[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-wizard-war-at-hogwarts":3,"chapter-wizard-war-at-hogwarts-wizard-war-at-hogwarts-chapter-169":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Wizard War at Hogwarts",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2358142,4612,"Chapter 169","wizard-war-at-hogwarts-chapter-169",169,"\u003Cp>Harry quickly realized things weren’t as simple as they seemed. His first thought was that the canvas had reemerged from within the painting—after all, while other explanations weren’t impossible, they were at least extremely unlikely. He quietly closed the door again and sent a passing maid to fetch Sirius to the parlor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then he entered the parlor himself and examined the painting once more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The canvas appeared undamaged after entering and exiting the painting; though it had lain on the ground inside, it now looked as pristine as ever, not a speck of dirt on it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon, Sirius arrived in a hurry, frowning at the canvas on the floor. “So, did you pull him out, or was he already here when you came in?” Sirius asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“He was already here when I came in,” Harry nodded. “Perhaps this spell’s effects are more complex than we thought.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s novel that hidden things pop out automatically—but that’s about it,” Sirius picked up the canvas and inspected it. “The canvas itself is unharmed.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It might have something to do with time,” Harry automatically drifted toward that line of thought, since in his mind, this painting should have been delivered by Neville in the future.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You mean I can set a timer?” Sirius pulled out his wand again. “If I mentally count five or ten minutes, will the canvas reappear automatically when the time’s up?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Possibly. But don’t cast the spell on the canvas this time,” Harry took off his watch. “Try putting this inside.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sirius recited the spell once more. After a twist of space, the watch vanished. Looking into the painting again, Harry’s watch now rested on Neville’s wrist—perfectly natural.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They sat down on the sofa. Sirius spoke slowly: “I’m practically drained. This spell requires an enormous amount of magic.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Just storing something shouldn’t need that much power. I think time might be stagnant inside the painting,” Harry offered his theory. “When we use shrinking and extension charms, we only alter the object’s size and shape—purely physical changes. In a way, shrinking an object and putting it in your pocket is no different from leaving it on a table.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sirius had never received formal physics education and wasn’t attuned to this idea, so he offered another possibility: “Perhaps this spell was just invented and hasn’t been optimized yet.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With Harry’s curious gaze, Sirius explained a common magical truth: “Our spells seem effortless because they’ve been refined over generations, achieving an optimal balance between power, energy cost, and casting time. Take Disarming Charm, for example—you might think it’s fast and low-cost, but that’s the optimized version. It only works on wands and swords. If you’re holding a mace, it won’t do a thing.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But I clearly remember Quirrell using Disarming Charm to knock my gun out of my hand,” Harry said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, but that version consumes far more magic—it removes everything you’re holding,” Sirius explained. “Even if you’re holding a mango, it’ll blast it away.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So the spell’s cost increases with its versatility?” Harry mused.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Precisely. To enhance a spell’s effect, you either increase the cost or extend its duration,” Sirius paused. “I hate to admit it, but the Killing Curse—six syllables, minimal energy, perfectly lethal to any living being—is nearly the perfect spell, the pinnacle of spellcraft.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harry counted: Disarming Charm had seven syllables—slightly more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then what about the incantations from Tianchao?” Harry recalled Zhang Qiu’s endless incantations. “Do they strengthen effects or reduce cost by drastically lengthening the spell?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I don’t know much about Tianchao, but theoretically, that makes sense,” Sirius rubbed his chin. “In Europe, we usually enhance effects by increasing energy cost or shortening duration. When an effect is too powerful for a single wizard, we use material components, rituals, or group casting.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh!” Sirius suddenly slapped his thigh. “Maybe this spell wasn’t designed for a single caster—if its power is truly as great as you say.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Or, following your logic,” Harry said, “if you’re just hiding something without needing time to stagnate, the cost would drop dramatically.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If—if your assessment is correct,” Sirius mused, “this painting was sent to you by Neville through some means, and he believed it would be useful.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then even if you add time stagnation, I still don’t see the point of just hiding things,” Sirius walked slowly to the painting. “Unless… he’s using it to hide people.