War God Mountain, also known as Areopagus, is a small rocky hill located west of the Acropolis.
In Ancient Greece, the Areopagus Council was built above it, serving as an important political institution in Ancient Greece responsible for trials and laws.
Unexpectedly, the modern Greek Ministry of Magic was actually established here.
However…
"You guys aren't built inside the mountain, are you?" Howl asked awkwardly.
"How did you know?" The woman was a little startled, then remembered what had just happened, and fear and surprise intertwined on her face.
Before she could react, Howl suddenly pointed a finger at her forehead, and a wisp of silver twilight was drawn out by him, dispersing into the air and disappearing.
"You two must come to the Ministry with me!" the woman said seriously.
"Of course," Howl nodded, then looked back at Harry: "What do you think?"
Ever since he saw Uncle Howl modify a classmate's memory last time, he had gotten used to this trick quite a bit, but he still felt a little nervous, then quickly nodded.
"Very well, give me your hands," the woman nodded, spreading both palms.
After holding their hands, she looked left and right, making sure no one was observing the surroundings, then took the two of them and Apparated away.
At the foot of War God Mountain, in an uninhabited forest, two large figures and one small figure suddenly flickered into existence on a small path.
"Ugh… ugh…" The woman dry-heaved, feeling dizzy: "You… why are you so heavy?"
"The weight during Apparition?" Howl looked at her.
"Yes, I'm feeling… Ah! I feel like my head is going to explode, like I haven't slept all day!"
"Deep breaths, dizziness is normal," Howl scanned the surroundings indifferently, then noticed a stone wall at the foot of the mountain, where the path connected and disappeared.
And on both sides of the path, two olive trees were planted.
The significance of olives to Athens goes without saying.
"Is this the entrance?" Howl asked.
"That's right," the woman leaned against a tree, taking deep breaths. "This path connects to the main road outside, but Muggles can't see it. So don't worry."
"Then is that guy also from your Greek Ministry of Magic?" Howl pointed behind the woman.
The woman turned her head and saw a man walking confidently towards them, dressed in a flashy purple suit, wearing a purple robe, his bright golden hair shimmering in the warm sunlight.
"Oh, my goodness!! You don't know him?" The woman looked at Howl in surprise.
"He is?" Howl twitched the corner of his mouth: "You'd better not tell me he's some kind of internet celebrity."
"Gilderoy Lockhart! You actually don't know him?" The woman looked at Howl in surprise: "He should be very famous in Britain! 'Magical Me' topped the bestseller list for several months in a row. I bought both the English and Greek versions. He's from your country!"
"If you keep talking like that, I might have to go inside and steal something!" Howl shook his head mischievously.
"Is this some kind of British joke?" There was a hint of awkwardness on the woman's face.
Howl nodded, not answering directly.
However, with the woman's introduction, he actually remembered him.
Gilderoy Lockhart, this guy's books seemed to sell very well at Flourish and Blotts. When he walked into the bookstore, his works were the first thing he saw.
As always, he just casually glanced at them and didn't pay much attention.
Just some thrilling novels about solving low-level magical creatures, suitable for… well… suitable to read as a casual novel.
As he was thinking, the man also walked over. He noticed the gazes of the three and straightened his collar: "Oh, honestly, how did you know I was planning to come and check on the stolen artifacts?
Seriously, you don't need to welcome me. I don't want to be too ostentatious. It's just two petty thieves."
Howl looked at him thoughtfully, and a massive surge of mental power tentatively pressed towards him through his gaze.
Lockhart's eyes were clear, and he asked: "Oh, my friend, don't look at me like that. Although I know members of the Order of Merlin are not often seen, you don't need to be too nervous."
Howl was a little surprised. This…
With such flashy attire and behavior, he should be a very arrogant Wizard, so why didn't he respond to his probing?!
"Strange…" He shook his head. He didn't intend to force a deeper probe; that would be impolite, no different from performing Legilimency on someone upon first meeting them.
His action just now was merely knocking on the door; if no one responded, he wouldn't smash the door open and insist on entering.
Harry looked at Howl in confusion, only to see him spread his hands and turn towards the entrance stone wall.
Behind them, the woman's voice sounded.
"Mr. Lockhart, what a coincidence to meet you here. My name is Elsa Lesley, and it's an honor to meet you."
"I'm very happy to meet you too," Lockhart shook her hand, smiling widely, revealing a perfect eight teeth, which seemed to make a "ding" sound in the sunlight.
"Are you here at the Greek Ministry of Magic for something?" Elsa asked.
"Oh, speaking of that, this was originally just a normal trip, but somehow your Aurors found out I was here and enthusiastically invited me to look into the theft case that happened a while ago…"
Howl didn't quite catch the rest of the conversation, as he had already led Harry into the Ministry of Magic.
What greeted their eyes was a dim tunnel, with bonfires burning around. Walking forward, a moving statue sat in the middle of the path.
The statue was of a blindfolded goddess, wearing a golden crown, which was the only non-marble colored item on her.
