2130 hours. Entrance Chamber, Department of Mysteries.


Anyone who braved the lifts to the Department of Mysteries this evening would be surprised to hear instrumental tunes[1] drifting down the passage, from the general direction of the plain door that led into their entrance chamber.

The circular space seemed larger, somehow, its obsidian-tiled walls further out from where they usually stood. Blue flamed candles burned brighter, reflected in the polished floor, and the music seemed to emanate from nowhere in particular.

Silver wood tables and chairs were arranged in a loose circle in the centre - perhaps they were more neatly used at the start of this party but by now everyone was tipsy on this or that, floating between groups of people in all manner of clothes. Wixes occasionally went in or out the doors; all Unspeakables were free to join or leave as they saw fit.

Earlier this week the last of last year's trainees finally qualified as fully-trained. It was traditional to hold a little celebration, or so Yavin Morgenthau was told.

Next month would be his first year anniversary as Head of nine. Presently, he was nursing a glass of red wine and explaining to Ophelia Hassan the intricacies of Incan botany engineering.

"You, ah, you see, there's simply no alternative to sunlight," he put down his drink on the table strewn with liquor bottles, half-empty plates and golden wrapping paper. "We need real light, real soil. I'm, hm, thinking of somewhere in Sc--"

            "You're not supposed to be talking about work! This is a party, isn't it?" cried  Virgil, sauntering over from a concentration of Seers and perching himself on the edge of the table. A salt shaker tipped over. "Sir," he added facetiously as he stole a maraschino cherry off Ophelia's cocktail.

"What kind, of, hah, what kind of dull party would that be?" Yavin stretched his arm along the back of his chair and crossed his legs. "You kids. We, hm, we knew how to party in my day..."

1.	Think Alexandre Desplat or similar.

"And now you're going to bore me with ancient history?" Virgil Carstairs lowered his voice to disguise its impudence from other ears, and popped the cherry into his mouth.

He was here under duress. Today had been double shifts for him - he did two or three of them every week, to make up for taking Fridays off to perform for Stardust's Shakespeare in the Park. After another endless day of stalking the Hall of the Prophecies, all Virgil wanted to do was slip into bed and dream of nothing.

But today really was special, so he'd made an effort. Eyeshadow, earrings, perfume. He was officially Unspeakable Carstairs.

            "Youth is wasted on the young," his mentor sighed, not quite serious and clearly play-acting. "In my time, a night like this would land us on a different, hm, continent at sunrise."

Virgil exchanged a smile with Ophelia. He played with a golden ring on his index finger - it was in the shape of a cat skull. All around the room, other newly turned Unspeakables were wearing similar glimmers of gold; brooches or rings or pendants, all of them skeletons or skulls of various animals.

Yavin had reached into his own pocket to get them 'graduation' gifts. The old wizard himself sported a golden skeleton brooch on the breast of his jacket.

"It's not even ten." Virgil checked his pocket watch. "There's time yet to get into trouble. If," he added with an angel's smile, "you can keep up with us kids."

A bright laugh sounded from another small group just a few feet away.

Like many of the Unspeakables here tonight, Kaia had seized upon the opportunity to dress up. Under her robes, she wore a black dress that shimmered with all the vastness of space, dotted with twinkling silver stars, and silver star earrings to match. She'd taken the time to darken her lips and carefully painted a moko kauae on her chin, adopting a pattern from her mother's iwi, Ngāi Tahu. On nights like this that felt so far from home, when she found herself deep underground amidst flickering blue flames in the onyx black heart of the British Ministry, wearing the sacred tattoo even just for a night made her feet feel a bit more firmly planted.

She smiled now at Virgil as she stepped away from the others that she'd been conversing with to join the small circle around Yavin. Now that he'd served his year, the sleepy blond youth had been elevated fully to the title of Unspeakable as their peer. Learning hardly stopped when training was done, especially on Level Nine -- but even here, the title still meant something. For someone like Virgil, who had ended up as the target of considerable resentment due to how their new Department Head had favored him, completing the training year meant some extra. At least it would be a bit harder for the others to say that he hadn't earned his station now.

"Reckon you're a bit less able to say that now that you've signed the blood contract," she said cheerfully, the words far more teasing than biting. "You'd better watch out now, Carstairs. Before you know it, you'll be as ancient and run down as the rest of us, eh?"

"You're what now?" Jules popped up seemingly out of nowhere. Level 9 was apt for it. He grinned cheekily at Kaia. He'd been about to follow it up with a quip about her growing a beard like his, but saw his metaphorical foot racing towards his mouth just in time. It wasn't a beard...

