A/N: I hope y'all enjoy this installment! Remember when I said that I would ask y'all a question and the first to answer it would get a character at Hogwarts based on them? Well the question is at the bottom of the chapter! So read, enjoy and answer a question!

Chapter 20:

Hermione sighed, staring down at the book and parchment in front of her. She had been sitting at her father's desk at the Ministry, studying for her O.W.L.'s. It had been her regular schedule to come to the office around ten, every morning, study for about an hour before her father got off for lunch.

Just as she was about to look at her watch, a purple paper airplane flew thru the crack in the door and landed on the desk in front of her. This was unusual, while many people needed to contact the Minister; most memo's landed on his secretary's desk.

Curious, Hermione picked it up and unfolded the airplane. It was written in her father's handwriting.

Mia,

I got called into an emergency meeting, so I will not be able to eat lunch with you today. I've notified the Ministry cafeteria that you are allowed to use my account if you feel like eating here. Or, you can go home and have Mipsy make something for you. I would rather you don't go anywhere else by yourself. You are, of course, free to study longer at my desk if you need to. I love you.

Dad

Hermione stretched her arms and looked at her watch, noting that it was ten after eleven. Rolling her eyes slightly at her father's request that she not go anywhere besides the Ministry or their home, she gathered her textbook, placed her parchment in between its pages, and she made her way to the office door. She hadn't had much interaction with people recently, besides her father and his secretary, so she decided to go downstairs to the cafeteria.

Her father's secretary, Juliet, had already left for lunch, so the floor seemed empty. Normally Juliet would talk to Hermione, even helping her study on occasion. Hermione made her way to the lift, she had avoided going in it since it still reminded her about the battle that they had had in the Department of Mysteries. She clutched the textbook close to her chest as she stepped in the rickety lift and closed her eyes as the door closed, trying to ignore the cool female voice, telling her the departments she was passing, by reciting the characteristics of a Kappa. Suddenly a voice broke into her thoughts, forcing her to open her eyes.

"Are you alright?" Hermione looked up and saw two men, both red-headed with blue eyes, the one who spoke was teller, with darker blue-eyes and looked vaguely familiar.

Hermione nodded, waiting for the face to click with a name.

"What are you doing here little lady?" The same wizard asked, Fabian her mind finally processed.

Hermione cleared her throat and then answered, "I normally eat lunch with my father, but he got caught in a meeting, so he told me to go ahead and eat without him."

Fabian nodded, but his companion, Gideon maybe, seemed confused. Hermione just clutched her textbook tighter towards her chest and closed her eyes.

"Are you sure you're okay?" The deep voice didn't belong to Fabian, so it must've been Gideon who asked the question.

Hermione nodded, "I just don't like riding the lift."

"Minister," Hermione heard Juliet call through the open office door. She was sitting across the room, her head buried in Lily's notes. "Auror Moody is here to see you."

Hermione perked up, curious to see the Head of the Auror Department.

"I'll be out in a few moments Alastor." Her father called from his office.

Hermione listened for the familiar clunk of a wooden leg on the floor, but she didn't see it. She slowly stood up, making her way to Juliet's desk, under the pretense of asking her a question about the notes.

Alastor Moody looked similar to the Alastor Moody she had known, but there were some huge scars missing from his body. Most notably his magical eye was not yet needed, and he had both legs. It was shocking, but Hermione quickly dropped the notes on Juliet's desk and asked if she could explain the wand movements to the Patronus charm, even though she already knew the answer.

"Who're you?" The familiar gruff voice of Alastor Moody asked.

Hermione jerked up, her hand automatically reaching towards her side, where her wand was hidden. She was raised to fight in a war, and those reactions did not go away.

"Relax girlie." Moody's gruff voice became softer, trying to calm the young teenager down, his hand moving slowly, almost invisibly towards his wand. "I just want to know why you're in the Minister's office."

"I'm Hermione Potter." Hermione answered, gripping the handle of her wand, she wouldn't be tricked or surprised by the Auror.

Moody looked her up and down before finally taking his hand off his wand.

"I met Alastor Moody today." Hermione spoke into Sirius' mirror to her brother

"Really?" James questioned a small smile on his face. "Did he disarm you, or hex you?"

Hermione rolled her eyes, "he tried to, but I reached my wand first. Then he just questioned me extensively, wanted to know who was in the Minister's office and why."

"You got to your wand before Auror Moody?" That's pretty impressive."

Hermione shrugged, "When someone moves unexpectedly I normally reach for my wand. It's habit." Also, she knew that Moody was prone to curse anything that moved, and ask questions later. But, James didn't need to know that. "How's class going?"

James sighed, "It's going," he shot her a tired grin, "most of the Professors are piling on the homework to get us ready for the N.E.W.T's. Some are struggling more than others. Me and Remus-"

"Remus and I, James." Hermione corrected with a smile.

"Right, Remus and I have been trying to help Peter in a few of the classes."

Hermione cringed at the name, Peter Petegrew still gave her chills, but, she knew that the sixteen-year-old hadn't yet turned sides, or at least she assumed he hadn't. But, she wasn't going to raise the alarm on him just yet. So she tried to hide her distain.

"Well, that's nice of you to help him out."

"Of course, he's one of my best friends. Anything I can do to help him out I will."

Hermione smiled at her brother, he was so much like Harry. While she was the one who helped with homework, Harry would do anything for his friends. "I'm glad you're helping him out." Even if there is a slight chance he may cause your untimely death in the future.

"Yea, well, I'm going to go to the common room to finish up some homework."

Hermione knew that look all too well, "Well, tell Lily hi from me, alright?"

James blushed briefly before disappearing from the mirror.

A/N: Alright here is the question, what book is it believed that J. K. Rowling got the idea for the human chess set in Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone?