The great hall seemed to be buzzing with excitement. Students made no efforts to try and hide their blatant staring as they eyed Kingsley, who was seated next to McGonagall. The professors all seemed to be lost in their own thoughts. Professor McGonagall had worried lines across her forehead and she frowned deeply, while Black looked more intrigued than anything.
The moment Hermione had seen Kingsley up at the table, she knew they would be announcing the competition. Her stomach was doing all sorts of flips and she no longer felt hungry. But she put a smile on her face and forced herself to eat. Neville and Ginny threw a couple concerned looks her way, but when she offered no explanation, they decided not to press the issue, thank Merlin.
"What do you suppose is going on?"
When she only shrugged, it became even more apparent to her friends that the witch was not in a talking mood. She ate her food in silence, feeling increasingly sick as the meal finally ended. McGonagall stood up in her seat, quieting the hall instantly.
"Good morning everyone. This year is going to be a bit different, so I suggest you all listen very carefully to what Minister Shacklebolt has to say."
Once she was seated, Kingsley rose in his seat with a smile. "The last few decades have been filled with war and tragedy. We have all lost loved ones, whether that was recently or long ago. The cause of these losses have been due to ignorance and supremacy. I don't want this to continue on. What we need is a new start, something to showcase our communities talents and bring joy back to our lives."
The hall had never been so quiet. The Hogwarts students stared at the minister with wide eyes, looking more excited than ever. Kingsley seemed to notice this, as his voice became more confident and even louder.
"With all of this in mind, I have created something new for everyone to enjoy. Septem Vincit, which roughly translates to the seven wins. Students who want to enter will be in a team of two. You will compete in a total of seven events that will be spread out through the end. The final event takes place on May 2, and will be seen as a celebration for the end of the war."
Hermione could practically feel the excitement radiating off her classmates.
Kingsley's voice began taking a tone of warning. "This will not be easy. It will be not only mentally challenging, but physically as well. You will be pushed to your limits. This challenge will show the world what you are capable of. Everyone will see how you react in moments of uncertainty and how you push through your doubts. So I ask that you enter this wisely. The fame you may receive from the magical community may not be worth the losses for some of you, but for others of you, this may turn your life around. There will be a cash prize of 700 galleons. If you wish to enter, all you have to do is come up here and grab a band. The moment you put it on, your name appears on this list," he held up a scroll for everyone to see.
"The second this goes onto your wrist, there is no backing out. You will be magically bound to Septem Vincit. As for partners, the second you enter a verbal agreement with someone, the partnership will appear on the scroll. Be warned, if you wait too long to decide on a partner, you will be partnered randomly. I will announce the partners in exactly one week."
Kingsley sat down, looking very pleased at the excited faces he saw. Hermione took a deep breath before she stood up. Immediately, she could feel her friend's eyes on her. There was a surprised whisper of her name from Ginny, but she paid no attention to her friend. The brunette forced her head to remain tall as she focused her eyes on Kingsley and walked forward.
She could hear every whisper that radiated through the halls. She could feel the eyes on her, and she could almost see her professor's shocked faces. But she did not look at them. She would pretend that she wanted this, that this was her doing this on her own.
The walk towards the table felt exceedingly long. Her footsteps echoed through the hall as she neared Kingsley, who looked just as shocked as everyone else did. The girl met his eyes and gave him a small nod, signalling she agreed to enter. The man smiled, his eyes shining with so many mixed emotions.
Hermione reached for a band, and without as much as a second thought, she snapped it around her wrist. It shrunk to fit her arm as her name engraved itself into the band as it turned gold. While she could not feel the band at all, it made her hand feel heavy. Finally her eyes flickered over to McGonagall and Black, who were staring at her. Black's lips were parted and her widened eyes met hers. The witch could see the questions written all over the gorgeous woman's face. She finally turned away and walked towards the doors, not wanting to deal with her peers.
And as she walked through the halls, she repeated the questions in her head that everybody else was asking. What had she done?
She made her way to the lake, where she somehow always ended up when thinking. Hermione sat against a tree as she pulled her sleeve down to study the gold band. It was Gryffindor themed, with a very fancy font. It definitely wasn't ugly, but she wished she wasn't wearing it.
The sound of footsteps made her peer around the tree.
Draco stood there, giving her a sad smile as he waited for permission to sit. The girl nodded at him. The blonde sat next to her, and then pulled up his sleeve, showing a silver band with his own name on it. Shock coursed through her as she met his eyes. "I don't know why you entered," he began. "But I know something prompted you to do this. So I will be here for you. I want to help you through this as best I can. So partners?"
She smiled softly as she reached her hand out to grasp his. "Partners," came her quiet agreement. There was a sudden warmth from the band around her wrist. She examined it again, noting that a small dragon with a star above its tail stood on either side of her name. On both sides it faced away from her name. Draco showed his own band, showing that his now showed the same thing. "I didn't want to enter," she suddenly said, surprising even herself.
