Chapter 473
The Silent Man's Transaction
Chapter 473 The Silent Man's Transaction
Hermione immediately tightened her grip on the Time-Turner.
Although this thing brought her a great burden, and it was also very hard to avoid the attention of classmates and go back in time to attend classes, Hermione had already decided to give up two courses...
But when the time came to hand in the Time-Turner, Hermione still felt a little reluctant.
After a moment, under the gaze of several people, she slowly took off the timer from her neck and placed it in Bode's hand.
"Well... actually this thing is driving me crazy." Hermione shrugged casually and said, "I don't know how Percy manages his time."
"Come with me, Miss Granger," said Professor McGonagall, standing up. "We need to rearrange your timetable. Have you decided which two subjects you want to drop?"
"Of course." Hermione said as she followed the professor out the door, "Muggle Studies and Divination."
Professor Trelawney, who had never been a fan of Divination class, smiled approvingly at the words and said, "A wise choice."
After the two left, Bode carefully put away the time-turner and turned his gaze to Vader:
"Mr. Weider Grey, we were originally planning to take back the time-twister from you, but Professor Dumbledore assured us that you were capable of protecting your own time-twister and that you really needed it. I heard that the one Mr. Johnson originally wanted to take was yours?"
"Yes."
"You used a puppet to trick him and the vampires so that he only got a fake timer?"
"Yes."
"Can I see that puppet?" Bode's eyes became vaguely eager, and he said, "I have never seen a puppet that is so lifelike."
"Sorry, it's not convenient." Wade naturally couldn't summon Locke back, so he said perfunctorily: "I asked it to go shopping for me. It's not in school."
After hearing this, Bode was not disappointed, but seemed to be in a better mood.
"Can it carry out missions independently? It seems that you are not worried that it will cause any trouble or get lost. Its intelligence and loyalty make you feel at ease. It even has a certain ability to protect itself."
"But this kind of puppet is not sold in Aslan's shop. It must be your personal creation."
Bode asked, "If I want to customize a puppet like this, how many Galleons will it cost?"
"This is not a Galleon issue." Wade declined politely: "It involves some ethical and legal issues..."
"To tell you the truth, I am the Unspoken Man in the Department of Mysteries of the Ministry of Magic. I often have to conduct some very dangerous magical research. If I had a puppet like this, the possibility of casualties among the Unspoken Man could be greatly reduced." Bode said seriously.
Wade thought of Locke and said with some hesitation: "If it is for research purposes, I am willing to help, really. But puppets have independent thoughts and personalities. They are like my own children to me... I don't want to see them being treated as consumables that can be sacrificed at will."
Hearing the relaxation in his tone, Bode smiled faintly and said, "We will give the puppet the same protection as the Silent Man to ensure that its core will not be damaged. But if it is external damage, it should be repairable?"
Wade nodded: "That's right."
"How many Galleons does it cost to customize a puppet like this?" Bode asked again.
Wade calculated in his mind, and without any intention of saving money for the Ministry of Magic, he just said a number.
Hearing that it was a six-digit number, Bode's smile froze, and his eyes seemed a little dull: "This... is so expensive?"
"It's not expensive." Wade looked at him sympathetically and said, "Think about the prices of those puppets in the store... They are only the size of a fist. What you want is a puppet that is the same size as a real person and has the same intelligence as a real person. This price can only be regarded as the cost price."
Bode thought so too, but his expression still couldn't calm down.
Fudge did not attach as much importance to the research of the Department of Mysteries as previous Ministers of Magic, and it was unlikely that he would approve so much funding to them just to buy a "toy".
In comparison, it would be cheaper to increase the number of Silent Ones and hire two more real wizards.
Thinking of this, Bode's eyes moved slightly, and he looked at Wade and asked, "Mr. Gray, as an excellent alchemist, are you interested in joining the ranks of the Silent People?"
Vader was silent for a moment, and seeing that Bode's thoughts were almost written on his face, he repeated silently: "The Silent Man?"
