Challenge prompt: Write about a character discovering/using a magical artifact
Setting: Set in the summer before fifth year, before Harry's arrival at Grimmuald Place, while the rest of the characters are cleaning the house out. Canon is somewhat vague on when exactly Hermione arrives, so this story assumes she and the Weasleys arrive at Grimmuald Place shortly after the summer holiday begins, well before Harry's misadventures with the dementors.
Hermione was bored. Cleaning had never been something she enjoyed, and with such a large house to go through it was driving her insane. Every summer, her family always made sure there was something interesting to do; usually educational, but even when it wasn't strictly educational there was always something new to see, something new to experience.
This house, safe though it may be, was not interesting. At least, not as long as she was stuck doing chores. She'd been there only a few days and was already fed up with it.
So with Ginny downstairs cleaning with her mother, Hermione was in their room, lying on her bed and re-reading Hogwarts: A History. The bedrooms had been cleaned out first, and Hermione had not wanted to know whose bedroom this one used to be. The Black family was… not one she was comfortable with, and she wasn't sure she was ready to exclude Sirius from that. Certainly he didn't share his family's darker predilections, but she was not convinced he had come out of his 12 year ordeal entirely sane.
With a sigh, she put the book down. She'd just re-read the section about the Chamber of Secrets, in case there was something she had missed before, but as ever it was heavy on myth, light on reality. As much as she loved the book and thought everyone should read it (why wouldn't you want know as much as you could about the castle that was both your school and your home?), she just wasn't in the mood to go over it again right now. Summertime was for something new, something different.
Maybe she'd go downstairs and see what everyone else was doing… with luck, someone would be working on the dark artifacts they'd already found and she could watch and ask questions? She didn't want to interfere, and she wasn't qualified to do anything, but just watching could be fascinating.
She hopped off the bed, and as she did so her copy of Hogwarts: A History promptly slid off; before she could catch it, it landed, and as it did the floorboard it landed it was jostled out of place.
'A loose floorboard?' Hermione nudged it with her foot, and she saw a small compartment underneath. 'I wonder why they didn't find it when they were…. Oh, wait, this wasn't hidden with magic was it? They were looking for magic, and since this wasn't actually hidden with any magic they probably glossed right over it. I wonder just how many things in the Wizarding world could be fixed with just a little bit of logic, given how much they assume things can't be done without magic… still, just because it wasn't magically concealed doesn't mean that it's safe. Let's see...no explosions, no bursts of magic… do I feel any different? No compulsions to go over there...'
Hermione slowly walked over to the opening and peered in. She saw a little black diary, with bright gold letters on it, "T. B.", along with a small silver hand mirror. The mirror looked almost like something out of a fairy tale, the silver metal crafted in a very ornate style, the glass almost shimmering as she looked at it.
Well, the diary she was going to leave alone; she doubted this would be another gift from Voldemort, but there was no reason to take any chances. The mirror, too, was something she wouldn't touch. They looked harmless, but if they were harmless she could always ask to look at them later.
'Although…. I don't actually have any kind of hand mirror, do I? A compact would be more convenient, but this has a certain style to it… and as long as I'm careful and let someone know the instant I start to notice anything strange, what could go wrong?.' Hermione reached in, careful not to touch anything other than the mirror as she pulled it out. 'In fact, I think I'll just leave it alone until tomorrow; if I feel like I can't, that'll be proof I can't trust it.' Satisfied, Hermione put the mirror in her bag with the rest of her toiletries, then went to tell everyone else about the diary.
The diary had caused a great deal of panic at first, but there didn't appear to be much odd about it. Everyone was surprised that they had missed a secret compartment Hermione managed to find just by dropping a book on it, but the diary seemed like a normal diary, save that it was completely blank. It was not overtly magical, and Sirius, Bill, and Remus had examined it thoroughly before declaring they couldn't find anything unusual about it. Bill had even written a single letter on the corner of one page, but that too failed to provoke any sort of reaction. In the end, they added it to a pile of objects they wanted to check over for additional secrets later, but didn't see as an immediate threat.
