The Admiral of Hogwarts

Stepping through the doorway into the room, Hugo found the scene before him suddenly widened. It was as tall as a cathedral, filled with towering shelves packed with dusty little glass balls, and nothing else.

More candelabras were set at intervals on the shelves, casting a dim light that, like the light in the black circular room before, emanated a blue flame. The little glass balls glimmered in this light, and the room was cold.

After entering this room, everyone communicated entirely through the admiral network. Soon, the Conqueror at the front heard some unusual movements.

"There's movement ahead," the Conqueror said, looking at a dark passage between two rows of shelves. Although the area was set up with some kind of vibration-reducing magic to ensure the prophecy balls wouldn't fall, the ship girl still caught faint movements.

"I remember Ginny saying that Harry's dream was in row 97," Hermione said through the admiral network, looking towards the end of the nearest row. The candles gave off blue flames, and silver numbers flickered beneath the shelves: 53.

Soon, they were walking forward along the long passage between the shelves, the distance almost pitch black. Each glass ball had a small, yellowed label stuck to the shelf beneath it.

Some of the balls emitted a mysterious, flowing light, while others were dim and dark, like burnt-out light bulbs, but either way, they all gave off a mysterious feeling.

"There are many people ahead—" Just as they reached between rows 84 and 85, the Conqueror made a stopping gesture and released a reconnaissance aircraft.

As the reconnaissance aircraft moved forward, the admiral network quickly showed Harry holding a dusty little ball, facing off against a group of black-robed Death Eaters with his companions.

"Split up and go around behind the Death Eaters—" As the on-site commander, Lion quickly issued the order. "Wait for my order to attack before you strike."

"Understood—" The ship girls quickly accepted the task and split up, forming combat squads of two to prepare for battle, while Hugo himself and Hermione quickly walked in a certain direction, watching the information transmitted through the network.

Harry didn't know reinforcements had arrived at this time, so he was extremely desperate. The twenty or so shadows pointing wands at him and the empty corridor all indicated that he had indeed fallen into a trap.

"Very good, Potter, now slowly turn around and give it to me," Lucius Malfoy said to Potter, and seeing that he didn't move, he repeated, "Give it to me, Potter."

"Where's Sirius?" Harry asked, finding that the enemy surrounding him was at least twice his side's number, and their individual levels far exceeded his own, but out of some hope, he still asked.

Several Death Eaters laughed; in the dark figures to Harry's left, a shrill woman's voice said triumphantly, "The Dark Lord is always right!"

"Always," Malfoy echoed softly, "Now, give me the prophecy ball, Potter."

"I want to know where Sirius is!"

"I want to know where Sirius is!" the woman to Harry's left parroted. She and her Death Eater accomplices moved closer, only a few feet away from Harry and his friends, the light from their wands dazzling Harry.

Based on the current situation, Harry had roughly guessed that each crystal ball might correspond to a specific person, and only the designated person could remove these glass balls from the shelves.

In that case, the purpose of Voldemort and his gang luring him here was clear. This crystal ball was likely the secret weapon Voldemort was looking for to defeat them.

However, out of concern for his godfather, he still held a glimmer of hope and asked again about his godfather's whereabouts, hoping to get some definite news from these enemies.

"Little baby woke up, thought his dream was real," the woman said in a disgustingly babyish voice. "You should know the difference between reality and dreams, Potter."

"Alright, Potter. Take the glass ball with your name on it from the shelf next to you and hand it to me. Otherwise, you and your little companions will all die here," Lucius Malfoy said impatiently.

"Okay, let's do it then," Harry said, raising his wand to his chest. At the same time, Ron, Ginny, the Weasley twins, and Neville's five wands were also raised beside him.

Harry's heart tightened. If Sirius really wasn't here, then he was leading his friends to unnecessary death—but he couldn't believe the Death Eaters' promises either; surrendering was definitely not his choice.

Perhaps out of some concerns, the Death Eaters were only pointing their wands at them, but didn't do anything. However, he also knew that this stalemate didn't mean much.

If he didn't react in a short time, these Death Eaters might resort to other methods to make him submit once their patience ran out, and at that time, more people might be hurt.

"It seems these people want the prophecy ball." From the attitude of these Death Eaters, Harry realized that the reason why the enemies with absolute advantage didn't dare to attack was because they were worried about the glass ball in his hand.

Harry calculated quickly. These Death Eaters wanted this dirty glass ball. He had no interest in it. He only wanted to get everyone out alive, ensuring that his friends wouldn't pay a heavy price for his stupidity.

"Give it to you so you can kill us? Unless you let us leave here, I'll smash this thing. I'm sure your master wouldn't be happy to see that, would he?" Harry deliberately said loudly, trying to stall for time.

"Don't play tricks with us, Potter," Malfoy said. Harry's little thoughts naturally couldn't be hidden from his eyes, but since he had the upper hand, he didn't mind saying a few more words and taking the opportunity to seize Harry's loopholes.

"Do you know why the Dark Lord had to have you come here to retrieve the prophecy ball?" Malfoy immediately threw out the question that would most likely attract Harry's attention now.

"Why?" Harry asked directly, because he realized that the security defenses in this place weren't very high, and it wouldn't be too difficult for Voldemort's subordinates to enter, so setting a trap for him in this situation was a bit strange.

"It seems Dumbledore didn't tell you—" Malfoy naturally knew what to say at this time to stimulate Harry. "Because only the person mentioned in the prophecy, Potter, has the right to take it from the Department of Mysteries. This is what the Dark Lord discovered when he was using others to steal the prophecy ball for him."

"And this prophecy ball is related to both of you—haven't you ever wondered why the Dark Lord wanted to find a way to kill you when you were just a baby?"

Hearing the other party say this, Harry was also a little dazed. Was this prophecy the reason for his parents' death? Was it the reason he carried that lightning-shaped scar? Was the answer to all of this in his hands?