This chapter has given me so much trouble. I've re-written it eight times and spent hours just looking at it blankly. I'm still not happy with it, but I've decided to upload it so that I can get on with the rest of the story.
The painting above the mantelpiece in her grandmother's house had always been her favourite; why wouldn't it be when it depicted the ship with the same name as her? Hermione, a brigantine that had been captained by her great-great-grandfather. She hadn't been named after it, her father had told her, both she and the ship had been named after an oceanid who'd saved her great-great-grandfather's life on a mystical island.
Her meeting with Lady Grindelwald lasted well into the evening as they debated the details of how to assist Captain Granger. The young witch quickly came to appreciate just how barbaric the statute of secrecy really was. Legally speaking, they were not allowed to perform any magic on the muggles - be that healing or transportation, even if the lack of assistance caused the death of them.
She could see why Gellert's future revolution had found so many supporters.
Fortunately, Lady Grindelwald was not just any witch and she had no intentions of bending to any law, particularly when they were on an isolated island where no other wixen would be able to see them breaking it.
That being said, she also had no intention of allowing muggles to share her home even if they were related to Hermione. The high witch had the elves build canvas tents at the furthest possible point of the isle and personally cast a muggle repelling charm around the lighthouse and associated buildings.
If she'd thought convincing her brothers to go along with the plan was tricky, convincing the muggles to trust her was almost impossible.
She reappeared in the early morning, Flighty apparating her down with a crack that echoed like a gunshot around the cliffs. She was met with a gleaming rifle barrel.
'What are you?' Captain Granger demanded, his fingers white around the stock. Immediately, Hermione felt the cool caress of Gellert's magic wrapping around her in an almost tangible ward.
'My Matriarch has agreed to allow me to assist you.' Hermione replied quickly, resisting the urge to raise her hands. Gellert's magic would protect her; she had to trust it.
'What are you, I say? A siren? An agent of the devil?' Captain Granger jerked his weapon threateningly.
'I am neither.' She raised a hand and pushed the muzzle of the rifle down and away. Captain Granger resisted slightly, but perhaps her false confidence was more convincing than she expected, because he allowed the movement. 'You cannot afford to refuse my help.'
'Unless I value my eternal soul.' The captain challenged.
'My only interest is getting you and your crew off my family's island.' Hermione assured, a hint of sharpness in her voice.
There was a moment of silence as Captain Granger considered her words, then he finally nodded and beckoned to the pale faced crew who were huddled just inside the cave. They shuffled forwards, faces marred by fear and uncertainty and the captain turned to them to reassure.
'The servants have built tents for you at the other end of the island.' Hermione informed him when he turned back to her. 'My brothers will come with horses to fly you out of here in a moment.'
She flared her magic in a brief, invisible signal and a moment later four of Lady Grindelwald's Granians soared into view over the cliff and swept down in tight spirals towards the beach. Beating wings whipped the sea into a waves and sent spray splattering their pale flanks. She had deliberately chosen the Granians, despite their smaller passenger load because of their resemblance to the Pegasus in Greek Mythology. She knew that Captain Granger would believe that she was a Greek Spirit, so she saw no reason to challenge that perception with her draconian Longma.
There was a brief disturbance among the muggles, but this time it was murmurs of wonder rather than the fear which had greeted Hermione. Pegasi were famous and exclusively benevolent, and who wouldn't want to ride a flying horse?
The muggles gathered their meagre belongings and supplies quickly - an armful of rifles and swords, oiled canvas jackets and a variety of tins which rattled as they were piled into the jackets to be transported.
There was a brief debate about who would go first, until eventually the Captain allowed Hermione's brothers to help him up. Hamstrung by the gender roles of the time, Hermione mounted and observed from her uncomfortable side saddle as shaky hands gripped onto gleaming pommels and knotted in silvery mane. There was a chain of command which they stuck to rigidly - Captain Granger was at the top and he seemed to make executive orders, which were actually carried out by the tallest of the men; Pritch. Pritch had a loud voice and an even louder shock of orange hair, matched only by his fiery beard. One of the other men seemed to be in charge of all the supplies, and he only answered to himself and the other men treated him with almost deferential awe - the result of being the person who controlled the food she imagined.
Gellert and Berg remained in the cove as Hermione took off, the three burdened Granians tethered by enchanted tethers to her saddle. One of the muggles screamed but his voice was lost to the drum of wings. The young witch glanced back briefly to make sure everyone was still seated, then steered the column towards the small settlement of canvas tents.
They landed in under a minute and the men set upon the bowl of porridge that had been laid out by the elves. Only Captain Granger remained, running his fingers over the broad wing feathers of the beast he'd ridden with blatant awe.
'We've got stories about animals like these.' He told her quietly, 'Pegasi, we call them.'
'Pegasus was a name. These are Granians. There are some rules that my matriarch insisted on; she does not like to be disturbed, so she requests that you remain on this half of the island. She is not forgiving.' Hermione fixed him with the force of her best imperious stare. 'She will organise transport off the island, but you must take nothing with you and you must tell nobody of our home. You will make sure that your men know this.
Captain Granger barely hesitated before he agreed and Hermione took off to pick up the next group of men. It took her a couple of trips to transport everything, then she left the boys to fly back home on the brooms that had been left on the beach the day before and ensured that the muggles - now grateful and bordering on reverent - were settled.