Volume 7: A World with Bad Consequences Chapter 469 Whose Fault?
Of course, the magic stored in the Time Hall is all related to time.
This is one of the magics that was once mastered and used by ancient wizards, but has been lost in the modern magic world.
For example, the time converter, an alchemical item that was created around the 15th century , has lost its production method in modern times, and the old time converters that have survived have been damaged for no reason.
This was not a lie that came from the Ministry of Magic. There was no one left in the Time Hall now. Even if there were a few pure-bloods left here who looked like they were on patrol, John could unscrupulously play with the time converters that were casually discarded on the booth.
But no matter how he tried to move the pointer on the converter, nothing happened.
These remaining converters are indeed broken, and no one knows why. Now even the technology to make such alchemical items has been lost, let alone repairing them.
In this regard, John only studied it for a while, and he no longer had much interest in the time converter, but instead paid attention to the hourglasses in the room.
Unlike pocket watch-type timing devices such as time converters, hourglasses are undoubtedly much older.
John had no idea what these hourglasses stored in the Time Hall were used for. Now all the information in the Department of Mysteries had not been classified and organized, so he had no way of checking.
But when John first saw the quicksand sliding down from the hourglasses, he felt that they were very similar to the bottle of golden sand he got from Snape.
He carefully observed these hourglasses for a while and found that even though the water was flowing continuously, neither the sand piles falling down from above nor the sand piles gathering below showed any sign of decreasing or increasing, as if they would never run out and never regenerate.
But when Jon spent two days in the Time Hall and found a small hourglass there, and carefully compared the sand inside with the sand in the bottle, he discovered that there was an essential difference between the two.
Although the sand in these hourglasses is very fine, when you look at it under magnification, you can still clearly see the edges and corners of the tiny gravel, which is obviously a product of nature.
But the sand in the bottle is different. When Jon uses a magnifying glass to observe the contents, he can clearly find that these small pieces that look like sand are actually not sand at all!
The surface of each small golden particle inside is smooth, without any trace of natural creation, and without the slightest texture of stone. Rather than sand, it is more like artificially polished gold particles.
After thoroughly distinguishing the differences between the two, Jon also lost interest in those hourglasses.
In addition to various clocks and hourglasses in the Time Hall, Jon stared at a hummingbird ornament for a long time.
The hummingbird hatches from an egg into a bird, and then regresses from a bird into an egg, just like a biological hourglass, but it also embodies the two representations of time, forward and backward.
The advancement of time is easy to understand. Every minute and every second that passes represents the consumption and advancement of time, but regression is not a natural phenomenon.
Although this ornament is wonderful, it obviously has nothing to do with what Jon is looking for.
But apart from this, there were no other useful discoveries in the hall. The only thing worth noting was that there was a blocked door on the wall opposite the door.
The door was very hidden and there was no handle on it. If you didn't pay special attention, you wouldn't notice it under normal circumstances.
But even though Jon found it, he had no way to open it. If he could not clearly see the hinges of the door through the gap, he might have suspected that this was not a door at all.
After studying the door for a while, and even attracting the attention of some patrolling pure-bloods, Jon chose to give up on it temporarily.
At this moment, he certainly couldn't do any damage in the Department of Mysteries. Without using violence, he would not be able to figure out the secret of this door for a while, just like the "Love Room" that no one could open.
Besides, even if it was opened, there was no guarantee that what Jon and the others were looking for was inside.
So Jon met with Slughorn and decided to try it from another angle.
"You want to start contacting those people?" Slughorn's expression became serious.
Jon nodded.
"The Department of Mysteries is not small, and there are many restricted areas that cannot be opened by conventional methods. If we just search blindly like this, it will be difficult to find what we really want. Since this thing is related to another Voldemort, and the people who are now in the Department of Mysteries have completely turned to him and came here under his orders, it is most convenient and effective to start with them."
On this point, Jon, who has does have more say than Slughorn.
After thinking for a long time, Slughorn finally agreed.
"Well, I will find an opportunity to invite the purebloods working here to my house for a banquet, and then accept their invitation to me..."
However, Jon interrupted him halfway through his words.
"It's not you who accepted the invitation, teacher. It's me. I'm more suitable than you. I know what you're worried about. You're afraid that if we agree to join their camp, they will make us carve something like the Dark Mark on our bodies as proof that we are Voldemort's servants. Then, even if we regret it at the last minute, we'll be stuck in a dilemma."
Slughorn said seriously.
"That's why I'm more suitable. I'm already so old, Jon. Even if he asks me to swear a blood oath of never betraying him, I can agree to it calmly. At worst, I'll just hide somewhere in Europe after the matter is over. I can't do anything about this kind of restriction."
"But have you forgotten that I am not afraid of death, teacher?" Jon looked into his eyes. "You need to find a place to hide when you encounter such a situation, but I only need to die once. Even if it is a blood oath, it should be broken if a person dies and then resurrects again, right? After I die, at most I will become younger for a period of time, so why do you need to take risks again?"
What Jon said made sense. Slughorn actually hadn't really figured it out yet.
For John, who can now transform into a phoenix, all contracts are empty. The phoenix's nirvana is not only a physical cleansing, but also a cleansing of the soul. No matter what kind of magic it is, it will be washed away completely, leaving no worries at all.
