due to the mistakes of the former Minister, Mr. Black was wrongly accused for twelve years. Although the responsibility does not lie with me as the current Minister, I still feel deeply ashamed.
Fortunately, today's Ministry of Magic is not what it used to be. We are constantly improving, supported by a team of elite staff capable of detecting and correcting mistakes in time.
Take George, for example. He is a representative of our outstanding personnel. He even helped capture the dark wizard One-Eyed Jack while vacationing in France, earning the Medal of Bravery."
Fudge draped an arm around George's shoulder and showered him with praise. On the surface, he was commending George, but everyone could hear that what he truly wanted to highlight was his own competent leadership as Minister.
Under the flashing lights of major wizarding newspapers' cameras, he concluded:
"So, we have decided to award George the Second-Class Order of Merlin along with a reward of ten thousand Galleons."
After Fudge's speech, Dumbledore, representing the entire Wizengamot, presented George with the Order of Merlin, while his immediate superior, Umbridge, awarded him the gold Galleons.
Following that came the press interviews with George, and he did not let Fudge down. Not once did he mention that he had only just joined the Ministry that morning, nor did he expose Fudge's embellishments.
In truth, many within the Ministry already knew he had joined just that morning. Several Hogwarts wizards were also aware, and the reporters likely suspected it too.
But it didn't matter. In the wizarding world, where news spreads mainly through newspapers, if the majority believes something to be true, then that becomes the truth. Few will bother to dig deeper into the facts.
All Fudge needed was for the majority of the wizarding world to believe that the Ministry was a trustworthy institution and that he was a capable Minister—and that was enough.
The next morning, George saw the report in the Daily Prophet while eating breakfast.
The eye-catching headline read:
"Twelve Years of Injustice Cleared—Thanks to a Brilliant Minister and an Exceptional Twelve-Year-Old Employee, Sirius Black Is Revealed to Be a Hero!"
The article featured two photographs: one of the Minister with his arm around George, and another of Dumbledore awarding him the Order of Merlin.
"I guess I'm a public figure now," George said with a faint smile as he folded the paper.
Previously, he had only been famous at school, and although he gained some recognition for joining England's Quidditch team, he was soon forgotten due to never playing in a match.
Later, he earned the Medal of Bravery in France, but since that happened abroad, few wizards in Britain knew about it.
So when he joined the Ministry, many wizards didn't recognize him.
But after this report, few in the wizarding world would fail to know his name.
On one hand, earning twelve Outstandings in the Ultimate Wizarding Exams at the age of twelve and graduating early to join the Ministry was already an incredible feat, almost beyond belief for most wizards.
On the other hand, the Sirius Black case had been stirring panic for a year, and now George had resolved it—something that left an even deeper impression.
These two achievements combined were enough to make him a celebrity in the British wizarding world.
"No wonder he became an assistant in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement right after joining."
"I was just saying—even if he were the Minister's biological son, it would be impossible for a twelve-year-old to graduate and immediately work at the Ministry."
"It's no comparison. My son didn't even get two Outstandings in his OWLs this year, while George, at twelve, earned twelve in his NEWTs and joined the Ministry."
"Forget your son—you still struggle to cast a proper Shield Charm. George managed to subdue both Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew. Even if we all worked together, we probably couldn't beat him."
"It's normal for us clerks not to know the Shield Charm—we're not Aurors. But for someone to subdue both the fearsome Sirius and Pettigrew at the same time? Now that's what's truly abnormal.
One escaped Azkaban under the watch of countless Dementors, and the other blew up an entire street back in the day."
When George apparated to the Ministry again, the entire workplace had undergone a complete change in opinion about him.
Yesterday, they were still speculating which powerful family had parachuted him into the Ministry. Today, they had learned that he earned his position through genuine merit and was assigned to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement because of his extraordinary achievements.
George had only joined the Ministry yesterday morning, and by the afternoon, he was already attending a press conference. That meant the capture of Pettigrew and the clearing of Sirius Black's name couldn't possibly have happened after his official employment.
Veteran employees who had worked at the Ministry for years and were well-acquainted with its inner workings could easily guess what had really happened.
"Good morning, George!"
"Good morning!"
Along the way, George noticed that many Ministry employees he didn't even know were now greeting him proactively. Most of them looked at him with admiration in their eyes.
He didn't let the attention go to his head and returned every greeting kindly and humbly.
One shouldn't underestimate these employees—many of whom hadn't even mastered the Shield Charm—because any one of them might be researching a spell that could one day benefit him.
While many Ministry employees lacked strong combat abilities and weren't Aurors, that didn't mean their magical research skills were lacking.
It was like the difference between soldiers and scientists. Aurors were the soldiers, while most Ministry clerks were scientists. Wizards like Dumbledore—who were both warrior and scholar—were rare.
Think about it: every outstanding student upon graduation wants to join the Ministry, and each year the Ministry selects the best among them.
Over time, it's easy to imagine just how many brilliant wizards have accumulated within its ranks.
Perhaps under Fudge's leadership, bureaucracy has worsened and many of the upper ranks are inept—but many of the lower-level employees still possess excellent magical research abilities.
Take Arthur Weasley, for example, whose office is in the most rundown corner of the second-floor corridor. In terms of alchemy and magical knowledge, few on the entire floor could match him.
"Good morning, Mr. Weasley!"
Speak of the devil—just as George, carrying an empty briefcase, stepped into the lift, Arthur came rushing in.
"Oh, good morning, George.
Congratulations on receiving the medal and the bonus! Ron and Ginny saw the article in the paper this morning and haven't stopped talking about you. They even asked me to find out when you might be free to visit us."
Arthur panted slightly as he greeted him.
Naturally, he knew George. Just last year, during the start-of-term gathering at the Leaky Cauldron, George had sought his advice on alchemy, and the two had had a great conversation.
He never expected that in just one year, George would become a colleague in the same department.
"I'll visit them next week on my day off. How have you been lately—"
George nodded and began chatting with Arthur.
Arthur had some truly unique insights into alchemy. Visiting the Burrow during the holidays would be the perfect opportunity to sit down and exchange ideas in depth.
(End of Chapter)