Harry Potter and the Obscurus

Chapter 75 Mysterious Affairs Department

After leaving the Coffin House, Harry unsurprisingly received praise from Moran. However, rather than being complacent about his slight progress, he was more eager to figure out how to grow to a level close to Professor Dumbledore's in just about four months.

"Could you please give me some hints on what to do next...?"

Harry said somewhat helplessly:

"Although we've found the direction, I don't think we can practice magic without eating, drinking, or sleeping from now on, and we still won't be able to finish before August 31st... Hey, you know what I mean, right?"

Of course, Mo Ran couldn't say things like, "Actually, I don't know exactly how to do it," but since Harry was gradually becoming enlightened, he didn't need to keep everything to himself.

"Do you remember the person Professor Dumbledore mentioned to us?"

"Which one?"

"His friend who spent most of his life in the Time Hall of the Department of Mysteries."

The person Moran was referring to was Thor Crocker, but Dumbledore had mentioned so many names during his tutoring sessions that even though Harry felt the names were familiar, he didn't immediately recognize who it was.

After another ten seconds or so, Harry, racking his brains, finally said:

"Oh! Is it the one who set the five-hour time limit for wizards using the Time Manager? Thor Crocker?"

"Exactly!"

Mo Ran's voice showed even more satisfaction. Then, like a teacher who didn't want to directly reveal the answers to a difficult problem to his students, he slowly explained the logic he used when thinking about the plan.

“Besides the people and things around us, we can also use memories of what we have heard and seen to find a breakthrough. For example, this man named Saul Crocker, when Professor Dumbledore taught us about the rules of the Time-Turner last semester, he didn’t actually need to use his own and the other person’s friendship to increase credibility.”

Harry's furrowed brows first relaxed, then furrowed again.

A few days ago, upon hearing this, he would have assumed Mo Ran was implying that he should reflect more on what Dumbledore had told him. While this interpretation wasn't entirely wrong in a certain sense, over-reliance on Dumbledore was tantamount to another form of blind faith in prophecy.

"What if we hadn't remembered what he said? If Thor Crocker was so important, Professor Dumbledore could have simply stated it outright. Why risk altering the timeline by making us..."

Thanks to the enlightenment he had just found in the Coffin House, Harry finally realized how to find a delicate balance between carefully completing history and bravely creating history.

Just as their previous night raid on Borginburgh's shop resulted in them being trapped by a magical trap that actually originated from the Coffin House, the inevitability of their personal experience is just as important as the chance encounter with DB Cooper buying necromancy items! And if that's the case, the transmigrators wouldn't need to meticulously calculate every detail of their every action.

Since we've already returned to the past as if by destiny, whatever we do will be right; whatever we do will just happen to become part of history.

A faint hint of fervor began to spread across Harry's face. Without needing verbal confirmation, Mo Ran understood that this was a sign that he had finally abandoned the "perfectionism" that had caused him countless contradictions.

"Shall we go now? But the Department of Mysteries is under the strict protection of the Ministry of Magic. We'd better get an Invisibility Cloak from Professor Snape or the Forbidden Forest first."

Seeing Harry's increasingly excited expression, Mo Ran chuckled twice and reminded him:

"No need to rush. The best time for us to infiltrate the Ministry of Magic has already been reminded. Do you want to guess when it is?"

Upon hearing this, Harry subconsciously recalled an old man with a white beard and half-moon-shaped glasses, but after some thought, the image of another middle-aged man with black hair and a black robe, who often had a cold face, became clearer.

"Professor Snape seems to have reminded us that the Ministry of Magic came to Hogwarts at the end of May after the school holidays to ask some questions. So, the end of May is the best time for us to infiltrate the Department of Mysteries and look for Thor Crook."

Mo Ran wasn't surprised by Harry's keen observation; on the contrary, he tentatively asked:

"Didn't you care about what he said next—'Don't walk into the line of fire, and don't attract unnecessary attention'?"

"Ha, I might have cared a few minutes ago."

Harry mimicked Mo Ran's earlier chuckle and replied:

"But now, thanks to you, I understand the true meaning of 'things will work themselves out'. As long as we don't try to change what has already happened, history will catch up with us."

Even if Dumbledore himself were to come and give such a perfect answer, he would probably have to praise Harry a few times. However, as a soulmate who had known Harry for twelve years, Mo Ran easily swallowed the praise that was about to come out of his mouth.

......

The necromancy items that DB Cooper purchased possessed magic far exceeding that of turning human corpses into undead. Even without thinking, one could guess that this guy was probably after Thunderbird.

With several weeks to go before the attack on the Department of Mysteries, Harry and Morgen decided to temporarily hide in the Forbidden Forest in order to protect the little Thunderbird from hatching and to avoid alerting the enemy and causing incorrect timeline changes.

From April to May, the future and the trajectory of history intertwined outside the Forbidden Forest. Besides practicing magic day and night, Harry and Morgen were also searching for ways to make their strength improve rapidly in a short period of time.

