Chapter 14
The next few days of training left Hermione both intimidated and thrilled. Her hand-to-hand combat was always going to be an issue, she feared, but her wandless magic was now a part of her repertoire. She didn't know how Professor Snape did it, but with a mixture of subtle encouragement and harsh demands, she was progressing fast. She could send stupefys faster with her hand than with her wand now, and she was getting used to using a wandless shield while using her wand for the more intricate spells.
She was enjoying living at Hogwarts. The library was no longer remotely restricted to her, and she could come and go from any section without permission. She got to see the Professors who still remained for intimate dinners outside of the Great Hall, usually in the Hufflepuff Suites which were rich for entertaining (dining room included) and Professor Sprout was more than happy to have her. Snape tended to avoid the socialization of meals, but he appeared every now and again when Professor McGonagall brought him forcibly through the floo. Usually to much laughter and a deathly scowl.
She never saw the Headmaster. She felt horrible for feeling glad about it, but something about his wand made her distrust the man who wielded it.
So it was a horrible surprise that the Headmaster visited one day while she was cleaning gnome fingernails for his stores. From the look on Snape's face, she knew he had been invited.
"Albus," Severus greeted from his desk.
"Severus, my boy," he greeted cordially. "Miss Granger, welcome to the staff."
"Thank you Headmaster," she replied formally, focusing on her task.
Snape rose and took the washing strainer from her hands. She protested, but was given only a stern look. "You know very well you need to face this, Miss Granger. We will be testing out your abilities today, and you will give it your all. No matter what result you fear in the end. Clear?"
"Crystal," Hermione caved. She went to wash her hands in the basin to the side of the class, taking her time in washing the garden soil from her fingers.
"You remember what I told you?" she heard Snape murmur behind her. It must have been a yes or no question, because no reply came.
When Hermione turned around, Dumbledore had taken out his wand.
"Put that away!" Hermione screamed, the unwanted adrenaline flooding through her.
She tried to back away from them, and would have probably ended up against the wall, except Snape reached out and grabbed her, forcing her to focus on him. His black eyes sought hers until she caved, resisting the urge to peer over his shoulder at the source of her fear.
"Miss Granger, calm yourself," Snape ordered, his voice low. She knew from her magic that it was a command, and she hastened to take a few deep Occlumency breaths. "This is our biggest clue so far. I need you to let the Headmaster get close, and maybe even touch your skin with that wand."
She whimpered, showing her fear. There was no pride in that moment, just the inescapable urge to flee. Snape nearly smirked at her show of fear, but said nothing. He merely waited for her to take a few more breaths. Hermione knew he wouldn't let her go until she agreed. Slowly, counting every breath, she calmed herself. Finally, she nodded.
"Alright," she agreed. "But I need to keep my eyes closed. Every time I see it, I feel the need to run ten miles away."
"That is fair."
Snape released her, and grabbed her arm to extend it towards Dumbledore. She kept her eyes shut, which helped a little as the fiery magic approached her. She could feel the wand seeping into her, her system reacting, but she remained fixed.
Then, the most violent burning sensation she'd ever experienced scorched through her hand. It burned fiercely, so much so she screamed in agony.
Within moments of her opening her tearfilled eyes, Dumbledore was across the room, and Snape was holding her upright. On her hand was a violent scorch-mark, with a dark, burnt center. She shook her head violently. Her body was tensed and angry, like she had been touched by Voldemort himself. Hermione knew it wasn't rational, but adrenalin was pumping through her veins and making her want to run.
"May I approach, Miss Granger?" Dumbledore inquired.
"Not while you're holding it," she begged. "Please, it burns."
Hermione turned to run, but Snape's hands caught her arms and dragged her back 'til she was standing in front of him again. She felt his breath next to her ear before she heard him speak.
"This is good, Miss Granger. He may know something about your magic," Snape whispered in her ear. She felt chills run down her spine. "Your reaction here is a clue."
"That wasn't normal?" Hermione whispered back.
"No," Snape grinned into her ear, not that she could see. He was thrilled with his apprentice. Anything that made Albus reveal just a little bit more was always worth it; Dumbledore had more secrets than he did, and it didn't do when your life was always in danger to not know variables. Something about Miss Granger had unhinged him, and Snape was basking in the knowledge that something was going to slip soon.
"Miss Granger," Dumbledore continued when everyone else quieted down, "I promise, I would never intentionally cause you harm. I had not even incanted a spell."
