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. Things get interesting this chapter. Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 3 - Mudbloods and Murmurs

"Granger! What the hell are you doing here?"

It had been three months since I had joined the Project, and with the experience I had gained in the Space Department, I had already helped the Project over several obstacles, promotion being the happy result.

I was currently sitting at a worktop in the main room, or Crystal room, of the Project complex, and it was largely unchanged from when I had first seen it. The only noticeable difference was that the diamond in the center of the room had evolved into five separate diamonds, one in the center and four around it, all linked by platinum chains. I had been working on an extremely difficult Rune-Spell Pattern, infinitely more complex than the Rocket set, when Granger, the bane of my Hogwarts existence, showed her face.

"I could ask you the same thing, Potter," she said imperiously, looking down at me and distracting me from my work. "If you must know, I've been given a very important job here. I've been told to report directly to the Unspeakable in charge of Spell Embedment, where might I find him?"

Hearing this it was all I could do not to groan out loud. Why me? I had worked together with Granger when she was Head Girl, and she was smug enough then, but now she had been made a Junior Unspeakable she would be insufferable.

"The man you seek is I, Granger. Why was I not notified of this?"

"You, Potter?" she asked, not answering my question, "You must be joking..." She paused here, as if waiting for some one to laugh, but when they did not she let out a huff and continued unperturbed, "Well, I can see that you're still using your fame to cheat yourself into positions that you don't deserve, Potter..."

I prepared myself for the rant that I had grown used to in the previous year. It really didn't surprise me that Granger still couldn't take someone being better than her, but this was wasting my time, so I decided to interrupt her before she could gain momentum.

"Think whatever you want to think, Granger, but the fact remains that apparently you work for me now, and as such I expect you to do as I say. Here's your first assignment: shut up."

Silence fell.

Somewhat surprised that she had actually done as I asked, and trying to put my grudge aside, I reluctantly acknowledged to myself that she might prove to be some help on the Project, if she could contain herself. Abandoning the Pattern I was working on completely, I gave my full attention to the woman in front of me.

"How much have you been told about the Project?" I asked.

"Nothing other than the basics really" she replied, "And I must say, the very idea of this weapon disturbs-"

"Not now, Granger," I interrupted before she could get onto one of her moralistic speeches. "You can complain in your own time."

Getting up from my seat, I started walking to the center of the room, calling back to Granger,

"Follow me!" She hurried to catch up with me, and I began her education. "In the three months since I joined this project, it has advanced at a very satisfying rate. We have overcome several difficulties to get where we are now. The way that the weapon works currently, in theory, is as follows: the central focusing crystal is spelled to generate a vast amount of magical energy. This energy is channeled through the platinum chains into the surrounding crystals, where it is stored and partly used to continue to power the central crystal, resulting in an ever-increasing amount of magical power being produced. Eventually the power level reaches a critical point and the device explodes with massive force."

I paused here for effect, enjoying the look on Granger's face as she understood the power of the weapon in front of her. Of course, I too found the idea of the weapon slightly horrifying, but that feeling was far overshadowed by years of annoyance from the woman beside me. Eventually, I continued.

"However, we're still having serious problems with power leakage, not to mention the fact that the beginnings of the explosion will probably knock the rest of the device offline...but never you mind about that. Our job is in the creation and placement of the spells needed for the device to work. There are literally millions of runes to be placed, each so small that special Rune Quills must be used. Now, the first thing that you'll need to do is familiarise yourself with the facility, especially the Rune Room, which is over there."

I pointed at a door leading off from the Crystal room.

"I shall be in here, trying to recover the Rune Pattern you effectively ruined, should you need me."

And, yet again to my surprise, she actually went off to the Rune Room and did exactly what I had told her to do. Perhaps this would not be so bad after all...

----------****----------

The next week, Mr. Verdic called a meeting in the early morning for all the Unspeakables on the Project. None of us knew what it was about, but I could make a fair guess: there had been unrest recently within the Project; people had finally begun questioning its morality now that the project showed signs of completion.

The room that we met in had appeared that very morning for us; it was a simple room, bare walls, a fake window that the caretakers controlled, and a single long conference table with chairs around it. As soon as we were all seated Mr. Verdic entered, bringing his customary cheer to the meeting.

