Chapter 471 469 Whose Fault Is It?

Chapter 471 469. Whose fault?

The magic stored in the Hall of Time is of course all about time.

This is one of the magics that the ancient wizards once mastered and could use, 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 been preserved have been damaged for no reason.

This is not a lie from the Ministry of Magic. Now there is no one left in the Hall of Time. Even if there are a few pure bloods who look like they are on patrol, Jon can play with the time converters that are randomly discarded in the booth without restraint.

But no matter how he tried to move the pointer on the converter, there was no response around.

These remaining converters are indeed invalid, and no one knows the reason for the failure. Now even the technology to make such alchemical items has been lost, let alone repairing it.

In this regard, Jon only studied it for a while, and he was not very interested in the time converter, but paid attention to the hourglasses in the room.

Unlike the pocket watch-type timekeeping equipment of the time converter, the hourglass is undoubtedly much older.

And what are the hourglasses stored in the time hall used for? Jon did not know. Now the various materials in the Department of Mysteries have not been classified and sorted, and he has no way to check.

But when he saw the quicksands in these hourglasses sliding down, Jon felt that they were very similar to the bottle of golden gravel he got from Snape.

He carefully observed these hourglasses for a while and found that even if they were flowing continuously, no matter whether it was the sand piles falling down from above or the sand piles gathering below, there was no sign of reduction or increase, as if they would never run out and never regenerate.

But when Jon stayed in the time hall for two days, he also found a small hourglass. After carefully comparing the sand inside with the gravel in the bottle, he found that there was an essential difference between the two.

Although the sand in these hourglasses is very fine, when you magnify it, you can still clearly see the edges and corners of the small gravel, which is obviously a product of nature.

The gravel in the bottle is different. When Jon uses a magnifying glass to observe the things inside, he can clearly find that these small things like gravel are actually not sand at all!

The surface of each small golden grain is smooth, without any trace of natural creation, and there is no texture of stone at all. Rather than sand, it is more like artificially polished gold particles.

After thoroughly distinguishing the difference 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 hatched from an egg to a bird, and then regressed from a bird to an egg. It was like a biological hourglass, but it also specifically expressed two ways of time, forward and backward.

The advancement of time is easy to understand. Every minute and every second that passes now represents the consumption and advancement of time, but regressing 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 are no other useful discoveries in the time hall. The only thing that needs to be noted is that there is a blocked door on the wall opposite the door.

The door is very hidden, and there is no handle on the door. If you don't pay special attention, you won't notice it under normal circumstances.

But although Jon found it, he didn't have any way to open it. If he couldn't clearly see the hinge of the door from the gap, he might have suspected that it was not a door at all.

After studying this door for a while, and even attracting the attention of some patrolling purebloods, Jon chose to give up on it temporarily.

At this time, he certainly couldn't do anything to destroy the Department of Mysteries. If he didn't use violent means, he would definitely not be able to figure out the secret of this door for a while, just like the "Love Room" that no one could open.

Moreover, even if it was opened, there was no guarantee that there was what Jon and his friends were looking for inside.

So, Jon and Slughorn met once, and he planned to try from another angle.

"Do you want to start contacting those people?" Slughorn's expression became solemn.

Jon nodded and said.

"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 instructions, it is most convenient and effective to start with them."

At this point, Jon, who has actually inspected the various halls of the entire Department of Mysteries, does have a say than Slughorn.

After thinking for a long time, Slughorn finally agreed.

"Well, I'll find an opportunity to invite these pure bloods 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 you agree to join their camp, they will make us carve something like the Dark Mark on our bodies as proof that we're Voldemort's servants. Then, even if we regret it at the last minute, it's hard to get off the tiger."

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, I can agree calmly. At worst, I'll just hide somewhere in Europe after the matter is over. This kind of restraint can't do anything to me."

"But have you forgotten that I'm not afraid of death, teacher?" Jon looked into his eyes. "You need to find a place to hide when you encounter this situation, but I only need to die once. Even if it's a blood oath, if a person dies and then resurrects again, it should be broken, right? And after I die, at most I'll become younger for a while, so why do you need to take risks again?"

What Jon said made sense. Slughorn's mind actually never really turned around.

For John, who can already turn into a phoenix, all contracts are empty. The nirvana of the phoenix is ​​not only a physical cleansing, but also a spiritual cleansing. No matter what kind of magic, it will be cleansed cleanly, without any worries.

Slughorn could only smile helplessly.

"Sometimes, you are so good that I can't think with conventional ideas."

This is not Slughorn's fault. After all, Phoenix Animagus and the like are not common sense in the magic world, and he also wants to protect John and not let him take such risks that he can block.

