Notes: This is a bit of a shorter chapter, so my apologies, but the next few chapters will definitely be longer. I also want to note that this will eventually return back to some of the more major events in the books, especially since this is set during the Philosopher's Stone onwards. As alway, thanks for reading!
Narcissa wrestled with the effects of the veritaserum, refusing to say only for Draco. Instead, her mind shifted to a different, but still factual reason.
"Do you remember when Lord Voldemort fell after the First Wizarding War?" The woman nodded as she studied Narcissa's features for any hint of a half truth.
"That Potter boy was rumored to have defeated him entirely on his own. However, I heard other rumors that claim Lily Potter had a part to play in his downfall although she did not have her wand. I was fascinated by that ability of something non magical or out of our realm of thinking was responsible."
"Quite," the woman agreed. "If you are hired, do you know what department you would like to work in?"
"I do not know what departments are available."
"Of course. How foolish of me. We have six departments: Death, Love, Space, Thought, Time, and NCOs."
"Perhaps Death," Narcissa offered.
"Perhaps," the woman echoed. "As I'm sure you are aware, the people who work in the Department of Mysteries are known as Unspeakables and for very good reason. Would you be willing to be put through the binding contract, so that, in the event that you speak to another person about the work you are conducting, you will be, in a way, punished?"
"Yes," Narcissa confirmed, her head feeling heavy.
"You said you would choose the Death department. I am curious why?"
"To find a way to bring back my loved ones from the dead in the event they parish," she said, wringing her hands together underneath the table.
"Do you mean from old age or do you mean at the hands of a wizard or witch?"
"At the hands of Voldemort."
"But he is gone."
"I don't believe that." The woman, for the first time, cracked a smile.
"Nor do I. But I do not believe you would be suited for the Death department."
"Do you have a department in mind for me?"
"Dumbledore has a department in mind for you. Now, I am quite content with your interview answers, however, this is the easy part. There are two more parts to get through before we hire you. Would you like to take a quick break to get water?"
"Sure. Can I ask, how long will the two parts last?"
"That depends on you." The woman crossed the room and flicked her wand, causing the dementors to float away. Narcissa rose from her chair, her legs regaining feeling as the veritaserum's effects diminished. Pressing a hand against her forehead, she walked out of the room to the nearest drink dispenser. Upon approaching it, she inserted a knut and sickle in, selecting a 16 fl. oz bottle. Twisting the cap off, she drank greedily as her mouth had become dry as a side effect of the veritaserum. She planted herself on one of the benches in the long hall, crossing her legs as she did so. In an attempt to occupy herself, she fidgeted with the ring, moving it up and down on her finger. She pondered whether or not to find a fireplace to contact Lucius. In the end, she decided against it because there was nothing to say. After a couple more minutes of her moving her jewelry to different sides and back again, she espied the women rounding the corner, this time with a younger man and woman, both wearing long, white robes in pristine condition.
"Are you ready to continue, Mrs. Malfoy?"
"Yes," she said without hesitation as she pushed herself up off the bench.
"Wonderful. Let us head back into the room." The four of them walked in silence as Narcissa reclaimed her chair across from the woman.
"This is Altair and Hydeia. They are both a part of the Department of Thought and came up with a revised psychological evaluation."
"The old way was much too harsh," Hydeia stepped forward, "Using veritaserum, we found, interfered with our results and data. A person would be so worried about what they are sharing to the point that every applicant was getting flagged as mentally unstable or would arrive on the job with a touch of insanity," she laughed as Altair mimicked her. "Either way," she continued, "you need not drink that foul stuff again. Like Ms. Zenna was saying, we made modifications. There are three sections we will be looking at, but will not tell you what we're looking for. We find people seem to cater their decisions to what they think we want. I can assure you, we are looking for many things." Hydeia made her way behind Narcissa and casted a light blue, cloud halo around her head that immediately started cracking and flashing with light as though Hydeia had cast a thunderstorm instead.
"What is that?" Narcissa asked out of curiosity.
"It is actually one of my creations!" Hydeia began excited, shoving her long black and electric blue braids behind her shoulder. "This circle will be divided into seven sections when we get started. For right now, we are simply getting a baseline reading of your neurons and brain activity. When it does divided, each section will be measuring and translating the activity of your limbic system. If you don't know what that is, I don't blame you. It is the part of your brain that we have found is responsible for your behavioral and emotional responses. The seven regions are the hippocampus, the amygdala, the hypothalamus, the thalamus, the cingulate cortex, the nucleus accumbens, and the septal nuclei."
"And if you didn't understand a single word she said, just do what the rest of us do and nodded excitedly," Altair inputted as he held a small device in his hand.
"If I am understanding correctly, you will be translating my brain activity into exactly what I'm seeing?"
"Yes! Which is essential for what we are testing. Don't worry. We don't judge. Anything we see does not leave this room and will not be gossiped about when we return to our department. If you need to stop at any point, look for a light. It will pull you back to our reality."
This baffled Narcissa immensely. "Any specific light?"
"You'll know it when you see it. It only arrived in your time of need."
"Any other questions?" Altair asked.
"I suppose not," Narcissa said, tensing in her chair as Altair offered her two vials. One contained a thick, vibrant blue smoke, swirling up and down in its glass prison. The second vial contained a single drop of clear liquid, which Narcissa assumed was draught of living dead.
"When you uncork that one," Hydeia gestured to the smoke, "Take a deep breath and inhale it through your nose in one go, yeah? It's completely safe. We've tested it on ourselves and others. Once you're done with that one, drink the drop of living dead, and we will be ready to start."
"What is the second part if this is the first?"
"Finish the first part and then we'll tell you," Altair said, clicking something on his impossibly thin device. This did little to instill any confidence in Narcissa, whose hands had acquired a slight tremor. Uncorking the vial, she quickly drew it under her nose and inhaled the smoke that smelled of oranges and eucalyptus. As soon as the smoke disappeared, her eyelids drooped in a way a child's might when they are tired. Suddenly, her eyes widened and vibrated back and forth. Her previously deep brown irises had shifted to a bright violet. Her hands reached unseeingly for the second vial as her eyes remained staring forward without blinking. Altair grabbed her hand and placed the second vial in it, closing her thin fingers around it. After undoing this vial, she tipped the vial back and felt the single drop land on her tongue. Her body fell limp as her eyes remained wide open with no comprehension of this reality. The violet irises clouded over until only a faint blue one was hardly visible. Hydeia and Altair sat her up, loosely placing straps around both of her wrists and her torso area to keep her body in an upright position. Altair's device beeped once before he picked it off the table.
"Okay, she's ready." He used two fingers to swipe up as the screen teleported onto the wall between the two jellyfish encasements. The circle around Narcissa's head divided itself into the seven sections previously outlined. Above each section was a translucent pen scrawling on sheets of white paper.
"She should be waking up…now!"