A/N: *waving*
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"Paulo, what may I do for you?" Sophie Mathews was surprised when her Divinations professor appeared at her office a little over a week before the students were to return to the school. Most of the professors were taking advantage of the final days of quiet and peace, before the onslaught of teenagers. Looking to her former student, Sophie immediately recognized the wizard's as the expression when a vision was confusing or distressing. "Come in, I'll get us something to drink. Coffee?" The wizard nodded before settling in a chair. "I had to get Alfonso to arrange a regular delivery of the stuff for us. Tea is fine, but I still prefer coffee." Again the wizard just nodded while sipping the hot black drink.
"Sophie, I have had the same vision multiple times since arriving and I don't know what it means. I've pulled the memories but not sure who would understand." It had always been difficult for him to find someone trustworthy enough with whom to share the visions. "It's a boitatá but it didn't have horns, just flaming eyes. It appeared to be leaving Hogwarts. I'm not sure if this is an actual future vision or representative of something else."
The obviously worried wizard paused before his next thought. "I had been excited to have another seer so close, but I've come to learn Sybil's visions are like word puzzles and they are intended to be representations of reality. Worst of all, she doesn't always understand when something is laid in front of her. I'm also not sure I am totally comfortable with her. She is an odd duck, as you would say." Sophie decided to focus on the vision and not the comments about the overly eccentric professor who may or may not be a sham.
"What would a boitatá be doing in England? I would think it must represent something. One of the houses here is represented by a serpent. Maybe it has something to do with a student or former student?" Sophie had learned about the Brazilian mythical creatures when she took the position at Castelbruxo and the boitatá is one of the more frightening tales. It is a large snake-like creature who would appear in fields at night. If a person were to look at the boitatá's eyes they would become blind.
"Let's hope that is the case Sophie. I would hate to think what damage a boitatá could wreak on this unsuspecting countryside." Without waiting for a response, Paulo quietly shut the door behind him.
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The final weeks of summer had flown by and suddenly it was the day of the party. Neither husband had noticed how well behaved the children were on the last Friday of the summer holiday. Nor did the men notice how everyone was speaking in hushed tones and looked around before continuing conversations.
Narcissa was pleasantly surprised at how well the muggle and magical decorations worked together. With a not so subtle comment, Jean had gotten Rich and Lucius out of the house after lunch while the elves finished decorating. With everything in hand, the women had gone off to get ready.
Draco found himself not quite as nervous for this party as he had been for the new year's ball. He had left Harry and Blaise an hour earlier in order to get ready knowing his mum planned for everyone to dance. After informing Hermione of this, she readily agreed to a quick pre-party practice and met Draco outside the ballroom. "I had to talk Aster into letting us in early. The elves don't like to open the doors until everything is perfect. I told her we wanted our dance to reflect all the work the elves had done. It seemed to do the trick." The doors popped open and Hermione found herself giggling at the overly large posters covering the walls. It seemed their fathers both enjoyed running around the without their nappies.
"Dad is going to go mad." Hermione's giggles had spread to Draco who started laughing as well. "Come on we came to practice, we can laugh with everyone at the pictures later. We don't have very long before we promised to meet our mums." Nodding to Aster, the music started with a snap of her fingers. The pair spun around the dance floor for almost an hour before Aster said it was time to go.
"I don't think we could be anymore perfect together Hermione." Neither realized how often Draco wrapped his arm around Hermione's shoulders but as the pair left, it had again taken its place over the witch's slim shoulders. Nor did they notice how often Hermione would set her head against the wizard's shoulder while wrapped in his arms. The elves found it incredibly cute and started taking pictures of the pair without their knowledge. The unaware duo made their way to the sitting room where the rest of the family had congregated.
"Now that we've all arrived it's time for presents." With a flick of Narcissa's wand, presents appeared at the feet of both Lucius and Rich. Both of the men were surprised and suddenly very wary of just what else their wives had done. Neither had taken much notice of the lack of discussions about their birthdays, but now saw it for what it was.