To Hermione's frustration, they decided that the rest of the day would be best used continuing to clean and fix up the old manor. Between that and dinner, there was no time even for going back to re-reading Hogwarts: A History. As she went to sleep, she hoped that maybe tomorrow would be more interesting.
Hermione didn't realize she had forgotten about the mirror until the next morning when she went to get ready for the day. 'Well, it certainly wasn't trying to force me to use it, so that's a good sign… maybe I should have someone look at it anyways? I'm really not sure what I need a mirror like that for anyways…' She held the mirror in her hand for a few moments before shaking head. 'Of course, if it's just a mirror I'd feel pretty foolish, and what about the basilisk? I never did get a replacement for the one I lost there. This is a bit fancier than I would normally get, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.'
Walking back to her bed, Hermione sat down and dug out her hair brush. Having bushy hair didn't mean one never had to brush it, after all. True, she didn't normally bother with a mirror, but this seemed like a nice safe way to test out her new find. As she started to brush her hair, Ginny walked back into the room.
"Bathroom's all yours Hermione…" Ginny started before coming up short and looking at the mirror. "Hey, that's a cute mirror, where'd you find it?"
"Oh, this? Brought it with me. My parents bought it for me just after I got home." Hermione answered while brushing her hair.
"Oh, that's nice. Impressive too." Ginny commented as she walked over to the dresser she'd claimed.
"Oh? And why is that?" Hermione's tone was casual, but Ginny couldn't help but shudder a bit.
"It's just a nice looking mirror, that's all! Jeez, relax, it was supposed to be a compliment."
"Well, in that case, thank you." Hermione smiled broadly, as Ginny sighed in relief and turned around.
'Does she really think I bought that? I know the Weasleys like me and Harry, and they're certainly nothing like Malfoy but… it's obvious she was shocked that muggles could make something as nice as a simple hand mirror. Granted, they didn't make this mirror, but… why are wizards always so blind? Why do they always assume you can't do anything without magic?''
As she gave her hair one final brush, she admired it in the mirror. 'Not quite as… bushy. Maybe I should use this thing more often!' Satisfied, she walked off to the bathroom to finish getting ready.
The pattern of life didn't change much for the next few days. Hermione kept using her new mirror, finding that brushing her hair with it was very relaxing. If this was how it felt to spend time just brushing her hair, she was starting to understand why so many girls spent so much time on their appearance.
Despite that, Hermione was feeling increasingly stifled at Grimmuald Place, and talking with Ron and Ginny wasn't helping much. They were both bored as well, but they seemed far more interested in complaining about it and speculating about when Harry would arrive than in finding something interesting to do. Not that she didn't want to see Harry, of course, but talking about it wouldn't change anything…
'Wait a second, I've been wondering why Wizards are so blind to muggle solutions, but I've been ignoring one myself! Why can't we just send Harry letters in the mail? If nobody on our side thought of it, I can't imagine the death eaters would stop to interfere with the Royal Mail… I owl a letter for Harry to mum and dad, and they can pass it on for me!'
Smiling, Hermione quickly ran back to her room and wrote out a letter, describing everything that had happened that summer (which, to be fair, wasn't much), and explaining why she hadn't written already. Dumbledore didn't want them writing, to keep Harry safe… but really, if the wards at Privet Drive were as good as Dumbledore claimed, how could this possibly be a threat?
It was four days before Hermione got a response back from Harry, included with a letter that arrived from her parents over breakfast. She was careful to keep his letter hidden from the rest of the house; she was sure there would be no problems with it, but that didn't mean she trusted everyone else to agree with her. The more time she spent around the Weasleys and the Wizarding World, the more frustrated she was getting with their lack of logic….
Molly was using one of Lockhart's books to help clean out pests, for Merlin's…. God, she was even picking up their curses! Everyone had learned two years ago that Lockhart was a fraud, how could anyone think anything he wrote was even remotely trustworthy?
Once she was safely hidden away in her room, she opened his letter and started reading.
