It was always too dark in the Department of Mysteries. There was no apparent reason for it. The Department was heavily-warded. There were multiple security checkpoints to get in and out of the floor. Without knowledge of the spell that operated the entry hall, you would be entirely unable to find anything you were looking for before you were discovered. The shroud of darkness was entirely unnecessary. The Administration got a chuckle out of the useless cliché though, no doubt.
"Seventy-four, have you completed your study on the possibility of intra-temporal use of inter-temporal magic yet?"
"No. The paper should be on your desk by next week if you're interested, but it's hardly worth reading at this rate. Same results as the last fourteen times we tested it. The laws of time are the same this week as they were last."
Ninety-two sighed and walked to his office. It was slow going sometimes in this field. The last major development in time magic was made around a decade ago, and that was simply a corollary to the Theory of Time and Space adding on that the alternate universes generated by time travel were not interdependent. It's amazing what constitutes "major" in a stagnant field. Nowadays, ninety-two's job constituted mostly of paper-pushing. Time was still time. The theories were rechecked continuously in an attempt to ensure that nothing had been missed, but of course nothing had. The Time Division of the Department of Mysteries had already had all the … time … in the world to research.
Okay, that one was particularly groan-worthy. I need something to take my mind off bad puns and put it back on my research. I've hardly made a contribution to the field since my paper on contradictory paradoxes.
"Your shift's up. Go home and enjoy yourself. I left a bottle of Firewhiskey in the icebox for you."
"I know that, you dolt. I did it myself yesterday."
Ninety-two walked past an apparently future version of himself, scratching his head. He was normally more careful about doing things in the right order. He must have messed up. Looking at his watch, he made a mental note to go to work last night and then take a day off of rest before coming back in two days' time.
Alright, I might want to write that one down. Even after nearly five years, I still have difficulty wrapping my head around a non-linear progression of time. It's basic really – I should be able to get this by now.
Stretching his fingers and leaning back in his chair, Ninety-two began pondering where to go next with his study. He was sure he was onto something with the examination of Unspeakable Twenty-nine's incident report on the death of Twelve, but that was quickly turning into a useless time sink. Only so much can be gleamed from an accident that took place over two decades prior. The body being found in Victorian London was still a head-scratcher, though.
Settling down to work, Ninety-two had finally picked up his quill when Seventy-four burst through his door. The annoyed look on Ninety-two's face lessened slightly as he noted the urgency in Seventy-four's voice.
"Come quick!" Unspeakable Seventy-four nearly shouted in his hysteria. "There's a development at Hogwarts!"
"You're going to have to be more specific than that. Did they find Sirius Black there, or did some idiot student attempt to manipulate time?"
"The latter! Harry Potter is claiming to have successfully utilized a full paradox and he's still alive!"
Ninety-two's head snapped up, finally taking his attention off the research notes in front of him. Full paradoxes were not possible. They just weren't. Simple paradoxes – the intentional interaction of a time traveler with minor past events – are child's play. Ninety-two's mind wandered to the future self that he had passed just minutes before. Such time travel was possible – even common – only because all parties that were involved in the paradox did not interact with each other in any significant way and time travel had been expected ahead of time. A full paradox on the other hand – a time traveler just can't waltz into the past and change events that determine their own future. They can't kill or save themselves or other people. They can't give anyone knowledge of future events that would then alter those future events. It just wasn't done. It wasn't possible. These were the unchanging Laws of Time. Conventional time theory stated that the result of even attempting a full paradox would be worse than the most horrific death. It would be the death of the time traveler's existence, as time itself erased the paradox and all those involved from history to repair the damage caused. This made research of full paradoxes impossible. They might happen every day, but researchers would have no way of detecting them.
Ninety-two jumped from his seat and ran after Seventy-Four in the direction of the floo to Hogsmeade. If Seventy-four had bothered to interrupt him with this, then it was credible. Harry Potter had broken the Laws of Time. There was only one thought going through the head of Ninety-two as he ran.
Finally!