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Chapter 190: The Maze in the Dark
Chapter 190: The Maze in the Dark
Sherlock walked through the front door, with Eddie pulling Amy along behind him. The three of them pushed open the door and entered the Hall of Prophecy.
"What's wrong with Amy's eyes?"
Sherlock, the first to notice Amy's issue, stroked her head and frowned as he asked.
Amy rubbed her eyes again.
"Amy got some sand in her eyes, but I think it's not a big deal."
Given her usually accurate self-assessment, Sherlock didn't dwell on it further. Instead, he led them deeper into the Hall of Prophecy.
"I spent some time here and know that one of the doors is special. It can only be opened on certain days of the week. I managed to open it once, and there was a breeze, likely coming from outside!"
As Sherlock spoke, the three of them jogged to the farthest wall of the Hall of Prophecy.
There were three doors in total. The one on the far left could be opened freely and contained some broken crystal balls. The one on the right was always locked, and the black door in the middle was the one Sherlock mentioned.
"Is today the day it can be opened?" Eddie asked, his voice slightly urgent.
Sherlock nodded.
"Yes, as long as it's before midnight."
He reached out and pushed the door with all his strength. A fresh, cold breeze blew out, ruffling their hair.
The continuous explosions behind them continued, but they didn't hesitate. They all stepped into the pitch-black room.
The black door closed again. In the Hall of Time, the wall of vines created by Sherlock using two hundred wands in unison was finally breached by the Death Eaters using the Explosive Charm.
In the circular, dark hall, Bella's face was as cold as ice.
Dozens of Death Eaters around her were continuously casting the Explosive Charm. Behind them lay four Aurors who had been stunned.
To maintain Barty Jr.'s cover, they hadn't killed anyone at the Ministry of Magic tonight.
Aiming at the newly blasted gap, countless Reducing Charms were cast on the charred vines.
A minute later, an opening large enough for a person to pass through was created.
At that moment, five Death Eaters emerged from another room in the Department of Mysteries.
"The Ministry of Magic staff left here have been taken care of, but—" the Death Eater hesitated, "Madame Selwyn is missing."
Bella's face darkened as she looked at him, her fingers lightly moving on her wand.
"Did she disappear right in front of you, or did you not find her from the start?"
"We didn't see her from the start. It's as if she wasn't here tonight."
With the location of the room known, the Head of the Department of Mysteries was no longer a priority, whether they captured her or not.
"First, complete the task given by the master."
Bella led the way, with the other Death Eaters following in a line.
Rabastan and a few others separated from the main group, trying to open all accessible rooms to find Sherlock and the others.
The rest crossed the Hall of Time, and Bella, with a clear goal, pushed open the door to the Hall of Prophecy, leading the Death Eaters into the room filled with crystal balls.
The Death Eaters roughly pushed over several rows of wooden racks, causing the crystal balls to shatter with a cacophony of breaking glass.
They continued inward without stopping until they reached the wall with the three doors.
Bella, following the memory she had seen from Madame Selwyn, stared intently at the black door Sherlock had led Eddie and Amy through and pushed it open with force!
Behind the door, it was pitch black, with no visible scenery.
The Death Eaters searching for Sherlock's trail in the Hall of Time returned empty-handed.
"We didn't find them."
"Never mind, let's go in."
Under her lead, each Death Eater cast Lumos and entered the room with the cold breeze.
"Amy is a bit sleepy."
Amy, cradled in Eddie's arms, leaned against his shoulder and murmured.
Since she first mentioned the sand in her eyes, Amy's condition had been noticeably off.
Sherlock frowned and asked.
"What exactly got blown into Amy's eyes?"
Eddie recalled.
"The sand from that hourglass, the largest one by the wall."
Sherlock's frown deepened.
"That's definitely not sand! We need to get out of here quickly, or Amy might get into trouble!"
They had been walking in the pitch-black room for about ten minutes, but they still hadn't reached the end.
This room was anything but normal; the darkness seemed to have a magic power, squeezing out any light source.
