Hermione had argued with her father that it was a stupid idea for someone who lives in the castle to travel all the way to London in order to spend a day riding on a train filled with dunderheads, and, although her father was inclined to agree, he'd won out the battle by explaining that this was a once in a lifetime experience- to travel via the Hogwarts express to school for the first time. It'd been nearly two years since the Slytherin line had been resurrected during their familial binding ceremony gone wrong. Her father had offered her the out to begin school a year early, since she turned eleven only nineteen days after term began, but, oddly enough, Hermione the hard headed know it all herself had argued against it. "I don't want special privileges because I'm a descendant of Salazar Slytherin, and I most definitely don't want to be known as the Headmaster's spoiled daughter. No thank you, I'll wait the year." She'd argued.
Hermione shook her head ruefully as she looked out the window of the Hogwarts express. Next year, she swore, she would not be travelling to her own home via train. She laughed at the utter bizarreness of the entire situation. Of course, it was in this moment, laughing at her own private joke that the group of three opened the door to the carriage. "Oh, hello, there." The strikingly blonde boy exclaimed. "Is this car taken?"
Hermione gestured to the available seats languidly. "Of course not. Please, sit." She took the few moments that the boys took to shuffle into the cabin to appraise them. The blonde one who spoke first was clearly the leader. Although he was shorter than the others, they seemed to defer to him for decision making. The next boy was of African descent, his smile brought levity to the room in an instant. She could tell that he was used to commanding a room of peers with his charm. Last, was a taller boy with tanned skin, tousled brown hair and piercing azure eyes. His were the type of eyes that made you want to spill your secrets in a most embarrassing manner, and Hermione was thankful for her years of practiced occlumency as she looked into them.
"My name is Draco Malfoy, and these are Blaise Zabini and Theodore Nott. Pleased to make your acquaintance." The blonde introduced, holding out his hand for hers.
When she slipped her hand into his own, he drew it to his lips formally. The other boys followed the gesture in turn until there was nothing left for her to do but to formally introduce herself. "The pleasure is all mine, I'm sure. My name is Hermione Slytherin."
In an instant their eyes lit up in understanding. "Ah, so you're the one that caused the big stir a couple of years back with the Hogwarts ley lines. Neat little trick, that." Blaise spoke up, causing her to blush.
"Yes, that was me. Although, I'm not really supposed to talk about it." Hermione smirked, glancing out the window as the train began to lurch forward. The boys looked at one another uneasily before standing, pressing their faces to the glass and waving excitedly to their parents.
Once the boys finished their final goodbye, they settled down in their seats with nervous smiles on their faces. "Hermione, have you been to a sorting ceremony before?" Blaise asked while pulling at the hem of his finely made robes.
"Of course. I've lived in Hogwarts since I was five." She replied cooly. "And, I'm not telling you a thing."
Theodore leaned forward and forced his bottom lip into a pout. "You can't do that! It's so unfair…"
Draco turned his head mockingly towards his friend. "Don't be a fool, Nott. The reason you haven't been told anything is because that damned hat casts a spell on whoever is stupid enough to listen to it. Afterwards, you can't say much of anything about the sorting to anybody who hasn't been to see it."
"How do you know so much about it, then?" Nott asked cockily.
"Because I've ready Hogwarts: A History. Idiot." Draco answered hotly.
Hermione chuckled at their banter mirthlessly. "Well, you're not wrong. You'll just have to see for yourselves."
Hermione had to admit that she enjoyed her trip to Hogwarts, especially the view of the castle from the boats on the Black Lake. Now, she and her classmates were being led to a chamber off of the great hall by the caretaker- Filch. All along the way, there were whispers about Harry Potter being one of their classmates, but their group was immediately silenced by a Professor addressing them from the front of the line.
"Ah-hem." She coughed. "My name is Professor McGonagall, and I will be your transfiguration teacher during your time here at Hogwarts. I'm also Deputy Headmistress, so it is my job to ensure you are all appropriately sorted into your Houses tonight. I would go into further detail, but Headmaster Slytherin prefers to explain during the announcements. So, if you'll all follow me and watch your step, let's find out where your home will be for the next few years."
As they walked into the Great Hall, there were gasps from all around the crowded first years, but Hermione looked distinctly bored. She'd lived in the castle for the majority of her formative years. Hogwarts, although wondrous, had lost some of its mystique. The group was brought to a halt, and Headmaster Severus Tobias Slytherin stood. "Good evening. I know you're anxious to eat, so I'll be brief… As per usual, the dark forest is forbidden- for student safety. In addition, as we have been unable to find a competent DADA professor this year, I will be teaching until the post has been filled. Thus, your new potions mistress will be Professor Slytherin who passed her mastery exam over the summer holiday. Now, let the sorting begin."
Blaise nudged her arm as the sorting began. "Oi, you didn't tell us that you were a bleedin' professor."
