Department of Mysteries
At five o'clock the next morning, just as the sky was beginning to lighten, Kyle was awakened by the sound of several owls pecking at his window.
He yawned and sat up, rubbing his face to try and wake himself up. It wasn't until a few minutes later that he gradually realized he was going to be questioned today.
In addition, Diana seemed to have something to attend to; he needed to go to the Ministry of Magic a few hours before starting work.
With that thought in mind, Kyle quickly jumped out of bed, dressed, and went downstairs to the living room to have breakfast.
Just then, Chris placed a plate of fried ham and a few slices of bread on the table.
"I was just about to call you," Chris said. "Would you like something to drink? How about Pumpkin Juice?"
"Okay," Kyle said.
He moved to the other side of Chris, sat down, and began spreading raspberry jam on the bread.
"No rush." Chris brought over a large glass of Pumpkin Juice. "We can Apparition directly to London in a bit, which will save us a lot of time."
Kyle nodded without saying anything.
He thought about it all night yesterday, but still couldn't figure out why Diana wanted him to go to the Department of Mysteries. He finally drifted off to sleep around midnight and was feeling sleepy right now.
About half an hour later, as dawn broke, the two of them stepped out of the room.
"Ready?" Chris stretched out his arm and said, "Hold on tight, we're about to go."
Kyle put his hand on his shoulder.
The next second, a familiar squeezing sensation spread throughout his body, and when Kyle opened his eyes again, he found himself standing in an old record store.
The shop owner didn't seem too surprised by the sudden appearance of the two people; he simply glanced up at them.
"Chris, so early today?"
"Hi, Rod," Chris greeted him. "I can't help it, I still have a lot of reports to write."
"Are those guys who want to keep Fantastic Beasts again?" Rod said knowingly. "Ever since the Triwizard Tournament ended, everyone seems to have become interested in keeping Fantastic Beasts. I bet you've been incredibly busy lately."
"Yeah, we just rescued a guy yesterday who wanted to keep the Kelpie." Chris sighed. "I wonder when they'll understand that not every Fantastic Beasts is a docile little cutie like Puffskein."
"That might be a little difficult," Rod said, then looked at Kyle. "You are... I'm sorry, this is the internal entrance for Ministry of Ministry of Magic staff. The reception room is on the street ahead."
"This is my son, Kyle," Chris said quickly. "He's coming to the Ministry of Magic today for questioning at nine o'clock in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement."
"Oh... he's Kyle, the one who won the Triwizard Tournament?" Rod, who had been sleepy, immediately perked up and looked at Kyle with curiosity.
"I remember he was the youngest Champion... truly remarkable."
Then Rod seemed to remember something, and casually tapped the notebook next to him. The notebook automatically turned to the latest page, and he turned to look at it.
"Yes, that's right. He received a warning letter seven days ago for using a spell at the Leaky Cauldron..."
"Wait, Leaky Cauldron?"
Rod's voice suddenly rose, and he stared at the contents of the notebook with disbelief.
"Merlin's beard, this is the first time I've encountered such an absurd reason. If spells can't even be used in the Leaky Cauldron, why don't they just take away wands?"
"Probably because nobody would agree," Chris said.
"Of course no one will agree." Rod chuckled and closed his notebook, looking at Kyle again. "Well, kid, in my opinion you haven't made any mistakes, so you don't need to be nervous."
"Amelia Bones from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement is a fair person; I dare say she wouldn't punish you for such a ridiculous reason."
"Thank you," Kyle said with a smile.
It's clear that the wizard in front of me is a decent person.
"Can we go in now?" Chris asked. "Sorry, I'm in a bit of a rush."
"Of course, go quickly."
Rod tapped a raised spot on the counter with his wand, and the adjacent display window immediately extended to the left and right, revealing a passageway.
"Thank you," Chris said.
He led Kyle inside.
Behind the passage was a long corridor lined with fireplaces needed by Floo Network, but since it was still early, all the fireplaces were extinguished.
In the middle of the corridor, a person was standing there waiting for them.
"The timing is perfect." Diana walked over and said to Chris, "Come pick him up from the Department of Mysteries at 8:30."
"Okay," Chris said.
"Come with me now."
Diana led Kyle out of the fireplace corridor and into the elevator.
There was no one here either, except for a cold, impersonal voice that would occasionally announce their floor.
"Remember, don't run around or look around. Just stay with me."
Inside the elevator, Diana instructed, "And whatever you see inside, you can't tell anyone after you get out, including the Weasley brothers and that girl named Kanna."
"Okay, I understand." Kyle nodded.
As soon as he finished speaking, Kyle heard a cold voice.
"Department of Mysteries."
"We've arrived." Diana was the first to step out of the elevator, Kyle quickly followed.
He had been here once before, but back then he had turned onto the left staircase after exiting the elevator. This time, however, he followed Diana through the empty corridor to the simple door at the end.
"Remember, don't look around or wander off," Diana instructed again before pushing open the door and going inside.
Behind the door was a large, circular room, as if it had been washed with ink; everything, including the ceiling and floor, was black. The walls were decorated with some branch-shaped candles, but the flames were blue and cold, completely devoid of warmth.
The doors on the walls were all black and unmarked, and they all looked exactly the same.
But Diana only glanced at it and walked straight toward the door in front of her.
Next, Kyle felt as if he had returned to the final match of the Triwizard Tournament; the place was practically a maze.
Everywhere was the same color, the same buildings, the same doors; if he relaxed even slightly, he might forget where he came from.
After walking for almost another ten minutes, Kyle finally saw something different.
It was a huge water tank that could fill the entire room, and occasionally you could see things that looked like brains inside.
He had seen this before; Diana had used it during the interrogation of Peter Pettigrew to discover that Peter was the Secret Keeper.
However, back then, this water tank was only the size of a table, much smaller than it appears now.
Further ahead was a room enveloped in golden energy. As Kyle walked through it, Kyle could always hear a ticking sound, like the ticking of a clock or the dripping of sand in an hourglass.
Whether it was an illusion or not, Kyle suddenly felt as he walked along that he seemed to have grown taller. His clothes, which had previously fit perfectly, were now too small, and he felt that his shoulders were a bit tight, and his ankles were also showing.
But a few seconds later, the clothes grew too big, and the trouser legs dragged on the ground, almost tripping him.
When Diana pushed open the door at the end and Kyle stepped across the threshold, everything returned to normal in an instant.
At the same time, Diana stopped walking and did not go any further.
"This is it," she said.
Kyle looked up and found that they were in a huge, cave-like place.
They were surrounded by a series of tiered stone benches that descended at a steep angle, much like the stadium at the Quidditch World Cup, and they stood at the very top.
Looking down from here, you can see a tall stone platform with a stone archway on top. It looks quite old and dilapidated.
"Bring it on."
Diana pulled Kyle along and took a step forward.
With just one step, they crossed the rows of steps and appeared on the stone platform.
Apparition?
No, that can't be it; Apparition wouldn't be that quiet.
But what could it be...?
Kyle was inevitably a little curious, but seeing Diana's serious expression, he refrained from asking.
"Come this way."
Diana pulled Kyle to the center of the stone archway.
A ripple-like surface, like water standing upright, rippled across the stone gate. Beyond that, a slowly drifting white mist obscured what lay within.