Sherlock cast Lumos on a dozen wands, but visibility was still less than a meter. Beyond that, the path ahead was obscured.
A cold wind blew around them, and the room seemed to be divided into countless small compartments, like a maze that made it impossible to find a way out.
Sherlock had tried to use spells to break through the compartments, but none of them worked.
Soon, they reached a fork in the path, with two routes to choose from.
"Which way?" Eddie asked.
Sherlock was entering this place for the first time, but among them was someone who seemed to have a stroke of luck.
Sherlock gently asked Amy, who was leaning against Eddie's shoulder, half-asleep.
"Do you think we should go left or right, Amy?"
Amy seemed extremely tired, but she still had some awareness and muttered,
"Amy thinks we should go left."
With her answer, Sherlock and Eddie didn't hesitate and continued to the left. From then on, Amy directed them at every fork, leading them forward.
They walked for about half an hour, and after turning a corner, they saw a faint light.
Eddie and Sherlock held their breath and exchanged a glance.
Someone was there!
A wizard holding a wand with Lumos saw them as well. Sherlock's side was much brighter, making it easy to see their faces.
"John!"
A familiar female voice called out, and the witch holding the wand approached them.
It was then that Sherlock recognized the witch—it was Madame Selwyn!
"How did you end up here?" Sherlock asked, puzzled.
Madame Selwyn's face was pale, and she was breathing heavily, looking panicked.
"There's a door in my office that leads directly to here", she said, looking at Sherlock with a guilty expression. "I shouldn't have blamed you, John. That door wasn't opened by you. Someone else must have sneaked in that night, stole my memories, and handed them over to the Death Eaters!"
Sherlock had no time to dwell on the past. Hearing Madame Selwyn's words, his heart sank.
"Can this room lead to the Department of Mysteries or the Ministry of Magic?"
"No, this room is a storage place. The Department of Mysteries keeps its most important items here."
Hearing this, Sherlock's face darkened.
They had taken the wrong path!
This wasn't a way out of the Ministry of Magic; it was likely the ultimate goal of the Death Eaters' mission!
The deeper they went, the more they were walking into a trap.
Eddie wasn't stupid; he understood the implications.
"What do we do now?"
They had come too far to turn back. Even if they were lucky enough not to encounter the Death Eaters on the way, by the time they reached the door, it would be past midnight, and the door wouldn't open!
Sherlock made a quick decision and said through gritted teeth,
"We have to keep going deeper, and we must find the room they're looking for before the Death Eaters do!"
He turned to Madame Selwyn.
"Do you know where the room they're looking for is?"
Madame Selwyn, her face still pale, nodded.
"I recovered part of my memory, which allowed me to enter this maze. I know the room the Dark Lord is looking for, but I haven't retrieved the memory of the object inside it yet."
Her voice was grave, and even her hands were trembling slightly.
"But I know that we cannot let them get their hands on it, or the consequences will be catastrophic!"
"You lead the way. We need to get there as quickly as possible, before the Death Eaters arrive!"
With Madame Selwyn's guidance, their pace quickened.
However, they could clearly hear the distant, chaotic footsteps behind them.
The Death Eaters were not far away, but the darkness that absorbed all light prevented them from seeing each other.
After walking for another twenty minutes, they finally reached a large hall-like space.
As Sherlock and the others stepped in, the chandeliers on the ceiling lit up, dispelling the darkness that had enveloped the maze.
In front of them were two doors—one black and one white. Madame Selwyn pointed to the black door on the left.
"The room they're looking for is behind this door!"
Sherlock tried to push the black door open, but it remained firmly shut, as if welded to the wall.
"Can you open it?"
Madame Selwyn raised her wand, her palms sweating.
"I need time."
"How long?"
"At least ten minutes!"
Sherlock sighed and controlled the hundreds of wands around him to turn back. The footsteps from the darkness grew louder.
"I'll do my best to buy you the time."
Eddie gently laid the sleeping Amy down and said with determination,
"I'll go with you!"
(End of Chapter)
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