"Really Albus, I can't believe you promised her a seat for the NEWTs." Dippet frowned at his deputy over the top of his desk, his hat hanging precariously from his left ear. "The OWLS are free, but the school can't possibly pay her fee for the NEWTs."

"I'll pay it." Albus insisted. "Armando, you didn't see what she can do! She's untutored, I will concede that, but she has significant raw talent. With a little theory work I'm sure she'll pass the Transfiguration NEWT. In fact, if she's a good study, she may actually score high enough to earn an apprenticeship if she wanted it. She's even better at potions. I believe that with practice she might even pass a Mastership trial – without a full apprentice term. She brewed a Class Seven perfectly on her first try yesterday. I sent her results off to the Guild and they owled me back immediately. It was not only perfect, but she managed to increase the potency by 13%. As soon as she has registered OWL and NEWTs Nicholas Flamel has offered to take her on."

"Flamel? Isn't he working with you on that dragon project?"

"Uses for dragon's blood – yes. We published it last September." Albus reminded the headmaster. "It's made quite an impression."

"Still don't understand why you bothered with it." Dippet scratched his head, knocking his hat off to land in his teacup. He frowned down at it. "Odd thing, you having two masterys and combining potions and transfiguration. But, I suppose, now that they've retired the old alchemical society there's nothing else for it if you want to dabble in that area."

Albus sighed. "It was charms and potions, Armando. I may teach transfiguration but you keep forgetting that I have a Mastery in both charms and potions. Nicholas is the one with a transfiguration title."

"Why aren't you teaching them then?"

Albus closed his eyes and took a deep breath, reaching for an inner calm he did not feel. "Because you needed a transfiguration professor and I'm quite good at it. Since I wanted a job here, and that was the position open, we agreed that I would take it even though it wasn't my first area of expertise. Remember, you tested me quite extensively and found my transfiguration work more than acceptable even without the status of Master?"

"Never know it to look at you." Dippet smiled and dried his hat off with a flourish of his wand. "Best transfigurationist on staff."

"Flitwich is actually quite good." Albus frowned. "And Mrs. Sprout has better form. I'm only able to out cast them based on sheer magical output. I still think you should consider letting her teach the first years for me. She's got a way with the younger children that I haven't and they could learn from watching her technique. I tend to rely more on my power level than prescient wand movements."

"Nonsense. She's just the groundskeepers wife. She's not faculty." Dippet sipped his tea. "Now, back to this girl. She's only here for OWLS and to aid in the greenhouses. Don't go getting carried away with helping her. She's just a poor witch from a backward country."

"She's the brightest witch I've ever met." Albus insisted. "I'm telling you, she's got real potential, Armando. It would be criminal to leave her uneducated and it's a sheer waste to leave her misting plants in a greenhouse! She's the making of a Potion Master at least. I haven't finished testing her yet, but if she stands up in charms as well as I believe she will, I'd planed to offer her a dual mastery with both Nicholas and myself. She'd make a splendid alchemist if given half a chance."

"You can't take on an apprentice, not with being deputy. I need you too much Albus." Dippet sighed. "Besides, isn't that too much for a young witch to handle? She'll be wanting a family I'd wager."

"She's twice widowed." Albus glared. "I highly doubt she's interested in a third marriage any time soon."

"Ah, but every witch wants children." Dippet insisted. "Mark my words, she'll be after all of you single wizards with a vengeance." Dippet frowned. "I hadn't thought of that. I should probably sit her down and warn her I won't tolerate any loose behavior on my staff, especially towards the older students."

Albus choked. "Loose...? Have you looked at the girl? She's not a strumpet! Have some common sense, man!"

Dippet's eyes narrowed. "Are you taken with her already? Albus, I thought more of you than that."

"I'm done." Albus stood up and shook his head in defeat. "You are beyond help, Headmaster. I refuse to sit here and keep conversing in circles. I am paying for her to sit the full NEWT panel come spring. And I do mean the full - transfiguration, potions, charms, herbology, magical creatures, astronomy, DADA, arithmancy, runes, history of magic – all of it if she wants it, even divination and muggle studies."

"You haven't' tested her on all the subjects." Dippet looked confused. "Why ever pay for the full panel? No one takes the full panel."

