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Chapter 594: The Sudden Interrogation
🕑 Added 2025-03-08 13:25:04 +0000 UTCBy the time Kyle was finished at the Department of Mysteries, the Ministry had opened for business. However, Diana wasn’t in a hurry to let Chris take Kyle away just yet.
“Give me your wand,” she said.
Kyle, a little puzzled, pulled his wand from his pocket and handed it over.
Diana held the wand in her hand, pressing her index finger against its tip. A few red sparks fizzed out.
Kyle had no idea what she’d done, but the frown on her face was hard to miss. Chris, standing nearby, instinctively edged back a little.
Finally, Diana seemed unable to hold back her frustration any longer. She raised her hand and tapped Kyle lightly on the head.
“Don’t use the Fiendfyre Curse so often,” she said sternly. “That spell is incredibly difficult to control, and if you’re discovered, the consequences won’t be much lighter than for using the Unforgivable Curses.”
Although the tap didn’t hurt, Kyle winced and covered his head defensively. “They’re Death Eaters,” he argued. “If I don’t use the Fiendfyre Curse, they will.”
“That may be true,” Diana admitted, “but as long as they haven’t been completely exposed, their official identity isn’t that of a Death Eater. However, the fact that you used Fiendfyre is clear and can be easily discovered.”
“Prior Incantato,” Kyle muttered under his breath, realizing that this interrogation might not be as straightforward as he’d initially thought.
“Good, I see you understand now,” Diana said, returning his wand to him. She handed it back with a meaningful look and added, “Take your suitcase with you—and stay vigilant.”
...
Diana returned to the Department of Mysteries, while Chris led Kyle into the elevator, taking him up to the floor of the Department for the Control and Management of Magical Creatures.
As they navigated the crowded corridor, Chris said, “We still have some time before our appointment. Let’s grab something first.”
The scene was a stark contrast to the quiet, eerie halls of the Department of Mysteries. Cardboard boxes and miscellaneous items cluttered the corridor, making it almost claustrophobic.
“Excuse me,” said a man rushing past them with a box in his arms.
“Bob?” Chris called out. “I thought you were heading to Cornwall with Amos?”
“Oh, Chris, I was just looking for you,” the staff member, Bob, replied, pushing the box forward. “We found this over there.”
Kyle watched curiously as Bob opened the box slightly, revealing a small creature inside.
“Amos and I thought it was just an ordinary farm chicken, but it spits fire.”
As if on cue, a small jet of fire shot out of the box, singeing a hole in the cardboard.
“Aguamenti!”
Chris quickly conjured a stream of water, extinguishing the flames before they could spread. He then inspected the suitcase, casting a spell to check its contents.
“Obvious signs of magical runes,” Chris said grimly. “This is a violation of The Ban on Experimental Breeding of Animals. Get someone from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Have a Hit Wizard bring the responsible party in.”
“Right away,” Bob said, hurrying off. He returned moments later, holding the suitcase.
“What do we do with this?” Bob asked.
“Take it to the forest. It’s not safe to leave it out here,” Chris replied.
Bob nodded and rushed to the end of the corridor, pushing through a door.
“That’s the storage room for experimental creatures,” Chris explained to Kyle, noticing his curious expression. “There’s a real forest in there where we house confiscated magical creatures.”
“Oh,” Kyle said, nodding. “Does this sort of thing happen often?”
“Not really,” Chris sighed. “But every now and then, a wizard gets a ‘brilliant’ idea and ends up causing us a lot of trouble.”
Kyle couldn’t help but think of Hagrid, who seemed like the poster child for impulsive magical creature experiments. The Blast-Ended Skrewts from last year sprang to mind, though Chris was probably still unaware of them.
They soon reached Chris’s office—the deputy director’s office.
Chris, who had once been the director, appeared to have stepped down to his previous role.
“Who’s the current director?” Kyle asked.
“No one knows yet. The decision hasn’t been finalized,” Chris said with a shrug. “But I’ve heard rumors that Senior Undersecretary Umbridge might take the position temporarily.”
Chris spoke calmly, showing no resentment about being “demoted.”
“Take a seat for a while,” he said, gesturing to the sofa. “I need to grab some documents I prepared yesterday.”
Kyle sat down and glanced around the room. The office was a chaotic mix of files stacked everywhere, parchments piled up to the ceiling, and odd wooden sticks with sharp points leaning against the corner.
“Ah, here it is!” Chris exclaimed, pulling several sheets of parchment from a drawer.
Kyle leaned over to take a look—it was the Restraint Act he had been reviewing earlier.
“It’s always good to be prepared,” Chris said with a smile.
They left the office and took the elevator down to the Ministry lobby. Kyle scanned the area for Professor McGonagall, but despite searching thoroughly, she was nowhere to be found.
“Maybe she’s already at the Department of Magical Law Enforcement,” Chris suggested, glancing at his watch. “We should head there, too—only ten minutes left.”
“Okay,” Kyle agreed, following Chris to the second floor, where the Department of Magical Law Enforcement was located.
But as they arrived, Kyle immediately sensed something was off.
The meeting was supposed to be in Amelia Bones’s office. Instead, a staff member directed them to a different room, where nearly thirty people were already waiting in line.
Kyle’s suspicion grew. If this was merely about the Restraint Act, why were so many people present? Even Rufus Scrimgeour, the Auror Office Director, was here.
“Theodore Nott is dead.”
Scrimgeour’s words hit like a thunderclap. He didn’t bother with pleasantries; as soon as Kyle stepped into the room, Scrimgeour ordered the door shut and asked curtly, “What’s your opinion on this?”
“I’m sorry, I don’t know who you’re talking about,” Kyle replied calmly. “I came to the Ministry to address the use of magic at the Leaky Cauldron. Your question doesn’t seem related.”
Chris stepped forward, his face darkening. “What is this, Scrimgeour? We were told this was about misuse of magic, not some investigation into Nott.”
“It was the Minister’s request, Chris,” said a witch standing beside Scrimgeour. “Someone claimed to have seen Theodore Nott die at the hands of this boy, and that he used the Fiendfyre Curse. We have to investigate.”
“Who?” Chris demanded sharply.
Amelia Bones glanced over her shoulder, and three figures rose from the back of the room.
“Walden Macnair… Igor Karkaroff… Lucius Malfoy,” Chris muttered, his voice growing colder with each name.
“They’re the witnesses,” Amelia said. “Given Mr. Karkaroff’s position, we have to take their claims seriously, Chris. I hope you understand.”