"Percy… he has some blackmail on me."
When a sudden anger appeared on her friend's face, she couldn't help but feel warm knowing he cared. "You are the golden girl," he stated, "What on earth could he have on you?"
"Remember when your mother and you cared for me?" A look of understanding passed through his eyes.
"Mother still worries about you, you know."
The witch smiled softly at the memories of Narcissa Malfoy. Without her skills in healing, Hermione probably wouldn't be here. "I'll come visit sometime."
"Come over during Christmas break. Mother is throwing her usual ball and she has been talking about inviting you. She'd love to have you over."
Hermione could see Ginny and Neville walking towards them from the corner of her eye. "I think I'd enjoy that," she murmured before she stood up. "And thank you," she added. "I don't think I could get through this competition with anyone else."
Draco tipped his head back against the tree and looked up at her. "Don't thank me. We're friends. It's what we do."
That was exactly what she had told him after the war.
Draco lifted the large piles of rubble off the ground with his wand and neatly assembled them back into the wall. It was hard work, but he had pretty much perfected the spell after doing it so much.
Hermione leaned against the wall and watched him. Her mind was filled with curiosity and she found it hard to understand how anyone could doubt how hard this man was trying. "Draco," she called softly. "You've been doing a lot for everyone and I don't think anyones told you how much we appreciate it. We do."
His eyes widened as they met hers and for a split second, tears pooled up in them. He shook them away and gave her a nod. "Thank you, Granger," his voice was a bit rough.
"Don't thank me," she said as she tossed a water bottle to him. "We're friends. It's what we do."
She walked away with a quick goodbye and met her friends, who were giving her confused looks. "You want to tell me what's going on?" Ginny was coming in strong with a raised voice, and Neville, trying to be more polite, gave the redhead a look and muttered an exasperated, "Ginny!" Then he offered an apology on behalf of the girl.
Ginny shook her head. "No. Something has been going on with you since the war. And I get it, a lot of shit has happened. But this is worrying me. You aren't the type to go joining dangerous wizarding competitions. Whatever happened to wanting a quiet year? Tell me Hermione, and be honest, are you suicidal? Going through a midlife crisis when you're only nineteen?"
"What we're trying to ask is, are you okay?" Neville chimed in.
"I'm still healing," Hermione said quietly. She really didn't want to lie, but telling the truth wasn't exactly an option in her mind. "I'm still having nightmares and I need something else to focus on. Maybe this competition will give me what I need to think about other things."
She inwardly worried that if she told them the truth about being blackmailed, Ginny would turn on her brother. She didn't want that. She couldn't be the reason the Weasley family is fighting after they just lost one of their own. It wouldn't be fair to anyone.
"That's too impulsive of a decision for you to just make," Ginny wasn't buying it.
"It wasn't impulsive," the brunette reminded her. "Remember, Kingsley had asked for me last night? He was asking that I join. I just didn't say anything because I needed time to think without anyone influencing my opinion."
That seemed to satisfy Neville, and for the most part Ginny seemed to buy it. But she still threw her arms around Hermione and embraced her in a hug. "Just please be careful," she begged. "You aren't telling us everything and I'm just so worried. We all are."
"Yeah, even Malfoy is concerned. And he's… well he's Malfoy."
"Draco is a wonderful friend. You two would both enjoy his presence if you gave him a chance!"
"Alright, alright," Ginny rolled her eyes. "He can sit with us, okay? Just please don't lecture us. We're already on our way to Black's class."
The three friends eventually made it to the dada classroom. Professor Black looked lovely as ever standing at the front of the room. Her black corset showed maybe a little more cleavage than allowed and Hermione really couldn't help it when her eyes followed the edge of the material.
When she realized she was staring, she averted her eyes but did not miss the smirk that appeared on the woman's lips. "Since all of you are here, it seems I have not scared you all away yet, hm? Or maybe you're all too scared to ditch?" Her eyes scanned the classroom, causing a few people to shrink back.
"Alright, let's see how many of you did your homework. Who can tell me why wizards and witches have switched to wands?"
Hermione's hand was in the air before she knew it. Black nodded her head, signalling the witch to speak.
"It was discovered back in the B.C era, that wizards can use wands to channel their magic. It made spells easier and more powerful. So now we predominantly use them. Though many argue, like you, professor, that wands are actually making us less powerful than a few of our neighboring countries that don't use them."
The professor nodded. "Excellent. Now can someone other than Granger tell me why certain wands are more adept at performing different types of magic?"
There was silence around the room. Eventually, someone in the bag raised his hand. "Why do we have to learn about wands if we are learning wandless magic?"
A look of disappointment crossed onto Black's face. She shook her head and then looked around the classroom. "Can anyone answer their fellow classmates' questions? Or must I resort to letting Miss Granger do all of your work?"
