~Chapter 4: The Might of Magic~

"Hermione? Hermione, wake up!"

Hermione heard a voice calling her. She stirred, opening her eyes. She focused in on the fuzzy white and red blob that was in front of her face and she saw Ginny leaning over top of her, shaking her shoulder. Hermione rubbed her eyes, trying to focus on what Ginny was saying.

"-Got to get up! Mum wants to show you something. It's urgent." Ginny told her. Hermione nodded sleepily, trying to wake up.

"Alright, give me a moment. I'll meet you downstairs." She said quietly. Ginny nodded and she went out of her room. Hermione laid there for a moment, wondering what was happening. She remembered the party last night: she drunk lots of Firewhisky, she danced with Ron until she couldn't dance anymore and then she remembered bidding Ron goodnight after she helped with the clean-up. She remembered their soft kiss before Ron went into his room. She smiled very lightly to herself and got up. She pulled on some jeans and a sweatshirt and traveled down the stairs to the kitchen.

"Mrs. Weasley?" she noticed something odd: there was no breakfast made. There was always something cooking on the stove, or tea brewing, or a broom sweeping some mess up. But the kitchen was completely empty and utterly still. Hermione's eyebrows rose in shock but that was when she heard Mrs. Weasley's voice from the living room. Hermione went out of the kitchen and peeked in where her voice came from.

Everyone was there. Harry, Ron, Ginny, Mr. Weasley, Mrs. Weasley, Percy, Charlie, Bill, Fleur, even George had come down out of his room. Hermione was shocked to also see Hagrid there, slouching to avoid smacking his head off the ceiling. None of them smiled when she entered the room. Not even Hagrid. They were all crowded around the coffee table, some sitting on the couch, others standing behind them. Their faces looked quite terror-stricken, paler than usual, and their eyes flamed with worry. Hermione looked at them curiously, her face going pale and transforming into worry as well.

"…Hello everyone…what's going on?" she asked them, looking at each of their faces. No one moved for a moment, but then Bill came forward and handed her what looked like a newspaper, avoiding eye contact. Hermione took it and opened the newspaper. She immediately saw the heading at the top of the page: "Kingsley Shacklebolt demoted for narrow views." Hermione felt her stomach drop into her shoes. Her mouth dropped open. She looked at them and they all looked down or away from her. Hermione turned her attention back to the newspaper and started reading the paragraph under Kingsley's moving picture, aloud.

"After no more than two months of being in power, Kingsley Shacklebolt was voted out of his position as Minister for Magic. The Wizengamot reports that Shacklebolt, despite most of their objections, tried to disable the Muggle-Born Registration Commission,therefore releasing all muggle-borns who were sent to Azkaban after being questioned of their magical backgrounds.

Despite The Wizengamot's objections to this disablement, a narrow-minded Shacklebolt decided that it was best to go through with the disabling of the Muggle-Born Registration Commission. Seeing as Shacklebolt decided to ignore their protests against the matter, the Wizengamot called a vote on whether they should replace the Minister. After two days of lengthy voting, Kingsley Shacklebolt was officially voted out as Minister for Magic and henceforth, prohibited to ever again be employed in the Ministry, therefore firing him from any jobs the Ministry may have provided him in the past. The new Minister for Magic, Adolf Xavier assured the Wizengamot that he wouldn't be as closed-minded about the Muggle-Born situation.

"This is a very touchy subject for me," says Xavier to Daily Prophet publisher Andy Bronco. "My wife and two kids were killed by Muggle-Borns. The Ministry didn't even hold them on trial for the murder of my family. They were let go after evidence suggested that they were under the Imperious Curse, but I believe that was a false trail. I want to bring a new hope to the Ministry and assure them that what happened to me will never happen to anyone else. I will rid the Wizarding World of this filth once and for all and make our world safe once again."

Xavier has reinitiated the Muggle-Born Registration Commission as of yesterday. Any people that are in question for being Muggle-Born and haven't yet come in for evaluation will be found and taken in for questioning. Xavier assures everyone that after the task of ridding the Wizarding World of all Muggle-Borns is completed; the Wizarding World will be a much better place for all Magical beings."

Hermione stared at what she just read in shock. She looked up at everyone. Percy was pacing and muttering to himself, Ginny sat with Fleur exchanging looks of unease, Mr. Weasley was rubbing his forehead, looking very distraught, Mrs. Weasley sat down on a rocking chair, her mind off somewhere else, Charlie and Bill concentrated on a place far away. Hagrid looked angry under his big scruffy beard and Harry and Ron looked at Hermione and exchanged a glance with one another.

"This…this is outrageous. They can't do this! They can't fire Kingsley! He was a permanent Minister! They can't just replace him because of one disagreement between them!" Hermione said sharply.

"Except they can and did, Hermione. Kingsley isn't allowed anywhere near the Ministry. He's been banned from entering it ever again." Said Bill. Hermione looked at him quickly.

"B-but, they can't just kick him out! The law says that-,"

"Only the Wizengamot can vote for a new Minister. They have the ultimate decision. Either they vote a Minister out, or he resigns or he dies. He's sworn under oath to
step down if the Wizengamot decide to vote him out of office." Mr. Weasley said
his voice looked

"This is rubbish." She muttered, looking at the front cover in disgust as Kingsley's face stared at her.

"Wait till you read the rest." Ginny told her, crossing her arms.

"Turn to page three." Ron said his voice quieter than usual. Hermione did as instructed and, to her horror; she saw a picture of someone she never wanted to lay eyes on again: Professor Umbridge.

