209: Chapter 209 Affairs Department Line

"The Round Hat has been identified." The door knocker slammed Nott's Black-feathered letter onto the table, the clanging of the iron rings sharper than the rain. "Don't get excited, the names are dirtier than the last."

Allen pushed Snape's essay aside and had the family crest verify the letter first. The surface was still just a list of old books, while the hidden layer was pressed deep into the paper fibers; without using Spatial Folding, one would only see a piece of coarse pulp.

The family crest projected the information. The Round Hat Wizard in the gray cloak belonged to the Department of Mysteries' Time Research Division, with the field designation T-7. His current superior was Silas Brodie.

The door knocker finished reading the name, its iron rings scraping against the door. "Brodie? Sounds like someone who specializes in billing trouble."

Nott added more in the hidden layer. Brodie was not a member of the Order of the Phoenix, but he had private academic exchanges with Dumbledore and had participated in peripheral Wizengamot hearings together. The topics involved loss of control over bloodline magic in underage Wizards, reactions of ancient family heirlooms, and abnormal time affinity.

Allen moved Brodie's name below Croaker's. "Croaker is like the door, Brodie is like the hand. Field agent T-7 takes orders from Brodie."

The family crest pulled up the Round Hat's records. The brass dial had measured the study, the underground storage area, and the external ripples of the Portable Space at the Muggle street corner. The route avoided the retaliation of the Potter Manor's contracts, the detection frequency was stable, and the duration of stay was thirteen minutes.

The door knocker cursed, "An old hand. Knowing the door bites, he stands outside the fangs to measure the gaps."

Peter was released from the silence spell and trembled as he spoke. "The Time Research Division is not to be trifled with. The Department of Mysteries has a Time Room where they keep time-turners, scrapped hourglasses, accident reports, and a batch of things that cannot be taken out of the door."

"The structure." Allen tapped the cage.

Peter swallowed hard. "I only heard of the old structure. Field agents are responsible for investigating external anomalies, recorders are responsible for sealing reports, and the Time Room has separate guards. time-turners are registered under the Time Research Division, and borrowing one requires three layers of authorization. If McGonagall could apply for one for Granger, there must have been someone behind the scenes giving the go-ahead."

The door knocker interrupted, "You're a Death Eater, how do you know so much about the Ministry of Magic's corridors?"

"The Master told us to avoid them." Peter explained hurriedly, "The places you aren't supposed to touch are the ones most rumored about. Croaker used to call the shots in the Department of Mysteries; I've only heard the surname Brodie, so he might have risen to power later."

Allen pressed Peter's confession into the Department of Mysteries file. "Dumbledore handed the Potter branch's time affinity to Brodie as an academic matter. He didn't use the Order of the Phoenix and didn't go through Snape, which means he doesn't want this matter in the school records."

The door knocker asked in a low voice, "Is he protecting you, or investigating you?"

"Both are possible." Allen wrote down, "He protects the student, but investigates the variable."

The family crest added, "Nott mentioned at the end of the letter that Brodie recently attended the Quidditch World Cup security coordination meeting. The topic was monitoring time deviations during the intensive use of international Portkeys."

The door knocker exploded, "He's at the Quidditch World Cup too? You haven't even bought a ticket, and the seats are already full."

Allen spread out the Quidditch World Cup file. The Minister's box, the pure-blood box, Crouch, Bones, Bulgarian guests, the Weasley campsite, old Death Eaters, Barty's suspicious points, Black's Black dog, the Order of the Phoenix's gaze, and the Department of Mysteries' T-7.

The lines overlapped on the same page, the surface of the paper almost completely covered by names.

"Initiate contact with Brodie." Allen wrote the plan in the corner, "After the Quidditch World Cup."

The door knocker's iron rings stopped. "Are you crazy? He's using a dial to measure you, and you're handing him a ruler?"

"When being measured for a long time, the error margin will get smaller and smaller." Allen pressed down his quill. "Give him a controllable false path and let him think he's measured it accurately."

