Ministry of Magic.

In the basement room, the warm fire crackled and burned vigorously. The space cut off by the oak door was silent, and Chloe sat in front of a crystal ball with her knees crossed, like a witch of divination, in the posture she'd held most of the week.

Know the weather outside with a magic crystal ball placed on a table mat. When it snows outside, the crystal ball will snow, and when it's sunny outside, the crystal ball will be sunny.

This is the only source of information she has had lately.

The oak door to the room was pushed open, and Nicolame came to her with a cane in one hand and a cup of hot cocoa in the other, and handed her the cocoa in his hand.

"Do you like to see the snow?"

"I don't like it. ”

Chloe took the hot cocoa and said sullenly, "I like sunny days." ”

"Then how about I take you to the tropical seaside after a while. Nicolame sat tremblingly beside her, his silver cane in both hands.

"I don't understand. ”

Chloe said bluntly.

"What's not to understand?"

"Why do we stay at the Ministry of Magic?" Chloe asked, holding a steaming cup and a little confused, "why don't you take me home, my parents don't want to see me after so many years?"

Looking at Chloe's serious expression, the smile on Nicol Lemay's old face faded a little. He shook his head and sighed slightly, "You haven't arrived home yet, dear." ”

"I ...... Isn't my house right here, London?"

"No, our home is far away. The old man said.

Chloe looked at him with a confused expression, completely ignoring him.

"Ah, this..... Forget it, let's not talk about that for now. ”

Nicolame waved his hand and took out a wooden box from behind him. "Christmas is coming, and I have a gift for you. ”

He slowly opened the wooden box, only to see a transparent crystal necklace lying quietly in the box. It is hexagonal in shape, engraved with dense peculiar patterns, which is beautiful in an instant.

Chloe's eyes lit up as she looked at the wooden box, she had never seen such a beautiful necklace.

"Here, try it. ”

Nicolame trembled and took the necklace out of the box and placed it around Chloe's neck.

Chloe felt a chill all over her body and shivered. She looked at her chest as if she were wearing a necklace made of ice cubes.

"What is this?"

She asked her great-great-great-great-grandfather curiously.

"It's a gadget I make in my spare time. ”

The old man winked playfully at the girl, and he pressed Chloe's chest and fastened her collar firmly: "Remember, no matter what happens, don't let anyone see this necklace." ”

His appearance confuses Chloe even more, and since her return, Nicol Lemay has kept her locked up in an underground room in the Ministry of Magic, refusing to leave her home or contact anyone. But what's the point of wearing a necklace if she doesn't see anyone?

She touched the hard object on her chest and asked with some uncertainty, "Do you know something, but don't want to tell me?"

"yes, I'll tell you when you get home. ”

At this moment, there was a knock on the door behind him, and Nicolame answered the door.

The door opened.

Chloe heard a man in a hoarse, tired voice at the doorway ask, "Is she ready?"

"Always be ready. ”

Nicolemel replied, and then he shouted at Chloe, "Someone has come to see you, Chloe." ”

She hurriedly stood up, but outside the door stood a young man in a black cloak.

At first glance, her reaction was that this man was so handsome. But on closer inspection, she immediately didn't think so. This man was the exact opposite of his grandfather, wearing a brand new top hat, with an unusually beautiful face, and pointed ears, like a fairy tale out of a fairy tale. But his dull blue eyes looked unusually lifeless, like an old man on the verge of death.

"This is Minister Drashis. ”

Nicol Lemay was not surprised in the slightest, he stepped aside and said to Chloe, "Say hello yet." ”

Minister of Magic?

This was an unexpected look, she had always thought that this kind of executive was at least forty or fifty years old and started to move up, but this person looked like he was about the same age as herself.

Chloe looked at Nicol Lemay. A strong disgust was evident in his grandfather's eyes, but he maintained a friendly smile on his face.

Out of politeness, she bowed to the other party very ladylikely.

The other party also took off his hat, bent down slightly, and said in a boring voice: "Hello." ”

Chloe could see that the man's hair was a rare pure silver color.

After bowing, the man said to Nicolame, "Have all other things been arranged?"

"It's all arranged. ”

Nicol Lemay replied.

"Come on, then. ”

The man beckoned to Chloe, as if to signal her to go with him.

Chloe looked at his great-great-grandfather in confusion, but he just smiled and said, "Go, go and do Minister Drazes a favor, and I'll take you to the beach tomorrow, remember my words, don't be afraid." ”

Before Chloe could say anything, Nicol Lemay turned her away and pushed her out the door. Pushed to Fatil, who was standing outside the door.

"Let's go. Fatil said.

Then he pulled her all the way forward, who was puzzled.

Chloe, who turned back three times, seemed to hear the sound of glass breaking inside the door.

"What do you want me to do you a favor for?"

She asked the Minister of Magic.

"I'll tell you when I get to the place. ”

The Minister of Magic said this, leading her into an elevator, and with a clattering click, the golden fence door gently slid open, and the two of them made their way up the elevator.

The Ministry of Magic on Christmas night was empty and there wasn't much light. Only an indifferent female voice could be heard, constantly prompting the names of the layers.

"The seventh floor, the Department of Magical Sports, includes the command of the Quidditch League of Britain and Ireland, the official Gobstone Club, and the Office of Patents for Funny Products. ”

.......

