Employment
The British Ministry of Magic was quite different from the American government building. Rather than white marble fixtures reminiscent of ancient Greece, the walls and floors were in dark tones. The Fentons hurried to move away from the fireplaces. It would be awkward if the next person that popped out of it walked into them.
Danny did his best to not gawk at the large golden fountain that stood in the middle the hall.
His father had no such qualms, walking around with a big smile on his face.
His mother had no such curiosity, walking straight towards the elevators with all the focused purpose of a laser beam. (Even though, being a pureblood witch, she had no idea what a laser was. Danny only knew because of Tucker.)
Jazz had opted against joining them, being busy with something she refused to discuss. Danny figured that she was lying and should have just said that she wasn't interested.
Every once in a while the sound of someone apparating was heard, which was rather headache inducing. In the general chaos of the hall, yhe surrounding wizards and witches paid them little attention as they walked to work. Danny was secretly thankful for that. After how things had been in Amity Park the last month, it was nice to be able to blend in with the crowd.
At the edge of the atrium, which they were nearing despite the bustle of people, was a set of big golden gates. The Fentons veered off, approaching a security desk. The wizard behind it was dressed in worn brown robes, that had one been of fine quality. He had bushy blonde hair, and beady eyes. Or maybe that was only because he was eyeing the Fentons with suspicion.
"Hi there, Danny here is visiting and we should-"
"You need a name tag." The wizard gave Danny a small glare, like he had made a mistake to have come so far without one, before readying a weird brass instrument. It somehow looked like a fat rat without a head. The shiny tail was moving under its own volition. "Name and purpose, please." Despite the 'please', his curt tone was nothing less than rude.
"Daniel Fenton. Guest?"
A small silver plaque popped out of it, which Danny hurried to attach to his robe.
"Wand, please."
Danny pulled out his wand from the hidden leather strap on his wrist.
Another brass instrument was used this time, looking for all the world like some sort of scale.
"Twelve inches, thestral hair and yew. Been used one year. Is that correct?"
"Yeah." His old phoenix feather and cypress wand had wilted, without any 'apparent' cause behind it, expelling all magic and refusing to work anymore. Danny suspected he knew exactly why that had happened, but he wasn't about to volunteer that knowledge to the questioning wandmaker that he'd originally bought it from.
The security wizard handed back Danny's wand, not bothering to point out the weird core. Maybe he thought thestral hair was commonly used in wands in the States.
"And you two?"
"We're not visitors." Danny's mother laughed, warm and friendly. "The two of us are going to work here from now on."
The guard nodded, there was a true smile on his face. "I'll see you around then. Which department?"
"The Department of Mysteries, of course!" Danny's father's voice boomed. "We're researchers."
The guard's smile disappeared, but he quickly forced a more strained one to take its place. He looked a little afraid, his gaze locked on the floor and his shoulders rising. Danny's parents didn't seem to notice.
Danny looked at him in dismay. Had their reputation preceded them? What had happened was supposed to be classified.
Though if that was the case, shouldn't the guard have reacted to Danny's name?
Maybe there was something about the Department of Mysteries, and the people who worked there, that Danny didn't know.
A large hand, courtesy of his father, dropped to Danny's shoulder and he was pulled along towards the elevators before he could voice his concerns.
The elevator was cramped even before they forced their way in. A few wizards, one of which was carrying a glowing purple rock (not a gem, just a rock), grumbled at them. Especially Danny's dad, who took up a bit more space than the average wizard. If the older Fentons noticed the reactions, they didn't show it. Danny found himself pressed against the closed doors. It was a good thing he didn't need to breathe anymore.
The elevator stopped, and a few witches forced their way past the Fentons. Danny sighed, before stepping aside to let them out.
A couple of origami birds flew in, flapping their paper wings over Danny's head. He had to crane his neck to watch them, wondering what the point was. Memos, maybe?
The elevator ride continued, with less and less people occupying the small space. After a few stops it was possible to breathe normally again.
Finally the doors opened and the pleasant voice announced the Department of Mysteries, letting the last people exit. As it was, that meant only the Fenton family.
They were met by dark halls that were nothing like the friendly chaos of the previous floors. The were elegant, sure, but the desolation of them was rather creepy.
While humming the tune to some muggle song Danny didn't recognize, his dad took off down the corridor.