After deciding who will contact those pure bloods, Slughorn's original plan has not changed.

It is still him who invites these pure bloods in the Department of Mysteries to his home for a banquet. At the banquet, John began to express his dissatisfaction with the current Voldemort to those pure bloods he has already gotten to know, and then step by step.

After determining the overall plan, Slughorn did not continue to wait.

In the third week after John officially took office at the Department of Mysteries, Slughorn sent invitations to every middle-level employee of the Department of Mysteries (it's really hard to call these idiots "Unspeakables").

Although Slughorn later turned to Voldemort's side, his previous status as the dean of Slytherin College made him very famous in the pure-blood circle. In addition, he was good at socializing and looked like a good guy all day long, so when he held a banquet, everyone would give him a face, even though Britain was now mired in the quagmire of war.

Moreover, these pure-bloods in the Department of Mysteries had long wanted to pull him into their camp, and no one would say they would refuse.

This was a dinner party, held in a manor that Voldemort rewarded Slughorn when he first defected.

Jon arrived before it got dark. Slughorn didn't have house elves to prepare the banquet, but with his popularity among purebloods, it was easy for him to borrow a few elves from a few old families to help.

As dusk approached, a long table full of food was placed on the lawn of the manor, and lit candles began to float in the air. There was also a mixed-blood band 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 on the long table to fill his stomach. After the banquet started, he would definitely not be so casual.

As a result, while he was eating secretly, someone suddenly patted his shoulder from behind. Jon was about to hide the leftover shrimp heads in his pocket seriously, and then turned around.

Slughorn's voice rang out.

"Have you read the Daily Prophet recently?"

Jon suddenly didn't care about anything. He took the shrimp head out of his pocket and threw it on the lawn with disdain, then answered Slughorn's question in a low voice.

"No, I haven't subscribed to the newspaper yet. I used to read other people's newspapers in the department."

"Albus's advance was hindered. Crouch personally led the team to ambush a group of people who were preparing to attack the Carrows' manor and achieved some results. The Daily Prophet has been reporting on this matter in the past two days. They have begun to say that this is the turning point of our defeat."

Jon's face became calm.

"Who among us is in trouble?"

"Two French companions died, and Lupin's eyes were blinded by the explosion. Fortunately, there is a way to treat it."

After hearing what Slughorn said, Jon did not celebrate that there were no casualties in the Order of the Phoenix. It was not the Order of the Phoenix that was fighting in Britain now, but the entire Wizard-Piercing Line.

There is no such thing as British wizards and French wizards. Everyone is a comrade who has been fighting for a goal.

Jon narrowed his eyes, watching more and more purebloods Apparating on the lawn, and he said softly.

"Then we have to speed up our actions here."

Slughorn did not answer him again. He had a smile on his face again and walked towards the purebloods who had just arrived. Then there was a hearty greeting with laughter.

At this time, Jon also saw a few people who were familiar with him in the Department of Mysteries. He also walked over with a glass of wine in his hand.

"Hey, Bartolo, Hunter, Aegina, how are you doing at home these days?"

This is a combination of two men and one woman, all of whom are new-school pure-blood families, and do not have the surnames of the old sacred twenty-eight families.

They looked at Jon who was walking over and greeted him. The witch named Aegina with wine-red 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 clinked glasses with Aegina.

"Didn't you say that Mr. Crouch has achieved a major victory?"

Hearing his words, Hunter sneered disdainfully.

"That's just what the Daily Prophet uses to fool ordinary people. Do you really believe that just killing two enemies is a major victory? I think this is more like Crouch has made so many preparations, but has gained very little."

Bartolo looked at Jon and said teasingly.

"Why are you so concerned about the situation? No matter how the magic world changes, will you Ollivanders be afraid of losing your wand business? That would be unless all wizards in the world died."

Jon pretended to smile bitterly.

"Business is business. As long as the war is still going on, our safety cannot be guaranteed, right? Who knows if the situation will be so urgent that we will have to go to the battlefield one day."

Aegina curled her lips.

"With the current attitude of the Ministry of Magic, it may not be impossible."

Jon said melancholy.

"Since the beginning of this year, everything seems to have changed. Why did our life suddenly become so difficult?"

His words made Hunter, who was the most perceptive among the three people, brighten his eyes, and he asked tentatively.

"Then Spike, have you ever thought about why this is?"

Bartolo and Aegina also reacted to something, and their attitudes suddenly became enthusiastic.

"Yes, there must be a reason for the situation to have evolved to this point today. We didn't do anything and we were all just following orders. So who caused the situation to deteriorate step by step?"

Jon was stunned when he heard what they said, and then suddenly became nervous and horrified.

"Are you blaming that gentleman?"