Bab 169: Chapter 169: Traitor
The moment the door to the room filled with clocks swung open, the perpetually tense Sherlock sprang into action! The wands that had been levitating beside him, poised and ready, launched along with him. Much like the conductor's baton on a stage, the wands danced in accordance with a unique rhythm and pattern, and countless red dots flickered at its tip. "Ah...!"
Before the Death Eater stationed behind the door, guarding the entrance, could raise his own wand in response to Sherlock, let alone utter a single syllable of his spell, several dozen red beams had already streaked across space, landing precisely on their target. In the next instant, his body stiffened completely. Other than his frantically blinking eyes, he was incapable of moving a single finger. As the Death Eater's body lost its support and began to topple backward, Sherlock promptly steadied him with a levitation charm, before gently laying him down.
With the door now open, Sherlock was able to sense the situation inside the room. Along with his sensitive perception, he noticed that within an eight-meter radius, there was no one else except this Death Eater. Sophie, standing close by, was still shaking and trying to recite a spell when she saw Sherlock had already neutralized the enemy, using a silent petrification charm. She was taken aback by the levitating wands surrounding Sherlock, unable to think of another wizard who could wield magic in such an astounding and novel fashion.
Paying her feelings no heed, Sherlock quietly proceeded into the hall of time to gain a full view of the room. The room wasn't lit by traditional means, instead it was filled with prismatic specs of light floating throughout the space. These pulsating lights suffusing the space came from a bell-shaped crystal glass cover at the room's end. The crystal bell-shaped cover was nearly six feet (1.8m) tall and rested on a table, inside which a tumultuous, gleaming steam was churning.
Within the glass bell, a gem-like object fluttered up and down, a tiny hummingbird, but it wasn't always a bird. When it reached the base of its circular path, the bird went back to being an egg, and as it rose again within the glass cover, it hatched into a hummingbird, soaring to the top of the glass. However, as the currents washed downwards, the bird's feathers once again became mired and damp, until it landed at the bottom of the case, back inside the egg.
The passage of time seemed to be caught in a ceaseless cycle within the bell jar, reminiscent of a strange hourglass composed of living shapes. Sherlock's interest, however, wasn't held by the intriguing contraption for long. At an angle across from the Time Room's entrance, ensconced behind a wall, a secluded alcove was veiled, from which piercing voices faintly drifted out.
"Don't think that I wouldn't dare to cast a curse upon you! I've been indulging with you only in deference to the Selwyns' honour! Although the Dark Lord is forgiving toward all pure-blood witches and wizards, even his patience has its limits!"
…
Scrimgeour stood with a frowning visage, glaring at the unconscious Auror collapsed on the sixth-floor corridor, someone beyond aid though revival spells had been cast. "Whose team is responsible for the lower four levels?"
A young wizard with an ashen expression, icy sight, and seemingly bone-chilling temperament rose to the occasion from behind him. "That would be my squad, Director."
The two Auror teams assigned to the internal defense of the Ministry were newly formed within the last two years, leaders emerging from the most outstanding of young wizards who had recently graduated from Hogwarts, all hailing from prestigious pure-blood families. They were Kingsley Shacklebolt, from the storied Shacklebolt line, and Bartemius Crouch Jr. from the Crouch family. The Crouch lineage also included Bartemius Crouch Senior, the chief of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement – a key institution within the Ministry of Magic.
Despite hailing from a pure-blood family, in the tense current climate of the wizarding world Crouch openly opposed Voldemort with powerful aplomb, his actions earning him tremendous prestige across Britain's magical society. There was little doubt that following the current Minister's resignation, none were more qualified to take the helm than him, making his son, the brilliantly talented Barty Crouch Jr., an Auror squad leader entirely by his own merit. There left little about Shacklebolt that needed to be said; his exceptional abilities were clear to all, and the Shacklebolt family was a deeply established dynasty within the magical world. The young wizard now stepping forward was none other than Barty Crouch Junior.
"Why weren't you maintaining communication with your team members?"
Scrimgeour didn't mince words, seeing no need to show deference due to Barty's special status, his face was clouded as he voiced his query. Barty responded with unflinching neutrality.
