The statue is surrounded by a number of wall lamps that emit a soft glow that reflects the entire hall in a warm and mysterious light.

The floor of the hall is paved with dark wood and intricately carved with various patterns, flanked by towering stone pillars carved with mystical symbols and magical spells.

"This is the Ministry of Magic?" Owen recognized it at a glance.

The statue was so famous that it was seen in the newspapers every day.

Harry recognized it, too, having seen the statue in the newspaper.

"Yes, this is the Ministry of Magic." Dumbledore answered, and then led the young wizard around the group of migrant workers who were at work.

They went the other way.

Then stop at a security checkpoint.

"Good morning, Mr. Eric." He said to a wizard in front of him who was wearing a peacock blue robe and had a very unclean beard.

"Security check." The man held up the Daily Prophet and said casually.

When he put down the newspaper and saw the comer, he was startled.

"Dundumbledore?" The wizard named Eric looked at the man in front of him in shock.

Adam's apple rolled and muttered, "What are you doing at the Ministry of Magic?" ”

It was a harsh inquiry, as if Dumbledore shouldn't have been here.

However, given the current relationship between the Minister of Magic and Dumbledore, his reaction was understandable, after all, he was just a small person, and if he got involved in the turmoil between the two, it would not end well.

"I have something to talk about with Mr. Crouch, oh, and I've got two guests with me." Dumbledore said, gesturing to Owen and Harry behind him.

"Of course - you should have spoken to the minister a long time ago." Eric said slowly.

"That-sir, the ministry has a rule for me" He hesitated suddenly, becoming helpless, holding a long golden rod in his hand, as thin and resilient as the antenna of a car.

"Security checks, I know, I personally respect the law." Dumbledore said.

He didn't need to check it himself, it was for the two little wizards.

But to Owen's surprise, the principal's office should have a flyway network that goes directly to the minister's office, why did they go through the front door in the open?

Could it be that the headmaster really had a falling out with Barty Crouch?

Even the Floo network is broken?

Eric nodded at Dumbledore, then swept his and Harry's chests and backs with the golden rod.

"Ahem—young man, the Ministry of Magic is not allowed to carry any Infinite Stretch Charm items." He said to Owen.

"You can give me your things first, and then come back to pick them up when you leave."

He didn't dare to ask Owen if the Infinite Stretch Spell was legal.

Because it's not his business, but he can't let Owen bring things in, that's his duty.

"Okay—" At Dumbledore's motion, Owen reached into his underwear pocket, and then pulled out a cloth pocket from inside.

Eric took it and placed it in the cabinet next to him.

"Next is the wand." He said.

Harry handed over his wand.

The wizard placed his wand on a grotesque-looking brass machine that resembled a single-disc scale. The machine began to vibrate slightly. A narrow strip of parchment spat out quickly from the opening at the bottom. The wizard tore off the paper and read the words on it.

"Eleven inches, the core of the staff is a phoenix feather, and it took four years. Right?"

"That's right." Harry said nervously.

"I'll keep this." Eric pokes the parchment note against a tiny brass nail. "You take this back." He slipped his wand into Harry's hand and looked at Owen.

"Give it to you." Owen pulled out his crystalline wand.

After just one glance, Eric's face began to turn blue, and he glared at Owen to say something, but after glancing at Dumbledore, he swallowed back what he wanted to say.

"Normal Mr. Wand, not a fake wand you bought at the Magic Trick Shop."

Owen didn't explain, he waved his wand slightly, and a cloud of clear water flowed from the tip of the wand, and then the water turned into a mist, and then snowflakes fell above their heads.

All explanations were pale, and Eric frowned slightly at this scene, and then took the wand from Owen's hand.

I took a closer look.

He could be sure that the crystals that the guy had in 40 percent of his wand were not wand sets, but real ones embedded in the wand body.

Confused, he placed his wand on the machine.

After a few seconds, a piece of parchment paper is spit out.

As he read the font on it, his brow furrowed even deeper.