Hermione,
I'm so glad you wrote! It's been awful being trapped here again. The Dursleys are… well, they're being the Dursleys, I suppose. Don't apologize for taking this long to write; if Dumbledore was getting in your way, it makes sense you couldn't do it right away, and you did figure it out in the end… too bad nobody else thought of it. The Dursleys didn't seem too happy to be giving me mail, but they did actually thank me for having come through the regular post. Sorta. Ok, they were yelling, but it was as close to gratitude as I think Vernon can get!
I'm guessing your ability to send anything will be a bit limited if you have to pass everything through your parents…. I sent Hedwig to them, though, and she's careful to only come in my window at night. That should help us get letters back and forth a bit quicker, and she's probably happy to have something to do. At least one of us can get out this way…
I think the worst part of being here is being so cut off. I don't know anything that's going on, and now that Voldemort's back… could you try and keep me up to date, maybe a newspaper or something? Even the Prophet would be welcome at this point. Even if you can't, thanks for trying.
Tell Sirius I said hi.
Harry
Hermione laughed a bit at that last part. 'Honestly, I just told him that Dumbledore doesn't want us talking to him and nobody knows we're in contact, how am I supposed to tell Sirius that his godson said hi? Well, he's lonely, I suppose it's understandable.' Happy that her plan had worked, and that Harry didn't think his friends had forgotten about him, she went back down to help clean until lunchtime.
The next day, as Hermione was brushing her hair, she thought about what she was going to wear that day. The style of dress in the Wizarding world was so… Victorian. It had seemed positively romantic at first, but the more she lived with it, the more she realized that they weren't being romantic with their traditions, they were just stuck in the past.
She had made a point of not deviating too much from wizarding styles, not wanting to stand out overly much… and it's not like she owned anything revealing, but it was summer, and she wasn't going to spend the entire summer in robes, or in jeans and t-shirts. She picked out a skirt and blouse combination that, while perfectly acceptable to muggles, was sure to upset Molly.
For a moment she wondered why she wasn't bothered by that. But as she looked herself over in her mirror, she decided that if Molly didn't like it, that was too bad.
As Hermione walked into the kitchen, the conversation quickly died down. The Weasleys, along with Remus and Sirius, were already in the kitchen; all save Molly were sitting down. "Good morning everyone!" Hermione said, amused by the reaction to her outfit.
"Hermione!" Molly screamed. "What do you think you're wearing?"
"Well," Hermione said, as she took a seat next to Ron. "A blouse and a skirt. They're quite common really… I can show you where to get some, if you're interested."
"I will not have you dressing like that! It's not proper! Go upstairs and change!"
"With all due respect, Mrs. Weasley, you're not my mother." Hermione was not so amused anymore. "And while I respect you, I assure you there's nothing wrong with the way I'm dressed."
"Young lady, you will not talk to me like that! I don't know where you got that… outfit, but I'll be make sure to let your mother know about it." Molly was smirking, certain that latest threat would get a reaction.
Hermione laughed. "Oh, please do, she's the one who bought it for me! I'm sure she'd be delighted to know I'm finally wearing some normal clothing while visiting my friends."
Molly's eyes went wide. "Your mother bought you this? Well, no wonder you think it's acceptable. I would have thought that even muggles would have some basic decency, but…"
"Even muggles?" Hermione glared at Molly. "As if we're not quite as good as your kind?" Molly opened her mouth to respond, and Hermione quickly continued. "Never mind. I assure you my parents have raised me quite well. For instance," Hermione turned to face Sirius "Mr. Black, this is your house after all, and we are all guests here. For all that I used to respect Mrs. Weasley, she's not my parent and this isn't her house, so if you want me to go back upstairs and change, I will. Otherwise…"
Sirius, like the rest of the table, had been observing the exchange in silent shock, but at Hermione's question let out a bark of laughter. "Nah, I may not know much about muggle culture these days, but at least I can admit it. If your parents don't have a problem with it, why should I?"