Peter shook his head immediately. "People from the Department of Mysteries won't believe you easily. For every question they ask, they can hide ten layers of charts behind it. If you pretend to be a curious student, they'll send you to the records room."

"That's why the location can't be the Department of Mysteries." Allen wrote down the alternatives, "The Ministry of Magic public lobby, after the Quidditch World Cup when the crowds haven't dispersed, or at the document handover point before Hogwarts starts. Use only the student identity, and only ask about public content."

The door knocker caught the drift, "Sleep disorders, antique pocket watch, time-turner essay?"

"Essay debt." Allen dragged Snape's topic over. "Snape gave me the topic, which serves as a perfect excuse. Ask Brodie about the theoretical impact of Spatial Folding on the flow of time."

The door knocker clicked its tongue, "Using Snape as a shield? If he finds out, he'll dunk you in a cauldron."

"He'll read the report first." Allen changed the topic to a public query format, "Only provide the theory, not the object."

The family crest reported on the outside, "The observer at the street corner delayed the shift change by four minutes. No detection in the empty house opposite. The Round Hat Wizard did not appear, but the residual lines of the brass dial have completely dissipated."

"That means the report has been submitted." Allen bolded Brodie's name. "They are waiting for the next fluctuation."

Nott's reply instructions were written quickly. Stop investigating Brodie's private address. Only record whether he appears on the Quidditch World Cup security list, Ministry of Magic public announcements, and the time-turner custody process. Do not touch Croaker's name again, and do not contact Mundungus Fletcher.

The door knocker finished reading, "You're making Nott play blind."

"People who live long are good at playing blind." Allen sealed the letter. "His family's old catalog has already been flipped through; he can't stick his hand into the Department of Mysteries' drawer again."

Peter whispered, "If Brodie is commissioned by Dumbledore, he will send the report back to the Headmasters Office. If you contact him, you are letting Dumbledore see you actively approaching the timeline."

"Perfect." Allen opened Dumbledore's file. "A student being curious about his family's talent is very reasonable. The curiosity is on the surface, the training is in sleep, and the cracked pocket watch is in the box."

The tip of the Void tail pressed against the ebony box, silver eyes staring at the word "training." The door knocker also cursed immediately, "You still want to train? Last time, your left hand took three days to recover."

Allen didn't answer, pressing the training agreement back into the thin wall. The cracked pocket watch was quiet, but the golden threads had already crossed two-thirds of the way. The rubbing of the empty pedestal in the underground stone chamber still had faint golden patterns, and Brodie and the Round Hat Wizard had pulled the Department of Mysteries thread to the door of the Potter Manor again.

Peter grabbed the bars. "time-turners are under their jurisdiction. Granger has used one, Harry has used one, and it was folded that night at the Black Lake. If you continue to touch the cracked pocket watch, they will sooner or later connect the time creases to you."

"So let them connect it wrongly first." Allen placed the three pages of Harry, Hermione, and the time-turner in the open file. "The public creases belong to Granger. The side branch belongs to the Castle. The Potter Manor is left with only sleep disorders."

The door knocker chuckled, "You're writing yourself off as a patient?"

"Patients are safe." Allen spread out Snape's essay again. "It's the conscious ones who are dangerous."

The family crest's silver thread wound around the curtains, confirming there were no new spells outside. Allen lowered his head and wrote a line of the essay: The classification of soul protection cannot rely on a single reaction; the environment, the caster, and the state of the protected all influence the result.

The door knocker looked at the line of text, "Snape will call you out for talking nonsense."

"Nonsense is best." Allen continued writing, "Nonsense can stall a smart person."

Inside the ebony box, the cracked pocket watch chimed softly, like a needle tip tapping against the watch face. The tip of the Void tail pressed down immediately, and Peter shrank into the furthest corner of the cage.

Allen closed Brodie's file.

"After the Quidditch World Cup, go see him."