Hogwarts: I'm Truly a Model Wizard-Chapter 802: The Magical Contract

The Minister’s office was silent. Bones sat quietly, saying nothing, her thoughts clearly elsewhere.

Across from her, Kyle sat idly, toying with the gold Galleon on the desk.

During that time, someone came in to report, but Bones waved them off and went back to staring into space.

Kyle didn’t rush her.

It wasn’t clear how much time passed before Bones finally snapped out of it and looked up at him.

"One hundred thousand Galleons—I can’t agree to that. No Minister would."

"That amount is too large. It could seriously affect the Ministry’s daily operations."

"So, we’re done negotiating?" Kyle shrugged.

"Not quite." Bones stood up. "I’ve come up with a compromise."

"What is it?"

"The Ministry is willing to pay two thousand Galleons for temporary usage rights to your invention—starting now and lasting until we defeat You-Know-Who."

Kyle raised an eyebrow. "What exactly does that mean?"

"The same terms as before," Bones explained. "The communication device can only be used by the Ministry—no distribution or appearance elsewhere. But the restriction isn’t permanent."

"If we defeat You-Know-Who, the contract ends. After that, you can do whatever you want with it, and the Ministry won’t interfere."

"Two thousand Galleons... Still feels like a loss on my end," Kyle said after a moment of thought.

"I’m not good at bargaining, and that’s the highest price I can offer," Bones said. "The Ministry has to keep enough funds in reserve. Anything more, and I’ll have to say no."

"Fair enough." Kyle asked, "But what if You-Know-Who is defeated tomorrow?"

"You’ll still get the full two thousand," Bones replied without hesitation.

"That doesn’t sound bad," Kyle said. "But what if he holds out for ten, twenty years?"

"If that happens, the only explanation is that the Ministry no longer exists," Bones said calmly. "And if the Ministry’s gone, you won’t have to uphold the deal anymore, will you?"

Kyle paused for a moment.

"Alright then. We’ll go with your plan."

"No problem."

Bones pulled out a sheet of parchment and a quill, and quickly drafted a magical contract.

It wasn’t long—less than half a page, even shorter than a first-year Hogwarts essay.

When she finished writing, she placed her wand over a blank space and murmured a spell.

A golden glow flashed from the wand tip, and a special symbol appeared on the parchment.

It was a bold, capital "M" with a vertical wand embedded in its center.

This was the official seal of the Ministry of Magic—only the Minister could cast the contract magic that created it, and it appeared on all the Ministry’s most important documents.

Bones turned the parchment around and slid it across the table to Kyle.

He glanced at it, then flicked his wand and changed the "2000" to "1800."

"What’s that supposed to mean?" Bones asked.

"I mentioned before—Susan’s one of our long-time customers, and we were housemates back at Hogwarts. Seems fair to offer a little discount."

"Only ten percent?"

"That’s plenty." Kyle picked up the quill, signed his name beside the seal, and then tapped the parchment with his wand.

Name magic—it could only be activated by the person themselves. It was the most critical step in sealing a magical contract.

The seal represented the Ministry, the name represented Kyle. Once the spell took effect, the contract became binding and unchangeable.

"Well then, here’s to a successful partnership." Bones smiled, extending her hand. "Honestly, it’s rare to see a graduate like you. If it were up to me, making you a Senior Undersecretary would actually be a great choice."

"Didn’t you say that would take time?"

Kyle reached out as well, and the two shook hands lightly.

"That’s true—it’s a requirement from the Wizengamot, meant to keep any one Minister from holding too much power," Bones said. "But I believe, if you have a little patience, there’s a real chance you could get there. Maybe even... become the youngest Minister ever."

"Well... we’ll see," Kyle said with a grin.

"A real shame," Bones sighed, then smoothly shifted the topic. "As you can see, I’ve got a lot more to deal with."

She gestured to a stack of newly delivered documents.

"How about leaving the rest to you? That includes the communication Sickles and the signal badges."

"Of course." Kyle nodded. "How many do you need?"

"Based on the current number of Aurors and Hit Wizards, plus a few spares... make it three hundred fifty for now." Bones thought for a moment, then added, "The logistics department has some tools you can probably use. Or would you rather make them at home?"

"No need. I’ll just do it here," Kyle replied. "Is my old office still free?"

"Of course. I told you I’d save it for you," Bones said. "Do you need anything?"

"If possible, send me some raw materials," Kyle said. "But no real Sickles—they’re loaded with Goblin magic. Can’t work with them."

