Lightning Strikes Twice (Harry Potter)(Time Travel)

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The Department of Mysteries~

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After finishing up with Narcissa, really putting the former Chief Warlock ‘in her place’ (which she greatly enjoys), Harry ultimately finds himself heading down to the Department of Mysteries first and foremost. Best to check up on things there, he figures.

It’s funny… in the previous timeline, Harry hadn’t had very many good feelings regarding the Department of Mysteries. First, it was the place his godfather died. With Bellatrix’s assistance, the Death Chamber had claimed Sirius Black’s life that first time around, a source of considerably grief for Harry for quite some time.

Then, once Voldemort had taken control of the Ministry of Magic during his Second Rise, there had been the ‘Muggleborn Registration Commission’, which ‘investigated’ whether muggleborns were ‘stealing’ or ‘taking’ their magic illegally. To justify their kangaroo courts and sentencing dozens upon dozens of innocent muggleborns to Azkaban, the Ministry had claimed research done by the Department of Mysteries ‘confirmed’ their beliefs. And much of the Wizarding World had bought that load of garbage.

Now to be fair to the Department of Mysteries, it wasn’t like they managed to get an Unspeakable to actually say any of the shit they were peddling. They just plastered the department’s name on everything and called it a day. Secondly, after Voldemort and his Death Eaters were defeated a second time and Kingsley Shacklebolt took over as Minister of Magic, there actually was an official denouncement of the so-called ‘research’ by the Department of Mysteries’ Head Unspeakable.

Truth be told, Harry’s biggest grievance with the Department of Mysteries was neither Sirius’ death nor their cowering during Voldemort’s second reign. They didn’t exactly cause his godfather’s death to be fair, and for all their mysterious reputation, they weren’t extremely powerful hit wizards like some thought of them. They weren’t the Special Agents to the Auror Force, they were literally just researchers at the end of the day. Certainly, many of them could be said to have a deeper understanding of magic than most other people, but understanding did not always equate to power or strength.

No, Harry’s great distaste regarding the Department of Mysteries from his previous timeline… was that they hadn’t known. They hadn’t seen the end of magic coming. They hadn’t even had it on their radar until it was much too late.

To be fair, that was true of most of the magical world. So insular and isolated, they hadn’t realized they were slowly being boiled like frogs in a shrinking pot by muggle expansion and technology. But the difference between the Department of Mysteries and the rest of the Wizarding World was that this was literally the DoM’s fucking job.

They were working on so many different projects, Harry was well aware. Heavy stuff like death, time, space, thought, and love. The DoM was also where the Hall of Prophecies was located, the greatest collection of divinations in all of the British Isles if not the entire world.

And yet… they hadn’t seen the danger until it was too late, just like everyone else. The Department of Mysteries had failed to catch the greatest mystery of their time until it was no longer a mystery and their doom was already upon them.

For that, Harry had to admit he was a little skeptical of whether or not they could help out with his plans for a brighter future. But ultimately… Hermione had been the one to talk him around. All these years, she’d been working on a solution with him. But Harry, for all his power, was not quite the genius that the brunette was. He was a solid leader and good at making the hard decisions, but part of being a leader was knowing when to delegate.

Hermione, however, wasn’t enough. Her words, not his. She’d come to him after years of working on the problem and told him… she couldn’t do it alone. She needed help. She needed fresh eyes.

Harry had been so sure that Hermione was all they needed to develop a solution because in the other timeline, she’d been so close before the end. But just because she’d been close didn’t mean she was guaranteed to have succeeded with more time. And that Hermione and this Hermione were two very different witches in two very different situations.

In the end, the solution had been obvious. While the Department of Mysteries was perhaps most independent Department in the entirety of the Ministry of Magic, it was still a part of the Ministry. And Harry had a lot of control over the Ministry via its Minister, one Amelia Bones. Bringing the situation to the Department of Mysteries attention was relatively easy. Getting Hermione into the Unspeakables was also fairly easy. Not because of the influence he had mind you, but rather because she was more than intelligent enough to be recruited by them anyways.

At first it was only part-time while she finished out her last year at Hogwarts, once again using a Time Turner to effectively extend her days and allow her to be in multiple places at once. Then, after graduating from Hogwarts a year ago with top grades in her NEWTS across the board, she’d been able to transition to full-time.

