Moro waggled his finger, making a "tsk tsk tsk" sound, and mocked, "Gunter, your thinking is too rigid!"
"Of course, they don't have 'Merlin,' but it's not impossible for them to accidentally come across one or two pieces of ancient wizard Alchemy Items!"
"Just like the legendary Holy Artifacts given to the three brothers by the God of Death, seemingly ordinary objects possessing great power, and they don't choose their owner, anyone can use them."
Delaine thought for a moment, it seemed reasonable, and then turned to Vid and asked, "Vid, is this Gold Powder an Alchemy Creation?"
Vid cautiously said, "The power on it is indeed somewhat similar to a Time Turner, but... apart from the legendary deities, I don't know what kind of Alchemy Technique can create such a magical thing."
"That's because it's not purely an Alchemy Product," Grindelwald suddenly said.
Everyone looked at him, and then Delaine respectfully asked, "Sir, have you already discerned the origin of this Gold Powder?"
Grindelwald sat in an armchair and gestured for the others to sit down as well. With a wave of his hand, the Crystal Bottle flew into his hand.
Vorvillet's gaze seemed glued, tracking it all the way.
Grindelwald gently shook the Crystal Bottle, watching the Gold Powder inside sway like water, and after a moment, he said:
"Seemingly absurd fairy tales always have some real-world root; the story of the Deathly Hallows or Sleeping Beauty, they all correspond to some incomprehensible but indeed existing powers."
"Those powers are a kind of innate Mystical Magic, difficult to explain, difficult to control. The Ministry of Magic has been researching these Mysterious Magic powers, they've made some progress, but the more they research, the more unknowns they discover, even leading to an indescribable fear."
"You mean—" Delaine said, "Those things that the Unspeakables in the Department of Mysteries are studying?"
"Exactly," Grindelwald said, "Thought, life, death, emotions, time, the universe, the future, elements... these are the Mysterious Magic they are studying."
He looked at Vid and said, "I heard you were one of Hogwarts' best students, taking all the electives; surely you got a Time Turner?"
"Yes," Vid said, as Vorvillet's eyes gleamed at him, he added, "It was taken back by the school before the holidays."
Vorvillet's brows drooped in disappointment, he pondered for a while and suddenly said hesitantly, "Gellert, speaking of... Vid will be starting school again in a few days..."
—Returning to school means he can get the Time Turner back, and once he has it, he can lend it for research...
Vorvillet's eyes shone with a bright longing.
The three members of the Witch Pure Party looked at him speechlessly, even Vid didn't know what to say.
After a moment, they all ignored Vorvillet's comment, and Grindelwald continued, "The Ministry of Magic once declared that the creation of the Time Turner was due to a Time-Reversing Spell cast on an Hourglass; this is a complete lie."
"They merely harnessed the power of Time Magic, using the Golden Timer for rudimentary control. This magic power exists innately, so the Time Turner requires neither magic power from the user nor any Spell."
"I suppose you've all heard of the story of Eloise Midgen?" Grindelwald asked.
Everyone nodded.
The British Ministry of Magic once conducted a very bold time experiment.
In 1899, a witch named Eloise Midgen reversed time and traveled to 1402, staying there for five days.
Upon her return, her body had aged five centuries, and she soon died at St Mungo's.
This witch's brief time travel interfered with countless lives, causing some people to have never been born. It also severely disrupted the real time, with Tuesday lasting two and a half days, while Thursday became only four hours long.
Fortunately, time has a peculiar self-healing property, and within a few days, this interference became negligible, and the flow of time gradually returned to normal.
Since then, the ministries of magic worldwide have established strict laws and penalties regarding time travel.
"This story clearly demonstrates Time Magic; if the British Ministry of Magic continued their experiments, they might uncover the true nature of time, but more likely, the entire world would be destroyed by chaotic time."
Grindelwald said, "Humans cannot bear that cost, and the Ministry of Magic can only choose to ban such radical experiments, focus on observation and control, rather than exploitation."
"So Vorvillet, Vid's Time Turner can only be used to solve some trivial time management issues — like giving him more time to write his papers — but it cannot solve truly crucial matters, cannot reverse endlessly, cannot change the past or future, and certainly cannot truly transcend the limitations of time."
"I see..." Vorvillet was somewhat disappointed by this.
Vid felt a bit guilty hearing that even Grindelwald said so.
Then he thought that his last use of the Time Turner hadn't changed the past — he hadn't been able to stop Mabel from becoming an Obscurus, and Hayley's rescue had been a certainty before he had flowed back in time.
So he hadn't changed history — his actions were originally part of history.
"Let's not digress... what I meant to say is that Mysterious Magic is not a power that wizards can casually create."
Grindelwald continued:
"Long, long ago, they suddenly appeared in some part of the world, causing great chaos and disaster there. The original purpose of forming the Ministry of Magic was for ancient wizards to research, monitor, and restrain these powers."
"Now, in the depths of the ministries of magic in various countries, each holds several types of Mysterious Magic, and which aspects these magics focus on is an absolute secret, unknown to Outsiders."
Grindelwald placed the Crystal Bottle on the table, lightly flicked his finger, and it emitted a crisp sound, causing the Gold Powder inside to vibrate slightly before slowly settling down again.
"However... if these things can indeed stop time, then it would, like time reversal, certainly belong to a form of Time Magic utilization."
Everyone's eyes shifted, each immersed in thought.
Delaine slowly said, "So... either those people discovered a newly born source of Time Magic and found a way to extract this Gold Powder; or they have taken control of some Ministry of Magic."
"—Control a Ministry of Magic?" Moro asked incredulously, "Is that possible?"
"Of course, ministries in countries like England and France can't be controlled, but in some small countries, the total number of wizards is less than ten."
Delaine explained, "So-called Ministries of Magic are just a mentor with a few apprentices, and their level of magic is usually not very high; some even have to set up stalls on the streets to make a living."
Moro murmured, "...So whether tempted by money or forced by force, they might sell the secrets of magic, becoming lapdogs driven by Muggle nobility."
Delaine nodded heavily.
"There's no need to worry," Grindelwald said, "even if they've controlled some wizards, their numbers wouldn't be too great. I will peel away their layers one by one until even the deepest heart is laid bare."
"Be patient, children. If such an institution that has existed for hundreds of years were easily uprooted by us, I'd be disappointed instead."
"This time, we suffered a major setback because we were unprepared for such things. Vid—"
He looked at the young wizard's clear gray eyes and asked, "Since you've researched it before, do you have any countermeasures?"
Vid said, "The simplest way is to wear protective clothing; Muggle Hospitals have ready-made equipment. If we don't touch the skin, the Gold Powder cannot take effect."
But it's inconvenient for wizards to use a Magic Wand while wearing protective clothing, and even just wearing an extra pair of gloves can affect some people's magic.
Vid thought for a moment and added, "Most spells have no effect on the Gold Powder, but it is limited by its container and can also be affected by force — I've seen them use something like a vacuum cleaner to suck away this Gold Powder."
Recalling the scene, a light bulb went on in his mind, and he said, "I can make a portable self-suction dust collector, which should neutralize the effect of this stuff."
"Very good," Grindelwald finally smiled and asked, "If Vorvillet assists you, how long would you need to finish?"
"Uh..." Vid thought for a moment and modestly said, "We should see the finished product by tonight."