"You look lovely tonight Kaia, like. You seen Janus anywhere? He was 'ere a minute ago," The young unspeakable had been saddled with Alberic Grimm during his training and now worked with Jules studying the dementor. He wasn't the most sociable, and had 'graduated' last summer.

"I turned round to get a drink, found the table had grown legs or summin', and he vanished." It didn't occur to Jules that his colleague might have had more than enough of his chatter and had slipped off while his back was turned to save issuing a verbal excuse.

He paused, though to anyone other than Jules it wasn't really a pause,
"You look lovely too Gilly," he told Virgil, "equal opportunities an' all like." That Penny Pickler had educated him on genders and whatnot the other month after all. Jules meanwhile was wearing black and purple wizards robes, complete with soft pointed hat which drooped at the tip. He might as well belong in a muggle children's book illustration.

             ".... as ancient and run down as the rest of us, eh?"

He laughed, anticipating the grin Virgil shot at Arahanga as she joined them on that note. "All the more reason to do as much as I can now," the blonde wizard quipped with the particular arrogance of youth. Jules approached a confusion of words then: Yavin welcomed the addition with one of his drunken, languid smiles.

Abbot handed out compliments generously and Virgil performed a curtsy, expression dry.

"You're looking, ah, wonderful yourself Jules," Yavin gestured at the man's outfit with his wine glass. "You might need to lose the, hm, lose the hat if these kids pull the night into muggle territory."

His idea of a good time was very different from when he'd been Virgil's - or even Kaia's - age. But maybe not so different. Something about being an Unspeakable tampered with normal expectations; you don't expect normal when you're privy to Secrets like they were.

             "Can't we just do something in here?" Virgil gestured with flourish at the doors leading through to their chambers and halls and labyrinths galore. "Muggles are so tiring."

"Just keep out of the Space Chamber," the old wizard muttered into his drink, wearing the countenance of a man who did not need to see someone throw up in zero gravity more than once in a lifetime.

Hyperion observed the performance of compliments. He sniffed suspiciously. Checked he did not feel compelled to pay remark to another's fashion sense. No. What he saw must be not induced niceties. Morgenthau looked lopsided. Carstairs sought center stage as ever. Abbott forgot to bring all the letters to his words. Arahanga's makeup had got out of hand. Unspeakables were strange. Of course he was the exception. He was brilliant.

"Have you all supped love potion?" Perry raised his voice sarcastically. He was putting the final touches together on a tray of special shots which shimmered faintly rainbow like water on oil and fizzed. It smelled of fresh vanilla cake but tasted of lime. "Try this instead. A little something I mixed especially for this evening."[1]

1.	The potion swaps your voice with another drinker for a few minutes or as long as is funny for this thread lol.

Kaia had flashed Jules Abbott a smile at his greeting, gamely stepping back to give their chatty colleague space to join the conversation circle around Yavin's table. She hadn't seen Janus, but the room was still crowded enough that it was possible that the young Unspeakable was just lost in the throngs. Apparently most of Level Nine had been ready for a chance to relax and mingle with their colleagues this evening.

"Yeah nah, it'd probably fall on me to tidy up in the morning," she agreed with Yavin, giving Virgil a wink. He could probably hold his liquor as well as any of them, but as much as she loved the relaxing sensation of drifting through space, the thought of returning to her usual station in off-work hours sounded less than appealing.

Still, it wasn't often that the boss gave them run of the floor. Kaia tilted her head to the side, appearing to have a think, as another of their colleagues approached.

"Have you all supped love potion?"

Drinking an unknown substance was never the safest idea, never mind when the sources was a slightly sus coworker who worked in experimental potions, but what was tonight about as if not a celebration of living a little? Kaia shrugged and gamely took a shot glass.

"Chur, mate," she replied, lifting the glass in thanks to Perry. "Nah, no love potions, but the Love Chamber's one thought, eh?" Kaia tilted a glance to Virgil, Ophelia, and Jules, clearly intending to take up Yavin's implied permission to explore. "Reckon at least it'd be a bit less messy than the Brain Room."

“Is it wrong that I both want to try that, and simultaneously don’t?” Theta asked her uncle and mentor in a low whisper.