"The sixth floor, the Magical Traffic Division, includes the Floo Network Administration, the Broomstick Management Control Bureau, the Portkey Office, and the Phantom Apparition Test Center. ”

.......

"The third level, the Department of Magical Accidents and Disasters, includes the Reversal of Accidental Magical Events Team, the Memory Cancellation Command, and the Muggle Mediation Committee. ”

......

"The second level, the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, includes the Office for the Prohibition of Misuse of Magic, the Auror Command, and the Wizengamot Governing Body. ”

......

It was only when passing through those floors that there was the occasional firelight illuminating their faces, and Chloe secretly observed Fatil. The man was very reticent, and almost for a moment she felt that he was somewhat similar to Hoffa, because most of the time Hofa didn't talk on the way back. However, he did not have the exuberant vitality of that young man, and only had a decadent and dead air. ”

With a soft ding-dong sound, the elevator landed on the top floor.

"On the first floor, the Office of the Minister of Magic, the Conference Hall for International Affairs. ”

Fatil walked out of the golden iron fence with a blank face, and pushed open a black iron door in a dimly lit corridor.

The room was dark, and it was completely impossible to see the furnishings, which made Chloe a little uneasy, and she thought of the room where she had been bloodied by Mance, and in the darkness of this room, there seemed to be some invisible behemoth swimming slowly.

The man pressed her to the chair, then waved his wand and lit a candle, only one.

He then sat down at the table behind the candles, his fingers crossed.

"Did Hofabach tell you why he sent you back?"

He asked boringly.

"Huh, you know?"

Chloe was taken aback and a little excited: "Speaking of which, I've always been weird, he just doesn't seem to want to tell me the real reason. ”

"...... like this"

The man muttered, and the blue dead fish stared at Chloe in the distance without blinking, and after a moment's wandering, he said seriously: "I have a daughter, as old as you, speaking of which, I have thought about marrying my daughter to him." ”

"Uh..... Ahem..... Marry whom?"

"Hofabach. ”

"Puff....." Chloe didn't expect the other party to say this, laughed, almost choked on her own saliva, she scratched her head a little embarrassed: "Hofa ..... I guess I'm about the same age, so it's too early for you to say this. ”

"Early? My secretary gave me a statistic. In fact, half of Hogwarts boyfriends and girlfriends will become husband and wife after graduation. After all, the circle of wizarding society is also relatively small. ”

He even took out a dozen parchment papers from a drawer very seriously, "Do you want to see this data?"

"Still don't need it, why are you looking for me to come over?"

She moved in her chair with some uneasiness, and the tone and content of the man's speech were strange.

"I remember that the work of nuns is part of salvation and redemption, and it is necessary to treat the world equally. ”

"Yes. ”

Speaking of her job, Chloe immediately straightened up.

"We're in charge of the handouts, and we're in charge of the preaching, and what you're saying is of course part of my job. ”

"Thanks, I see. Fatil nodded calmly: "My daughter is dead, dying of some unknown disease. ”

"Huh!?"

In the light of the candle, Chloe opened her mouth, not knowing what to say for a moment. After a while, she stammered, "Hug ..... I'm sorry. But..... That's what it is...... The reason why you came here, you want to save your daughter?"

"That's why Hoffa Bach sent you here. ”

The Minister of Magic said with his fingers crossed in front of her.

All interest in conversation suddenly disappeared at this moment, and she suddenly felt unusually irritable. She had always been calm and friendly like feeding a dog, and she wanted to stand up and walk away immediately, but after thinking about it, she still barely sat still, and asked politely, "When did your daughter die?"

"About a year and a half ago. ”

Fatil said.

"Are you sure you're dead?"

Fatil just looked at her, not speaking.

"I am a nun, a servant of God, not a trevi fountain. She endured her displeasure and said, "Fate is unchangeable. What happened will happen, and besides, I can't go back a year and a half ago, that's an exaggeration. ”

"I know you're going to say that. ”

Fatil replied immediately, stooping down to take out a strange machine glowing green from under the wide table and placing it in front of Chloe. In the faint candlelight, the thing looked like a copper snail the size of a head, and on top of the brass metal structure, a round transparent glass ball glittered with a dull green light.

Then, he took a bright red apple out of his pocket and pushed it next to the unknown machine.

"Can I borrow a drop of your blood?"

Fatil asked gently.

Chloe immediately remembered Mance, and she stood up in horror, clutching her shoulder, and would have almost wanted to slam the door and leave if it weren't for knowing who he was.

She looked back, but she couldn't see the door at all, and in the dim candlelight, she couldn't even see the face of the man opposite, only his dim blue eyes.

The darkness flickered, and an unseen thing rustled and crawled around her, and Chloe shivered and her ears ached.

Then he saw the man withdraw his hand, and there was a drop of blood on his finger. More than two meters away, she didn't know how the man did it, but she could feel that there were other creatures in the dark room.

Fatil withdrew his palm. He took the red apple from the table, threw it into the glass ball on top of the snail-shaped machine, and dropped the blood into the mouth of the metal component.

Then, with a flash of turquoise light, Chloe was stunned to see the apple turn green, smaller, thinner, and finally petals, then buds, and then nothing.

"Look, this is my latest time converter. It can amplify your power infinitely, and with it, I can easily go back a year and a half. Fatil said softly.