Slughorn could only smile helplessly at this.
"Sometimes, you are so good that I can't even think in a conventional way."
This was not Slughorn's fault. After all, Phoenix and Animagus did not seem to be common sense in the wizarding world. He also wanted to protect John and not let him take risks that he could have prevented himself.
After deciding who would contact the pure-bloods, Slughorn's original plan remained unchanged.
It was still him who invited the pure-bloods in the Department of Mysteries to his home for a party. At the party, John began to express his dissatisfaction with the current Voldemort to the pure-bloods he had become familiar with, and then proceeded step by step.
After deciding on the overall plan, Slughorn did not wait any longer.
In the third week after John officially took office in the Department of Mysteries, Slughorn sent invitations to every middle-level employee in the Department of Mysteries (it was really impossible to call these idiots "Unspeakables").
Although Slughorn later turned to Voldemort's side, his previous status as the head of Slytherin House made him quite famous in the pure-blood circle. In addition, he was good at getting along with others and acted like a good guy all day long. Therefore, when he held a banquet, everyone would give him face, even though Britain was now mired in war.
Besides, these purebloods in the Department of Mysteries have long wanted to pull him into their camp, and no one would say they would refuse.
This was a dinner party, held in the manor that Voldemort had rewarded Slughorn with when he first surrendered to him.
Jon arrived before dark. Slughorn had no house-elves to prepare the banquet, but with his popularity among the pure-bloods, it was easy for him to borrow a few elves from a few old families to help.
As evening approached, a long table filled with food had been set up on the lawn of the manor, lit candles began to float in the air, and a mixed-race band was playing soothing classical music on the stage.
Jon took advantage of the fact that few people had arrived and casually picked up a few fried shrimps from the long table to fill his stomach. Once the banquet started, he would definitely not be able to be so casual.
As he was eating secretly, someone suddenly patted him on the shoulder from behind. Jon was about to hide the remaining shrimp heads in his pocket seriously, and then turned around.
Slughorn's voice rang out.
"Have you read the Daily Prophet lately?"
Jon suddenly didn't care about anything. He took the shrimp head out of his pocket and threw it on the grass with disgust, then answered Slughorn's question in a low voice.
"No, I haven't subscribed to the newspaper yet. I used to read the newspapers of other people in the department."
"Albus and his men's advance was hindered. Crouch personally led a team to ambush a group that was about to attack the Carrows' estate and achieved some results. The Daily Prophet has been reporting extensively on this incident over the past two days. They have begun to say that this is the turning point of our defeat."
Jon's face calmed down.
"Who among us is in trouble?"
"Two French companions died, and one of Lupin's eyes was blinded by the explosion. Fortunately, there is a way to cure it."
After hearing what Slughorn said, John did not celebrate the fact that no one in the Order of the Phoenix died. It was not the Order of the Phoenix that was fighting in Britain now, but the entire Wizarding World.
There is no such thing as British wizards or French wizards. We are all comrades who fight for the same goal.
Jon narrowed his eyes and looked at the increasing number of pure-bloods Apparating across the lawn, and he spoke softly.
"Then we have to speed up our actions here as well."
Slughorn did not answer him. A smile was put on his face again. He walked towards the pure-bloods who had just arrived, and then he greeted them with hearty laughter.
At this time, Jon also saw a few people who were familiar with him in the Department of Mysteries. He walked over with a glass of wine in his hand.
"Hi, Bartolo, Hunter, Aegina, how are you doing at home these days?"
This is a group of two men and one woman, all of whom are from new-style pure-blood families, and none of them have the surnames of the old-fashioned Twenty-Eight Sacred Families.
They looked at Jon who was walking over and greeted him. The witch named Aegina, who had burgundy curly hair, complained.
"That's it. The family's wine business has been greatly affected. Now our transportation channels are cut off. Unless the war is over, there is no way to maintain it."
Jon smiled and he and Aegina clinked glasses.
"Didn't Mr. Crouch have a great victory?"
Hearing his words, Hunter sneered disdainfully.
"That's just something the Daily Prophet uses to fool ordinary people. Do you really believe that just killing two enemies is a major victory? I think it's more like Crouch has done so much preparation but gained very little."
Bartolo looked at Jon and said teasingly.
"Why are you so concerned about the situation? No matter how the wizarding world changes, will you, the Ollivander family, be afraid of losing your wand business? That would be the case unless all wizards in the world died."
Jon pretended to smile bitterly.
"Business is business. As long as the war continues, our safety cannot be guaranteed, right? Who knows if the situation will become so urgent that we will have to go to the battlefield one day."
Aina curled her lips.
"Given the current attitude of the Ministry of Magic, this may not be impossible."
Jon said sadly.
"Since the beginning of this year, everything seems to have changed. Why have our lives suddenly become so difficult?"
His words made Hunter, the most perceptive of the three, brighten up his eyes, and he asked tentatively.
"So, Spike, have you ever wondered why?"
Bartlo and Aegina also realized something, and their attitudes suddenly became enthusiastic.
"That's right. There must be a reason why the situation has evolved to this point today. We haven't done anything. We have all been following orders. So who caused the situation to deteriorate step by step?"
When Jon heard what they said, he was stunned at first, and then suddenly became nervous and horrified.
"You are not... blaming that gentleman!"
