The room was one of the most secure areas in the entire Ministry. Golems stood guard at the entrance and Aurors patrolled inside. Before going in, Alex was strictly warned, he was only allowed to look. No spellcasting, no wand use. If he violated that, he'd be treated as a hostile intruder.
Not that it mattered. Alex wasn't planning to use magic. Armed with a simple magnifying glass, he inspected the room quietly, taking mental notes of the design.
Thankfully, the structure of the Ministry's magic power source wasn't all that complicated, it was just incredibly important. During his brief inspection, Alex discovered that the Ministry's main source of magical power functioned similarly to Hogwarts. It absorbed and stored the ambient magic generated throughout the building.
Everyday life in the Ministry, Aurors training, magical departments casting spells, employees moving via Floo Network or Apparition, enchanted objects and magical creatures, all of it produced excess magical energy. This overflow didn't go to waste. Instead, a large-scale magic circle connected to the entire building absorbed and stored it for future use.
Alex wasn't too surprised. He'd already figured Hogwarts worked on the same principle. That school managed to stay operational all year, even though most of the time, it was just fueled by the energy given off by a few hundred students. And during holidays, when the castle was nearly empty, it still functioned perfectly.
So if Hogwarts could do that, then the Ministry, packed with hundreds of fully grown, highly trained witches and wizards using magic nonstop, should produce an even more overwhelming amount of excess magical power every day.
To get a better understanding of how that energy was used, Alex took some time to track the Ministry's daily magic output. He recorded the energy consumption on each floor, from the first basement level all the way to the tenth.
What he found was interesting.
The first, second, and tenth floors used the least amount of energy. That didn't surprise him. The first floor housed the Minister's Office, the second was the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, mainly offices and paperwork, and the tenth floor held the courtrooms, which were rarely in use.
But what did surprise him was which department consumed the most magical power.
He'd expected it to be something like the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes or the Department of Magical Transportation. But no, it was the Department of Mysteries, located deep underground on the ninth floor, that drained more energy than any other part of the Ministry. And that, more than anything, sparked Alex's curiosity all over again.
The Department of Mysteries turned out to be responsible for nearly one-third of the Ministry's daily magical energy consumption. It also had the highest magical output among all the departments. This revelation left Alex genuinely surprised. He'd heard of the place, of course, everyone had, but its operations were shrouded in secrecy.
Even someone as well-connected as Mad-Eye Moody knew very little about it. All he ever said was that the department was guarded by silent figures who never spoke a word to anyone outside their own ranks.
The moment Alex realized just how much energy the Department consumed, his curiosity flared. The discovery in the magic storage room only deepened his interest. But he also knew that the Department of Mysteries wasn't somewhere you casually investigated.
Its importance to the Ministry was enormous, and any unwanted probing could cause serious trouble. As curious as he was, Alex wasn't reckless. He made the wise choice to suppress his desire to dig deeper, for now. If the opportunity came later, he would consider studying it then.
Not long after Alex wrapped up the final phase of his repairs and research in the alchemy room, Minister Bagnold personally came to find him.
Her request to visit Azkaban had finally been approved.
"Alex, the two employees who were overseeing your work gave you a glowing review," Bagnold said warmly, clearly in a good mood. "I didn't even get a chance to properly thank you for everything you've done."
'Glowing review?' Alex smiled to himself but kept his thoughts to himself. In truth, he didn't think they understood much of the work at all, they were probably just trying to impress the higher-ups. Outwardly, though, he kept his expression humble.
"I was only doing my job," he replied politely. "I've already given them the full documentation for future maintenance on the alchemy room. I believe you should have a copy too. As long as it's properly maintained, the current system should run smoothly for at least another hundred years."
"If that's the case, then it's truly excellent work." Bagnold nodded in approval. Then, her tone grew a bit more serious. "Come with me. Your request to visit Azkaban has been approved, but I'll need to accompany you the entire time. That includes your meeting with Sirius Black, I'll be there, observing. I promise I won't interfere, but I hope you understand the need for this."
"That's not a problem," Alex said. "But when we meet him, I'd recommend using the Disillusionment Charm to hide your presence. I can't say for sure how Sirius will react if someone else is visibly there. He might not talk."
Bagnold nodded. "That won't be an issue. Our main goal is to get him talking, whether he's innocent or not."
As they walked together through the Ministry's main hall, Bagnold suddenly turned to Alex. "By the way, do you know how to cast the Patronus Charm? Azkaban isn't exactly a safe place. The Dementors don't care whether you're a criminal or not."
"Don't worry," Alex assured her. "I wouldn't say I'm a master at it, but I can cast it without trouble. It's good enough to keep them away."
Bagnold chuckled. "You're being too modest. Not even all the Aurors here can pull it off reliably. Honestly, I envy Dumbledore sometimes. He's lucky to have such a capable student. Why don't you consider joining the Ministry after graduation? If you're interested, I'd be more than happy to make you my assistant. Or, if you'd rather join the Auror Command, I could promise you the position of captain."
It wasn't the first time Bagnold had made the offer, and by the look in her eyes, it certainly wouldn't be the last.
"Thank you for the kind invitation," Alex said politely, "but I have my own goals to focus on. Even if I'm not working in the Ministry of Magic, it won't affect my collaboration with it. After all, I'm still supplying equipment to the Ministry through the Wilson's Arcane Alchemica. That relationship remains unchanged, so technically, I'm still contributing to the Ministry. But if I were to officially join now, it might cause unnecessary trouble, for both of us."
"I only value ability," Bagnold replied with a small smile, shaking her head, "nepotism means nothing to me. But what you said makes sense. Right now, the connection between the Wilson's Arcane Alchemica and the Ministry of Magic is just the relationship between you and me."
She gently placed a hand on Alex's shoulder, her expression turning more serious. "Hold on. We're about to leave."