Hermione's Visit to the Ministry of Magic (2)

"Because you are Albus Dumbledore, I wouldn't do this to anyone else!" Mad-Eye Moody said in a gruff voice. "Come on, this way."

Moody walked ahead, muttering about the dark wizards who had tried to break into his yard, and the many others who harbored ill intentions towards him. Dumbledore asked him about the reasons behind his judgments.

Hermione followed silently behind Dumbledore and Moody, observing everything in the Ministry of Magic.

As Hermione passed the fountain, she saw many Winky Silver Sickle and Bronze Knut at the bottom of the pool, and a small, Scabbers sign next to it read:

All proceeds from the Fountain of Magical Brethren are donated to the St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.

Hermione couldn't help but glance at them a few more times, along with the golden statues. Their postures were meaningful; Centaur, goblins, House-elf all looked up at the two wizards with boundless adoration.

Centaur would never act like that... Hermione recalled her brief encounters with Centaur, her expression growing increasingly strange. Were the wizards at the Ministry of Magic being a little too narcissistic?

"This is a problem left over from the First Wizards' Council. Speaker Alfredda Kragg at the time advocated defining all beings that could speak human language as 'humans,' and the rest as 'beasts,' thus excluding Mermaid."

As if sensing Hermione's confusion, Dumbledore explained, "This caused a lot of trouble. Trolls and Erdling that could speak some human languages were classified as human, and the council that invited them caused a lot of problems."

"The Centaur and Mermaid had a good relationship; they were allies who helped each other. The Centaur considered this discrimination against the Mermaid and therefore withdrew from Parliament. It wasn't until 1811 that Minister Grogan Stump redefined 'human,' making Mermaid eligible. However, they voluntarily relinquished their chance to become human because they didn't want to be grouped with dark creatures like Hag and Vampire."

"For a long time, other creatures were unwilling to attend the council, which eventually left behind this fountain statue."

Dumbledore gazed at the statue for a moment, then said with considerable regret, "I often find such a statue quite impolite, but I can't persuade the Ministry of Magic to change it. Perhaps you in the future will have a solution."

Upon hearing the second half of the sentence, Moody, who had been vigilantly observing his surroundings, suddenly turned around and looked at the two of them with a strange expression.

Hermione found Dumbledore's words strange, but couldn't quite put her finger on what was wrong.

As you continue walking, hundreds of Ministry of Magic staff members move about in the hall.

Some of them carried piles of rickety parchment, some carried tattered briefcases, and others read the Daily Prophet as they walked. Their faces bore the sullenness typical of a holiday morning commute, as they strode toward a row of golden doors at the far end of the Entrance Hall.

Everyone who saw Moody approaching avoided his constantly shifting blue eyes with fear, as if afraid of being targeted by him. Taking advantage of Moody's imposing presence, Dumbledore and Hermione skipped the wand registration process.

Passing through the main gate, we entered a smaller hall where more than twenty elevators moved up and down within the walls, and the sound of golden gates opening and closing echoed continuously.

A familiar red-haired figure stood in front, spotting them even before they got close. Mr. Weasley. Arthur Weasley waved to them from afar. He waved his hands, wanting to call out Dumbledore's name but then realizing he couldn't, and smiled awkwardly.

"Good morning, Hermione, Alastor, and—" Mr. Weasley lowered his voice and whispered, "Headmaster Dumbledore, you look great in that outfit. If it weren't for Alastor, I wouldn't have recognized you."

Dumbledore smiled and said, "Good morning, Arthur."

Moody nodded without saying anything, his eyes still scanning the area.

"Good morning, Mr. Weasley," Hermione greeted politely.

With a clanging and clattering sound, an elevator descended in front of them. Arthur led them inside, saying, "The elevator's here. Let's talk as we go."

There were people in the elevator, but when they saw Moody come in, they all fled as if they were running away, and waited for the next elevator.

Seeing this, Arthur chuckled and said, "Thanks to Alastor, otherwise it wouldn't have been so easy."

Dumbledore laughed along.

Hermione cautiously turned her head and saw Moody purse his lips.