Now, a year later, Harry strides into the Department of Mysteries. Not that it’s the first time he has or anything over the past few years, but this time around he’s entering not as Lord Potter… but as Chief Warlock Potter.

“Chief Warlock. A pleasure to have you join us today.”

Harry feels the Head Unspeakable approaching, so he doesn’t jump or jolt or anything like that. He is, however, a little annoyed that information about his ascension has already reached the Department of Mysteries. He’d been looking forward to correcting the first one to address him as Lord Potter. But to be fair, that’s probably what he got for taking the time to enjoy himself with Narcissa first. Even if it had still only been an hour since the end of the Wizengamot Session, that was more than enough time for someone like the Head Unspeakable to hear about it.

“… Head Unspeakable. The pleasure is all mine, I’m sure.”

The hooded figure tilts their head to the side at that. Truth be told… Harry still doesn’t know who they are. That’s the thing about the Unspeakables… their identities are a closely guarded secret and their robes are some of the most bullshit magic that Harry has seen… and considering everything he’s seen, that’s saying something. Sure, you might know one or two friends or family who are part of the Unspeakables, but you wouldn’t know that friend or family if they were wearing their robes, even if they were standing right in front of you.

And sure, Harry could have probably overwhelmed the protections on the robes with his immense magic and found out who was under each hood, but that sort of brute force approach wouldn’t have been very polite. The Head Unspeakable in particular was a total unknown… he didn’t even know if they were a witch or wizard.

“Shall we discuss the purpose of your visit in my office?”

Harry hums at that for a moment, tilting his head to the side.

“The purpose of my visit is the same as it’s been every other time. I’m only here to check up on your progress regarding the research into Magitech.”

Indeed, ever since Harry had taken up his seat in the Wizengamot and become a full member of Magical Britain’s government, he’d used that to his advantage to demand constant tours of the Unspeakables’ latest research project… that being the marriage of magic and muggle technology.

To their credit, once they’d found out about the danger that muggle technology posed to the Wizarding World, the DoM had quickly gotten with the program. Initial suggestions involving genociding the muggles by destroying their technology and pushing them back to the stone age had thankfully not prevailed, and instead Harry had managed to steer things in the direction of his preferred solution… namely, finding a way to bridge the gap between magic and technology so they could turn their weakness into a strength.

In that regard, the Head Unspeakable had been the staunchest proponent of that vision within the Department, leading the charge over these past couple of years. Still, Harry wasn’t just going to let things continue without his oversight, hence constant visits and ‘tours’ to see what progress they were making.

“Ah, but this is different from every other time, isn’t it? You’re no longer just Lord Potter anymore. Now, you’re Chief Warlock Potter.”

Harry raises an eyebrow at that.

“I didn’t think that would truly change your view of me too much. The Department of Mysteries has long kept itself… politically independent from the movers and shakers within the rest of the Ministry. You’re the one Department where reporting to the Minister of Magic is considered more of a suggestion than a requirement… and you get away with it too.”

Chuckling, the Head Unspeakable shakes their head.

“That is that and this is this, Chief Warlock. Please, right this way.”

His curiosity piqued by this point, Harry follows the Head Unspeakable through the Department of Mysteries, all the way to their office. Once the door closes behind him, the Head Unspeakable waves their hand and Harry feels a dozen wards slamming into place. Most are related to privacy and defending from attackers, but Harry can also tell that a couple are tied directly to the Head Unspeakable, making attacking them here a losing proposition.

Not that it worried Harry too much. A losing proposition? Heh nah. He’d still win.

Striding over to their desk, the Head Unspeakable sits down behind it and steeples their hands together in front of them. Walking over as well, Harry sits down in the chair that they gesture to, raising an eyebrow once he’s settled. He’s not worried about traps or ambushes or anything like that. If the Head Unspeakable DOES try something, they’ll be in for a very rude surprise. The wards on this office are ancient and powerful… but Harry is stronger still.

“I was content to ignore the signs initially because your assistance proved invaluable. Not to mention you opened our eyes to a threat we’d been completely blind to before. However… your recent moves suggest something beyond pure altruism. Either that or things are more dire than I thought. So now I find myself needing to ask a simple question that I already thought I knew the answer to.”

