By the ti Kyle was finished at the Departnt of Mysteries, the Ministry had opened for business. However, Diana wasn't in a hurry to let Chris take Kyle away just yet.
"Give 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 seed 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 aningful look and added, "Take your suitcase with you—and stay vigilant."
...
Diana returned to the Departnt of Mysteries, while Chris led Kyle into the elevator, taking him up to the floor of the Departnt for the Control and Managent of Magical Creatures.
As they navigated the crowded corridor, Chris said, "We still have so ti before our appointnt. Let's grab sothing first."
The scene was a stark contrast to the quiet, eerie halls of the Departnt of Mysteries. Cardboard boxes and miscellaneous items cluttered the corridor, making it almost claustrophobic.
"Excuse ," 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 mber, 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.
"Aguanti!"
Chris quickly conjured a stream of water, extinguishing the flas 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 Experintal Breeding of Animals. Get soone from the Departnt of Magical Law Enforcent. Have a Hit Wizard bring the responsible party in."
"Right away," Bob said, hurrying off. He returned monts 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 experintal 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 seed like the poster child for impulsive magical creature experints. 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 resentnt about being "demoted."
"Take a seat for a while," he said, gesturing to the sofa. "I need to grab so docunts I prepared yesterday."
Kyle sat down and glanced around the room. The office was a chaotic mix of files stacked everywhere, parchnts piled up to the ceiling, and odd wooden sticks with sharp points leaning against the corner.
"Ah, here it is!" Chris exclaid, pulling several sheets of parchnt 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 Departnt of Magical Law Enforcent," 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 Departnt of Magical Law Enforcent was located.
But as they arrived, Kyle imdiately sensed sothing was off.
The eting was supposed to be in Alia Bones's office. Instead, a staff mber directed them to a different room, where nearly thirty people were already waiting in line.
Kyle's suspicion grew. If this was rely 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 ca 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 so investigation into Nott."
"It was the Minister's request, Chris," said a witch standing beside Scrimgeour. "Soone claid 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.
Alia 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 na.
"They're the witnesses," Alia said. "Given Mr. Karkaroff's position, we have to take their claims seriously, Chris. I hope you understand."
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