the_debt_of_time

"Oh, no need to worry yourself, sir. I didn't purchase a single thing. I've actually
been working on it for a few weeks now and have put in a great deal of effort. I hope you
enjoy it."
After several moments of utter silence while she concentrated, Dumbledore looked
at her with concern. "Miss Potter?"
"D-Diary," she stammered out. "R-Ring. Lock-ket. C-C... C-Cup." Sweat beaded
on her forehead as she spoke, expelling the words from her mouth by force as she used
her skills in Occlumency to break through the Tacere Veritas. The very brief shock on
Dumbledore's face was like a shot of adrenaline through her body, and she inwardly
grinned at the euphoric feeling.
"Miss Potter," Dumbledore cautioned, his normally light-hearted tone of voice
taking on a reproachful sound.
"D-D-D.. ." She continued on, trying to say "diadem" but the word was catching
in her throat in a way that the others had not. She knew she was pushing herself too hard
but moved forward regardless. "D-D.. ." Oh, fuck it. "Tiara. S-Snake."
She felt her cheeks flush and then the blood rush from her head at the concentrated
effort. She purposely left out Harry's name. She could clue Dumbledore in on the
Horcruxes if only to spite him, but she would never willingly assist in his plan to kill Harry,
no matter how well it had worked out in the end.
Mia felt victorious at having been able to say the words. Her perfectionist nature
had her set with determination, and she had been practising for weeks trying to get the
words out of her mouth. It was physically draining and magically exhausting to fight the
effects of the Tacere Veritas. Once, she had actually blacked out while at work. She was
extremely grateful that none of her superiors had walked into her office, and that it had,
instead, been Arthur Weasley who stumbled into her workspace to find her unconscious
at her desk. When he had woken her, she played her passing out off by saying that she had
been up late the night before. Arthur had replied by waggling his eyebrows, blushing red
to the tips of his ears and saying, "Me, too," causing Mia to burst into laughter.
No matter how difficult it was to fight the spell—especially since she understood
that anything she did manage to "change" would only set the future on its intended
course—she found that fighting the effects was actually helping her to increase her
Occlumency abilities, something she felt could one day come in handy should she ever be