The Mysterious Department
Chapter Five: Hogwarts
The day after Hermione's first case turned out to be a weekend and so with that Dora took her to take care of some important matters.
"We've got to set up a bank account for you," she announced. "Or else you'll have no way of properly buying anything here."
And because Hermione couldn't wait to explore more of the wizarding world, she agreed to it. Plus, she still felt at odds with Bellatrix, though the older woman didn't seem to care much about Hermione's huffy state.
"Stop being a baby," was all she said in passing yesterday, when they had returned to the department, dice intact. The dice had been handed off to Luna who had taken them to the Vault, and Hermione had been alternating between reading her wizarding books and glaring at Bellatrix over the desk divider.
Hermione's face had only scrunched up more at the older woman's words and she turned back to her reading.
"Where are we going first?" Hermione asked, once she and Dora had had their breakfast and were approaching one of Grimmore's many fireplaces.
"To the bank of course," and then in a plume of green fire they were gone.
They came out in some communal area where there were a bunch of fireplaces. Many people used them to appear and disappear and Hermione likened the place to like an airport of sorts but on a smaller and more personal scale.
The communal area turned out to be about four blocks from the bank. The bank was an impressive thing, made of marble and gold and fashioned after roman architecture. Once they got inside, however, Hermione's appreciation turned to apprehension.
"Goblins," she hissed out, digging her nails into her palm. Goblins were everywhere. Walking past her, talking to customers, sitting at desks and filling out paperwork. And they were all dressed in sharp businessman clothes, nothing like the rags the others had been in.
"Oh, right," Dora made wide eyes at Hermione's tense form when she realized why Hermione was having this reaction. "I forgot you had a bad run in with some."
Flashes of the fight flared to life inside Hermione and she shivered as she felt claws raking down her back. The marks had long disappeared but she could still feel them. "Don't worry. These are safe. Goblins are great with handling gold and those you came across must have been rebel goblins, deviating from their normal course of action."
"Right," Hermione nodded her head but still did not fell entirely safe. They stepped up to a teller desk, which was pretty high up.
"What can I help you with?" asked the goblin, fixing his spectacles on his eyes as he looked down condescendingly at them.
"We need a new bank account. One that can transfer all of her muggle money into galleons."
"Ah," he made a noise of understanding. "That will be no issue. We will transfer the accounts, as long as we can be provided the right information."
"And how long will the transfer take?" Dora asked because all Hermione could do was stare judgmentally at the goblin before her.
"About a day, depending on how far the bank account is," he answered.
"That's great," Dora nodded her head and nudged Hermione with her elbow. "Give him your account information, Hermione."
Hermione did not feel comfortable with the idea. She didn't trust them. Not at all. But still, she supposed she best get over her discomfort if she was going to live in this magical world. She hoped these goblins wouldn't be like the rest.
But her hand seemed to have a hard time writing down her information regardless and once it was all over, and they had left the bank, only then did she breathe easily.
"That wasn't so bad. I hope," Dora said when she saw Hermione's tense features. "How about we go get you settled in with some remedy classes, ya? I talked to the headmaster of Hogwarts and we have a meeting set up with him."
"That would be good," Hermione agreed. "Studying literature can only get me so far."
"I think I know just what kind of classes you might need and I think you'll love them." Dora grinned happily and they were off to the fireplace again, this time the transport bringing them to an elaborate and ornately furnished older office. A bird sounded off, startling Hermione a bit. She looked to spot it sitting on a perch, it's feathers a fiery golden red color.
"That's a phoenix," Dora explained. "They are majestic and noble creatures that are very brave. Their tears can heal venomous wounds."
"That is a neat pet to have around."
"It's not a pet," a voice said from behind them. Hermione turned to see an elderly man entering the room. He was wearing robes with stars and moons on them, a pointy hat, and half moon spectacles on his face. His beard was long and white and trailed down almost to his waist. "It is a companion." He approached the bird and stroked it, the animal preening happily.
"Headmaster Dumbledore," Dora greeted. "Thank you for agreeing to meet with us."
"It is my pleasure. And how are you doing Nymphadora? It has been five years since you last left our school."
"I'm doing well. Still working with family and still doing good for the world," she answered brightly as she sat down on a chair in front of his desk. Hermione followed after her just as he sat down in his spot as well. He tapped his fingers together. "And you must be Hermione Granger, the young woman Dora has gushed so much about."
"Yes, that's me," Hermione said, smiling awkwardly. This man exhumed power from him. He commanded respect, and she felt nervous around him, though he seemed like he wouldn't hurt a fly least pushed to the edge to protect those he loved.
"Welcome to the wizarding world. I hope it has been treating you kindly so far," he said.
"It's all very new and intriguing. I hope to learn more about it."
