"The golem must have been fierce if it caused Mithrax to flee." A short, pale young remarked. "I do not know him for cowardice." She had wavy white hair and wore a white toga in the Amazonian style.
"I've been told he was saving others," Severus said coolly.
They were in the Minister of Magic's office with Arthur Weasley, Kingsley Shacklebolt, and a handful of Ministry people there to observe.
"There was very little warning," Arthur assured everyone. "He was a fast thinker."
"Your packs are outfitted with the latest," Kingsley told them as he checked a buckle.
"This is unnecessary," the woman huffed. "It is my home. I do not need supplies for my home."
"You may become separated or part ways—"
"Give him the supplies. He will be the one who needs them."
"Cynna, there will be gifts and offerings to help you on your way. It isn't only survival supplies ," Kingsley said firmly.
"That is a matter of opinion," Cynna the banshee scoffed. "But I will take your gifts."
"You will not be needing the Shard for transportation," Arthur explained as he handed Severus a silver dagger to slide in his boot. "It's far too risky. We're doing it the old-fashioned way."
"How secure is this Floo?" Cynna asked.
"This is a Ministry Floo," Kingsley explained. "It is limited in its destinations and can be tuned to specific locations to prevent accidents. It's tuned to a safehouse in Paris where you will find a portkey that will take you to the coast. From there you will use underwater breathing to arrive at the cavern where the portal—"
"Yes, yes," Cynna said impatiently. "We've been over this. What is the Atlantians refuse passage?"
"Then we use the Shard," Severus said grimly.
"We want to avoid that at all costs," Arthur said challenging. "That's why you will leave it with us."
0
Hermione woke, first hearing unfamiliar birdcall and groggily recounting the events of the night. She looked at the brown dress laid over the back of a white wooden chair and shook her head.
Getting out of bed was a chore, the herbs from the night before wearing off slowly. There was fresh clothing waiting for her, silver and black mesh, with a light fur cloak and a pair of boots to go with it. She wondered when someone had slipped in to leave them for her, but she wasn't comfortable thinking about people slipping in and out as she slept.
She heard voices, though they were far off, and she went exploring. The floor she was on was empty, but there were household sounds further on, so she followed them.
Black carpet with silver human skulls woven in the pattern wound her down hallways and staircases until she was on the ground floor. The grandiose entry way led to other, smaller hallways and smaller rooms that looked as if they were from different time periods and possibly different houses.
A short hallway led to a room that looked as if it belonged to the small yellow cottage seen from outside. It was large and sunny with a cast-iron stove, a large wooden dining table, and a screen door leading to the yard.
Hermione should have known the boys would have looked for food straight away. Harry, Ron, and Mikhail were tucked into a spread of food. They were also wearing mesh clothing like the set she had found waiting for her, their formal robes discarded for practicalities sake. Asta's father presided over the meal and was taking apart a large fowl for his own meal.
"Where are the others?" Hermione yawned as she shuffled in.
"Ginny's sleeping. Asta's out picking flowers with her mother. Nicolai and Nyssa are somewhere plotting, I'm sure," Mikhail said around a mouthful of potatoes.
Hermione snorted.
"Join us, Shard-keeper," Asta's father encouraged. "They were telling me about your battles with this Voldemort."
"We were to the part where Harry flew around like the wind." Ron nodded. "Still sorry you missed it, Hermione."
"Something tells me I would have been distracted," she said huffily.
"I wasn't just watching him, you know! I was doing other things!"
"Then how did a flowerpot knock you out?" Hermione said snippily. "I'm the one that found you, you know."
"Did you?" Ron frowned.
"She did, I saw her," Harry confirmed.
"When?" Hermione asked.
"I went underground right after you got there, I don't think you saw me," Harry said dismissively. "You may have been distracted."
Hermione grumbled.
Just then, the screen door opened and Asta walked in with her mother. They were carrying bunches of flowers with flaming blooms.
"Good morning!" Asta said as she walked by the table, accidentally singing Ron's hair.
He squeaked in surprise as Harry slapped at his smoking hair.
"Be more careful, Asatatania!" Her father chided. "Humans catch on fire easily!"
"We got fire flowers for supper, Atox," Asta's mother said as she set the flowers in a large metal kettle.
"Supper?" Nicolai looked mildly surprised as he and Nyssa walked in. "Are we staying that long?"
Asta and Mikhail exchanged a look.
"I must stay long enough to get married," Mikhail said.
"He should meet his clan." Asta's mother frowned. "Their blessing would be a boon."
"If you get married here you must have it," Asta's father said. "It can be no other way with the giants. To do otherwise is an insult."
"And where are you planning on living after this wedding?" Asta's mother crossed her arms. "You never spoke. Are we to lose her for another thousand years?"
"If he were to stay, he would never see his family again," Nicolai pointed out. "Asta could return eventually."
"Why? Are the portals broken? Will the Call never come again?" Asta's mother asked, her temper rising.
"Wizards live less than two hundred years, Mama," Asta told her.
The woman looked at Asta to Mikhail and back. "Ridiculous. Why get married in the first place? He will be gone before you know it! No wonder alliances between us and the humans always fall through. How many generations must you renegotiate with for a millennium of peace?"
Asta's father looked weary. "It is not our decision any longer, Helga. She has started the Mating. They don't have to be married, but they are in love. They should."
"Don't come crying to me when the giants squash you," Asta's mother scoffed. "What will you give them in tribute? Human words? That worked out so well last time. Tell me how giants and men live in peace, again. I forgot."
"We are here on a Quest, Mama. We will find something on our way—" Asta began.
"Quests are not like they are in the tales. It may be incomplete. Perhaps it will be simple. Perhaps it will lead to somewhere to never return. It is not your Quest, Asta. You will not be going on it."
0
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me, Severus. I can't trust you. Not with her," Arthur said in a low tone. "I know very well you'll throw caution to the wind. You agreed to a guide without argument. You aren't being reasonable, and we all know it. If you need it, you come back and we'll have a team to help you."
Severus stared at him for several stony moments before handing the Shard over. "You will be running many tests on it, I'm sure."
"We already did quite a few before giving it to Hermione," Arthur admitted. Severus looked surprised. "Did you think Dumbledore poked it with his wand a few times and decided it was fine? That thing went straight to the Department of Mysteries for as long as they thought they could keep it without causing an incident."
"Did you use me to get it out of her bank vault? How Slytherin of you, Arthur," Severus said sharply.
"No. They argued about it all night and into the morning. I can wait if you want to take it back to Gringott's," Arthur assured him.
Severus closed his eyes. "No. We will leave. I trust you will keep it safe."
"I will. Take this," Arthur traded for a large belt pouch. "Molly packed you a few things for the trip."
Severus opened the top of the bag and smelled meat pies. "Piroshki?"
"She got the recipe from your cousin with the pub," Arthur said.
Severus knotted the bag shut before tying it to his belt. "Tell her thank you."
"I will."
"Yuri as well."
"We convinced your parents to stay in France for the time being—" Arthur winced.
"Define 'France,'" Severus said suspiciously.
"She wanted to see you before you were off. I can't blame her. You're her only child and you're about to run off into what could literally be the mouth of hell."