"Narcissa, this isn't a party for us, is it?" Narcissa's eyes just sparkled with excitement when she motioned to the presents. "Narcissa." At this point, Rich shrugged and picked up the present from Hermione. After a few minutes of Narcissa not answering, Lucius accepted the inevitable and began to open his gifts as well. He figured he might as well check out the gifts before he was rushed out for whatever the women had planned. Rich had been the subject of many parties planned by Jean and he was just pleased she didn't know that many people in their new magical world. While Jean may not have known many people, Narcissa did and made sure to invite nearly everyone.
After the men had opened all the gifts from their families, they started fiddling with whichever present had their immediate attention. While the family was enjoying their time together, Aster and Usher were dutifully directing the guests toward the large area outside of the ballroom doors. The area had been set up with appetizers and drinks to allow for the guests to mingle before the men of honor made their appearance. As the time crept closer to seven, the elves arranged the guests to ensure they were only seen when Lucius and Rich rounded the corner. Narcissa and Jean would be following the men with the children behind them. Finally, the elves placed their version of the muffliato charm. The quiet din would be effectively muted until it was time for Lucius and Rich to hear.
When Lucius and Rich made their appearance, the guests cheered with cries of 'Happy Birthday' and 'Many More to Come'. The men were surprised at the sheer number of people who slowly had closed around the family and allowed for them to pass toward the doors to the ballroom. Aster stood in front of the doors, ensuring no one snuck into the room early. As Lucius and Rich approached, Lucius noticed the devious smile that was sent to Narcissa from her elf. He should have been worried, but he was overwhelmed by the party. As it was, he followed the direction of the elf and entered the ballroom. On entering, Lucius and Rich immediately stopped and wondered if they could keep everyone else out as well.
"Narcissa, you had to pick those? I thought I had them hidden!" The tinkling laughter of his wife and friend reached his ears as he looked to the other piece of wall art. "You didn't like your nappy either?" Rich shook his head before turning to give his wife a mock glare.
"Just wait Jean, yours will be here before you know it." Rich had long since given up being embarrassed when Jean did things like this. The family constantly joked about the silly things they did as children. It had always been a way to make sure Hermione didn't feel out of place. Little did the couple know Hermione's embarrassing actions were more based on her magic than a desire to run starkers through the house. Hermione ran up to her father and hugged him tightly before wishing him a happy birthday and giving him a kiss.
After wishing the birthday boys another round of well wishes, the children moved to a far corner of the room and settled while waiting for their other friends to break away from their parents. Before long Hermione and the three boys were joined by Daphne, Daphne's younger sister Astoria, Neville and Theo. All had made themselves comfortable before starting to discuss their summers. As the evening wore on, most of Slytherin made an appearance, along with a smaller portion of Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and even fewer Gryffindors. The decision of who to invite was left to Narcissa after all.
Hermione had been engrossed discussing some of the new fashion magazine predictions with Daphne when she notice Neville sitting with them but not participating in the conversations. "Neville, what's wrong?" The small group turned to the young man who immediately blushed.
"Nothing, sorry, Harry what were you saying?" Draco rolled his eyes and tapped Neville on the shoulder to indicate Neville was fooling no one. "It's dad, we were getting ready to leave when he received an urgent call. I overheard part of the conversation and it sounds bad. I'm just worrying for nothing, I'm sure it will all be fine." The young man swallowed before trying to get the attention off of him. Hermione gazed across the room and located Neville's mother but not his father. It appeared whatever happened required Mr. Longbottom's presence. She knew he was an auror but didn't really have a point of reference other than auror were sort of like police officers.
"Neville, what sort of things does your dad do? Draco explained aurors were like police officers in the muggle world. But, there are many types of police and I didn't know if he was a patrolman or detective or something completely unique to the magical world." While the focus remained on Neville, it didn't really have to do with what was happening but just general information.