The Head Unspeakable takes a deep breath while Harry just sits patiently, completely at ease.

“… Why exactly did you travel back in time, Harry Potter?”

Heh, maybe he should be shocked… but he’s not. This definitely seems like something the Head Unspeakable would realize. And taking into consideration that the title of Head Unspeakable translated to ‘Head Researcher’ more than ‘Head Special Forces’, it made sense that they would ultimately just shrug and let it slide. But apparently now that Harry was Chief Warlock, they weren’t so willing to set it aside anymore.

“A simple question deserves a simple answer, Head Unspeakable. I came back in time for one reason and one reason only… to save the world.”

The hooded figure on the other side of the desk slumps back in their chair.

“Damn. I was afraid of that… did everything really get that bad?”

Harry hums, considering what to say this time for at least a moment before finally shrugging.

“You lot wouldn’t even realize something was wrong and that we needed to act until about… ten to fifteen years from now.”

The ensorcelled robes hide most of an Unspeakable’s reactions. But not the full body flinch. That’s impossible to contain.

“I… I see. That’s… that is most distressing. And I assume by that point, magic itself was already on its way out.”

Nodding, Harry shrugs again.

“Yes. The muggle nuclear war honestly only sped up the inevitable.”

Another full body flinch. It’s funny, before Harry had injected Hermione into the Department, before he’d put them on the right path, he’s not entirely sure if the Head Unspeakable would have known what a nuclear weapon was. But maybe he’s giving them too little credit. Still, one thing is certain… their work on magitech these last few years combined with all of their research into the debilitating effects of advanced muggle technology on magic would have certainly brought them up to speed.

“You’re going to give me a heart attack at this rate.”

Harry just chuckles and shrugs.

“If it helps… we’re already well on our way to stopping the end of the world from unfolding the way it did the last time around. But it’s not as simple as developing solutions like magitech. We need to be able to influence things on a political level as well. That’s why I had to become Chief Warlock. Because I can’t trust what happens next to anyone but myself.”

The Head Unspeakable is silent for several long moments. Harry isn’t tense or anxious about it though. He’s as comfortable and carefree as ever.

“… Very well. As Head Unspeakable, I officially declare this use of Time Travel to be recognized as Necessary by the Department of Mysteries.”

Harry raises an eyebrow at that, causing the Head Unspeakable to scoff.

“What? You didn’t think you were the first, did you? Time Turners had to come from somewhere. It was all the way back in the 1890s that we conducted our own time-travel experiments. They were discontinued in 1899 however when one of our own traveled back to the year 1402. The results were… catastrophic. When she returned, she aged five centuries and later succumbed in St Mungo’s. At the same time, twenty-five people in the present vanished into thin air, becoming unborn. And last but not least, the Tuesday after the incident lasted two and a half full days, while that Thursday lasted only four hours.”

That… didn’t exactly line up. But then, magic rarely did.

“Of course, that was all on our end. Ostensibly, the past that our Unspeakable traveled to was just fine and experienced no issues. You likely did irreparable damage to your future when you came here, but from the sound of things, the damage was already done, wasn’t it?”

Hm. He’d never put much thought into the future he left behind. Things were bad enough that there was no real point in worrying. Everyone he’d known and loved had either been dead or dying already. The Head Unspeakable was correct though. The future he’d traveled from was almost certainly destroyed by the changes he’d purposefully made to the timeline at this point. It simply wasn’t the same world in any way, shape, or form.

“There wasn’t much left to destroy by the time I left, no.”

Nodding in understanding, the Head Unspeakable pauses for a moment before clearing their throat.

“Is there anything else you need from us, Chief Warlock Potter? Anything at all.”

Hm, now that was an interesting question.

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The Vote:

[X] Well obviously he has to know their identity and potentially bind them to him if they're a witch - 54%

[ ] Push for more funding and resources directed towards Hermione now that she's in the right environment - 28%

[ ] Nothing for the time being, its enough to know the Head Unspeakable is in his corner - 18%

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A/N: Nobody on my Patreon could figure out who the Head Unspeakable was until I revealed it. I wonder if anyone here will guess it :V

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