the_debt_of_time

They walked in absolute silence before reaching the large black door at the end of
the long hallway. Hermione closed her eyes, taking in a sharp breath before putting her
hand on the doorknob. The door opened immediately.
"Seriously?" She shuffled back a step, her mouth falling open in astonishment. "It's
not even locked. What on earth are they thinking? Six teenagers broke in here a year ago,
and they can't even bother to keep the department locked―"
"Hermione?" Remus interrupted her with a wink. "Let's not look the gift hippogriff
in the beak." He held his wand out, equally suspicious and ready for an attack just in case.
It was not mere speculation that the Ministry had been infiltrated; the Order just lacked an
exact count of which departments were corrupted by Death Eaters.
"You're right, you're right. Still, maybe I'll send an anonymous owl later," Hermione
muttered under her breath, causing Remus to chuckle quietly.
Moving into the large room, she waved her wand. Suddenly, the darkness around
them was broken by illuminated candles, the light revealing a number of large doors
encircling the two of them.
"All right, close the door."
Despite being older and more experienced, Remus conceded, closing off their
entrance and eventual exit at her insistence.
The moment the door shut behind them, Hermione aimed her wand. "Flagrate!"
A large, fiery line appeared across the door to mark their exit. Almost immediately,
the wall began to spin around them, making them lose track of which door was which, save
for the one she had marked.
Remus wrapped an arm protectively around her, and Hermione braced herself
against him to stop from getting dizzy, though it only took a moment to assure herself that
the floor had stayed steady.
Once the wall stopped spinning, she reluctantly let go of Remus and turned her
attention to the door she had marked. "It won't last forever."
"How about we add this?" Remus pointed his wand at the flames and whispered,
"Immobulus." The fire that marked the door froze in place. He smirked when Hermione
huffed.
"How did I not think of that?" she grumbled. "It's in The Standard Book of Spells Grade
2, for goodness' sake. I've been using that charm since I was twelve."