"I did." Albus drew himself up and raised his head high. "And I received O's in all of them except Divination, which we both know you have to be born with the ability to get. If she wants to attempt to best my scores I'll help her as much as I can."

"Do you think she can? You've held the Ministry record for decades."

Albus sighed. "If she'd had the same education I did, Armando, I know she could have. As it stands? I don't know. But I see in her eyes the will to try and by Merlin I've never turned a willing student away and I never will."

Break

"You can't be serious."

"I am." Albus insisted softly. "Hermione, it would be pointless to put you through OWLS. It's obvious, just after testing you on potions and transfiguration – you are well beyond Ordinary Wizarding Levels. I don't doubt that you need to study the theory, but the practical is always given more weight and I have no misgivings that over the course of the next year we can bring you up to at least E level for the NEWTs."

"But the full panel..." Hermione paled. "I can't manage that in a year."

"You don't have to. I only said that to drive home the point to Headmaster Dippet." Albus smiled gently. "Why don't you tell me what subjects you'd like to focus on? Did you read the NEWT materials I gave you? I know you don't have them in Romania."

"Yes." Hermione looked down at the pamphlet clutched in her shaking hands. "I...I'd like to try for seven." She looked back up, her jaw tensing with determination. "Potions, charms, transfiguration, arithmancy, defense, runes, and herbology."

Albus nodded and pulled out a stack of materials he'd had at the ready. "I thought that might be the case. I took the liberty of assembling a general overview of the curriculum for you. I included astronomy and magical creatures just in case, but I think you'd be fine without them. You could in theory sit the OWLS for them if you like but if you can get at least an E in four or more of the NEWT levels you'd be more then employable. Frankly, Nicholas is likely to offer you an apprenticeship so long as you achieve an O in potions alone. And neither of us expect that to be a problem." He handed the material over to the young woman who grabbed at the parchments, clutching them to her chest.

"I don't know how to thank you for this." Hermione's eyes glistened. "Truly, sir, you have returned my dreams to me."

"I wish I could do more." Albus shook his head sadly. "I'd like to test you today on charms and DADA if you don't mind. Filius Flitwick, our charms professor, is in Hogsmeade visiting an associate and he's agreed to stop by and see how you are doing. I will defer to his authority on your placement, but I'd wager you're well beyond sixth year."

Hermione shrank her bundle down and tucked it into her robes. "Alright. Do you want to test me on DADA first?"

Albus' eyes twinkled. "How are you at dueling?"

Hermione's grin was feral. "Would you like to find out?"

-break-

Albus laughed out loud as he dodged a fire spell. He hadn't had this much fun dueling since he was a boy. The girl was quick on her feet and her silent spells were well aimed and powerful. She even knew a few hexes he hadn't seen before and her curses were creative. They'd agreed to steer clear of anything truly deadly, and he was glad. He knew by the way she fired off her spells that she was comfortable with throwing curses and if the jinx she'd managed to hit him with in the first five minutes was any indication she could be merciless in a battle.

Hermione was clearly a take-no-prisoners dueler, and Albus relished in the chance to let his magic out to play, as it were. She fought viciously and with a passion – her hair wild about her, heedless of the mud on her robes and face. Her eyes flashed with spell fire as she deflected or dodged his curses with seeming ease. She lacked raw power, it was true, but she compensated with a deviousness of delivery and execution that was delightful.

Flitwick arrived on the grounds several minutes into their practice and Albus could see him clapping and laughing from the sidelines as they battled. Clearly the wizard was enjoying their display and soon the remaining faculty had congregated around him to watch.

Albus dropped to the ground as a blaze of blue spell fire shot past and fired back with a well timed slashing hex. Hermione went down, a deep cut on her left side and Mrs. Sprout gasped. Albus stood up, an apology on his lips only to find an answering spell hit his leg. The pain from the cut caught him off guard and he never saw the binding spell till it connected. He went down in a pile of robes and rope. By the time he fought off the effects Hermione was on her feet and back into stance – the blood dripping from her side held in check by a hasty healing spell.

"I think that's enough for today." Beery called out. "I want my new assistant to be up for work tomorrow morning, Albus. You can get revenge next weekend."

