From the Other Side
With a grand, sweeping gesture, a tall black haired man finished proposing a finally finished attack plan. His voice carried strongly through the hall as the standing audience eyed him with approval and as the sitting members examined the plans and research he had spread across the long center table."While not their main headquarters, it is an important hub, and it's one that's vulnerable and guards some of The Order's vital strategic documents."
His final statement still echoing around the room, excited whispers rose from the gathered crowd and numerous people turned to their companions to discuss the details of his proposal.
"That's a stupid plan." A petulant voice suddenly declared.
The gathered people froze, the murmurs of praise for the proposition quieting immediately. The man who had been speaking stiffened visibly, his eyes narrowing as he honed in on the person who had belittled him. There, at the very end of the table, only tall enough for her eyes to peek over the edge, was a little girl with bushy brown curls, sharp tawny eyes, and a superior expression.
"Hermione, what are you doing out of bed? Hush." A woman chided, moving to collect her daughter.
"Well it is!" The little girl insisted, dodging her mother's attempts to pick her up, dodging through the legs of the various group members to appear on a different side of the table.
"Hermione." The girl's father said sternly, rising from his seat at the table and settling a serious look on his daughter.
"What? It's the truth!" The girl insisted, wriggling slightly as she was finally caught by her mother. "Whoever thought it up must be just as stupid! They have no idea what they're talking about!" Her haughty voice, high-pitched with youth, caused the black haired man's face to flush with humiliation and anger.
"Granger, you better shut your girl up, or you'll find her-"
"Silence."
All eyes were immediately directed to the head of the table where a pale man sat in an ornate chair, completely shrouded in black robes. His face was hard to distinguish as the bleak lighting cast heavy shadows across his features, but his cold, red eyes glittered like gems from the dark. His gaze was firmly affixed to the young girl.
"Come to me, child."
Hermione's mother slowly unhanded her daughter, her face paling as she did so. Their Lord was not known for his patience for his followers or for his mercy. Little Hermione, however, did not seem deterred and flounced her way down to the pale man's side. He motioned to the documents that lay across the table before him with a skeletal hand.
"Explain yourself."
With a delicate sniff, Hermione clambered onto the empty chair next to him and stood upon it so that she could see the various papers on the table. "Well, it's quite simple, really. The grounds are protected by all sorts of spells and wards. They aren't advanced enough to outright reject access, but they do activate certain safety measures. Most of them are easy to overcome-"
"I've already addressed that in my proposal, you foolish little-"
"Silence, Dolohov." The pale man hissed, his eyes flashing a darker, more malevolent shade of red. The black haired man, Dolohov, clenched his fists angrily, but quieted down.
"As I was saying," The girl, no more than five or six years old, continued in a bossy voice, "Most are ancient and outdated, but there are two that make this plan stupid. Firstly, the entire grounds is guarded by mirror-back turtles. Secondly, the estate is in the middle of an advanced array of prorobor crystals!"
A few of the gathered group looked visibly confused. The pale man, however, could not help the sinister upward curl of the corner of his lips.
"I thought mirror-backs went extinct years ago! And even so, those primitive beasts would only be able to repel the most basic of spells." A dirty man with beady eyes countered from a corner, "Sure, those crystals amplify magic, so what? Our spells will be amplified as well!"
"Wrong!" Hermione sang gleefully, as if happy to show off her superior knowledge on the subject. "The Amberfield family have a long history with the turtles and have been breeding them privately for generations now. Throughout the years, they've supplemented the incubation process with all different shielding and protection charms. By weaving their spells within the turtles' magical aura before they've hatched and while they're still young, the Amberfields have greatly increased their reflection capabilities! While they won't be able to reflect an Unforgivable at a caster, most medium to high level spells can be mirrored back to some degree. As for the prorobor crystals, they don't just amplify magic. They're protection crystals, only people properly attuned to them will be able to reap their benefits and you," the girl wrinkled her nose and looked at the grubby man, "are obviously not!."
"Okay, so we blow up the turtles first and avoid the crystals, big deal." Someone scowled from the crowd.
"You're not listening!" Hermione shouted, stamping her little foot in frustration. "But by all means, try your original plan! Try your explosive spells on the house walls. You might land a few, but the blasts will be redirected right back at you! It will take you minutes to regroup back together, by which time The Order will know you're there and the mirror-backs will have emerged from under the foundation. You won't be able to cast barely any spells without having to watch out for a turtle, and the prorobor crystals, which can hone in on anybody's magical aura by the way, will begin to make your spells weaker and make The Order's stronger. You won't be able to get anywhere near those papers you want! But go ahead if you like, I'll be warm at homes with cookies and milk while you get eaten by giant magic turtles!"
"So what you're saying, girl, is that our months of planning were all for nothing?" Dolohov snarled, swiping his hand across the plans on the table and sending them fluttering to the ground.
Bright brown eyes rolled impatiently as the young girl huffed in annoyance. "Nope! You just need to destroy the crystal array, there are potions for that, you know," she grumbled under her breath, "And repel the mirror-backs with properly stewed puma eyes. They won't come out of their holes if the right mixture is left at the entrance to their burrows." A smug smile spread across her face as her eyes sparkled in excitement. "Oh, and also," She added as an afterthought, "There's a more discrete entrance to the house from the pond they have; it's only protected by a few enchantments and it leads right to the Amberfield's cellar."
By the time she was finished with her explanations, the gathering was oddly quiet. Most gazed in complete bewilderment and awe at the child who had somehow managed to find weaknesses in a seemingly fail proof plan.
"How did you know all this?" Someone asked in a dazed voice as murmurs of the same question rose from the others.
"Oh," She answered casually with a shrug, "I read it in a history book in our library."
And with that, the meeting hall was dead silent as everyone tried to wrap their heads around the young wonder. Minutes of contemplation passed as people considered both the girl and possible new spins to their plan. It was finally broken by the thin, imposing man that sat at the table's head. As soon as he spoke, two pairs of eyes, the elder Grangers', eyed him with trepidation, while the other meeting members eyed him with respect.
"Hermione Granger."
"Yes, sir?" The mentioned girl hopped down from her perch on the chair and marched over to the pale man's side. His eyes glittered in amusement and approval as he calmly placed a thin, waxy-skinned hand on the girl's wildly curly head.
"Well done."
Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling
a/n: it's been a long while. that being said, I was inspired by a show and just could not get this scene out of my head.
I wanted to try a different take on the 'pureblood Hermione' story, and this is what I ended up with!
I'm currently not sure if I should or will continue this story or what direction it should go in. Any feedback or suggestions/ideas would be wonderful.
It's been a long time since I've written anything, so I'm a bit rusty. That being said, this is probably riddled with all sorts of errors! I apologize.
Prorobor crystals - comes from the latin word roboro and 'pro' (from protection).
Until next time~