Faylinn Ackerman rushed to deliver the records that Sackville had asked her to get for him. It was the third week in which she was an intern, working at the Department of Mysteries.
She was enjoying watching the work in the Intelligence Room. So far she had mostly fetched things and taken notes, but she hoped that it would develop into the opportunity for a permanent career.
Faylinn was lucky to get the position- there were only ten interns taken at a time for the Department of Mysteries. Having just graduated from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where she had been in Hufflepuff House, Faylinn was happy to have received the internship. She was proud to have been a Hufflepuff, but she was the only one from that house to have gotten into the program. There were five former Ravenclaws, two Slytherins and two Gryffindors, leaving her to feel lonely from time to time. Few of the others paid any attention to her, since they spent time with their friends from their own house. Faylinn had thought it was hopeless when she was filling out the application for the program, having gotten only two O’s on her NEWTS -- in Charms and Herbology. She had gotten three E’s, in Potions, Transfiguration, and Arithmancy, but at least she had gotten an A in everything else. Faylinn figured her dad, Colin, who worked in the Department of Mysteries, had pulled some strings to get her the internship.
Everyone told her that her dad had nothing to do with the position, but Faylinn found it hard to believe. He always wanted to do what he could to make her dreams come true, and had been disappointed when she was sorted in to Hufflepuff, having been a Ravenclaw himself. Excited because that was the house which her mother had been assigned, she gladly took her place there. Her mom had died just months before she went to Hogwarts. Being in the house her mom had been from made Faylinn feel closer to her somehow. Faylinn’s older brother, David, had been sorted into Ravenclaw three years previously, so at least one of them filled her father’s hopes. David, an Auror, was one of her best friends. She worried about him all the time, especially since the war was taking a turn for the worse. Laura, David’s wife, also worried about him a lot, bringing Faylinn and her closer. Laura was expecting their first child, and worried the baby would never know her dad. The four of them spent as much time as they could together, enjoying the time they had.
Sackville took the documents from her hands, motioning for her to move out of the way. Sackville worked in the Intelligence Room, where her internship had been assigned. There were huge basins filled to the top with emerald green potion and floating brains; Faylinn had learned that the brains were from some of the greatest wizards and witches of all time. No one would tell her to whom they belonged. She didn’t have the clearance to find out yet. Everyone that had a reason for being in the Department of Mysteries had to have a few charms put on them. Once this happened, they could declare which room they wanted to enter in the corridor, and the room would open right up for them if they had a reason to be in it. The only room that didn’t open like that was the Locked Room. None of the Unspeakables would talk about it. Faylinn had only seen one person go in, a jolly-looking black haired man. When she asked around about him, no one would give her any information on him, not even his name. It seemed the Unspeakables that worked in the Adulation Bower, were the Unspeakables to the Unspeakables.
Very few people knew what went on in more then one or two rooms in the Department of Mysteries. There were several rooms that worked closely together, like the Potions room and the Magical Creatures Room. Anyone could find out what the general rooms in the Department of Mysteries were. It was released in a book a few years back. Minister for Magic, Fudge, thought there was too much mystery in the Department of Mysteries, so he had them publish a book on some of what they do. Most of the information in that book was obsolete or total rubbish. It did list some of the main rooms, such as the Intelligence Chamber, the Time Suite, the Astrology Alcove, and the Potions Niche. It didn’t tell you exactly what each room did. It didn’t tell about the Hall of Prophecy either. Madeline Lease, who was head of the Department of Mysteries at the time, wouldn’t let them mention the Hall of Prophecy. She was afraid that people would bombard them with requests to see a prophecy about themselves, or worse someone else. There were other means in place to alert people about a prophecy. Faylinn learned how wrong the book was after she started her internship.
She was able to watch the researchers as they moved the brains around. They couldn’t take the brains out of the potion without using a magical shield. Otherwise, they would be shocked with the thoughts that come off the brains. Some Unspeakables had been killed because of those thought, trying to find a way to share the knowledge of the brains, with out actually injuring one of the researchers. That was as much as she knew of the work going on around her. She had been shown how to make the magical shield, which came easy for her since it is Charm, which was her specialty. One of the other interns hadn’t used it this morning, and got a nasty burn on her leg.
Sackville turned to Faylinn and asked her to go find McCree. He thought that she was up in the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes filling out some paperwork on the intern who had been injured that morning. Faylinn went out the door and into the room full of doors. As the doors swiveled, she prepared to ask to be let out of the DOM. Before she could say anything, a flash of color caught her eye. When the doors stopped, she realized that one door had some words in misty blue on them. She gaped in disbelief as she realized it was the locked one. Taking a step closer, she started to read:
A locked door is all you’ll see,
When you come to visit me.
What goes in and what goes out,
Is what the mystery’s all about.
It isn’t about what you know,
But what your heart has learned to show.
A little seed you have to sow,
But with time can surely grow.