"Yes," said Bode. "The Department of Mysteries where we work is the only department in the Ministry of Magic that does not need to take orders from the Department of Law Enforcement. Even the Minister of Magic cannot interfere with it at will."
"Because the Silent People are studying the most mysterious and dangerous magic in the world. The Time Converter is one of the Silent People's research results, as well as thoughts, space, death, prophecy, etc. You have to know that our research has a far-reaching impact on the entire world!"
"You can only study these if you join the Unspoken... How about accepting my invitation?"
Wade looked into his eyes and said slowly, "It does sound exciting."
"Of course!" Bode said excitedly, "It is very difficult to join the Silent People. You have won this opportunity with your talent. All you need is a small puppet..."
"Wait a moment, Mr. Bode." Wade said, "Let's not talk about whether you have the power to let me directly join the ranks of the Unspoken. It's just that I haven't even fully understood the basic magic yet. It's too early for me to study those cutting-edge mysterious magics."
"Well... I believe the higher-ups will not reject a young wizard like you. You can start by reading and organizing the information..." Bode said weakly.
"Whether you want to join or not, let's talk about it after I graduate from school." Wade declined, "I think by then, I will be able to see my own path more clearly."
The research in the Department of Mysteries is indeed fascinating, but in the original book, the mysterious Unspeakables were completely unable to prevent Voldemort from controlling the Ministry of Magic, and Mr. Bode in front of him seemed to have been unfortunately killed.
These people are mathematicians, theoretical physicists or cosmologists in the magical world. What they study is profound and fascinating, touching the boundaries of human cognition, but it does not seem to be of much help in the upcoming war or in protecting their own and others' lives.
Why would Wade be so eager to join such an organization? His current professors are Dumbledore, McGonagall, Flitwick, Snape, Murray...even Grindelwald!
Bode looked at the young wizard's polite smile, was silent for a moment, and asked tentatively: "The puppet..."
Wade blinked and asked, "You mean... let me do it myself?"
"Of course... of course not." Bode blushed a little. He coughed dryly, thought for a moment and said, "The funds I can apply for are probably only half... If I can get a discount..."
Bode looked at Vader and added:
"Of course, I won't let you make such a fuss in vain. The matter of Caryl Johnson's unauthorized use of the time-turner ends here, and we won't pursue it further. In addition..."
Thinking of Vader's identity as an alchemist, Bode gritted his teeth and said, "I can give you an ancient alchemical work... Of course, it's broken. But it comes from a very ancient tomb, and the runes on it are also very ancient, and very valuable for research."
"What is it?" Wade asked curiously.
"A necklace." Bode tapped the table with his wand, and the shadow of a necklace appeared on it. It looked like it was made of strangely shaped stones, and there were indeed ancient and mysterious runes engraved on it.
Just as Vader was about to study it more closely, the shadowy figure turned into mist and disappeared. Bode looked at him and said, "Deal?"
Wade smiled and said, "Deal."
Although he suspected that the necklace was probably the kind of thing that was gathered dust in the warehouse of the Department of Mysteries and no one cared about it, Wade was indeed very interested in these ancient things.
Generally speaking, technology is always developing. For example, many of today's spells for daily life, healing, and curses are completely unknown to ancient wizards.
But that's not quite the magic.
Long ago, there may have been a time when gods could walk the earth, or perhaps magical energy was so abundant that some wizards were as powerful as terrestrial gods.
Regardless of the possibility, wizards at that time had easier access to the origin of the world, so they mastered powerful forces and the items they created had all kinds of incredible functions.
……
Making a puppet that can assist in magical research is not something that can be done in a day or two, especially since Bode also hopes that the puppet can have the corresponding knowledge and research qualities, which requires the Silent Man to personally inject thoughts into it.
Therefore, Weider scheduled the delivery of the puppet on the last Hogsmeade weekend of this semester. Before that, he chose a good afternoon to accompany Mabel to meet Hayley.
Hayley was adopted by Professor Sprout's relatives and lived in a Muggle town. When Wade and his friends arrived, they saw a group of children running down the street, calling their friends, and they seemed to be playing a game of cops and bad guys.
