Hogwarts: Who made her a professor?

Chapter 439 Mysterious Affairs Department

The revelation of Coban Yaxley's identity triggered a chain reaction that caused varying degrees of chaos across different departments of the Ministry of Magic.

However, while the ministry was in complete chaos, the Mysterious Affairs Division remained calm and undisturbed, its style completely out of place with the other departments.

The Department of Mysteries is the most unique department within the Ministry of Magic, primarily responsible for various major, secret research projects, and its duties are highly confidential.

Not only is the Department of Mysteries outside the Ministry of Magic's system, but even its staff are shrouded in mystery; they are often referred to as "the Silent Ones."

Because of the special nature of their work and the highly confidentiality of their duties, the silent people were unaware of what was happening in the department. Unaffected by the outside world, they were still focused on their secret research.

This gave Walton McNeill a chance to take a desperate gamble, and he decided to go to the Department of Mysteries before escaping the Ministry of Magic to make one last effort.

When news of Yaxley's arrest reached the Department of Magical Creatures Control, McNeil immediately realized the situation was dire; he knew he was likely to be the next target of the Department of Law Enforcement.

Sensing danger, Walton McNeil initially wanted to run away and escape from the Ministry of Magic first.

But then I thought, if I just slunk away like this, I wouldn't be able to explain it to Voldemort. Voldemort's wrath is far more terrifying than the Ministry of Magic's.

Therefore, McNeil decided to turn the crisis into an opportunity. He would take this chance to make one last attempt to enter the Department of Mysteries and steal the prophecy orb from the Hall of Prophecy.

It was because of this last-minute decision that McNeil narrowly escaped capture by the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and left the Department of Magical Creature Control before David Griffith and his men arrived.

Courage seemed to have boosted Walton McNeil's luck to the maximum, as he encountered no obstacles along the way and successfully arrived at the Department of Mysteries on the ninth floor.

As the elevator clattered to a stop on the ninth floor, guard Eric Munch looked up and glanced at the gate, which slid open gently, revealing an empty room.

"Strange," Eric Munch muttered, turning his head away and ignoring the elevator.

Hide in the elevator, McNeil didn't dare to breathe. Luckily, he had cast a Disillusionment Charm on himself beforehand, or he would have been discovered by the guards.

Belvina, as the powerful director, held a high position and could swagger into the Department of Mysteries, but McNeil, who worked for the Committee on the Handling of Dangerous Animals, could not.

In order to avoid being spotted by the guards stationed in the corridor, McNeil had to slowly inch his way out of the elevator, trying his best not to make any noise.

However, Eric Munch's attention was still drawn to the elevator, which was parked on the ninth floor.

"Strange, very strange," said Guard Munch as he walked down the corridor toward the elevator.

It was already strange that the elevator was suddenly stopped on the ninth floor when there was no one there, but the fact that the elevator did not leave for a long time made Munch suspicious.

Walton McNeil held his breath again, cautiously pointing at Eric Munch, who was getting closer and closer.

"The soul leaves the body."

Since this was the last attempt, McNeil felt he needed to be a little bolder.

"That's really weird!"

Eric Munch meticulously inspected the elevator, but he couldn't see Walton McNeil right under his nose.

Under the influence of the Imperius Curse, Guard Munch turned back into the corridor, with McNeil following behind him. The two arrived at the entrance of the Department of Mysteries one after the other.

The doors to the Department of Mysteries were completely black. Eric Munch stood before them, his mind blank, his sense of duty as a guard vanished.

After a while, a voice rang in Munch's mind, which made him immediately open the door.

Eric Munch raised his arm with a blank expression, his palm pressed tightly against the all-black door, and with a soft click, the door opened.

Then, Munch, under the influence of the Imperius Curse, crossed the threshold and entered the Department of Mysteries with McNeil behind him.

Walton McNeill stood in the circular room behind the black door, and he was struck by the fact that everything in the room was black—the doors, the floor, the ceiling—everything in sight was black.

Besides the flames, candles extending from between the black walls burned with blue flames, casting a faint light.

McNeil breathed a sigh of relief. Luckily, he had used the Imperius Curse to control Munch, otherwise he would have definitely gotten lost in the Department of Mysteries.

There were twelve doors on the black wall, each one identical, and they all spun rapidly along with the wall.

McNeil wants to enter the divination hall where the prophecy orbs are kept, so he has to find the correct one among the twelve constantly moving doors, a task that is a headache just to think about.

Fortunately, there's still Eric Munch.

