"Good morning, Hermione! I was so pleased to see that you wanted to be involved in this project."
It was a new day in the Department of Mysteries and Lenora greeted Hermione as she meandered into the 'Death Chamber.' Phase one of the project had already been completed. It had involved intense observation of objects and simple life-forms passing through the veil. As it turned out, 'passing through' wasn't really the best description. A more accurate description would be that the veil absorbed objects and creatures within a centimeter's distance from the fabric-like component. So far, several pens, apples, spiders, beetles, and chocolate frogs had been yanked in as if by a small current. A fact that had been noted as it differed from a majority of the readings available on the veil, where the artifact was thought only to take in that which voluntarily passed through.
"Today should be interesting," the old woman said with a twinkle in her eye. She pulled a very long vial out of her clearly extension-charmed handbag which contained many wispy black hairs that glinted under the dim light like freshly fallen snow being caressed by the light of the sun.
The two women set up their materials which included a magical camera-like device pointed toward the veil, then called in their observers. About twenty-five Unspeakables filled the death chamber and gathered in their designated spots around the veil, many with QuickQuotes Quills which would record the musings of the witch or wizard they belonged to. Hermione spotted Perseus Felonious towards the back of the chamber with his nose high in the air as usual.
The next phase of experimentation began as Lenora levitated a single thestral hair toward the veil. Every witch and wizard held their breath as the strand floated closer and closer until... it seemed to touch the fabric. Lenora held the hair exactly in its place for several minutes while a faint cacophony of murmuring and quill scratching filled the chamber.
"Moving forward," Lenora announced, and the noise quieted once more.
The hair moved millimeters forward until it breached the surface and went beyond...well part of it anyway; the rest of the hair remained perfectly visible and the chattering began again. After another several minutes of furious note-taking, Hermione and Lenora spoke among themselves, the old witch's arm still aloft and pointed toward the veil, holding the hair in midair. The two witches decided that the next action to take was to release the levitation charm and see if the current would pull the hair beyond. But when the charm was released, the strand of gently glinting thestral tail-hair floated down to the base of the veil where it sat with half remaining in the chamber.
Hermione and Lenora sat in the old witch's office for lunch munching on the tea sandwiches made by the ministry elves talking over the happenings of the morning. They chatted excitedly about moving forward to the next step which included hoof clippings as well as the bones of a thestral that had recently died. Everything was running smoothly and they were exhilarated by their curiosity and theories about the next phase.
A knock at the door alerted them to the arrival of Perseus who seemed very put out about his assignment for the afternoon. He was being assigned to take over for his boss who was looking after the small herd of thestrals corralled in a far corner of the death chamber so that his boss would be able to see the events of the next phase more clearly.
"It's an extremely important job," Lenora placated the wizard, "They must be well looked after when it comes time for their phase." Perseus left in slightly better spirits than he arrived.
"That boy has got to learn that his worth as a wizard is not determined by his accomplishments." Lenora shook her head and looked pensively at Hermione.
"You were like him once, were you not?" Hermione was taken aback by the question.
"Yes, I suppose I was, before… before I had other things occupying my mind." Hermione responded without meeting her friend's eyes as she picked up the sandwich on her plate.
"Than perhaps it's better that he stay the way he is." Lenora said softly.
Hermione knew that the words from any other person would have sounded like an insult, but from Lenora, it seemed different. Like she was lamenting that Hermione didn't have much time for the simpler worries of her colleague. At that moment, everything clicked. Her dislike for Perseus Felonius had nothing to do with his demeanor or mannerisms, and instead, had everything to do with the jealousy she carried towards him for not having faced what she had. Perseus Felonius had parents, he had a family, he hadn't fought a war. Her perception of him softened as she realised that she would never truly wish that trauma on another.
After lunch, the chamber refilled as the Unspeakables prepared for the next phase. Hermione had levitated a hoof clipping nearly to the veil when a clattering arose from the far corner. Perseus had moved from his designated spot when he discovered that he wouldn't be afforded a decent view no matter how far he craned his neck. He left his post as well as the gate to the thestrals' corral wide open. A young colt galloped forward as Unspeakables rushed to grab hold or hit him with an immobilizing jinx. The colt, unfortunately, was too fast. He galloped at full speed directly into and through the veil. The chamber stood in silence as Perseus jogged bashfully back to close the gate of the corral.
"Felonius!" yelled his superior, "my office! Now!"The two Unspeakables left the chamber with the eyes of the others upon them. The remaining Unspeakables waited for an order from Lenora who dismissed them all from the chamber once everything was secured. The old witch sat down on the cold floor looking troubled.
"The Department of Magical Creatures is not going to be happy about this development," muttered Lenora. Hermione was also disappointed about the colt who, as far as anyone knew, was lost to the veil, but also because she'd have a mountain of paperwork to deal with from Magical Creatures.
Hermione spent her evening on edge and annoyed about the events of the day, so it was probably a good thing that Harry and Ginny had decided to go out for the night, so as to not be faced with a cranky Hermione. Kreature seemed to pick up on her mood as well and decided to stay out of her way, transferring dinner to her quickly and quietly. She'd only gotten through about a quarter of the paperwork required from the Department of Magical Creatures before leaving for the day, and her mind was fried from the tedious, mindless work. She wasn't wholly put out though, as the other parts of the project had been executed without a hitch
Hermione turned in early and slipped off to sleep, dreaming about the young thestral running free in a beautiful meadow with a figure on its back that she couldn't quite make out.
~Back at the Ministry~
Perseus walked back to the death chamber towards the corral after his talking-to, he was to tend to the thestrals for the rest of the project's length, thanking his lucky stars that he'd not been handed a harsher punishment. His first shift was for the night until proper staff from magical creatures could be sequestered to take night shifts in the future. Each thestral was waiting by its feeding bucket which had been arranged in a circle. The creatures were a bit intimidating at first, but once one of them nuzzled its bony muzzle against his shoulder, Perseus knew that they were gentle and not to be feared. He dumped each creature's portion of raw flank steak into the buckets and cast Aguamenti on each water bucket while the thestrals enjoyed their supper.
After completing the thestral chores, he conjured himself a reclining armchair and sat down for what he assumed would be a long night. Perseus began a war with his eyelids that were trying to close, becoming heavier and heavier by the minute.
clop, clop, clop
Perseus was startled awake as the thestral colt from earlier came jovially trotting back through the veil. Only this time, there was a man astride it. The man gracefully dismounted before noticing Perseus who was frozen in shock. The intruder's voice was casual and jolly.
"Well hello son, any chance you could tell me what year it is?"