Days at Hogwarts

Chapter 745 Mrs. Eckmore

After the gathering ended and Voldemort left, the oppressive and heavy atmosphere in the room suddenly eased, and the sound of breathing became clear.

"Harry Potter..."

Upon hearing the name again, Lucius's expression became somewhat complicated. He could sense that Lukewood, sitting next to him, and the other Death Eaters were also experiencing similar complex emotions.

The Death Eaters were still whispering about that name, about the defeat sixteen years ago, the failure to storm the Department of Mysteries and seize the Prophecy Orb, and the defeat on Easter night a year ago…

The Dark Lord's power was undeniable, and the Death Eaters dared not entertain any thoughts of offense. However, after experiencing several setbacks, their original beliefs began to waver, and a certain doubt arose in their hearts: perhaps Harry Potter really was the Dark Lord's nemesis.

Occupying the Magical Congress and Evamorni, and launching a counterattack on the Ministry of Magic and Hogwarts, was merely a rhetoric to appease the Dark Lord; the quick-witted Death Eaters held no hope for it.

After a brief silence, Lukewood suddenly stood up and said, "An official from the Magical Congress has arranged to meet me... perhaps with some information about Harry Potter. I'll be going now."

"I'll go with you." Rodolphs then stood up. "What department is that employee from?"

"I haven't found out yet, it seems to be a copywriting job." Lukewood's expression was a little stiff, but he still walked out of the room with him side by side. "I only met him by chance, we're not close, I probably won't go to the appointment tonight, and he's very greedy..."

"It's alright, Lucius gave me the key to the underground vault, and the funds are plentiful."

"..."

As the two walked away, the Death Eaters were still whispering about Harry Potter. When they heard the words "vault key," their conversation paused slightly, and their eyes focused on Lucius. Old Nott seemed to want to say something, but stopped in time for some reason.

Lucius gradually came to his senses. Ignoring old Nott's gaze, he went to old Crabbe's side and patted him on the shoulder: "We should also gather some intelligence. I heard you were here before. Did you have any useful information?"

Old Crabbe stared blankly at Lucius for a long time before nodding hesitantly and muttering, "That was several years ago, I can hardly remember it."

"Just say whatever you remember. Let's go grab a drink and chat."

……

"Bang!"

The clinking of the glasses produced a crisp sound, and the swirling wine released a rich aroma.

Old Crabbe gulped down the strong liquor, but his mind was still difficult to calm down.

I did come here a few years ago, thanks to the help and advice of many old friends and pure-blood families. In order to exonerate Vincent Crabbe, I bribed the judge in Wizengamot to change the charge to one that would not require imprisonment. I paid a release fee to take my son out of prison, changed his name, and quietly left the country, transferring him to a school in Iphamoni...

He hasn't heard from the Crabbe family's only son for several years now.

"I know you're confused," Lucius said softly from across the room. "You spend all day holed up in your room drinking, not wanting to see anyone, and not even bothering with that Rodolphus. If it weren't for the Dark Lord's summons, you'd rather be soaking in whiskey."

The tightly sealed wine cellar had dim lighting hanging from the ceiling. The walls were thick, and all that could be seen were neatly arranged display shelves. There was no fearsome Dark Lord, no Death Eaters with their own agendas, and sitting in front of him was Lucius, whom he had known for many years.

This environment made old Crabbe feel at ease.

"When did it start?" Lucius paused briefly. "Let me think, was it after we moved here, or after Vincent disappeared?"

Old Crabbe stared at his old friend, his eyes dimming, feeling that he had become Malfoy again, the one who stirred up conspiracies.

"[Close your ears and plug your ears]"

Lucius pointed his wand into the air, looked at the burly Death Eater before him, and smiled slightly: "What if I told you I know Vincent's whereabouts?"

Old Crabbe's wine glass fell to the ground.

……

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

As the mechanical gears inside the dial pad rotated the external number back to its original position, a calm and indifferent female voice rang out from inside the phone booth.

The voice was clear and loud, not coming from the microphone in Professor McGonagall's hand, but rather like an unseen woman standing in the phone booth.

Harry looked around the contents of the phone booth, a thoughtful expression on his face.

Professor McGonagall, standing nearby, held the microphone to her ear and calmly replied, "Minerva McGonagall, Professor at Hogwarts, is accompanying Harry Potter through his departure procedures."