"There was a problematic situation brewing in Sheffield. The captain stationed in York, Tris, contacted me earlier and asked me to stand ready to request the deployment of our last two teams in the Ministry over there, so I had been waiting in the communication room for her message."
His explanation was reasonable, aligning with Scrimgeour's understanding of the tense situation in Sheffield.
"Can you still reach anyone on your team?" He asked Shacklebolt, his brows furrowed tight.
"I can't get in touch with anyone either," Kingsley broke in, "even Rom, who was supposed to be patrolling the fifth floor, is now out of contact."
There were six Aurors present. Head of the Auror Office, Scrimgeour, Captains Barty Crouch Jr. and Kingsley Shacklebolt, and three of Kingsley's subordinates. Everyone there understood the gravity of the situation. All available personnel from the department were now concentrated in Sheffield, and it'd be impossible to recall them in a timely manner. Even if the Ministry of Magic were to be decimated tonight, that would be less severe than a Death Eater bombing an entire Muggle city and exposing the secret world of magic to the muggles. The Ministry could be replaced, but a breach of the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy would have serious consequences unacceptable for the entire magical world on earth! Therefore, Scrimgeour had no choice but to rely on his diminished team to keep the Ministry secure!
...
Sherlock signaled Sophie to be quiet, then once again aimed his floating wands at the petrified Death Eater. A dozen red lights shone again, as dozens of Stun Spells hit him,ensuring he wouldn't wake up any time soon. They both treaded as lightly as possible to the door of the partition inside the Time Chamber. This was a regular partition, without any segmentation of space, so Sherlock's control magic could clearly "see" the situation inside.
It was an office, the interior not as small as it appeared from the outside, about the size of a Potions classroom at Hogwarts. Eight people were gathered in the office. Two wizards in regular Ministry of Magic robes had already collapsed onto the ground, apparently staff members from the Department of Mysteries. There were also four Death Eaters with their iconic iron masks, and a young wizard in regular Ministry of Magic robes - this young wizard was probably the mole working within the Ministry of Magic that Eddie had mentioned.
In front of them was a middle-aged witch who was bound to a chair with a binding spell. The witch, who looked to be between thirty and forty years old, had long, wavy hair and an arrestingly elegant appearance. But her face was now exceptionally cold.
"I'm telling you one last time, Argus Flint. There is no such thing as a 'Door #7', nor is there a power that can reverse everything!"
The young wizard named Argus suddenly turned fierce, grabbing the witch's ash-blonde curls and bringing his mouth close to her ear, speaking each word clearly and deliberately.
"That old fool Stedry has already spilled everything! Door number 7 in the Department of Mysteries! The most unfathomable power discovered since the formation of the Ministry of Magic! The Dark Lord is extremely interested in this object! He wants to know what's inside, doesn't he? You must know that there is nothing he has set his heart on that he hasn't managed to achieve!"
Argus stared into the witch's bright green eyes. "Consider it either a favor for your kindness to me when I was young or for the sake of my cousin, I'll offer you one last chance, Madam. Tell us where door number 7 is. Once you do, you can still continue as the head of the Department of Mysteries in the future, of course that would be in a newly reimagined Ministry as the Dark Lord's devoted follower. Stop your useless stubborn facade, don't you see we can all profit from this?"
The witch laughed scornfully, showing not even the slightest hint of fear on her face. "Beneficial for everyone? What a joke. Argus, you and your father are both good at hiding your motives, but you're still young, way more impatient than him. So, is he planning to reveal all his cards now, no longer maintaining his facade in the Ministry? That's not like your father at all, always hedging his bets, siding with whoever has the advantage. Or is it that this is your own private decision, and he has absolutely no clue about it?"
Argus' face turned sullen, as though the witch had hit a raw nerve. He beckoned to a masked Death Eater standing to one side, who promptly handed him a potion. "You made me do this. We could have settled this peacefully... you pushed me to this..."
Muttering ominously under his breath, he clamped his hand around the witch's chin. "I've given you plenty of chances, yet you insist on opposing the Dark Lord. Then I have no other choice; for the greater good, I must sacrifice you!"
Just as Argus lifted the potion towards the witch's mouth, intending to force her to drink, the door to their private room was abruptly kicked open from the outside! The next second, countless red streaks of light, akin to a meteor shower streaking across the night sky, pelted in from the doorway!
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone