"So you think the pillar in the middle is the alchemy array?" Alan glanced at Fudge, speechless. Then, as if a thought had occurred to him, he added, "Besides maintaining that pillar, what about the surrounding floors and walls?"
"The floor? The walls? We clean those places regularly, but what do they have to do with the array?" Fudge looked at Alan with a bewildered expression.
Alan rolled his eyes. These people were neglecting the real array, only maintaining the amplifier in the middle. After his initial observation, he was certain that the pillar in the middle was not the core component. Although its production cost was high, it was likely the cheapest part of the entire Alchemy Room.
*Didn't Headmaster Dumbledore leave them an instruction manual when he helped set this place up?*
However, reflecting on it, Alan felt a bit strange. Given the sturdiness of the array in this room, even if it wasn't well-maintained, there shouldn't be any problems. The quality of the materials spoke for itself. He looked at Fudge with growing confusion.
"How often is this room maintained and cleaned? What is the process, and do you usually use this place for other purposes?"
"Uh…" Fudge was momentarily stunned by the sudden questioning. Since Amelia had deliberately excluded Alan from the previous smuggling battle report, Fudge didn't understand Alan's status as clearly as Minister Bagnold did. He wasn't sure if he should reveal everything to the boy.
Fudge looked at Bagnold with doubt, and after receiving a nod from the Minister, he answered, "Since this place is sealed year-round, we don't maintain it frequently. We give it a basic cleaning once every six months. The process involves dedicated alchemy personnel from the Ministry inspecting the central pillar, checking for any damage or blocked magic channels. If a malfunction occurs, we use the magic Traction Curse to clear it, or a Repair Charm to mend the damage."
"As for other uses..." Fudge lowered his head and thought carefully. He suddenly remembered something. "Oh, when the Dark Lord had just fallen, we confiscated a large number of Dark Arts items from Death Eater fugitives. At that time, the warehouse was full, so we once used this as a temporary storage area."
Fudge specifically emphasized, "However, we stacked things around the edges and did not touch or interfere with the central pillar. They weren't stored for long, either. We quickly cleared out a new warehouse and transferred the items away. This shouldn't have any impact on the array; after all, the magic sensing is still functioning normally, isn't it?"
After listening to the explanation, Alan immediately showed an expression of "just as expected." He pressed further, "Where exactly did you stack the items at that time?"
"Right over there." Fudge pointed to the side, then looked at Alan nervously. "This shouldn't have interfered with the array. We placed everything against the wall."
"It's precisely because they were placed against the wall that it's troublesome." Alan glanced at Fudge and shook his head helplessly. "The core of this room's array is entirely on the floor and walls beneath your feet. The pillar in the middle serves as a control panel and amplifier. If you stored Dark Arts items that leak magic, it is very easy to contaminate the magic patterns."
"What?"
Fudge and the two high-ranking officials were stunned. They looked at their feet in surprise and immediately retreated a few steps, clearly afraid they might step on and damage the array.
"No need to be so nervous," Alan said, finding their reaction a bit amusing. "Fortunately, the runes here are constructed from goblin steel and refined mithril of excellent quality, so ordinary stepping won't cause any damage."
Alan walked to the location Fudge had indicated, took out a magnifying glass-like rune detector, and squatted down to examine the floor. The results were as he expected: some runes on the ground had been disturbed by external magic, leading to a state of magic disorder.
However, the impact was minor; only a few rune nodes were blocked. Dealing with this was simple for Alan; he only needed to use the Extraction Charm to draw away the abnormal magic. Since the materials were top-grade, the fundamental structure was intact.
Upon discovering this, Alan frowned slightly and pondered. He looked up at the three people with a strange gaze. The three officials suddenly felt unnatural, especially Fudge, who was the person in charge. If a major malfunction occurred here, he would be held responsible.
"How is it? Is the problem very serious?" Fudge asked, his voice tense.
"Well…" Alan pinched his chin with a conflicted expression. "Do you have the 'array circuit diagram' or the instruction manual? Based solely on current findings, it's impossible to directly assess the full extent of the damage."
"What? What do you mean? Is the rune array severely damaged?" Fudge became even more flustered, swallowing nervously.
"First, show me the circuit diagram and manual. I'll tell you once I've made a final determination." Alan did not answer directly, continuing to urge them.
"Circuit diagram? Instruction manual?" Fudge looked at Minister Bagnold with a bewildered expression. He had never heard of such things existing.
"Alan, the original rune array here was set up by Nicolas Flamel for the Ministry two hundred years ago. Later, due to aging, we commissioned Dumbledore to reinforce it for us a few decades ago. They never left anything like a circuit diagram or a manual. After all, this is knowledge exclusive to an Alchemy Master," Minister Bagnold explained, sensing Fudge's embarrassment.
*Oh? So the Ministry has neither a circuit diagram nor an instruction manual? Does that mean whatever I say goes?*
Thinking of this, Alan felt a surge of secret joy. He knew his chance to get ahead had arrived.
"Minister Bagnold, Directors," Alan said, putting on a hesitant expression, as if he had pondered deeply before speaking. "To be honest, because you didn't pay enough attention to protecting the array itself, a portion of the rune circuitry has indeed suffered significant damage. I estimate that the Dark Arts items stored here contaminated the array diagram. All in all, the loss is not small!"