"Thank you for your cooperation, please wait a moment."

With a clinking sound, two silver badges slid out of the metal slot from which the coins were ejected, and the indifferent female voice sounded again: "Welcome. Please take the pass badge and pin it to your chest, then proceed to the security checkpoint at the end of the main hall to register your wand."

Harry had just put on the badge engraved with "Harry Potter: Departure" when the floor of the phone booth suddenly trembled and gradually sank into the ground. Then came a monotonous, grating scraping sound, followed by a flash of thin golden light. When they came to their senses, they were already standing in the elevator in the corridor outside the Ministry of Magic's main hall.

Following Professor McGonagall's lead, Harry walked and observed.

After several destructions and reconstructions, things have changed. The dome is no longer so magnificent, and the original solid wood walls and floors have been replaced with cold, hard stone slabs, which look very sturdy and won't be crushed by the serpent monsters that suddenly appear, or shattered by the powerful disarming spells of some students.

The thin layer of gold on the surface of the teleportation fireplace was removed, and a partition was added to prevent any ill-intentioned wizards from barging in.

The solid gold statue in the center of the hall was gone, leaving only a bare circular pool of water. Silver Sickle and Bronze Nate had been scooped out of the pool. It was unclear whether the Death Eaters had committed countless evil deeds and left no spoils untouched, or whether the Ministry of Magic was short of funds for post-disaster reconstruction.

Perhaps because it was a day off, there were very few staff members and visitors. The wizards in uniforms were carrying stacks of parchment, some were carrying tightly packed briefcases, and others were holding a rolled-up newspaper. After entering the elevator and settling in, they began to read.

The elevator is still the same elevator, but the exquisite gold railings have been replaced with copper ones, decorated with alchemical patterns.

Professor McGonagall pressed the button for the sixth basement level, the gate slammed shut, and the elevator slowly ascended, the chains rattling.

"Sixth floor, Magic Transportation Bureau..."

Stepping out of the elevator and leaving the indifferent announcement behind, Harry followed Professor McGonagall into a straight corridor lined with doors on both sides, each with a plaque indicating its authority.

"Florence Management Bureau"

"Flying Broomstick Management and Control Bureau"

"Phantom Shift Testing Center"

"Door Key Office"

Upon reaching the office at the end of the corridor, the two knocked on the door. Instead of a storage room for the keys, they found a clean and tidy office with bright lighting and elegant decorations. Anyone who saw it would think that the office owner had a great sense of style.

She was a very well-dressed witch, wearing a classic seasonal wizard's robe from the Eccentric Clothing Store. The robe was predominantly black, with dark green wave patterns embroidered on the collar and cuffs. The style perfectly accentuated her upper body curves, while the lower body was concealed by the hem of her skirt, making her look exquisite without being gaudy.

Two strands of her hair were tied up at the back of her head, while the rest of her golden hair fell naturally over her shoulders. She was no longer young, but she was still beautiful.

The witch behind the desk looked up, a bright smile spreading across her face: "Professor McGonagall, I thought you'd be a little late."

Professor McGonagall nodded. "Mrs. Eckmore, I apologize for disturbing you."

Ekmo?

Harry remembered that there was a girl in Ravenclaw whose last name was Eckmore, a friend of Cho Chang, and whose reputation wasn't very good. What was her name again?

"It's what we should do, and Marietta always talks about you to me. She always regrets that you weren't sorted into Gryffindor or that you weren't the head of Ravenclaw."

Mrs. Eckmore rose to pour tea for the two of them. As she handed it to Harry, her gaze quickly swept over the scar on his forehead. "You must be Mr. Harry Potter. After receiving your application, every staff member in our department wanted to receive you, which almost led to a duel."

"Thanks."

Harry maintained his politeness; he was used to this kind of annoyance, but for some reason, he always felt somewhat uncomfortable in front of the beautiful and gentle Mrs. Eckmore.

Mrs. Eckmore sat back down and took two sheets of parchment from the drawer: "I've already processed your exit documents. Just fill out these forms."

The two women lowered their heads to fill out forms, which were mostly ordinary information: name, gender, age, occupation, purpose of travel, and so on. When they encountered something they were unsure about, Mrs. Eckmore would offer guidance in a gentle voice, patiently and meticulously; it was hard to believe that this was Marietta's mother.

