Chapter Twenty-Four: A Mystery Even Unto Himself

Star Wars + Harry Potter Crossover

A/N: I was able to sleep for the first time in two weeks last night. Granted, it took a tumbler of brandy, three advil and some prednisone, but I'll take what I can get. So hopefully my review responses for Chap 23 will not be as grumpy as they have been recently.

I was considering ending things with this story and not posting Stars Alone. As I've mentioned, I've not been able to write for several months now and am coasting on established material. But I have over 200000 words written of the empire-building that I hinted at in Broken Chains, but never proceeded with. I ever work in some Arthurian archetypes and the Evil Overlord List, sort of. So, at least for now, I intent to post and finish the upcoming Broken Chains sequel before I step back and decide whether I wish to continue writing fanfiction or not. I'll post notes on my profile so no one has to guess.

And now, Kyle finds a mystery, and Amelia gets gnawed on by a crocodile. Enjoy.

Chapter Twenty-Four: A Mystery Even Unto Himself

The Pen is only mightier than the sword when Kyle Katarn wields the pen.

The Ministry of Magic was an astonishing mix of modern and archaic; Muggle and magical.

Kyle followed Amelia out of the lift in his newly appropriated Unspeakable robe, and fought not to stare. It wasn't that he'd never encountered huge or sumptuous surroundings before. The Imperial Palace on Bastion was larger, in and of itself, than the whole city of London. But what truly astonished him was the amount of space the ministry occupied underneath London.

The very existence of the cavernous space was a powerful testament to magic, as there was no other way it could exist otherwise. There were whole walls filled with floor after floor of offices, which confused Kyle because it didn't seem there were enough magicals in the kingdom to justify such a large bureaucracy.

Kyle ignored the elaborate if very, very tacky fountain and instead looked with interest at the people of the Ministry. It was in truth the first time he'd been around so many wizards in the open and his stay in the castle was not typical of wizarding society at large.

What he saw was a living contradiction in terms—an insular society smug in its superiority while stagnating in isolation. The people wore old Muggle styles under their robes, but the clothes themselves were off even to Kyle's non-Terran eyes. Over all, though, he sensed a tension in the air of the whole ministry, like animals before a storm. Many of the people knew something bad was coming, they just couldn't clearly identify what it was. Those that knew were either too scared to speak about it, or eager to usher it in.

They reached the lift and headed down to the ninth level below the main atrium, to the Department of Mysteries. The moment they stepped off the lift they were met by a figure in the same gray robes they wore, with a charmed cowl hiding every hint of their face. Within the hood, Kyle heard a hollow voice whisper to him: "This way. Do not speak."

They stepped further into a larger room filled with various doors that abruptly began to spin around them so fast Kyle couldn't make out anything but a blue. Just as quick, the doors stopped and their guide led them to one that seemed no different than the rest.

They emerged in what could only be described as a hexagonal interrogation room, but one walled completely in transparent glass. In its center stood a plain, empty metal desk. Only as Kyle stepped toward it, however, did he see that the table was covered in magical runes. Beyond the glass, through each of the six walls, he could see a different setting. One was a seemingly endless hall filled with glowing orbs; the second an empty amphitheater filled with only a black stone arch; a third had tanks filled with tentacle brains; the fourth had glass containers of sparkling sand and walls of large, clunky clock-like devices. He noticed one was missing. The fifth looked like a remarkably detailed, accurate depiction of the Terran solar system, while the last was simply a locked door at the end of a long hall.

Their guide removed his cowl revealing a man with long jowls, heavy eyelids, a long nose and a permanent down-turn to his bloodless lips. He was in fact one of the most morose men Kyle had ever seen. "You may remove your hoods. No one can see us here." Even his voice was low and dull, like the pealing of an old bell calling mourners to a funeral mass.

Kyle and Amelia both complied. The Unspeakable studied them both a moment before nodding. "I'm glad you're not dead, Bones. I wasn't sure I could believe Gumboil when he told me."

"Thank you, Bode. I would be, if not for Katarn," Amelia said with a nod.

"Ah, yes. The wizard from beyond the stars," Bode said. "We've watched you with some interest, Katarn. You're arrival greatly upset our Diviners. Supposedly you've disrupted half a dozen prophecies."

