Disclaimer:
You know the drill. Characters and settings aren't mine, but the plot is. I make no money from this. Buy the books and the DVDs to support the author… Although I don't think JK Rowling really need more of our money.
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It didn't take very long for George and Hermione to get to Ollivanders after George had carefully Glamored the two of them. The bell rang as they stepped inside the wand shop. It was quite deserted, given the fact that the new intake of First Years would only receive their Hogwarts letters in another month or so. George waved his wand over Hermione then himself, restoring their rightful appearances.
"Ah, I was wondering when you'd come by, Miss Granger."
"Hello, Mister Ollivander."
"I can only assume you are here to receive your new wand."
Hermione exchanged a glance with George, who simply quirked his lips at her. She watched at the older wizard disappeared into the back of his shop.
"I remember your wand, Miss Granger," Ollivander's voice floated to them from the back of his shop. "As I tend to remember all the wands I have sold. Dragon heartstring and vine wood. A charming design of vines to complement the wood. It was an all-around good wand. Not too bendy, not too firm, and strong. Lost now, isn't it?"
Hermione nodded and watched as Ollivander made his way back to them, carrying with him a single box.
"I have been working on this since I've been well enough to stand and someone mentioned the fate of your wand, Miss Granger. Without yours and your friends' efforts, I might be dead. As might a great many people be. I would be honored if you would accept this wand from me. Free of charge, of course."
Hermione couldn't help it. She gaped. And George couldn't help but chuckle.
"It's customary to say thanks when someone offers you a gift, 'Mione."
Hermione's reply to her brother's teasing was a swift kick to his shin, and George danced away from her with a grin while rubbing his offended limb.
"I can't accept this, Mister Ollivander."
"Nonsense, Miss Granger. I have created this wand especially for you, based on what your first wand had been and what I sensed of your magic back when we last met. I have departed from my traditional woods for this particular wand. This is red quebracho, possibly the strongest wood on earth. The core is a phoenix feather, a very peculiar one at that as it is a red so dark it almost appeared black at times. It is fourteen and a quarter inch long. More flexible that your previous wand, but then I think you have learned yourself to bend when it becomes necessary."
Hermione watched the wand as it laid in his box. It was reddish brown, with darker streaks running down its length and looked as if long hours had been spent polishing it. Runes had been carved into the wood that Hermione recognized as mostly protecting symbols although she noticed the odd offensive runes here and there. Like her previous wand, the handle was not proeminent as she had noticed was the case with Harry's and most others. The wand tip was tapered to a sharpish point, just as both her vine wand and Bellatrix's walnut wand were. Hermione wondered at the significance of it though she did not ask. Ollivander seemed still able to read minds just as well as usual though as he explained.
"Thinner wand tip for greater precision, handle in line with the rest of the wand for smoother magical transfers between wand and user. I hunted down a suitable quebracho wood for you because it is a strong wood. It can weather out the worst nature can throw at it, be it extreme weather or insect attack, and remain standing. And while it may be a bit difficult to work with initially, it makes for the most durable and dependable wands. Of course, the wand chooses the witch. But that wand was crafted with you in mind, Miss Granger."
Hermione slowly approached the quebracho wand and before she even extended a hand towards, she felt the wand reaching for her. As if it had been waiting for her. But even as her fingers grazed the handle, a surge of magic from that wand had her retreating from the quebracho wand. George made to grab her and was forced back by angry magic sparks.
"What is this?" Ollivander said as he secured the quebracho wand back inside its box.
Hermione frowned slightly as she withdrew the walnut wand for the holster at her arm.
"Bellatrix Lestrange's wand. Walnut and dragon heartstring. Twelve and three quarter inch long. So unusual with its curved body. Unyielding. And yet, willing to serve you, Miss Granger. Eager, even. Jealously so."
"What do you mean?"
"As I have just said, Miss Granger, the wand chooses the wizard. Or the witch. Although I am not familiar with the details of how you acquired this wand, or what spells you have cast with it, it appears you have earned this wand's allegiance."
Hermione looked to the wand in her hand. It was true that it did not feel as wrong to her as it did when she first had to use it. But that it had changed allegiance from the witch who had taken a knife to her skin to the very witch who had been made to suffer through the Cruciatus Curse with this very walnut wand… Hermione shook her head, not knowing what else to do. She looked back to George as her honorary brother picked himself off the floor. He was about to speak when the door opened.
"Garrick, a word if you please."
Hermione watched as Professor Snape entered the shop with his back to them, swiftly closing the door and turning the sign to show the shop was closed. With a few flicks of his wand, the curtains were drawn and wards were placed across windows and doors. When the dark wizard turned round, he didn't seem that surprised to see Hermione and George there.