"And about yourself, hopefully."
"Yes, that is why I would love to take some classes here. Dora told me how amazing this school is and I want to be able to take part in all it has to offer," she said.
Dora had gushed to Hermione about all her wild adventures down the old halls of Hogwarts. From her pranking the local ghosts, to racing on brooms, to sneaking off the castle grounds to explore the forbidden forest. All said with such fond looks that it made Hermione ache to have gone to such a school when she was younger.
"Ah, yes," he smiled and fixed his spectacles. "We have several night classes if you are interested in them. Hopefully those will help you understand our world a bit more." He pulled out a parchment and held it to her. She took it and perused it carefully.
There were five classes offered. Defense Against the Dark Arts. Potions. Potions II. Charms. And Herbalogy.
"These are classes meant for those who could not afford to go to school. For those who wish to learn more. Or for those who are slower to learn." He explained. "You can take up to two, but I do not recommend taking more."
She shook her head. "I think I should take all of them. I have a huge disadvantage and given my field of work, I think I am highly unprepared."
"It is not feasible to attend all of them for they occur at roughly the same time," he explained gently to her.
"But professor, couldn't you make it work somehow?" Dora edged, looking at him with special meaning.
He blinked in agreement. "There is a way to do so, however, it would only let Hermione take three classes and not five. And, I do not know if she is ready to hold such responsibility over an object."
"I trust her character," Dora answered.
Again, they were talking about things like Hermione wasn't even in the room and that bothered her. "What object?"
"There is a special object your department owns, that can alter time," Dumbledore said.
"The pocket-watch of Kronos?" Why the hell would Hermione want to use that? It would send her to other dimensions!
"No, a time turner. I don't think Luna has shown it to you, but it's a much more manageable object. It was actually based off of the research we did on the pocket watch and there are several in the ministry. We own one of them in case a case goes wrong and we need to turn back time," Dora explained.
"And you want to give it to me?" Hermione asked incredulously. Her voice may have gone up a pitch or two.
"Yes. It would allow you to take two classes at the same time. You would go to one, and then turn back time an hour or so and then go to the next."
"That is...amazing," she whispered out. The possibilities of time travel with such an object...they were endless.
"Do not get too overwhelmed. The time turner only works for up to three hours. Go back any further and it may cause issues with continuity. That is why it is rarely ever used," Dumbledore explained. "And why I am not certain if Hermione should use it for something like classes, especially since she is new to this world."
Dora nodded her head in reluctant agreement. "I guess that's true. I didn't think about it that way. But hey," here she placed a hand on Hermione's shoulder. "Maybe one day you can use it. I know I can't. Using it requires you to have good memory of what events already happened. Like what you said and to who and that kind of stuff, in order for you to successfully time travel. Plus you gotta hide from your own self so as not to ruin space time continuum and that's hard."
"Take your time deciding what course you want to take and then let me know by owl so I can register you," he concluded, getting up. "And now, ladies, I am afraid I have matters to attend to."
"Of course. It was nice to see you," Dora said.
Making a choice on which class to take was not easy, but Dora explained that the school year was divided into two semesters. Which meant Hermione could probably take another two classes at the end of it. That made her happy, knowing that she wouldn't be relegated to take only two classes per year. Since these were remedy classes they were more condensed, as a normal school year class was not like this.
Hermione eventually chose Defense Against the Dark Arts and Charms. Potions sounded interesting but it wouldn't do much to help her on the field and right now she needed to focus on enhancing her wand abilities. She could only cast simple spells and training with Bellatrix was harsh. The woman gave no pause or quarter, going full force on Hermione. Hermione had a feeling the woman liked seeing her down on her knees or flattened onto her back.
But before she could go to her classes, she also had to buy some gear for it.
Dora went shopping with her, only too glad to drag Hermione from store to store. "Shopping for the new year was always my favorite part. The smell of fresh ink, the crinkle of parchment, and the feel of new robes. It was so much fun. And oh, taking the Hogwarts express of course. That is an adventure in itself. As a first year you're standing on this platform and this beast of a machine comes up and all you knows is it's going to take you away to a magical land. And you can't forget the lady with the sweets on the train. I bought so many my first year I got sick." Dora laughed at her memories, eyes sparkling with joy.
"Will I need to take the train to get there each afternoon?"
"No, you'll just floo there. The train only works on holidays and the beginning and end of the year."
They shopped around the store, Dora instructing Hermione what kind of paper, ink, and quill to buy for best quality. They hunted down for the necessary textbooks, one of them nearly biting Hermione's fingers off when she opened it up.
"What is that?" she screamed, dropping it to the floor and still it came after her, snapping its covers to bite her toes. Dora took out her wand and cast a quick "stupefy" spell on it. It quieted down and then she levitated it back into it's bookcase.
