At five o'clock the next morning, just as the sky was beginning to lighten, Kael was woken up by the sound of several owls pecking at his window.
Yawning, he sat up and rubbed his face, trying to wake himself up a bit. It took him a few minutes to remember that today he had to go in for questioning.
Besides, it seemed Diana had something of her own to deal with; he needed to go to the Ministry of Magic a few hours before work started.
Thinking of this, Kael quickly jumped out of bed, got dressed neatly, and headed downstairs to the living room to have breakfast.
Just then, Chris happened to place a plate of fried ham and a few slices of bread on the table.
"I was just about to call you." Chris said, "Anything to drink? How about some pumpkin juice?"
"Sure." Kael replied.
He sat down on the other side of Chris and began spreading raspberry jam on his bread.
"No need to hurry." Chris brought over a big glass of pumpkin juice. "We can Apparate straight to London in a bit, that'll save us plenty of time."
Kael nodded without saying a word.
He'd spent last night turning things over in his mind, still unable to figure out why Diana wanted him to go to the Department of Mysteries. He'd only managed to fall asleep, groggy, in the early morning, and was still drowsy now.
After about half an hour or so, just as the sky really began to lighten, the two of them stepped out the door.
"Ready?" Chris held out his arm. "Hang on tight, we're about to leave."
Kael placed his hand on his shoulder.
The next second, that familiar crushing sensation swept over him. When Kael opened his eyes again, he realized he was standing inside an old record shop.
The shopkeeper didn't seem at all surprised at the sudden appearance of the two of them. He just looked up and glanced their way.
"Chris, this early today?"
"Hey, Broderick." Chris greeted him. "Can't help it. Still loads of reports to write."
"Let me guess—another one of those folks wanting to keep Fantastic Beasts?" Broderick said knowingly. "Ever since the Triwizard Tournament ended, seems everyone's taken an interest in breeding Fantastic Beasts. I bet you've been swamped lately."
"You're not wrong. Yesterday I just rescued some guy who thought he could keep a Kelpie." Chris sighed, "Merlin knows when they'll finally get it through their heads—not every Fantastic Beast is a Puffskein, gentle and sweet."
"That might be hoping for too much." Broderick said, then he looked over at Kael. "And you are…? Sorry, internal entrance for Ministry staff only—the visitors' lounge is up the street."
"This is my son, Kael." Chris quickly explained. "He's here for an inquiry at the Ministry today. Nine o'clock, at the Law Enforcement Department."
"Oh… So you're that Kael who won the Triwizard Tournament?" Broderick, who'd looked half-asleep a moment ago, perked up at once, eyeing Kael with curiosity.
"I remember—smallest Champion, right? That's pretty impressive."
Broderick seemed to recall something, then tapped the notepad next to him. The notepad flipped to its latest page all on its own, and he glanced over at it.
"Yes, that's it. He received a warning letter seven days ago for using a Charm at the Leaky Cauldron...
"Wait, the Leaky Cauldron?"
Broderick's voice suddenly rose, his face full of disbelief as he stared at the note.
"Merlin's beard, that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. If you can't even cast Charms inside the Leaky Cauldron, why not just confiscate everyone's wands?"
"Probably because no one would agree to that." Chris said.
"Of course no one would." Broderick closed the notebook with a snort and looked at Kael again. "Alright kid, from where I'm standing you haven't done anything wrong, so don't be nervous.
"Amelia from the Law Enforcement Department is fair—trust me, she won't punish you over something this silly."
"Thank you." Kael said with a smile.
He could tell that this wizard in front of him was a decent guy too.
"So, can we head in now?" Chris asked. "Sorry, but I'm a bit pressed for time."
"Of course, go right ahead."
Broderick tapped a raised spot on the counter with his wand. The display window beside them immediately slid open to the sides, revealing a passageway.
"Thanks." said Chris.
He led Kael inside.
Beyond the passage was a long corridor lined with fireplaces for the Floo Network. But since it was still early, all the fireplaces were unlit.
Standing in the middle of the hallway was a person, clearly waiting for them.
"Right on time." Diana walked over to Chris and said, "Come pick him up on the Department of Mysteries floor at eight-thirty."
"Alright." Chris said.
"Now, come with me."
Diana led Kael out of the fireplace corridor and into the elevator.
No one else was there, just the cold, mechanical voice announcing each floor as they passed.
"Remember, don't wander off or poke around. Just stick close."
In the elevator, Diana warned, "And no matter what you see in there, don't talk about it to anyone else when you leave—including the Weasley brothers or that girl, Conna."
"Okay, I got it." Kael nodded.
As soon as he finished speaking, a cold, lifeless voice announced—
"Department of Mysteries."
"We're here." Diana stepped out of the elevator first, and Kael hurried after her.
He'd been here once before, but that time after getting out of the elevator, he turned off onto the stairs on the left. This time, though, he followed Diana through the empty hallway right to the plain door at the end.
"Remember—not too much looking around, or wandering off." Diana reminded him again, then pushed open the door and went in.
Behind the door was a huge, circular room, as if rinsed with ink—ceiling, floor, everywhere was black. The walls were dotted with candle branches, but their flames were blue—cold, and completely without warmth.
The doors set into the walls were black, too, and unmarked, every one of them looking exactly the same.
Still, Diana only glanced around once before heading straight to a door ahead.
Next, Kael felt as if he were back in the final task of the Triwizard Tournament—the place was a maze.
Everything looked the same: colors, architecture, doors. Let your guard down for a second, and you'd forget where you came in.
They walked for nearly ten minutes before Kael finally noticed something different.
A giant tank, big enough to fill the whole room. Inside, you could occasionally spot things that resembled brains.
He'd seen this before—when Diana interrogated Peter Pettigrew, she used it to discover Peter was the Secret-Keeper.
Except back then, the tank was only as big as a table—much smaller than the one here.
Past that was a chamber swathed in streams of golden light. Walking through it, Kael kept hearing a tick-tock sound, like the ticking of a clock hand or a drip from an hourglass.
He didn't know if he was imagining it, but as they moved along, suddenly he felt as if he'd gotten taller—his once perfectly fitting clothes grew tight at the shoulders and his ankles stuck out.
But a few seconds later, his clothes grew larger, pant cuffs trailing the ground and nearly tripping him up.
When Diana finally opened the door at the far end and Kael stepped through, everything instantly went back to normal.
Diana stopped then, not walking any further.
"This is it," she said.
Kael looked up and saw they were in a huge, cavern-like space.
All around were tiered stone benches, steeply descending like the stands at the Quidditch World Cup stadium. They were at the very top.
From here, he could see a high stone platform with a stone arch atop it—ancient and battered.
"Come on."
Diana led Kael forward by the hand.
In a single step, they crossed the tiers and found themselves on the stone platform.
Apparition?
No, it couldn't be—Apparition was never this quiet.
Then what was it…?
Kael was curious, but seeing Diana's serious face, he held back from asking.
"Over here."
Diana guided Kael to stand in the center of the stone archway.
The stone arch shimmered with a watery ripple, like the surface of a vertical pool, beyond which a slow-moving veil of white mist drifted, impossible to see through.
...