"Good. I hate prophecies."

"Yes." The Unpseakable left the word hanging awkwardly before he turned and pointed to the wall which showed the room of clocks and sand. "A time turner is unaccounted for. Given the protections here, it is highly unlikely it was stolen by someone from outside the department. And so we have accepted your word that Augustus Rookwood is attempting to infiltrate the Department."

"That's good, Bode. And?" Amelia asked.

Bode stared at her blankly for a moment and Kyle began to suspect the man's behavior was not a play, but rather he was so socially unskilled he did not know how to speak to people in a normal fashion.

"He attempted to place me under the Imperius yesterday," the old wizard said. "Fortunately, following Gumboil's warning, we took precautions. He believes I was able to remove a certain prophecy pertaining to the Dark Lord and Harry Potter from its place on the shelf, but was so badly injured in the process I could not take it out of the department."

He touched a series of runes, and one of the glass walls zoomed into the chamber with the black stone arch. On the arch's raised platform they could see a single glowing orb.

"A trap," Amelia said with an approving nod. "Very good. Who do you have to capture him?"

Bode stared back at her, and then Kyle, before glancing down at the table. "He is coming. He appears to be wearing his own Unspeakable robes. Be aware the robes are charmed with several layers of magical protections."

Kyle noticed Amelia pale. "You don't have any back up?"

Bode shrugged. "The Department does not wish it known we have been infiltrated and you do not wish it known you yet live."

"But this is Rookwood," Amelia said. "Do you really think we can take him?"

Bode shrugged again. "I must play my part. When the time comes, do as I do now."

With that, the Unspeakable pulled his hood back over his head and then stepped through the glass wall into the arch chamber, appearing within the chamber itself as if by silent apparition. He walked toward the raised dais, laid down on the steps and then stretched out an arm toward the glowing orb, as if he had just fallen and dropped it.

"How good is this Rookwood?" Kyle asked.

Amelia frowned. "He gave me quite the pasting back in '80," she admitted. "Twice, no less. It was Alastor Moody who saved my arse then."

"Alastor…Moody. Not Gumboil?"

"There were three Alastors in my class at Hogwarts alone," Amelia said dryly. "I know ten off the top of my head."

"Right." Kyle considered the chamber, studying it. "Do you think you could last long enough to get his back turned to wherever we emerge from?"

Amelia ground her teeth. "Yes."

"Then how 'bout you go in first, get his attention and distract him, and then I ambush him."

"It's worth a shot," Amelia admitted. She leaned on the table, bent over and rubbed the joint of her flesh and artificial leg. "Damned, I hate this."

Kyle said nothing; he simply looked at her with his one good eye. "When this is over, and this dark lord of yours is done, what are you planning on doing?"

"Clean up," Amelia said. "It's obvious from Fudge's behavior he's not fit to be minister. So, we clean out the Ministry and do what we can to keep this from happening ever again."

"And then?"

Amelia shrugged. "I try not to plan too far ahead, Kyle. It leads to too much disappointment. What about you?"

"I need to complete Harry's training as a Jedi," Kyle said resolutely. "When he thought I died, he touched the Dark Side, however briefly. He needs to learn enough control to overcome that temptation in the future. After that…well, frankly I'm supposed to be retired."

Amelia smirked. "You are older than dirt."

At that moment, a new figure stepped into the arch chamber. Like Bode, he wore a gray robe with a cowl that was charmed to hide his features. Kyle watched as Amelia stared at the newcomer with grim resolve. "Be quick," she said softly. "With my leg, I'm at a disadvantage with a superior duelist."

"Get his back turned," Kyle said. "And I'm there."

With that, Amelia stepped through the glass wall. Kyle watched as the other newcomer looked up in alarm. "Who are you?" he said aloud, despite the cowl.

Amelia answered with a powerful blasting curse, which the other wizard batted away contemptuously. "Ah, Amelia Bones" the wizard said, somehow recognizing her wand or magic. "I wondered if the trap actually caught you or not. Now doubt your Muggle lover is in the control room waiting, as well. Well, let's see how he likes…this."

The man ducked, spun his wand and jabbed it forward. Amelia tried ducking away, but with an artificial leg she just wasn't fast enough. In a strange bit of what seemed at first like luck, the spell did not strike her body, but the very artificial limb that slowed her.