She wore a fitted white robe, holding a sword in one hand and a scale in the other. And leaning against her body was a fasces.
From top to bottom, they respectively symbolized nobility, purity, judgment, fairness, and the power represented by the fasces.
And beneath the fasces, an intimidating snake was coiled, with a dog beside it.
They respectively represented hatred and friendship, meaning that neither of these could influence true justice.
The meaning of being blindfolded was also this: fair judgment does not rely on sight, but on ideals!
At this moment, on both sides of the passage, the ordinary Wizards and Ministry of Magic workers passing by were all being watched and scrutinized by the snake and the dog, as if they were being targeted.
It seemed as if "evil" were discovered, it would be judged immediately.
"This is Themis, the symbol of law and justice," Howl patted Harry's shoulder and led him forward.
After walking past the statue under the gaze of the snake and the dog, they arrived in a wider corridor. The floor was made of large grey-white stone bricks, and on both sides of the passage stood towering Doric and Ionic columns. On the columns, in order, were the Twelve Olympians.
The two at the very front were Zeus holding a thunderbolt on the left, and Hera holding a staff on the right.
Howl's gaze briefly lingered on the figure holding a trident, then he walked forward.
A Wizard stopped the two: "Hello, may I inquire about the purpose of your visit?"
"We are tourists here for sightseeing, and we're here to register," Howl said.
"By the way, where is your artifact storage room?"
"The National Important Cultural Relics Protection Department is on the third floor," the man answered dryly, then his expression twitched, and he smiled: "Foreign Wizard registration can be done by going up the stairs to the fifth floor.
You two can go to the front desk first to get your access badges; you might be asked to temporarily leave your wands."
Finally, he showed a gentle smile: "I wish you a pleasant journey!"
"Thank you, I've been very happy so far," Howl smiled.
Harry asked in a low, surprised voice: "Uncle Howl, didn't he realize just now?"
"A more advanced application, a bit tiring, but it works perfectly here," Howl smiled.
The two quickly received their badges and walked straight down the stairs.
"Uncle Howl, are we…" Harry felt a little nervous, but also a bit thrilled.
"Don't think about it, you wouldn't think I'm truly British, would you?" Howl smiled: "I'm just looking."
Then he carefully observed the figures coming and going.
After sensing some of the magic contained around the third floor, he didn't rashly step in; it was clear that this was not a place where regular Wizards could enter.
Moreover, due to the theft case, there were many full, sensitive monitoring spells below.
They were clearly newly set up recently.
"Hey, where are you from!!" A man noticed them very alertly.
The man's stern voice made Harry shiver involuntarily, then his adrenaline surged, feeling a sudden thrill.
Howl turned back and looked at the man in confusion: "Hello, excuse me, is this…"
Harry noticed that Uncle Howl's words carried a bit of a country accent.
"What?" The man above also asked back in somewhat broken English.
After a while, he finally understood Howl's words.
"This is the third floor! The fifth floor for tourist registration is upstairs!!" he said impatiently, looking at Howl with a puzzled gaze.
As he spoke, he mumbled in Greek: "Another British guy from some village… His English isn't even as good as mine!"
"Oh, sorry," Howl smiled, flicking his hand backward.
Harry saw a few drops of ink-black water being sprinkled behind him.
"Let's go, we'll go up," Howl said with a smile.
As they reached the fifth-floor stairs, another man suddenly ran up to the man downstairs and said in Greek: "Team leader! Mr. Lockhart is here!"
"What?" The man's face turned pale with shock, and he looked at him furiously.
"Malaka!! You're the one who brought him here, and now he's really here. You figure out how to deal with him.
I'm telling you, if he publishes a book called 'Traveling with the Greek Ministry of Magic' later, exaggerating how he helped the Greek Ministry of Magic solve the case, I'll throw you in prison immediately!!"
On the way up, Harry didn't know why Uncle Howl was smiling so happily.
It was as if he had heard a particularly funny joke.
He only knew that the registration process was very complicated, but with a wave of Howl's hand, it was as if they had just taken a stroll, and then they were walking back down.
Here, they also met the woman from earlier; by now, her mind had somewhat caught up, and she quickly looked at the two: "Have you registered?"
"Of course," Howl nodded helplessly: "Can we leave now?"
At the same time, Howl's keen ears also caught Lockhart's modulated tone from downstairs.
"Oh, let me see, is this a hair? It looks like a Werewolf's. I'm very familiar with them!"
"Sir… that's a Cerberus's… It guards this place."
…
"I… I didn't know you had a Cerberus, but believe me, this is very likely Werewolf hair. I've already shown how deeply I've researched this type of creature in my book 'Wandering with Werewolves'."
Howl felt the overflowing awkward atmosphere and was also somewhat stunned by this guy's ability to spout nonsense.
He hadn't expected him to be so composed even in the Ministry of Magic.
He couldn't help but wonder, if this guy went to Hogwarts, would he dare to be so ostentatious in front of all the masters…
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