"Huh? When did that snake disappear?"
Tonks moved faster than Elijah, but she quickly realized that the python that had been too frightened to move had somehow slipped away.
She considered casting Accio, but worried it might summon every snake in the area instead, so she reluctantly gave up.
"An entire afternoon has passed," Elijah said lightly. "Did you really expect a snake to stay in the same place the whole time?"
Since the snake couldn't be found, Dumbledore was left with little to examine. He remained at Riddle Manor for a while, though most of that time seemed to be spent admiring the elegance and beauty of the newly renovated estate, as if he had come to visit rather than investigate.
After the sun had completely set, Dumbledore went to the Gaunt shack. He stayed there until nearly midnight, studying the magical curse Elijah had previously deciphered. Even after watching him for so long, Elijah still couldn't tell whether Dumbledore had discovered anything.
"Alright, Alastor. Since Riddle has already left, I think we should return," Dumbledore said at last, rising slowly.
"Did you find anything?" Moody asked.
"My only discovery," Dumbledore replied gravely, "is that the situation may now be even more serious than before."
The concern on his face was genuine.
Riddle had clearly taken something from the Gaunt shack, and that item had been one of the Horcruxes Dumbledore had been searching for.
Perhaps after the previous Horcrux was taken by me, he believed the original hiding place was no longer safe, Dumbledore thought. Having missed this opportunity, finding the next Horcrux might prove even more difficult.
Still, he didn't feel too discouraged. After all, he had searched for Horcruxes for years without success. The Ravenclaw diadem discovered last semester hadn't even been found by him. It had been carried by someone else.
Perhaps this development was actually an opportunity.
An opportunity to confirm the lingering doubt in his heart.
"Well then, Alastor," Dumbledore continued calmly, "regardless of the outcome, I believe something more important awaits us."
"What would that be?" Moody asked.
"Rest, of course. It's quite late, and I hope you'll forgive me. Old men don't sleep much, and if I miss the moment, I might miss tonight's sweet dreams."
With that whimsical remark, Dumbledore departed, leaving Moody standing there in irritation. Tonks, however, admired the moment, thinking Dumbledore's snarky remark to the grumpy Moody was very "stylish."
As for Elijah, he had no interest in continuing this absurd game of searching for himself. What he really wanted was to return to the Ministry of Magic and find the key to Vault 12.
Unfortunately, the Ministry was already closed at this hour.
"Since the trail's gone cold again," Elijah said, glancing at Moody, "I suppose we can head back. I'm not planning to spend the entire night searching through the wilderness."
"You call yourself an Auror?" Moody glared at him fiercely. "In my day, we hunted Death Eaters day and night! Do you know how many people sacrificed their lives doing it?"
"But without a clue, staying here is just wasting time," Elijah replied calmly. "And right now, I'm the one on duty."
With that, Elijah ignored Moody's reaction and Disapparated without hesitation.
In reality, he didn't return to his own residence or rather John Dolores's home. John Dolores wasn't living alone; he had a wife, and she was quite beautiful. Elijah had learned this from John Dolores's memories, which posed a problem.
He could imitate someone's appearance, but constant day-and-night interaction would inevitably reveal differences in behavior. It wasn't about magical ability. It was simply a matter of habits.
Instead, Elijah appeared at the entrance to the Ministry of Magic.
There were many ways to enter the Ministry. Wizards usually arrived through public toilets by flushing themselves down or by using the Floo Network to reach the Ministry Atrium.
But Elijah had no intention of revealing that "John Dolores" had come here so late at night.
So he chose the visitor entrance and used his own face.
Everyone was currently searching for Tom Riddle. At a time like this, forcing his way into the Ministry under his real identity would be far more effective and amusing.
Of course, he could also try contacting the Death Eaters. He knew the magic used to summon them.
But instinctively, Elijah had no desire to associate with those filthy people right now.
The visitor entrance to the Ministry of Magic looked rather unimpressive.
An empty street, likely protected by a Muggle-Repelling Charm, stood silent. Only a few run-down offices remained, clearly abandoned for years. There was also a small pub and an overflowing rubbish skip.
The most noticeable object on the street was a single telephone booth.
It was red and extremely old. Several panes of glass were missing, and behind it stood a wall covered in chaotic graffiti.
Elijah couldn't help comparing it to the luxury of the Magical Congress of the United States of America. Whether in the magical world or the Muggle one, Britain, as an old nation, seemed inevitably headed toward decline.
Only Dumbledore's presence kept the last rays of the setting sun shining over the magical world.
Elijah opened the telephone booth door. The inside was even more dilapidated than the outside. The telephone hung crookedly, its cord stretched out as if someone had yanked it violently, almost tearing it loose.
He lifted the receiver and began dialing.
It was hard to believe that in the late twentieth century such a rotary phone was still in use. Elijah had only seen this kind of telephone before in the old version of Doraemon in his previous life.
"Let me think… six…"
He dialed.
"Two… four… four… two…"
As the dial slowly spun back into place, a woman's indifferent voice suddenly echoed through the booth. The sound didn't come from the receiver. Instead, it filled the entire space, as if an invisible woman stood beside him.
"Welcome to the Ministry of Magic. Please state your name and the purpose of your visit."
"Elijah. I'm here to retrieve something," he said quietly.
"Thank you," the voice replied calmly. "Visitor, please take the badge and pin it to the front of your robes."
A badge slid out from the metal slot normally used to return coins. Elijah picked it up and read the inscription.
Elijah. Here to retrieve something.
"Heh.."
"Ministry of Magic visitors must undergo inspection at the security desk and register their wand. The security desk is located at the end of the Atrium."
Suddenly the floor of the telephone booth trembled.
Outside the glass windows, the pavement began rising higher and higher. The broken street and overflowing skip disappeared from view. Soon everything above Elijah's head turned dark, and he could see nothing at all.
With a grinding metallic sound, the booth descended deep into the Ministry of Magic.
The process was much easier than Elijah had expected.
Of course, no one would believe that a lunatic would dare break into the Ministry alone. It would practically be suicide.
A thin beam of golden light appeared beneath his feet. The light slowly expanded, climbing up his body.
The illumination here was dimmer than during the day. The fireplaces along the walls were unlit. But as the booth came to a stop, Elijah noticed golden symbols shifting and flowing across the deep peacock-blue ceiling above.
"Due to your visit to the Ministry of Magic outside normal hours, your movements will be monitored by Aurors," the woman's voice announced. "The Ministry of Magic wishes you a pleasant evening."
"Thank you," Elijah replied.
The telephone booth door swung open.
Elijah stepped out as calmly as if he were taking a leisurely stroll.
The massive golden fountain in the Atrium filled the space with the continuous sound of flowing water. Bright streams sprayed from the tips of wizards' wands, from the arrowheads of centaurs, from the pointed hats of goblins, and from the ears of house-elves before falling into the pool below.
The Atrium of the Ministry of Magic looked magnificent and finely crafted, though its elegance was very different from the style of the Magical Congress of the United States of America.
It felt more conservative.
More traditional.
The wand registration desk nearby was empty. Several Aurors on night duty had already gathered in the Atrium after Elijah placed the call.
As a result, Elijah was greeted by five glowing wand tips aimed directly at him.
"Good evening, Aurors."