Hermione couldn't disagree with him, but the terror was still gripping her. Every look she cast at the bulbous knobs on the wand make her hairs stand on end and her magic go haywire.
"I promise you," Dumbledore repeated. "Miss Granger, do you know what it is that happened?"
Hermione didn't know exactly what happened. But she said what she did know. "I know that you don't have a normal wand," she whispered. "It hurt me."
"I have performed magic on you before with this wand, Miss Granger," Dumbledore reminded her. "At the Order meeting."
"It hurt then. The Legilimency hurt too," Hermione protested feebly. "Your footsteps through my mind, each one burned me. That didn't happen when Snape tried. I thought it was just your way of getting through my defenses, but it burned the same way your wand does."
"Headmaster," Snape intervened with a silky undertone or satisfaction dripping from his voice, "perhaps you can explain what is so exceptional about your wand?"
"I do not know why it hurt Miss Granger."
"But you know something, Headmaster," Snape countered. "That is not an Ollivander's wand, that much is clear. So, where did you acquire it?"
The Headmaster sighed and took his seat, looking exceptionally old. "I have had this wand for over 50 years, Severus . . . but you are right, it did not originally come from a wand shop where it chose me to wield it. This wand was won in battle with a dark wizard, which I then found had a great affinity for me and have been using since. The wand itself is not dark magic, but it had been used for such before I won it."
"And the wizard?" Snape demanded.
The Headmaster looked to Snape with a sad smile. "The wand is a memento from my battle with Gellert Grindelwald, my boy. It was his."
The room was silent.
"But again, why it hurt dear Hermione after 50 years without an issue is another matter," Dumbledore moved on quickly.
Hermione whimpered. "I can feel it," Hermione cringed. "Since it touched me, I can see the magic coming off of it, Headmaster Dumbledore. It won't ever behave with me. It hates me. It wants me dead."
Snape leaned against the wall and took inventory of the reactions to this. Dumbledore seemed interested in Hermione's words, until she said 'dead'. His body didn't overtly change, but the tension that entered his eyes was enough for Severus Snape to guess that Dumbledore didn't disagree with Miss Granger's assessment of his wand. The reason now, was to find out why.
To do that, the Headmaster would need to see her abilities.
"Headmaster, perhaps we should take Miss Granger out for air and try some magic with my wand?" Snape suggested lightly. For good measure, he added, "I would hate to have her faint."
"And would there be anything else you wish to share with this exercise, Severus?" Dumbledore inquired politely.
"Of course," Snape sneered. "Granger, outside, now!"
The girl jumped up to obey and quickly exited the Potions Master's study, followed by Dumbledore and Snape himself. Snape knew she was eager to both heal herself and find comfort in the exercise. They both followed her until she was outside the castle, standing in the grass.
Dumbledore quickly secured and warded the area before turning to he Master and Apprentice. Hermione looked at Severus questioningly.
"Go on, Miss Granger," Severus reassured her. "Dumbledore can know. Heal yourself."
Hermione nodded shakily, still clutching her burnt hand close to her chest. She lifted her foot from her shoes and place them against the solid earth.
Once her foot touched the garden's earth, the ethereal glow took over his young apprentice again. Her hair nearly hovered with energy, her face became more radiant, and he noticed a large amount of light focused on the palm of her hand. In a moment, all the magic started to dim until they were looking at a slightly luminescent young Gryffindor again.
"Beautiful," Dumbledore whispered under his breath.
Snape couldn't agree more.
Hermione looked down at her palm now, and was relieved to see that it had all gone. Every piece of fiery flesh had been healed. She extended her hand out for Professor Snape to see.
Snape refused, believing the appearance of health. He turned to the Headmaster. "Now, this has been happening since the Trace was removed," Snape informed him. "Her magic is strong, but it is different. We don't know how yet, and I have dismissed various theories such as elemental magic, but that wand you're holding is a clue that is needed. Now. Tell. Me."
"I'm afraid I can't tell," Dumbledore sighed. "It is too much of a risk."
"Headmaster, please," she begged a little bit, "I don't know what's wrong with me. Can't you help me?"
"If you can't tell us," Severus interjected, "then you will help us figure this out for her, since you have additional information we do not."
"Of course, my boy," he twinkled cheerfully. He turned back to Hermione with an inquisitive eye. "Now, Miss Granger, why don't you tell me what changes you've been noticing and we'll try and help you."