Logically, Mo Ran, unwilling to fight unprepared, should have made some preparations for the two's infiltration of the Time Hall. However, unfortunately, having never read the original Harry Potter books, he had absolutely no concept of the Time Hall, which wasn't shown in the movies. Furthermore, the Ministry of Magic always provided the highest level of protection for the Department of Mysteries' secrets, so until the end of May, he and Harry could only simulate potential obstacles based on hearsay and rumors.

On May 31st, theoretically the last day before Hogwarts' final exam week, Fudge, just as Professor Snape had predicted, arrived at Hogwarts in a flurry of activity with a large group of his men.

Due to the impact of the locked-room incident, most students had already left campus early because of the policy of canceling final exams.

Harry and Moran were naturally curious about the reason for the Minister of Magic's visit, but in order not to delay their business, they made their way to the entrance of the Ministry of Magic in London—a dilapidated red telephone booth—after confirming that the group of Aurors had entered the castle where Apparition was no longer an option.

The red telephone booth leading to the Ministry of Magic stands near the bustling area, but apart from a few old buildings and a bar, there is only a wall covered in graffiti.

The air of old age and decay emanated almost simultaneously from the world of Muggles and wizards, tearing away the mask that London, which barely maintained its status as the most prosperous city in the world, had.

Having grown up with his aunt and uncle, Harry witnessed how Muggles, who didn't understand magic, lived. Moreover, having already traveled around the world once, he personally experienced the ever-evolving human technology.

Only constant change can bring progress to a community, whether it is a wizard or a Muggle.

"The password is, or you can look at the letters on the dial pad and spell out MAGIC."

Harry, startled by the sudden sound of Mo Ran's voice, realized he had unknowingly wandered into the red telephone booth. Reflecting on what he had just witnessed while walking the streets of London, Harry shook his head and muttered to himself:

"That's really... not very creative."

Sensing a hint of disappointment in Harry's tone, Mo Ran asked curiously:

"It's just a password, why such a big reaction?"

Harry knew he couldn't hide some of his thoughts from Mo Ran, but given the crucial time for their infiltration of the Ministry of Magic, he had to keep it brief:

"Nothing important, it's just that the atmosphere in Britain and the wizarding world feels a bit off. Let's wait until we find Thor Crocker and ask him before we talk about this."

Just then, a witch's voice suddenly rang out.

"Please state your name accurately, and the reason for your visit to the Ministry of Magic."

The slightly ethereal voice didn't come from the phone; it sounded more like it was coming directly from the air. Harry put down the receiver and, as he and Mo Ran had agreed beforehand, disguised himself as a traveler visiting from America, saying:

“My name is Don Cooper, and I am a wizard from the United States. I have come to the Ministry of Magic today to visit the most powerful magical government in Europe.”

The receptionist witch seemed unimpressed by the flattery, and as a name tag with a name and reason for the visit was ejected from the coin slot, the phone booth began to descend in her monotone voice.

"Welcome to the Ministry of Magic, Mr. Don Cooper. Please wear your badge and proceed to the wand registration area for your wand to be checked by our staff. The security checkpoint is located at the far end of the main hall. During your stay at the Ministry of Magic, please follow the instructions of our staff and visit the site carefully. Do not wander around at will. The Ministry of Magic is not responsible for any injury, disability, or death caused by your personal reasons. We wish you a pleasant journey."

The phone booth would move in about a minute. By the time the witch finished her welcoming address, Harry would be just in time to push open the small gate and enter the main hall.

The opulent hall and the impeccably smooth, dark floor made the Ministry of Magic appear like a folded, mirrored world. Nestled between massive stone pillars were fireplaces connecting to the Floo Network; the intermittent flickering flames and the constant flow of people gave Harry the feeling of using a human Muggle's airport waiting area for the first time—the wizarding world could be so crowded!

"Try to act differently from usual, so that those sensitive Aurors won't notice anything amiss."

Moran's reminders were always so timely. Although Harry had already drunk the modified Polyjuice Potion, the Dementors would launch an unexpected attack on Privet Drive in Little Wheelingham this summer due to Sirius Black's escape. After that, everyone, including the Aurors and the staff of the Accidental Events Reversal Department, had more or less encountered Harry under the guidance of Rufus Scrimgeour, the Head of the Auror Office.

We absolutely cannot let them notice anything amiss!

Thinking of this, Harry immediately changed his walking posture to something completely different from usual. He put his hands in his pockets, took light steps, and looked around aimlessly, completely transforming into the image of a carefree, unemployed bum.

The line to the security checkpoint was unusually long. Because Fudge had taken a large number of people to Hogwarts at the last minute, the Ministry of Magic's overall efficiency was slow and chaotic today. Harry, while looking at the giant overhead bulletin board made of peacock blue ceiling and gold symbols, also spared some attention to eavesdrop on a conversation between two wizards who seemed to have business dealings with the Ministry of Magic.

"What's going on today? I heard that all apparition magic has been banned?"

"Who knows, it seems the minister led a group to Hogwarts to ask Dumbledore some questions, I wonder if they were just looking for trouble."