"Give it to me." Lorne walked up to Ron and held out his hand.
With a bitter expression, Ron took Scabbers out of his pocket and handed it to Lorne.
"Master, Scabbers likes to eat peanuts, please don't let him go hungry," Ron said reluctantly, "And don't let the other animals bully him, Scabbers is old and young..."
Lorne was amused by the description of it being "old and small," and he quickly took the mouse from Ron and put it in a separate cage.
"I'll take good care of it," Lorne said with a mischievous grin. "In a Chamber of Secrets somewhere in the castle, it will be treated like royalty."
The operation didn't actually recover many items, and Lorne also felt that the Death Eaters ' Dark Magic items weren't something that fell from the sky, and that they wouldn't be invading Hogwarts every year.
The confiscated creatures were incredibly diverse, including tarantulas, crabs, turtles, crows, rats... and even Salamander and Puffskein that some students claimed they bought after playing with Suitcase Beasts. Director Lorne's actions were a classic case of double-crossing.
Lorne placed them in three rooms in the castle, intending to feed them for two or three days before returning some of the magical animals to the students. As for those that posed a risk of harming people, Lorne would need to set up unique cages for them to ensure no accidents occurred before they were taken away from Hogwarts.
Lorne wasn't needed to lead any of these meetings, which surprised Dumbledore remarked, "Isn't writing proposals your hobby? I thought you'd volunteer."
"It's just work." Lorne rolled his eyes.
But he was also involved.
At the freshman orientation, because Lorne had already met all the freshmen at the train station and given them freshman gift bags, his popularity among the freshmen was second to none among all the Hogwarts faculty and staff.
When the new young wizards met Lorne, they all begged him to tell them the exciting stories from the first few years of Hogwarts.
"It all started in 1991, the year a truly extraordinary person entered Hogwarts," Lorne said, still enjoying mingling with the students; these kids kept him energized. "Do you know who it was?"
The first-year wizards exclaimed in unison, "It's Harry Potter!"
"Wrong," Lorne glanced around, "It's Hogwarts welcoming its most loyal Head of the General Affairs Office, which is me, Lorne Myles. In a sense, the General Affairs Office is the family of all young wizards; you can come to me with any problems. Director Lorne's reputation is well-deserved."
After boasting at the social gathering, Lorne turned and headed into the upperclassmen's job market.
These upperclassmen are currently anxious about their job prospects, and sharing their troubles with each other makes them feel a little better.
"My neighbor's older brother got expelled from the Ministry of Magic this year," a seventh-grade student said, resting his chin on his hand. "His magic grades weren't good enough. Although the Ministry of Magic admitted him according to their quota, they assigned him very difficult tasks, and in the end, they expelled him for being unable to handle them."
" The Ministry of Magic's hiring criteria have been getting increasingly stringent lately," another student complained. "One of our seniors said he encountered a position that required over three years of work experience and a Hogwarts degree—come on, does he expect us to drop out in sixth grade, work for three years, and then come back for seventh year?"
" Pure-blood also have political infiltration within the Ministry of Magic, and some sensitive positions even have bloodline requirements—can you believe it?"
"..."
When Lorne arrived, everyone was complaining with long faces. He stood aside and listened for a while, and only spoke when everyone Quiet down, "Why does everyone want to work at the Ministry of Magic? From your descriptions, it's not stable, the pay isn't high, and there are even security risks."
"Because we only have this one option. If we don't go to the Ministry of Magic, where else can we go?"
Gringotts will be assigned to remote areas, St. Mungo's Hospital will hire very few people, and only the Ministry of Magic is a decent place. This is because of the vacancies caused by the Second Wizarding War, and the number of people the Ministry of Magic will hire will only decrease year by year.
Lorne calmly placed his hands on the table. "Actually, I think it's fine. In recent years, the Wizarding World has begun to industrialize, which may create quite a few new jobs. If you're interested, you can visit Hogsmeade this weekend."
Lorne's words gave hope to the soon-to-be graduates present. They held Lorne's hand and asked him all sorts of questions, but not one of them doubted whether Lorne's words were true or false.
Indeed, if a wizard were truly needed to announce the industrialization of the Wizarding World, that person would undoubtedly be Lorne.
Lorne had just broken free from the crowd and hadn't had a moment of peace when his arms were suddenly grabbed from two directions.
" Director Lorne," it's Harry here, "I sincerely invite you to serve as the supervising professor of the Magic Mobile Phone Club. I'm sure you won't refuse."
"I've spent enough money on Magic Mobile Phone to buy ten Magic Mobile Phone," Draco said. "Chief, whether in terms of strength or wealth, I am the only one worthy of Founders of the Magic Mobile Phone Club."
Annoyed by their bickering, Lorne finally spoke up, "Alright, club applicants aren't limited to just one person. Why don't you both just put your names on the list?"
"Who will get the credit for the club activities?" the two asked in unison.
"Everyone has the right to apply for club activities. Harry can apply for one today, Draco can apply for one tomorrow. As long as it's legal and compliant, and you apply in advance, how many people participate is up to you."
Draco gave a cold snort, which was taken as agreement. He watched as Harry added his own name to the applicant's name before leaving, not forgetting to taunt as he went. "That's right, Scarhead, go submit your application to Dumbledore. I'll pay you for running the errand. If there's anything else, report to me separately."
Draco strode away like a victorious rooster, head held high. The outcome had far exceeded his expectations; after all, the gang was Scarhead's idea, and he didn't want to fight to the end only to be branded a "thief."
Harry wanted to retort, but Lorne stopped him.
" Dobby's in my office. He's taking care of the Fantastic Beasts right now. If you have anything you want to say to him, or if you need his help with anything, just go to the small cubicle next to my office; that's his dorm."
Harry nodded. "I had Madam Malkin Dobby Diagon Alley. I haven't tried it on yet, but at least it won't be as ill-fitting as that tattered pillowcase."
" Dobby will be very happy," Lorne said, patting Harry on the shoulder approvingly. "This is the second time someone has given him clothes."