FicWad

Disclaimer: Anything you recognise (and probably some of the stuff you don't) belongs not to me but to J.K Rowling. I do this not for profit, but for fun.
A.N. Chapter 2! Things begin to get going this chapter, the real fun will start next chapter though. Enjoy!

Chapter 2 - A Breakthrough

Two months had passed since I had joined the Department, and I was already beginning to feel that I had learnt everything I could from the people working in the Space Chamber.

I was currently working in the Sun - a large clinically clean white room, not a speck of dust in sight, with worktops around the edge of the room like a kitchen. Floating in the center of the room was a smaller version of the Solar System model outside. Occasionally a researcher would poke the model with his wand, performing one of the Analytic spells I now knew, making it glow different colours.

"Are you listening to me, Potter?"

I was disturbed from my daydreaming by Mr. Danton, a comparatively young Unspeakable who worked in the Sun Room, and consequently one of my teachers.

"Of course I'm listening, sir," I replied, and indeed I had been, if only with half an ear. "You were telling me about the problems you've been having with the propulsion system."

"Exactly, Mr. Potter, the propulsion system! It was reasonably easy to design the spells required to sustain a Wizard's survival in space; and only moderately difficult coming up with a navigation system for whatever craft is eventually used...but actually getting the craft to move fast enough to reach anywhere in good time simply doesn't seem to work...even the best of flying charms will only allow one to move at a few hundred miles and hour...perhaps Wizards were not meant to leave this planet...Oh well Mr. Potter, I suppose you had better get back to Jupiter and carry on with your learning, there's not much you can do in here..."

Sighing with frustration I left the Sun and walked into the now-familiar Space Chamber. Despite the fact that it was evident that I had more talent with magic than any of them, the Unspeakables in the Space department still did not think I was competent.

Quickly deciding that an afternoon in Jupiter reading books that I had already read was not a favorable use of my time, I walked instead to Mars to plead my case to Mr. Jackson. Like all of the offices in the Space Chamber, Mr. Jackson's office was small and shabby - it had become my belief that the Space project had become a kind of dumping ground for all the Unspeakables that they wanted to get rid of but couldn't. I, however, was determined to avoid this fate.

"Potter," said Mr. Jackson, apparently annoyed at being disturbed. "Shouldn't you be in your office reading? We don't want you to fall behind now do we?"

"Yes sir, don't worry, I'm quite on schedule with my studies. I was wanting to speak to you about perhaps taking more of an active roll in the research, rather than just watching."

Apparently this was the wrong thing to ask.

"A more active roll? Nonsense, you're still training! No, no, as it is all you'd do is get in the way I dare say. Until you've completed your training you cannot hope to understand what the other researchers are doing...that's just the way it is I'm afraid. I'll tell you what, Potter, why don't you go home early today, get some rest. It's obvious that the stress is getting to you."

My contempt for Jackson rising higher than ever before, I gave him a tight smile before leaving his office, knowing that if I tried to argue with him it would do more harm than good.

I left the Ministry quickly and floo'd back to my flat from the empty Atrium. Emerging from the fireplace on the other end, I took in the small yet cosy living room. It wasn't much - just a few armchairs gathered around a fire, surrounded by the surprisingly large amount of books that I had bought during my time at Hogwarts. Sighing again to myself as I collapsed into one of the armchairs, conjured myself a cup of tea and summoned a book on the storing of spells in crystals, a fascinating subject which sparked the beginnings of an idea in my mind.

I was interrupted from my thoughts by a whooshing sound and the fire in front of me springing to life to reveal the head of Albus Dumbledore. Surprised, I put down my cold cup of tea and book, giving Dumbledore my full attention.

"Professor Dumbledore," I said pleasantly, slightly curious as to why he was calling, yet also suspicious. How could he have known I would be home early?

"Ah, Harry my boy, there you are!" he called out from the fireplace, somehow looking down his glasses at me, even though he was at knee height.

"How may I help you professor? Is there a problem?"

"Oh no, no problem Harry, other than an old Headmaster wanting to see how his old head boy is doing...how are you holding up Harry? Finding the Ministry to your liking I hope? I must say, the staff at Hogwarts were all surprised when you chose to work there...we always had you marked down for a career in Quiddich, what with your father's talent and everything..."

For a moment I was tempted to tell him all about my frustration at not being taken seriously in the Department, but I stopped myself in time, realising that that was what he wanted - someone to tell him all about the Department of Mysteries. I, however, was not quite ready to jeopardise my job just yet.