If not nurtured it will shrivel,
And your heart will begin to wither.
In that case you can’t get in,
You’ll be back where it all begins
If it’s nurtured in your heart,
The lock will start to fall apart.
Faylinn closed her mouth and tried to figure out the rhyme. Taking a paper from her pocket, she wrote down the rhyme to figure out later. She asked for the exit and went to find McCree before Sackville came looking for her.
The next day Faylinn was laying on her bed, puzzling over the rhyme. She had never heard of anyone else that had ever seen anything on or from that room. What could it mean? She wasn’t getting any answers, and it was starting to bother her.
Laura knocked on the door frame, “Hey, what’s going on?” She leaned on the door, “Normally you are outside on your days off. I know that Corby was by earlier, wondering where you were. He has the day off from his Healer training.”
“I just have something on my mind.” Faylinn sighed, “I’ll go find him in a few minutes.”
Laura studied her for a minute, then left the doorway and went back to the kitchen. Faylinn studied the ceiling a few moments longer and started to get up. Her dad walked down the hallway and she called out to him, “Dad, could I ask you something?”
He came into the doorway. “What’s on your mind?”
“Have you ever seen any writing on the locked door in the Department of Mysteries?” Faylinn asked looking into his eyes.
He started, but then came and sat by his daughter on the bed. His face was totally void of any emotion. “No, I never have. I have only known one person who had, which is the only reason I know it can happen,” he carefully said. “What makes you ask?”
“I read this rhyme on that door,” she confessed. She passed the paper with the rhyme on it to her dad.
He looked into her eyes for minute before looking down and reading the rhyme. He gasped as he read, and then looked at her again. “Do you have any idea what this means?”
Faylinn looked at him in shock. She had only seen him this upset once or twice in her life. The last time was after they lost her mother. “I have no clue. I’ve been trying to figure it out for the past two days.”
He got up and started pacing from one side of the room to the other. As if to himself he whispered, “The room is considering her… it lost her mother and now wants her!”
“Dad, what are you talking about? What does mom have to do with this?” Faylinn stood, trying to stop his pacing.
He stopped, looked at her as if forgetting she were there, and quickly walked out of the room. Faylinn stood there staring after him in disbelief. He never walked away from her like that. She followed him out calling “Dad!”
Laura came down the hall trying to figure out what was happening. “Faylinn, what’s wrong?”
Faylinn just continued down the hall to her father’s library, followed by Laura. She entered, and found him seated at his desk pulling pictures out of a drawer. Walking closer, she saw they were of her mom who was young and healthy. Faylinn remembered her like that, but she had wasted away before she died. She picked one up and noticed the jolly faced man that she had seen enter the locked room. Her dad tried to grab the picture out of her had, but she backed away. “Who is this man? Why is he with mom? Why did I see him enter the locked room? Why…”
Colin interrupted her, “Faylinn, stop!” He sighed and guided her to the couch by the wall, motioning for Laura to leave them alone. Laura left and closed the door behind them. “Your mom worked behind the Locked door before she got sick. I thought working with love and having a loving family would save her when she got sick, but it wasn’t to be. I have no clue what goes on in that room. Only the people chosen by it can work there. Those who work there don’t talk about what goes on behind the door. It is the same with every other room in the Department of Mysteries.”
“That man is Declan Hurst. He was a dear friend of your mother’s. I’m surprised that you don’t remember him. He was around a lot when your mother was sick. He stopped by everyday once she was admitted to St. Mungo’s.”
“Dad, you and David only let me visit mom once when she was at St. Mungo’s. That time was only because you wanted me to have the chance to say goodbye. She died that night,” Faylinn said softly.
Colin sat back and sighed. He had forgotten about that night. “Declan often asks about you and your brother, but I have never let him come visit. It just hurt too bad to picture him here, without your mom. Your mom worked with him in the love room. They were also great friends outside of work; both were so full of life and love. You have to have lots of love to be picked to work in that room. It picks you; you don’t choose to work in it. I will call Declan to talk to you. He would be able to tell you more then I would. I know the little I know because of your mother.”
Faylinn sat there in silence awed by what she had just learned. Her mom had worked in that room, and now it seemed to be choosing her! She looked over at her father and smiled. He smiled back, with a look almost of sadness in his eyes. She didn’t know what to make of that, so she hugged him and went looking for Corby.
Corby was sitting under a tree, writing in his journal. He kept lots of thoughts and spells that he had created in it. His longish black hair was blowing in the wind. Faylinn sat down next to him and waited for him to acknowledge her. He finished writing, closed the book and turned to her. “Hi, you have been pretty busy lately,” he observed with a smile on his face.
