The Veil
In the heart of the Ministry of Magic, deep within the enigmatic Department of Mysteries, Hermione Granger found herself once more consumed by the enigma of the Veil. Everyone else thought that it served as a barrier between the living and the dead, but Hermione was skeptical. The concept of death was a very natural facet of life, yet the Veil itself seemed oddly unnatural to her. It was, at its core, an inexplicable ancient archway defiantly standing despite lacking any clear structural support.
During the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, everyone else claimed to have heard ethereal voices of the departed resonating from its depths, but Hermione’s ears caught no such whispers. Furthermore, it appeared to have some peculiar allure to it that entranced others, pulling them towards it as if seduced by an unseen force. But Hermione was immune to this; in fact, she felt a powerful instinct to distance herself from it.
Coworkers said her indifference stemmed from a disbelief in an afterlife, but the truth was more nuanced. She did believe in an afterlife, yet she was unsure of its form. After all, the Wizarding World was full of ghosts, and Harry had spoken of seeing his loved ones when using the Resurrection Stone. These experiences hinted at something beyond death, even if its nature was as yet undefined to her.
Despite the unknowns, there was one irrefutable truth for Hermione: the Veil was dangerous. The history of it was a testament to this fact, as those who walked into it never returned; their fate was uncertain. Did it end life or merely transport people to a place in which they cannot return? Regardless, it necessitated caution, hence why the Ministry of Magic had Unspeakables study the enigma since the Ministry’s inception.
Being an Unspeakable wouldn’t have been Hermione’s first career choice. Her aspirations had been firmly planted in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, but unfortunately, she was unable to pursue them. And she had Bellatrix Lestrange to thank for that. The sinister 'Mudblood' etched into her arm with a cursed blade refused to fully heal, reopening with every minor bump. And since the identity of the curse was a mystery to even the brightest cursebreakers, it was impossible for Hermione to pursue her initial dreams, and she was forced to find a role that was less likely to agitate her wound.
Despite this, she was still satisfied with her current career. Her unique resistance to the allure of the Veil made her the perfect candidate for the job. Moreover, she was given the opportunity to translate the unknown runes inscribed at the base of and on the arch itself, which provided her with a fascinating, yet challenging, intellectual pursuit. It had been over two years since she started, and she still hadn’t managed to translate even a single one of the unknown runes, which was frustrating yet made her more determined.
But this intellectual pursuit was not the only motivation for Hermione. The other was Harry Potter, her best friend and brother in all but blood. Despite what everyone told him, he had always been reluctant to accept that Sirius Black was dead. And Hermione hoped that if she could solve the mystery of the Veil, she could provide Harry with the closure he so desperately deserved.
Days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months, and months turned into years, two years to be exact. Two years of studying the Veil and going virtually nowhere. Until one day, when a portion of the runes lit up. It happened unexpectedly, with no provocation, and caught Hermione off guard.
Her curiosity piqued, she cautiously approached the Veil, drawn like a moth to the captivating glow of the runes. A mixture of familiar and unknown runes made up the section that was illuminated - some were ancient runes she had painstakingly studied while at Hogwarts, while others were those that continued to elude her understanding. Among the recognizable ones, she identified symbols of passage and transition, a revelation that stirred a whirlwind of thoughts in her mind. As she proceeded to inch closer for a better look, she felt a tingling sensation, her skin prickled as if responding to a static charge. But it was not simply static; it was magic, pure, raw, and incredibly powerful magic.
Suddenly, everything shifted. The brightness of the runes intensified, filling the room with their supernatural luminosity. Her vision blurred, her body reduced to a state of weightlessness, and a sudden force began to physically pull her towards the Veil. She reached out, her hands grasping around in an attempt to find a solid object, anything that could anchor her, but it was in vain. With a feeling akin to apparition, only magnified a thousand times, she was yanked through the Veil.
The last thing she saw before her vision was engulfed by darkness was the Ministry of Magic, her world disappearing before her eyes. As the darkness enveloped her, she held onto one last thought, a question that had served as motivation all this time yet was more pertinent now than ever: could Sirius have survived this?