"I guess you could call him a detective or investigator. He is called in after the initial response is made so taking this was unusual. He normally does the second and third rounds of interviews when it's needed. He speaks with the witnesses but also the first responders. He really seems to like it and Mum seems happier now that he isn't on the front line. He got a promotion recently and is now the senior investigator in the department. Grandmother likes to tell people how important he is and how the department would fall apart without him. I don't like to think about that happening, you know?" Nodding her agreement, Hermione decided that whatever it was that happened, it was obviously something important enough to require a higher ranking officer. As Neville spoke, Draco saw the tension in his friend and figured now was as good a time as ever to change the topic.
"Has anyone else read any of their text books yet? I think History of Magic is going to be an excellent class now." As was habit, everyone followed Draco's lead and the topic of Neville and his father was well and truly dropped. Hermione proceeded to discuss the Charms book and how excited she was to see there would be a number of new items for her to learn and perfect. The rest of the group admitted to not looking at any of their books.
It was in the middle of the discussion that Severus Snape appeared from no where. "I would expect you to have at least read the first couple chapters of Magical Drafts and Potions. Since you haven't, I would assume the rest of the class is the same." Tutting to himself Severus spun and walked away as his robes continued to billow.
"Do you think he has a fan or something under there to make them do that?" Hermione was transfixed in watching the material continue to move in the most elegant ripples of flowing fabric. The only time it stopped was if Professor Snape stopped and the robes fluttered at his feet before coming to a graceful halt. The rest of the group laughed at Hermione's question before Harry spoke up.
"We might want to read the book, Professor Snape didn't look pleased and I expect him to give us a quiz on the first day." Groaning but agreeing, everyone decided it would be a good idea to read at least the first five chapters before arriving at Hogwarts. And probably take notes on what they read. Maybe review them with Hermione on the train during the ride up to Hogwarts as well.
Soon after the departure of their potions professor, the band changed from playing quiet background music to dance music. The group of children made their way to the dance floor and spent the evening having a great time dancing and having fun. As the party started to wind down, the band began to play slower songs and couples began to break from their groups and get in a few dances before the end of the night. Draco and Hermione danced to a couple of songs before Neville asked for a dance. Hermione was surprised at how well Neville danced and was told it's a tradition in pureblood families. He would be surprised if any of their friends didn't know how to dance. Hermione enjoyed her dance but was pleased when she was with Draco again for the last dance. Once the dance ended, Lucius and Rich thanked everyone for attending and admitted to looking forward to the party next year. The children bid farewell to their friends with promises to see them at Kings Cross in a couple days.
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Before the party in Wiltshire kicked off, the new Headmistress of Hogwarts was settling in and planned to enjoy an evening with a book, warm fire (the Scottish castle was apparently drafty all year round) and a glass of fine American whiskey. Whiskey and coffee were the two items she knew would be necessary and her husband had agreed to procure them when he was home. While Sophie was stuck at Hogwarts during the school year, her husband wasn't bound by the same requirements. He planned to spend time in Scotland and learn about his new home, but also would return to America regularly to keep up with the family.
Alfonso's letter detailing the end of summer vacation their children and grandchildren had taken was quite detailed and included notes from each of the grandchildren. She laughed at the stories and shed a few tears when she looked at the photos. Everyone was planning on spending next summer in Scotland. It was one of the few reasons Sophie wished for the year to fly by. But she knew she would see them over the holidays at the end of the term. As she flipped through the photos yet again there was a knock at her door, on opening the door she found Paulo rushing in.
"Sophie we must contact someone. The vision, the boitatá, it wasn't representing something. It was real. I just saw the beast attacking a family. We must stop it. I do not know them Sophie, but it is focused on the child in the home." As Paulo was explaining what he had seen, Sophie was already on her knees and contacting the British Ministry. She was lucky to find a helpful auror who promised to have someone at the school as soon as possible.