"Only in potions and only until the DADA post is filled. In the meantime, there will be a modified schedule so that I can attend classes." Hermione responded- not looking away from the sorting.
"Like you're not already eons ahead of us." He grumbled.
She smiled softly. "I understand theory in everything but potions. I've been allowed a wand outside of Hogwarts only thanks to my mastery."
"Right." Blaise mumbled as her name was called.
Hermione walked up to the Deputy Headmistress and stood beside her. "I claim my right as the heir to the Noble and Ancient House of Slytherin to join the house of my namesake. I hereby waive my right to be sorted."
There was a long pause as the reality of Hermione's words were processed by the crowd before the first hesitant claps began from the Slytherin table, which were quickly taken up by the rest of the conglomeration of students. With a sweet smile, Hermione marched towards the table. The remainder of the sortings went by in short order with Blaise Zabini being the last student to be sorted. Afterwards, the welcome feast began.
"So, since you'll be teaching a class, what are we supposed to call you, Hermione?" Theodore asked between bites of mouthwatering roast chicken.
"Master Slytherin is the most universal. It could be used for both a professor and student. However, outside of the classroom, I am perfectly fine with you using my given name, Theodore."
"Well, if we're going to be on a first name basis, please call me Theo. Theodore is my father." Theo responded without a beat.
"So, tell us more about working with the ley lines. It's nearly a lost art. Near impossible to have an affinity for them these days." Draco urged.
Hermione hesitated. She wasn't allowed to speak about the accident that had made her a celebrity, but her father never forbade speaking about ley lines at all. "Well, I discovered my gift for working with them entirely on accident. I was five and my family visited Stonehenge for my birthday. I was so excited that I ran towards the monument only to black out halfway there. That incident is the entire reason I am where I am today.
Hermione looked up from her plate to find that the majority of the Slytherin table was hanging on her every word. "We later found out that the place I was born had five intersecting ley lines. We're not certain if it was a coincidence or not, but, maybe we'll find out one day."
"What do they do?" Cassius Warrington asked from beside Draco.
"They're useful for all types of magic." Hermione responded. "They can bind and strengthen wards, transport people and objects, and are even used for religious rituals. Europe hasn't had a Ley Master or Mistress for quite some time, so I'm sure we'll have to do some work to uncover forgotten knowledge as well."
The group continued asking questions like this until the end of dinner. By the time the inquisition was over, Hermione was doggedly tired, barely managing to pick up her feet enough to make her way to her bed in the Slytherin common room. When she got there, she didn't even bother to change her clothes, simply spelling her curtains shut and silent with a couple of warding spells. With a yawn, she let sleep claim her.
The next morning, Hermione was slated to teach potions all day. As part of the abbreviated potions schedule, this would allow her to attend her remaining classes and make up for those she'd missed. So, she woke with the sun and the sound from an alarmed wand before dressing in her finest robes and pinning her mastery emblem on them. Sluggishly, she made her way to her office where she summoned Bigby, her personal elf.
"Yes'm, mistress Hermione?" He asked with a bright, crooked smile.
"Good morning, Bigby. Could you please bring me a cup of earl gray, a bowl of porridge, and some fresh fruit?" She asked wearily.
"Of course, miss. Right away." Bigby enthused.
A few minutes later, the elf reappeared with her food. "Thank you, Bigby. Now, I'd like you to take these galleons and go get yourself a treat in Hogsmeade. I don't want you to get me anything. Choose something for just you to enjoy." She carefully spoke, making sure that Bigby wouldn't feel the need to punish himself during his task.
Bigby nodded almost enthusiastically before disappearing. When she'd first begun her monthly ritual of 'paying' her elf, he'd all but refused, fighting the payment tooth and nail. Now, she could tell that he looked forward to his well earned reward.
"You'll spoil him if you continue that habit, daughter." Hermione jumped at the sound of the unexpected intrusion, accidentally causing herself to drop the fruit she'd had speared on her fork.
"You know how I feel about house elves, father." She responded with the signature family smirk pulling at her lips. "If I must have him, then this is the only moral outlet I have. I will not be a slave owner."
Her father rolled his eyes at her, but said no more on the subject. "If you require my assistance today, call on Leomund and he will know what to do. Understood?"
"Yes, father." She answered unerringly. The request was a reasonable one, so she wouldn't complain about his babying of her. They sat in comfortable silence for a moment, neither of them particularly good conversationalists during the morning. Shortly thereafter, the first students began to filter into the room, and the headmaster nodded to his daughter before sweeping out, black cloak billowing behind him. She dearly hoped that she would not have to ask her father for assistance with any older students who saw fit to be fussy about the Headmaster's eleven year old daughter teaching them.
