Looking at the stone archway in front of him, Kyle couldn't shake a sense of familiarity.
Oh, right—the Founders.
He remembered the first time he had encountered the Founders in the Chamber of Secrets. The snake-like statues had formed an arch that resembled this one, down to the ripples in the air that looked like water suspended upright. The resemblance was uncanny, almost identical.
Wait, he's not going to meet the Founders again, is he? Could the Department of Mysteries really be capable of that?
Before he could delve further into his thoughts, Diana's voice interrupted him.
"What spell did you use to kill the Death Eater?"
"Fiendfyre Curse," Kyle replied instinctively.
Visibly, Diana's mouth twitched in reaction. She took a deep breath, then another, before pulling out her wand and pointing it at the stone door.
"Now, use the Fiendfyre Curse again," she said.
"Here?" Kyle hesitated.
It was Fiendfyre, after all—a dangerous, uncontrollable form of magic. What if it burned everything down? And this was the Ministry of Magic. Wouldn't using dark magic here be a bad idea?
"Just do it," Diana urged firmly.
"Okay," Kyle said reluctantly. Diana had given the order, so there was no room for argument. He drew his wand, gave it a light wave, and conjured a massive dragon of searing flames.
A Nonverbal Fiendfyre Curse?
Diana's expression shifted again as she observed Kyle's skilled and effortless casting.
It wasn't just rare for someone Kyle's age to have mastered the Fiendfyre Curse—it was practically unheard of. And to cast it as a Nonverbal Spell? That was extraordinary.
For a moment, Diana wasn't sure whether to be proud or concerned. It was impressive, certainly, but... this was Fiendfyre, after all.
She shook her head slightly, refocusing, and pointed her wand at the stone door.
As if she had broken some hidden spell, the white ripples in the doorway began to drift away. Diana guided the light toward the fiery dragon Kyle had conjured.
Kyle's eyes widened in astonishment.
The uncontrollable, raging flames of the Fiendfyre shifted and morphed, condensing into a pulsing, blue orb of light.
"This is the original form of magic," Diana explained.
Kyle stared in fascination. He'd never seen anything like it before. As he studied the orb, he noticed something peculiar—a faint, darker strand intertwined with the light. It was as thin as a hair, but if you looked closely, it was unmistakable.
Curious, Kyle instinctively took a couple of steps forward to get a closer look. Before he could reach it, another stream of white light flowed out from the stone door. This second light gently surrounded the blue orb, washing away the dark strand like a steady current.
"That's enough," Diana said, waving her wand. The white light retreated back into the stone door, leaving the blue orb pristine and flawless once more.
Kyle barely had a chance to study it further before crimson flames erupted around it again.
"Finite Incantatem," Diana said, her tone calm as she casually extinguished the Fiendfyre.
"What was that?" Kyle asked, unable to suppress his curiosity.
"Blood Debt," Diana replied indifferently. "When a witch or wizard takes a life, their magic undergoes a certain change. That's how I know you killed a Death Eater."
"Is that even possible?" Kyle frowned. "Why haven't I ever heard of this before?"
"Because they don't teach it at school, and for good reason," Diana explained. "It's not something you need to know about as a student—just like the Unforgivable Curses."
"Does it have anything to do with the soul?"
"No, nothing like that," Diana said, shaking her head. "It's purely a transformation in one's magic. Magic reflects the heart of the witch or wizard wielding it. When you take another's life, malice inevitably arises in your heart, even if only for an instant. A part of your magic responds to that malice, adapting itself into a state better suited to it."
Kyle nodded slowly, only half-comprehending her explanation.
The concept reminded him vaguely of his time at Hogwarts. For instance, he loved fried pork chops, so whenever he visited the kitchen, the House-elves always prepared pork chops for him.
But one day, out of curiosity, he glanced at some bread on a nearby table. Though it was just a fleeting glance, a few of the more observant House-elves took note.
The next time he came to the kitchen, those elves brought him bread instead, thinking he wanted it.
"Many witches and wizards pursue this," Diana said softly. "It can make magic more manic and has a significant effect on certain spells."
"For example, the Cruciatus Curse and the Killing Curse... especially the latter. A Blood Debt can make the Killing Curse incredibly powerful."
"What they don't realize is that the mind affects magic, and magic, in turn, affects the mind. When one frequently uses overly manic magic, their temperament grows increasingly irritable."
"This is why most dark witches and wizards develop eccentric personalities and gradually become addicted to dark magic."
"In that case..." Kyle ran a hand along his chin. "Does that mean as long as I refrain from using dark magic, a Blood Debt won't have any effect?"
It reminded him of the kitchen and the House-elves. When there were 98 pork cutlets in front of him, he could easily pass on the two buns—they wouldn't affect him if he didn't indulge.
"Yes, that is correct," Diana nodded. "But even if it has no effect, it is still not a good thing."
"That's true," Kyle agreed.
He glanced at the stone door again. It appeared unchanged, looking exactly as it had before.
"What's in there?"
"An equally unknown path," Diana replied. "But we can't enter—it rejects all conscious beings, including ghosts and portraits."
Curious, Kyle took a couple of steps closer to the stone door. Seeing that Diana made no move to stop him, he lowered his guard and reached out to touch it.
His hand passed straight through to the other side.
"Amazing," Kyle murmured. "Is this what the Department of Mysteries does?"
"Just one of its tasks," Diana said. She pointed her wand at the stone door and flicked it slightly. Inside, a ripple spread across the surface, and a vibrant, colorful aura emerged. Kyle could see shades of blue, red, orange—it was mesmerizing.
But soon, the stone door settled again, returning to its calm, dark state.
"There are three stone doors like this in the Department of Mysteries," Diana explained. "They represent life, magic, and time."
"What you just saw is the original form of magic. Remember what Ollivander said? The wand chooses the wizard. In reality, the wand chooses the magic, because each person's magic is unique."
Kyle felt a mix of emotions he couldn't quite put into words. This was his first close encounter with the Department of Mysteries, and it truly lived up to its name.
"Okay, it's about time," Diana said suddenly, interrupting his thoughts. "We should head back."
Kyle nodded and followed her off the stone platform.
They retraced their steps through the foggy room and past the chamber with the massive water tank.
"Isn't this place guarded?" Kyle asked as they walked. "It seems like we haven't seen a single person."
"It doesn't need to be," Diana replied. "Even if Voldemort himself broke in, he'd only wander around the lobby. He'd never make it here."
"What if someone did come here?" Kyle mused. "I mean, by accident."
"That would simply mean they were meant to be here," Diana said matter-of-factly. "Naturally, we wouldn't stop them."
They continued through the maze of identical doors until they finally exited into the corridor outside the Department of Mysteries.
Chris was waiting for them not far from the elevator.