Chapter Two – Tomes and Scrolls
A/N: friendly reminder that JKR owns everything and I am but a worm.
…
Ginny and Hermione were getting ready for their trip to Hogsmeade in Hermione's room the following Saturday morning. Well, Ginny was getting ready. Hermione, fully dressed, was sitting on her bed watching Ginny apply a few touches of makeup to her face. Hermione chose this opportunity to inquire to Ginny about her upcoming date and adopted an expression of great innocence.
"Ginny."
"Yes, Hermione?"
"Do you feel like telling me who this mysterious date is with?"
Ginny rolled her eyes as she applied a sweep of powder over her forehead. "I don't. I will tell you if it goes well, but I'm afraid of your reaction and I want to remain open-minded."
Hermione thought about this for a moment and decided to let Ginny have her secret for now. The mystery man must not be someone she knew well if Ginny was so reluctant to share his identity. Perhaps he was even someone their friends disliked? "I suppose that's fair. Are you nearly ready? Hogsmeade will be shut down by the time we get there at this rate."
Ginny tied her long hair back in a ponytail and grabbed her bag. "Let's go!"
And off they went.
…
Ginny disappeared underneath a mountain of clothes within moments of their arrival to the shop and vanished into the dressing room. The first outfit she came out in was a simple flowing shirt over black pants, which Ginny dismissed on the grounds that it was too plain. The second outfit was also dismissed at Hermione's insistence due to it having far too much sparkle. They went through several outfits like this, with Ginny finally deciding on a "simple, but not TOO simple" light blue dress. It complimented her skin tone nicely and flowed loosely down past her mid-thigh. Hermione was privately proud of Ginny for stepping out of her tomboy comfort zone.
After finding an outfit they parted ways and agreed to meet up later to return. Ginny wanted to visit Spintwitches Sporting Needs to check out a newly-minted broom polish and Hermione wanted to see if Tomes and Scrolls had anything new (to her, at least) that was begging to be read.
She pushed open the door to the bookstore and smiled to herself as she took in the comforting sight of rows and rows of books. Inhaling deeply, she decided there was no smell in the world like the smell of an old book. It just could not be brewed. The store was deceptively musty-looking, as she knew the owner, Mr. Pince, updated his inventory quite regularly. She headed immediately to her favorite section – the classics, wizard and muggle alike. It was one of the reasons she preferred this store over others in the wizarding world. Mr. Pince was an equal opportunity reader. She whipped around the corner so fast she ran into the solid back of the person standing in the aisle and fell down in a tangle of limbs.
"What in the bloody hell was that –" Draco Malfoy stopped speaking and slammed his mouth shut with an audible click. "Granger." He inclined his head politely.
Hermione was embarrassed for her excitement at first but quickly became incensed upon seeing who she knocked down. "Really, Malfoy? Maybe if you didn't stand in the middle of the aisle like you owned the place I wouldn't have run into you." Draco's jaw clenched and then he shut his eyes. He took a deep breath before replying.
"I don't actually believe it was in any way my fault but I will choose to ignore that statement for now. Do you think we could get up?" One corner of his mouth lifted in a smirk as he looked at her cheekily. "As much as it would help my public image for people to think I'm involved with one of the golden trio, I'm not much of an exhibitionist."
Hermione glared at him until she realized she was lying on top of him on the ground, with her hands planted beside his head in an attempt to catch her fall. Blushing, she scrambled to her feet, pointedly ignoring the feminine part of her brain which noticed that Draco seemed to be quite fit. He sprang to his feet lithely and brushed off some nonexistent dust from his robe. "Much appreciated," he said, "Granger, could you stop staring at me? I know the face is a beauty but it's weird."
She looked at him inquisitively. "What are you doing in here?"
"I would think that would be obvious. I happen to like to read."
She eyed the book he had dropped when they collided and picked it up. "Heart of Darkness? Is this your normal reading? Muggle novels?"
Draco stared back at her a moment, then looked away. Softly, he said, "I thought it looked interesting. Isn't that why you pick books?"
"Well, yes. But –"
"But what, Granger? You think because I acted a prat before the Dark Lord tore my family apart that I'd be unable to acknowledge that muggles have some good books?" He seemed angry, now.
"Well, yes." She repeated. "But," she faltered, but carried on, "I'm glad to see that I'm wrong." There. She had extended an olive branch of sorts. Harry had found him worthy of saving, so she could be civil, at least.
Draco opened his mouth and shut it again. He grabbed the book from her hands and proceeded to the counter at the back of the store. Hermione pretended to browse the shelf but continued to observe Draco.
To her surprise, there appeared to be a small book display set up behind the counter, behind which Mr. Pince stood precariously on a ladder, dusting shelves with a feather duster by hand. Mr. Pince was notorious for insisting that books lasted best when as little magic was used on them as possible. If there was any claim to that, Hermione didn't know. She privately thought he just liked the work of it.
"Good afternoon, I'll be with you in a moment," he said to the shelf before turning his head and seeing Draco standing there. "Hello, Mr. Malfoy. What'll it be today?"
"Just the one, Rufus," Draco replied cheekily.