"Paulo, we need to pull the vision. They must see both of them, as well as our conversation on this the other day." Before they could do much more than agree a tall, dark haired man stepped through the grate. Sophie gasped in surprise as the man brushed a bit of ash from his shoulder.
"Headmistress Mathews, I'm Frank Longbottom. Susie informed me of your request. I was a bit confused but it sounded quite urgent, so if you could start at the beginning." As Frank made his request, he pulled a notebook and self-inking quill from his cloak pocket before returning his gaze to the new Headmistress. Sophie recognized recognized the auror as also being on the board so that was one less thing she needed to worry about in this moment.
"Thank you Auror Longbottom. This is Paulo Oliveira and he is the second divination professor. When he arrived at Hogwarts he had a vision and neither of us understood it. His visions work differently from other seers. Paulo actually sees visions, there are no prophesies. After it is complete, he can extract the vision as a memory and it can be viewed in a pensive. We were just preparing to pull the visions for you." Frank lifted his hand.
"Please allow me, it makes the paperwork easier if I do it." Paulo immediately submitted and was surprised at the gentle manner in which the memories were extracted. "Years of practice Paulo. This typically ends up being the best way to verify claims." Once the memories were settled into their vials, Frank cast a spell on the pensive allowing the visions to play out on the wall instead of having to dive into it. "Paulo, tell me about these visions as they play." The command was simple but he quiet voice held the authority of the British Ministry.
"The first one occurred when I first crossed the wards of Hogwarts. It's the first vision I've had for quite awhile. It frighted me as the boitatá is a magical creature in Brazil. As you'll see in the second vision, Sophie and I viewed this vision and couldn't determine its meaning. But now I know, I was seeing this creature leave Hogwarts and head somewhere. The third vision is what truly scared me." Paulo swallowed heavily as the final memory started to play.
The boitatá was slowly making its way on a residential street. The road was wet as if the late summer rains just stopped. As the road made a turn, a large Tudor style home come into sight. It was set apart from its neighbors and was surrounded by large, full bushes that gave the home privacy. It was evening, the street lights were burning bright and provided enough light for the viewers to gain details on their surroundings. The beast seemed to know where it was headed, as its course shifted and pointed toward the Tudor styled home.
The trio continued to watch in horror as the doors to the home appeared to open on their own as it approached. The beast slithered through the entry and came across an adult man, Frank immediately assumed the man wasn't a wizard as he did nothing to protect himself before falling to the ground. At the sound of the body hitting the wood floor, a woman appeared and she too did nothing before collapsing. The beast continued down a hall toward a closed door. As with the front door, the interior door opened to a large library. Settled on a window seat was a young girl, Frank thought she would be Neville's age. The beast focused on the girl and began to hiss before moving closer. As the girl looked up, in response to the hissing noise, the beast's gaze met her terror filled eyes, and the vision suddenly ended.
Frank felt the weight of the vision on him. "That beast was attacking muggles. I don't believe any of them were magical based on their responses." Those in the room agreed. "Paulo, do you think this has happened or is there still time? Can we save them?" The other wizard thought and replayed parts of the vision in his mind.
"No, I don't believe it has happened yet. Something tells me the beast has yet to arrive, but I cannot tell where the house is. But what I know for certain is that family is in grave danger." Agreeing Frank quickly departed with copies of the visions and returned to the Ministry in the hopes of finding anything that could lead him to the endangered family.
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Frank settled at his desk and sent a note home so it would be there when Alice and Neville returned from Malfoy Manor. Making notes as he replayed vision over and over, he hoped to narrow the search. He also called in a few others from the department before starting to view the vision again. Somewhere in the back of him mind, he knew the beast had something important to do with Hogwarts but at the moment that wasn't a pressing issue and Frank returned to his focus on the family. He would speak to Lucius later and discuss what needed to be done at the Scottish castle.
