Chapter 200: The Great Arthur Weasley
> "When mortals think, God laughs."
Alexander Smith couldn't help but laugh—because of Ron and Draco Malfoy.
They were so sincere, so expressive, that Alexander didn't even need to read their minds. Their admiration was written all over their faces.
After receiving some one-sided information from Harry, Ron had suddenly started viewing his father in an entirely new light. And Malfoy? He looked like someone who had just discovered a long-lost hero. The expression on his face seemed to say, "My dad is a disgrace. Your dad, Ron, is a legend."
Draco had even become a little infatuated with Ron's story, convinced that Ron's poverty wasn't something to be ashamed of—but rather a noble sacrifice made by Arthur Weasley for the greater good of wizarding society.
> "Ron, when I get back from vacation, I'll definitely ask my father to push through more funding for your dad's department," Draco said seriously.
Ron hesitated.
"No, Malfoy…"
He took a deep breath. "My father is indeed great, but his work—prohibiting the misuse of Muggle artifacts—is entirely private. It's not something official funding should be used for. If you interfere, it might delay or jeopardize what he's trying to do."
Ron straightened up, pride swelling in his voice. "As the son of Arthur Weasley, I cannot let my father's work be compromised by favors. Even if that means we stay poor."
> "I, Ron Weasley, must be poor and great!" he thought with determined pride.
Draco paused, clearly moved.
"You're right… I wasn't thinking clearly."
"If my dad does something publicly, people will misunderstand and think he's interfering or meddling. No one knows about your father's private research like we do. To them, it'll just look like troublemaking."
> "He won't think I'm mad," Draco added quietly, looking up at Ron with admiration.
"Thank you, Mal—no, Draco," Ron said solemnly.
Then, with dramatic conviction, Ron pushed aside his half-eaten licorice wand, casting it aside like it was worthless. Even the toilet seat Fred and George once gave him hadn't been treated so coldly.
Harry, now thoroughly confused, finally snapped.
> "That's not Ron!" he exclaimed, pointing at the discarded licorice wand. "Ron would never waste a snack. I've seen him keep eating while dueling!"
He narrowed his eyes. "Also, what is this obsession with your dad all of a sudden? Every other sentence has 'your father' in it."
Ron responded with complete seriousness, placing a hand on Harry's shoulder.
"Harry, you didn't grow up in the wizarding world. You can't understand how people like me—and even Draco—feel after hearing what you said about my dad."
"I might have spoken harshly earlier," Draco interjected. "Let me make it right. Harry, allow me to formally introduce you to Ron's father—Arthur Weasley."
He turned to Ron, who gave him a small nod of approval.
> "Arthur Weasley works in the Office for the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts," Draco explained.
> "The department's job is to prevent magic from being used on Muggle items—like making a toaster that screams, or a lawnmower that eats gnomes—and then accidentally putting it back in a Muggle shop."
"Harry, do you understand now?" Draco asked, pausing.
Harry blinked, confused at first, then nodded slowly.
> "Yeah... I think I do. So this is why British wizards aren't as advanced as American wizards. They've even landed on the moon."
Draco and Ron looked at Harry like proud teachers whose student had just passed a very difficult test.
"But Ron's father isn't just any clerk," Draco continued. "That department is a tiny, underfunded sub-division of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. It has almost no chance for promotion. But Arthur Weasley still joined it—and became the head of the office."
"He now holds the authority to write legislation about this subject. And get this—he deliberately left a loophole in the laws: if a wizard modifies a Muggle artifact and uses it discreetly, without letting Muggles know, it's not technically illegal."
> "That's brilliant," Harry muttered.
"My dad once tried to get him in trouble," Draco admitted, cheeks pink. "But there was nothing he could do. Arthur's position is legal, and no one else wants the job because it's so low-ranking."
Ron chuckled. "You know more about it than I do. I never even thought about legal loopholes. I used to think my dad's job was... well, kind of lame."
He looked thoughtful.
> "There are only two people in the whole department. It's stuck at the far end of the second floor in the Ministry, opposite the broom cupboard. The office is tiny—smaller than Filch's office."
"I remember my dad's workspace. Two desks crammed in, barely room to walk. Cabinets lining the walls, overflowing with old files. Bundles of documents stacked so high they looked ready to collapse."
He said all this with a strange new sense of pride.
Harry felt a lump in his throat.
> "That... that doesn't even sound humane."
"No, it doesn't," Draco agreed, his tone sharp. "Arthur Weasley is a pioneer. And yet he earns nothing, gets no recognition, and is forced to work in a closet."
Harry clenched his fists.
> "Even without considering Arthur's genius, the wizarding world should be investing more in this department. Muggle tech is evolving faster than magic. Who's regulating that? Who's preparing for the overlap?"
Ron tried to ease the tension. "It's not that bad. My dad can still speak his mind. He's respected by some."
"And he just drafted the Muggle Protection Act. We'll see next year if it passes," Ron added, trying to sound hopeful.
Draco's eyes lit up. "When the time comes, I'll convince my father to support it. And if he refuses... I'll go to my mum. She loves me most."
What Draco didn't know, of course, was that Lucius Malfoy—the same man he was hoping to persuade—would secretly try to sabotage the bill.
In fact, Lucius would go so far as to plant a cursed diary into the hands of Ron's sister, Ginny Weasley, hoping to ruin Arthur's reputation and kill the bill before it passed.
But that was still to come.
Right now, three boys sat together at the long Hogwarts table, united not by status or blood—but by admiration for a man they had only just begun to truly understand.
Arthur Weasley: not just a quirky dad, but a quiet revolutionary.
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(End of Chapter 200)
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