“Yeah, the internship has been keeping me busy. Sorry I haven’t had much time to spend with you. I have missed it a lot! It doesn’t help that we often have different days off. Not like our time at Hogwarts, is it? We were always together there, but it helped that we were in the same house. We have only been out for a few months, and I already miss those days,” she paused and looked deep into his brown eyes. “I just found out where mom used to work. She was also an Unspeakable that worked in the Adulation Bower,”
“The Adulation Bower …,” he exclaimed, “…that is the most secret of all the rooms at the Department of Mysteries!”
“I know.” She paused for a minute, thinking, and added with excitement, “It seems that it has to pick you, and it seems to be considering me. There is only one problem...,” she continued. “I was given a rhyme, but I have no idea what it means. Here, take a look. You tend to be better at these things then I am.”
Corby took the paper and read it over. He sat there and pondered for a few minutes. “It seems to me that this is telling you how to be chosen. You have to get more love in your heart. The great thing about love is that it is infinite. All you have to do is let it grow. The other great thing is that there are all sorts of different types. There is romantic love, the love you feel for friends, the love you feel for family, the love of a mother or father for a child, etcetera. This doesn’t specify what type, only that you need to let it grow. Then it seems that the door will open for you, I think.”
Faylinn sat and thought about what Corby said. “But what could they possibly study about love? What is that room all about?” she wondered out loud.
“Well, love has many types of expression. It can also be very dangerous. I would think that love had a part to play in the miracle that saved Harry Potter. Love probably made the spell rebound onto He Who Must Not Be Named. Only time will tell if he is actually gone for good. Something tells me that he isn’t. That doesn’t mean that love won’t beat him in the end. Love can also be the means to self destruction. Holding onto someone that has died, or won’t accept your love has been the end of many a good person. I suppose those are some of the things that are studied in that room. It is also some of the things that we study at St. Mungo’s. I have heard lots of stories of love helping people get better or bringing them from the brink of death,” replied Corby studying her face.
“I never thought about it like that. I guess there are many things that we don’t understand or know about love. It can be a powerful weapon, or be the reason someone lives. I wish it had worked for mom.” She bowed her head in a moment of sorrow.
Corby leaned over and wrapped his arms around her, and held her close. Faylinn realized that they were becoming more then just friends. If she let it continue, it could be something great. She tried to let her heart open, to accept the love coming to her from Corby. Feeling warmth over her heart, she looked up, and thought she saw pink light surrounding Corby and herself. Corby looked down into her blue eyes, and saw a change there. He pushed her light brown hair behind her ear, and leaned forward. She met him halfway, and gave him a soft gentle kiss. A gentle shock went through her, and she had never felt happier in her life. Pulling back, she laid her head on his shoulder. He kept his arms around her, and they just enjoyed the afternoon in each others arms.
Two days later, Faylinn headed to work. She apparated to the main lobby and headed towards the Department of Mysteries. As she entered the hallway that leads there, she heard a soft gentle voice call her name. She turned to see Declan Hurst walking up behind her.
“You have grown into a lovely young lady. Your mom would be so proud,” he greeted her with a jolly laugh.
“I would like to think so. Dad and David have tried hard to raise me right. It was hard being in a household of males. Gram tried to install in me some feminine traits. She always bought me lovely dresses, and taught me how to bake. That was before she passed away two years ago.” Faylinn answered with a smile.
“I hear that you saw writing on the locked door. Colin told me yesterday. It makes me happy to think that you might help in the work that she left unfinished, but then there will always be lots of work in our Department. I can’t help you get in, but I can hope that you do. There are so few of us these days. The war injured or killed half of our Department. Alice Longbottom was the biggest loss. Totally lost her mind, I hate to see her in that shape. I feel sorry for her young son also. He will never know the love she felt for him,” Declan sighed. He added, “Shall we go in?”
Faylinn stepped into the door he held open for her. He closed the door after them, and the doors did their normal shuffle. As they came to a stop, she noticed more writing on the locked door. She walked over and read:
Love in your heart has truly grown,
Your aura, pink, has truly shone.
What goes in and what goes out,
This is what LOVE is all about.
The lock now has been opened,
True love is the lovely token.
Now the test is to keep it growing,
Nurtured it will keep on flowing.
The gleam of love is in your eyes,
Keep it there through troubled skies.
It will be there in your heart,
Don’t let locks keep it apart.
Enter now and see what awaits you,
Love will give you what you’re due.
Faylinn stared in disbelief. Accepting Corby’s love must have been what allowed this to happen! Gaining a man to love and being accepted by this room made her feel very special.
Declan chuckled softly. He watched her with a totally gleeful expression. After a few minutes he said, “Well, are you going to enter or not? I guess your career found you. It will be lovely working with you. I will gladly be your mentor and help you get settled. No one in particular is in charge, but we all work together.”
She stepped to the door and opened it. She paused in the doorway, looked back at Declan, and then entered the room. Her heart told her that there were lots of great things to come. Faylinn felt even closer to her mother, then when she was declared a Hufflepuff. She also thought she felt her mother’s love as she closed the door behind her.