These little gatherings as new unspeakables ‘graduated’ or got their stripes, wings, tentacles or whatever was the appropriate term for their specialism, were always pleasant but curious. Theta didn’t really go out drinking with people from Level 9 apart from the minority who she knew from school and were around her age. There had been Chris, who she’d dated for a bit, and then a spontaneous outing or two with Virgil. Everyone was older than her, and had to find something else to talk about other than work which could make conversation artificial and stilted. That, and there were some rather eccentric wixes down here…

“Rather you than me,” Francis shook his curls. He had never warmed to Hyperion Gamp. He was one of those old school pureblood sons and Mortimer Gamp, their old Department Head, had always shown favouritism. Then again, Yavin showed some to Virgil in a similar way.

Hyperion Gamp was well to do, intimidatingly intelligent as far as Theta had gleaned when she had interacted with him. But was it wise to get to know a Gamp? Especially one who worked on Nine. Was he any better prospect than the Head Auror with his divorces and quidditch team’s worth of children?

“Stuff it,” Theta grumbled, the conversation group she was with was discussing the finer details of medieval magical heraldry and genealogy and Theta had already zoned out of the topic and been staking out a new conversation group. She just lacked that little bit of confidence to interrupt. Rainbow coloured drinks of unknown quality it was!

“Hey,” she slipped in beside Virgil, “congrats,” she smiled politely, making a weak attempt to cover her motivations for joining the group before fixing her eyes on the tray of shots. “What are you all drinking?”

Unlike his fellow classmates, Sasha hadn't come to the party to celebrate a promotion to full Unspeakable.  Though he'd graduated with them, an initial unwillingness to pursue non-academic commitments meant he hadn't actually sold his soul to Level 9 until around the winter holidays.  In fact, Sasha could fondly remember this time last year when he'd had absolutely no commitments. 

How fleeting that had been.  At least he had a few more months before he had to bear the full responsibility that came with the Unspeakable title.  And, outside of the Ministry, he still got to don the cap of carefree university student on holiday. 

Have you all supped love potion?"

Now there was a dangerous proposition, if he'd ever heard of one.  Luckily, the invitation appeared to be both somewhat in gest and directed to the group at large, rather than to a specific individual so there wasn't an expectation of an answer.  He hoisted his own glass of dry white wine in Virgil's direction as Pepper offered congratulations. 

"Just keep out of the Space Chamber."

"What?  You don't trust a bunch of inebriated wixes with the space orb?  Or, probably, it's the other way around."  The orb remained his favorite project on Level 9 and he jumped at every opportunity to help on it - even if it was still mostly in the role of a grunt.  Not just because he would remain convinced it was a void ship from Doctor Who until he was proven otherwise.

Not that inebriated wixes were a good idea in any part of Level 9.  People had a tendency to disappear there - sober people.  But, he'd made a vow not to play his usual role of party spoil sport and, as such, he was going to follow the basic improv rule of 'just say yes.'   

"A little something I brewed specially." Said Hyperion. Offered the drinks to Theta. Pretty little witch. "Snow? May not go with the wine alas." There was enough to go round. That would make it all the better.

"Cheers." He called. Drank one himself. Bitter lime. His throat fizzed. It was working. But whose voice would he take on? He watched their reactions to the taste. The sensation. "Beaut!" He heard himself say. Not 'great' like he planned. Definitely not his voice. He looked surprised. "Who's this then?" He asked aloud. Listening to the accent. "Hah! Arahanga I've got your voice." He grinned. "Come don't be shy. Let's hear ya'll."

He felt wonderful, he felt like sparkling water. Virgil couldn't help but cup his hands around his mouth and let out a cheering whoop! above everyone's heads as Kaia took up Hyperion's offer of a dodgy potion. Their floor was full of dodgy potions and he had zero complaints about the fact. It made life interesting.

Before he could reach for a shot glass, a golden Theta was suddenly at his side. “Hey... congrats,” she was a welcome addition in his eyes and Virgil's grateful smile grew a little shy at the congratulations, even Sasha's raised glass.

There was something slowly bubbling in him. A real excitement - he had survived training. He played with the skull ring on his finger. This was only just the beginning of their mad experiments in this mad house.

Virgil leaned in to snatch one of Hyperion's drinks; he laughed in delight when Kaia's voice fell out of the wizard's mouth.

"Okay, that's brilliant," he remarked and glanced at Theta. "Bottoms up?" Virgil clinked his shot glass with hers before downing with the flourish of someone still in their clubbing years.

It hadn't taken very much encouragement for Kaia to down her shot. Why would they be Unspeakables, after all, if they didn't enjoy a dalliance with the unknown? Rushing headlong into potentially risky new frontiers was practically part of their everyday jobs.

The sound of her voice coming out of Perry Gamp's mouth hadn't been what she'd expected, though. Kaia gave a disconcerted squeak -- one that came out sounding much different than one might have expected, much lower and more masculine, causing her to throw her hands over her mouth in surprise.

