The Ministry of Magic
The Ministry of Magic was a massive, sprawling and gigantic complex located in the heart of London. Aside from the first floor, which remained above ground, the rest of the levels were situated deep beneath the earth. Around two dozen elevators worked round the clock carrying people from one level to another.Anyone who had traveled extensively through the Ministry building knew the building was a gargantuan maze. As one descended further downwards, the corridors grew increasingly complex and difficult to navigate. Yet, the deepest level, the lowest floor, was unlike any of the others. The plan of this floor was the most simple of all. The entire floor consisted of one humongous hall, almost double the size of a Quidditch pitch. It did not have a single pillar to support its weight. In truth, there were supports, but they were invisible magical pillars. One could pass right through them without ever realizing they were there. So for all practical purposes, the hall was pillarless. The floor without pillars was a masterpiece of architectural and runic magic, requiring immense skill and effort to construct. A lot of people doubted that something like this could be constructed in today's age and time.
Under normal circumstances, this floor was restricted to almost everyone. Even the Minister for Magic, nominally the most powerful man in the building, could not access this level at will.
He was required to follow strict protocols and procedures just to step foot inside.
But right now, the floor looked nothing like a restricted zone. More than a dozen individuals were standing in small groups of two or three, though all of them had followed the protocols and procedures required to access the floor.
These men were holding thick bundles of parchment in their hands and their faces were a mixture of tension, anxiety, curiosity, and sheer exhaustion.
It had been two days since the attack on the Wizengamot, and this group had remained on this floor ever since, leaving for only a couple of hours at most to give their bodies much-needed rest.
All of these men were dressed in long, loose black robes with hoods that were currently lowered below their shoulders. Usually, whenever this group ventured outside, a magical black mist would shroud their features to protect their identities. Here, however, the mist was absent, as they were all well aware of who their colleagues were.
These were the Unspeakables of the Department of Mysteries. As the name suggested, they were the most secretive group in the entire Ministry. Aside from a rare few, no one knew their true identities, their true purpose, or the nature of their work.
While the Minister held authority over them, it was in name only. Even the most powerful Ministers of the past had acted with caution and hesitation regarding the Unspeakables. A weak and cowardly man like the incumbent Minister was certainly no exception. He hardly even had courage to speak in front of the unspeakables. Such fearsome was their reputation.
Directly in front of the gathered Unspeakables, in the exact center of the gargantuan hall, lay a massive runic circle. The diameter of the formation spanned nearly a hundred feet. Lines of shimmering and hazy blue colour were etched into the floor, running in every direction to create a densely packed, intersecting pattern. For a person who did not know anything about runes and did not know how to decipher the pattern, he could not even pick up the two ends of a line.
At specific intersections of these lines stood twenty three stone pillars, each eight feet tall and two feet thick. The runic lines were not confined to the ground only. They were climbing and coiling around the pillars as well.
In fact, the density of the carvings on the stone was far greater than those on the floor below. The entire array pulsed with a low, ethereal light, as if the blue colored runes were illuminating the hall themselves.
This intricate assembly of pillars and carvings was known as a Keystone.
A Keystone serves as the foundational anchor for any ward or family magic. The pillars and runes performed several vital functions. The stone pillars acted as the primary conduit, absorbing ambient magic and funneling it into the network of the runes to power the keystone in its entirety. Meanwhile, the runes carved into the ground determined the strength and specific functions of the wards.
For instance, a simple defensive ward requires only a basic runic pattern and perhaps a single small stone for support. However, to increase a ward's power, the runes must be layered, the greater the desired strength, the more numerous the layers. If additional functions were required, such as the ability to evict intruders, permit authorized Apparition, or even launch attacks outwards of the enclosed ward, the pattern would become exponentially more complex.
But not all keystones were this magnificent or huge. Perhaps only the keystone at Hogwarts could rival the sheer scale of the Ministry's Keystone.
By contrast, a Keystone supporting a common shop would consist of a single small stone and a small sized runic circle which was usually buried out of sight beneath the floorboards.
And yet, it was here, so deep inside the ministry building, that the Dark Lord had forcefully snatched control of the wards from the Minister and the department heads.
But the desecration of the hall did not end with the runic circle. At one edge of the hall, six bodies had been laid out in a precise, somber row. These corpses were also dressed in the dark robes of the Unspeakables, the men and women who had been slaughtered by the Death Eaters during the violent takeover of the Ministry wards. The surviving Unspeakables were now meticulously investigating the remains.
As if on cue, the massive doors at the entrance of the hall swung open without a sound. Three figures stepped inside. The Minister for Magic, Harold Minchum; the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Barty Crouch Sr. and the Head Auror, Alastor Moody.
They had come to learn the truth, to understand the exact sequence of events that had allowed the Dark Lord to seize control of the Ministry's very foundations.
#
#
#
[Add the book to your collection. Send it some power stones. Leave a rating and a review.]
[Access advanced chapter on P@treon. Replace @ with a. One additional advanced chapter each week on P@treon. ]
[email protected]/imaginarywriter