Title: The Thirst for Knowledge
Author: InFamousFaete
Summary: Be careful what you wish for….
Genre?????
Character(s)/Ships: Hermione
Prompt: from WingFetishZo:Hermione sees something she wishes she hadn't.
Beta: The Loverly WingFetish
It had taken six years, but Hermione Granger had finally found it. Six long, tiring years of digging through old books, wandering deserted tombs, counting paces and marking maps. Six years of putting up with Malfoy while he played lawyer and got her Ministry permits and permissions. Six years of living out of luggage, eating out of cans and bags of dried foods. Six years of leaving Ron behind to deal with the kids and protect Harry. Six years of barely living just so she could find this answer.
It was all worth it in her opinion, just for this moment. She was in Merlin's cave, his hidden library under the world. Hidden by charms of the four Hogwarts founders themselves, protected by animals and traps unheard of these days. But she had made it. And now, sitting in front of her was the journal, written in by all the greatest wizards, passed down through sheer power until they stopped. Until Merlin himself supposedly found the one answer to everything. Legend said that Merlin wrote the One Secret down for future generations and then hid it away until a worthy one found it.
And who could possibly be more worthy than Hermione? She, who had made history by getting the most Os on her NEWTs, had made history in the sheer number of NEWTs she had taken. Hermione, who had researched and found the secret to Voldemort's demise. No question, she was just the person to find Merlin's final words of wisdom.
And now, after six years, she would be the wisest witch of them all. She could not wait to tell her secrets to children, and tell Harry she knew how to save him. Harry would be well and go back to leading the wizarding world, but it would be she, Hermione Granger, who would get the fame and the acceptance of the top minds of the wizarding academic community.
Slowly, she reached forward and used her specially designed gloves to open the journal. Skipping all the words before it, she turned the pages quickly until she reached the end. All the rest of it could be studied later, but now she would start with the most important thing of all. There were only two lines on the page.
Every problem and every solution can be found through the art of Divination. All answers are hidden there if you only dedicate yourself to look.
It was impossible. She couldn't go back now and tell the world this. She also couldn't go back empty handed, but she certainly couldn't tell Harry that he and Dumbledore had been right all along. Six years she had searched to prove to Harry that his 'Seeing' ability was just an illness, fake and untrue. Six years dedicated to proving she was in control of her own destiny and Harry was lying about her pursuit of knowledge bringing about her untimely end. Six years for nothing.
Hermione ran from the cave, crying and raging. She never even saw the edge of the cliff face when she stepped out of the cave and fell the mile to the ground.