Magical Studies at Hogwarts...

Chapter 215 Revisiting the Bureau of Mysteries

Fudge acted swiftly; the next day, the front page of the Daily Prophet featured Dumbledore's wanted poster, causing an uproar in the wizarding world.

As the greatest white wizard of the century, Dumbledore enjoys immense prestige, but Fudge is no ordinary man either; otherwise, he wouldn't have become Minister for Magic. Under his influence, mainstream media outlets rarely feature any criticism of the Ministry of Magic; such criticisms are only found in tabloids.

Of course, there's also "Singing the Dissent," but who in their right mind would subscribe to that magazine?

"Look what we've done! Our Minister of Magic has done us a huge favor. He's actually issued a warrant for Dumbledore's arrest!"

At Malfoy Manor, Old Voldemort was reading the brand-new Daily Prophet, clicking his tongue in amazement, while Bella, Wormtail, and the others beside him also smiled.

"It seems we can be a little bolder with our plan..."

"Yes, Master, let me go. I will definitely bring that thing back to you." Bella knelt beside Old Fu's legs, looking up at him with a face full of reverence.

"Excuse me for speaking frankly, Bella..." Ike interrupted, "with your skill level, you wouldn't be able to get in there without triggering the alarms."

Ike spoke frankly. Although he easily slipped into the Department of Mysteries last time and even stole two time-changers, that was based on his magical strength, second only to Voldemort. The magical alarms inside had no effect on him, but that didn't mean others could easily handle them.

"That's right, Bella, wait a little longer, there will be a chance." Old Volt agreed with Ike's idea, gently stroking Bella's hair and comforting her.

"Yes, Master." Bella looked dependent and content, enjoying Old Vol's caresses.

"Lukewood, how's it going? You heard it all, young Ike is ready."

Upon hearing the sound, Lukwood stepped out from the crowd, knelt down before Old Fu, and trembled uncontrollably.

"Master...Master, it will take a few more days. The guards there are very tight lately..."

"Then you'd better hurry, Lukwood. You know the price of keeping me waiting too long. Don't let me down..."

"I...I understand, Master..."

Lukewood didn't keep Voldemort waiting long. Four days later, he found another opportunity and brought Ike into the Department of Mysteries.

Passing through the familiar black corridor, Ike arrived at the rotunda once more and simply opened a door and went inside. His previous experience had taught him that marking doors here was a complete waste of time. Perhaps the Silent Ones had a way of distinguishing them, but Ike didn't know that Lukewood hadn't acquired that method.

Upon entering, he glanced up and saw the Planetary Hall, so Ike left immediately. He went the wrong way twice more before finally finding the Time Hall. He then took two more time converters and left. Pushing open another door, he found himself in an office piled high with parchment.

"Finally found it..."

This was Ike's main purpose for this trip; he needed to find the Silent Man's research findings on the Time-Turner from these mountains of parchment, even just a few words would be helpful.

Ever since he acquired the time-tamper, Ike had been secretly conducting research, but without making any progress. Both the pocket watch and the pendant he was familiar with seemed perfectly natural; the slightest damage would render them useless.

The pocket watch broke as soon as the cover was removed; no matter how the hands were adjusted, it could no longer be used for time travel. The pendant was the same; removing the hourglass rendered it useless, even if it was put back in its original position.

Ike knew very well that there must be research methods for this thing that he didn't know, and only by following specific methods could he glimpse its secrets.

I searched for a long time among the mountains and messy parchment, but the results were not great. There were only a few scattered sentences that mentioned the time converter, but they were not systematic at all.

"There must be, there must be..."

Ike muttered to himself, searching with even greater effort. The parchments he had read were neatly tossed into a corner he had prepared beforehand, and all the sentences about the Time-Turner on them had been copied onto the parchments he had prepared earlier using a copying charm. There was no time to look at them now; he still needed to make a trip to the Hall of Prophecy.

At present, Lao Fu's task is the most important.

Ike stopped searching after filling a three-foot-long parchment with notes. After restoring the office to its original state, he opened the door twice more and finally arrived at the Hall of Prophecy.

Last time he skimmed through them, but this time he examined them carefully, row by row, one by one. It was troublesome, but the only way. So much time had passed that he couldn't remember exactly where the prophecy that ran throughout the entire plot was located; he only remembered that it was at the back.

Of course, it's impossible to search from back to front; finding it too quickly wouldn't fit Ike's own plan.

However, it didn't take too long, since most of the crystal balls on the shelves at the top of the rankings were dim. Soon, Ike found the 50th row, where more of them were glowing with a soft green light. By the time he reached the 60th row, none of the dim ones were visible anymore.

He slowed down slightly, but only to observe more carefully; his pace didn't slow down much. As he walked and observed, suddenly, Ike stopped.

This was the end of the ninety-seventh row. Ike stopped in front of a crystal ball, his eyes fixed on the yellowed label on it.

SPT to APWBD

Dark Lord and (?) Harry Potter

Ike frowned. He hadn't expected to find it so easily with just a little effort; it seemed far too easy. After pondering for a long time, he gritted his teeth and tentatively reached out his hand.

"?"

He quickly grabbed at it with his right hand, but each time it passed right through the crystal ball, as if it were just a projection and the actual object was not actually placed on it.

"What's going on? Are there some special conditions for getting this? That doesn't make sense!"

Ike was a little confused. He was there when Lukewood reported the intelligence. The Silent Ones could get it, so why couldn't he?

"Your vigilance has decreased significantly, Streid..."

A voice suddenly rang in his ears, and Ike immediately turned around, his wand falling into his hand at the same time. The red light on it suddenly lit up, but then went out again after he saw who it was.

Calmly putting away his wand, Ike became composed.

"What are you doing here, Dumbledore?"

Dumbledore adjusted his glasses, looking quite relaxed, and replied, "You should know by now that I'm a wanted criminal by the Ministry of Magic..."

"No need for idle chatter, Dumbledore. You should know that I don't have much time..." Ike frowned, his tone tinged with impatience.

Upon hearing this, Dumbledore stopped joking and said seriously, "Now is not the time."

"Why?" Ike asked, reaching for the crystal ball again. This time, a flash of golden light appeared in his hand, and he successfully obtained it.

He tossed it in his hand and said, "If your magic were any more complex, I really wouldn't be able to get it..."

"Alright, stop joking around." Dumbledore snatched the crystal ball the moment Ike tossed it up, carefully placing it back on the shelf. He flicked his fingerbone wand, a flash of green light, but the crystal ball remained unchanged. Ike knew that without magic, he couldn't touch it again.

"You can't stay here forever, Dumbledore," Ike said slowly, a flash of golden light disappearing from his wand.

Dumbledore was silent for a moment, then suddenly said, "What you're looking for isn't in the Department of Mysteries. The Ministry of Magic sealed away the research data on the Time-Turner a long time ago, but I can give it to you."

Ike shook his head: "Not enough... you still need to keep her at Hogwarts."

Upon hearing this, Dumbledore suddenly smiled.

"no problem."

(End of this chapter)