"I meant to be here before Miss Granger, but never mind. Have you seen Miss Granger's current wand?"
"If you mean to point out the odd behavior Madam Lestrange's wand is exhibiting toward its current owner, yes. We've just had a little demonstration."
"I believe the wand has switched allegiance."
"It is also my assessment."
"Miss Granger has been speaking to it."
Hermione winced at Snape's words. It sounded really insane when put this way. But Ollivander turned to her with an assessing gaze.
"In what way?"
Although his gaze rested on Hermione, the words were clearly meant for the Professor.
"From what I gather, Miss Granger had experienced some sort of difficulties using the wand in the first place. By talking to it, she hoped to secure its cooperation until such a time she could get another wand to replace it."
"Ah… I guess that would do it."
Hermione looked between the two older wizards before fixing her gaze on Ollivander.
"It would do what?"
"As a rule, the more rigid the wand, the more set in its ways it can become. And the more stubborn it can be too. I believe that Madam Lestrange and her wand were particularly well suited in this. Dragon heartstring enjoy learning very much however, which is why your first wand chose you. And I think it is why this wand ultimately switched its allegiance to you. The facts that you showed respect for its preferences and that its previous owner met an untimely demise probably only sped up the process."
Hermione blinked a few times at Ollivander then looked down to study the wand in her hand. Now that she took the time to think about it, the discomfort she felt holding this wand had more to do with what it represented than anything else. It was this wand who had tormented the Longbottoms into madness, and killed Sirius, and tortured her. But then again, it had only been an instrument to its truly demented owner. If it wanted to stay with her, it had a chance to redeem itself…
"Miss Granger cannot keep this wand," Snape said in a very final tone. "Too many people are looking for it, from both sides of the fence. Although it is not common knowledge yet, too many people have seen her with it."
As Professor Snape approached with every intentions of taking the walnut wand from her, Hermione couldn't help but tighten her grip on the handle and the wand emitted a few warning sparks in Snape's direction.
"I cannot recommend this course of action, Professor. Although it is usually phoenix wands that will act of their own volition to protect their masters, I would not be surprised to see this wand do the same."
Snape stopped in his tracks and Ollivander smiled as he nodded thoughtfully.
"You are a very peculiar witch, Miss Granger."
Hermione glanced at the wand-maker, whose smile grew slightly.
"I mean it as a compliment, young woman. You have managed to earn the one wand's allegiance that I believe would never waver… It shows your potential for dark and protective magic, as the phoenix and quebracho wand shows your potential for light and offensive magic."
"The walnut wand is good for protective magic," Hermione asked.
"A wand is a magical implement, a semi-sentient one at that. Most simply do as they are told. But when witch or wizard earn their true allegiance, a wand will soon come to reflect part of their personality. When your walnut wand was the property of Madam Lestrange, it would be used for dark offensive magic. Now that it belongs to you, I believe it will serve you best when you used dark magic in order to protect yourself and your friends although it will of course obey any other request you might make of it."
Ollivander held up a finger and smiled before turning and going back to the back of his shop.
"I have once met an Auror in a similar enough position as you find yourself in, Miss Granger," the shop owner's voice floated back to them. "Two wands gave their allegiance to the man, each very well suited to him for different reasons. Rather than choosing to carry one over the other, the wizard requested me to commission the making of a special wand holster. I did, and requested the maker to make a few additional models."
Hermione glanced over at George and then Snape as she stood in front of the counter. Garrick Ollivander finally came back to them, holding in his hand a dark copper-colored piece of leather.
"Here we are, Miss Granger. A dual holster. Made with dragon leather to better resist spell damage and wear and tear, and reinforced with several spells to prevent your wands being summoned away. The dragon was a Peruvian Vipertooth and the leather was tinted to make it appear darker. Give it a try."
Hermione obediently took off her current wand holster and replaced it with the dragon holster. She noticed that the inside had been lined with black velvet, the soft material gliding pleasantly along her arm and preventing the leather from cutting into her skin. She secured the walnut wand in her new holster first then took the quebracho wand from Ollivander to strap it next to its sister.
"How do I get to choose which wand will come to my hand?"
"You don't. The wands themselves will be working it out. Of course, the next few weeks will be a bit of a trial period for you as your wands get to know one another. Best keep them in close proximity for the next month or so. But I suspect you will soon come to find that your wands will soon echo those peculiar sides of your personality: dark and protective for walnut, light and offensive for quebracho. The Auror I was telling you about also once mentioned that his wands eventually learned to channel each other's powers. I would not be surprised if you were to find out the same with your own wands, given how attuned they are to you already."
Hermione let her fingers trail on the two pieces of wood now strapped to her right forearm.
"I'll take you to the Ministry right now, Miss Granger," Snape said with his usual impassiveness. "If you are going to keep Bellatrix Lestrange's wand, we'll need to let them know immediately."
