II. Department of Mysteries
Fenwick was working the night shift, and to be honest, he was a bit peeved about it. It was his daughter's recital tonight, and he was supposed to be there. His wife wasn't overly pleased with his new position in the Department of Mysteries, and he had to reassure her that night shifts wouldn't happen every day (even if this was his fifth one this week).
He knew, one day, when he'd paid his dues, he would work his way up to better shifts, and he'd get to investigate the kind of magic that he loved. He'd get to change the world, even if his name would never be known.
He was in the monitoring office, which was just about the most boring part of his job, unless something strange happened. These were new systems put up around Britain, particularly in neighborhoods known to have muggle and magic mingling. He was to watch the screen, and if a surge of unusual magic occurred, he was to alert his boss. They couldn't have the muggles becoming aware, and – more importantly to Fenwick – they wanted to know what was causing the surge.
Last time, the surge hadn't been anything, just a potions explosion. But, Fenwick had heard from his coworkers that sometimes the surges were evidence of the invention of new spells, and as spell creation was Fenwick's expertise, he would kill to see something like that.
He was just dozing off when suddenly the claxons sounded. Fenwick jumped from his seat and smashed his knee off the desk. He looked at the screens, expecting it to be nothing, when suddenly he was standing. "Rupert!" he hollered and, a moment later, heard his boss behind him.
Fenwick grabbed his wand and took notes on what was happening. "What do you think it is?!" he shouted, and then – feeling rather stupid – silenced the claxons.
Rupert, his aging, potbellied boss, looked at the screen, showing the largest outpourings of magic they had ever reported. His face paled, and he said, "Continue monitoring." He strode, hurriedly from the room.
"Are you going to investigate?" Fenwick asked, following. "Sir, I should be a part of the investigation!"
Rupert banged on a few doors as he passed them, and Fenwick realized he was preparing a team. "Sir!"
"Fenwick, you'll stay here and monitor the screens!" Rupert shouted.
Cowed, Fenwick retreated to the room. Later, he would learn what had happened that night, and he would raise a glass to the boy-who-lived. Now, though, Fenwick stared at the screen and wondered what had caused the largest magical spike the Department of Mysteries had ever recorded in – he leaned closer to the screen – Godric's Hollow.
One day, Fenwick knew he would investigate these instances himself. Today, he would pay his dues.