Chapter 481 A Proof

Under Slughorn's spell, the mirror was completely transformed.

It reached the ceiling, had a golden frame, was supported by 2 claw-shaped legs underneath, and was engraved with "Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi" on the top.

Jon looked at the mirror in shock while his face was reflected in it.

It wasn't his current disguise as Spike, but the original Jon.

The background he was in inside the mirror was also not an empty secret room such as this, it was a wide great hall, four long tables that were neatly placed were seated with students wearing Hogwarts school robes, with the ceiling reflecting the starry sky outside, ghosts belonging to various houses were gathered together with the students at the four long tables and at the very end on the high platform there was also a row of older wizards, and beside them, there was a well-worn Hat, in front of which there was a long queue of younger freshmen.

Jon looked at the sight in the mirror in a bit of a daze, while a knowing smile appeared on the face of Slughorn.

"You see what you long for?"

Jon blinked as he touched his face and his other self in the mirror did the same.

"This mirror is the Mirror of Erised?"

"That's right, you've either read about it in some ancient book somewhere or someone might have told you about it. This mirror allows a person to see what he desires most within himself, and the image in the mirror right now is what you desire most."

Jon was certainly well aware of the mirror's function and tentatively touched his pockets, but they remained empty and nothing suddenly appeared there.

"So why did Voldemort hide this mirror and keep it here?"

Jon asked as he turned his head to look at Slughorn, to which Slughorn pondered for a moment, then he took the empty wooden box from a side desk.

"The mirror had been stored at Hogwarts before, I once saw it with Dumbledore when I was still Head of Slytherin. So Voldemort would have moved it here after he took over Hogwarts castle, and the Mirror of Erised doesn't just allow a person to see what he desires, but the most important thing about it is that it can be used as a bridge between the world in the mirror and reality."

He said as he handed Jon the empty wooden box.

After Jon, who was facing the mirror, received the box, the image of the box naturally appeared in the Mirror of Erised, and it was at this moment that Jon suddenly felt that some weight had been added to the wooden box!

Such a perception was not obvious, but it could still be felt clearly and unquestionably!

Jon turned his head and Slughorn exchanged a glance, and both of them couldn't help but hold their breath.

The box was opened once more, and this time it no longer looked empty, but was filled with golden sand!

This sand was obviously exactly the same as the ones that Snape had given him, although it was clearly piled up throughout the wooden box it didn't really add much weight to the box.

Sensing that there was more to the box than just the sand, Jon reached in and pushed the sand away, easily pulling something out of it.

It is a time-turner!

From the outside, this time-turner didn't look any different from the broken ones in the Time Room, but as Jon pulled it out of the sand, the top interior of the time-turner seemed to disintegrate into small golden particles that kept sliding down, with no sign of depletion or defect at all, other than the dial hand spinning around.

"Is this the thing we're looking for?"

Slughorn looked at the time-turner as well, puzzlement and disbelief evident in his voice.

Jon obviously didn't understand what was so different about this time-turner either, but what he did know was that they didn't have much time to dawdle here, and once the item was in their possession, they needed to leave as soon as possible, it wouldn't be long before Dandy and his patrols would be here.

With decisive resolve, Jon closed the box, and together with Slughorn, they donned the cloak of invisibility and left the Time Room with the wooden box, which had been filled with gold sand.

They returned to Slughorn's office, and after locking the door to the room, Jon placed the wooden box on the desk.

"We have to get in touch with the Professor, tomorrow is Christmas, we got the stuff in time, so what's next, what's the purpose of this time-turner?"

Once Jon had taken the time-turner out of the box, it had ceased the process of seemingly breaking apart and sliding downwards into the gold sand, and if it wasn't for the fact that the hands on the dial were still spinning at various speeds, it wouldn't have been half as different from any other time-turner.

Slughorn was ready before Jon even opened his mouth, he pulled a box of Floo powder out of a drawer and took Jon with him to the bedroom inside his office, where there was a fireplace that he had privately linked to the French Floo network.

Without needing to light a flame, he pinched some of the Floo powder and sprinkled it directly into the fireplace.