She bit her lip, clearly unsure how to explain.
"From the beginning, Miss Granger," Snape snapped, focusing her. She started, but nodded in acquiescence.
"I noticed it when I first realized I didn't have the Trace on me anymore," she started unsurely. "I accidentally shattered the vase in the Black library, when the twins apparated in on me.
"The magic felt different," she continued. "Normally, magic feels like . . ."
"A breeze?"
"Light?"
"Like snow, perhaps?" Professor Snape offered simply.
Hermione's eyes lit up. "Yes, like snow. Like it is prickling at your skin a little, but is still falling beautifully all around you. That's what my magic felt like at school last year."
"And now?" Dumbledore prompted.
She got a faraway look in her eyes. "That's what I tried to figure out. After a few days without a single Ministry owl, I knew I was officially of age. I went to my room to try a few spells on my own, to test the strange feeling.
"The magic felt like it was being blocked by something," she explained. "I couldn't figure out how to get it to answer to me again. But then, as I was going to bed I tried again. I was barefoot, and I was convinced that had something to do with it, as bizarre as it sounded. Magic just seemed to come up from the earth, Headmaster. The old feeling was replaced by a huge rush, and it scared me. I thought it would swallow me whole. I couldn't stop it once it started, and it felt like hours before the rushing stopped and my body felt . . . strange. Like . . . I was fine."
"What do you mean?"
She frowned at him. "Lupin always feels wrong somehow, right?" she asked. "Like the magic is draining into his wolf? Or that his wolf is always under the surface?"
"The point, Miss Granger," Snape sneered.
"But imagine the feeling you'd have if all of a sudden you were just . . .fine," Hermione insisted. "I feel like I've been cured of something. Like I've had something purged from my system that wasn't supposed to be there, and now I don't even sleep! My body doesn't get tired, and every time I do start to feel remotely drained it's like the earth pushes magic up to meet me and set me right again."
"And you can do wandless magic now," Snape reminded her. "That spell you used to remove yourself from the photos, you collected it in your hand, Miss Granger, and sent it on its path. That is powerful wandless magic. It is the same as the punch you offered last night. If you're expression is a guideline, I presume that it is intuitive as well."
"I didn't know I was doing that!" Hermione exclaimed. "I thought that was only after I punched you! It happened earlier?"
Albus raised his hand at the girl in front of them. "Let's focus on the matter at hand, Miss Granger," he requested with a smile. "Now, are there any other changes?"
Hermione shook her head. "Nothing I've noticed, sir."
"Excellent," Dumbledore encouraged gently. "Now, any other thoughts on this new development? Have you run any diagnostics on her, Severus?"
He snorted derisively. "I'm not a mediwitch."
Dumbledore took that as an invitation and ran a different wand from his pocket up and down the young woman's body, chanting five or six different spells under her breath. Finally, a few points of colour appeared on Hermione's body inspiring further inspection.
"Hmmm," Dumbledore looked closer at the points on her body. "There's increased activity in the metabolism. Something is different about your brain, Miss Granger, but I presume it is the chemical response to being able to go without sleep based on what I see. Nothing is indicating it is a physical change, meaning there is a high chance it is a magical rather than biological change. Miss Granger, what have you been eating?"
"Normal food," Hermione replied. "Why?"
"Your energy levels are high, but your body is viewing them as rather low," he replied, scanning her up and down. "Like you're missing something vital in your diet, although your nutrient levels are fine. Has anything been more appealing since the change?"
Professor Snape, Hermione's brain supplied. She shushed her inner devil and shook her head for the Headmaster. "No, sir."
"Perhaps an activity?" he suggested. "If somehow you received a trait from a magical creature, there may be a purpose you are not fulfilling."
She thought on it. Besides her walks with the earth, nothing was really craved. She wanted to be around people more, in general. Even when she was studying, the reason she tolerated people coming in to the library was because she needed their company. It was soothing. The other, stranger thing was she'd find herself wanting more time outside, but that was fairly normal.
"Just fresh air and company, sir," Hermione finally replied. "I can't sleep, so sometimes I come outside or just read, like normal."
He thought for a moment. "Now, the wandless magic. Have you needed to incant for it to have a purpose?"
"She hasn't," Snape replied for her. "We've been working on wordless and wandless for the past few days."
Dumbledore seemed unable to think of anything. Hope flickered uncertainly in her, and she waited for words that made sense for her to spill out.