"What the bloody…?" she looked down and read the shorter paragraph below that picture. "Dolores Umbridge, previous undersecretary and the Head of the Muggle-Born Registration Commission was released from Azkaban today by the Minister for Magic. She will now assist Adolf Xavier in interrogation of the Muggle-Borns once again…" Hermione's mouth dropped open. "…This…this is utter rubbish!" she didn't have any other words. Finally, Bill walked over and pointed to the bottom of the page.

"Look." Was all he said. Hermione looked down at where his finger was pointing and saw list of names. The title above the names said "Muggle-Born search list". Hermione's heart sank. She looked at the list and she saw it…at the very top of the list: Hermione Granger. She was most wanted out of all the other Muggle-Borns. She felt herself go cold and the paper slipped from her shaking fingers. This couldn't be happening…not again. Not after all she'd been through to fight for her right as a Muggle-born. She heard someone get up and suddenly Ron had his arm around her, holding her trembling form close.

"Its gunna be okay, Hermione. Don't worry. We'll teach you how to hide yourself in our family tree. We'll make sure that-," he started but Hermione interrupted him.

"I-it's done…" she said, her voice shaking. "I…I'm done."

"Don't be thick, Hermione. You aren't done-," Harry started, getting up too. Hermione turned on him, on the verge of a panic attack.

"I am done! Don't you see? They know exactly what blood status I am! They have me on record! They're tracing me, like every other Muggle-Born out there!" she pointed out the window.

"Hermione, please. Don't worry. We'll-," Ron tried again but Hermione just pushed herself away from him and yanked up the sleeve of her sweatshirt, revealing her forearm and the word "Mudblood" etched into it.

"Do you know what this is, Ronald? Do you?" when he didn't answer, she continued. "This is my ticket to Azkaban! When they see this, they won't even question me! When they see this, I'm through!" she said, her breath coming up in ragged little spurts through her lips. She felt like she couldn't breathe. She felt like someone was squeezing her lungs until she couldn't draw breath. The room was silent for a moment until Mrs. Weasley came forward and took her in her arms, pulling her close.

"It's okay, dear. It's okay. Take deep breaths." She comforted, whispering in her ear. Hermione put her arms around Mrs. Weasley, holding her tightly, trying to obey, but having trouble.

"…Dad, do you think we could try hiding her somewhere? Do you think it would work?" Charlie asked. George looked at his mum and Hermione and down again, staying completely silent while Percy stopped pacing and went over to his dad.

"They have new means of finding Muggle-Borns that no one has seen before." Percy told them. "I saw the documents before I left the Ministry. Apparently, the term Mudblood refers to Muggle-borns literally. The Ministry say that there was an old spell that Salazar Slytherin used to find Muggle-borns. When someone of great power says the spell, it accesses the white blood cells in a Muggle-Born's body and it makes them easier to find. Also, it causes the Muggle-Born to become…very sick." Percy said quietly. Ron looked at him sharply.

"What do you mean by "very sick"?" Ron asked, turning on him. Percy stood back slightly.

"Well, the person would experience extreme pain, they'd become physically sick, they would become weak. The spell was designed to weaken them, make them vulnerable. The spell hasn't been used in centuries. It was prohibited, even more so than the Unforgivable Curses." Percy explained. Mr. Weasley nodded, understanding exactly what his son was saying.

"How is the spell stopped? Is there a counter curse?" Ginny asked. Percy shook his head.

"No, not that anyone has found. But this is for certain: once the spell is said, it cannot be stopped until the person who cast it finds the people they're looking for." Percy said to them. Hermione pulled back from Mrs. Weasley, looking at them. Percy looked at her.

"I'm sorry, Hermione. But it can't be helped." He told her. Hermione swallowed, trying to regain her emotions. She felt like crying.

"No! This can be helped! We've been through this already! We'll hide her!" Ron said, his voice angry as he glared at Percy. Percy shook his head and turned away from him.

"Ron, please listen. When the Ministry accesses the curse, they'll be able to find Hermione within seconds. We can't just hide her. They'll find her in any place." Charlie said, looking at his upset brother. Ron refused to believe it.

"No. We can go on the run. W-we can…we can take her to Hogwarts! We can hide her there! Remember! Hagrid!" he turned to Hagrid. "There's no place safer than Hogwarts!" Ron said, his voice desperate. "Please, we've gotta do something."

"Well, we can see if Professor McGonagall could help her in some way. Maybe she knows a counter curse." Suggested Bill. The whole family seemed to be in agreement with the situation.

"Well, if we're going to Hogwarts, we'd better pack our trunks." Ginny said, getting up. Everyone else did as well.

"Alright kids, pack light." Mrs. Weasley said, whipping out her wand, striding away to the laundry room. "Your clothes will be in your rooms momentarily." Mr. Weasley went upstairs with Bill, Charlie, and Percy to get dressed and ready to go. Even Hagrid was bounding out of the house with his magical pink umbrella. Hermione turned and looked at Harry, Ron, Ginny, and George.

"Well, we'd better get packed, mate." Harry lightly smacked Ron's arm and took Ginny's hand. He looked at Hermione, who was feeling extremely guilty now. Harry smiled lightly at her and kissed her cheek in a brotherly way. "Don't worry, Hermione. We'll keep you safe." He assured her. Hermione looked at Harry with guilt in her eyes.

"Do you remember that time at Privet drive when seven of us turned into your appearance to protect you?" she asked him. Harry nodded, looking at her curiously, trying to see where she was going with that comment.

"…Well, right now, I feel exactly how you felt back then." Hermione said quietly, looking at Harry. Harry gave Hermione a sympathetic smile.

"C'mon. We have to hurry." Ron said flatly, taking Hermione upstairs as Harry and Ginny and George followed. That's when George talked to them for the first time since Fred's death.

"Off to Hogwarts again."

at him and then at the newspaper again.