Hogwarts: Oh no, I've become Voldemort!

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Chapter 104 Night Raid on the Ministry of Magic

"Huh, when did that snake disappear?"

Tonks moved faster than Cyrus, but she immediately noticed that the python, which had been too afraid to move, had somehow escaped.

She wanted to cast a summoning spell, but she was worried about summoning all the snakes in the vicinity, so she had to give up.

“An afternoon has passed. Do you really expect a snake to stay put?” Cyrus said casually.

Unable to find the snake, Dumbledore was at a loss. He lingered at Riddle House for a while, spending most of his time marveling at the exquisite and beautiful design of the new Riddle House, as if he were there for a visit rather than an investigation.

After the sun had completely set, Dumbledore went to Gaunt's old house, where he stayed almost until late at night, studying for a long time the magical curse that Cyrus had previously broken. In the end, Cyrus didn't know if he had figured anything out.

“Alright, Alastor, now that Riddle has left, I think we should go back.” Dumbledore propped himself up to stand up.

"Did you find anything?" Moody asked.

"My only finding is that the situation is probably more serious than before." Dumbledore's serious expression was genuine.

Riddle had clearly taken something from the Gaunt mansion, and that was one of the Horcruxes he had been searching for.

'Perhaps after I took the Horcrux last time, he thought the original location where it was stored wasn't secure enough,' Dumbledore thought. Having missed this opportunity, finding clues about the Horcrux next time might be even more difficult.

However, he didn't feel particularly frustrated. Was it so hard to find a Horcrux? Anyway, it had been so many years, and he still hadn't found one. The crown from last semester wasn't really something he found; the other person had it on them themselves.

Moreover, this might be an opportunity—an opportunity to verify the confusion in his heart.

"Alright, Alastor, no matter what, I believe there's something more important waiting for us to do."

"what?"

"Of course I need to rest. It's late, I hope you'll understand. Old people don't need much sleep, and if I miss this time, I might miss my sweet dreams tonight."

Dumbledore left in a huff, leaving Moody standing there angrily. Tonks, on the other hand, admired Dumbledore's manner; she thought it was very "stylish."

As for Cyrus, he certainly didn't want to waste time on such a boring and absurd game as searching for himself. At this moment, he just wanted to return to the Ministry of Magic and find the key to Vault 12.

However, the Ministry of Magic had already closed at that time.

“Now that the trail has gone cold again, I think we should head back?” Cyrus looked at Moody. “I don’t plan on searching the wilderness day and night.”

"You call yourself an Auror?" Moody glared at him angrily. "In my day, we fought day and night to wipe out the Death Eaters! Do you know how many people gave their lives for that?"

“But without any leads, staying here is just a waste of time,” Cyrus said. “Besides, right now, I’m the one on duty.”

After saying that, Cyrus ignored Moody's opinion and unhesitatingly used Apparition to leave.

But in reality, he didn't return to his own home, or rather, Delilah's home. Delilah wasn't alone; he was married with a rather beautiful wife. Cyrus learned this through Delilah's memories, which was a problem for Cyrus.

He can disguise himself as a person, but it's impossible to remain completely undetected while spending every day and night with someone. This has nothing to do with the strength of his magical power; it's simply a matter of different habits.

At that moment, Cyrus appeared at the entrance to the Ministry of Magic.

There are many ways to enter the Ministry of Magic. Usually, wizards enter through the public toilets by flushing, or they use the Floo Net to reach the main hall. However, Cyrus naturally didn't want to reveal that "Daxie" was at the Ministry of Magic so late, so he planned to enter through the VIP entrance, using his own face.

Everyone was searching for Tom Riddle, and at a time like this, it would be even more interesting if he were to force his way into the Ministry of Magic.

Of course, Cyrus could have tried contacting some Death Eaters, as he certainly knew the magic to summon them. However, he instinctively didn't want to associate with those filthy fellows.

The entrance to the Ministry of Magic's guest area looked very—to put it mildly, “simple”, or even “desolate”.

The street was deserted, probably under a Muggle expulsion spell, with only a few dilapidated offices (clearly no one had worked there for a long time), a small pub, and a dump truck that was almost overflowing.

The most obvious thing is the only phone booth on this street.

It was red and very dilapidated—several panes of glass were missing, and behind it was a wall covered in graffiti.

Cyrus couldn't help but think of the opulent Magical Congress of the United States. It seemed that whether in the wizarding world or the Muggle world, Britain, this more ancient nation, was inevitably heading towards decline, only the wizarding world, thanks to Dumbledore, was holding up the last rays of the sun.

Cyrus opened the door of the phone booth; the inside was even more dilapidated than the outside. The phone hung there crookedly, the telephone line as if someone had pulled it hard, a large section yanked out and almost detached from the phone booth.

He held the phone to his ear and started spinning the dial pad with his finger.

It's hard to believe that you can still see this kind of rotary telephone at the end of the 20th century. Cyrus had only ever seen this kind of telephone in "Doraemon" in his previous life, and it was the old version.

“让我想想……6……”他拨了这个号码，“2……4，4……2……”

As the dial spun back to its original position, a woman's indifferent voice rang out from the phone booth. But the voice didn't come from the receiver Cyrus was holding; it was loud and clear, as if an unseen woman was standing right beside them.

"Welcome to the Ministry of Magic. Please state your name and the purpose of your visit."

“Sylph, I’ve come to get something,” Cyrus said softly.

