Hogwarts starts with stealing power.

Upon opening the door, a bustling scene came into view.

It was still early morning, but the hall was already bustling with people.

Lin Xia heard many footsteps, conversations, and people saying good morning to each other.

She was on an early morning express train, and happened to run into this group of people going to work.

Lin Xia walked in. The overall style of the Ministry of Magic's hall was magnificent, with marble and stone used to construct spaces, and exquisitely carved colonnades, creating a solemn and majestic atmosphere.

The wizards here had barely stepped into the hall when they went into work mode, lowering their voices to discuss the day's tasks with their colleagues.

Lin Xia deliberately looked up and noticed that the dome here was very tall and the ground was paved with dark, glossy tiles, which made the Ministry of Magic look majestic and grand.

Not far away, there were rows of fireplaces, these gilded fireplaces were embedded in the walls, and there was a constant green light and the sound of burning flames. Many wizards frequently came and went through the fireplaces.

Directly in front of her, there are many elevators running around the central support column, which can take you to other floors.

Lin Xia came here to fix the problem with the Binding Wand. She knew the person she was dealing with was an Auror, but she wasn't sure if she should go to the Auror's Palace to carry out the repair work.

So she went to the staff member in the central hall who was in charge of handling various matters and asked where she needed to go.

The staff member looked at her visitor card, quickly found the corresponding itinerary, and said swiftly, "You need to go to the Aurora on the second floor. I have already registered your visit, so you will not be stopped."

The Magic Hall is located on the 8th floor below the Ministry of Magic, which is the end of the main public entrance. Lin Xia took one of the elevators and quickly ascended to the 2nd floor above ground.

As she ascended, she also recalled the information about Aurora in her mind.

Aurors are elite enforcers in the magical world, belonging to the Department of Law Enforcement of the Ministry of Magic, but they are commonly referred to as the Aurors Division.

Their main tasks are: 1. Investigating black magic crimes and searching for prohibited magical items.

2. Hunting down and arresting dangerous dark wizards (Death Eaters) often requires participating in magical duels, which are often very dangerous and could very likely result in death.

3. Maintain the security of the Ministry of Magic and key areas, including senior officials and witnesses.

4. Oversee the enforcement of magical laws and maintain balance between the Muggle world and the magical world.

The above are just their main tasks, but in practice, the content is much more complex.

Aurors are often described as "guardians of light," the core force in magical societies against the forces of darkness.

Wizards generally have a very good impression of Aurors, and even though it is a very dangerous job, many wizards still sign up one after another, wanting to become one of them.

This is not just about maintaining social peace; it is also a symbol of the pinnacle of power in the wizarding world. Those who can become Aurors are all geniuses selected from among hundreds.

At the same time, because of the high risk of this profession, the Ministry of Magic provides the most generous benefits to Aurors.

If this job weren't so dangerous and demanding, many more wizards would be scrambling to join.

Lin Xia had expected Aurora to be a busier scene, but when she arrived on the second floor, she found that half of the office seats were empty.

The Aurors sitting in their seats all seemed rather idle.

There were people waiting at the entrance to guide Lin Xia to another place. The witch seemed to see the doubt in Lin Xia's eyes and smiled as she said:
"Aurors are assigned long-term secret missions or short-term emergency missions due to differences in talent or personality, so there are not many people in the office at any time."

Aside from long-term secret missions, many short-term emergency missions are impromptu operations, such as capturing dark wizards at night or dismantling dark magic dens. Just 10 minutes before you arrived, we received an emergency mission, and two team leaders set off.

"As for long-term missions, most of them involve stealth, disguise, and tracking, which is not something a lively Auror can do."

Even with a lot of Aurors in the office, the atmosphere can still feel rather dull. I've been with the Auror Division for two years, and it's only recently that I've gotten used to this kind of work environment. Compared to that, I still prefer places with lots of people and a lively atmosphere.

"Oh, right."

The witch, as if struck by a sudden thought, said in a joking tone:
"If there are more of our Aurors elsewhere, sometimes even more than in the office, then it can only be St. Mungo's Hospital."

