MacCullen… MacCullen… She wasn’t sure if she actually knew MacCullen, but that name wasn’t strange for her. The Spell Experimentation Office was out of her route in the DoM for some reasons. The most obvious one was her own place in there - she was hired to deal with potions and plants as a trainee Alchemist, so spell was something out of her jurisdiction, she could say.

The not so obvious reason was the way she felt when dealing with her wand. Not that she was a complete disaster; a little accident here and there, nothing tragic at all, but enough to make her feel insecure. She had to learn from the beginning how to use her left hand when she was eleven after all, so while everyone was in Hogwarts practicing spells, she was in home starting from zero. The opportunity of be an Alchemist and specialize in the fields she was more comfortable with helped a lot, and among plants and cauldrons her issues about that wasn’t so relevant. In her daily basis, she just preferred to use her hand instead of her wand.

So why, exactly, that man named MacCullen asked for her presence in his office on the Spell Experimentation? How she could be useful? A little reluctant, Una canceled her usual lunch with Sid on their secret spot - at least it was his turn to cook, so he would eat well without her and probably save her part for later - and headed to the unknown. That Unspeakable MacCullen, spells, and how she could be helpful on that matter. She only hoped that to be a mere theoretical discussion; she would have a chance to be good if it was just theories, thoughts and wonders.

Approaching his door, Una still looked behind one or two times considering; she wasn’t sure about her feelings on that part of the DoM. But curiosity led the small witch to finally stand in front of the door and knock sheepishly. If he heard that, she would enter; if he didn’t, she would go back to where she belongs. Oh, she wished. Her sense of duty would make her knock again, but before she consider the possibility, a movement inside the room indicated that she was about to meet the wizard, and finally know his thoughts..

It had been during his lunch break a some days back that Dorian had started to become interested in a new avenue of research. Thank God he had picked up a copy of the Daily Prophet that day, because in the same issue he had read about both the troubles of preparing everything for the upcoming Tetra Tournament, as well as some information about a terrible curse that as it spread caused the innate magic in witches and wizards to go completely off normal. This had started a line of reasoning in Dorian's mind about the possibility of harnessing some of the power of such magic, and incorporating it into helping to shield the magical community, especially in a time when so many young magical people gathered for a period of intense feelings and stressful environments; a well-known breeding ground for magical accidents. And although it would all be supervised and under control of adults, the wizarding world at large could benefit from a way to suppress the volatility of magic in underage witches and wizards. Especially after he had been made aware by one of his sisters that more and more people lived together in urban areas, with less and less space between them. That would ultimately lead to a need of greater secrecy and security anyway, so why not get a head start?

He had hurried to his supervisor the same day with his idea, and upon getting the all clear, he started researching at once. Though he itched to start his experiments on live humans as soon as he could, he knew he would have to back up any experiment with logical reasons and so on and so on. Dorian therefore first of all looked into the information the Department and Ministry as a whole had on the curse, and several notes on accidents involving magical people of every age and their magic going haywire. Compiling all the information was the real time-sink, but he was sadly getting more and more used to tediousness since he started working at the Ministry. You've gotta do what you've gotta do, and all.....

It was a day or two into this compilation that Dorian had come over the notes about a fellow Unspeakable, a certain young woman called Freher, and her accidents both when she was young, and some happenings since she started working at the Ministry.  Though he was first interested in her because of these unfortunate accidents, he was also fascinated by the fact that she was also apparently a gifted alchemist. Such skills might just be the perfect thing for Dorian's research, and ultimate success. He had studied several sorts of magic where one required both spells and potion, and the like. So as he wasn't one to disregard a potential asset, in whatever way she might prove useful, he sent her a note asking her if she would be so kind as to join him in his office for a consultation.

On the day in question, Dorian had just finished en early lunch, and was closing his filing cabinet, as he heard a knock on the door, It was a bit soft, as though the person knocking wasn't quite sure she wanted to be heard. Dorian closed the cabinet, went over to the door, and, seeing the outline of a beautiful young woman on the other side, put on a warm smile as he opened it.
There stood a witch noticeably shorter than Dorian, but then that was the case for almost anyone, and he went to one side of the door, gesturing her inside.

"Miss Freher, it's so very nice of you to visit me! I'm very grateful you had the time!"

"Miss Freher, it's so very nice of you to visit me! I'm very grateful you had the time!"

She had to look up to catch a glimpse of his warm smile and unmatched eyes. Gott, he was taller than her boyfriend and that meant he was almost scary tall compared to her. Still she smiled sweetly. “It was not a problem Herr… Mister MacCullen. I haven’t heard about your work yet, but if there’s anything I could do to be useful, it will be my pleasure.” Una tried to be as polite as him, stepping into his office carefully and standing behind the chair in front of the table, where she was supposed to sit after his invite to do so.