"I'll come along too," George added. "I needed to get there eventually about Fred, so we might as well kill two birds with one stone."
Hermione reached for her honorary brother, who batted her hand away with a 'don't you start as well' look in his eyes and a sad little smile on his face. Hermione huffed at his gesture, but her own answering little smile proved she only meant well. She finally tugged her sleeve over her dual holster.
"How much do I owe you?"
"Nothing, child. You and your companions may well have saved my life that day at Malfoy Manor. You-Know-Who was going after the Elder Wand. I am entirely certain that my life would have been forfeit as soon as he got hold of it and mastered its powers. Consider this the first repayment towards that life debt."
Hermione opened her mouth to protest, but the older wizard simply turned and walked away from them, leaving Hermione, George, and Professor Snape alone in the front of the shop. From the back, they heard a door close and Hermione was reasonably certain she had just been dismissed by the wand-maker.
"Better take care of official business right away."
Snape's words broke the silence and George made his way to the window.
"Looks like you made it nearly unnoticed, Professor. There are a few people there, but nowhere near as many as there could be. I say we go soon though. Rumors tends to really fly around Diagon Alley."
The Professor nodded and walked to the door, opening it and walking through without another word. George followed him out and Hermione had little choice but doing the same. Outside, she found herself flanked by the two wizards. Although none of them had their wands out, Hermione was sure they would all react pretty rapidly to any sort of threat flying their way. Professor Snape's sneering face seemed enough to keep even the most courageous at bay for the moment, and Hermione was quite grateful of that fact. The three made their way to the Leaky Cauldron as fast as they could.
Hermione groaned as they entered the pub though and she found herself nose to nose with Rita Skeeter. At the delighted smirk on the older witch's face, Hermione was sure she had been waiting here in hope to corner her. Even Snape and George's presence did not seem to register.
"So how does it feel to be a heroine, Miss Granger? Where is Mister Potter? Are you now going out with Professor Snape? Or George Weasley? Or both? Have you thought of a career going forward?"
Hermione noted that Skeeter's ever-present Quick-Quotes Quill had been answering the questions on her behalf, never mind that she had not opened her mouth.
"We have more important things to do, Miss Skeeter, than to stand here listening to you," Snape sneered with his inimitable flair.
Hermione leaned over Skeeter's parchment to read what the magical quill was writing.
"You might want to edit what your quill is writing, Miss Skeeter. According to it, 'I've been running around the country for over a year'. Only around this time a year ago, I was at Hogwarts where I sat my end-of-year exams, fought at the Battle of the Tower, and attended Professor Dumbledore's funerals before returning home to my parents, attending Bill and Fleur Weasley's wedding in August, and finally spending the rest of my summer at the Black estates in Grimmauld Place."
Hermione's words were loud enough that several witches and wizards sitting around them shook their heads as they regarded Skeeter with disdain-edged censure.
"All right, Miss Skeeter. Please leave my patrons alone."
Tom stepped away from his bar as he spoke, clearly intent on escorting Skeeter back into Diagon Alley. The beetle scurried away before he could get to her.
"I apologize for this, Miss Granger, Mister Weasley, Professor Snape."
Snape said nothing and simply made his way to the fireplace. Hermione murmured her excuses and followed her teacher to the fireplace, while George exchanged a few words with Tom before following. The unlikely trio stepped through the Floo Network and into the Atrium of the Ministry of Magic.
"Skeeter'd been staking out the Leaky Cauldron since words got around you two were in the Alley, according to Tom," George said low enough so that only Snape and Hermione could hear him. "Had been talking to the other patrons, trying to see if anyone knew why you were here. She was told you was visiting me, 'Mione. And someone mentioned Professor Snape buying stock for the school in Slug & Jitters. But apparently, our visit to the wand shop had not made it back to her yet."
"Good. Let's see if we can keep a step ahead," Professor Snape grumbled as he strode toward to main desk. The sneer he gave the witch sitting there and the squeak he got in answer threatened to bring out a smirk on Hermione's face. George had obviously no compunction showing his feelings, judging by the grin playing about his lips.
"Miss Nettles. Please contact Minister Shacklebolt and tell him myself, Miss Hermione Granger, and Mister George Weasley are urgently requesting to see him. We will be waiting here."
The witch stammered in acquiescence and Professor Snape led their little group to stand on one side of the Atrium, their backs to the wall and facing the incoming-Floo fireplaces.
"Why not just go up, Professor?"
"Because then Miss Granger would have to relinquish her wands for inspection. Bellatrix's old wand is too well-known for it not to be recognized. Until we make it official that it has a new owner, I would prefer to avoid that kind of drama."
