Hogwarts: Don't call me Wandmaker

Chapter 287 Crouch's Admirers

Xiren hadn't expected Lupin to be so interested in the duel he had signed up for.

He could have simply left and forfeited, thus losing the game, but he insisted on making the extra trip.

But that's probably just Lupin's personality; anyway, it won't take long, and Siron didn't object.

After leaving the Sphinx Bar, the two headed to the famous Sphinx and entered the Egyptian Ministry of Magic through an archway hidden in the statue's forepaws.

After arriving here, Lupin left.

Bill had taken them on a tour of the Egyptian Ministry of Magic before, so this visit wasn't entirely unfamiliar.

The Egyptian Ministry of Magic also followed the vertical layering design of the pyramids.

Upon entering the hall, you will see two enormous statues with human bodies but jackal heads.

The ruby ​​eyes gleamed eerily in the torchlight, as if scrutinizing every passing wizard.

As Xiren walked between the two statues, one of the statues seemed to have a flicker in its eyes, and the surrounding area seemed to be enveloped in some kind of magic.

Xilun felt a sudden sense of oppression, and his heart began to race.

But the next second, that feeling suddenly disappeared.

Xilun looked up. The eyes of the Anubis statue showed no abnormality, and there was no strange magic around. The wizards coming and going did not stop, all busy with their own affairs.

Because he suddenly stopped, and the people behind him were still urging him on.

"Hurry up, don't block the way!"

The other person rattled off a bunch of things in their own language, but Xilun didn't understand a word.

But this also made Xiren realize something more important... he should have come with Lupin.

But Lupin is already on his way to the Magic Arena, so calling him back is unrealistic. We can only hope that the staff here are highly professional.

Now, Xilun didn't care about the statues anymore and quickly walked over.

Further ahead lies the largest department of the Egyptian Ministry of Magic, similar to the Department of Magical Creatures Control in the UK, primarily responsible for managing sphinxes, mummies, and cat-like magical creatures.

Xiren saw with his own eyes a mummy covered in bandages stagger out of a door.

Are there still any of these things alive?
Siron froze on the spot, but when he thought about how there were ghosts at Hogwarts, the living mummy didn't seem so strange anymore.

Further ahead, there are two more statues. They are much smaller than the ones at the entrance, and instead of Anubis in the shape of a jackal, they are statues of the Sphinx.

Its body resembled a terrifyingly large lion, but it had the head of a woman. As it passed by Xilun, it suddenly spoke and asked:
Please state the purpose of your visit!

Xilun can understand this sentence.

His eyes lit up, and he quickly said, "I'm here to apply for a remote door key."

About a second later, the Sphinx statue turned, its huge claws pointing towards an elevator behind it.

"Thank you," Xiren said, continuing forward and taking the elevator to the third floor, the Department of Magical Transportation.

The script here seems to have some kind of magic; although Xilun doesn't recognize it, he can still understand it.

The third floor was crowded. After exiting the elevator, there were long queues outside almost every office. In particular, the queue in front of an office with a sign that read "Sun Boat Transportation Station" stretched all the way to the end of the corridor.

Fortunately, this isn't where Xilun is headed.

He walked through the offices one by one, finally stopping in front of the third-to-last door.

[Door Key Management Office]

This is it!
There was a queue here too, but not many; it took about half an hour for Xilun to get in. As soon as he entered, he took out his travel pass and placed it on the table. The staff member was a wizard who looked to be in his fifties. He stared at the parchment for a moment, said nothing, and then got up and left.

Xilun stood there blankly in the office, completely unaware of what had happened.

Fortunately, the man returned a few minutes later, bringing another person with him.

“I’m sorry to have kept you waiting, sir.” The man said in fluent English, “I am Imhotep Seti, Director of the International Exchange Office of the Department of International Magical Cooperation.”

“Hello, I am Siren Ollivander,” Siren said.

“It’s my pleasure,” the man said. “However, I think you may have the wrong office. The International Department of Magical Cooperation is on the fifth floor.”

“No, not at all.” Celen shook his head and explained, “I’m applying for a key to return to England.”

“I see. Please leave it to me,” the man said. He went to the middle-aged wizard, said something quickly, and then turned away again.

"How about an hour later?" he asked.

"Is this afternoon okay?" Siren said. "I still have some things to finish."

"No problem at all."

……

The whole process went much more smoothly than expected. A few minutes later, Xilun received the key to the door that would be activated at 3 p.m.

He then personally escorted Siron out of the Ministry of Magic, and only then did he reveal his true purpose.

"If you ever meet Mr. Barty Crouch, please be sure to convey my regards."

"Barty Crouch?"

"Yes, he is the best diplomatic wizard and my idol all along. You will definitely meet him, right?"

"Hmm...maybe," Xilun said vaguely.

He learned that this wizard named Imhotep Seti seemed to regard Siron as a colleague of the British International Magical Cooperation Bureau.

But that's not surprising, since the travel permit he was holding seemed to have been written by Barty Crouch himself, and it even had his signature and magic seal on it.

To Siren's surprise, the name Barty Crouch was so well-known that even Egyptian sorcerers knew him and acted as his fanatical admirers.

If it were just one person, it wouldn't be a big deal, but judging from what Imhotep Seti just said, it seems that he's not the only one who admires Barty Crouch.

And this is just Egypt, one country.

Silen estimates that if Barty Crouch and Connelly Fudge were to run for minister again at this time, it would be hard to say who would win.

Of course, this is impossible.

…I'm overthinking it. Xilun shook his head and pulled himself out of his thoughts.

He eventually agreed to Imhotep Seti's request.

They had taken care of the key issue for him, and all they had to do was pass on a message; Xilun had no reason to refuse.

Although he wasn't with the International Department of Magical Cooperation and had never met Barty Crouch before, it didn't matter.

Anyway, he'll definitely be able to see him after a while, and then he can just pass on these words.

As for what Barty Crouch thinks, that's none of his business.

……

(End of this chapter)