With more than half of the forms filled out, Mrs. Eckmore, holding her teacup, asked seemingly casually, "By the way, what kind of door key would you like? Here we have a tattered bucket, smelly boots, an empty ballpoint pen..."

"We'll take a Muggle plane," Professor McGonagall replied in a deep voice, then handed over the filled-out parchment.

Harry handed over his share, and he inadvertently saw a flicker of surprise in Mrs. Eckmore's eyes, which quickly turned into a gentle smile, as if it had never happened, to the point that Harry wondered if he was imagining things.

After saying goodbye to the beautiful and gentle woman, the two turned and left, walking out of the key management office. The corridor outside remained quiet; only when they got close to a few doors could they hear any sounds coming from inside.

"Professor, why do I have to go through all these procedures, but Loren and Hermione don't?"

"Because they've already been to New York."

"I don't think they've ever done these things before."

Just as Harry was muttering to himself, a loud blast of air suddenly came from the Apparition Testing Centre. The sound was so loud that it hurt his ears even through the doors and walls. Even if someone said that a fire dragon was Apparating inside, Harry would think it wasn't impossible.

With a soft creak, the door suddenly opened, and an employee of the Magic Transportation Department stepped out.

"Mr. Tykros?"

"Oh, it's you guys. Wait a minute, let me catch my breath..."

Tykros leaned against the wall and took a deep breath. His face, which had been pale, had regained some color, but he looked even weaker. It took him half a minute to recover before he managed a weak smile at the two of them: "I'm sorry, Professor McGonagall, Mr. Potter, for making you worry."

"What kind of dangerous work are you doing?" Professor McGonagall frowned slightly, and Harry looked at him curiously as well.

"No, I'm just putting Loren's theory into practice."

These words made the two even more curious, but Tecros only gave an apologetic smile and sighed, "It's still in the experimental stage, so I can't give you a tour, but I can give you a brief introduction."

Professor McGonagall remained silent for a moment, unwilling to pry into matters that required secrecy. Harry, however, was interested. Tykroth explained as they walked, and the three of them headed towards the elevator together.

"Loren proposed the principle of spatial teleportation through apparition, based on the concept of soul and body. The soul, which has no physical form, breaks through the limitations of material space and then relies on the close connection between the soul and the body to move the body..."

"This method of spatial teleportation exerts immense pressure on the body, which is why it results in splitting. When the distance traveled is too great, or the body's mass exceeds the limit, this immense pressure can damage the spellcaster..."

"In response to the shortcomings of the aforementioned phantom manifestation, some scholars have proposed to achieve spatial teleportation from other perspectives, such as placing the body in front of the soul for teleportation, or teleporting both together. Our research group has made some progress and is trying to improve it."

……

It was already dark in the mountains.

The clouds were too thick and the mountain fog too dense today, so there was no magnificent sunset. The process of the sky gradually darkening was also a kind of scenery.

On the third day of my stay in Iphamoni, I finally had time to visit the magic school.

For most people in the world, several hundred years is a long enough span of time. Ilvermorny, established in the 17th century, has a history that is not short, just not as rich as Hogwarts. The garden flowerbeds are decorated with portraits of outstanding wizards from the past few centuries, and the magical portraits on both sides of the corridors are witty and knowledgeable. Most interestingly, they have interacted with many famous Muggles, and those anecdotes are really interesting.

Benjamin Franklin's research on lightning always coincided with thunderstorms because his neighbor was a wizard skilled in weather spells.

Another person who controlled lightning, Nikola Tesla, also had close ties with wizards...

Loren held Hermione's hand tightly, unwilling to let go, and looked at each painting one by one.

Led by Pickley and Nancy, they toured the main castle's teaching buildings, the towers of the neighboring houses, and the specially built school history museum. In this respect, Ilfamoni was slightly ahead of Hogwarts.

Loren and Hermione, following local customs, pinned a Goldi knot to their chests, looking every bit like excellent students of Ephamony.

By the time we came out of the school history museum, it was completely dark.

A waiter from Pukchi trotted down the corridor, beckoning them to a side room for their meal, where the principal and professors were already waiting. They had been trying to separate the living Horcrux from the Serpent Tree, but their alchemical analysis hadn't yielded good results…

(End of this chapter)