As the seventh years found their way to their seats, a few of them pointed, nudged, and guffawed loudly. Hermione glanced at the clock on the wall, and, precisely at the top of the hour, locked and warded the door, posting a missive written in her own hand on the door with a sticking charm.
Please report to the library and write a 1 meter parchment on the importance of timeliness in potion making. Do not be late next week, or it will be 3 meters.
Potions Master Slytherin
She read the missive aloud as she did so, and a few of the students who were laughing earlier were now silent. Attendance was taken while Hermione leaned against the edge of her desk.
"Since I am a Hogwarts student, I don't expect you all to call me professor. However, I request you call me Master Slytherin in class as I have taken and passed the potions mastery exam. Understood?"
Not a soul even moved to speak, and she smiled brilliantly. "Now, since I am already aware of your standings in the class and the state of your education thus far, we shall begin where you left off last term. Tell me, did anybody read ahead in the textbook over their hols?"
Cassius Warringtron raised his hand, and she called on him to speak. "We'll be learning about potions with longer brew times and delicate intricacies like felix felicis, polyjuice, amortentia and veritaserum."
"Correct." Hermione answered. "However, we will not be doing that today. Today, you will be reviewing a skill that you will need for your NEWTs. I would like you all to take out a parchment and write for me from memory the instructions and ingredients for as many potions as you possibly can."
The students skeptically pulled out parchment and she began to hear the sound of quills scratching on paper. After only a few minutes, most students were done writing with only one or two of the twenty of them still scribbling away. She waited for them to stop before she spoke again; she wasn't waiting long. "By a show of hands, how confident are you that you can complete even one simple potion without instructions?" A few hands tentatively raise into the air. "Leave them up if you can name even one ingredient in polyjuice potion." About half remained in the air. "Two? Three? Four?" By now, only one hand remained in the air. "Mr. Flint, go ahead and list them for me."
"Uh, lacewing flies, boomslang skin, a bit of who you want to turn into, and, uh, leeches." Marcus Flint answered.
"Very good, five points to Slytherin. I'm here to make sure that you all are prepared for your NEWTs this year, and this is the first step. You will need to be able to brew at least one potion without the use of a textbook, and you will not be informed in advance which one it is. For those of you considering a mastery, you will need to brew a far more advanced potion from memory as well as its antidote. Now, with this knowledge, you can all talk amongst yourselves to figure out the recipe, but, in the future, be prepared to work alone. We will be making a simple calming draught today. Oh, and be careful of the ingredient closet. I accidentally on purpose mislabeled a few things recently. Ready? Go."
The students began to confer with each other while others began to sort out the ingredients. Hermione chuckled as she watched a few students hovering over a parchment nodding and scribbling away. She stepped over to her desk and lit a fire underneath her standard pewter cauldron, wordlessly filling it with water with a wave of her wand. She began to brew the standard calming draught using the teacher's cupboard stores. Hermione smiled when a few students in the class recognized that she was brewing along side them and began making notes based on her actions.
An hour later, Hermione was walking from cauldron to cauldron with varying levels of success. She'd purposely removed ingredients that would cause explosions from the cupboard, but it didn't mean that some of the students hadn't managed to create lethal poisons or a cauldron full of black sludge. Finally, she found a potion that was almost the perfect color blue. Unfortunately, it looked like it had been over stirred three or four times.
"Mr. Warrington, this looks like it's almost perfect. Would you like to prove to me that this is a right and proper potion?" Hermione quietly asked the much taller student, looking him in the eyes with her piercing grey ones. He simply nodded before she handed him a small vial to fill. He did so, handing it to her silently, but she pushed it back toward him. "Drink it."
Hesitantly, he brought it to his lips before nodding to himself and downing the brew. Almost instantly, he began to feel the effects of the potion take their effect. "It feels… different… weaker than usual." He described.
She nodded, her brows pulling together while considering her reply. "Yes, that's due to over stirring the potion. When the instructions say two turns clockwise to one counterclockwise for only one minute, they mean it. Bubotuber pus is a very finicky ingredient. The more agitation, the less effective it is. Ten points to Slytherin for the only successful potion in the class."
Hermione stepped back towards her desk and spoke to the class. "As for homework, I will not be assigning any practical homework as I myself am a student. However, if you would like to succeed in your NEWTs, I suggest you revise all of your previous potions books with a fine toothed comb. All of the brews and techniques you've learned will be fair game on the exam. We'll meet again in one week and be brewing something from your new potions book. Do be sure to review beforehand. Class dismissed."
Hermione was resting in the Slytherin common room after a long day of first through seventh year classes. She had a book in hand, but she'd been thinking, looking away from the tomb to gaze into the tongues of fire dancing in the fireplace. It had been a long day, and the second years had tried to give her nothing but trouble. In order to keep her father out of the situation she'd had to start deducting points and doling out detentions. Not how she'd hoped her first day would go. She jumped, snapping out of her trance when somebody sat next to her.
