Prologue
It was a rare occasion for Hermione Dumbledore to traverse the magical (or muggle) streets of London. She always loved it of course, and she would have thought that now, two years after graduating, with no restrictions set on her anymore, she would be a regular visitor. Things hadn't worked out in this way, and Hermione was glad. Her research was the most important thing to her right now, and she didn't regret leaving such pleasantries as a new book, or quill, behind.
But she was back, after two years of living in a very secluded cabin in the heart of Norway, and she had a lot of things to buy. It was kind of strange, seeing so many people, and it frightened her a bit. Definitely the chatter around her put her on the edge, it was a long time since she spoke.
She went for the important ingredients for her research first, buying what seemed to be more than half of the apothecary, before sneaking into the bookstore. Once it was a place in which she could have spent a lifetime in, but now she was just too scared of the people. Hastily she took all volumes which caught her attention and she went to stand in the queue.
'Let the business be done' she thought to herself as the line moved along, 'It hasn't really been that long, now has it?'
As she payed, Hermione remembered her friends from Hogwarts. While they sent letters to each other, Hermione didn't see them ever since she left for the cabin, and that was almost immediately upon graduating. Being in the civilisation again made her remember, and she thought that it would be wise to invite them over someday. Individually first, perhaps.
"Hermione!"
Oh dear.
"Hermione Dumbledore! Halt!"
Hermione stopped in her tracks, glancing over her shoulder to see who called her. the minute she did that, her face book into a warm smile.
"Sybil!" She greeted the small witch as they met grounds, "Sybil Davis if my poor sight doesn't deceive me! How are you Sybil?"
"Stunned, dearest. What are you doing here, you little hermit?" the witch laughed merrily.
"I needed ingredients" Hermione shrugged, " Thought I'd like to see civilisation again. If not for you, that'd be quite a regrettable choice".
"Charming as always. Say, I was headed to buy a new familiar, would you join me? It won't take a long time, and we could catch up!"
"I don't think fifteen minutes will be enough to fit in the description of your hazy life, Sybil. But I will join you gladly. You know, I was just thinking about you, just a second ago" Hermione laughed.
"See? I told you that divination was not a fluke. I always arrive perfectly on time" the little witch gleamed.
Hermione chuckled, shaking her head at her friend's antics. But she walked contently along with little Sybil, who did most of the chatter; telling her of her friends, of the newest marriages, results in Quidditch championships. Sybil didn't work, like most of the women nowadays, at least she didn't work officially. Her gift lay in weaving love spells, and she could do it better than anyone else. She was clever about it too.
"Tell me about your weaving projects. Anything interesting?"
"Oh yes! Allow me to brag about it, I am very proud of it. Recently a very determined witch came to my house, asking for a spell. What am I saying, she was begging for it. She fell in love with a rich kind of fellow, who not only rich but also powerful in spells and from the looks of it, not bad looking either. Anyhow, to cut long story short, she came to me and begged for a spell. For all his powers, and riches and looks he appeared to be quite immune to the female touch, if you know what I mean" Sybil winked at Hermione, "You know how much I love riddles and puzzles, 'Mione. I gave her a crystal and instructed her to crash it when she will be next to him. I told her to observe the colours that would come out, and listen into them. The colours would offer the questions she would need to answer correctly before his heart would unfreeze for her. Of course she failed, little bint. She found out that he was swinging in the other way, and she could never look at him. How's that for a love spell?"
Hermione watched her friend grin wildly at her.
'Quite unethical dearest" she retorted, " but all this business with love is quite unethical already."
"You know quite well 'Mione, that I do nothing but show the path if there is one, and show the lack of it if there isn't. I don't see anything wrong about it."
" I suppose so. So tell me, any familiar in particular?"
Sybil shrugged at her,
"None. I just want a pet."
"Aha."
Upon reaching the shop, Sybil entered first, Hermione followed. The shop was quite crowded, as it usually was on Saturdays, and Hermione had hard time seeing any animals at all. She merely tried to follow her friend through the twisted labyrinth, every so often murmuring something of an approval to Sybil's antics. It was such a long time she saw people, and to see Sybil reminded her of all those times of insecurities and anxieties. People were never her thing.
Then.
Screams, noise, panic. Hermione's eyes widened as crowds tried to escape the tiny space of the shop, running fast, at her. She lost Sybil, and that worried her. Her wand was ready in her hand, she scanned the area from the little spot between large owl cages she snuggled into. The screams of fear and pain weren't only here in the shop, they sounded from the street as well. She saw lights, curses being thrown and terrified she saw how the scared witches and wizards ran straight towards the battlefield.
"Fools!" she muttered.
Decision made, she too ran outside, squirming through the crowds. There appeared to be about fifty or so wizards on the street, to Hermione's quick eye. But there were assuredly many more. And the children! Thinking quickly, Hermione closed her eyes, and focused her magic on each individual wizard, and pushed. There appeared a blank expression for a split second on the faces of all who were touched by her magic, and soon enough they all started to head in different directions, pulled to the source of nearest safety, and hidden behind the notice-me-not development of the charm. The street suddenly grew quieter, and Hermione kept her eyes closed as she willed everyone to find their safety locations. While doing so, she hid herself behind empty owl cages. She was very vulnerable at this moment, and she wouldn't be able to protect herself, and even so, her magic shook from overuse. When she thought that all under her protection were safe, she let go, and leaned back against the cod stone wall. She was tired.
But there was still a fight on the streets, and she could see aurors fighting with figures clad in black robes, their faces hidden beneath masks. She needed a second, and she could then join in. There was something thrilling about a solid fight, and this one looked pretty serious.
Standing up, she became invisible. Her little invention, and it came with quite a lot of sacrifices when she made it. Now, putting it to practice was exhilarating.
As far as she saw it, the aurors were winning the game. She almost felt disappointed at the efficiency of the aurors, who masterfully brought the dark robed people down. She didn't need to do much, a stunner here and there, paralyser. She knew she was cheating, but attacking innocent people in the first place doesn't seem too moral either, now does it? The aurors on their part seemed surprised to see their opponents down, but they didn't take long to think about it. Soon enough the dark wizards were down, either on the ground or apparated away. The strange thing was, that the moment that the aurors or Hermione drew near to the fall figures, they would simply vanish. As if they have never been there in the first place.
Hermione stayed a while longer, listening to the Auror's conversations, before turning back to the animal shop, where she dropped her purse with all her purchases. The streets seemed eerie now, quiet and calm, and the mess on the streets was unnerving. Back at the animal shop the place was empty, and it didn't take long for Hermione to find her beaded bag. She turned to leave, when a soft male voice sounded from behind her.
" I have seen everything."
Hermione turned quickly and saw only an outline of a tall man, dark hair, pale skin, thin. He was gone in a blink, but she could have sworn that his eyes are green.
AN: hi there, I had this idea of the fanfic in my mind recently, so I decided to give it a shot. I don't know whether I will continue it, but I suppose I will try my best ;)
Hermione here is Dumbledore's daughter. I wanted her to be adopted at first, but then decided that I rather preferred her to come from the time period (which is 1956). This is heavily AU, as most of such fanfics are, and there can be some things that are really unfamiliar. Hermione won't be an easy one here, and neither are those who will meet her path ;)