Haley was also among them. Her face was red from running and she was panting, but she was still running excitedly among the crowd.
She looked so full of energy that the thin and pale girl who once lived in the underground cell seemed like a phantom.
Mabel drank the polyjuice potion and sat on a bench on the street. She watched for a long time and couldn't help lowering her head and wiping her eyes.
"That's great... She looks so happy." Mabel smiled and said, "Let's go."
"You are still a child now, you can join them and play games." Lupin reminded: "Don't worry, we still have a lot of time today."
"No, don't." Mabel shook her head and said, "If I go to see her today, she might always want to see me in the future, and look for me every time she passes by this place... But only by forgetting that experience can she live a better life."
Most importantly, she already knew that the Silent Ones tended not to live long, so even if she wanted to visit Haley often, she couldn't do it.
Rather than going through the pain of separation again in the future, it would be better to completely withdraw from Hailey's life. The child is still young, and maybe when she grows up, she will gradually forget about her.
The girl was determined, so Lupin and Wade said nothing more. They walked to a hidden place, and Lupin took out his wand and stretched it into the air. A moment later, the Knight Bus popped out of the air like a giant frog.
Mabel looked back at Haley playing in the park before getting into the car.
In the blink of an eye, the purple bus rushed through between two big trees and arrived in another city in a short while.
Lupin paid the fare, and Vader skillfully used magic to secure him and Mabel to their seats so that they would not be thrown out by the bouncing bus.
"The Magic Bus." Mabel asked, holding on to the railing tightly. "Can it take us anywhere?"
"It should be OK within the UK," Wade said.
"How do we get on it?" Mabel asked again.
"Stretch out your wand, and get eleven silver Sickles ready." Wade looked at Mabel and said, "But it's not a good idea to use it to travel. You can feel it, the comfort level is about the same as a washing machine."
Mabel laughed twice and said, "Remus took me to use the Floo Network, and I felt uncomfortable too. Do wizards' ways of traveling completely ignore comfort? Magic is so amazing."
"That's true." Wade stroked his chin and said, "Portkeys and Apparition are not comfortable either. Riding a broom is too cold, and my whole body aches after a long time. Flying carpets are much better, but they are banned in the UK."
Lupin smiled and said to Mabel, "Sirius has a flying motorcycle. When he comes back, ask him to take you to experience it."
"A flying motorcycle?" Mabel said longingly, "It would be great if I had the chance."
"Of course." Wade said, "Mr. Scamander will be back soon. He will definitely be able to find a solution for your situation."
Even if not, finding a way to suppress Mo Mo Ran should be able to prevent Mabel's body from collapsing too quickly.
Vader thought as he looked at the girl's pale face.
Mabel didn't actually have any hope, but she pretended to be excited and nodded with a smile.
……
The weather gradually became hotter and the sun became scorching, but there was always a dark cloud above England, floating from south to north and from east to west, and it had been floating for more than half a year and had never dissipated.
Those are the Dementors out to catch criminals.
Under the restrictions of the Ministry of Magic, Dementors are not allowed to approach humans unless they find their target. They can only go to the sky above the city from time to time to absorb some happy emotions from a distance, and they have to move to another place at most half a day.
Otherwise, even if the Dementors do not approach, people within a certain range will become pessimistic and desperate, and in serious cases may even commit suicide.
The Dementors floated for a long time, and then found a place to rest under the supervision of the Aurors. Across the woods, a few hundred meters away, there was an amusement park, and the sounds of screams and laughter floated over from afar.
However, the Dementor couldn't help but stretch his neck and take a deep breath in that direction, and a layer of white frost formed on the surrounding ground.
The Auror who was watching from a distance also lowered his broom. Seeing that they were well-behaved and did not approach the crowd without permission, he took out the wine flask and took a sip with confidence.
The frozen stiff grass suddenly bent down in patches, forming the shape of footprints.
Several Dementors turned around and faced the location where the footprints appeared.
Then, a figure emerged from the air.
Barty Crouch Jr. took off his hood and smiled, "Good afternoon, friends."
(End of this chapter)