A/N - Warning for First Person POV. I don't like reading stories like this and I try not to write them, but it would be strange to write third person in your journal (or at least I never had when writing).
December 3, 2001
Settling in at the Department of Mysteries would take some time. But now that I advanced from the fellowship to a full-time role, I get to pick my track. Grabbing the "Time" option with both hands, it became clear that the "Time" team was the most esoteric and the most difficult. I'm always up for a challenge.
-Harry
December 5, 2001
God, I'm so lonely. It was partially my fault. I spent years cultivating a friendship with one person and when it imploded … I now had to start from scratch. With the rejection from the Department of Mysteries, I turned my attention elsewhere. The Department of Magical Law Enforcement had been there for the taking … so I did. It wasn't my fault that I could run circles around the Wizengamot. I didn't draft the laws … they did. It wasn't so wild to assume they would know them.
-Hermione
October 15, 2002
I just learned about the Temps. It was fascinating and dangerous. They only took the best of the best. Putting my head down, I am committed to becoming a Temp. While the role was extremely treacherous, if you made it through five years, Temps had their pick of assignments or fully-funded retirement. I just had to get through the next year of training. It may have sounded too good to be true.
-Harry
October 25, 2002
It was my big chance, and I blew it. I had been on an upward path and it seemed that nothing would stop me. Except, I went toe-to-toe with Percy Weasley. He was older than me, more experienced in the role than me, and he already had his place secured. This would set me back months. Not that it would completely derail my career trajectory, but it would make it more difficult. Time to buck up, Hermione. You can recover from this.
-Hermione
May 16, 2003
Yes! I am tackling cases on my own now. No one had to give my work a "final" readthrough. So what if I was only handling smaller cases? I was prosecuting criminals. This was what I wanted. But there was something whispered about by the more senior prosecutors … Temps. What was a Temp?
-Hermione
May 20, 2003
I found the kicker. Less than half survived all five years. Temps had the option of going back three or six months. Three was safer but six was more effective.
-Harry
January 3, 2004
I was going to be sick. There was a whole department of people putting their lives on the line for the chance to glimpse a crime and potentially bring back incriminating evidence. This wasn't what I wanted. Things didn't work like this in the muggle world. Could I stay?
-Hermione
January 16, 2004
So, what exactly did Temps do? They found criminals. Each assignment was meted out by the Hall of Prophecies. However, time was influenced by free will, so not all assignments tied to the visions came true. But whether the vision happened or not, Temps had to be there to witness it and then go back and provide the evidence ahead of time. There was more to it than that, but I've already taken certain oaths, so I can't really put it to paper. However, if I make it another month, I will become a Temp.
-Harry
May 2, 2004
This was worse. I should have stopped digging. I never wanted to know this. Now my former best friend was dead.
-Hermione
April 5, 2004
That was it! I found a loophole. Not just anyone could step into the most difficult Ministry department, the most difficult track within it, and find a way to simultaneously decrease and increase the fatality of their role. But I have done it. I was only four years out, and now I'd be safe to make it all the way. If only the way I had done it was more … palatable. But no, I'll keep this secret.
-Harry