A.N. My newest little Harry Potter series! To those waiting for my Gokusen 3 update, please be patient with me!
This story is little bit twisted. Forgive my insane imagination.
This is dedicated to all those Harry Potter fans that never lets the fanfiction flame grow old.
blaine36
Disclaimer: Not mine. So don't sue.
Notes: AU, picking up from end of Order of the Phoenix and borrowing some ideas from HBP. I tried to make the characters canon, except from my OC, Alexis Davenport. I'm a complete canon supporter, which means I actually read the Harry Potter Lexicon before jumping headfirst into fanfiction writing, so that readers won't get confused or whatnot. I hope you enjoy!
Summary: One of the Ministry of Magic's best-kept secrets is the elite Wellber Council, an organization comprised of talented, skilled and dangerous wizards that come as a cross between an Auror and an Unspeakable, doing confidential and potentially fatal missions that the other ministry departments cannot accomplish. Hermione Granger secretly applies for a rookie position and was given a mission to prove her worth: To ease a complete and justifiable confession from suspect Death Eater Draco Abraxas Malfoy.
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Chapter 1 – The Unexpected Mission
A loud noise woke up Hermione Granger from her sleep. She rubbed her eyes and groaned, not quite ready to acknowledge the disturbance. However, the incessant tapping on her window is much too annoying to ignore.
"Alright, alright, I'm waking up..." She sat up and blinked sleepily at the window, trying to process whatever is making the god-awful noise. There, outside the window, was a brown tawny owl determinedly trying to make its way into Hermione's room.
"...An owl?" Hermione could not quite figure why somebody's writing to her in the middle of the night. She groggily pulled the blankets from her body and stepped out of the bed onto the carpeted floor, padding across the room to open the window and let the owl in.
The bird swooped in, dropping an envelope on Hermione's desk in the process. It perched on the foot of her bed, clicking its beak impatiently.
Hermione's brow furrowed at the owl, wondering who had sent it to her. She picked the envelope from the desk, reading the elegant scrawl on the back of the paper.
To Miss Hermione Granger
There was nothing else written there. She unsealed the envelope and opened it, taking out the folded piece of parchment inside.
She unfolded it, and gazed at the medium-length missive that she was supposed to read. She had an urge to just put the parchment aside and read it tomorrow when she's a lot more awake, but surely there was something important in this letter that made the sender write it in the middle of the night, right?
So, she sighed and began reading the message.
To Miss Hermione Granger,
I am terribly sorry to bother you in the middle of the night, but there is something of UTMOST importance that needs your attention as soon as possible. It concerns your application to the Wellber Council.
I can not specify the details of the case in this letter, so it would be better if we meet in the Leaky Cauldron tomorrow afternoon, and discuss the problem over tea. I trust that you realize the urgency of the situation, since I would not be writing you in the dead of the night if it is just a trivial matter.
Please send back a letter of acknowledgement with the owl, informing me if you will be able to make it to Leaky Cauldron tomorrow. I need it as soon as possible.
I very much hope for your response.
Sincerely,
Albus Dumbledore.
Hermione's eyebrows shot up, sleepiness forgotten, when she registered the names Wellber Council and Albus Dumbledore in the letter. For one thing, it was Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and greatest wizard of all time, that was writing to her. For another, she did not actually expect that Dumbledore would know of her application to the Wellber Council. That information she had intended to be confidential, to be known only to herself. However, it seems that Dumbledore had already gotten a hold of it and is going to discuss the details of her qualifications tomorrow at Leaky Cauldron.
Why would he talk about the Wellber Council with me? What does he have to do with it? Rubbing her head with her hand, she glanced at the owl that was staring back at her, waiting for the response that Dumbledore had requested. Hermione ran a hand through her hair, sighed, and grabbed a quill and parchment, sitting down on her desk and beginning to write her response.
To Professor Dumbledore,
I understand the urgency of the situation. Yes sir, I will be able to make it tomorrow. Thank you for informing me about this.
Sincerely,
Hermione Granger
She put the parchment in a new, clean envelope and gave it to the owl. The owl clasped the letter between its beak and soared out of the window into the cool midnight air.
Hermione watched the bird slowly disappear into the night, and heaved a sigh. She was unsure of how things will go tomorrow. This, after all, concerns the Wellber Council and Dumbledore's views regarding it. One could not be quite sure of how things will turn out.
She shook her head, and made to go back to her slumber. Oh, well, let tomorrow worry for itself. It's not like you can do much. She climbed back to her bed and pulled the blanket over her pyjama-clad body. She let herself slowly drift off to sleep, although not without a sense of apprehension for the day that awaits.
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Muggle London is never as crowded as Diagon Alley, and for Hermione that was a relief. Her misgivings about this meeting is quite enough to for her list of concerns for the day without the annoying discomfort of a crowd adding to it. Stuffing her hand in her pocket, which contained her wand, she walked briskly across the streets toward the Leaky Cauldron, the famous inn that contained the wall that separates the Muggle world from the Magical society.
She walked inside and saw Tom the Landlord attending to the various customers' needs, his hunchbacked physique making its way back and forth through the room. She approached him, and tapped his shoulder lightly.
"Um. Hi, Tom," she greeted him with a smile as he turned around to face her. His usually attentive face changed into a serious one when he recognized who she was, and nodded, eyebrows furrowing.