As the twelve moving doors slowly came to a stop, Munch, bound by the Imperius Curse, walked straight toward one of the doors.

As soon as the door was pushed open, beautiful, diamond-like, shimmering light rushed into McNeil's eyes. He saw all sorts of clocks in the room and heard their continuous ticking.

Walton McNeil looked at Munch with suspicion, wondering if his Imperius Curse had failed, as this room was clearly not the Hall of Prophecy.

Under McNeil's questioning gaze, Eric Munch crossed the threshold again and walked deeper into the room.

After passing through a room filled with all sorts of clocks and then around a tall, glowing, bell-shaped crystal dome, another door appears at the end of the room.

Eric Munch raised his hand and pushed the door open.

Walton McNeil swallowed nervously; his heart was pounding.

So getting into the Bureau of Mysteries was this easy, finding the Hall of Prophecy was this easy, all I have to do now is get the Prophecy Orb —

McNeil dared not think any further; he simply couldn't imagine what kind of reward he would receive. What Malfoy and Yaxley couldn't accomplish, he had done with effortless ease!

Nervous, excited, thrilled—Walton McNeil's feelings were complex and hard to describe.

McNeil cautiously and tiptoed into the prophecy hall. He saw that the room, which was as tall as a church, was filled with tall shelves, which were full of dusty prophecy balls.

All those complicated feelings vanished instantly. So many shelves, so many prophetic orbs, how the hell are we going to find them?!

If he had more time, McNeil could take his time searching, but his time was very limited.

Inside the Department of Mysteries, the Silent Ones could discover him at any moment; outside the Department of Mysteries, David Griffiths is also looking for him.

McNeil thought for a moment and decided to try summoning the Prophecy Orb.

So McNeil waved his wand, but luck did not smile upon him again, and the Prophecy Ball did not respond to his call.

Looking at the rows of tall shelves in front of him, and the shelves filled with prophecy balls, McNeil wished he could pack them all up and take them away.

After a while, Walton McNeil looked at Eric Munch beside him again, pinning his hopes on the guard who had led him into the Department of Mysteries.

Luck did not smile upon him again; the guard, Eric Munch, remained motionless, standing there blankly.

Eric Munch, who was on duty, had free access to the Department of Mysteries, but he was not familiar with the department's work, so he did not know where the prophecy orb was located.

Now, Walton McNeil was even more anxious. He didn't know how much time he had left, or when he would find it.

The more anxious he became, the less he could think of a solution. McNeil had no choice but to bite the bullet and use the most basic method to search.

McNeil stared intently at the shelf closest to him, carefully examining the yellowed labels on each prophecy ball, trying to discern a pattern in their arrangement.

He didn't know how much time had passed, until McNeil's eyes were dry and sore, until his neck was stiff and aching, but he still couldn't find the crucial prophecy ball.

Suddenly, footsteps echoed in the silent divination hall.

McNeil's heart pounded again, and he dared not make any further movements.

"Who's there?" a man called out from a distance.

McNeil realized something was wrong; he had been so focused on casting the Disillusionment Charm on himself that he had forgotten about Eric Munch.

"Who's there?" the man called out again from afar. "Who is it?"

McNeil pointed his wand at Munch, preparing to cast the Disillusionment Charm on him.

At that moment, another voice rang out in the prophecy hall, a voice that sounded melancholy and low.

"What's wrong? Did you see someone over there?"

"It's on that row of shelves up there, Broderick."

As they spoke, the two Silent Men walked toward Eric Munch.

The footsteps grew closer, and Walton McNeill was caught in a dilemma: should he leave or stay?

For his own safety, McNeil should leave the Department of Mysteries immediately, then flee the Ministry of Magic and return to Voldemort's side as quickly as possible.

However, once he chose to leave, it would be difficult to find another opportunity to infiltrate the Department of Mysteries like today, and Walton McNeil did not want to miss out on that crucial prophetic orb.

If McNeil continues to stay and search for the prophecy orbs, he will not only risk being discovered by the Silent Ones, but he will also have to search among rows of shelves, and there are too many prophecy orbs for him to handle alone.

And then there's Eric Munch, the bodyguard Munch is also a potential threat; he can't be gone for too long and must return to his post as soon as possible.

What should I do?

Should we try to escape, or risk staying?

The footsteps grew closer, leaving Walton McNeil with less and less time to hesitate and agonize.

"What's going on? I clearly saw a figure just now!"

"Perhaps I'm seeing things; the divination hall is too dark," Broderick Bode said.

At that moment, guard Eric Munch emerged from behind a row of shelves and said, "Broderick, it's me."

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