"Good morning, everybody!"

Briefly I entertained the idea of Verdic keeping a bottle of firewhiskey in his desk, before concentrating on the meeting. Verdic had moved to the head of the table and was about to speak.

"Some people," he began slowly, leaning back in his chair, "have been expressing some concerns about the Project. Some have even talked of closing the Project down, saying that it 'dooms the Wizarding world'..." Mr. Verdic let out a little chuckle at this, a mistake on his part, as it let Granger interrupt.

"Too right!" she all but shouted, "I think that it's a disgrace that the Ministry even considered this Project, and I know that people here agree with me. Why, only yesterday I was speaking with Mr. Ponder and Miss. Stevens, and they both-"

"That is enough, Miss. Granger." Verdic had regained control of the meeting, and even looked to be slightly angry. "It would be wise of you to hold your tongue until you are asked your opinion, especially when you are so new to the Department."

Hermione looked sufficiently cowed, and Verdic turned back to the rest of us, once again cheery.

"The Head has asked me to call this meeting so that I can deliver a message from him. I'm sure that all of you here will be pleased to know that the project will, of course, continue and he requests that you all remember to act with the discretion that all Unspeakables require."

Then he leaned back in his chair, apparently having said all he would say, and slowly we all walked out of the room to get back to work.


----------****----------


"As you can see, Vaso Black's third Illogical Law of Transfiguration is at work here. Common sense would dictate that a transformation could only occur between two objects of similar mass, and yet here..."

I knew that voice. Professor McGonagall, Transfiguration teacher at Hogwarts. But why was the voice here?

I didn't really know where here was, but as soon as I thought that everything came into focus: I was indeed in the Hogwarts Transfiguration classroom, apparently back in time and re-learning the Third Illogical Law.

I looked around the room, but everything was still slightly hazy: McGonagall's words were now indiscernible, people's faces were blurry, and the classroom didn't appear to have any set dimensions.

I felt drawn to look out the window, not that there had been a window there a moment ago, and I looked down upon the towers and courtyards of Hogwarts. Further away, in the distance, were the line of mountains that separate Hogsmeade and the outside world.

My attention was snagged by something on the mountain: a tiny speck of brilliant light; yet even as I watched the speck grew larger and larger, getting closer and closer. A feeling of dread came over me; I tried to warn the class but they didn't hear me; then the light was upon us, crashing through the walls and Wards of the school, reducing us and the castle to rubble. I was dead.

And then I woke up.

I came awake to a buzzing sound - my alarm. For a moment I panicked, thinking I was still in my dream, but when I came around properly it was to a situation not too worse: I was late for work. Cursing, I jumped out of bed and threw on a robe before apparating to the Ministry Atrium, empty now that everyone was at work. Rushing through the Golden Gates, I boarded a lift and descended to level nine.

What met me there was certainly not what I was expecting. The corridor that led into the Department was packed with Aurors, apparently waiting for something. Pushing my way through to the Door Room, I was yet again surprised to see a Senior Unspeakable that I recognized from the Project standing there, arguing with an Auror.

"I assure you, Auror Scrimgeour, everything is under control. As you know, Article 17, subsection B of the Ministry charter expressly forbids Auror entry into the Department of Mysteries without a warrant from the Minister himself."

The Auror, Scrimgeour, didn't look too happy with this, but after a small staring contest he backed down and walked off, muttering something about seeing the Minister.

Moving forward, I went to speak with the Unspeakable.

"What's going on? Why are all these Aurors here?" I asked, only half wanting to know the answer.

"There's been a death, Potter," whispered the Unspeakable, leaning in so that the Aurors couldn't hear, "A murder."

This was not good.

"We're handling it though," the Unspeakable said, a bit louder now, as if he wanted the Aurors to hear. "Aurors tend to just get in the way. Everyone else has gone up to the canteen on level one, why don't you join them? This place will be off limits until we get everything sorted."

Nodding, I pushed my way back to the elevator, my mind spinning. I couldn't understand how there could be a murder within the Department - who could possibly be the killer, skilled enough to break into one of the most secure places in Britain? And, for that matter, who was the victim?

