Finally, something was happening, and for that Alfred was grateful. He did wish, however, that the Ministry was a little better at coordinating within itself. If they'd just sent him one letter, he wouldn't be standing in the Atrium like an idiot wondering what button to push when he got into the lift.

The Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes had been the one he was expecting, given what he'd seen on the ship. While it hadn't actually caused any catastrophes (that he was aware of), the chest certainly seemed as though it had the potential to, given what had happened when he'd tried to pry it open. He supposed he hadn't been surprised by the Department of Mysteries, either, because like most citizens of magical Britain he had no idea what the Department of Mysteries did, and the chest was certainly a mystery to him. Law Enforcement, though, made him nervous. Alfred was quite certain that he had done nothing wrong in finding the chest and promptly turning it over to the authorities, but he wasn't perfectly confident that the Department of Law Enforcement would see it the same way.

So, really, the decision came down to a few points: first, that Zelda worked in the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes, and going there would mean, possibly, talking to her. Was he ready to do that? He wasn't sure. Awkwardly trying to talk about this chest business with her, if she was involved in the investigation, while his mind was elsewhere did not seem particularly appealing. Second, there was a hopefully small but still nonzero chance that heading to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement would see him arrested. Did he want to start his day by being arrested? No, he did not. Not particularly.

So the Department of Mysteries it was, then. The lift arrived and Alfred went inside and pushed the appropriate button. He would be lying if he tried to convince himself he wasn't at least a little excited to maybe see a touch behind the curtain of the mysterious department.