"Fair enough," George said as he casually leaned back against the wall.
But Hermione knew better, as she could see him scanning the people walking past them. Many stared and pointed and talked behind their hands. Hermione preferred not to think about what they could be saying. Her wands in her holster seemed to emanate warmth at random intervals, and she wasn't sure if they meant to reassure her or warn the other that they were around. She added 'research wand behaviors' to her mental to-do list, wondering if it would be simpler to invest in some kind of wizard organizer.
The young witch was quite relieved to see Kingsley Shacklebolt making his way to them only five minutes after they'd arrived. Professor Snape pushed away from the wall but signaled his companions to stay back. Hermione tensed slightly, as Snape and Shacklebolt exchanged a handshake and some mumbled words while searching each other's eyes.
"Snape's paranoid," George smiled, having caught on what was happening in front of them.
"I wouldn't have it any other way personally," Hermione replied.
Snape must have decided that the man really was the Minister as he waved them forward and Shacklebolt led them into the lift, waving his wand a few times once inside.
"This way, no one will stop us in the lift."
The two older wizards remained silent for the short trip and Hermione and George followed their example after a shared glance. As the lift deposited them near their destination, Shacklebolt swiftly led them to his office, telling his secretary to hold his calls and push back his next meeting by five minutes. As the door closed behind them, Shacklebolt waved his wand to set the wards. Professor added his own on top, and Hermione couldn't help but wonder how the two sets of arrays would work together.
"Now I assume this is more than just a courtesy call."
"Indeed, Shacklebolt," Professor Snape said. "Miss Granger here is the current owner of Bellatrix Lestrange's wand. Although she intended to hand over the wand to the Ministry today, a visit to Master Ollivander confirmed that the wand has switched allegiance to her over the period of time she has been using it. And I have come to believe that it would be dangerous to try."
Kingsley Shacklebolt looked over at Hermione and the younger witch shrugged then produced the walnut wand. I've got to think of better names for those wands, she thought to herself as she showed the curved length of wood to the Minister as it rested in her palm. As the wizard approached, the wand emitted a few warning sparks and Shacklebolt hesitated for a moment.
"Settle down, walnut. You're not going anywhere," Hermione said in a low tone.
And sure enough, the wand stopped its spitting.
"Well I'll be…"
Shacklebolt nodded to himself as he recognized the wand that had once belonged to the scariest of all Death Eaters.
"Have you used it, Hermione?"
"Yes. Not so much since the Final Battle, but I have."
Shacklebolt nodded to himself. He quickly wrote on a piece of parchment and as he signed it, the parchment folded itself into a airplane and flew off.
"We'll just have to wait for a few minutes. I know we can trust Shimpling. He's one of the few Aurors who actually went underground to help the Order fight over the last year or so."
The Minister had barely finished these words that a knock sounded on his door. The two fully qualified wizards lowered their respective wards and in came Auror Shimpling. He was quite tall, though not quite as tall as Shacklebolt and Snape. He had longish, wavy brown hair and looked barely thirty.
"We need you to record and witness a wand statement, Auror Shimpling. It has to be done within the hour, and it needs to be filed as discreetly as you can manage. And you will also need to file for a change of wand ownership."
The Auror looked between everyone present then drew his wand and stood at attention. Snape seemingly nodded to himself and both the Professor and the Minister reasserted their privacy wards. For the next hour, Hermione went backward through a spell by spell account of her activities over the last couple of months. From those she had used today back to ever since she had inherited Bellatrix Lestrange's wand, she explained every spell she'd cast with the walnut wand. It wasn't that many, all things considered. After she was done, George, Professor Snape, the Minister and Auror Shimpling all signed her declaration as witnesses. It only took an additional two minutes for Shimpling to summon a change of wand ownership form, fill it in, and hand it for Hermione to sign.
"I'll get these filed within ten minutes, Miss Granger. I'm sure you'll use this wand better than its previous owner."
Hermione gaped slightly but nodded.
"May we imposed on your Floo connection, Minister? Miss Granger and myself were quite expressly told not to over-exert ourselves, and we have already been gone longer than was expected."
Shacklebolt nodded and George bid Hermione goodbye with a kiss on the cheek.
"Say hi to everyone from me. Tell them I'll see them at the week-end."
Hermione smiled and returned the kiss before she followed Professor Snape through the Floo.
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Author's Note: So Hermione now has two wands… Trust me, she's going to need them.
I have a question for you, my dear readers: I feel I'm rubbish at coming up with chapter names, hence why I haven't put them down. But would it be better for you if I did use the chapters working titles when I upload them? I know it rarely bothers me since I remember which chapter number I stopped at but… Let me know, please.
As usual, I welcome all kinds of comments and feedback. Even flames… It's snowing right now and I could use the warmth :)
