MACUSA, Woolworth Building.
Carl, who had just walked out of the key office, looked up at the majestic, hundred-story magic building and thought to himself:
"This is even more impressive than the Ministry of Magic back in the UK."
Before coming here, he'd already researched the Magical Congress of the United States of America in detail.
Unlike the British Ministry of Magic, which is hidden underground and occupies its own separate building, MACUSA shares its space with ordinary people.
There's a revolving door at the entrance of the Woolworth Building. When ordinary people pass through it, they enter the normal Woolworth offices — but when wizards walk through, it transforms into the Magical Congress of the United States of America.
"Where are you going?"
Walking into the magic elevator, an elderly goblin wearing a small felt hat and a tailored suit addressed Carl.
Goblins and house-elves may look somewhat similar, but their roles in the wizarding world are completely different.
The status of a goblin is much higher; goblins are skilled in metalworking — particularly in making silverware — and they control the financial institutions of the magical community. Gringotts Wizarding Bank, for example, is entirely goblin-run and plays a huge role in the wizarding world's financial transactions.
"Lobby registration desk!"
Carl nodded courteously in reply.
The goblin pressed a button marked "1" with his cane, and a few seconds later the elevator opened directly into the registration hall on the first floor.
The architecture of MACUSA resembles a grand church. At its entrance hangs a huge portrait of Seraphina Picquery — the current President of the Magical Congress of the United States of America.
The corridor was much wider and more spotless than at the British Ministry of Magic. Animated brooms and mops were busy cleaning under a sophisticated Spiritual Enlightenment Charm, and a giant golden metal eagle soared gracefully above.
The wizards here seemed quite leisurely. Many were sitting on benches reading the newspaper and chatting quietly.
Perhaps because the USA was going through a period of upheaval, there weren't many wizards registering at the moment, and Carl walked straight up without having to wait in a queue.
"You're a wizard from England, so you may not know — in America, wizards must have a license to carry a wand. You should apply for a wand license first."
The witch in charge of registration reminded him after noting his details.
Carl nodded and walked back toward the magic elevator once more.
Applying for a wand license is a unique regulation in the American wizarding world; every wizard must have their license on them.
This policy lets Aurors track the owner of a wand if a magical incident occurs, allowing them to quickly identify suspects.
On the 25th basement level, following the direction signs, Carl entered a room that seemed much more extensive on the inside — a clear result of the Undetectable Extension Charm.
Neatly spaced desks were connected to transparent metal tubes that routed documents upward.
From time to time, files, neatly folded into paper planes, flew through the tubes and fell into a shredder on the desk — a clever, automated filing system.
Carl was fascinated by this bit of magic.
He remembered something from yesterday at the British Ministry of Magic — the witch in the corridor who turned messages into paper airplanes and made them fly directly to Theseus Scamander.
"It seems that when I return to the Naruto world, I should learn this. If I replace ordinary paper with explosive tags and then send them flying toward an opponent… it could be a powerful tactic."
Walking past the desks, a sign labeled "Wand License Office" came into view.
Beneath it, a short-haired witch wearing a windbreaker sat quietly at her desk, seemingly deep in thought.
"Hello, I'm Tom Foley from London. I'd like to apply for a wand license."
"Oh… I'm Tina Goldstein. Welcome to New York. Please show me your wand and registration certificate."
The witch briefly roused herself and addressed him in a formal, somewhat mechanical tone.
Tina Goldstein — future wife of Newt Scamander — was once the best Auror in the Magical Congress of the USA. But after helping an abused Muggle and using magic in plain view, she fell afoul of the Statute of Secrecy and was demoted to a clerk in the Wand Licensing Office by President Seraphina Picquery.
When Carl heard her name, he immediately recognized her.
But instead of trying to start a conversation, he remained neutral and handed over Tom's wand and the registration certificate without a word.
Tina made his license efficiently and handed it back.
Once everything was in order, Carl turned and walked away casually — not wishing to disturb the future story's progression.
He hadn't come here to upend the timeline; at least not in the early stages. His main goals were to gain a foothold in the wizarding world's reputation and, if the opportunity arose, to align himself secretly with Grindelwald to maximize his own benefits.
Therefore, avoiding needless interference was the best course of action.
After leaving MACUSA, Carl made his way directly to Magic Street in New York, following the information he'd previously researched, and temporarily settled in a hotel there.
The Magic Street in the USA is located in Times Square. The entrance is a stone monument; when a wizard touches it and inputs a bit of magic, the bustling Magic Street is revealed.
He spent a day exploring it — buying a few magic books not available in Flourish and Blotts in London and tasting some local magical food — but aside from that, there weren't many remarkable finds.
This wasn't surprising. The USA hadn't been founded more than two hundred years previously; its magical history was shallow.
Most of its wizards were British immigrants — even Aesop Sayre, the founder of Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, drew inspiration from his aunt Gormlaith Gaunt's stories of Hogwarts.
Ilvermorny's four houses were designed in a similar style to Hogwarts' houses.
So although MACUSA's buildings were grand and Magic Street was large, in reality, the British wizarding world was much more rich in tradition and knowledge.
In the film, if it hadn't been for Newt Scamander, Grindelwald could have defeated all the Aurors in the Magical Congress of the USA by himself.