The Isle of Skye, December 2020
The thunder echoed around the hills surrounding the town of Portree, with the occasional flash of lightning illuminating the landscape before plunging it back into darkness. Down the valley on the coast, the people of Portree fastened their doors and windows and went to bed, hoping the storm would have blown over by morning.
On a hillside a few hours walk up the valley from the town, there was a croft. A welcoming glow, as if from a real fire, shone through a gap in the curtains. If it had been daylight, the immaculate vegetable garden would have shown that the occupant was someone who strived for order, with rows of peas in perfect straight line, and strawberries which always grew in the exact place their carer desired them.
This evening however, our hypothetical observer shrouded in the inky blackness of the storm, could just have made out the silhouette of the croft when lightning struck. There was another flash of lightning, accompanied almost immediately by a roll of thunder. A third flash came, and this time, appearing in the darkness between the two successive forks of lightning, there was a figure standing on the footpath leading through the garden to the front door.
Minerva McGonagall was sitting in front of her fireplace knitting. The storm outside didn't faze her in the least, and the warmth of the fireplace made her small croft a cosy place. She had retired from being Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry some years ago now, and apart from doing some occasional tutoring, and corresponding with some of her former colleagues and pupils, she spent much of her time prowling around the surrounding countryside in her cat form.
There was a loud rumbling sound as thunder sounded very close to her house, and Minerva reflected on how peaceful her life had been since she'd given up teaching. She missed some of it, but the constant noise of three hundred teenagers was something she was pleased to have left behind.
As another flash of lightning lit the night sky, there was a frantic knocking at the door. Who can it be at this time of night? Minerva thought. Suspiciously, she drew her wand as she stood up, and cautiously opened the door.
A small figure in a black clock collapsed into her arms. "Oh Professor," a female voice wailed. "They've done it, they've finally done it!".
"Why Hermione, whatever is the matter?"
Ten minutes later Hermione Weasley sat in a chair by the fire, wrapped in a blanket, as Minerva brought in a pot of tea from the kitchen. Hermione sat shaking as Minerva poured two cups of tea. After handing one of them to Hermione, who took it mechanically, she sat on the opposite side of the fireplace.
"Now we've got some tea, what in Merlin's name is wrong?"
"Oh Professor, they've finally passed the new law."
"What new law? And I told you ten years ago to call me Minerva, please don't stop doing so now."
Minerva isolated herself from whatever idiocy the Ministry of Magic was doing. She didn't read a newspaper, she refused to accept invitations to visit the Minister, and she was quite happy leaving them to mismanage the Wizarding World while she enjoyed her retirement in peace.
"They've issued the order to round up Muggleborns, we're to be "examined" so they can find out why we've spontaneously manifested the ability to perform magic. The aurors have just been issued orders to start raids this evening. They talk about understanding what gives someone the ability to do magic, but I suspect they want to find a way to stop Muggleborns doing it. Otherwise should they not be rounding up Purebloods and squibs too?"
"Those imbeciles," said Minerva strongly. "Where is your husband in all of this?"
"Ron?" Hermione said bitterly. "He hasn't spoken to me for ages, since he took the children and moved back in with his mother. Honestly, I don't see why he objected to me leaving my job and doing a Muggle degree. No, Ronald probably doesn't even know about it, the order was kept very secret to stop us Muggleborns bolting, he'll find out when he goes on duty in the morning. I'm not sure if he'll care, though."
"How did you find out about it?" Minerva asked, curiously.
"Harry."
"Ah," said Minerva. That explained a lot. Harry Potter had managed to walk the delicate balance between his two estranged best friends. Whilst he was married to Ron's sister, he regarded Hermione as something akin to a sister himself, knowing that he'd probably have been dead many times over if it wasn't for her. It seemed that Potter, still being highly placed in the Department for Magical Law Enforcement, had tipped her off.
"I'm sorry Profess-Minerva." Hermione corrected herself mid-sentence. "I couldn't think of anywhere else to go. Harry's place will be the first place they look once they find me not at home and not at the university."
"Of course, you're welcome to stay, but what do you intend to do?"
"I don't know what I can do. Harry tried to get them to stop the law, but they don't listen to him anymore, he's an inconvenient voice of reason, brought up by Muggles. I can't fight them. The Sorority has too much influence amongst the Purebloods, and they choose our government."
Minerva sighed. The Sorority was the latest in a long line of Dark Wizards and Witches to disturb the Wizarding World. Still, it was the price of civilisation. Far better the occasional battle to put the Dark Lords and Ladies and let decent people live in peace than the anarchy which occurred outside Europe. America and the other colonies were still very much the "Wild West" in the Wizarding World. No-one knew who the Dark Lady was. Some said it was a vampire. Some said it was Bellatrix Lestrange reincarnated. Still, their rhetoric was based on "good Pureblood values", which appealed to all the other Pureblood families.
"My dear," said Minerva, putting her now-empty cup down and patting Hermione on the arms as she started to sniffle. "You're a Muggleborn. You have another government."
"The Muggle government? What can they do?"
"I'm not sure. But surely their Queen and her government don't like the constant unexplained accidents, the obliviators popping around, and other weird things. The ones who know about Us must have an opinion."
"I made a choice years ago when I married Ron to be part of this world, though," Hermione said. "I've spent years trying to make the Wizarding World a better place from the inside."
"And did it work?" Minerva asked gently.
"Well...not really. We really made a mistake when we defeated Voldemort. We didn't have a plan for what to do when he fell, how to replace the current system with something better. So everyone went back to the status quo, with Dark Lords and Ladies rising every few decades. We should have had a plan for proper democratic elections, opening the Wizarding World up to more Muggle ideas, and reforming everything."
Inwardly Minerva smiled. Hermione still had that passion about her, the strong desire to make the world a better place. She privately suspected that she'd been put in Gryffindor because of that crusading spirit, rather than Ravenclaw where her intellectual gifts would be more at home. Minerva didn't really understand all the new-fangled Muggle devices and ideas, but she had more of an idea than most Purebloods – after all, she had been the Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts for years and as such had been responsible for introducing many Muggleborns to the Wizarding World. "Democracy" sounded like one of those wild Muggle ideas which might actually work. She'd no idea how the millions of Muggles managed it, but with a population the size of Wizarding Britain it should be possible.
Hermione continued. "I suppose I'd better go Muggle. Those incompetents in the auror force won't be able to find me if I don't use magic – most of them probably can't even pronounce electricity, and the few who can I suspect will probably mysteriously be unable to track me down." Hermione smiled slightly. Minerva assumed she was thinking of Mr Potter. "I'll go and stay in the Muggle world – not my parents, that's too obvious – and plan a way of contacting those Muggle government who know about magic. It won't be easy, but nothing worthwhile ever is."
Having finished her tea, she put her mug next to Minerva's on the tray. "Thank you Minerva!" she said, still looking worried, but the fear which had gripped her earlier had been replaced by resolve. "I'll look in from time to time, if that's ok with you, to get news and pass on how my quest is going. It may be at odd times, I don't want to be caught. If you see my children – or Harry – please give them my love."
Hermione stood, and there was a pop as she disapparated from Minerva's sitting room. Minerva sighed. Hermione would probably be back eventually, but now she needed to contact one Mr Potter.