"Albus Dumbledore's office."

After his words, the green flames in the fireplace began to rise and soon Dumbledore's aged face was presented by the flames.

"We have found the thing that produced the golden sand you spoke of, Albus, it is a time-turner with a pointer that keeps spinning."

Slughorn didn't bother with any unnecessary nonsense and got straight to the point.

And after hearing his words, Dumbledore was visibly silent, it was unknown what he was thinking about, and he didn't speak out until a long time later.

"You have done well, Jon, Horace. But even if you get this item, don't leave the Department of Mysteries easily for the time being, and at the same time, don't expose your identities, it's not the right time to hit the snake."

Hearing Dumbledore's words, Jon couldn't help but open his mouth to interject.

"So Professor, you don't need me and the teacher to be there for tomorrow's battle?"

Dumbledore shook his head decisively.

"You have more pressing matters, remember my words, from tomorrow afternoon you must find a place where it is absolutely quiet and undisturbed, and keep your eyes on this time-turner at all times, and if it hasn't changed in any way by 8 p.m., then, as you have done today, use this fireplace's Floo network again to get in touch with my office."

Listening to Dumbledore say this, a strange premonition inexplicably rose in Jon's mind for some reason.

"What exactly do you want us to do, Professor?"

"You need to observe one thing, one most important thing Jon, perhaps the source of it all lies here, and I am going to go and create the chance for you to do so, again this is an attempt."

Dumbledore's voice was calm.

"I don't know if this attempt will work, but tomorrow will surely reveal the answer. As of now, I'm not sure if I want to hope that my suspicions should be validated or not."

He didn't give Jon another chance to speak, just a final emphasis.

"Remember what I said, always, always, keep an eye on this time-turner, no matter what happens out there!"

The green flames then went out, and the bedroom became quiet again, leaving only Slughorn and Jon as they looked at each other.

"Don't blame Albus." Slughorn said in a relaxed voice, "I can actually understand him sometimes, it's not that he doesn't want to tell us everything, it's that there are times when other people know certain things, the trajectory to the future would be skewed differently, so to be prepared for anything, he just needs to tell us how to go about it, and that's enough."

Jon shook his head, signalling that he didn't mean to blame Dumbledore, he was actually feeling a little weird, not just that the time-turner was a little strange, but Dumbledore's reaction was strange too.

But as Slughorn said, out of their trust in Dumbledore, they simply had to do what he said and that would be enough.

And so, the night before Christmas passed in a seemingly peaceful manner.

But in fact, the appointment between Dumbledore and Voldemort in Carrow Manor had already spread all over Europe.

Every wizard knew that the war between Dumbledore and Voldemort, which had been going on for nearly twenty years, was about to come to a final showdown!

Even though they knew the dangers involved, there were still many interested parties that came to Britain, who didn't want to miss such a showdown of the century, and even more people who didn't join the Witching Horizon, but respected Dumbledore, wanted to come over and admire him with their own eyes in a battle that was destined to leave a strong mark on their lives.

On the day of Christmas, when the children of the British Muggle Society had already opened their eyes and were excitedly opening their Christmas presents, a special day in the entire history of magic came quietly.

On this day, the entire Ministry of Magic was quiet.

Except for a small number of important departments, all other employees did not come to work, and the Atrium became as quiet as it had never been before as if this was not a Christmas.

This silence lasted for most of the day until three or four o'clock that afternoon, when the lift, which was only for visitors, slowly moved into motion, carrying an old man, who could really only be considered a guest for this place, into the Atrium.

Dumbledore stepped out of the lift, and he narrowed his eyes at the Magic is Might statue, as if nostalgically remembering the time when it was still the Fountain of Magical Brethren.

At some point, a young, handsome male wizard with a pale face appeared next to the statue as well.

Voldemort's eyes became like the vertical eyes of a venomous serpent as he stared at Dumbledore, his countenance devoid of sadness or joy.

"Albus Dumbledore, I'd actually like to know if you ever regretted not burning me right in the middle of the Wool's Orphanage instead of bringing me to Hogwarts?"

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