The high-risk nature of their work resulted in frequent injuries for the Aurors, who were constantly in and out of St. Mungo's Hospital, which had practically become their second-largest base.

Lin Xia's expression turned slightly serious. She knew the witch just wanted to tell a joke, but it wasn't funny at all; it reflected the dangers and hardships faced by Aurors.

She thought to herself that if these binding wands were all badly damaged, she might as well upgrade them and improve their performance.

Let's consider it a gift she brought to these Aurors who risked their lives for them.

Soon, Lin Xia entered a huge storage room.

Before the witch led her inside, she emphasized, "We don't usually bring visitors in because it contains weapons that we Aurors use on missions, so it's a matter of confidentiality."

But you're different. You're the creator of the Binding Wand. We think we can open our armory to you; maybe you can get some inspiration from it and develop even more powerful weapons for us.”

Lin Xia nodded and said, "It's my honor."

Since they deliberately opened the armory to her, Lin Xia decided not to be polite.

Although her research did not involve weapons, that didn't stop her from taking notes, just in case she might need them later.

She carefully examined the weapons. None of the weapons on the shelf had instruction manuals explaining how to use them, but based on Lin Xia's experience, she could tell at a glance what each weapon was for.

Several weapons, just by their appearance, gave her a sense of awe. One could imagine how powerful these weapons would be when used in actual combat; they were practically the kings of melee combat.

This was somewhat beyond her expectations of Aurors.

She originally thought that no matter how powerful the Aurors were, they were still composed of wizards, and wizards in the magical world would tend to cast spells from a distance rather than attack from close range.

But looking at these weapons, Lin Xia felt that close combat was a required course for every Auror.

Many of the weapons on the shelf are melee weapons, and judging from the scratches on their surfaces, they were frequently used.

Lin Xia voiced her doubts, "I thought you would prefer to cast spells from a distance."

The witch was taken aback at first, then shook her head with amusement: "Cast spells from a distance? Don't be ridiculous. Those dark wizards are all incredibly vigilant; they'll run away at the slightest disturbance. If we cast spells from a distance, it will cause magical fluctuations, and those wizards will flee as soon as they notice. Besides, wizards can't target their spells too far away."

If everyone relies on standing at a distance to cast spells, we probably won't be able to catch a single dark wizard, and ranged attacks are not as mobile as close-range ones.

Furthermore, spells are more powerful at close range; their power diminishes as the distance increases.

Lin Xia raised an eyebrow and asked with interest, "So melee combat is a required course for every Auror?"

The witch nodded without hesitation and emphasized, "Yes, and it's very important!"

The witch did not lead Lin Xia too deep into the Auror's armory. After walking for a while, they came to a long table with a dozen or so somewhat damaged binding wands on it.

Damaged wands are fine, but it's common knowledge that spells become less powerful once a wand is broken.

However, some of them look brand new and show no signs of wear, but they don't work very well anymore.

Lin Xia glanced at it, and her expression became a little strange.

She asked hesitantly, "Have you ever marked the wands or other props you use on each mission?"

"Specially marked?" The witch frowned. "Wands like the Binding Wand, which are consumed quickly and are not difficult to obtain, have not been specially marked by the Ministry of Magic."

Unless it's a special artifact that's applied for—and these artifacts are very valuable even within the Ministry of Magic, not to mention their diverse abilities, sometimes even more powerful than a wizard's—only these items are specifically marked by the Ministry of Magic.

Lin Xia's brows relaxed, and she pointed to the several brand-new, unworn binding wands.

"I don't know how those people replaced the Auror's Binding Wand, but I'm sure these wands that look brand new weren't made in my lab."

The witch blurted out, "How can you be so sure? Did you perhaps put some kind of location spell on these binding wands?"

Lin Xia shook her head and chuckled, "Of course not. The Binding Wand is going to be sold, so why would I add tracking and location magic to it?"