"I suppose you're here for an appointment?" He asked, and Hermione nodded. "I thought so. Your room is upstairs. Let me accompany you to it." He led her across the room, up the stairs and into a corridor. They walked past doors until they reached one near the end of the hall. Tom knocked on the door.
"Come in," said the voice of Albus Dumbledore. Tom gestured at Hermione and opened the door, letting her and himself in.
"Hermione Granger is here, Professor," Tom announced as he and Hermione walked in.
"Ah, Miss Granger, thank you for gracing us with your presence," said Dumbledore, smiling at her as he stood up from one of the plush chairs. Beside him was a tall, dark-haired, handsome gentleman wearing the traditional ministry robes and looking a bit formidable.
Hermione smiled back at Dumbledore and nodded politely at the man beside him, who nodded back. Tom looked at them and cleared his throat.
"Is there anything else you need, Professor?" He asked. Dumbledore shook his head.
"Aside from the tea that is arriving shortly, I don't think we need anything else. Thank you, Tom, you may leave us now." Tom bowed respectfully and left the room, closing it silently behind him.
Hermione was left standing there in the middle of the room, facing the Hogwarts Headmaster and an unknown yet obviously powerful man. She shifted uneasily in her stance, and fiddled with the wand inside her pocket.
Dumbledore cleared his throat. "Now, Miss Granger, I suppose you want me to explain why I had summoned you here in Leaky Cauldron to talk about an application that is supposed to be extremely confidential?" Hermione's eyebrows raised at his question, and she nodded. Her thoughts exactly.
"Well, first, I must introduce to you this wonderful man beside me." He gestured to the dark-haired guy who was studying Hermione. "His name is Alexis Davenport. He is the head of the Department of Mysteries, the Chief Unspeakable."
Hermione's eyes widened. The man was obviously of utmost importance, and of course he had something to do with the Wellber Council. However, why is he here to talk to her about it? What's wrong?
She started. "P—pleased to meet you, sir," she said courteously, not forgetting her manners.
"Ah, yes. Alexis, this is Miss Hermione Granger, a student from Hogwarts and one of the applicants for the Wellber Council."
He nodded at her again, still studying her. "The pleasure is mine."
"Well, since we're done with the introductions, why don't we all take a seat? The tea is bound to arrive just about now. Ah, there it is!" He gestured cheerily at the tray of tea and tarts that appeared on the table. He began pouring the hot liquid into cups, and offering them to his companions. Alexis refused politely while Hermione accepted her share, saying a 'thank you' in turn.
"Um, Professor," she began tentatively as she sipped her tea. "I was wondering... Why did you ask for me to come here?"
"Oh, of course, I was going to explain that to you. Well, I summoned you here because I want to talk to you about the Wellber Council, and your application's recent progress." Hermione nodded at him, understanding. Of course her application was confidential, but it made sense that the Council would notify him about it. She was his student, after all. "I must admit, at first I had been surprised to learn that you had filed an application to Wellber, but I was impressed too. You are a very brave woman, Miss Granger." He smiled at her, and Hermione blushed.
"Th—thank you, Professor," she replied to his compliment.
"I did not intend to bother you about your case, since it is obviously not my business to meddle with your out-of-school affairs, but Alexis here came to my office and inform me of an important issue that needed to be taken care of. He also brought upon your application, informing me of your potential to be one of the Council members."
Hermione's eyes lit up at that. Potential? That means she has a good chance of getting accepted into the council!
"Y—you mean, sir..."
"Yes, Miss Granger, you have passed most of the Council's standard qualifications for a starting member." It was Alexis that spoke this time. "Personally, I was surprised at first when I found out that you were the only one to apply from Hogwarts. Apparently you are the only one who knows about the council and has the guts to want to join it. You are fitting for the most part, Miss Granger. You are said to be the brightest witch of your age, a hardworking student, a precise Potion brewer, and a very talented Dueller. In addition to that, I had came to know that you are a muggle-born, which means you know a lot of things about this world that most wizards don't, which can be very useful for the Council. Everyone is highly expectant of your acceptance and initiation into the Wellber Council after graduation, and I must admit, I am one of those who put their best foot forward in recommending you to our list of rookies. You are proving to be highly invaluable and experienced, Miss Granger. The Wellber Council will be delighted to accept you in their midst."
Hermione was practically clutching her cup in earnest. "I was... I was accepted?" Was all she managed to say.
Alexis smiled at her, leaning forward on his seat. "Everyone is saying that you're basically in the Council now, Miss Granger, but standard tradition, of course, demands that you undergo a final examination first before you become a fully initiated Council member. You have to prove yourself one more time, Miss Granger, so that you can step into the elite ranks of Wellber after you leave Hogwarts on your graduation."
Hermione expected as much. Of course they would not just let her in without proving her worth. She smiled back at Alexis. "I understand that, sir. I am very much willing to undergo the final examination and try to prove my worth to become a Wellber Council member."
"Indeed, you are, Miss Granger, which is why I wrote you a letter last night," said Dumbledore. "The Wellber Council has already decided your final examination, and we are to give it to you now."
Hermione put her cup down on the table and focused her full attention on the two men. "I will do my best to accomplish this exam, sirs," she said.
And thus, Dumbledore began his mission briefing.
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