“Thank you,” the woman said in a cold voice. “Guest, please take the badge and pin it to your clothing.”

Cyrus saw a badge slide out of the metal slot normally used to dispense coins. He picked it up and found words on it: Cyrus, come and get something.

"Guests from the Ministry of Magic, you will need to go through security and register your wand at the security checkpoint. The security checkpoint is located at the far end of the main hall."

The floor of the phone booth suddenly trembled, and the sidewalk outside the glass window rose higher and higher, the dilapidated streets and dump trucks disappearing. Finally, darkness enveloped Cyrus's head, and he could see nothing at all. With a monotonous, grating screech, he arrived deep within the Ministry of Magic.

All of this was much easier than Cyrus had imagined.

Of course, no one would believe that such a madman would dare to break into the Ministry of Magic alone; it was simply courting death.

A thin golden light shone on his feet, then gradually widened and expanded to cover Cyrus's body.

The light here was dimmer than during the day, and the fireplaces embedded in the walls were not lit. But as the elevator slowly came to a stop, Cyrus saw many golden symbols moving and changing on the dark peacock blue ceiling.

“Because you visited the Ministry of Magic at an unspecified time, your every move will be monitored by the Aurors,” the woman’s voice said. “The Ministry of Magic hopes you have a pleasant evening.”

Cyrus: "Thank you."

The phone booth door suddenly opened, and Cyrus stepped out as if he were strolling in a garden.

The enormous golden fountain in the main hall made a continuous sound of water, and jets of sparkling water shot from the tips of wizards' wands, from centaurs' arrows, from the tips of goblin hats, and from the ears of house-elves, landing in the nearby pool.

The Ministry of Magic's main hall looked magnificent and exquisite, but this exquisiteness was quite different from that of the Magical Congress of the United States. It appeared more conservative and more bound by convention.

The wand registration area not far away was empty; several Aurors who remained on duty at the Ministry of Magic had been waiting in the main hall since Cyrus made the phone call.

Therefore, Cyrus was greeted by five glowing magic wands!

Good evening, Aurors.

Chapter 105 Department of Mysteries

“Good evening, Aurors. The Ministry of Magic’s welcoming ceremony is quite ingenious, isn’t it?” Cyrus said with a relaxed expression.

However, he was met with a spell that consisted of five overlapping sounds:

"Except your weapons!"

Five disarming spells attacked Cyrus from different corners in front of him, while behind him was the Ministry of Magic elevator, which had already been shut down.

There was no way out for him.

Of course, there's no need to return it!

He didn't even raise his hand, but the air surrounding him suddenly twisted, forming free-flowing electric currents that rose like expanding hot air, creating a lightning shield that blocked the disarming spell.

Spellcasting is silent and without a staff, requiring no gestures at all!

Then, the current suddenly intensified, like a tree trunk and branches suddenly exploding and weaving into a net, or like a swarm of snakes shooting out, tearing at the skin of the Aurors and paralyzing their bodies!

The blinding light of daylight was fleeting. When the lightning subsided, the five Aurors lay curled up on the ground, their muscles taut as if they had been petrified.

The entire hall of the Ministry of Magic was completely unrecognizable.

The beautiful golden fountain had been shattered, spraying water wildly in all directions like a broken bottle. The centaur statue's head had also disappeared, and broken arrows had smashed into the goblin statue's hat...

Cyrus walked past the Aurors he had knocked down, his hands behind his back. He had no intention of killing them; otherwise, these men would have been struck by lightning and turned to ashes on the spot, instead of being paralyzed for a while as they were now.

As he walked down the long, dark corridor, Cyrus didn't forget to wave his arms slightly to block the entrances to the fireplaces along the way, lest a Dumbledore suddenly pop out.

However, Dumbledore has likely already returned to Hogwarts. With the Auror guarding the Ministry of Magic defeated, there's probably no one to inform him. After all, his blitzkrieg attack on the Ministry was a last-minute decision; unless Dumbledore was a prophet, he couldn't have foreseen this.

Cyrus glanced around the Ministry of Magic as he walked to the far end of the main hall, where the security checkpoint was located. Although there were no other staff members there, he dutifully registered himself.

"After all, I, Cyrus, am not a terrorist like Voldemort. I am a guest who entered through the guest entrance with dignity!"

Then he tossed the pen and paper aside, clapped his hands, and climbed back into the elevator.

His actual destination was the Department of Mysteries.

In the magical world, you'll find that there are countless spells that even the greatest wizards cannot explain, let alone control. If magic itself is a miracle to Muggles, then the magic sealed within the Department of Mysteries is a miracle within a miracle!

Even if Cyrus doesn't find the key to Vault 12, uncovering the secrets of the Department of Mysteries would be a huge gain for him.

However, this is probably more difficult than crafting a magic stone.

The elevator started operating again, and soon it took Cyrus to the bottom floor.

What appeared before Cyrus was a very old and simple black corridor with only one door. It stood there quietly, yet seemed to be whispering, tempting everyone who saw it to open it.

Of course, Cyrus knew this was a psychological effect.

He pushed open the door, revealing a huge, circular room. Everything inside, including the ceiling and floor, was black, reflecting light like obsidian. It looked like a perfectly tailor-made dwelling for a dark lord.

Cyrus stepped into the enormous circular space. Twelve identical, unmarked doors were set at intervals along the ring wall. Each door seemed to represent a moment on a clock, emanating a mysterious and terrifying aura under the glow of the eerie blue flames on the walls.