Once the team arrived, they viewed the visions and split into groups with specific tasks. One group would review the vision of Hogwarts to see if they could determine where the beast came from or which direction it was heading. Being magical, there was the possibility it could use magical means to travel and its direction was meaningless. The other group worked through the second vision to see if they could located the home of the intended victims.
As midnight drew near, the group took a break and started to compare notes to see if anything could be found through discussion. One of the aurors mentioned the home may be closer to London and it appeared the family had just moved. There had been multiple packing boxes strewn about the house and the library wasn't full. Frank had noticed the same thing.
"Ok, we do need some sleep, let's head home and reconvene at seven tomorrow. I'll probably bring in a few others to see what they think. We may end up running with the recent move angle. Maybe a listing of homes that recently sold and are similar to this one should be our first request. Does anyone have any contacts with muggle real estate agents." The combined group shook their heads. "Ok, I think I know someone who probably knows someone, hopefully by seven or so I'll have the list. Goodnight." Frank ushered the group from the room and secured the visions before securing the room.
There was something about this that worried the wizard. Some faint memory was just beyond his reach and he hoped some sleep would help him to remember. Arriving at his home, Frank found the Manor in Leeds quiet save for the elf who was waiting by the floo. "Yes, Peri I know I'm late. There is a case and it is urgent we figure it out as soon as possible. There is a family with children in mortal peril." The elf tsked before asking Frank if he ate. "No, I didn't have time and I'm exhausted now. In the morning would you please request a meeting with Lucius Malfoy, I'll go to the Manor if that works better, but I would like to do it as early in the morning as possible." The elf sighed, agreed and pointed toward the master bedroom.
As Frank settled into his bed and Alice snuggled into his arms, Frank's thoughts drifted to a discussion with Neville right after he had returned home from his first year at Hogwarts. It revolved around a witch in Neville's year. Her family was moving to a new home. Frank still couldn't remember why that conversation was important as he drifted into a deeper sleep.
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Lucius was surprised when User said there was a meeting request from Frank Longbottom. Alice had explained Frank was called away on business and therefore wasn't able to attend the party. This could be to make up for his absence. "Of course Usher, if he wants to come for breakfast that is perfectly fine." The elf popped out to rely the message and confirm when the man would make his arrive.
Just before seven Frank Longbottom stepped from the flames and dusted of the few spots of ash from his robes. Looking up Frank noted the waiting elf, at his nod the little creature turned and headed into the home. Frank was surprised when he arrived the family dining room and found not only Lucius, but also Narcissa, Severus Snape and the entire Granger family. "Hope you don't mind, feel free to eat if you haven't yet." Lucius motioned to the chair at his other side and then the table filled with food.
"That is a very nice offer. I haven't actually eaten since yesterday sometime. I think Peri would have been a bit more persistent if he hadn't understood the importance and accepted my explanation." Frank settled in the chair as Narcissa handed him a plate full of food. With a little groan he quickly dove into the meal. After a few minutes of eating, Frank decided it was time to address the reason for his early morning request.
"Lucius, I was hoping for your assistance but with the Grangers here, they may be better positioned to assist me with this case." At the surprised looks on everyone's face, Frank jumped into the background. "The new divination professor has very unique visions. Instead of verbal prophesies, like most other seers including Sybil, Paulo actually witnesses the visions and remembers them. He is able to pull the visions into pensives and have them reviewed. He had one yesterday and it is incredibly worrisome." Severus was listening but watching the Granger family, this may have been one of the first times they would observe just how the magical world really worked.
"My family will provide whatever help we can." Rich realized the situation was quite grave given how Frank was carrying himself. Nodding in agreement, Hermione opened her mouth only to be cut off by Severus.
"Yes, Miss Granger divination is something we can discuss later. It is a course offered at the school for third years and above. There are a handful of other classes as well, all required information will be provided at a later time. For now, let's focus on the issue at hand." The girl was yet again surprised at just how well her professor could read her.
