Hogwarts: Bourne Returns from Warhammer

Chapter 21 The Brave Loyalty Curse

In the Tower Hamlets district of London's Isle of Dogs (also known as the "Isle of Dogs"), between the ancient West India Docks and the Docklands district, the originally semi-abandoned Canary Wharf is in full swing. Under construction.

Near the dock, on the top floor of an inconspicuous five-story building, the conference room was packed with wizards from more than thirty countries wearing different styles of wizard robes.

Separated by a long walnut table, these people sat on three-layer green leather sofas on both sides of the long table.

At the end of the long table, there is a miniature statue of the "Magical Brothers" fountain in the British Ministry of Magic Hall, with two oath boxes guarding both sides of the statue.

(In view of the precedent of speakers from some countries throwing boots or corn cobs, all conference speakers must sign a contract before speaking and put it into a magically protected oath box to guarantee that they will abide by it. Meeting rules.)
In the middle of the long table was a magic typewriter that kept clicking, recording every word of the conference speakers.

Standing behind the speaker's desk at the head of the long table, the person responsible for presiding over this meeting is the current British Minister of Magic, Millicent Barnold.

Unlike the Muggle temple, which has fully proved that it has changed from "the sun never sets" to "the sun never sets" through a series of events such as the Cod War and the Suez Canal dispute, the British Ministry of Magic still has the "leading brother" of the wizarding world. "The throne.

Therefore, Millicent Barnold was undoubtedly elected as the host of this international conference. She asked the representatives of wizards from various countries sitting on the three-tiered sofas on both sides to stand up and speak one by one, and firmly controlled the various countries. Representative’s speaking time.

"Okay, Mr. Eisenberg. Regarding the 23 points put forward by Mr. Samuel Kohaug of MACUSA, I think everyone has fully understood its spirit. You can sit down and listen to our consultants. Instructions provided…”

As she spoke, the lady wearing a purple authentic London-style wizard's robe pushed up the monocle on her nose, and then waved her pearl-white poplar wand.

Dozens of parchment reports with the same content were summoned from the filing cabinet and flew accurately to all the participants present.

"Professor Slughorn, you can speak now. As a potion master, you must have unique opinions on the standardization of cross-border potion trade. We look forward to you answering our questions like you did at Hogwarts. "

Horace Slughorn immediately stood up, took off his bowler hat, took off his hat to everyone around him, and then began to explain.

He first praised the host of the meeting: "Ms. Barnold, your levitation spell is still impressive. I remember that with your flexible use of this spell, you alone added 100% to Ravenclaw Academy." A lot of points.”

While Millicent smiled, Horace continued: "And just like what Minister Barnold did back then - using a magic spell for different purposes, the effect it shows seems to be But it's like there are many different kinds of magic potions - many of the finished potions currently circulating among countries have similar situations.

For example, the medicine Sheng Gu Ling is generally used to treat human bone diseases in the UK.

On the Rue Pythia in Paris, the store that sells the most bone spirits is a tool store that specializes in supplying magical animal farms.

Most of those who buy bone spirits are operators of unicorn breeding farms. They can usually harvest two to three times a year, instead of just collecting unicorns once a year according to traditional techniques like ours. "

"You are slandering. The horns of our unicorns from France are as good as those from England! No, ours are better!"

A French representative, wearing red high heels and white stockings, stood up and protested loudly. As he spoke, the wig on his head was still trembling, almost as if it didn't fall off.

There is no overnight feud between Britain and France. This is usually the case. If they disagree, they will roll up their sleeves on the spot.

Horace raised his hand in a standard French military salute. Millicent Barnold, who was presiding over the meeting, received the signal and immediately waved her wand to let several Aurors enter the venue. She took the somewhat excited French representatives out for a drink of English wine. afternoon tea.

"I'm sorry. I'm just discussing the matter and have no intention of discussing the origin of potion materials and their quality."

As one of the twenty-eight pure-blood families, each family has its own fundamentals, and each family has interests that they do not want others to interfere with.

The ass decides the head.

No matter how public-minded he was, Horace had to step on his colleagues when he spoke, not to mention that the other party was French.

Of course, this is what Millicent Barnold expects to see, because it is also in the interest of the British Ministry of Magic - French potion manufacturers will not contribute tax revenue to the British Ministry of Magic.

"However, what I want to say is: as a stable potion that has been invented for hundreds of years, the ingredient list and brewing method can hardly be optimized or changed, just because of different uses, the British and French The Shengguling will be labeled with different labels, and the selling prices of the two medicines will also be different. This is the problem we must face up to now, and the Shengguling is by no means an isolated case, similar..."

Just when Horace wanted to further state his point of view, a snowy owl suddenly flew out of the window of this five-story building from a distance and wanted to fly into the conference room. On the windowsill next to it, a house elf with an anxious expression was also patting the glass anxiously.

The Aurors responsible for the security of the venue immediately took action. They picked up the owls and house elves, and after confirming that there were no traces of dark magic, they sent them all into the conference room.

The Auror captain, wearing prosthetic eyeballs, a cape, and a thick cane, limped up to Horace.

"What's wrong? Alastor."

"Professor Slughorn, your house elf Momo has brought a message. She is now outside for inspection and verification. The content of the message is-"

Mad-Eye Moody had just said a few words when a roar that was almost like a scream sounded from the conference seat. "How dare that villain do this! This is a massacre of wizards, this is a rebellion of goblins, this is a serious dereliction of duty by the Ministry of Magic!"