I arrived at the large room that was the dinner hall and moved to an empty table that had just finished cleaning itself. Though it was called a canteen, there was nowhere visible to receive food: you simply ordered from the menu on the table. Sitting down, I ordered a cup of tea and it materialized in front of me, courtesy of the kitchens.

Looking around the room and sipping my tea I realized that the room held an unusual concentration of Unspeakables: almost every Unspeakable in the Ministry in fact. Seeing Jackson I tried to catch his eye, but when I did he simply sneered at me. Ever since I had been promoted out of his department, he had been bitter. I supposed some people, like Jackson and Granger, just couldn't enjoy the success of others. Curious as to what he was talking about with Danton, I cast a handy eavesdropping charm and listened in to their conversation.

"...yes, yes, the test launch is coming up very soon indeed: on November 14th, just under 3 months away I believe..."

Pulling out of the conversation, I couldn't help but smile at the idea of Wizards actually going into space...I wondered if I would be able to watch the launch now that I knew the date.

I finished drinking my tea and was about to leave when another conversation caught my ear - a small group of Unspeakables I recognized from the Project. One of them was crying. Casting the charm once again, I listened in.

"...I just can't believe Ponder's gone, just like that...he hated this stupid project, and now he's dead!"

More crying followed and I cancelled the charm, my curiosity satisfied. I tried to remember who Ponder was, but all that I could recall was that he was one of the most vocal in their disapproval of the project. Thinking about his death, I did find it strange that the victim of this murder also happened to be one of the most vocal of the dissenters...

I felt a dawning horror as I realized what had happened. Ponder had been killed because he was a loudmouth, it was the only motive that I could think of...and yet, if that were true, then that would mean that the murderer would be someone within the Project itself, someone within the very room I was sitting in.

Extremely unsettled by this revelation, I quickly got up and almost ran from the hall, wanting to put as much distance between myself and the killer as possible.


----------****----------


One week later, work had resumed as normal, if with a slightly tense atmosphere. I was currently working on engraving my finished Rune Pattern into the diamonds. It was tiring work, especially as the Runes were smaller than you could see without a magnifying spell, and eventually the combination of the tiring work and the tense atmosphere led me to a mistake. I pushed too hard with the delicate engraving quill I was using and the quill shattered, the sound like glass echoing all around the Crystal room. Thankfully we had spares.

"Granger, go fetch me another of these quills, won't you?"

She simply sneered at me (or attempted to) and walked off to the cupboard in the Rune Room, obedient as ever. Now that I had realized that she would do as I told her, sending Granger on menial tasks was one of my favourite activities.

A piercing scream jarred me from my thoughts and I jumped up, drawing my wand. The scream had come from the Rune Room.

I ran to the room and threw the door open, almost gagging at the smell that accosted me. There, slumped on the floor as if it had fallen out of the open cupboard was a dead body, so mutilated that its identity was unrecognisable. Huddled next to it was Granger, apparently in shock, covered in the person's blood.

Hearing the sound of someone throwing up behind me, I turned around and saw that a small crowd had gathered, most of them panicking. Taking control of the situation, I fired a firecracker from my wand to get everybody's attention.

"Alright, everyone, don't panic," I said, sounding far calmer than I felt. " Jameson, go fetch Mr. Verdic. Everyone else, don't move an inch - none of you are allowed to leave until I say so."

Someone - a senior Unspeakable - decided to call my bluff.

"Who do you think you are, Potter, giving out orders like that? You don't have the authority..."

He trailed off and fell into silence as I sent a glare his way, cowing him into submission. I guess fame (and a slight amount of legilimency) did have its uses after all...


----------****----------


Six deaths. Six more deaths in one month, all of them people who had been vocal about their opposition to the Project. For the last week there had been rumours that the Project Leader would shut down the project, but this morning he too had been found dead, his body hanging from the ceiling of the Crystal room.

It was now almost certain that the project would be shut down, and Verdic had called a meeting, presumably to break the news to us. We entered the conference room in silence, finding Mr. Verdic there, looking very serious indeed. We sat down in our chairs, trying not to look at the eight empty places, and waited for him to start speaking.