That sort of ruined the spooky mood. Danny let out a breathless, short laugh and followed.
They made their way through the dark passageways, a weird circular room filled with doors, and finally reached their destination.
It was a large chamber, which could use some better lighting. Danny considered lumos, but it really wasn't dark enough to warrant it. Not to mention the whole underage magic thing. Though that was less likely to be an issue in a place as heavily warded as the Department of Mysteries, his mother would probably yell at him. Rather than risking it, Danny happily dropped down on a low stone bench, the likes of which circled the room.
But none of that was really what drew the eye. In the middle of the room, set on a stone dais, was an unsupported archway. It was old, crumbling even, and contained nothing but a worn black curtain. A small breeze played with the fabric, even though there was no actual wind in the closed room. Waves of cold radiated from it.
This Veil was larger than the one his parents had built in the basement of FentonWorks last year. The supporting structure, grey stone worn by time, was nothing like the black and yellow metal his parents had used. Still, the magic coming off it felt the same.
Danny exhaled slowly, a small smile playing on his lips. Tension he hadn't even noticed left him and he found himself more relaxed than he had been in months. He was finally home.
The day passed lazily, with Danny's parents setting up their equipment around the Veil. Nobody disturbed them, so there probably weren't any other Unspeakables studying the mysteries of death at the time.
Jack and Maddie Fenton were the undisputed experts on the area, so maybe the Ministry thought they'd be enough.
Though the Ministry knew that Danny's parents were the sort of people who built their own Veil in the basement of their house in central Amity Park, so he would have thought they would have someone working with them, to rein them in if needed.
When lunch came around, the three of them decided to check out restaurants in the area. Considering how they hadn't brought any food with them, they had little choice.
They entered the circular room, which spun around them. When it stopped, another door opened and a man joined them. He had pale skin, and moved his long arms and legs like he had never grown fully into his own body.
His sunken eyes, framed by dark circles of perpetual lack of sleep, widened as he noticed Danny. His gaze travelled between Danny's visitor's badge and his parents. "Outsiders aren't allowed here." His voice was a hoarse whisper, like every word hurt.
"Oh, sorry." Danny's dad grinned disarmingly, managing to look like a scolded school boy. "We figured we'd take out son to work with us, just this once."
"Jack Fenton, correct? And Maddie Fenton?"
"Yes, and you are?" Danny's mom stepped forward, placing herself between him and the stranger.
"Saul Croaker, studies on Time." Croaker's eyes narrowed. "Did you not read the nondisclosure agreements?"
"Oh, we haven't actually signed those yet." Danny's mom's smile turned vicious in its mildness. "We wanted to get in bright and early to set up, but we only start working here officially on Monday."
"I see." Croaker's voice turned sour. "In that case, may I recommend for the future that you don't bring in just anybody to the Department?"
"Danny-boy already knows everything about our research!" Danny's dad brought down a heavy hand on his shoulder.
"It's not like I could avoid it, when they worked in our basement." Danny didn't want to bring more attention to himself, but he couldn't stop the sarcastic comment.
"In that case, use a memory charm on him." Croaker directed his order at Danny's mom, seemingly realising that she was the most reasonable of them.
Of course, being reasonable didn't mean willingly wiping the memory on her only son. "I'm sure there's some other way around that. How about we make him part of our team, like an intern?"
"So, Danny-boy, want to work with your old man?" Jack smiled widely and added in an afterthought, "And your mom, too."
'Actually, dad, I want to be an astronomer.'
"Sure, dad."
Croaker looked less than convinced.
"And instead of signing some magical contract, or an Oath that'll take away my magic if I break it, we'll go for something much safer." Danny stopped himself from smirking.
"Oh?" Croaker's voice was flat. "Safe for whom?"
"For the Department, of course. I'm quite willing to take an Unbreakable Vow." Danny put a hand to his chest, to show how honest he was. "Want to oversee it?"
Croaker was a man of small facial expressions, but Danny liked to imagine that he looked mollified. Or maybe even pleased.
What Croaker didn't seem to realise was that the term Unbreakable Vow was a misnomer. Breaking it was possible. You just had to die to do it.
If Croaker had been involved in the studies of Death, he might have understood why Danny suggested it.
Even then, he probably wouldn't have. Some things were so secret, even the Department of Mysteries hadn't been fully informed about it.
Danny's relationship with death was one such secret.