Chapter 154: Reversing Time
Chapter 154: Reversing Time
Ulrike Kruger, the head of the German Ministry of Magic's Department of Mysteries, is also a witch.
In some obscure and difficult-to-understand magical matters, witches seem to have a natural advantage over male wizards, allowing them to delve deeper into these subjects.
When Silke arrived at the head's office, Kruger was holding a long parchment that trailed to the floor, frowning as she read its contents.
"What are the results?"
Even in front of her superior, Silke remained as concise as ever.
Kruger handed the parchment directly to Silke.
"The pendant box your friend obtained is a Time-Turner, but it's not one of the limited ones stored in the Ministry of Magic, which can only go back up to five hours."
Kruger placed her hands together on the desk, her brow furrowed.
"The old goblin you communicated with likely withheld some information. The goblins crafted this high-level alchemical item, which remains effective even today."
"They have a deeper understanding of alchemy than most wizards. By improving the methods used to create Time-Turners in their time, they managed to break the five-hour time-reversal barrier."
"Why didn't they use it back then?" Silke asked softly.
"Breaking the five-hour barrier comes at a cost. The Time-Turner must experience the same amount of time it is set to reverse."
"After it was crafted, the device was hidden in the goblin command center beneath Hogsmeade. The goblins set a specific time point for it."
"Whoever retrieved it in the future, once it was taken out from underground, the Time-Turner would repair itself and, at midnight on the day the repair was complete, it would activate, sending both itself and the wizard who retrieved it back to this time point."
"The Time-Turner was created during the second goblin rebellion in 1723, and the time point they set was thirty years later, in 1753. The Time-Turner would return to that time, directly into the hands of Ratty Lara, one of the key leaders of the goblin rebellion."
"Lara was a core member of the goblin leadership but not part of the command layer. Even if the war ended in defeat, the wizards would imprison him rather than execute him."
"Lara would not only receive the Time-Turner but also a wizard from the future, whose exact time of origin is unknown. The goblins' plan was to extract the future history from this wizard. The Time-Turner would allow Lara to travel back to any point between 1723 and 1753, attempting to change the outcome of the goblin defeat."
"Armed with knowledge of the future and the past thirty years, Lara could avoid the mistakes the goblins made in the war and anticipate the wizards' decisions, striving to turn the tide and avert defeat."
"Even if the Time-Turner did not bring a future wizard back on the day of 1753, Lara could, after his release, use the fully charged Time-Turner to alter the past using the known thirty-year history."
"The goblins had everything planned out, but an unforeseen event occurred."
As Silke spoke, she coincidentally read this part of the report.
"Fidelius consumed Lara's soul."
"Yes, not just Lara. Before the 1753 time point they set, the prison where the goblin war criminals were held was ravaged by Fidelius. It devoured the souls of all the goblins in the prison, gaining their memories."
"According to historical records, an unknown plague swept through the prison during that time, leading to the deaths of the goblin war criminals. However, the goblins suspected the wizards had a hand in it, nearly sparking a third rebellion."
"Over two hundred years later, Fidelius's memories are hazy, but it remembers this incident clearly. Its first thought upon escaping was to retrieve the Time-Turner."
"It wanted to use the Time-Turner to travel back two hundred years to an era more suitable for its survival."
Kruger concluded the story with a shake of her head.
"Even with all the preparations, fate still dealt a backstab. It's good we have you, Silke, for divination."
Silke remained silent, her fingers gripping the long parchment tightly, as if trying to tear it apart. Then, she suddenly stood up from her chair.
"Help me connect to the British Floo Network. I need to go to Hogwarts!"
As Sherlock watched the hands on the pocket watch reverse, the surrounding scene began to rapidly change!
It was as if golden light was flowing backward, with only he and Snape remaining solid.
The hands on the pocket watch continued to spin backward, so fast that Sherlock could only see their afterimage.
A deep sense of unease rose within him.
He could feel that if the watch continued to turn, there would be severe consequences he couldn't bear. He had to find a way to stop it as soon as possible!
Sherlock tried to use his Wand to block the constantly spinning hands of the pocket watch, but the hands seemed to have turned into ethereal shadows, completely unaffected by physical objects.
The growing sense of unease in his heart only made him more determined. He didn't give up but began to cast spells at the pocket watch.
Sherlock scattered all the Wands he had, except for the one he had lent to Sirius Black, a total of two hundred, around him.
The Wands floated densely in the air, their tips all pointing at the pocket watch in his hand.
"Counter-curse supreme!"
An orange-red, flame-like substance instantly rose around Sherlock!
In just a few seconds, the flames filled the golden space, enveloping both Sherlock and Snape!
After casting two hundred Advanced Disenchantments, it was clear that the golden light swirling around them had slowed down.
The hands of the pocket watch also slowed, and Sherlock could now see their rotation clearly, which greatly lifted his spirits.
If it was working, there was still hope of stopping it!
Without hesitation, he continued to use the Standard Disenchantment.
The Counter-curse supreme spell could be stacked, meaning that increasing the quantity could enhance its effect.
When Sherlock cast the Counter-curse for the third time, the surroundings had transformed into a world of gold and red!
The power from six hundred Counter-curses was steadily eroding the golden substance, and the hands of the pocket watch had slowed to the speed of a normal second hand!
Sherlock panted heavily; the continuous casting had left him exhausted, but he persisted and cast the Counter-curse one more time.
The final two hundred Counter-curse supremes joined the struggle, tipping the balance in their favor.
The golden light that had surrounded Sherlock and Snape shattered with a loud boom!
The hands of the pocket watch finally stopped, as if jammed, trying to move forward but unable to budge even a fraction.
Sherlock's feet touched the soft wheat field, and the Wands scattered around him, while the still petrified Snape fell into the golden wheat.
Despite the overwhelming fatigue, Sherlock managed to stand up and survey his surroundings.
The sun was high in the sky; it was definitely not nighttime.
They were in a wheat field, surrounded by golden wheat. About five to six meters away, an old man and a young man, both holding sickles, stared at them in shock.
Sherlock ignored Snape, who lay in the wheat, and focused on the two clearly white Muggles.
"Where are we?"
The young man stammered.
"Su, Scotland."
"Where in Scotland?"
"Su, Renfrewshire, Scotland."
Sherlock, breathing heavily, his voice tense, asked, "What time is it? What year and month?"
At this point, the old man recovered and held his sickle, looking at Sherlock with caution.
"Who are you!"
Sherlock didn't speak but waved his Wand lightly. The sickles in the Muggles' hands flew high into the air, and they were bound by ropes that appeared out of nowhere, restricting their movements.
"Answer my questions truthfully, and I'll release you", Sherlock said, his brow furrowed. "What time is it now?"
The two Muggles looked at him in terror. The old man shouted, "Magic! Magic!" in panic, while the young man, though still stammering, managed to answer.
"June 29, 1977? Or maybe the 28th, I can't remember the exact date."
Sherlock's face darkened. He and Snape had traveled back 17 years!
It could have been even further back, but thankfully, he had managed to stop the time travel in the pocket watch just in time, or who knows what era they would have ended up in!
After getting the basic information, Sherlock used a Memory Charm to erase the Muggles' memories of the last three hours and then levitated Snape out of the wheat field.
Finding a secluded corner nearby, Sherlock first took Snape's Wand and then released the Petrification Charm on him.
Snape's expression was strange; he didn't seem angry or sad, but rather a mix of disbelief, excitement, and even joy!
"I heard it", he croaked, staring at Sherlock, his eyes shining. "It's 1977. 1977!"
(End of Chapter)
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