"I'm doing well enough Professor, though I'm still in the process of settling in...some of the stuff there is amazing...in fact, I should probably be working on something now, I've got an idea I need to work on..."

"Marvelous! I'm glad to hear that you're enjoying yourself. Well, I'll let you get back to your work then. Hopefully I'll be able to speak to you again soon, it was one of my great regrets that I did not get to see you more when you were in school...Good day!"

With that final farewell and a pop, he was gone from the flames and the fire died. I doubted that I would have as good a night as he had wished me though, as I had only this night to prepare my idea for Mr. Jackson tomorrow, when I would corner him in his office.

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"I'm telling you Mr. Jackson, my idea will work!"

It was the next day and I was in Mr. Jackson's office, trying to get him to accept my proposal. It was not going well.

"Mr. Potter," Jackson said sternly, shocked at my audacity in questioning him, "I assure you, any idea that you may think you have will have been tried before. I have been overseeing this project since before you were born, and let me tell you that your project sounds very similar indeed to something we tried a few years back, to little success. I'm sorry, Potter, but my answer is - "

""Mr. Jackson," I practically growled out, still tired from working all through the night, "if you would just look over my proposal, you would find that it is fundamentally different from the idea attempted in 1993."

Thrusting a bundle of parchment at him, I continued.

"I have integrated a feedback loop into the system to ensure that there is no energy loss - the process will be able to feed itself perpetually!"

Hearing this, Jackson reluctantly took the parchments from me and looked through them skeptically, raising his bushy eyebrows at various places.

"Very well, Potter," He said eventually, passing the plans back to me, "You have until the end of the week."

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Checking my watch and picking up my wand, I carefully drew the last rune onto the tiny diamond, trying not to rush, but realizing that I had little time left. The week that Jackson had given me was almost over, and in just under ten minutes I had to present my work to Mr. Jackson and Mr. Danton.

I was currently in Mercury, the smallest workroom, putting the finishing touches to the Rune Set I had created. It was hard work as the runes were so small, but after a week I was almost done.

And what a week it had been: after being given permission for my project by Mr. Jackson, I still had to persuade the Department to give me two diamonds, some pure Silver and some marble, not to mention the fact that I had to construct a whole Rune Set...it was obvious that Jackson thought I would fail, which, I mused, was probably the reason why he let me do it in the first place.

Still, finally I was finished. Sitting in front of me on the work top were a set of two tiny diamonds, only about half a centimeter across; connected to each other by a delicate looking silver chain; each diamond covered in Runes so small that you needed a magnifying spell to see them. Next to the diamonds was a small cylinder of black marble, about the size of a finger. This cylinder had a thin hollowed out shaft down its center; carefully I picked up the diamond chain and fed it into the shaft so that the diamond on one end of the chain was inside the marble, the diamond on the other end just visible sticking out of the bottom of the cylinder.

Satisfied with my work, I picked it up, left Mercury, and headed into the Sun, where my display would take place. Waiting inside the Sun for me was Mr. Jackson and the two other senior Unspeakables in the Space department.

"This better be good, Potter," said Jackson, "Or this little stunt of yours will have set us back a week."

"Don't worry," I said, sounding more confident than I was, "It'll work."

I waved my wand at the cylinder and directed it as it levitated over to the Solar System model in the center of the room. Setting it down on Earth, I turned to my audience and started to explain my idea.

"At its most basic level, this is a variation of the experiment you did in 1993, with one crucial new element. One diamond is set to propel the mini-rocket using a powerful runic charm of my own creation - a mixture between an explosion spell and a flying spell. The second diamond has a replenishing spell on it to keep the first diamond going. This is where you ran into a problem last time - the system worked, but it leaked energy so quickly that even with the replenishing crystal it would run out of steam within seconds. To this end, I have created a separate Rune Set for the rocket itself: the marble will gather in all of the excess magical energy left in the wake of the previous spell and feed this energy back into the replenishing crystal, allowing the whole system to feed itself and run almost perpetually. There is of course some loss of energy, but it is minute."

By now the three Unspeakables were gaping at me - obviously they hadn't thought that I was capable of such a piece of magic. I simply smiled at them and said,

"Observe."

Then, once again waving my wand at the rocket, the cylinder shot up from its place of the model of Earth and promptly traveled to Saturn where it began to orbit the planet at an incredible speed for it's size, a small trail of fire behind it.