The rest of the table chuckled at the unintentional humor that had broken the oppressive feeling that hovered in the room. Frank appreciated the slight reprieve and gathered himself to explain the vision in more detail. "Yes, the vision was of a muggle family who were attacked by a magical beast. Paulo called it a boitatá, it's a magical creature from Brazil known for attacking people in fields and ultimately removing the victim's vision. That isn't what the vision showed. What I don't know is if the effect is different because the victims were muggles or because the creature wasn't a boitatá. Either way Paulo believes the attack hasn't happened yet, but soon."
Hermione's hand reluctantly raised in the air and she heard Professor Snape sigh. "A boitatá is a snake or serpent-like creature. Due to the side effects there are few that have been able to describe it with any certainty." Hermione lowered her hand and sent her Professor a thankful smile.
"You know Severus, you are able to read her almost as well as Draco and Harry." The dower man just raised an eyebrow at the Malfoy Head and motioned for the clearly amused auror to continue.
"Based on the vision, we believe the family recently moved into the home as there were packing boxes and the library was still pretty bare. We were hoping to find a muggle real estate agent who could provide us with a listing of recently sold homes that fit the description we have on the home and surrounding area. We were given a pretty good view of the home but can't determine the actual location." Rich could easily provide their agent's name, but maybe they could help a bit more.
"Would it be possible for me to see the vision? I'm not sure if being a muggle would prohibit that sort of thing. I might be able to help narrow down the search area." The offer was a relief and Frank thought it would be a better starting point.
"Of course; however, I'm not sure if being a muggle will be an issue. Would you have a concern with Hermione attempting if you cannot. Pensives are difficult to explain, but have comfort that I will be in the vision with Hermione and I won't allow her to see anything untoward." The Granger parents gave each other a few looks before Jean nodded in acquiescence.
"If you can give us a few minutes, we will be ready. Hermione, go get dressed." The young witch was out of her chair a moment later headed toward her room. Chuckling, Jean stood in order to get ready as well with Narcissa trailing behind. It may have been a Saturday morning, but you never knew who they might run into. "Since Hermione is gone, will you tell us what happened to the family?" Frank's expression soured and he nodded sadly.
"The creature was able to access the home with no apparent issues and came across the father first. The man put up no fight before he fell to the ground. We don't know if he was frozen or something worse. It then encountered the mother with the same results. The beast made its way down a hall and into the home's library. It focused on a young girl who was settled in a window seat. The vision ended and we don't actually know what happened to the girl. If Hermione is the one to go in, she will only see the visions of the exterior of the home and the street in front of it." Rich and Lucius looked absolutely sick at the mere thought of what Frank had described.
"I would appreciate it if you would do that. Hopefully, I'll be able to see something and we won't have to subject Hermione to anything more than what she has already had to endure." Frank agreed. He hadn't thought much about what the young girl had been through the year before. But, her first experiences with the magical world hadn't been very good.
Jean and Hermione returned a few minutes later with the sleepy looking duo of Draco and Harry. "What's going? Hermione won't tell us. She said it wasn't her place." Draco looked a bit perturbed at being denied something.
"The Grangers and I are going with Mr. Longbottom. Hopefully we will be back in time for lunch." With that, Lucius, Rich and Frank stood and joined Hermione and Jean before heading toward the exit to the room. Hermione waved and quickly followed her father out of the room.
"We can go with you." Hermione heard Harry yell as she headed down the hall. She looked up to see Lucius stopping and motioning for the rest to continue. Lucius wasn't upset but trying to figure out a way to tell the two boys no without ruining their last day at home. He patted Hermione on the shoulder and directed her to the floo room.
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When Lucius arrived at the Ministry thirty minutes later, he had Narcissa, Harry and Draco in tow. It seemed the trio had quickly worn Lucius down and instead of fighting he just agreed. Frank chuckled quietly to himself knowing full well when Alice, Neville and Aggie started in on him, he couldn't deny his family either.
