Level Nine

• Type: Level within the Ministry of Magic
• Location: Ministry of Magic, London, England
• Owner/Residents: Ministry of Magic; primarily staffed by Unspeakables
• Key Features: The deepest level of the Ministry of Magic, housing the Department of Mysteries. The main corridor is stark, windowless, and tiled in black, ending at a single, plain black door with no handle. Access is strictly controlled.

Level Nine is the lowest and most secret floor of the Ministry of Magic headquarters. It is accessible via the main lifts in the Atrium, although during the Second Wizarding War, under Lord Voldemort's control, the lift's magical voice would no longer announce this destination. The primary access corridor, as seen repeatedly in Harry Potter's visions, is a simple, unadorned passageway. The walls, floor, and ceiling are made of polished black stone or tile, reflecting the cool blue flames of torches that provide the only light. There are no other doors or windows along its length, creating an atmosphere of profound secrecy and isolation. At the far end of this corridor stands a single, plain black door. This door has no handle or keyhole and can only be opened by an Unspeakable pressing their palm flat against its surface. This door leads directly into the Department of Mysteries, a section of the Ministry of Magic dedicated to the study of life's most profound and unanswerable questions, such as thought, time, space, love, and death. The history of Level Nine is synonymous with the history of the Department itself, which is largely unknown to the general wizarding public.

Level Nine is a central location in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, serving as the focal point for Lord Voldemort's plans and Harry Potter's mysterious visions.

• Harry's Visions: Throughout his fifth year, Harry experiences recurring dreams of walking down the main corridor of Level Nine and trying to open the door at its end. This is a result of the mental connection he shares with Lord Voldemort, who is obsessed with retrieving a Prophecy stored within the Hall of Prophecy.
• Arthur Weasley's Attack: Harry witnesses Lord Voldemort's snake, Nagini, viciously attacking Arthur Weasley outside the door to the Department of Mysteries from the snake's point of view. This vision saves Mr. Weasley's life and prompts Albus Dumbledore to arrange for Occlumency lessons for Harry.
• Battle of the Department of Mysteries: The climax of the fifth book occurs on Level Nine. Lured by a false vision of Sirius Black being tortured, Harry and five of his friends—members of Dumbledore's Army—travel to the Department of Mysteries. They are ambushed by Death Eaters, leading to a fierce battle that rages through several of the department's chambers. The battle culminates in the death of Sirius Black, who falls through the ancient Veil in the Death Chamber, and the public return of Lord Voldemort, who is seen dueling Albus Dumbledore in the Ministry of Magic Atrium.
• Ministry under Voldemort: In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, when the trio infiltrates the Ministry, the lift no longer announces “Department of Mysteries,” signifying its heightened secrecy under the corrupt regime.

The door at the end of the corridor on Level Nine opens into the Department of Mysteries, which contains a series of distinct chambers, each dedicated to a different field of study.

• The Entrance Chamber: A circular, black-walled room with a dozen identical, handle-less black doors. The room magically spins whenever a door is closed, disorienting visitors and making it impossible to know which door they originally entered through.
• The Brain Room: A long, rectangular room containing a large glass tank filled with a green potion in which pearly-white, disembodied brains float. These brains are capable of attacking with long, colorful tendrils of thought.
• The Death Chamber: A stone amphitheater with a raised dais at its center, upon which stands a tattered black Veil hanging from an ancient, crumbling archway. Whispering voices can be heard from beyond the Veil, which serves as a one-way portal between the worlds of the living and the dead.
• The Hall of Prophecy: A vast, high-ceilinged, and extremely cold room filled with countless rows of towering shelves. These shelves hold thousands of dusty glass spheres, which are Prophecy Records. Only the subject of a Prophecy can safely retrieve it.
• The Time Room: A room filled with the sparkling, dancing light of various time-related magical devices. It contains a large crystal bell jar in which an object (a hummingbird) is trapped in a loop of aging and regressing, as well as a large stock of Time-Turners.
• The Space Chamber: A dark room where models of planets and moons hang suspended in mid-air, creating a miniature orrery that visitors can walk amongst.
• The “Always Locked” Room: A room that remained stubbornly locked against all magical and physical attempts to open it. Albus Dumbledore later explained that this room contains the most powerful force of all, a force more wonderful and more terrible than death, human intelligence, and the forces of nature: Love.

• In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the Hall of Prophecy was one of the first entirely computer-generated sets used in the film series. The vast scale of the room, with its seemingly infinite rows of shattering prophecy orbs, was created digitally to capture the overwhelming size described in the novel. (film)