Time And Again

The Department of Mysteries was as cold as a tomb, but that was nothing I couldn't handle. When I first took on the job as an Initiate four years ago, my trainers had advised me to wear heavy robes to combat the damned near freezing temperatures this far down in the Earth. My husband thought I was daft to pursue such a dead end career, but gave in, because it is what I truly wanted, and who was he to stand in the way of my career?

I waited for the revolving room to center on the brain room that could drive one mad if they did not use Occlumency to shield them from their minds. The room looked much the same as it did on the night of the battle with the deatheaters fifth year, and just as cold inside. Ron Weasley was dumb enough to reach in, and touch one that night, and became delirious as a result.

Rows and rows of refrigerated aquariums filled with dancing, glowing brains. The whole scene was disturbing to look at, but now I just ignored it. I took out my notebook, and ball point pen. I filled out the memos, and catalogued the sentient brains from deceased witches and wizards that were gifted legilimens in their life.

I yawned, and counted the hours until my lunch break. I would be joining Severus for lunch for once, and I was looking forward to it; with our schedules being what they were, it was hard to find time to go on dates lately.

Three hours passed in absolute tedium as I moved from room to room. The timeturners were a rare commodity these days, but I had one on my person at all times, every Unspeakable did. When I became an Initiate, I found that an awesome perk to the job, to be licensed to carry one. I could not use it on the job while filling out reports. But filing and categorizing? Oh yes, you absolutely could use them for that. What I didn't know was how thankless and unrewarding the work truly was, but the classified nature of the work fascinated me.

I went back to the locator room, and had it revolve around until it brought me to the offices. I gathered my reports, and knocked on my handler's door.

"Come in, come in, Agent Snape," Agent Wilkins said without looking up from the parchment he was writing on.

Agent Brian Wilkins was what was called a Master Unspeakable, and my handler until I passed the final trials, whatever the hell that that entailed. I asked once what the exams entailed, and they cryptically answered: It is different for every agent. Yay. Brian was dressed in the same uniform we all wore: buttoned up robes that made every wizard look like a priest, and every witch a nun. But I didn't mind, oddly enough, and I was thankful that I didn't have to show leg to do my job properly. He had early male pattern baldness with ginger hair, and a scruffy beard he never trimmed. He was exceptionally ugly with his big nose, and boils...gross. I didn't care, I had a sexy, handsome husband, with a voice as decadent as chocolate. What need did I have for any other man in my life?

"I have the reports filled out," I said, laying them on his desk. "May I take off for lunch now?"

He looked down his fat, stubby nose at me, and shook his head. "Not just yet. The Veil has been acting up. I have determined that you can handle it."

If I knew what was about to happen to me, I wouldn't have agreed to the assignment with as much enthusiasm as I expressed: "Oh! Really? I'm so...sir, there are no words! I have always wanted to study it."

Wilkinson cackled. "Yeah, I know. Just fix what's making it flap its curtains about, and report back to me. Got that? Don't under any circumstances, touch any part of the curtain. Do you understand, Agent Snape?"

"I understand, thank you, sir."

"Yeah, yeah, get out of my office."

I quickly left, and made my way to the room the Veil of Death lay. But as I was observing it, I saw the curtains part, and a force more powerful than anything I have ever felt, dragged me to the Veil. My timeturner began to spin, and I tried to stop it, but to no avail. My body was pulled, yanked forward, and I saw darkness, and felt something soft catch my fall.

I heard my husband's words whisper in my ear: "....And I'd choose you; in a hundred different lifetimes, in a hundred worlds, in any version of reality, I'd find you and I'd choose you..."