What had happened? Tentatively, she tested out her new voice.

"Um, hello? What's this?" Definitely masculine and also decidedly British. Kaia's eyes lit up as she realized -- it wasn't that hard to recognize Virgil Carstairs' lazy drawl -- and she let out a decidedly un-Virgil-like whoop, dissolving into a fit of laughter as she clapped Hyperion enthusiastically on his shoulder.

“You're looking, ah, wonderful yourself Jules… you might need to lose the, hm, lose the hat if these kids pull the night into muggle territory.”

“Aw, really?” Jules protested mildly, fond of his hat. He could transfigure it into something else if it came to it. “Fair enough, boss, yer do have the fashion authority!” He gave an exaggerated shrug.

“Can't we just do something in here? Muggles are so tiring.” Virgil moaned. Jules felt his face twitch with a mischievous smirk which he didn’t try to hide.
“Just keep out of the Space Chamber,” their esteemed leader requested.
“Aw, come on…” Jules teased, mouth quicker than his head.
“Yeah nah, it'd probably fall on me to tidy up in the morning,“ Arhanga agreed with Yavin.
“What?  You don't trust a bunch of inebriated wixes with the space orb?  Or, probably, it's the other way around.” Sasha also mildly protested.
“Bit hard to evanesco in zero gravity?” Jules mused aloud. It wasn’t his specialism after all.

“Have you all supped love potion?” Gamp interrupted, sounding critical until he offered alternative. “…A little something I mixed especially for this evening.” A rainbow coloured drink offered by a creepy potions specialist, yeah, sure!

Jules was not the only one reaching for one of the mysterious drinks. They shot off the tray into people's hands with surprising ease.
“Chur, mate.” Kaia declared, grasping the one adjacent to Jules from the tray. “Nah, no love potions, but the Love Chamber's one thought, eh?“ She suggested. Jules gave a thoughtful nod at this, wondering how that would turn out. “Reckon at least it'd be a bit less messy than the Brain Room.”

“Hey, congrats, what are you all drinking?” A new voice entered the group, as Jules sniffed the drink. Vanilla? Was that a whiff of lime? Weird.
“A little something I brewed specially....”

Their sommelier colleague seemed to insist they all partook. Soon everyone had one of them in their hand, though there was a slight reticence to drink now! Jules, the potioneer and Arhanga knocked theirs back first. Jules grasped his lips with the fingers of his other hand to wipe the dregs of the bubbles off his beard. That was definitely an acquired taste, but no potion that did you any good tasted nice.

“Beaut! Who's this then?” Perry sounded entirely different, and Jules gaped. Kaia recognised her own voice and squeaked, not sounding herself either. “Hah! Arahanga I've got your voice. Come don't be shy. Let's hear ya'll.”

“Okay, that's brilliant, bottoms up?” Virgil and Theta knocked theirs back.

“Um, hello? What's this?” Kaia whooped and laughed, realising she had taken Virgil’s voice.

“Hah, you sound all posh!” Jules exclaimed, and then laughed at himself, for he sounded not that dissimilar. “Oh my, I sound like I should go to Gringotts for a loan before this wears off. Gamp how do you speak with this plum in your mouth?” He clapped a hand to his throat as if a literal plum were there.

“Bottoms up!” Theta agreed, clinking their glasses and trying to knock it back in one. She managed it in two and screwed up her face at the surprising feeling as it went down. She blinked hard twice as her nose tickled.

Gamp sounded like Arahanga, Arahanga sounded like Virgil and then Abbott sounded like Gamp. She sounded like…

“Like how… oh Merlin…” she had a Cornish accent and it was much deeper! “How by .. oh this is sooo strange!” She pointed to Jules, whose voice she had adopted, eyes wide and cheeks flushed. “Does it work like with only those who drink … like?” She was instantly on the investigation! “Why do I keep saying like?”

Perry was Kaia, she was Virgil and clapped him hard on the shoulder.
"Thanks bro. It's choice right?" Said Perry in Kaia's New Zealand accent and slang. He loosened his tie. It did not go with the accent. His accent was in Jules's mouth across from him. This potion never got old.
"I dunno. I guess the silver spoon I was born with helps. Ask Morgenthau for a raise." Then pretty little Theta opened her mouth. Her voice replaced with Abbott's. Not as becoming. She asked him a decent question.
"Yeah. Has to be the same batch too eh. Some similarities to polyjuice but closer to aura potions." Said Perry vaguely. "Who's got Pepper then?"