"We need to understand how wands work in order to learn how to stop channeling through the wand and instead through our fingers." Hermione smiled at Draco, who spoke confidently.
"Well done," there was a brief affectionate smile from the woman before she continued. "Now may I continue with our lesson? Or do you have more questions? Be warned, there is such a thing as a stupid question."
When no one said anything, Professor Black repeated her question from earlier. "Why are certain wand types more adept at certain things than others?"
Hermione was given the chance to answer this time. "The materials used in the wands determine the strengths of the wand. For example, I have a vine wand with a dragon heartstring core. The dragon heartstring is known to learn quickly and to have a lot of power; but on the flip side, it is one of the more temperamental wand cores, which results in more accidents. One wand may produce charms better while another may excel at the dark arts."
The professor stood at the front of the classroom, nodding her head slowly. "Good girl," she praised Hermione. Those two words caused her cheeks to turn red. She turned her eyes to the desk as her heart began to speed up in her chest.
Black went on to talk about wands and their cores until she finally let them start their assignment, which was to try out three other wands in the classroom and see how they respond. Chaos erupted almost immediately as many wands refused to cooperate.
Draco sauntered over to her, his nose up as he jokingly handed her his wand. "You can try my wand as long as you wash your hands, I don't need your germs on it."
Hermione took the wand from him and rolled her eyes. She managed a simple spell with it, but the thing was too faithful to its owner to really work. In turn, Draco attempted to use hers, but the temperamental wand did everything but produce the spell correctly.
After about fifteen minutes, she noticed a line at Black's desk. Her peers seemed to be taking turns trying out the professor's wand. A smirk lingered on the woman's face as she watched the attempts. Then, as if feeling Hermione's attention, those dark eyes met hers. Black raised her eyebrows in a silent challenge, causing Hermione to automatically stand from her seat.
When everyone else in front of her got their turn, she stood in front of the woman, blocking her from the class's view. Hermione was handed the wand. And as she took the wand from its owner, their fingers brushed, sending shivers down her spine. For a brief moment their eyes met, before Hermione focused on the wand.
It didn't feel as natural as her own wand, but she could practically feel the power from it. "Heartstring core?" she asked as she examined it. "Twelve inches, walnut?"
"Close, twelve and three quarters."
The witch rolled her eyes. She could feel those eyes burning into her. She tried her best to remain calm while on the inside she was freaking out. "Are you going to actually perform a spell?" The professor asked, "Or are you going to just stare at my wand?"
Then, those eyes widened as she realized what she had said. Hermione smirked a little, but casted a transfiguration spell on a cup, turning it into a vase with a single red rose in it.
Black's eyebrows raised the tiniest bit. But once she caught Hermione's smug look, she neutralized her expression. "It may have worked for you," she murmured quietly as she leaned forward. "But remember this," she gently grasped onto the wand, not yet taking it out of Hermione's hand. "-will always be most responsive to me. And if I'm the one behind that wand," her voice turned seductive as she finally took it from Hermione's grasp and ran it from the younger witches nose and lips before she pulled it back. "-Bad things can happen."
The moment passed very quickly. Black winked and pulled away, leaning back in her seat with her arms crossed. The witch's cheeks were once again red and she rushed back to her seat. And as she seated herself, the professor waved her hand, creating about a dozen roses in the flower vase.
Black gathered the class's attention once again, telling everyone to research wand cores and how they usually are indicators of the owner's own magical abilities. Then, she dismissed them. But the assignment made Hermione think back to her own wand, and her own magical tendencies.
As everyone left, Hermione moved to her desk to grab her things, and once they were gathered in her arms, she walked back over to the professor.
"The dragon string core," she asked quietly. "It's more prone to the dark arts?"
Black narrowed her eyes. "Yes, many people argue that. Though a wand does not dictate a witch or wizard's actions and morals. What are you asking me?"
"So a wand doesn't necessarily mean someone will be good or evil, but is it ever a sign that someone will turn… evil?"
"No, I would not say that. It may mean that someone has high magical ability and the potential to do great things. But great doesn't mean exceedingly evil or good."
Then, the professor studied the witch for a moment, so many questions were swimming in those eyes. "A wand is just a tool, Miss Granger. Any… evil tendencies are all in the wand owner. I have the same wand core, would you say it makes me evil?"
That startled the girl and she shook her head. "Of course not! You've done so much good for the world. The fact that anyone dares to say otherwise is just awful! Not to mention-" Black raised her hand, but a small smile played on her face.
"You don't need to assure me, I am very aware of what I have done for the world."
"But I do, professor. You saved my life that day…"
Black turned her eyes away from Hermione's and nodded. "Thank you, Miss Granger. You may go now." Her voice lost its warmth as she focused her eyes on a paper in front of her.
Hermione faltered. Not understanding what she had she said to upset the older woman? She said a quiet goodbye and walked off, suddenly worrying about more than just the tournament.