Mr. Pince laughed as he stepped down to the counter. "Terrible first name, isn't it? I'll never pass it on. Here you go. Enjoy."
Draco didn't look her way as he exited. Hermione crept up to the counter with her own selection in hand. Mr. Pince – Rufus, she supposed – didn't look up at her as he extended the greeting again. She cleared her throat gently.
"Oh! My dear girl, I've just the thing for you."
"How are you today, sir?" Hermione asked, nervously watching the older wizard step up the rickety ladder to retrieve a book from the display.
"Oh, never mind that. Here you go." He handed Hermione a book from the display and smiled at her, clutching the duster in his hands. Mr. Pince looked at her expectedly as she inspected the book. To Hermione's great shock it appeared to be a new edition of Hogwarts: A History. She quickly flipped to the front page, noting that several authors had contributed to it this time around and it apparently contained new and improved sources.
"When was this published, sir?" And why didn't I know about it, she scolded herself.
"Why, just last week Miss Granger. It was kept very hushed on account of the war being over so recently, so don't you worry yourself about not being aware of it. I see that wrinkle in your brow. After the battle, some greats got together and decided to update it and add in Hogwarts' role in the Wizarding Wars. As I'm sure you know it was published in – "
"- In 1965." Hermione finished his sentence. "So it's been quite some time and new knowledge may have been discovered. I'll take one!" It was like Christmas had come early.
…
Hermione returned to school with Ginny. After they parted ways, she promptly sought out a corner in the library which she believed to be known only to herself. She had discovered it during her second year and it was quite the trek to the back of the library, but the privacy was well worth it.
Settling down in a high-backed lounging chair she had conjured for just this purpose, she flicked her wand to set alight the candelabra, cracked open her newest book, and began to read.
Hours later, Hermione was jolted from her book by the sputtering of the candles, burned down to almost nothing in the time she had been there. She rolled her neck around to work out the sore muscles. There were only about 50 pages left in the book and the differences between the first and second editions surprised her. One of the chapters focused on the damage to Hogwarts during the Second Wizarding War and mentioned that over the centuries Hogwarts had regenerated parts of itself when it felt the need. Hermione thought that made sense, as any castle with rooms that rearrange themselves and stairs that move on their own could rebuild itself, if only partially. The author of this section included an endnote referencing a text that Hermione dearly hoped was in the library, called When Your Building Comes Alive. She was quite curious about the magic Hogwarts naturally possessed.
"Lumos!" she muttered as she crept through the library quietly. She suspected she had missed dinner if her growling stomach was any hint. Madam Pince had often let Hermione off easy as she had a tendency to stay after hours, but Hermione wasn't taking any chances. She went first to the restricted section but had no luck. Plenty of interesting books there but not the one she was searching for.
After looking through where the original Hogwarts: A History was found in the library she found the book. Gleefully, Hermione hefted the thick tome out of its space. As she turned around to place it on a desk she saw a glimmer of something on the back of the shelf. She put the book down and placed her wand closer to the shelf for better lighting. There appeared to be a very small, very ratty-looking booklet wedged at the back of the bookcase. Hermione had to stand on her toes and her fingertips barely brushed it.
She huffed a puff of air out that unsettled her bangs as it passed. "Okay, are you a witch or aren't you?" With a wave of her wand, she summoned the book, "Accio, booklet!" It zoomed into her hands. She used the sleeve of her robe to rub off the dust. Running her fingers over the shining gold script which covered it, she whispered, "The Raising of Hogwarts. By… Arnick Gringort? I've never heard of him." It was late and she should go to bed... but surely just a few chapters couldn't hurt?
…
'Hogwarts is a unique castle, the likes of which have never been created in the Wizarding World. It has always been intended as the greatest magical building of its kind and impenetrable to all outsiders. Hogwarts' main purpose is to serve as a safe harbor for wizardkind. You may think these two opposites, but they go hand in hand. For how can a place provide an atmosphere for tutelage without ensuring the safety of its inhabitants? As such, it is a complex castle and ended up, quite unintentionally, with a mind of its own.
We began with the four slicing their palms and spilling blood on the ground where the first stone would lay. Blood magic is the most powerful of all magics, and the four wanted to ensure this place was a stronghold for eons to come and held their influence long after they had passed. The first structural step was creating a simple assembly built into the base of the rocks which jut out of the black loch. The founders built their personal studies here and it holds a few classrooms, as well as a small library. This structure would later become the sub-dungeons of the school, which were rendered obsolete as the castle grew in size and complexity, leaving the original quarters behind deep in the ground. We set up wards on this first floor, and every floor that followed. This imbued the castle with the strongest fortifications possible. Anti-apparition jinxes, unplottable charms, muggle-repellant charms, and many other spells were used during this process. It would not do to have some peculiar muggle running off to tell the world of magic, or for pupils to be able to manifest in and out as they pleased. Some of the spells used were created by the four which they refused to divulge. Perhaps some were curses and not spells at all. After the first level was built and plans laid out, the real work commenced.'
Hermione gasped as her head snapped up from the page. Her mind was working overtime thinking of all the parts of the castle hidden and the knowledge that could be found there. This was just the thing to keep her entertained.
Unexplored crypts of Hogwarts?
Not for long.