The gate slammed shut, the elevator slowly descended, the chains rattled, and the indifferent female voice from the phone booth rang out once more.

"The Level Nine, the Department of Mysteries."

What was this mysterious thing...? Just as Hermione was subconsciously thinking about this question, the elevator doors opened with a whoosh, and she was led out of the elevator without knowing why.

This was an empty corridor, unlike the corridors upstairs. There was no one, no doors, and no windows; there was only a simple black door at the end of the corridor.

Arthur and Moody led the way, followed by Dumbledore and Hermione, as the group slowly made their way down the corridor.

"Croaker is on vacation, Bode is upstairs handling some business. No one will bother us," Arthur said casually.

Moody picked up the conversation in a rough voice. "To be honest, I think Albus overthinking it. The Hall of Prophecy can't possibly have problems. Even if he really did come back to life, he wouldn't dare come to the Ministry of Magic."

What is the Hall of Prophecy?

Resurrection? Is he referring to Voldemort?

Didn't we come to the Ministry of Magic because of Loren's matter?

A series of questions arose in Hermione's mind, but in the unfamiliar environment and in front of strangers, she chose to remain silent.

"You know, I don't really trust the people in the Ministry of Magic these days," Dumbledore teased. "Well, worry... it sounds strange coming from you, Alastor."

"My suspicions are all well-founded!"

Led by Moody, who was limping, they arrived at the pure black door.

Moody turned around, his gaze sweeping over Hermione before turning to Dumbledore: "Are we bringing this little girl in too? Heh heh! I'm afraid she'll be scared by what's inside."

Is there something terrible inside...? Hermione looked at Dumbledore.

"Don't be fooled by him. We're going to pass through the Time Room to enter the Hall of Prophecy. There's nothing to be afraid of." Dumbledore then looked at Moody. "She will be using the Time-Turner next year. It will be good for her to know about the power of time in advance."

Moody's gaze immediately changed, his disdain for the child diminished, replaced by a hint of appreciation. "You have to learn all the lessons, good girl. No wonder Dumbledore brought you here."

Hermione was even more confused.

"Come on, let me show you around." Moody pushed open the pure black door, and they entered the circular black room together.

Everything here, including the ceiling and floor, is black; twelve identical, unmarked, and handle-less black doors are embedded in the surrounding black walls, spaced apart from each other.

Some candles with blue flames adorned the walls, their cold, flickering light reflected off the gleaming marble floor, making it seem as if one were standing on the surface of a deep, dark abyss.

The scene before her made Hermione a little uneasy, but thankfully Dumbledore took her hand, and the rough, heavy warmth of his hand made her feel at ease.

Arthur closed the door behind them.

With a loud rumble, the circular wall began to spin. Hermione gripped Dumbledore's hand tightly, a little afraid that the floor might also move.

By the dim blue firelight, Hermione saw Dumbledore smile gently at her.

For a few seconds, the walls spun rapidly, the blue flames blurring around them like neon tubes. Then, in an instant, they stopped abruptly.

Moody's gruff voice echoed in the room, breaking the long-standing heavy atmosphere. "Ha, boring tricks, the same old thing all these years."

He limped forward, walking along the wall, with the others following closely behind.

"The Brain Room, the Death Room, the locked..." Moody rattled off, stopping in front of a door. "Ha! This is it, the Time Room!"

Moody pushed open the black door, and a beautiful, sparkling light, like a diamond, shone on everyone's faces.

The room was filled with clocks of all sizes, from grandfather clocks to travel clocks, hanging between bookshelves or standing on tables as long as the room itself. As a result, a rapid, incessant ticking filled the room, like the orderly marching of thousands of tiny footsteps.

The bright, diamond-like light emanated from a towering, bell-shaped crystal dome at the far end of the room. This dome, taller Hermione, stood on a table and appeared to be filled with a swirling, Winky current of energy.

Inside the enclosure, a small, jewel-like object floated up and down. Like an egg, it cracked open with a snap when the airflow lifted it into the glass, and a Hummingbird emerged, rising straight to the very top of the enclosure. But as the airflow subsided, the bird's feathers became soiled and wet again, until it finally landed at the bottom of the enclosure and was trapped back inside. This process repeated itself inside the enclosure.

