A Department in the Ministry of Magic whose actions were shrouded in secrecy, as those who worked there sought to unravel the mysteries of the world – including research into time, death and love.— Pottermore

The Department of Mysteries is home to abundant knowledge and experimentation, and few know what truly goes on behind its doors. The Archivists, however, know more than most.  Trusted with all the knowledge the department has ever amassed, the Archivists work behind the scenes as librarians, custodians, and human repositories. The archives are almost as old as the department itself, having been developed five years in by Warrington Greene, the first archivist.

It is a small team: six hand-picked individuals, led by a Head Archivist who was previously of their ranks. These people are generally:

• Highly intelligent
  
• Lacking in external connections
  
• Possessing a special skill or knowledge that has them ‘flagged’ as a candidate
  
• Those who wish to know more about the world than their existing field can accomodate

Exceptions can, of course, be made for the right candidate.

Their work days are spent in a number of ways, all within a special archival subfloor of the department. This subfloor is accessible only via a lift within the Department of Mysteries itself, and consists of a workroom with desks and a massive card catalogue spanning one wall of the room. From here, there is a corridor that leads to a tearoom, a toilet, a library, and the Hall of Artefacts, a labyrinth of constantly moving small rooms, each dedicated to a specific artefact or experiment. The correct path is available only if one has the relevant card from the catalog, upon the back of which will appear a small map.

Throughout the day, Archivists might…

• Keep meticulous records of departmental knowledge/experiments, each scribed into a book kept in the archival library
  
• Wade through pensieves of memories of Unspeakables, past and present, to learn about their work
  
• Meet with Unspeakables to interview them on current projects, or serve as a “human Google” to direct them to materials, or provide knowledge, to support these projects
  
• Engage in their own research, time permitting. Time often does not permit, but it’s always good to have hobbies!

Worried that all this knowledge might be Too Much? A security risk? Worry not!

• All employees agree to a “Forget-About-It” rune, tattooed behind their left ear. This neatly segments their memories into two halves, which switches when they enter/leave the Department of Mysteries (yes, Severance).
  
• While in the department, they go by an alias—something similar to their name in some way, but not it, so as to add a layer of anonymity.
  
• When asked about their jobs, they say they are “support staff at the Ministry of Magic”, a phrase so boring few people ever want to follow up.

It is a well-oiled machine.

But all machines break down.

"PURDY"

60+ | MCAB/UCAB | OPEN HOUSE | HEAD ARCHIVIST