https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-724-The-Origin-of-the-Ministry-of-Magic/13685954/
Chapter 725: Time Particles
In Wade’s gaze, the Headmaster picked up a tiny bird’s egg and gently placed it into a glass jar.
Snap!
The egg cracked open. A small blue-capped tit emerged, its body quickly covered in cobalt-blue feathers, its underbelly a bright, fresh yellow. The bird spread its wings, letting out a clear, chirping note—then, as if a rewind button had been pressed, the scene reversed: feathers fell away, the body soaked and shivering, legs and wings tucked in, curling into a tiny red ball… and it transformed back into an egg.
Two seconds later, the same sequence repeated.
Then Dumbledore waved his wand, lifting the egg from the jar. He placed it softly back onto the desk. The ghostly image of the blue-capped tit still shimmered faintly within the golden haze.
Dumbledore’s deep eyes, framed by spectacles, fixed on Wade.
“That,” he said, “is what Voldemort’s people did to you and Harry. They turned you back into children—using magic that mimicked time reversal. In truth, they merely discovered a way to manipulate this Water Kettle.”
“So their time reversal… wasn’t real time travel?” Wade murmured. “Back then, my magic didn’t fully return to my childhood state. And I remember… I recalled scenes from the future.”
A faint, approving smile curled at the corners of Dumbledore’s lips. He nodded.
“I’ve said this before, but I’ll say it again—few inside have the insight to see the truth quite like you, Wade.”
“When these particles were first discovered, many believed they could reverse time, even grant immortality. People rejoiced, thinking they’d finally found the key to eternal life.”
“But the truth is… they don’t actually reverse time. They only overlay a phantom of time upon a person. The real length of life remains unchanged. Worse, excessive time backtracking can disrupt the body’s natural temporal rhythm—causing irreversible, catastrophic damage to certain organs.”
A chill crept through Wade.
Half-baked time manipulators… Voldemort had even planned to raise him again, turning him into a second “Little Barty Crouch.” If that had happened, Wade might have died before adulthood—his body collapsing from internal decay.
“Of course, that’s only one possibility,” Dumbledore added. “There have been instances where someone used these particles to maintain a youthful state of health throughout their life—never showing signs of aging, appearing forever young. To some, it was seen as proof of eternal youth.”
Wade asked, “What are these particles, exactly?”
“We believe,” Dumbledore said, “they are fragments of time—hence their name: Time Particles. The Silent Ones know little about them. After decades of comparative research, they discovered that even though these golden grains appear identical at first glance, their internal motion patterns differ completely when magnified.”
He waved his wand again. Above the jar, a new vision bloomed: a single Time Particle, magnified hundreds of times, rotating slowly in midair.
It resembled a circular necklace, its surface occasionally flashing with brief, fleeting sparks. Inside, an intricately detailed structure pulsed—so complex that even when stared at intently, the patterns on its surface seemed to shift entirely each second.
“These Time Particles create a time loop effect. But if shaped differently…” Dumbledore waved his wand once more, and the necklace transformed into a tangled ball of yarn—thousands of golden threads woven together, glowing with light, yet clearly distinct, never merging into a single orb.
“This form,” Dumbledore said, “slows time to an almost imperceptible crawl—so much so that it feels like time has stopped. I suspect you’re familiar with it.”
Wade gave a silent nod.
“Finally, there’s this—” Dumbledore flicked his wand again, and the ball stretched, pulled apart, transforming into a luminous serpent chasing its own tail. A slender gap separated its head from its tail—so narrow, so brief, that the head could never quite catch up. The chase continued endlessly.
“This,” Dumbledore said, “is the particle configuration found inside a Time-Turner. The Department of Mysteries has studied it most thoroughly. They once produced countless Time-Turners for research. But when they discovered that misuse could trigger catastrophic consequences for the entire world, they began strict regulation.”
“Even so, under special circumstances—academic research, emergency operations—applications can still be made to the Ministry of Magic. Exceptional students like you and Hermione, for academic purposes, can be granted access.”
“So if a Time-Turner falls into the wrong hands, it’s understandable. But this…” He studied the Water Kettle, his voice turning icy. “It shouldn’t be here.”
“It promises rejuvenation, but at a terrible cost. Unexplained mutations are just the most obvious side effect. Some test subjects have vanished—completely, instantly. We don’t know where they went. Perhaps they were sent back to a time before they were ever born.”
“This is only the most basic use. If these particles were to spread widely… you cannot begin to imagine the devastation.”
“That’s why control over them is the strictest of all. In principle, this golden Water Kettle should never have left Ministry custody—let alone ended up in the hands of someone utterly ignorant of magic’s power… a Muggle.”
“…Muggle?” Wade raised an eyebrow. “The woman with the tattoo?”
“And another man—scarred across his face,” Dumbledore said.
“How could Voldemort be working with Muggles?” Wade asked, astonished.
“It’s regrettable,” Dumbledore replied, “but both of them committed suicide before we could extract any intelligence. Still, I think Voldemort’s motivation is easy to understand.”
“He follows only one law: survival above all.”
“When he found no aid in the Wizarding World, turning to Muggles became inevitable. If it served his purpose, he’d bow to a gnome, a giant—even a Muggle.”
Wade blinked. “So the Obliviation Charm from back then… it didn’t work on Muggles?”
“It depends on the caster’s intent,” Dumbledore said. “Had Voldemort’s spell been targeted only at wizards and magical creatures who knew his name, Muggles would have been outside its range.”
“So he chose to ally with Muggles—because he couldn’t control the Water Kettle himself, he handed it over to them.”
Wade suddenly felt something was off.
He furrowed his brow, correcting himself. “No… no, that can’t be right. From the situation at the time, this Water Kettle must have belonged to the Muggles. They brought it out—perhaps to demonstrate their power, in exchange for Voldemort’s cooperation…”
Dumbledore acknowledged the correction, his voice low. “The real question… is how they obtained it.”
Wade stared at the Headmaster, understanding the unspoken suspicion. His throat tightened. His mood darkened.
The existence of this Water Kettle proved these Muggles hadn’t merely stumbled upon a mysterious temporal zone and collected Time Particles by chance. They hadn’t just happened to discover how to use them.
That meant their path to obtaining it was clear.
“There are only two possibilities,” Wade said, his voice growing heavier. His fingers unconsciously traced the length of his wand.
“Either… some hidden force behind the Muggles has already seized control of a Ministry of Magic. The Water Kettle was their spoils of war.”
“Or…” He inhaled sharply, whispering, “one or more of the Silent Ones within the Department of Mysteries betrayed their duty—betrayed their oath—handing over the most dangerous secret to those who should never have known it.”
(End of Chapter)
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