"I'm sorry to have scared you, Master Slytherin, but I had a question that I'd hoped you could answer for me." Cassius Warrington spoke lowly so as not to bring attention to their conversation.
"Please, outside of the classroom, call me Hermione." She replied, motioning for him to continue.
"Thank you, Hermione." Cassius responded. "I'm interested in a potions mastery myself, and I wanted to ask what it might entail."
Hermione sat up straighter in her seat, tucking one foot underneath her. "First, a potions master will need to sponsor you." She answered confidently, using her near eidetic memory to recite the information from the Potion Mastery board. "Next, you'll need to create a potion of your own design or significantly improve an existing one. After that, you must demonstrate a working knowledge of all common and uncommon potions ingredients in a test where you will locate, prepare and bottle a standard brewing closet. Finally, you will entirely prepare a NEWT level potion and its antidote without guidance of any kind."
The seventh year quietly nodded, looking thoughtful. "I'm not sure I'd be able to convince a potions master to sponsor me."
"Why not?" She asked bluntly. "You were the only seventh year to create a passable calming draught today. Surely, if this is something you'd like to follow through on, you won't let that stop you."
Cassius worried his lip before speaking stutteringly. "H-honestly, I'm supposed to go into the family business, and I…"
"Would rather eat your own hat?" She suggested.
"Well, yes…" He replied.
She turned towards him, squaring her shoulders in his direction. "Then work on your mastery this year. I'll talk to my father about sponsoring you. I still have a few restrictions on my membership until I come of age, unfortunately, otherwise I'd do it myself."
"You think he'd do that?" The boy enthused.
She shrugged. "I don't see why not. If you're committed to it, then you'd be an asset to the community. Besides, I have it on good authority that the post for Potions Master is open." She laughed.
Cassius chuckled before asking. "I'm not sure what to create or improve."
"Don't worry so much about that part, yet." She flicked her hand dismissively. "Once you learn more about different potions ingredients, their international substitutes, and more obscure potions, it will come to you on its own."
Cassisus tilted his head to the side inquisitively, pursing his lips in thought. "Wait. What was your project?"
Hermione looked down, blushing. "It's in the process of being patented actually. My improvement was an improvement on Veritaserum that can be brewed in a single day and is powerful enough to overcome resistance to the substance. It also only takes a single drop to become one hundred percent effective."
Cassius's chin might as well have been on the floor. "That's… are you entirely sure that you're eleven?"
"Twelve this month." She answered smartly. "Cassius, think of my affinity for potions this way… what's your best subject besides potions?"
"Uh, herbology I guess." He answered quickly.
"Imagine that you were forced to give up on potions for years. How much better at herbology would you be?" She suggested.
"But, why would I have to give up potions?" He asked hypothetically, hoping she'd choose to answer.
Hermione leaned forward and spoke lowly. "Suppose you couldn't work your potions until your magical core stabilized… for your own good… to make sure you didn't get hurt or lose your magic."
"Magical core?" He gulped. "Are the ley lines really that dangerous? Even to people who have an affinity towards them?"
She nodded before turning her head to the opening dungeon door where Draco, Theo, and Blaise were running in, catching her eyes instantly before piling onto the couch. "I'm sorry to cut this conversation short, Cassius, but I'm afraid that I've been laid claim upon for the remainder of the night." Hermione apologized to the older boy with a small smile.
"It's perfectly fine, Hermione. Enjoy the rest of your eventing." He replied with a small grin before walking towards the dorms.
Hermione turned back to the overly enthusiastic boys who were bouncing up and down on the couch. "I heard that you gave the Weasley twins detention for the rest of the week!" Blaise raved. "Is it true?"
AN: I didn't realize when I posted this that I left out characters. I've updated the main characters, but I'm leaving out the pairing for now since it still might change. It's going to have a bit of a harem feel for awhile, me thinks.
I see that I got several alerts for this story. Firstly, thank you. As always, I will do my best to post as reliably as possible. I will not be guaranteeing a particular posting schedule this time around. It cuts down on my guilt circle when I forget to post on the day that I should be.
As always, leave those favorites, alerts, and reviews because it gets the story noticed and makes me smile.
Also, as per tradition, here is my obligatory second chapter disclaimer and warning:
All contents found in this story are to be considered with the least possible amount of seriousness. The author does not make any money by writing fan fiction, and does not intend to try. The author does, however, own all herein contained story lines and is quite protective of them; please contact the author if you find yourself otherwise inspired by the story and would request permission to borrow certain ideas. In addition, this story has adult themes which include but are not limited to: sexual innuendo and other lascivious references, varying degrees of violence and gore, often vivid descriptions of the moon and cuff-links largely dependent on the author's need to hit a daily word count, and references to products and taglines that the author also does not own.
~MA