A Certain Magical Hogwarts

Chapter 105 Bertha Jorkins

Cedric was chatting in the front hall with Weasley and Mr. Diggory.

"How did you get here?" Seeing Roy, Mr. Weasley excitedly stood up and asked, "By car?"

“The door key, Mr. Weasley,” William replied. “He pulled a gold coin from his pocket.”

William knew that Mr. Weasley was modifying cars, and during the summer vacation, he wrote to him asking many questions about cars.

"Oh, of course, the Ministry of Magic is being cautious this time." Mr. Weasley said with some disappointment. "Last time, we almost got caught by the Muggles on a tour because we didn't use the Portkey."

Merlin's Cottage is located in a tourist spot for Muggles, and it's easy to spot if you're not careful.

Mr. Diggory came over, shook hands with William warmly, and said, "William, thank you for your invitation."

The annual award ceremony for the Order of Merlin invites high-ranking officials and dignitaries from the Ministry of Magic around the world, as well as outstanding figures from various industries.

"But invitations from Britain are very rare and hard to come by. Lovegood even wanted to pay two hundred gallons for my spot. He wanted to bring his daughter Luna, but I refused."

"It's nothing," William said politely. "Cedric is a good friend of mine."

"Who else is missing?" Mr. Weasley asked.

"Flitwick and Professor McGonagall have already arrived with Professor Dumbledore. Let's go in first," William said.

The group headed outside.

They settled in a village called Salisbury, a wizarding community and the largest Muggle-mixed village in England.

They concealed their identities and focused on developing the tourism industry, all to provide cover for the annual Merlin Order induction ceremony.

After walking for a while, the group arrived at a magnificent ruin.

Stonehenge.

"Oh, I've been here before, and I didn't notice anything unusual before." Hermione covered her mouth in surprise.

Stonehenge is a famous tourist attraction in England, but little did people know that Merlin's Cottage was hidden underground.

Fred explained, "Kids who are wizards all know that there is a bedtime story about Stonehenge and Merlin."

Legend has it that Merlin, in memory of King Arthur's uncle, sang a magical song that summoned giant stones from Ireland, which were then erected overnight on Salisbury Plain, forming Stonehenge.

William shrugged: "My bedtime story is about Snow White and the seven Calabash Brothers' love and hate."

Hermione stared at William with a bewildered expression. What the heck were the seven gourd brothers?

As they stepped into Stonehenge, the gold coins in William's pocket floated out of his pocket, casting a bright light. Then, darkness enveloped them, and they found themselves at one end of an extremely long and magnificent hall.

The hall had a very shiny black wooden floor, and the peacock blue ceiling was inlaid with glittering gold symbols that were constantly moving and changing.

"This way," Mr. Weasley said.

Led by Mr. Weasley, everyone came to the left, where there was a sign that read "Safe Area".

As they approached, a wizard looked up at them and put down the Daily Prophet.

"Come stand here," the wizard said in a bored tone.

The crowd walked toward him, and he took out a long, golden rod, which was thin and flexible like a car antenna. The wizard used it to probe everyone, moving it up and down and around them.

"Wand." The wizard in the security area put down the golden device and extended his hand.

William, Hermione, Cedric, and the others handed over their wands.

The wizard placed his wand on a strange brass instrument that resembled a dish antenna of varying proportions.

The instrument began to vibrate, and five narrow strips of parchment emerged from its bottom. The wizard picked up the parchments and read the text on them.

"Cherry wood, phoenix feather, 12 3/4 inches, is the information correct?"

"Yes," William replied.

"I'll keep this," the wizard said, pinning the small strip of parchment to a small copper nail. "Take your wand back."

He tossed the wand to William and added.

"Thanks."

"Wait a minute..." the wizard suddenly said.

"You are... William Stark?"

He glanced at the Daily Prophet, which also had a picture of William on it.

"Yes."

"Oh ho ho, you single-handedly captured the Death Eaters who attacked the Ministry of Magic. I've heard my son mention you; you're Shabby of Hufflepuff."

William remembered Shabby, the man who nearly fell into a pool of microbial decay during his flight lesson.

The wizard took out a piece of paper, seemingly wanting to sign it.

"Thank you, O'Reilly," Mr. Weasley said calmly. "Hurry and check the other wands; we have other things to do."

"Okay."

The wizard quickly inspected all the wands and said, "Bertha Jorkins will take you to Merlin Memorial."

Mr. Diggory raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, don't be like that, Diggory. We're short-handed right now. You know, this is the Merlin Medal ceremony; wizards from all over the world are here today."

The wizard complained, "If you ask me, we shouldn't have sent out so many invitations. We should have just sent them to the winners and their families. Sending so many to politicians and wealthy wizards, I wonder how much money the Ministry of Magic got..."

"Alright," Mr. Weasley interrupted, "where is Bertha? Has she gotten lost again?"

"Very likely," O'Leary said with a wicked grin. "Perhaps she won't find her way until after the banquet."

Her memory has become so bad lately, just like an old lady, she often forgets all sorts of things.

Mr. Crouch should have gotten rid of her from our department immediately. She could go to the sports department. Ludo Bagman is a fool; he should be understanding.

"Hello! Hello!" Just then, an anxious voice came from across the lobby, "Are there any new guests? I just got lost in the restroom."

William saw a witch with a sign and a parchment scroll hurrying toward them.

The witch was a bit plump. Once she found her way again, she waved happily, her curly blonde hair peeking out from under her fashionable knitted wizard's hat.

Hmm... We even get lost when we go to the toilet. Can you really take a few people to the Merlin Memorial Hall?

William was very skeptical.

……

……

(Please vote for this post, everyone.)

I should add an extra chapter for 10,000 recommendation votes, but I've been too busy during the Chinese New Year, so I'll postpone it. I already owe two chapters, so... I'm not worried at all.

(End of this chapter)