"No problem. I’ll have someone bring them over shortly," Bones said. "Also, I’ll have the Galleons ready ahead of time. You can collect them anytime after you’re done."

"That’s great," Kyle said with a smile.

At the end of the day, no matter what else was said, that was the part that really mattered.

...

After that, Kyle headed into the office next door.

Not long after, the materials he had requested were delivered. Whether it was on purpose or not, the one who brought them over was none other than Cedric.

"Kyle?"

He dropped a heavy lump of silver onto the table. "I was just wondering who in the world would want something like this."

What he had brought was unrefined silver with plenty of impurities—nothing particularly valuable. Of course, the silver used for actual Sickles was similar, just with an extra process unique to Goblins.

"This is the raw material," Kyle said. "Bones just asked you to deliver it? Nothing else?"

"She said I could stay and help if needed," Cedric replied.

"You’ve got time now?"

"Yeah, ever since the Weasley twins showed up, we’ve finally been able to catch our breath," Cedric said with a smile. "You’ve been a huge help—getting three assistants in one go. The other departments are green with envy."

"It was nothing, really. You don’t even need to thank me with a meal," Kyle said, waving it off. "Since that’s the case, stick around. There’s a lot to make this time, and I doubt I could finish it all on my own today."

"So what exactly are we making?"

"Bones didn’t tell you?"

"No, she just said to deliver the stuff and help out," Cedric said. "I didn’t even know you were at the Ministry until I walked in."

"Well... to put it simply, we’re going back to the basics."

As he spoke, Kyle pulled out his wand, gave it a light wave, and cut a small piece from the block of silver. Another flick, and it transformed into a round silver coin. The detailing was even easier—he had the patterns and lines on both sides shaped into a rough design in under thirty seconds.

Cedric immediately understood what he was doing.

"I get it. You’re making Sickles," he said, glancing nervously at the door and lowering his voice. "But you can’t use these as real money—anyone could tell they’re fake. And if word gets out, the Goblins won’t let it slide."

"Did you leave your brain in your office drawer when you came here?" Kyle gave him a look. "This is the Ministry of Magic. You think I’d be forging currency?"

"Then what are you..."

"They’re supposed to be fake," Kyle said, pointing to the silver coin on the table. "The raised details, the size, the pattern orientation—there are five differences between this and a real Sickle. It only looks similar at a glance."

"So what are they for, then?"

"Communication coins."

"Well, why didn’t you just say so?" Cedric shot Kyle a look. "If you’d said that earlier, I’d have understood."

"I’m seriously starting to think you really did leave your brain in a drawer." Kyle shook his head. "Alright, let’s get to work. Just follow the standard I used."

Cedric didn’t argue and got straight to it.

Thanks to his time at school, he worked fast—averaging about one prototype a minute, and the craftsmanship was precise, nearly identical to the sample Kyle had shown him.

While Cedric handled the shaping, Kyle sat beside him, inscribing rune patterns onto the coin prototypes.

That was the most difficult part. If it were just a matter of making the coins, Kyle could’ve done it alone without any help. Fortunately, this type was much simpler than the gold ones. All he needed was a single rune formula and one central sigil. After enough repetition, each one took just about five minutes to complete.

By noon, Cedric had spent about half an hour learning from Kyle and was already getting the hang of it. He even started helping with the inscriptions.

Of course, he wasn’t as skilled as Kyle yet and made occasional mistakes. But it didn’t matter—an unfinished rune could be wiped clean with a simple spell and done again. If the rune was completed but wrong, they’d just toss the coin aside and scrap it. Bones had provided more than enough raw material, so wasting a bit wasn’t an issue.

The two of them worked non-stop from morning until evening and only managed to finish... half.

There was no way around it—Bones had asked for too many. After drawing rune patterns all day, Kyle’s wrist was starting to ache. He really didn’t feel like going any further.

"Let’s go eat!"

Kyle stood up as he stowed his wand, though after sitting for so long, the sudden movement made him stagger a little—he nearly dropped right back into his seat.

"You okay?" Cedric asked, rubbing his wrist.

"I’m fine," Kyle replied. "Just kind of regretting my choices."

"Regretting what?"

"If I’d known how much work this would be, I never would’ve offered a discount."

Kyle had originally thought making a hundred coins would be enough—something he could wrap up in a day. He hadn’t expected the quantity to triple, and the workload to skyrocket along with it.

"A discount?" Cedric looked even more confused. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Don’t ask. You wouldn’t get it even if I explained," Kyle said, stretching his back. "How about staying at Grimmauld Place tonight? I don’t think you’ve been there before, and we can head out together tomorrow."