"Sirius," Molly said, her face growing red, "I know you're still recovering from your… well, you know, but surely even you can see how inappropriate that is for a young woman? Just because it's the sort of thing you want to see girls wearing doesn't mean…"
"Excuse me?" Sirius's voice had gone cold, and his eyes hardening. "I think I may have misheard you, because it sounded like you were accusing me of wanting to ogle a 14-year old girl."
Molly paled. "I… I just meant…"
Sirius cut in. "I think it's obvious what you just meant, Molly. Nevertheless, she is right; this is my house, and even if I can't leave, even if the Order's presence means that I have to make certain concessions, I still have the ability to decide who stays and who goes, and what rules they have to live by while they are here."
Arthur spoke up. "Are you going to ask us to leave, then?" Everyone seemed to hold their breath, and Sirius's eyes softened.
"Of course not, Arthur. I invited you all here for a reason, you know that. And Molly," Sirius turned to face her again. "I know you mean well, and that you love the children. But Hermione is not your daughter, and this is not your house. I'm glad for your help, I truly am, but you can't order everyone around like that.
"Now Hermione," Sirius continued, turning to her, "why don't you go to the library and relax? We've got a large section marked off that should be safe, and there are a lot of new books you could read there. I'll have Kreacher bring you breakfast."
Hermione nodded. "Thank you. If my culture is so… distasteful, to Molly, then it's probably for the best that I avoid her from now on."
Hermione didn't notice the wet sheen in Molly's eyes as she walked out of the room, nor that she had referred to her by her first name.
Hermione was fuming. She'd taken to spending all of her time in the library to avoid conflict with the others, but the news this morning was more than she could stand.
Harry was being charged with using Underage Magic, and they were still supposed to leave him alone! It was only because she'd been writing Harry that she knew how much he was suffering from having seen Cedric die. Now, he almost gets killed again, gets threatened with expulsion for saving his cousin's life, and he was supposed to deal with it all on his own?
Wizards were clearly unable to think at all. That was the only reasonable explanation. They were so convinced of their superiority, so convinced that magic could fix everything that they couldn't conceive of other solutions. Dumbledore was a powerful wizard, and he said Harry would be fine, so that was enough? Idiots.
As she brushed her hair with the mirror (she'd done it once already today, but it was sooo relaxing), she contemplated whether she wanted to stay in the wizarding world. 'No, I can't leave… Muggles may be more logical, but magic is a part of who I am. A part of all muggle-borns. I can't be the only one who feels this way…. All the purebloods hate us…. Maybe they're just scared of us? Maybe some of them do know what muggles can do… that's it! They know we could take over if we organized, so they create a system that discriminates against us and forces us to conform to get anywhere. By the time we get out of school, either we're fully indoctrinated and do everything like the purebloods do… or we give up and live as muggles. Either way, they get to keep control!'
Hermione smirked at herself in the mirror. "Well, not anymore. I may not be able to do anything about it now, but if I find enough muggle-borns, show them what's going on…. I'll have to be careful, make sure nobody finds out. People like the Malfoys still have a lot of power, they could prove to be problematic until we're better prepared. Still, eventually we'll fix things... "
With a nod, Hermione put her mirror away and went back downstairs. She could pretend to be a good little girl, maybe even go back to wearing wizarding robes and apologize. It wouldn't do to stand out too early, after all.
"I found one!" Fleur shouted. Remus, Bill, and Sirius came running over to the table where Fleur was standing. Fleur had arrived earlier in the day to help go through the artifacts they'd found. They were still trying to determine what could be safely used and what had to be disposed of. As they arrived at Fleur's side, they saw her holding the black diary in her hands.
"Fleur, if it's magical, why are you touching it?" Bill asked. His wand was out, but he was holding still, lest he accidentally trigger something.
"Relax, Bill, it's nothing… it was just a spell to mask the writing. There's nothing else wrong with it." Fleur was smiling as she spoke.
Bill lowered his wand slightly. "If that's all it is, why didn't any of us find anything? A concealment spell that good wouldn't be used lightly."
