The Hidden History of Magic

"You can talk about it here, Taylor."

Dumbledore wore a faint smile, but Andrew had no intention of taking the bait.

If it could be said, that meant it couldn't be said.

He handled more paperwork than Dumbledore did, yet Dumbledore was actually trying to brush him off with that!

Seeing that Andrew had not fallen for it, Dumbledore casually marked the door representing memories.

The door opened, revealing a brightly lit square room. There was nothing particularly strange inside, only a massive tank filled with what looked like a school of fish—brains.

Yes, brains. A sea of pale white brains.

It was grotesque enough that Andrew immediately frowned.

"This is memories?"

"Or you could call it the Brain Hall, the Great Brain Hall—either name works," Dumbledore said, looking at the enormous glass tank, large enough to serve as a swimming pool. There was no displeasure on his face; instead, he nodded. "It does indeed represent memories."

"Compared to a Pensieve, the brains specially cultivated by the Department of Mysteries can hold vast quantities of memories. They can also be magically linked with the other halls, producing an exceptionally effective curse."

"A curse?"

Andrew had roughly begun to see the shape of it, but this was clearly not the time to let his imagination run wild.

"Yes, a curse. A curse upon Magical History—or rather, a concealment."

Without casting a spell or touching the brains, Dumbledore continued, "Just as you said before: there is something wrong with Magical History. It is disjointed and incoherent. Dark Lords appeared one after another, rebellions were put down one after another, yet wizards ended up restricted by the Secrecy Law."

The headmaster's gaze passed over the tank and settled on the wall, as though he could see through it.

"Do you know when the