"Length: Unknown? Staffheart: Unclear? Blade: Unknown? Time of use: Unknown? ”

"Well—maybe it's time for you to upgrade this machine." Owen said leisurely, "You may not know, times have changed!" Now the wand material is messy, and the equipment has to be upgraded every few years. ”

Owen's words didn't make Eric's brow relax, and he spoke cautiously, "Are you sure it's a wand?" ”

"Of course, isn't it a burning stick?"

"But—" He was caught in a dilemma, and at that moment, he suddenly felt that the little wizard in front of him was very familiar.

Just now, his attention was on Dumbledore, and he only thought that the other party could leave quickly.

After this unexpected thing happened, he had the heart to look at the little wizard in front of him.

"You're — that French Rozier!" He finally recognized the youngest therapist in the world, who had been in the newspapers for some time before.

He then returned his wand to Owen.

"Okay. You can go in. Eric gave the young wizard two silver guest badges.

The problem with the wand, if it were an ordinary person, he would definitely not let it go, but Dumbledore was here, which made him hesitate.

And after learning the identity of the 'girl' in front of him, he immediately made a decision.

How can someone who can save hundreds of lives be a bad person?

It is not a smart thing to offend someone in such a simple matter at this time.

"Thank you!" Owen withdrew his wand, and immediately stepped inside.

Uh-huh—I always thought the wizard looked at him strangely.

After a moment's delay, Dumbledore led them through the gate.

They came to a smaller hall with at least twenty elevators, blocked by refined golden fence doors.

The three of them walked over.

The officials of the Ministry of Magic on the side immediately got out of the way of an elevator very tacitly.

Everyone looked at Dumbledore in shock.

I don't know what he's doing here.

"Huh? Albus? How did you get here? "At this moment, an old witch with wrinkled skin and gray hair, who was at least one hundred and fifty years old, approached.

She looked so old that she had no personal distinguishing features, such as hair color or face shape, and was almost the same as a hundred and fifty years old on the side of the road, except for a pair of brown eyes that still sparkled.

"Long time no see, Lady Gestilda Marchiban." Dumbledore looked pleased, and he walked over to the old witch and gave him a cordial hug.

"It's been a long time. You've been busy, and I've heard that the Federation has recently introduced a number of new laws. Hi - if you want me to say, reform is long overdue. "The Old Witch behaved very differently from other wizards when it came to Dumbledore, she was more casual and did not show any restraint from the old headmaster's prestige.

"Yes, to keep up with the progress of the times. The wizarding world is really changing day by day. Dumbledore said with a smile, then waved the two young wizards into the elevator.

"Ninth floor, Department of Mysteries." After entering the elevator, Dumbledore spoke.

"Oh—you're here because of what happened last night, too?" Lady Gestilda Marchiban looked at Dumbledore in surprise, after all, the Headmaster never got involved in power struggles, and only came to the Ministry of Magic a handful of times.

"Hmm- I suspect it has something to do with the mystery man." The principal said bluntly.

"Oh my God, the mysterious man broke into the Ministry of Magic? What does he want? Lady Geselda Marchiban exclaimed, her old face turning pale, but she still forcibly calmed down, "There are too many dangerous magical items in the Department of Mysteries, you know [that thing] is there."

"So I'm going to come here myself." Dumbledore said, "I want to take [that thing] if necessary." ”

"Crouch won't agree." Geselda Marchiban said.

"[That thing] is not an asset of the Ministry of Magic, and as a custodian, you have the power to take it and give it to anyone."

"I wish I didn't have that power." Ms. Geselda Marchiban sighed, the weight of responsibility was about to overwhelm her.

The elevator descended at a rapid pace.

Owen and Harry stared at the two in front of them in confusion, not knowing what kind of dumb riddle they were playing.

They didn't talk much, because the main hall of the Ministry of Magic was originally on the eighth floor of the basement, and the Mysteries Division on the ninth floor was only isolated on the first floor, which of course was very fast.