Fleur's smile turned decidedly impish. "Because you're not girls, that's why." At their blank stares, Fleur laughed. "It's a diary! Girls don't like others prying into their private thoughts, but especially don't like boys prying. Let's see who it belonged to, shall we?"
Bill blinked. "Well, if it's just a diary…. But, better safe than sorry, I suppose. Let's have a look."
As the opened the diary, they were surprised to have it flip open to what appeared to be the last entry. The group peered down, and saw distinctly feminine handwriting on the pages.
To whomever finds this,
I write this in a brief moment of clarity. It's hard to see how I could have changed so much with so few noticing… but I don't have time. Even now I feel the other thoughts coming back…
I am going to try and destroy the mirror, but I have given orders to a house elf to hide it should I fail, along with this diary. If you find with this diary a mirror, DO NOT TOUCH IT. It will make you think it is harmless, but it changes you.
It searches you for darkness. Arrogance, hatred, even confidence at times, and magnifies them. It hides implications, changes perceptions… you can see that you're hurting people, but it doesn't really register as a problem. You find ways to blame them. It's their fault for being too weak, for being too stupid, for not seeing that purebloods are superior! They should…
The handwriting was shaky for a few words, then steadied out again.
And I'm losing it already. I was raised to believe that Purebloods are superior, so that's what it magnified. I don't think the mirror is evil, but it is dangerous. I've…. done things… and I enjoyed them. I remember that. I have to destroy the mirror, before I think about how much I enjoyed…
No. I'm out of time. If you see a mirror with this diary, destroy it immediately. I know not where Kreacher will take it, but hopefully it will be safe. And if you see me... know that I'm sorry for whatever I do. I've already killed once. I didn't want this… I didn't...
The group was silent for a moment, before Sirius spoke up. "I recognize this handwriting…." He grabbed the diary and flipped to the front cover. In the same hand, on the first page, 'Property of Bellatrix 'Trixie' Black, for her eyes only' was written in large letters.
"I always wondered what happened… she was so sweet when we were young… " Sirius gently closed the diary. "Damn the Blacks to hell, I'm sure it was one of my family's precious heirlooms that did this to her. Did Hermione say she found a mirror with this thing?"
Remus and Bill shook their heads. Fleur spoke up, "Then maybe… Bellatrix was able to do one last good deed before madness took her?"
"I'd like to think so." Sirius said. "Still, it wouldn't hurt to search that room once more, just in case. Let the girls know, so we can get this done quickly."
Hermione lounged in the library. She didn't think Sirius or anyone else would find anything else in that room, but they were welcome to look… the mirror was safely tucked inside her robes, and it's not like anyone was going to frisk her. So, wizarding attire was useful for something after all!
There was so much information here. Histories of what wizards had done, who the powerful families were…. She was sure a lot of information was omitted as well, but if a fool like Fudge could get himself elected, it couldn't be too hard to figure out the rest. The wizarding world was so much smaller than the muggle world, after all… and without magic, muggles had to be twice as good, twice as smart. Maybe she'd study muggle politics… if she understood those, understanding the wizarding world should be a breeze.
And Hogwarts would be useful too. More magic, more knowledge… and a chance to make contact with others who might help her fix the world. Wizards still used slaves, and they had convinced themselves that because they'd brainwashed the slaves into enjoying it, it must be ok! Clearly, the wizarding world couldn't take care of itself, so she'd have to help out a bit.
Her current topic of study, though, was memory charms. They were difficult to do, but she'd need them in case anyone she spoke to didn't like her ideas. She wasn't going to kill people, of course… she was better than that, better than a society that thought every crime should be punished with torture. But she had to keep her ideas a secret for now.
Hermione wasn't sure how she had gone so long without seeing the obvious… maybe it was taking time to just think? She was usually so busy learning and doing things… who would have thought finding a mirror and taking some time to brush her hair every day could make such a world of difference? She felt a sudden urge to show Sirius the mirror, just in case… but… in case of what? It was just a mirror, after all, and she had far more important matters to worry about.