Abruptly, the artificial limb changed into a twelve-foot long crocodile, with its jaws latched firmly on the stump her leg. Amelia screamed in anguished pain and Kyle charged out of the glass wall.

"And there is our…"

The explosion of Force lightning from Kyle's hands filled the entire chamber, not just with light, but with a numbing, ear-splitting crack. The power slammed into Rookwood and threw him bodily into a far wall. Rather than press the attack, Kyle spun and threw his saber in a spinning arch through the neck of the transfigured crocodile. The blade returned to his hand just in time to swipe away a curse from the Unspeakable, who somehow had recovered from a burst of power that would have killed a dozen men.

"So the Space Muggle has power," Rookwood said in a high-pitched, taunting voice. "Well try this on, old man."

The wizard began conjuring. Swarms of bees, packs of wolves and bears appeared out of thin air and descended on Kyle, while the wizard at the same time continued firing a fusillade of curses. Kyle swept the bees away with the Force, decapitated the bear with his saber and blasted the five wolves with the Force and threw them toward the ever-moving wizard. He let the Force guide him around the curses, though it took every bit of strength and agility his old body still possessed, and he did not escape unscathed as he felt burning magic clip him in several spots.

Still the animals came—tigers and more bears, lions and manticores. The wizard's conjuring skill was astounding and frightening.

The fight changed, however, when Broderick Bode stood up from his play acting, brandished his wand, and Kyle tensed for the possibility of betrayal. He was not at all sure he'd be able to fight both men, especially given he was barely holding his own against the one. However, his fears were quickly proven unfounded.

Bode flicked his wand, and suddenly Rookwood's arms snapped to his side, his feet snapped together, and he fell over with a loud, metallic clang. "Bode, you'll pay for this!" Rookwood screamed.

Kyle sagged with exhaustion when he saw the fight was over. "What happened?"

"He is wearing an Unspeakable Cloak," Bode said in his low, doleful voice. "Which has a petrifying charm that only the Head Unspeakable can activate. A safety feature, you see, when we began studying cognivores. Occasionally one would overcome an Unspeakable and he would go about causing mischief until he was stopped."

Kyle limped past Bode to where Amelia lay looking up at the ceiling with a profound expression of disgust and pain. Her eyes glistened. "Bugger me, he did it again!" she growled.

He collapsed onto the step next to where she laid and studied the bloodied, mangled stump of her right leg. "It won't make you feel any better, but he came damned close to getting me too." He glanced up to where Bode had removed Rookwood's wand and was levitating him closer to where the other two were. "So, why'd you wait to do that?" he demanded.

Bode looked at the two a moment before shrugging. "We wished to see what space wizards could do. Are you the best they have to offer?"

Kyle snorted. "Luke Skywalker could level this building. Sithspit, I bet his son Ben could too. I'm not the best, nor most powerful. I'm just the most stubborn."

"Good to know," Bode said. "Rookwood is one of our best. I dare say even Dumbledore himself would have been hard pressed to defeat the man in straight combat. A shame he chose to dedicate himself to an insurgent. The best magical research for us occurs during times of stability, not civil war. Now, if you will assist me?"

Not only was Rookwood's robe stiffened to paralyze him, it actually felt metallic when Kyle helped Bode remove the cowl to reveal a lean, pock-marked face framed by straggly, unwashed gray hair. Dark eyes stared hatred up at them as the man spat. Fortunately, both Bode and Kyle were far enough away to evade the projectile.

"I'll tell you nothing!" Rookwood hissed.

"Oh, don't be so sure," Bode said. He reached into his robe and slipped on a thick, metal gauntlet. "You, of all people, must realize we have ways of making you talk."

"My occlumancy is stronger than any potion or legillimens you have!" Rookwood snapped.

"Perhaps," Bode allowed. "Which is why we won't bother with those approaches." With his metallic gauntlet, Bode reached into yet another previously hidden pocket of his robes and removed a…living brain, pulsing with an odd, viscous slime and twitching with a series of tentacles from its base. "Have you met my friend Pep the Cognivore?"