Her words were sincere, even not knowing exactly what was on his mind, help a fellow Unspeakable was important to her. The determination to stay on the Department of Mysteries against all odds and be recognized not only as an Unspeakable, but a good Unspeakable, lead her to do everything as possible to prove her value. That’s why she was still hoping that she was there, on the Spells Research, to do anything that would not involve her with her wand directly. But the slightly bad feeling was still deep inside her.

“So… Mister… How can I help you?” She asked insecurely, keeping her eyes on him with curiosity.

The young woman's very cautious behavior made Dorian's smile much more relaxed and not as aggressively grinning as he had. It had been a long time since he'd encountered someone so reserved and careful, and the fact that Dorian had quite a strong personality himself probably didn't help. He would have to tone some parts of him down, probably, if he wanted her help. So two-way talking and intimidation wouldn't work, but maybe flattery and a bit of trickery? But first things first. Dorian closed the door as Una had entered, and he went over to the drinks-cabinet as she moved towards the chair opposite his desk.

"I'm not surprised you haven't heard of what I do around here, it's really a lot of theory and sadly lesser parts practical stuff, and even then not that much sensational news, sadly. It's only a few times in several hundred cases that something remarkable and new comes from these offices, but we do our best to improve the society we live in." Dorian turned and faced her directly, giving her a winning smile. "And you see, Miss Freher, that is exactly what I think you could help me with."

He turned back and began pulling out the stopper of a bottle and pulled out a couple of glasses. "It just so happens that I recently had an idea about a way to perhaps help a large number of the wizarding world's children. Oh, would you like something to drink, by the way?"

"It's only a few times in several hundred cases that something remarkable and new comes from these offices, but we do our best to improve the society we live in. And you see, Miss Freher, that is exactly what I think you could help me with."

Una gently crossed her hands over the back of the chair, watching as he was taking a bottle and a couple of glasses from his drinks-cabinet. Just the fact that he had such a thing in his office sounded a little pretentious. That, along with his speech and smile, caused her to raise her eyebrows. Not that she wasn’t used to that kind of Unspeakable (though a little more than two months dealing with them can’t be really considered as a huge experience), but that was the first time one of them requested her presence alone. Should she be really worried?

“Ah… ja, please, continue sir…” she nodded, smiling politely when she realized that she should be staring at him awkwardly with a surprised expression for some time now. Not cause a bad impression on her coworker was also something to worry about, apparently.

"It just so happens that I recently had an idea about a way to perhaps help a large number of the wizarding world's children. Oh, would you like something to drink, by the way?"

“Children? Drink? Oh, no… I mean, I would accept a glass of water, thank you.” It wasn’t really a good idea to put alcohol on her already clumsy manners, especially not at work; and it was too early for a tea or something. Water was just perfect. “Hm… it sounds… honorable, sir. What was your idea about?”

This young woman was so delightfully respectful towards Dorian, it reminded him of his upbringing among the Muggle social elite of Britain and France. Having met not a few Germans in his time also brought back memories from her speech.

"One water coming right up, my dear. Well, my thoughts were like this: The world is evolving more and more, much more than anyone had thought possible before. I don't know if you know, but not too long ago the amount of humans living in cities versus the amount that lived in rural areas changed, and to me at least that is worrying. That is because even among few other people, wizards and witches find it hard to stay undetected, and now that more and more of us live so tightly among Muggles, even the smallest accident or problem could turn into a huge disaster." Dorian finished with the drinks, walked over to his desk, sat down her glass of water by her seat, and sat down in his chair opposite Una, while gesturing her to do the same.

After taking a sip of his very well aged whiskey, Dorian continued. "Adult wizards and witches, though, have mostly speaking a firm grip on their magic, having had years to practice. I mean, there's a reason we don't put the Trace on adults, ey? But this isn't the case with our children, sadly. Both those that are in school, as well as children too young for that, are often involved with breaches in the Statute of Secrecy that we try to uphold, and this can often cause quite a lot of trouble." Dorian's smile and humor faded as he was reminded of a young girl he'd seen being tried as a witch on his travels. He had barely managed to save her from those angry Muggles, something he doubted he'd ever forget. He sat down his drink, leaned back in his chair, and steepled his fingers.

"So imagine my surprise when I recently heard of something that has happened both in Egypt and here in our very own country! There is apparently a curse, an ancient one at that, which directly influences the innate magic in a witch or wizard. And it was after this that my plans of taming the powers of this curse came into being." Dorian watched the young miss Freher over his fingers for any sign of reaction to this revelation.

At first she didn’t know where exactly he was trying to get. Una belonged to the group of wizards that still preferred to live in the rural area, with a safe distance of Muggles. It was mostly because of her parents, but maybe, even if the decision was entirely on her hands, she would chose to stay away. After thinking briefly about this, she concluded that wizards like Sid, that had chosen to live so close of the Muggles, should be really capable of keep their magic in secret. She didn’t feel like she could do something like that for a long time period. And that’s how she could understand why that was related to children; she was a little like one in certain aspects. So how could she help him? With this question almost written in her eyes, she nodded to him slowly, before taking her seat.