Moody and Arthur seemed to have seen this many times before, showing no surprise. Hermione, captivated by this amazing scene, unconsciously slowed her pace.

"The power of time is always astonishing." Dumbledore stopped. "Arthur, you take Hermione on a tour of the place. Aratos and I are going to the Hall of Prophecy. If we take too long, you can take Hermione downstairs to see the Ministry of Ministry of Magic's court proceedings. By the way, are there any interesting cases today?"

Arthur replied, "There's one! Willie Widsing, that guy turned an ordinary toilet into a biting monster, and a poor Muggle's ass got bitten into seven pieces as a result."

Moody said menacingly, "This guy is a habitual anti- Muggle offender. This time, we'll just send him to Azkaban!"

Dumbledore patted Hermione on the shoulder. "An interesting and meaningful case. You'll regret missing it."

Hermione nodded dazedly, and was left behind with Mr. Weasley, watching Dumbledore and Mad-Eye enter through the only door at the back.

Turning back, Hermione asked timidly, "Mr. Weasley, what are we supposed to do now?"

Arthur replied slowly, "Observe the scene inside the crystal dome carefully. Dumbledore is right. Understanding the power of time will be of great help to you."

"Okay." Hermione forced a smile, turned around somewhat awkwardly, and carefully observed the Hummingbird inside the crystal dome constantly hatching and flying away, only to turn into tiny eggs again.

Because she wasn't familiar with Mr. Weasley, Hermione couldn't fully concentrate on comprehending the time. Once she was sure she had clearly seen every step of the Hummingbird transformation, she immediately turned around and quickly said, "Mr. Weasley, I've finished watching."

Arthur didn't dwell on the matter and smiled, "Then come and see the Time-Turner. You'll be using it a lot next semester."

Hermione realized that the Time-Turner must be the solution to the scheduling conflicts of the next semester's classes.

She initially thought a possible solution was to adjust class times, but it turns out her thinking wasn't magical enough...

A closet with a glass front door. The wall behind the closet is covered with all kinds of hourglasses, their sand sparkling and Winky. The light shining through the hourglasses seems to cause the transparent parts inside the closet to distort slightly, revealing a magical image that hints at the Magic Power of time.

Hermione's eyes sparkled. "These are Time-Turner?"

"Yes, I won't go into details. Professor McGonagall will explain it to you in detail next semester."

They could see it but couldn't touch it. They lingered in front of the closet for a while, and then Arthur left with Hermione.

Instead of taking the elevator to the courtroom, after leaving the Department of Mysteries, turn right and enter the staircase through an opening. Go down the staircase to reach another corridor.

This place is exactly like the basement corridors of Hogwarts: rough stone walls, torches stuck in brackets. There are many heavy wooden doors in the corridor, with iron bolts and keyholes.

"The trial room... third... fourth..." Mr. Weasley checked the signs on the door. "Although I don't know why Dumbledore specifically asked you to attend this trial, he must have his reasons."

Hermione was taken aback. "You specifically mentioned it? Didn't we just happen to be there?"

"Oh, perhaps that's possible, but based on what I know of Dumbledore, it's unlikely... In Muggle terms, probability—no, it should be statistics," Mr. Weasley muttered, his tone eager, clearly wanting to discuss this topic with Hermione.

Hermione's mind was in turmoil.

She had thought today's itinerary was solely for Loren's sake, but now she realized it wasn't at all. Dumbledore's other purpose was the Hall of Prophecy, which was related to Voldemort; he had brought her there and planned for her to witness a trial.

One question after another bubbled up like water from a kettle, making a gurgling sound in Hermione's head.

They stopped in front of a dark, gloomy door with a large iron lock. Mr. Weasley whispered to Hermione, "Don't make a sound once you're inside. You know, many important cases don't allow outsiders to listen in. Luckily, this one isn't one of them."

Hermione nodded and followed Arthur into the Seventh Courtroom.