Chapter 3: Restoration

May 1998

Restoration

Hogwarts was almost completely decimated the night that Voldemort and Harry Potter had their final showdown. There was not one section of the beautiful castle that had not sustained massive damage. Everyone who had witnessed the destruction assumed the ancient structure was beyond repair. When the dust had settled from the final showdown and the amount of damaged had finally been seen hope seemed to be lost. No one had expected the fail-safe measures the original founders had placed upon it; with so much magic seeped into the very foundation the castle, it had become as close to sentient as an inanimate object could become. Hogwarts, itself had begun rebuilding from the inside out.

The first thing anyone had noticed was the ceiling of the Great Hall. It had been shattered during the final showdown between the Order of the Phoenix and the Death Eaters, but by the time breakfast came the next morning the Great Hall was put back together. It was better than it had been before and no one could figure out how until Hermione Granger, know it all of Gryffindor, decided to start cleaning up in the library. After all, knowledge is power and no one as intimately close to the books in the Hogwarts library could ever let them be lost without having tried to save them, to begin with.

Hermione made her way through the broken stairways, the destruction seemed to have no ending. Hermione had spent the entire night in the infirmary helping Madam Pomfrey with the wounded and making sure her efforts to save the dour Potions master had succeeded. Snape had succumbed to the pain and slept the complete night. She had to re-administer the antivenom every hour for the past 13 hours until he had finally stabilized and while she was unbearably exhausted she could not sleep knowing the dreams that would invade her mind when she did.

It was for this very reason Hermione had dragged herself to the library, a source of comfort and familiarity, to begin the tedious process of restoring it to its previous glory. Upon entering the once decimated library she stood in shock next to the Librarian Madam Pince and watched as Hogwarts was knitting the library back together.

The shelves had been placed back where they had been, broken tables and lamps had snapped back together and books of every color, shape, and size were flying in every direction, replacing themselves back into the pristine order Madam Pince kept them before it was destroyed.

Both the women stood there in awe watching the library weave itself back together when a rush of magic knocked them both against Madam Pince's desk. The entire library was glowing; a mystical fog had descended upon it.

Restituere Congeriem Scientia et sta Modo per Saeculorum...

The windows shook and the fog became dense, the magic became so intense the two women pressed against the desk were finding it hard to draw breath.

"Madam Pince?" Hermione heard herself say trying to make sure the elderly matron was alright.

"Rowena Ravenclaw," Madam Pince breathed out in awe, "it is her magic; I can feel it."

Hermione turned her head toward the usually severe looking Librarian; the fog had wiped years of worry lines and gray from the elderly woman she looked at least 30 years younger.

"Rowena Ravenclaw?" Hermione was puzzled.

"This is her library; she wove the magic that protects it." Madam Pince said turning to look at the young girl, she gasped throwing her hand over her heart and pressing herself tighter against the desk. Hermione stared back at her not understanding but quite literally alarmed the woman was having a heart attack.

"Madam Pince! Are you alright?"

"Your hair," she was watching the young woman closer "your hair has turned colors."

Alarmed, Hermione ran a hand along the back of her hair, " What color is it?" fearing it was some unnatural shade of green.

"It is the color of spun gold," the Matron said stepping closer to touch the flowing mane.

Restituere Congeriem Scientia et sta Modo per Saeculorum...

The fog began to recede but the glowing magic, like glitter, materialized in the air around them. Hermione reached out to touch it; it was as weightless water engulfing everything around it; smooth and fluid, it cascaded through her hand like silk. She felt fully restored even though lack of sleep, she turned to the Matron a grin plastered on her face.

"Your hair is black," Hermione said looking closer at Madam Pince.

"Black." She responded quietly reaching up to touch her once graying mane.

"I have been alive a long time. I have seen and done amazing things in this magical world, but I have never seen anything like that before. If I live to be 500, I greatly believe that is the most splendid thing I have ever witnessed." Hermione shook her head in agreement. Magic truly was wonderful; it could be horrible and frightening. Dark magic so powerful, so unbelievable it could destroy the earth, yet this magic was peaceful and beautiful. She had witnessed magic that changed her mind once again.

In the infirmary, Severus Snape sat up as a wash of magic settled over him, the darkness was gone. He felt his neck it was burning like fiendfyre but the skin was once more smooth and all that remained of the scar from the great snake was a golden circle. Exhaustion once more claimed him as he settled back into the soft bed.

All around the castle the inhabitants were witnessing magic like they had never before seen. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry had woken up.

Restituere Congeriem Scientia et sta Modo per Saeculorum= restore the structure of science and stand through the ages.