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Half an hour after the spell was cast, Harry’s watch shot out of the painting—exactly as he expected. The time on the watch still read half an hour earlier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m taking this painting,” Sirius said. “I originally planned to go in myself, but I don’t know if it’s dangerous—so I’ll find a scumbag to test it first.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harry automatically agreed, but when he realized what Sirius meant—that he intended to use a living person as a test subject—he felt a pang. Intellectually, it made sense; emotionally, it felt cruel. Yet soon he let it go. Being the head of the Night Sect wasn’t easy. Sirius needed to show occasional cruelty to maintain his authority. It was a necessary sacrifice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The day after the ball, Ron and Ivy, who had enjoyed the dance immensely, needed extra sleep. When they yawned their way down for breakfast, Harry had already seen off Sirius, who hurried back to manage his criminal affairs, and had listened to the twins’ business plan for their magical joke shop, offering them plenty of advice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We’re planning to leave in two weeks to watch the World Cup,” Ron said excitedly. “Dad got tickets in the top tier—right next to the Ministry bigwigs.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s great,” Harry said. “By the way, who are the Ministry bigwigs again?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Uh, I only know Humphrey—he’s Dad’s direct superior, the Permanent Secretary,” Ron said. “Oh, and the Minister—he’s called Scrimgeour.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“More precisely,” Neville joined the conversation after his morning exercise, “Humphrey is the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary. The Minister has his own Chief Private Secretary, and Humphrey has his own Private Secretary too. Beyond that, Humphrey oversees ten Deputy Permanent Secretaries, dozens of Deputy Secretaries, and countless Assistant Secretaries. Meanwhile, the Prime Minister appoints two Parliamentary Private Secretaries to the Ministry, and Scrimgeour has appointed his own.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Good heavens, how many secretaries does the Ministry have?” Ron exclaimed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So if you focus on the secretaries, you’ll never figure out who’s actually running the Ministry,” Neville smiled. “You have to watch the ministers.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“By the way, Neville,” Harry cleared his throat, “how much do you know about the Ministry?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Not deeply—just what the average person reads in the papers,” Neville shrugged. “I at least know who heads each department and roughly what personnel changes have happened.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re amazing. I don’t even know which department Dad’s in or who his boss is,” Ron said, admiration tinged with shame.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“As far as I know, your father heads the Office for the Detection and Confiscation of Counterfeit Magical Artifacts, under the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. The current head is Jim Hack,” Neville said. “It’s also the Ministry’s largest department.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I remember him—the guy who keeps talking about sausages,” Harry couldn’t help laughing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If I recall correctly, Barty Crouch used to be head,” Neville recalled. “Then his son was discovered to be a Death Eater, and he was reassigned. Before that, he was considered the most likely candidate to become Minister.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But now he’s head of the Department of Mysteries, right?” Harry remembered his conversation with Dr. Dou last year—he clearly recalled the doctor telling him to find “Young Barty Crouch” and to distinguish between “Young Barty and Old Barty.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes,” Neville said, quoting what he’d read in the papers. “Because he ruthlessly sent his own son to prison, he managed to salvage some reputation. Apparently, his son was also named Barty Crouch—he died in prison not long after.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harry instinctively wanted to refute this, but he held his tongue. Perhaps this was an internal Ministry secret. Though Neville was one of them, every extra person who knew increased the risk of leaks. Whether to tell Neville—better wait until they reached Beauxbatons.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Department of Mysteries… it’s roughly a lateral move,” Neville continued. “Then Scrimgeour took over—he was previously head of the Auror Office. But he didn’t hold the position long, because soon after, the Minister was assassinated.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I heard it from Johnny,” Harry added. “The former Minister, Fudge, was assassinated during a speech. The killer supposedly used a Muggle weapon, fooling the Aurors on security checks.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Exactly,” Neville said with quiet gravity. “At the time of Fudge’s assassination, Barty Crouch—the most respected candidate—was still tainted by his son’s scandal. Scrimgeour went from head of the Auror Office to Minister in a matter of months.”\u003C\u002Fp>",1439,"2026-06-21T04:54:27.874Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","38f666acdc09470e5afc853802cda28b156130f20da8e797a1af2b558a075d31","wizard-war-at-hogwarts-chapter-170","wizard-war-at-hogwarts-chapter-168",528,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fwizard-war-at-hogwarts-cover.jpg"]