Rookwood's eyes bulged. "You wouldn't dare!" he screamed. "That's illegal! The Minister will…"

"My dear," Bode said. "This is the Department of Mysteries. And you are still an Unspeakable, despite your crimes. No one will hear you scream, and no one will ever hear your tale but us. Speak now, or Pep will speak for you."

"You're lying," Rookwood said. "Not even you, Bode, would do something like that."

"You'd think so," Bode said, and for the first time Kyle saw the man smile, though it was utterly devoid of humor, or even humanity, for that matter. "But then, your master went and murdered my dear sister and her family last war, didn't he? It changes a man, watching loved ones die screaming like I did."

And with that. Bode dropped the cognivore directly onto Rookwood's face. Instantly tentacles stabbed into the Death Eater's head and neck as he screamed and convulsed in agony so strong Kyle felt it throbbing in the Force.

"What the blazes is that thing?" Amelia demanded in horror.

"A failed, magical attempt to create a living computer," Bode answered as he stared clinically down at the still twitching man. "We removed the brains of several prisoners at Azkaban who were sentenced to be kissed by Dementors, kept them alive through a form of necromancy, and tried to use a runic matrix to make them store and release information."

"What happened?" Kyle asked, fascinated and revolted.

"They retained the personalities of their original selves and went quite insane. This one, however, was altered by having portions of its frontal lobe and cortex trimmed and suppressed. Now, it is the most powerful interrogation tool the Department of Mysteries has, because it opens a door directly into the subconscious. For example, Augustus, old friend, can you hear me?"

"YES." The voice gurgled and echoed as it spoke; Kyle could not tell if it came from Rookwood, the Cognivore, or both.

"Why does your master want this prophecy?"

"To see what connection he has with the Potter boy," Rookwood answered.

"How does he know about the Prophecy?"

"SNAPE TOLD HIM."

"Is that why he chose to attack the Potters?"

"YES."

Kyle leaned forward, and said, "What do you know of Horcruxes?"

Rookwood said nothing, and Bode motioned Kyle for silence. "He can only hear me because I charmed Pep. Augustus, old friend, do you know why your master did not die when his body was destroyed?"

"YES."

"Tell us, please."

"SOUL JARS."

"How many did he make, and what are they?"

"SIX. I DO NOT KNOW ALL, ONLY THE ONE I ASSISTED HIM WITH AFTER HE REGAINED HIS BODY. NAGINI, HIS SNAKE."

Nearby, Amelia hissed in alarm. "He's regained his body? How?"

"It doesn't matter now," Kyle said darkly. "Ask him if anyone else would know what they all are?"

"Augustus, is there anyone your master trusts enough to divulge what and where his soul jars are?"

"BELLA."

"Bellatrix Lestrange," Amelia interpreted.

"Where is she?" Bode asked.

"MALFOYS."

Bode leaned back. "We have little time left. Is there anything else you wished to ask?"

"Yes. Ask him how he intends to get to Potter."

Bode repeated the question dutifully. The answer chilled Kyle. "POTTER WILL COME TO HIM."

The pulsing brain suddenly went limp and slid off Rookwood's face, leaving the man staring blankly up at the black depths of the ceiling, jaws agape. "Well, a most useful conversation," Bode said. He stood, and with his wand levitated the motionless man toward the arch.

Kyle stood as well and for the first time realized that the arch was a null zone in the Force. He could not feel anything from it at all, which is why he never really studied it before. That, and he was fighting for his life. But now that he looked, he could see a faint shimmer like a curtain suspended from the arch. "What is that?"

"That, Katarn, is a gateway to death." And with that, Bode levitated the body through the curtain; it did not emerge on the other side. The Unspeakable flicked his wand, and the dead cognivore disappeared with a wet splat. Meanwhile, Amelia began charming her stump with field spells until she was able to magically repair her prosthetic and slip it on. She paled the color of bone and gasped in pain, but stood up anyway.

"Bode, can you help us any further?"

"Sadly, I cannot," Bode said. "Rookwood was one of mine so I had the authority to act here within the Department. Beyond that, I have no authority."

"What about right and wrong?" Kyle demanded.

Bode looked at Kyle for a long moment before flashing another humorless smile. "Unspeakables know nothing about right or wrong. There is only knowledge. And that is why Unspeakables are not permitted to take part in conflict. I am utterly without morality. I have only the ethics of my office to guide me."

