Entering the Ministry of Magic

A moment later, ripples appeared in space, and two figures, one large and one small, appeared out of thin air.

Ivan snapped out of his daze and looked around instinctively. Instead of the Ministry of Magic he had expected, he found himself in a narrow alley.

"Why don't we just teleport to the Ministry?" Yvonne asked curiously.

"You can't just use Apparition to get to the Ministry unless you're authorized to do something important. Even if you're there, you have to go through another passageway to get to work," Douggart explained, patting Ivan on the shoulder.

Yvonne nodded. That made sense. If everyone used Apparition to get around the Ministry, it would be a mess.

More importantly, it would undermine the dignity of the Ministry!

"Come with me. The entrance to the Ministry of Magic is just up the road. It's probably crowded, so we'd better dress up like Muggles."

Doggett put away his wand, tidied his clothes, warned the others, and led the way.

Pretend to be Muggles? Do you know what Muggles generally look like?

Ivan grumbled to himself, but he still hurried to keep up. When he left the alley, he found himself in a busy street.

There was a crowd of people, mostly men and women in suits and carrying briefcases. They seemed to be in a hurry and never stayed in one place for long.

With Doggett leading the way, Ivan was able to blend in with the crowd, although his unusual attire attracted a lot of attention.

Even so, Doggett thought he was putting on a good front, occasionally telling Ivan Muggle common sense, which, unfortunately, sounded outdated to Ivan.

Dougster was so excited that he even wanted to show Ivan how to use a Muggle machine on a vending machine by the side of the road. However, nothing happened after he stuffed a silver Sickle into the machine, and soon after, the machine vomited it back out.

"Goddammit, Muggle machines don't take Sickles or Knuts," muttered Doggett, patting his head, suddenly remembering that he had forgotten to go to Gringotts for some Muggle currency today.

After a short walk, they arrived at an ancient street with graffiti all over the walls. There were only a few shops and a small pub on either side of the street.

Because of this, there were very few pedestrians, and only an occasional honking car drove past.

In front of them was a red telephone booth. It was in such a state of disrepair that half of its red paint had fallen off.

Dougett, however, didn't seem to care at all as he went in and beckoned Yvonne to join him. The small telephone booth was suddenly crowded.

"It's a Muggle telephone booth, and it's said that Muggles can use it to communicate remotely, just like your Extendable Ears do. What do you think? Surprised, right? I thought it was unbelievable when I first found out…"

Doggart smacked his lips, flaunting his Muggle knowledge and looking very pleased with himself.

Ivan rolled his eyes in exasperation. It was just a telephone booth. He had used one in his previous life. Muggles even had mobile phones now, right?

As she explained the situation to Ivan, Doggett picked up the receiver, tapped in the number, and entered 62442.

It wasn't long before Ivan heard a voice in his ear. It seemed to be very close, but there was no one in sight.

"Welcome to the Ministry. Please state your name and business."

It was a cold female voice, and Ivan couldn't help but wonder if the Ministry receptionist's poor service attitude should have been greeted warmly.

Dougett was used to it and did not find it amiss.

"I'm Doggett, and this is Ivan Hals, the inventor of the Wolfsbane Potion. We're going to the Patent Office. I'm sure you've been told!"

The receptionist seemed surprised by Doggett's question and paused before continuing.

"Hello, guests, please keep your badges… pinned to your clothes."

Clank…

A square silver badge slid out from the counterpane entrance of the telephone booth. Ivan reached out and took it, turning it over and examining it. It clearly read Ivan Hals, Patent Application.

Ivan fastened the badge to his chest, and the receptionist continued.

"A visitor from the Ministry of Magic, the security desk is at the end of the Atrium, where you will be inspected and your wand registered."

As soon as he finished speaking, Ivan felt the telephone booth begin to sink. It was like being in an elevator, sliding steadily downwards.

Through the glass of the telephone booth, Ivan could clearly see that they were heading into the depths of the earth. Layers of rocks were falling past them, and the speed at which they were falling seemed to be increasing. There was a fine grinding sound all around them, causing Ivan to worry that something was wrong with the magical lift.

Fortunately, everything went well in the end. The telephone booth came to a smooth stop, the closed door opened automatically, and was closed again after Ivan and Doggett left.

Ivan watched as the telephone booth rose back into the air, then turned to look ahead and saw that they were on the side of a wide hall.

It served as the facade of the Ministry of Magic, and was lavishly decorated, with a floor of neat, dark wood, so shiny that you could see your own reflection in it, and a peacock-blue ceiling with gold carvings that constantly changed and moved.

Gold-plated fireplaces were set at intervals along the walls, and one could occasionally see the glow of wizards coming and going through them.

In the middle of the entrance hall was a fountain the size of a pond, with golden statues at its centre.

The largest and tallest was a wizard holding his wand aloft, surrounded by statues of centaurs, goblins, and house-elves.

Ivan kept looking around as he walked.

In his previous life, he had pictured the Ministry of Magic in his mind, and had seen similar scenes in films, but it was only at close quarters that he was surprised at how perfectly the mysteries of magic could be combined with the art of architecture.

"Well, stop looking. We have business to attend to."

Doggett interrupted Ivan's thoughts of continuing the tour, leading him past the wand inspection checkpoint and then pressing a few buttons on the lift…