"I'd like to see if she reacts similarly to each element as she does to earth," Snape supplied. "For example, water. I'm half-tempted to throw Miss Granger into the Black Lake."
"Hey!" She protested, pouting like a child.
"That is most likely not the reason," Dumbledore told Snape patiently. "It is something to do with life or vitality, if I may speculate. Miss Granger, when you stand on the ground as you are, are you feeling the current coming from the earth itself or the grass in between you?"
Hermione focused on the current. Some was actually coming from the grass, but a greater portion was coming from the earth. It was like a million tiny promises. The power was potential, flowing and growing.
"It's both," Hermione replied.
"Intriguing," Dumbledore replied. "How does it feel?"
"Why?" Snape demanded.
Dumbledore placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Severus, I'm sure you were looking for it to be the answer, but if it was, it would have occurred after her indulgent use of it. Time magic and life magic pull from very different essences, Severus, and I cannot see how she would have derived her powers from it. No, that must be nothing more than an unhappy coincidence. I believe this is a magical condition she must have had from birth, which the Trace effectively dampened. I'll look into it from the Ministry's end, shouldn't be too difficult for the Chief Warlock to find the origins of the Trace."
"So what am I, Headmaster?" Hermione asked.
"If I had to classify you this moment, Miss Granger, you would either be a very valuable war asset," he replied happily. "I have no clue what you are, but you are still very much human. Perhaps, when you overused the time-turner those years ago your being changed in some way that was repressed by the self-sufficient nature of the Trace. I will not know until I check with the Ministry and the Book of Admittance.
"Either way," Dumbledore waved dismissively, "I'd say we're on the cusp of discovery for something unrecorded in the annals of history. I will think on the matter, both of you, and devise a series of test so we can eliminate various explanations."
"And what if her abilities bring her the wrong sort of attention?" Snape queried. "And, more to the point, should I mention this to the Dark Lord? She comes out to recharge daily, Albus, and should someone see her she may very well be discovered."
"No, no, Tom must not know about any portion of this," Dumbledore replied immediately. "I do not believe she will garner much attention, but if she does she is experimenting with something for me, and you, Severus, are not privy to it."
Snape nodded his head, accepting his response.
"For now, however," Dumbledore twinkled at her, "one last bit of inquiry. I have had a few Order members come to me with concerns, and I must ask you if you are still comfortable with your arrangement with Severus, my dear."
Hermione nodded so fast she nearly gave herself whiplash, making Dumbledore chuckle. It brought a blush to her features to see the confused look Snape gave her.
"I did not doubt it," Dumbledore said gleefully. "Well then, I'll leave you to it. I believe I have some research to perform, hmmm? Toodles!"
Hermione and Snape exchanged a glance of mutual confusion and Dumbledore turned and went back inside the castle.
"Toodles?" Hermione asked.
"I have no idea where he collects his various odd behaviours," Snape replied. "I am certain he must visit the mental ward at St. Mungo's during the holidays, just so he can recommence term with various new expressions."
Hermione giggled at the thought. Dumbledore, dressed in various colourful ensembles, declaring each babbling and nonsensical sentence to leave patients' lips as profoundly genius. He probably would make them very happy if he did, she mused. Still, it made her smile.
"Put your shoes back on, Miss Granger," Snape ordered. "We must head back in."
"Yes, Master Snape."
"I don't need to tell you to take care on your barefoot voyages when term recommences, do I?" Snape asked.
"No, sir," Hermione replied, following him back into the castle. "Sir, may I ask you something?"
"Perhaps, but it does not guarantee an answer."
Hermione bit her lip. "Did you only take me on because of this magic?"
Snape sneered. "We have discussed your qualifications previously, Miss Granger. Your usefulness as a semi-competent brewer is tantamount to an apprenticeship, and my need for extra hands the reason I considered you at all; strange abilities or no, I would not have you if I didn't need you or if you were to muck up your brews. Try to keep those childish insecurities to yourself from now on."
Hermione smiled. "Thank you, Master Snape."
He froze, unused to receiving thanks after a dressing down. He nodded stiffly. "You may thank me by finishing your prep work, apprentice. I have no use for empty words."
She was starting to enjoy herself in his snarky company, now that she could see through his pessimistic pretenses. It made her little crush grow to wonder whether he was just being obviously see-through with her. Forcing back her broadening grin, she simply nodded. "Of course, Master."