Hogwarts: I'm Harry's older cousin

Chapter 234, page 232: DUANG! A red, fat chicken!

Inside the Hogwarts Headmaster's office, Dumbledore, unusually dressed in formal attire, wore a small, brimless round hat and a finely embroidered silk robe with semi-transparent silk trim at the hem, giving him an air of otherworldly elegance.

"Dali, has something good happened lately? You seem to be in a good mood."

Dumbledore asked with a smile.

Speaking of being in a good mood, Dumbledore was clearly in an even better mood.

"I remembered some happy things."

Dudley made up a very perfunctory excuse and responded with a smile, although to many people his smile was not much different from anger.

"Professor, I don't think the robes you're wearing are the distinctive robes of Wizengamot?"

The members of Wizengamo wear a uniform: a magenta robe paired with a flat top hat, and an exquisite silver "W" embroidered on the left breast.

The robe Dumbledore was wearing had absolutely nothing to do with crimson, nor did it have any silver 'W' on it.

"After all, I am the chief wizard there, and I do have a few privileges."

As Dumbledore spoke, Dudley blinked.

The crimson robe was too flashy, and Dumbledore didn't like it much; he preferred pure purple or light purple clothes.

"Are you ready?"

Dumbledore said, "It's about time. I think we should go."

"Anytime is fine, Professor." Dudley shrugged, indicating that he was okay with it.

Dumbledore looked towards the phoenix's nest in the headmaster's office: "Fox, I'm counting on you."

Hogwarts Castle was enchanted by the four founders of the house, and wizards are not allowed to use teleportation within the castle, not even the headmaster.

However, this does not prohibit other creatures besides wizards from using it, such as magical creatures and house-elves.

The phoenix is ​​one of the few magical creatures that can change its shape.

Hearing his name called, Fawkes poked his head out of his burrow and lazily barked at Dumbledore.

Dumbledore, wearing his crescent-shaped spectacles, said somewhat uncertainly, "Have you gained a little weight recently?"

It's not just a little bit; Fox has clearly gained a lot of weight.

If you could still tell it was a phoenix before, now you can only see it as a fat, red chicken.

The main problem is that the food is too good.

Ever since this guy became friends with Crookshanks, he has never lacked magical animal food.

Fox called out again and finally came out of the nest, flapping its wings and flying to Dudley's shoulder next to Dumbledore, without any apparent effort.

Although it is a size larger, it does not affect its flight.

Don't let its small size fool you; it can move creatures that weigh more than a hundred times its own weight.

That seemingly round belly could actually disappear instantly if Fox wanted to; it was simply enjoying the slow process of digesting food.

The phoenix is ​​one of the most powerful magical creatures. If it weren't for the fact that it doesn't have much of an aggression towards wizards, it would easily be rated 5X.

"Thank you for your hard work, Fox."

Dudley scratched its chin, and the skillful touch made Fox squint its eyes comfortably.

It's not just cats that like to have their chins scratched; most long-haired creatures enjoy having their chins scratched.

"In a while, maybe even Fox won't recognize me," Dumbledore joked.

Dudley simply smiled and shook his head at Dumbledore's teasing.

Even with magical creature food, Dudley couldn't possibly take Fawkes away. Phoenixes are extremely loyal magical creatures, and there are almost no cases in history of them being tamed by wizards. Even if they were tamed, they would only stay with one wizard, and the wizard who stayed with Fawkes was Dumbledore.

It is good that it is close to Dudley, but it is more loyal to Dumbledore.

Fox flew above the two men, and with a not-too-bright white light, their figures disappeared together from the principal's office.

When the two reappeared, they were already on the streets of London, or more precisely, near Whitehall.

Dumbledore gently waved his wand, dispelling any ordinary people who might approach the two of them.

"I suppose Dudley, you've never been to the Ministry of Magic before."

Dumbledore stopped in front of a dilapidated red telephone booth. The surrounding area consisted of several dilapidated buildings of unknown purpose, a bar, and a dirty street with a wall covered in graffiti.

Even on the busiest streets of London, the surrounding environment is extremely poor.

Sanitation workers in England aren't that diligent.

Their salaries were insufficient to cover their daily hard work cleaning.

Forcing them to meet targets will only provoke them into a collective strike.

Dudley nodded: "Yes, Professor."

"Then come in," Dumbledore said, pushing open the door of the telephone booth.

Dumbledore closed the door and dialed the number. Dudley saw the digits clearly—62442.

At that moment, a female voice rang out from above the pavilion, asking the two why they had gone to the Ministry of Magic. Then, a silver name tag with a name and reason for the visit was ejected from the telephone. The telephone booth then descended like an elevator for about a minute before slowly arriving at its destination.

Dudley and Dumbledore came out from inside.

"Welcome to the Ministry of Magic, Dudley."

"Thank you for your welcome, Professor Dumbledore."

The two appeared at the main entrance of the Ministry of Magic, from which any department of the Ministry of Magic could be reached by taking the appropriate elevator.

You can actually use Apparition to come directly to the Ministry of Magic. Unlike Hogwarts, there are no spells here that prohibit the use of Apparition. However, it is not recommended for anyone other than Ministry of Magic staff to do so, as they are likely to be mistaken for intruders.

They were heading to the Magic Law Enforcement Division of the Council of Wizengamo, located on the second basement floor.

The Ministry of Magic has ten floors, all underground.

Incidentally, the two are currently on the eighth basement level.

To be fair, the existence of such an underground complex in this day and age is quite impressive.

Following Dumbledore forward, we arrived at the Great Hall of the Department of Magic. In the very center was a circular pool of water, in the middle of which stood a group of pure gold statues composed of wizards, witches, centaurs, goblins, and house-elves.

This is the famous Magic Brothers Fountain.

Wizards and witches stood in the center, while centaurs, goblins, and house-elves surrounded them, looking at them with adoration.

Dumbledore led Dudley to the famous fountain.

"Wizards do not earn the respect of centaurs and elves. Many wizards do not even treat them as equals. People always view them with prejudice, regarding them as beasts, enemies, and servants. The 'Fountain of Magical Brothers' is not a 'Fountain of Brothers' but a 'Fountain of Falsehood'."

A passing wizard overheard Dumbledore's words and thought they made a lot of sense; wizards really should reflect on them.

However, while Dumbledore's words were philosophical, Dudley had a different perspective.

The description of the area around the phone booth leading to the Ministry of Magic is based on the original book, and it's quite different from the clean streets in the movie.

(End of this chapter)