The boys immediately stood flanking Hermione, as if she was facing the beast herself. Neville had talked about the closeness of the three and Frank took this as strong evidence to support what his son had said. Taking the memory, he poured the silver stream into the pensive. He knew it could be played on the wall but there was not a way to stop the memory until it came to its natural end. That was something he didn't want anyone else to have to witness.
Once the memory had settled, Frank motioned to Rich. "Ok, I'm going to go in, you watch me and then we can try to do it together." Rich nodded and positioned himself in the best place in order to observe. Surprisingly, Frank stuck his head into bowl and there appeared to be enough room for someone else's head. A moment later Frank was standing tall again and blinking his eyes. "When you go in, we will be on a residential street. If you can't see anything after three seconds tap my arm. We can try again." The pair both stuck their heads into the bowl but less than a breath later they were both standing.
"It's a pity it doesn't work with muggles, it is certainly sounds like an amazing way to remember good times." Rich stepped back and pulled Hermione into position. "Baby, if you have any idea where you are squeeze my hand and I will tap Frank's shoulder. You only have to look around the street and see if anything looks familiar. If not, you'll continue the memory until you view the house. Frank will pull you out once you've seen the house. Ok? No going any further into the memory. Time is very important here." Hermione swallowed at the seriousness in her father's voice and quietly agreed before turning toward the auror.
"I think your father has a good idea. Let me hold your other hand and that way regardless of which hand you squeeze we will get out of there right away." Hermione glanced between the two men and the large stone bowl.
"Ok." Hermione allowed the courage of all in Gryffindor to build in her and she dropped her head into the vision.
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Hermione was thankful she was behind the beast. It held her attention for the first few seconds before Mr. Longbottom directed her to the surrounding area. It took Hermione by surprise, she knew the street very well. She promised to let them know, but her gut was telling her the beast was headed somewhere she knew even better. When the beast turned toward the familiar yard, she made one glance to the house and squeezed both of the hands she held.
She was suddenly back in the blurry room. She hadn't realized she was crying until Draco and Harry broke free and held her tightly. Both were murmuring nonsense trying to calm her. Frank suspected the girl knew where they were as soon as she had looked up from the beast. She had been watching the beast before Frank motioned for her to start looking around. Immediately she stiffened and turn her head wildly from side to side. He was right in not letting her see what happened later. When the house first came into sight the girl immediately reacted and squeezed his hand.
Frank waved Rich over to where everyone else was. "She knows and it's upset her greatly. I think she knew exactly where we were when the vision first started playing. She picked up the house the first moment it was visible. We just need her to calm enough to talk." Frank leaned against the wall and watched the three friends. It didn't take quite as long as Frank had suspected when Hermione started wiping her eyes and nose with a handkerchief.
"There's no need to get anyone else involved. The house was ours." Rich shut his eyes, he had hoped it wouldn't be that house. Not because it was their house, but because the coincidence was too great. And the meaning wasn't lost on him. Someone was still targeting his daughter. Frank seemed completely surprised when the home was identified.
Lucius, it seemed, was on the same wave length as Rich. Whispering to the man who was quickly changing from close friend to confidant. "The Manor has wards that do not allow person or creature with ill intent to access the grounds. These wards are even stronger than what we had on your house. Remember we removed the wards the day you moved." Rich calmed a touch knowing that Hermione would be safe at home and then she would be at Hogwarts. With Dumbledore gone, it seemed the old castle was the next safest place.
"Rich if you could provide us coordinates, we can set up a watch and ward the home." Looking to Lucius, Rich had a confused look on just what Frank needed.
"I'll give them to you Frank. Although the Ministry should have them as we had the fireplace set up with floo access. But, given the red tape and the time constraints, this is a better way to go." After providing the necessary information the Malfoy family and friends returned to the Manor. Hermione was still a bit shell shocked as the reality began to set in. She too realized the attack was probably not random and shuddered at the thought of who would hate her so much.