Instead of put her thoughts and questions in words, which would make her looks really silly as she was sure, Una took a little sip of water and stood with the glass raised in front of her lips while he continued with his long explanation. His words should be a reminder of her own childhood, but as someone so strongly disposed to forget that part of her life, Una just observed when Dorian’s humor changed suddenly.

Just like mimicry, she sat down her glass almost at the same time as he sat his and did what could be seem as a similar gesture, holding her chin between her thumb and pointer finger. Dorian spoke about the Egyptian curse and Una, who had stood in silence all along, remained wordless for some seconds after this. “Ah…” she started, her voice so low it was almost a whisper, “Do you intend to use the curse as an… inhibitor of… magical… bursts? Like a poison homeopathically used to cure an ill?” That was something she could understand; something she could talk about and be helpful. It didn’t make Una look more secure, thought. “Do you know how to start, like… extracting… the quintessentia… of the… curse?”

It wasn't difficult for Dorian to be impressed. This young alchemist was timid, yes, and she didn't say that much, but the things she did choose to say were insightful and highly relevant.

"Ah, my dear, I do believe you have read my mind! It is exactly my wish to find a possible inhibiting agent that could help our society in keeping our secrets for many, many more years, and to this end I would like to study this curse. And though I'm not the most gifted expert at homeopathy, I believe we can draw parallels, yes! You see, it is my belief that once we've understood the mechanics behind the curse, we will hopefully be able to dilute the effect it has on people, and thereby be able to help control our collective magics." Dorian was smiling again, hoping her brilliance would help her understand his own, perhaps a bit convoluted, idea.

"Now, the reason I asked you here, is because after many years of traveling the world and studying various types of magic, I have learned that many powerful magics can be both created and neutralized by combining the powers of both spells AND the properties of spells and such. As much as I and my accomplishments may help me with the area of spells, I don't think I am as proficient with potions as you are, Miss Freher. Please don't take this the wrong way, but I've read up on you, and studied you a bit, and I believe you are the perfect candidate to help me." Leaning slightly towards her over his desk, Dorian saw only honest surprise and similar emotions, which made him certain that he would be able to trust her. At least for now.

He rose from his chair, and walked to the wall at the left side of the desk, where most of his filing cabinets were. He turned his back to her and slid a small but sturdy chain from around his neck, on which hang a single key. He kissed it, whispered to it as softly as he could the words of his family, and used it to open the third cabinet from the right. Dorian's arm went in to the shoulder, and he pulled out a small flask, and closed the cabinet again, put the key back around his neck, tucked it away, and turned back to Una, holding the small flask up to inspection, while the black liquid inside glinted with purple and gold specks of light.

She listened carefully to Dorian’s… many, many words. Una was able to follow his thoughts perfectly, but it was hard to find a place for her timid considerations between all his confidence and self-sufficiency. He seemed to dominate so completely the subject that, even presenting the way she could be useful, Una still wasn’t sure of her part. She took a deep breathe and smiled politely when he gave the first break. She would try it. She couldn’t let that meeting end as badly as… other meetings she had had[1].

“Look, we can extract and reproduce pretty much anything in nature… animal, vegetal, mineral… now, a curse is not exactly like this. It’s more like a… deviation of nature, caused by something… most often, by someone.” Una rolled her eyes thoughtfully before crossing her arms above his table, getting a bit more comfortable. “So it’s hard to decipher the mechanism of it without knowing its origin… ok, not impossible, but, hard… and work on it to neutralize the bad effects and get the right balance, so it can be used as medicine without risks is something really… offbeat…?”

She finished her speech twitching her lips and looking around unsure. It was almost a frown, but more to herself than to Dorian. He was decided to risk that, somehow take the curse and revert it, transform it in something useful. Sooo controversial… but then, how could she judge him? It wasn’t like she, so insecure and shy, was used to avoid the risks all the time. Dare was something required when you want to change the world for good… right?

"Please don't take this the wrong way, but I've read up on you, and studied you a bit, and I believe you are the perfect candidate to help me."

“Wait… what?” Una, who seemed to be caught completely in her own thoughts, came back to earth abruptly when he said that. “No, I… ah…” am not really great? That thing he said meant she was considered… good? Fairly well? Ok? She couldn’t avoid a little, almost imperceptible giggle, but more out of disbelief than pride. Ok, maybe the pride was something she just couldn’t accept so easily.

But her reactions weren’t really important for MacCullen, since he turned his back and she didn’t pay attention to his little ritual. In fact, Una just looked at him again when he came back holding the strange flask. “What’s this?” She asked, for the first time on that conversation, clearly and directly.

1.	refer to this