With a 'ding' sound, the elevator doors opened.

Then an indifferent woman's voice sounded, "Ninth floor, the Department of Mysteries, including the Brain Hall, the Space Hall, and the Death Hall"

Ms. Geselda Macchiban was not separated from them, but walked together into this and other dimly lit corridors.

This is the Department of Mysteries, with only black tiled walls in front of it, the walls are empty, there are no doors or windows, but at the end of the corridor there is a simple black door leading to the Department of Mysteries.

The light in the hallway is provided by torches, and there is a gap on the left side of the hallway that allows you to descend to the tenth floor.

Upon entering the door of the Department of Mysteries, there is a large circular room, where everything in it, including the ceiling and floor, is black, and some candles with blue flames dot the walls.

There are twelve black doors without handles, each leading to a different hall, each of which is dedicated to a mystery of life.

At this time, the hall was full of wizards.

Judging from their clothing and demeanor, as well as the badges on their chests, it is clear that not all of these people are in the same department.

The Aurors, the Department of Magical Law, and the Wizard of Wizengamot.

The three parties gathered here, and the leader was Kingsley.

But at this time, both Harry and Owen were focused on the massive stone arch that stood in the center of the hall.

It was so huge and ancient, and the heavy curtain hung down, light and fluttering, as if it were a kind of gauze garment.

"Owen—did you hear what seemed to be someone talking behind that stone door?" Harry leaned over and asked with a serious expression.

"It's a voice." Owen responded.

"Did you hear that, too?" Harry said, "I don't know what that's being said. ”

"You don't have to hear clearly." Owen looked dismissive, "It's just the screams of my dead enemies." ”

"Huh?" Harry looked puzzled.

"The Ministry of Magic has not studied this stone arch deeply, but it is certain that these drapery separate the two worlds of life and death, and that the drapery is a symbol, and [beyond the curtain] represents the world in which the soul of the dead is located. There is also a legend in the Muggle world, and the Gospel of Matthew tells of the crucifixion and death of Jesus, "the curtains of the temple were broken in two from top to bottom, the earth shook, the rocks cracked, the tombs were opened, and the bodies of many sleeping saints were resurrected, and they entered the heavily fortified city." Owen babbled.

"You still know this!" Harry looked shocked, "Have you read the Gospel of Matthew?" ”

"Good adventurers have seen it, and it records the location of some ancient ruins," Owen rolled his eyes at Harry, "Do you have to believe in God to read the Gospel of Matthew?" ”

"Well, that's right."

On the other side, Dumbledore had already stepped forward and whispered to Kingsley.

The other wizards present were surprised by this one's arrival.

Everyone whispered to each other, and soon the sound of their voices drowned out the sound of the curtains.

"Yes—the soul of Broderick Bodø the Silent Man was seen passing through the curtains. It was Gilbert Wimple, who was a member of the Experimental Spell Committee. That night, he was on his way to the Brain Hall to find Bode to verify a standard spell. I happened to witness the tragedy. I've searched his memories, and it's true.

Of course, it can't be ruled out that Gilbert Wimple is a master of Occlumency, but I don't think that's likely. Kingsley frowned as he reported to Dumbledore about the previous night.

His current position is Deputy Director of the Auror Office, but this may be the end of his career, with the Ministry of Magic breaking in, the death of an employee, and his pro-Dumbledore stance.

There is no need to guess that Barty Crouch will definitely use him as a scapegoat.

"Mr. Broderick Bode?" Dumbledore frowned, it was an employee of the Time Hall, an old wizard who had always been obsessed with the study of time.

However, since the wizarding world banned time experimentation altogether, his job has become dispensable, and has become an office job that audits the person holding the time turner for irregularities.

So in recent years, he has been calling on the Ministry of Magic to lift the law on time experimentation.

And just now, they saw the soul that had been eaten by Voldemort from Harry's memory.

It was that poor Mr. Broderick Bode.

That's why he came to the Ministry of Magic.

(End of chapter)