Chapter 471 469. Whose fault?
All that is preserved in the Hall of Time are of course time-related magic.
This can be regarded as one of the magics that were mastered and used by ancient wizards, but lost in the modern magic world.
For example, the Time Transformer, an alchemy item that was created around the fifteenth century, has lost its production method in modern times, and the old Time Transformers that survived have also been damaged for no reason.
This is not a lie from the Ministry of Magic. No one is staying in the time hall now. Even if they stay here, it looks like there are a few pure bloods on patrol missions, and Jon can play with them at will. Drop those Time-Turners in the stand.
But no matter how much he tried to move the pointer on the converter, there was no response around him.
These leftover converters have indeed failed. No one knows the reason for the failure. Now even the technology of making this alchemical item is lost, let alone repairing it.
Jon only studied it for a while, and he was not interested in the Time Converter, but focused on the hourglasses in the room.
Different from pocket watch-type timing equipment such as time converters, hourglasses are undoubtedly much older.
As for the purpose of these hourglasses treasured in the Hall of Time, Jon doesn't know. Now the various materials in the Department of Mysteries have not been sorted out, and he has no way of finding them.
But when he first saw the quicksands falling in these hourglasses, Jon felt that they were very similar to the bottle of golden gravel he got from Snape.
He carefully observed these hourglasses for a period of time, and found that even though they were flowing continuously, no matter whether it was the pile of sand falling down from above or the pile of sand gathering below, there was no sign of decreasing or increasing at all, just like an eternal hourglass. The same is never exhausted and never regenerated.
But when Jon stayed in the time hall for two days, he found a small hourglass, and compared the sand in it with the gravel in the bottle, he discovered that the two had the same essence. difference.
Although the sand in these hourglasses is very fine, when you zoom in, you can still clearly see the edges and corners of the fine gravel, which is obviously a product of nature.
The gravel in the bottle is different. When Jon uses a magnifying glass to observe the contents inside, he can clearly find that these gravel-like fine particles are not sand at all!
The surface of each small golden particle inside is smooth, without any trace of natural creation, and there is no texture of stone at all. It is more like artificially polished gold particles than sand.
After thoroughly distinguishing the difference between the two, Jon also lost interest in those hourglasses.
In addition to various clocks and hourglasses in the Hall of Time, Jon stared at a hummingbird ornament for a long time.
The hummingbird hatched back and forth from an egg to a bird, and then reversed from a bird to an egg, just like a biological hourglass, but it also embodied two representations 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 retrogression 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 worth noting is that there is a sealed 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.
It's just that although Jon found it, there was no way to open it. If he could clearly see the hinge of the door from the gap, then he might suspect that this is not a door at all. .
After studying this door for a while, and even attracting the attention of some patrolling purebloods, Jon chose to temporarily abandon it.
At this time, he certainly can't just do some sabotage in the Department of Mysteries. If he doesn't use violent means, he will definitely not be able to understand the secret of this door, just like the room that no one can open." Love House".
Besides, even if it is opened, there is no guarantee that there is what Jon and the others are looking for.
So, Jon and Slughorn met once, and he planned to try it from another angle.
"Do you want to start contacting those people?" The expression on Slughorn's face became serious.
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 Now those who stay in the Department of Mysteries have completely fallen for him, and they came here under his orders, so it is the most convenient and effective way to attack them."
On this point, Jon, who has actually inspected the various halls of the Department of Mysteries, does have more say than Slughorn.
After pondering for a long time, Slughorn finally agreed.
"Well, I will find an opportunity to invite these purebloods who work here to my house for a banquet, and then accept their invitation to me."
However, he was only halfway through when Jon interrupted him.
"It's not you who accept the invitation, teacher, it's me. I am more suitable than you. I know what you are worried about. You are afraid that if you agree to join their camp, they will let us engrave something similar to the black magic mark on us , as the proof of Voldemort's servants, at that time, even if we repent on the spot, we will still be on the verge of riding a tiger."
Slughorn said seriously.
"That's why I'm more suitable. I'm already this old, Jon. Even if he makes me make a blood oath of never betraying, I can calmly agree. At worst, I will go to Europe after the matter is over." If I hide somewhere, this kind of restraint has nothing to do with me."
"But you forgot, I'm not afraid of death, teacher." Jon looked into his eyes, "You still need to find a place to hide in this situation, I only need to die once. Even The blood oath, after death and resurrection, it should be broken, right? And after I die, I will be younger for a period of time at most, so why do you need to take another risk?"
What Jon said made sense, but Slughorn's mind hadn't turned around much.
For Jon, who can already become a phoenix, all contracts are empty. The nirvana of the phoenix is not only a cleansing of the body, but also a cleansing of the soul. No matter what kind of magic it is, it will be washed clean, and there is no worries at all. .
