After finishing his business in the Hall of Prophecies, Tom left the room and randomly chose a door to enter.
Stone steps encircled the entire room, a stone platform protruded from the center of a pit, and an archway draped with a veil stood upon it.
Death Chamber
This time, Tom, who usually had bad luck, finally hit the jackpot and arrived at the Death Chamber he had been longing for.
Walking down the stone steps to the bottom of the pit and slowly approaching the archway on the stone platform, Tom felt a familiar power inadvertently leaking from within—the power of death, which he had experienced before.
As he drew closer to the archway, Tom felt as if he could faintly hear sounds emanating from behind it.
"The world of the dead?"
Recalling how Sirius had died in the original story after being hit by Bella and falling through the veil, Tom couldn't help but speculate.
Looking at the veil on the archway, which moved without a breeze, Tom felt an urge to pull it aside, but a strong tremor from the depths of his soul vehemently stopped him from doing so.
Tom generally only liked to push the boundaries of recklessness, but he didn't actually want to die, so he immediately stopped his hand and then...
"Avada Kedavra!"
A full-powered Avada Kedavra spell shot out, the thick green light passing directly through the veil and dissolving into nothingness behind the archway, yet neither the archway nor the veil suffered any damage.
"The power of Avada Kedavra cannot shake it. The power of death that leaked out when it was hit by Avada Kedavra felt like confronting an entire world. Combined with Sirius's death in the original story, it's possible that behind the veil is truly the world of the dead, and this archway is more like a one-way passage; once entered, there's no turning back."
Tom offered what he believed to be a reasonable guess based on the current situation, then he pulled out the Gaunt ring, which was embedded with the resurrection stone.
As Tom took out the ring, he sensed that the resurrection stone on it seemed to resonate with the archway, or more precisely, with the spirits that might exist behind the archway, but it was being blocked by some unknown force.
"According to 'The Tales of Beedle the Bard,' Cadmus, the second brother, resurrected his beloved girl, but she was sad, cold, and lonely, and there was always a veil between her and Cadmus. Could it be that this so-called veil is not a metaphor, but actually exists, just like..."
Tom couldn't help but look at the veil on the archway, "Perhaps this is the barrier separating life and death."
"Then, perhaps the resurrection game is truly feasible, for example, by breaking this barrier, or by entering the world of the dead and directly resurrecting souls there..."
Suddenly, Tom seemed to realize the true use of the resurrection stone.
......
While Tom was studying the archway and the resurrection stone in the Death Chamber, a pink-haired woman called out to Rufus Scrimgeour, who had just returned to the Auror Office.
"Scrimgeour, something's happened."
Rufus Scrimgeour saw the woman's anxious expression and had a bad premonition.
"Tonks, what happened? Speak slowly, don't rush."
"While you were away, someone reported that a Black Magic Mark appeared near the town close to Barty Crouch's Manor. Deletus and Williamson immediately set off to investigate the scene."
Hearing about the Black Magic Mark, Rufus Scrimgeour's unease deepened, and he quickly pressed, "And then?"
"Just now, they sent back word that by the time they arrived, the Dark Wizard, suspected to be a Death Eater, had already left, and they found nothing."
Hearing Tonks say this, Scrimgeour was about to make subsequent arrangements for action, but he saw Tonks looking like she wanted to continue speaking, clearly indicating that the matter was not over, so he eagerly asked, "What else happened?"
Seeing this, Tonks quickly continued, "Then, Deletus and Williamson thought of going to Crouch Manor to ask Mr. Crouch if he knew what had happened, but..."
Hearing the word "but," Scrimgeour's intuition, honed over years as an Auror, told him that something big must have happened, so he quickly urged Tonks, "Don't hesitate, say it all at once."
"But they found Mr. Crouch attacked inside Crouch Manor, suspected to have been hit by Stupefy and a Memory Charm. They have already sent Mr. Crouch to St. Mungo's for treatment."
Just as Tonks finished explaining everything in one breath, Scrimgeour noticed something amiss: "Wait, who did you just say? Mr. Crouch? How long ago was this?"
Tonks looked at Scrimgeour with some confusion: "Yes, it was Mr. Crouch. Deletus and Williamson sent back the message over an hour ago, and according to their preliminary inspection, Mr. Crouch had been attacked for some time by the time they arrived."
It was over. Scrimgeour recalled the strangeness when he encountered 'Mr. Crouch' in the Ministry of Magic Atrium, and he felt he had made a big mistake.
"Scrimgeour, what's wrong?"
Tonks asked uneasily, seeing Scrimgeour's extremely pale face.
"Someone impersonating Mr. Crouch has infiltrated the Ministry of Magic!"
Hearing Scrimgeour say this, everyone in the office changed their expressions.
At this moment, Scrimgeour regained his composure as Head of the Auror Office: "Tonks, go notify the Department of Magical Transportation to seal all Ministry of Magic entrances and fireplaces. Everyone else, come with me to search for this imposter Mr. Crouch."
Tonks heard Scrimgeour's order and was about to leave, but Scrimgeour stopped her again: "Tonks, you said the intruder has been inside for so long, where would he be?"
Tonks thought for a moment and offered her idea: "Department of Mysteries?"
Scrimgeour pondered Tonks's answer for a moment. After sending Tonks off to the Department of Magical Transportation, he hurried with the Aurors towards the Department of Mysteries.
He had the same feeling as Tonks: the intruder was in the Department of Mysteries.
......
In the Death Chamber, Tom had thoroughly studied the power of death, and at this moment, Barty Crouch's Polyjuice Potion had worn off.
Tom, restored to his original appearance, took out another Polyjuice Potion, added a strand of hair to it, and drank it all.
Tom, who once again tasted the disgusting flavor of the Polyjuice Potion, changed into a new set of robes, pulling up the hood to conceal his face.
Having done all this, Tom checked the time, felt it was about right, and that staying longer might pose unnecessary risks, so he returned the way he came, down the stone steps.
Pushing the door open and returning to the circular room, Tom happened to run into a group of Aurors led by Scrimgeour, who were entering from outside.
In the silent room, the two parties confronted each other without warning.