Giving Remus lunch?
Percy's eyes followed Sirius's words to the package he held in his left hand, and his expression was stunned.
Whether at the Ministry or at home, he had heard of the prosperity of Professor Brenn and Professor Lupin's Learning Machine Workshop. According to internal estimates of the International Magical Cooperation Bureau, the tax paid by the Learning Machine Workshop this year is expected to raise the Ministry of Magic's commercial tax rate for the entire year by several percentage points compared to last year!
So, Professor Lupin, who is in charge of such a large workshop, won't have anywhere to eat?
The career of the Ministry of Magic still has some progress in Percy, he didn't break through this point, but stuttered said,
"I um, uh. I also need to go to the Learning Machine Workshop..."
Sirius's words made Percy realize that perhaps Professor Lupin was still working at the workshop. He raised his handbag in front of Sirius's amazed gaze,
“Professor Brenn entrusted me with this for Professor Lupin——”
"Amostrum?"
Sirius was even more confused,
"He is not at Hogwarts?"
Percy was relieved that Sirius hadn't heard about the task given to him by the Minister for Magic, otherwise, he probably wouldn't have treated himself well either.
"I um, there are some things in the Ministry. I just got back from Hogwarts. When Professor Brenn sent me on my way, he handed me this document to give to Professor Lupin. What should we do with him?"
Percy didn't want to delve into the topic, he looked at the criminal who was stepped on by Sirius, trying to change the subject.
Percy's little tricks are naturally not beyond Sirius's eyes, but Sirius also does not want to pry too much into Percy's secrets, slightly raising his eyebrows deeply looking at Percy, and then Sirius hated the Colunt,
"Hmm, I probably don't have time to take him to the Ministry right now. Well, I've got—"
Sirius turned his head and looked back at the dimly lit Kwik-E-Mart.
"I can ask the Kwik-E-Mart owner Tom to help look after him first. He has an owl there, and I'll write a letter to the Ministry. Amelia will dispatch someone to take over."
Speaking, he waved his wand to make Colunt float up and follow behind him, sprinting across the white swanstone street and into the backyard of the Kwik-E-Mart.
Ten minutes later, a cat owl spread its wings and flew up from the backyard, soaring two circles in the sky before its body disappeared into the darkness of the night.
"Let's go, Percy..."
Sirius waved at the bewildered Percy still standing in the courtyard, calling out loud with a smile.
"You came from Hogwarts, Percy. Did you see Harry?"
Sirius led Percy in a brisk walk towards the industrial area of Diagon Alley, he knew that Percy was the same as him, not doing too well at the Ministry, so he didn't talk about work-related matters.
"Oh, Harry. Yes, I did see him, along with Ron and Hermione—"
Percy's eyes twinkled, and his cheeks flushed.
He not only saw them three but almost got into a fight with them in Brenn's office. But he couldn't tell Sirius about it, just nodded and stammered.
"They. Well, they're in good spirits. But you know, Sirius, I was in a hurry to get back, so I didn't talk to them much."
"Is that so?"
Sirius gave Percy a sideways glance, his eyebrows slightly furrowed, and didn't say anything else.
He had been Percy's professor for Defense Against the Dark Arts, and he had also stayed with the Arthur family for a while, so he could say that he was somewhat familiar with Arthur's third son.
As a teacher of Defense Against the Dark Arts and a guest at the Weasleys, Percy could be said to be the most ambitious among them. He was quite open about his determination to make progress in his career after joining the Ministry. To be honest, Sirius didn't particularly appreciate Percy's style. While aspiring to become a high-ranking official at the Ministry was not an unreasonable ambition, Percy's problem was that he had let his desire for power blind him and couldn't distinguish what was truly important.
The heavy atmosphere lingering around made both Sirius and Percy feel quite uncomfortable, so they quickly delved deeper into the alleys of the industrial area.
When entering a certain area, the deafening roar shattered the quiet of the first night. This place wasn't as deserted as outside, even at nightfall, workers still moved between the various workshops.
Percy followed Sirius to a compound, where the workshops were the most numerous in this area. Despite this, there were still three large workshops under construction in a large open space in the compound, with over a dozen wizards wielding their wands to lift steel beams into the air and position them correctly.
After finally lifting his gaze from the smoke-emitting chimneys, Percy looked towards the only office building in the factory area. Nearly every office in the building was lit up, and Percy could see many figures flickering behind the windows.
The guarding of the factory gate was not only done by wizards but also by elves. However, they were obviously very familiar with Sirius. Sirius only said a few words about who Percy was and what he was there, and the smart and capable guards allowed them to enter the factory. The workers who were waiting to deliver raw materials had to undergo detection by honesty probe and peephole before they were allowed to pass.
"The security here seems even more stringent than the Ministry!"
The spectacle at the entrance shocked Percy, who clicked his tongue.
"Actually, the security measures here are even more perfect than what you saw—"
Sirius's mouth curled into a smile as he pointed to the roof of the workshop and a row of dense pine trees and shrubs behind the compound's fence.
"There are skilled wizards in secret monitoring the workshops in those places. In addition, there are many powerful magical defenses in the park, including spells like Invisibility Cloak. I dare to bet that even if all the Aurors in the Ministry tried to storm here, they wouldn't be able to break through the defenses."
"I don't understand--"
Sirius's explanation left Percy even more astonished.
"Why go to such lengths?"
"That's something you'll have to ask Amostrum..."
Sirius shrugged.
"That's his request. Leopold worked hard to design the defenses according to the requirements for workshops during war."
The air was filled with a sense of tension, not because something was burning, but because the atmosphere here made Percy feel anxious.
Everyone passing through the compound had an air of urgency on their faces. No one walked leisurely or comfortably; everyone was jogging towards their destination.
Looking at the workers, administrators, and alchemists coming and going, seemingly with endless tasks to do, Percy couldn't help but feel a sense of envy. It wasn't just the envy of their busyness; it was the enthusiasm that surrounded them. This feeling was something he couldn't find even in the Ministry.
"They seem to love their work very much..."
As Percy followed Sirius towards the brightly lit office building, his gaze followed a group of wizards in formal attire running urgently towards a workshop.
"Oh, of course--"
Sirius half-jokingly and half-suggestively said,
"Of course – the pay Leopold offers is very high. Even the most ordinary worker earns over four hundred galleons a year, and the salaries of experts and mid-to-senior-level businesspeople can compare with those of professors at Hogwarts. Oh, to be honest, if the Ministry doesn't give me a raise soon, I'd rather come here and be a guard!"
Four hundred galleons is just the minimum wage?
Percy's eyes widened in shock. This salary was even higher than what he earned at the Ministry, yet this was the minimum wage here!
Percy's look of astonishment pleased Sirius, who patted Percy's shoulder and pushed him up the stairs.
"Come on, I'm sure Leopold must be starving."
"Oh, is there no dining place here? Why does Leopold need you to deliver the meal?"
Percy, still in shock, unconsciously voiced his doubts out loud.
"Oh--"
Sirius's face flushed slightly, and he coughed twice lightly.
"Cough cough. You know, Leopold has always lived with me. He's used to the meals cooked by Crookshanks."
(End of Chapter)