Slughorn could only smile helplessly at this.
"Sometimes, you are so good that I can't use conventional thinking to think."
It's not Slughorn's fault, after all, the Phoenix Animagus doesn't seem like common sense in the magic world, and he also wants to protect Jon from taking such risks. Risks you can avoid.
After finalizing who would contact those pure bloods, Slughorn's original plan remained unchanged.
After finalizing the overall plan, Slughorn didn't wait any longer.
It was also the third week that Jon came to the Department of Mysteries to officially serve, and Slughorn sent invitations to every middle-level employee of the Department of Mysteries (it is really impossible to call these idiots the silent people).
Although Slughorn later joined Voldemort's side after turning from the dark to the bright, because of his earlier status as the head of Slytherin House, he has always had a high reputation in the pure-blood circle, and he is good at communicating with people. , He always looks like a good old man, so when he holds a banquet, everyone will sell him, even though Britain has fallen into the quagmire of war now.
Besides, these purebloods in the Department of Mysteries have long wanted to pull him into their camp, let alone say they would refuse.
This was a dinner party, and it was held at a manor that Voldemort bestowed upon Slughorn when he defected from the beginning.
Jon came before it was dark, and Slughorn had no house elves to prepare the banquet, but with his popularity among pure bloods, it was easy to borrow a few elves from a few old families to help .
As the evening approached, a long table full of food was placed on the lawn of the manor, and lit candles began to float in the air, and a mixed-race band played soothing classical music on the stage.
Jon took advantage of the fact that there were not many people coming, so he picked up a few pieces of fried shrimp pads on the long table to pad his stomach. After the banquet started, he definitely couldn't be so casual.
As a result, he was secretly eating, when suddenly someone patted him on the shoulder from behind, just as Jon was about to hide the leftover shrimp heads in his pocket solemnly, 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 out the shrimp head from his pocket and threw it on the lawn in disgust, and then answered Slughorn's question in a low voice.
"No, I haven't subscribed to the newspaper yet, I read other people in the department before."
"Albus and their advance were hindered. Crouch personally led a team to ambush a group of people who were about to attack Carlo's manor, and achieved some results. The Daily Prophet has been reporting on this incident these two days. They Already starting to say this is the turning point of our downfall."
Jon's face became calm.
"What happened to one of us?"
"Two French companions died, and Lupine was blinded in one eye. Fortunately, there is still a cure."
Hearing what Slughorn said, Jon didn't rejoice that luckily the Order of the Phoenix didn't die. Now it's not the Order of the Phoenix that is fighting in Britain, but Wupingxian as a whole.
There is no such thing as British wizards and French wizards. Everyone is a comrade-in-arms who has been fighting for a goal.
Jon narrowed his eyes, watching more and more pure bloods apparing over on the lawn, he said softly.
"Then we have to move faster."
Slughorn didn't answer him again. A smile had been put on his face again, and he walked towards the purebloods who had just arrived, followed by a hearty greeting with laughter.
At this time, Jon also saw a few people he knew well in the Department of Mysteries, holding a glass of wine in his hand, and he also walked over.
"Hi, Bartello, Hunter, Aegina, how are you doing at home these days?"
This is a combination of two men and one woman. They are all new-school pure-blood families, and they don't have the surname of the old sacred twenty-eight families.
They looked at Jon who was coming, and they all said hello. The witch named Aegina with wine-red curly hair complained.
"That's it. The family's liquor business has been greatly affected. Now our transportation channels are all cut off. Unless the war is over, there is no way to maintain it."
Jon smiled, he had a drink with Aegina.
"Didn't you say that Mr. Crouch has achieved a major victory?"
Hearing his words, Hunter let out a disdainful sneer.
"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 it's more like Crouch made so much preparation, but harvested It's nothing but a poor donkey's skills."
Bartello looked at Jon and said with a smile.
"Why are you so concerned about the situation? No matter how the magic world changes, your Ollivander family will still be afraid that there will be no wand business? Unless the wizards all over the world are extinct."
Jon made a wry smile.
"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 go to the battlefield one day."
Aegina pouted.
"With the current attitude of the Ministry of Magic, this possibility may not be impossible."
Jon said melancholy.
"Since the beginning of this year, everything seems to have changed. Why is our life suddenly so sad?"
His words caught the eyes of Hunter, who was the sharpest among the three, and he asked tentatively.
"Naspeake, have you ever wondered why?"
Botllo and Aegina also realized something, and their attitudes suddenly became eager.
"That's right, there must be a reason why the situation has evolved to what it is today, and we haven't done anything. Everyone has been following orders, so who exactly caused the situation to deteriorate step by step?"
Jon was taken aback when he heard what they said, and then suddenly became nervous and horrified.
"Aren't you blaming that gentleman?"
(end of this chapter)