Just as Moody personally informed Slughorn, an Auror went to inform Lucius Malfoy, who was also attending the meeting.

As an antique from some magic potion shop, he was also qualified to attend this international conference.

However, at this time, Lucius stood up and jumped around shouting curses as if he had lost his mind, without any regard for the so-called aristocratic etiquette that the Malfoy family always valued most.

"Quiet! Mr. Malfoy. You have to remember where you are, and you have to be responsible for what you say!" Millicent Barnold pointed the wand at her neck with a displeased expression and cast a loud voice spell. Order was restored at the scene using forceful means.

Just when "Mad Eye" Moody was about to hear the minister's order, he immediately rushed over and gave the Death Eater who had previously escaped punishment with the golden bullet trick a powerful spell, and then gave him another one. When asking for a one-way ticket to Azkaban, Horace also walked towards the speaker's desk with a frosty face.

Because he was concerned about the face of the minister and the British Ministry of Magic, he reminded in a low voice but gritted teeth: "Millicent, now is not the time to pursue Mr. Malfoy. I suggest you adjourn the meeting temporarily."

More than a dozen young wizards from large pure-blood families were kidnapped, and most of them were the sole heirs of their respective families. If something happens to them, it will not only be a shocking case, but it may also shake the foundation of the British Ministry of Magic.

Therefore, when she learned the general situation of the whole matter, Millicent Barnold immediately announced:

"The meeting is temporarily adjourned. All representatives please go to the rest room next to it. However, everyone must stay here before getting my permission, and no contact with the outside world is allowed. Anyone is found to leave secretly, or is If you use any means to communicate with the outside world, you will be regarded as provoking the authority of the British Ministry of Magic and will be arrested and imprisoned by the Aurors."

Without knowing whether there were any Narlak accomplices present, Millicent Barnold even prepared for the worst.

Although things happened suddenly, the Minister of Magic led the Ministry of Magic through the rise of Voldemort after all, and his ability to deal with problems is indeed worthy of trust.

"Alastor, inform your director Scrimgeour that all Aurors and Strikers should come to the Auror office within ten minutes. I have an urgent mission to issue.

Also, you should inform Principal Dumbledore in person. I hope he can arrive at the Ministry of Magic as soon as possible. "

The news brought by Momo already explained the situation: someone had cast a loyalty spell on the Hermit Manor.

If the secret keeper can't be found, even if all the Aurors are deployed, it may not be effective. Therefore, we must find a white wizard who is smart enough and powerful enough to come out, and we must first find a way to circumvent the restrictions of this spell.

"Don't worry." Moody immediately walked out of the conference room with a cane but very quickly.

A few minutes later, accompanied by a high-pitched phoenix cry, Dumbledore appeared in front of everyone.

Millicent Barnold glanced vaguely at Moody.

Although he has never admitted to being a member of the Order of the Phoenix, he was able to contact Dumbledore so quickly. His identity as the "Ministry of Magic's Junior Fengxian" must be confirmed.

However, even so, Millicent Barnold did not want to do anything to Moody.

As a result, Millicent Barnold's term is coming to an end and there is no need for her to clean up her ranks for the next minister.

Secondly, it has long been the norm to have "little Fengxian" per capita, and these "little Fengxian" are usually more capable than other people, and it is very easy for leaders to use them.

No, Moody had finished all the things she had just told him in less than a few minutes.

Its execution ability is terrifying, much better than those loyal salary thieves in the Ministry of Magic.

At this time, Horace had already told Dumbledore the whole thing again, and the house elf Momo also supplemented it.

The usually peaceful Headmaster of Hogwarts frowned in a rare way after hearing this, "The situation is indeed not good. The address protected by the Loyalty Curse has no conventional means of cracking it except finding the secret keeper."

Hearing what he said, everyone in the conference room felt depressed. After all, Dumbledore's words were authoritative.

Lucius, who was concerned about the situation of his only son, even lost his temper and loudly questioned Dumbledore's judgment.

"Impossible, absolutely impossible! The Chidan Loyalty Curse that I know was originally an ancient ritual magic. You participated in the improvement of its modern casting method. You must know a way to unblock the curse that others don't know!"

Dumbledore shook his head, took out his half-moon reading glasses from his pocket, and then pointed with his wand at the long walnut table in the conference room.

"if you can……"

"If you please," Millicent Barnold replied.

I didn't see Dumbledore chanting a spell or waving his wand. With just a flick of his finger, the green tablecloth spread on the long table deformed. Some places began to bulge, and some places even changed color and became A map sandbox.

"Surrey County is here," Dumbledore said, and the area representing Surrey County in the sand table began to grow, squeezing the surrounding terrain toward the edge of the sand table.

"Compared with everyone present, my only advantage in breaking the Chidan Loyalty Curse is that I have lived longer, been to many places, and have a general impression of its location."

As Dumbledore cast the Transfiguration spell according to his own memory, many changes occurred on this magic sand table. A certain place in Surrey County was enlarged again, and other terrain in the county was gradually squeezed to the edge of the sand table. .

When the sand table was re-fixed, the terrain finally displayed was an area of ​​about 10X10 square miles.

This area is dotted with several Muggle villages and towns.

"We can use the elimination method." Dumbledore gave his final opinion: "This may be the most effective method at present."

(End of this chapter)