After sending her friends out to fly, she made her way to the solarium. She couldn't know who did it but she could detail what she saw in the vision. She spent a solid hour describing the creature and how it moved. In the end she decided the creature was definitely a serpent; however, the head appeared to be shaped more like a large lizard. Almost dragon-like in some ways. From what she could see, it appeared to have more angles than the snakes she had seen in her life. She didn't know what good it would do, but it was done. After closing her journal a delicate noise directed Hermione's attention to the portrait over the mantel.
"Hello Hermione dear. What had you so engrossed this afternoon?" Not having a grandmother of her own anymore, Hermione had decided Marguerite was the closest she would ever get. After explaining the whole morning to the painting, Hermione was emotionally spent and ended up falling asleep on the small settee. Smiling at how comfortable the girl was in her presence, Marguerite decided to watch over her until she woke. As the girl peacefully slumbered, the regal witch began to think on what had happened and how this young girl just couldn't shake the bad luck following her.
*MoT*MoT*MoT*
Even with the extreme urgency, it still took Frank almost the entire day to obtain the necessary permissions to secure the former Granger home and protect its new owners. Once the team was assembled, Frank laid out the plan. They were to apparate to a point in the backyard with a 'Notice Me Not' charm, this would allow each auror a moment to set their own disillusionment charm before stepping into the yard. Once there, Frank would take the lead and determine if they were too late. Praying they would not need to instigate the emergency plan, the aurors began to blink out of the conference room. The auror department had points set up in their meeting rooms allowing them to apparate instead of having to leave the Ministry to find one.
On arrival, each of the aurors placed their disillusionment charms and additional ones to repel water. The storm had broken and the yard was a sloppy mess. As Frank arrived, he noticed what the rest of the team had already done and applied his own charms. After a quick discussion, the group determined, if the attack were to happen this day, it would be soon. Dusk had started to settle and the street lamps were slowly switching on reflecting the rain drops as they fell to the street. As the lights stopped flickering and illuminated the area brightly, the storm passed and the streets and sidewalks were left with puddles reflecting the now visible full moon.
"We must hurry, if it's tonight we are almost too late." The team immediate broke apart and began to set wards around the home. Frank's spells on the home noted the presence of four muggles, two adults and two children. They in the home were breathing and moving, which bolstered his hope they were in time. Having reviewed the home's floor plan he found the girl in the library and the other three members of the family in the kitchen near the front doors.
The lead auror made his way around the home's side and looked toward the direction the beast should appear. As the wards and protection spells were completed, each member moved from yard to yard toward where the vision started. The hope was at some point they could get behind the beast and contain it. Frank's position was open enough for him to see down the whole street in order to inform the group when the beast neared the home. His focus was at a point down the road. What no one expected was for the beast to appear about three doors down from the identified home. Frank was able to send out a flare to alert the team before moving into a defensive position. At first the beast did not seem to sense the wizard, but as it failed to cross the wards and gain access to the property, it turned its attention toward where the flare had originated and wizard who was cloaked under a disillusionment spell.
Muttering into the recording device on his shoulder, Frank gave a continual monologue since the beast appeared. Everything he saw being detailed for review later. After explaining how the beast had appeared from the sewer, Frank described how the beast reacted when the ward had successfully kept the beast from the property and before he finally getting to description of it. Starting at the tail, Frank described the skin in more detail than the vision and approximate the length since that was never seen. He commented on just how large the beast was an it was surprising how it was able to leave the sewer through the street drain.
As the beast moved toward the hidden wizard, it passed over a puddle and turned its head once more toward the protected house. At the same moment, Frank reached the head of the beast as the beast turned back and Frank's gaze dropped to the puddle reflecting the head. His description immediately stopped and the device picked up the thud of his body hitting the moist ground.
*MoT*MoT*MoT*
A/N - So sorry, someone had to be first. Now you know the plot (as if you didn't before) for this one. Hope you enjoyed and see you in a week.