Worse yet, Kyle could sense the man spoke not just the truth as he knew it, but the actual truth. Bode could just as easily have killed Kyle and Amelia as he did Rookwood. He was a monster the light side did not need.

"Understood," Kyle said curtly. "Thank you for your help."

"Indeed. You should leave now. Give Gumboil my regards."

~~Katarn~~

~~Katarn~~

Harry left the testing room rubbing his right wrist while popping his neck and concentrating on a Jedi healing cantrip to ease the pain in his back. He'd just finished eight solid hours of testing for his OWL exams. He wasn't surprised to see Remus Lupin waiting outside the room, arms crossed. "Well, how did you do?"

"It was fine," Harry said. And it was—he felt confident he did more than well enough on the various tests. His weakness was likely potions and History of Magic, but he had a hard time believing he'd be making much use of either of those two disciplines. "Any word on the headmaster?"

"Let's go see, shall we?"

Three days had passed since they destroyed Gaunt's ring, and in all that time Harry hadn't seen the professor once. Rumors were flying all around the school that something happened and that Potter was involved. McGonagall insisted during the first dinner without Dumbledore that the headmaster had simply slipped and fallen, and would be right as rain soon enough.

"So he's seeing visitors?"

"He's in his office even now," Remus said. The older man walked slowly, hands in his pockets. "He told me that you saved his life. It was a very brave thing you did."

Harry shrugged. "It was necessary."

"Yes, quite." Not seeming to know what else to say, Lupin said nothing and the two continued toward the headmaster's stairs. When they reached Dumbledore's office, they found the headmaster at his desk plowing through a stack of parchments and envelopes. "Ah, Mr. Potter. Mr. Lupin. I understand you took your OWLs today, Harry."

"Yes, professor," Harry said. He was staring at an intact, seemingly fully functional right hand on the old wizard, albeit one covered in a felt glove. "How is…well, can magic regrow arms, then?"

"This?" Dumbledore wiggled his hand, before removing the glove to reveal a silver hand. "It is an alchemical construct of bio-neutral quicksilver. I would not be immodest to say there are only four wizards in the world capable of producing one that does not kill the user with mercury poisoning. It suffices for now." He slipped his glove back on and sighed. "Remus, thank you. May I have a word with Mr. Potter alone?"

"Of course," Remus said, with a last glance at Harry before he left.

Harry sank down in his chair. "What is it?"

"I have learned that there has been a mass breakout from Azkaban, the wizarding prison. Almost all of Voldemort's Inner Circle have escaped. The Ministry is suppressing this information, which leads me to wonder if Minister Fudge is actually even in charge anymore. I've spoken with the other judges, and they have actually agreed for safety reasons to move the Third Task sooner. So it will be mid-March rather than June. It is my hope that the sooner we can get the task completed, win or lose, the sooner you can resume your life."

"Then it's a good thing I scheduled my NEWTs for February," Harry said dryly.

Dumbledore blinked. "Did you really? Will you be ready?"

"I will. I may only be here a year, but I've seen enough to know that magic would be a valuable skill to have. Perhaps I can find other Jedi who can also practice magic."

"Perhaps indeed," Dumbledore said softly, in open speculation. "In the meantime, I must urge you to take care around Severus. He has been pushing for certain changes in security in the school with the Board of Governors, and with the weight of the Ministry behind him, his arguments are compelling."

"Thank you for the warning; I know to be careful around him."

The old wizard nodded. A moment later, with his left hand, he reached into his desk and placed the broken Gaunt ring on his desk. "While the enchantments on this ring have been broken, the stone itself is quite valuable. And in a very real since, it is here, now, because of you."

Harry stared at it for a moment, trying not to think of the terrifying events he had to live through in obtaining it. "Not to be ungrateful, Professor, but I'm not sure I want it."

"And that is a wise position to take. Nonetheless, I think you should keep it." Dumbledore flicked his wand and deftly conjured a chain that he threaded through the ring. "Wear it around your neck as a reminder to hubris and courage, mine and yours respectively."

With a shrug, Harry cast his own detection charms on it, and finding it magically neutral, he slipped it over his head. "Very well."

"And, since you're here, and I'm tired of paperwork, let's have a lesson, shall we?" Dumbledore said with a smile.

Thanks for reading.