Enthusiastic clapping came from behind me, echoing around the room, and turning around I saw Mr. Verdic, applauding like a child as my rocket circled Saturn.

"Very good Mr. Potter, very good indeed! I can see you'll go far here. For now though, you must come with me, the Head wishes to see you."

I followed the unusually silent Verdic out of the room and into the Space Chamber. He appeared to have organized for a more direct route this time, as when we took the hidden door out of the Space Chamber, we walked straight into the Door Room. Once again the password "Magpie" was given and the series of doors melted into two, not bothering with the showy revolving effect for the Deputy Head of Department.

Pointing to the door I had not taken before, Mr. Verdic said,

"That is the Head's office. I wish you good luck."

Turning away from me, he disappeared into his own office, leaving me alone with the door. I moved forward to knock, but the door swung open before my fist could connect, revealing an office very similar to Verdic's, except for the man sitting at the desk, writing. Where Mr. Verdic was fat and jolly, this man was tall, thin and pale...the stereotype Unspeakable.

"Enter." He called out, still not looking up, and I briefly wondered why everything in the Department had to be so dramatic before walking into the office, the door slamming shut behind me.

"Sit down, Potter," he said, gesturing with one hand to a seat in front of his desk, the other hand still using his quill. "We have a few things to discuss."

The man finally finished off writing whatever it was he was writing and put the parchment off to one side, finally looking up at me with a penetrating stare.

"It seems, Potter, that you have been causing a bit of a disturbance in my Department."

I wondered for a moment if I was about to be told off, before I forcibly reminded myself that this was not school anymore.

"In a little over two months you have managed to solve a problem that some of the cleverest people in the country have been trying to solve for decades...it is obvious now that you are more than just the famous face I thought you were, and that your talents are not insubstantial. It is for this reason I have decided to promote you to Junior Unspeakable earlier than usual."

He paused here, and I wondered if I was supposed to say something, but just as I was about to speak he continued.

"It has also become apparent that your talents are being wasted where they are at present." This time when he paused, I did interrupt.

"I wouldn't quite say wasted, sir," I said, a bit insulted that he appeared to be belittling my hard work on the rocket. "The space research might change the way the Wizarding World views itself."

"Perhaps," said the Head doubtfully. I realized that he still hadn't given me his name. "But it is still just a curiosity - not a necessity."

He paused again.

"It is through necessity, Mr. Potter, that I have decided to transfer you, effective immediately. It is a relatively new project that the Minister himself has sanctioned - top secret of course, even within the Department. You must speak of it to no one. My assistant will lead you there now. Good luck Mr. Potter, I don't think that we shall be seeing each other for a while."

With that rather mysterious statement he took back his quill and began writing again, as if I were no longer there. Confused as to what I was supposed to do next, I looked around the room, and almost fell out of my chair when I saw Mr. X right behind me, only inches away. How could he have snuck up on me so quietly?

"Follow me," Mr. X said, as eloquent as ever. I followed him out of the office in our usual silence. We stopped in the Door Room and he turned to me to speak, deadly serious.

"No one must ever see you do this," he whispered, and then he spoke a new password to the Room.

"Infensus Terreo."

Again, the doors did not revolve but instead a third door melted into existence between the two doors already there.

"This is where you will work from now on," Mr. X said, and he led me through the door, a feeling of foreboding suddenly coming across me.

At first I thought he had led me back to the Sun Room, and indeed this room was similar, but the differences were apparent almost immediately. For a start, this room was much bigger, and had several doors leading off from it. There were also far more people here: at least fifteen Unspeakables at first glance, all of them busy at work. Last but not least was the fact that at the center of the room, instead of the model Solar System that the Sun Room had, there was the biggest diamond I had ever seen, at least half a metre across, sitting on a tripod and surrounded by Unspeakables.

"What is it?" I asked, dreading the answer, yet strangely curious. The feeling of magical power that the crystal was giving off was amazing.

Mr. X's eyes seemed to light up at my question, the first time I had seen emotion on his face.

"That," he said, "Is what will ensure the future of the Wizarding World, Mr. Potter. It is what will keep us safe in our beds at night, and will strike fear into the hearts of our enemies. You see, the Minister has recently become concerned at the advances that the Muggles have been making...this is our answer."

"This is what I will be working on? A weapon?" I asked in growing horror and disbelief. The Wizarding World had never made a weapon before in its history. It had never needed to.

"It is," said Mr. X, apparently unconcerned, "A weapon of terrible power."