"Sure," Cedric agreed after thinking for a moment.

"You don’t need to let your dad know?"

"No need, I can send him a message with this." Cedric pulled a piece of parchment from his pocket.

The two of them tidied up quickly and left the Ministry.

But they didn’t go back together.

Cedric Apparated directly to a telephone booth two streets away from Grimmauld Place—one of the fixed Apparition points Moody had set up, surrounded by Muggle-Repelling Charms to keep it clear.

Kyle, meanwhile, made a round through the entrance hall, letting himself be seen. Once he was sure no one was following him, he Apparated as well.

Even after stepping out of the telephone booth, he didn’t head home right away. He strolled around for a while instead.

As dusk approached, the streets filled with people, all rushing about with the look of those eager to get home. No one gave Kyle more than a passing glance.

Only after about twenty minutes did Kyle feel confident that he wasn’t being followed.

Looks like Voldemort really had let him go.

How should he feel about that? Of course he was relieved, but he also found it a little strange.

Seventy Death Eaters—most of whom had died because of him. That even included Bellatrix Lestrange, one of Voldemort’s most devoted followers.

And that was it? No revenge? That just didn’t seem like Voldemort.

As for whether Bellatrix might have survived... Kyle didn’t even consider it. She’d taken a direct bite from a Basilisk. Even Voldemort himself wouldn’t have survived that without being boiled up again.

Kyle stood there a moment longer before pushing the thought aside.

Either way, not being targeted was definitely a good thing. The realization left him in such a good mood, he even helped himself to an extra half-bowl of dinner.

And he wasn’t the only one eating more.

Lately, dinner portions had increased noticeably, mostly due to the three Weasley kids suddenly eating like starving trolls—especially Ron, who returned each night and devoured his food like he was making up for all three meals at once.

At the same time, his glares at Kyle were growing more and more intense—like he was ready to lunge and take a bite out of him at any moment.

Luckily, Cedric was around today to draw some of the heat, since he was the one bringing in the most completed paperwork—almost all of it delivered by Cedric himself.

Ron couldn’t wrap his head around how Cedric managed to do so much in a single day. He was collecting magical experiment leftovers, catching stray magical creatures wandering through Muggle streets, and even filling in for other departments to Obliviate Muggles.

It was like he was everywhere.

But in the end, all those tasks still had to be written up... by Ron.

The others were always out and about—too busy to sit down and do paperwork. Ron was the only one stuck in the office.

He felt like he’d written more in the past two weeks than he had in six years of school.

That was exactly why he’d taken a disliking to Cedric. Still, with Mrs. Weasley around, he didn’t dare cross any lines.

Cedric’s room was arranged on the third floor, not far from Kyle’s. The next morning, before anyone else had even woken up, the two of them had already finished breakfast and headed off to the Ministry.

Mostly because Kyle was eager to wrap everything up and get paid.

Eighteen hundred Galleons—what if Bones changed her mind? Better to collect it and be done.

...

From morning to sunset, the two of them worked through another day without realizing how quickly time passed. Fortunately, they managed to finish all the communication coins.

"Why does helping you feel more exhausting than my regular job?" Cedric leaned back in his chair, massaging his forehead with his fingers.

After two straight days of laser-focused rune work, not only were his hands sore, but his head felt like it was stuffed with cotton. He was dizzy, dazed, and just wanted a long, deep sleep.

He hadn’t felt this wiped out since graduation... No, even back at Hogwarts, he rarely felt this drained.

Still, Cedric looked toward another lump of metal. "So what’s that for? You’re shaping it into a Knut?"

"No," Kyle shook his head. "It’s for something else. You go ahead and get some rest—I can handle the rest."

"You sure you don’t need help?"

"Nope, this part’s easy." Kyle pulled out a bottle of blue potion, took a swig, and handed Cedric one as well.

That piece was, of course, for crafting the badges.

It wasn’t that Kyle didn’t trust Cedric—it was just that the contract clearly stated that only Bones and Kyle could know about the special badges. They couldn’t share the information with anyone else.

That said, Kyle wasn’t lying about the difficulty—it really was simple. Just three runes, which he could draw while completing the Transfiguration.

Taking a deep breath, Kyle worked for another three hours and, just before nightfall, finally finished crafting the set of badges to match the number of communication coins.

Only the special badges, of course.

He wasn’t about to make badges for the entire Ministry of Magic... that would cost extra.