"I have just come from a meeting with the Head and the Minister himself." He sighed, and I had the feeling that we were about to be the receivers of bad news. "The Minister...the Minister is just as eager to see the project to completion as ever, possibly even more so now that we're so close to finishing."

He sighed again, and I slumped in my seat, shocked at the decision, yet secretly pleased that I would get a chance to finish my work. Sure enough:

"As you will have guessed, this means that the project will go on, so I suppose you had better get back to work: the place has already been cleared up and the sooner you finish, the sooner we can put this Project behind us."

Everyone got up to leave, and I did too, when,

"Oh, Mr. Potter, if you could stay behind please."


----------****----------


Yet another month had passed and the weapon was now only about a week away from completion. There had not been a single death since I had been placed in charge of the project, which I was strangely proud of. Of course, the lack of deaths could be down to the fact that no one dared question the project anymore.

No one except for Granger, that is. She had as loud a mouth as ever, and didn't seem scared to speak her mind. It made everyone around her nervous, as if by association with her you could become the killer's next target.

At least I didn't have to work much with her anymore, due to my promotion - most of the time I simply ignored her and let her do her own thing.

Still, I couldn't ignore her completely, and this night was one such night. We were both working late on the final problem the weapon had: it simply leaked too much power, preventing it from ever reaching critical energy. It was a problem I had been thinking about for months, and I thought that I finally had the solution; if I were to install a Magical Distillation Device (M.D.D.) in the connecting chains, then all power would be purified before it was transferred, stopping the leakage once and for all.

Excited about my idea, I left the Crystal room in a hurry to fetch a M.D.D. from the Time room, which had been joined to the weapon complex by a long corridor.

It certainly felt like a long walk as I traveled down it, my every step echoing on the stone floor and strange, menacing shadows being cast in the half lit space by blue torches. Eventually I reached the brightly lit Time room and grabbed what I needed from a cabinet before turning back to the eerie corridor.

I was halfway down the corridor when I heard it: a muffled sound, as if someone were trying to scream but couldn't... my heart almost stopped as I remembered Granger, all alone at night in the Crystal room...rushing down the rest of the corridor, I burst back into the large white room to a horrifying sight that made my blood run cold.

A tall man, clad from head to toe in black like a Muggle ninja, was standing over Granger, a gloved had covering her mouth and holding her in place. In his other hand was a silver knife, curved and evil looking; when I entered the room he brought it across Granger's throat and her eyes widened in pain before she slumped to the ground, dead.

I stood rooted to the spot, staring at Granger's blood as it began to pool around her body, screaming at myself to run yet not able to. Only when the man turned and looked straight at me did my mind take control of my body and I ran like I never had run before back towards the Time room, knowing that the killer was right behind me, his footsteps getting closer and closer.

Reaching the end of the corridor, I burst through the door and into the Time room, except that now it wasn't the Time room anymore - the door had taken me to the Death Chamber. I had known that the rooms in the Department moved about every so often, but I also knew immediately that this was not a coincidence: my pursuer had caused it to happen, somehow he had control over the Department itself.

I was in deep trouble.

Getting over my shock at my escape route cut off, I recovered my sense just in time and ducked, just as the killer's knife embedded itself into the stone wall where my head had been. The killer had thrown it, and was rapidly gaining on me. I quickly ran down the steps to the bottom of the chamber and, ignoring the excited whispers from behind the veil, crashed through the side door into the Space Room, slamming it behind me.

My relief was short lived though, as I realized that there was no way out of the Space room other than the door I had entered through - I was trapped. Unless...

Thinking quickly, I drew my wand, concentrated on the planets and uttered an obscure spell.

"Arcessio!"

Just as I said this, the door exploded and the killer came through, now holding a wand. Slowly he advanced on me, and I backed away towards the corner of the room, terrified and hoping against hope that my idea would work...

The man raised his wand as if to curse me, but he seemed to notice something, as he paused and turned, just in time to see my spell come into effect: the solar system had moved together and as he turned it collided in an impressive explosion, knocking both myself and the killer off our feet.

Quickly recovering, and seeing that the killer as recovering also, I spun on the spot before he could get up and disapparated, taking advantage of the torn wards, broken by the explosion.