However, I can guarantee that these brand-new wands are not products manufactured in my laboratory. Although I cannot add tracking and positioning magic to them, I have specifically added some anti-counterfeiting marks to the surface of the binding wands.

She casually picked up a tattered binding wand, and sang, "Flash!"

Bathed in light, she merely shifted the angle of the Binding Wand slightly, and the witch saw a flash of blue-purple light suddenly streak across its surface.

The witch was taken aback. "This is fluorescent dust! You sprinkled fluorescent dust on the Binding Wand!"

Once this powder sticks to your skin, it's very difficult to remove. Not to mention that Lin Xia added fluorescent dust as a raw material when she made the Binding Wand, so the powder will remain fixed on a certain surface of the Binding Wand.

Most of the time, fluorescent powder is not concealed enough and can be easily detected.

However, the fluorescent dust that Lin Xia incorporated into the Binding Wand was different. This powder was more concealed and could only be seen with a special angle of light.

After all, who would use a glowing wand to illuminate something, whether they have a reason or not?

The next method could even be verified by the witch. She picked up the brand-new binding wands and shone them through with fluorescent light, but none of them revealed any special colors.

Clearly, these new binding wands are counterfeit.

The witch was incredulous and exclaimed in surprise, "Who dared to cheat the Ministry of Magic out of the Binding Wand? Could it be that there's something wrong with the supplier who provided this shipment?"

Lin Xia shook her head: "All the suppliers are certified by Hogwarts and have all the necessary qualifications. They wouldn't do something like this that would damage their reputation."

More likely, the wands ended up in the hands of the Aurors, and due to various unforeseen circumstances, their binding wands were switched. By the way, what's wrong with these brand-new binding wands?

The witch said, "The binding is very weak, not even as powerful as a broken binding wand."

Lin Xia: "Because they didn't crack the real secret, they don't even have 1/10 of the power; it's just a fake that looks very similar."

The witch said with some annoyance, "It seems we'll have to keep a close watch on these binding wands."

She looked troubled and muttered, "This is a real problem..."

Lin Xia ignored her incessant chatter and began inspecting the other damaged and broken binding wands.

The reason these wands have lost power is quite simple: the surface is damaged, which has destroyed the core magic rune circuitry and some of the effective materials embedded within, thus reducing their power.

With just a few repairs, it can look brand new again.

Given the generous reward offered by the Ministry of Magic, Lin Xia not only repaired the damaged runes but also took care of their appearance, making them look brand new.

All of this took her only half an hour.

The witch was also amazed by her efficiency, muttering, "If we had known you could repair it so easily, we wouldn't have bothered with anything else."

Lin Xia said, "I took a look, and it's not that the binding wands are faulty, but rather that these wands are incomplete, which causes the effective rune circuits to be incomplete as well. That's why the binding magic is weaker and slower."

These damaged wands can be returned to the supplier, whose trained wizards are capable of repairing the binding wands.

The witch said embarrassedly, "We thought there was a problem with the manufacture of these wands. If the power is weakened because of the wands being damaged, then it's a problem with how we use them. We wouldn't dare return them!"

Lin Xia smiled slightly: "Don't worry, every Binding Wand produced has a corresponding serial number, and we provide a one-year warranty for Binding Wands."

During this year, if the Binding Wand is damaged, it can be sent to the shop for free repair; however, after one year, it will be chargeable.

She thought for a moment and then said, "In addition, besides signing a special contract with the Ministry of Magic for a version of the Binding Wand, we also plan to promote the regular version of the Binding Wand to the public, which will also have a one-year warranty."

Even if you don't use it, others will, so it makes no difference to us.

Upon hearing this, the witch felt relieved and praised, "Your warranty is excellent. If you make other wands besides the Binding Wand, I will definitely buy one."

Lin Xia smiled and said, "Yes, besides the Binding Wand, there are also Nature Wands and Magnetic Wands, which are sold in specialty stores. You can go and take a look if you are interested."

By the way, if you have any other wand needs, you can also write to Holworth and give me suggestions. I will regularly check the envelopes sent by fans and look for inspiration from them. (End of this chapter)