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"He knew it at once by the beautiful, dancing, diamond-sparkling light. As Harry’s eyes became more accustomed to the brilliant glare he saw clocks gleaming from every surface, large and small, grandfather and carriage, hanging in spaces between the bookcases or standing on desks ranging the length of the room, so that a busy, relentless ticking filled the place like thousands of minuscule, marching footsteps. The source of the dancing, diamond-bright light was a towering crystal bell jar that stood at the far end of the room."
— Description of the Time Room[src]

The Time Room[2] was a room in the Department of Mysteries. It was located on the ninth level of the Ministry of Magic in London, England. The mystery of time and all related subjects were studied in this chamber.[1]

There was a door leading off of this room to the Hall of Prophecy, as the study of time was closely related to the study of predicting the future.[1]

Description[]

This room was filled with beautiful, dancing, diamond-sparkling light. Clocks could be found on every surface, "large and small, grandfather and carriage, hanging in spaces between the bookcases or standing on desks ranging the length of the room, so that a busy, relentless ticking fill[s] the place like thousands of minuscule, marching footsteps". A huge crystal bell jar stood at the far end of the room, and it was from this that the sparkling light came.[1]

Many Time-Turners of various sizes rested on shelves inside a large glass-fronted case standing against a wall. The path through this room, toward the bell jar, was a narrow passage between the many desks. There were also small offices just off the main chamber. At the far end, where the Time-Turners were located, was another door which pushed to open.[1]

Bell Jar[]

Main article: Bell Jar of Time
Brilliant Bell Jar of Time WU

The Bell Jar

The Bell Jar stood on a desk and appeared to be full of a billowing, glittering wind. Inside the jar, rising and falling on the glittering current, a tiny object moved through an endless loop. The object was a small hummingbird. At the bottom of its circuit, the bird was within its egg. As it rose, it hatched and grew into a mature bird by the time it reached the apex of its cycle. On the way back down, it became a fledgling bird and then reentered its egg, which reformed around it. This progression of time repeated over and over within the jar.[1]

Time-Turners[]

Main article: Time-Turner
Time-Turner 05

A Time-Turner

A Time-Turner was a device capable of time travel. The Time-Turner resembled an hourglass on a necklace. The number of times one turned the hourglass corresponded to the number of hours one wanted to travel back in time.[1]

A stock of Time-Turners were kept in the Time Room on a large glass-fronted case against a wall,[1] but this store was destroyed during the Battle of the Department of Mysteries.[3] The destruction of the Time-Turners became public knowledge, when the Daily Prophet reported it in an 1996 issue of their newspaper.

History[]

"They were all gazing, open-mouthed, appalled, at what was happening to the man's head. It was shrinking very fast, growing balder and balder, the black hair and stubble retracting into his skull; his cheeks becoming smooth, his skull round and covered with a peach-like fuzz… A baby's head now sat grotesquely on top of the thick, muscled neck of the Death Eater as he struggled to get up again; but even as they watched, their mouths open, the head began to swell to its previous proportions again; thick black hair was sprouting from the pate and chin..."
— Description of a Death Eater whose head fell into the bell jar[src]

On 18 June of 1996, part of the Battle of the Department of Mysteries was fought in the Time Room. At first, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Luna, Ginny, and Neville entered this room as they searched for the Hall of Prophecy. After trying other doors in the entrance room, including the Brain Room, the Death Chamber, and the Love Chamber, they found themselves in this room and realised it was the one that would lead them into the prophecy room where they believed Sirius Black was being tortured.[1] They passed through this room into the prophecy room, where they were ambushed by Death Eaters.[3]

During the course of the battle, Harry fled the Hall of Prophecy and re-entered the Time Room, where Hermione sealed the door behind them; but only Neville was still with them; Ron, Ginny, and Luna had become separated. Death Eaters Crabbe and Rabastan Lestrange entered the hall; Harry stunned Crabbe, and Neville, while disarming Rabastan, unintentionally disarmed Harry as well. Attempting to stun Rabastan, he hit a rack full of time-turners. Hermione stunned Rabastan and his head fell into the bell jar and rapidly turned into a baby and then back into a grown man and then back to a baby. Rabastan was able to pull his head out, but he was incapacitated as a grown man's body with a baby's head. During this battle, the department's entire stock of Time-Turners was smashed.[3]

Behind the scenes[]

  • The Time Room, as well as the Brain Room, Love Room, and Space Chamber were omitted from the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
  • Its direct connection with the Prophecy room might imply the study of Time takes branches with prophecies and clairvoyance, which are predictions of events linked with time.

Appearances[]

Notes and references[]

Department of Mysteries
Level 9, British Ministry of Magic
Room of Doors · Hall of Prophecy · Death Chamber · Brain Room · Time Room · Space Chamber · Love Room
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