The assembled crowd chuckled and Hermione blushed. Albus bowed to her, unable to hid his own grin. 'That was magnificent!" He fairly gushed as she returned his bow.

"Yes!" Flitwick bounded over. "Yes, it was! Albus, is this the young woman you owled me about?"

"Filius, may I introduce Hermione Dalca." Albus waved the man over and Hermione shook his hand. "I'm sorry old friend, we got a little carried away." He turned to Hermione and frowned. "Let's get you up to the infirmary and get that slash taken care of. I shouldn't have used that spell. I'm sorry. You'll want to postpone your testing with charms I aspect."

"What?" Hermione looked confused for a moment before glancing down. "Oh, that? It's nothing. I sealed the vessels and there's a containment charm to keep debris and infection out. I'm fine. We may want to get that cut on your leg taken care of, however."

Albus and Filius looked at one another then back at Hermione. "Hermione," Albus started, then shook his head. "At least let me dress it properly. My leg wound is hardly as serious."

Hermione started to argue but Albus put the full force of his glare behind him and insisted she allow him to treat the wound. Reluctantly she agreed, but only after casting the same field medic spell on his leg wound. He tried not to wonder where she'd learned it.

The three retired to Filius' office and Albus carefully cleaned her wound and applied a more complicated healing charm that closed the gash. He watched her face as he worked and was shocked at her apparent non-concern. The gash was deep and would most certainly scar if not treated properly. Its location was also fairly intimate, yet she did not seem at all embarrassed by his or Filius' presence. Of course, considering the number of previous scars he could see scattered over what was visible of her torso this was hardly her first such injury. Albus summoned a jar of healing salve to prevent this one from scaring and rubbed it into the red line left over from the healing spell. Apparently life on the run had meant a scarcity of even this simple remedy – it was well within her ability to brew – yet she clearly had gone without.

Filius was excitedly discussing their duel with Hermione and if he didn't know the wizard so well, Albus would have thought he was only paying attention to her words. But years of working with the small man had taught Albus that the ex-dueling champion was always paying attention to more than one thing a time. Filius was taking stock of the healed injuries too, and if the tightening around his eyes meant anything, he was just as disturbed by them. There were healed curse scars from several Dark spells that were highly illegal as well as the more mundane injuries that could, theoretically, have come from a practice duel such as they'd just had. Hermione had learned to duel in far less civilized circumstances, that was obvious.

"All done." Albus proclaimed and stood up from where he'd been kneeling next to her. Hermione smiled at him and waved her wand casually causing her dress to mend itself. She motioned for him to attend to his own leg which he did.

"Thank you, Professor." She stretched. "I do appreciate it, but it was hardly necessary to take the time right away. I would have gotten to it this evening."

"No reason to delay treatment, my dear." Filius insisted. "Albus here is an enthusiastic dueler. If you're to be with us all year, I'm sure you'll have many chances to practice with him. I'm afraid he and I have gotten to the point where we rarely surprise one another. Having a new duelist on staff will be a delight."

She laughed. "I'm hardly a duelist. I'm afraid I'm what you'd call a street fighter if anything."

"Forms." Filius waved her concern away. "I can teach anyone etiquette. But the ability to think quickly and analysis an opponent? That is something you are born with and it can only be honed with practice – never created. You, my dear, were born with it and have had practice."

Hermione's expression darkened. "Yes, yes I have." She took a deep steadying breath. "Well, Prof. Flitwick, you came all the way up here on your holiday to see about placing me for charms. Do you still care to put me to the test?"

"That I do, dear." Filius bustled behind his desk and waved towards the door. "Albus, you've still got those articles to wrap up don't you? It's already past noon. Get off with you. It hardly takes two of us to quiz the poor witch on charms theory. I'm sure you have a fair idea of her defense skills."

"In dueling." Albus scratched absentmindedly at his healed leg. "I'd like to go over dark creatures and such later."

"Of course." Hermione smirked, pulling her wand and casting a corporeal patronus with a flick of her wrist. The python hissed as it circled Albus before coiling itself around its mistress. She petted it fondly. "One can never be too prepared."

Albus and Filius exchanged another look. "No, one cannot be." Filius agreed softly.