The Dark Lord's Seer

Mr. Burke

"Oh no! No, no, no!"

I still had half a scone in my mouth when the pocket watch I'd set down on the table began whirring and spinning madly, levitating in the air as it trilled louder and louder.

A birthday gift from my mother, since I was perpetually tardy. This one'd been specially charmed to speak to me if I was running late for something. And the more time passed, the more teasing its admonishments grew. Leave it to my mother to come up with such a creative yet annoying way to try and instil punctuality. And now, as it hovered in the air, the watch sang to me good-naturedly, "Up and out, up and out, you better get a move on!"

"I know, I know!" I shouted back frantically, crumbs flying from my mouth as I tossed my plate down and ran into my bedroom.

Trying not to panic, I shucked off my pyjamas. As I threw open my chest of drawers, I heard the pocket watch call out to me, "A little too late is much too late, you know!"

"Quiet, you!" I shouted back, grabbing the first pair of trousers I spotted and tugging them on so quickly I almost fell over. No! Wait, forgot the underwear! I shimmied back out of the trousers and pulled on a fresh pair of underwear.

Come on, get it together.

I had the trousers halfway back up my legs again when I heard the pocket watch reply scoldingly, "This'll be three times you're late to work this week!"

"I KNOW! WILL YOU QUIT, ALREADY?"

Silence, blessed silence - if only for a moment. My hands flew down and ripped open the bottom drawer. Quickly, any shirt will do. I tugged a black shirt over my head and frantically reached for a pair of socks.

"Don't you have an important meeting first thing this morning?"

"SHUT UP!" I shouted back irritably.

I certainly didn't need a reminder about that. Quite unusual, the meeting I had scheduled this morning. Approximately a week ago, I'd received a message out of the blue from an anonymous gentleman. He'd reached out to me regarding what he referred to as "a private matter of vital importance to my department."

My department: the Department of Mysteries. To be completely honest, the letter had caught me off guard. Officially, I was just a modestly ranked Ministry employee - my official job title was simple, "Department Liaison." Though that masked a far more interesting truth –

"HURRY, HURRY, HURRY!!!!!" The pocket watch was positively bellowing now.

I tore back into my kitchen, pulling out my wand and aiming it at the watch, "Another word from you and I'll smash you to oblivion!"

The watch shuddered and fell back to the table, but not before delivering one last taunting reply, "Well! At least we know you'll never get away with claiming you were fashionably late. Not dressed like that!"

Cheeky watch. I lunged forward and grabbed it, roughly shoving it in the kitchen drawer.

There. Take that, watch.

I ran and grabbed my jacket, throwing it on as I pried the lid off the jar of Floo Powder I kept above my fireplace. Grabbing a fistful of the emerald green powder, I tossed it into the fire and watched as the flames changed before my eyes. A lovely verdant green, the fire licking and lapping its way up into the chimney. And then, as I did every morning, I hopped in without giving it a second thought.

Elbows tucked neatly at my sides, the familiar squeezing sensation as my body shot through the Network, and - pop - I stepped out of one of the arrival chimneys in the Ministry's Atrium.