"Just a book on magical creatures."
"Is it a magical creature?" she asked once her heart rate had begun to silence.
"No, it's not. Just enchanted," Dora explained and they continued on.
Once the actual day of the classes arrived, Hermione could not be more excited to go. True, it was after her work shift and she'd be in class until nine pm before she would have to go home and complete homework, but she didn't mind. Pursuit of knowledge was very integral to who she was.
She arrived first out of all her classmates and was soothed to find some of them her age, some younger, and some even older. They all looked uncertain and sat in silence until the professor arrived.
"Alright class, I'm certain we all want to get a move on with our learning," he started when he came in. He looked disheveled. His outfit a crumpled gray suit, his suitcase battered and old, and his hair mussed up. He also looked like he hadn't slept for a while and that when he had, it had been on benches.
"So we won't waste any time on introductions on our new classmates." This was directed towards Hermione who had joined the class about halfway with Dumbledore's special permission, but he was hopeful she would maintain the rapid pace required of her. "We'll jump right into our work. Now, open up your books to page thirty three and tell me, what is the most important and yet the simplest spell, a witch or wizard can use."
Hermione's hand shot right into the air, because she had read the book before coming here and she already knew a good chunk of the spells for DADA. He picked on her, as she was the only one eagerly awaiting to answer him.
"It's protego," she said.
"Very good..."
"Hermione," she supplied.
"Very good Hermione," he said and the lesson moved on quite quickly from there, quills scratching on parchment. Hermione found the whole using of quills and inks odd and she was half tempted to just pull out a pen and paper, or even a laptop, but Dora had warned her not to.
"It'll tip them off that you are muggleborn and that isn't a good idea. Some people hold terrible grudges and prejudices against them and I don't want you facing any."
Hermione had listened to that, because until she knew enough spells she wouldn't be able to protect herself properly from them. And it's not like she would pull out a gun on them to scare them off.
The lesson was interesting and the professor, whose name was Lupin, was apt at the material despite his haggard appearance. She took notes on everything, answered as many questions as she could and relished the knowledge she gained. Tomorrow she would be taking Charms and she could not wait to see what spells they would learn then.
At the conclusion of the lesson, one of the men in the class got her attention. "Say, you're awfully good at all this," he commented. His hair was ginger and his facial features reminded her of the Weasley twins. "But I've never seen you around before."
"That's because I'm new. Just moved her a week ago," she answered. Luna had instructed Hermione not to speak openly on her blood status and on her job. Both were to be secrets.
"From where?"
"Australia," she lied, knowing that the two accents were sort of close enough that it wouldn't seem odd for her to say this.
"How come you decided to come here?"
"Work," she answered.
"Nice. You need to tell me your secrets when it comes to making spells work." They had done some wand work and his had been abysmal. He could barely make them work on the first try and it took him a lot to do them. Hermione had an easier time despite not being born in the wizarding world.
"Just lots of studying," she answered. They were packing their stuff and getting ready to go home.
"I don't really have time to do that," he admitted, rubbing the back of his head in shame. "I spend a lot of time working. My family is poor and they've got a lot of mouths to feed so I didn't exactly have time to stay in school."
"You didn't go to wizarding school?"
"No, I attended here up until the third grade because it was all I could afford. All my brothers before me- all five of them- did the same. But they were smart so they managed in other ways. My brother Bill was good with animals, specifically dragons, so he went travelling to Africa to catalog new species and to train them."
Dragon hunting was a profession here?
How the hell did that work? And how had no humans noticed it?
"My brother Percy was really smart and he traveled to the States to go to school there. He found some free school, though it wasn't as good as Hogwarts, and finished school before going to work in the ministry. Charlie followed along Percy's footsteps and he's also working in the ministry right now but at a much lower level job. And George and Fred were always trouble makers so when they dropped out the school celebrated. But since they had a knack for creative and mischievous things, they opened up a candy shop."
So Hermione had been right in noticing that similarity. This boy was related to the twins in some manner.
"And then me, I was never really good so I was kinda glad I dropped out. But now that the family has a bit more money because of the twins, I can afford to take these classes and Ginny, my sister and the youngest of the house, can afford to go to school for the full seven years."
"That's nice, that you're choosing to relearn things."
"Doesn't mean I'll be good at it." he smiled ruefully. "How come you're taking these classes? You seem bright and put together."
She chuckled. "I uh, never really grew up in the wizarding world. There were circumstances were my family had to hide their identity and I grew up among hu-er, muggles," she said, hoping that this vague answer would satisfy him.
"So you grew up surrounded by muggles?" his eyes grew wide. "My father would love to hear about that. He's obsessed with learning about muggle culture and in collecting their artifacts. His latest possession is a 1980's Chevrolet. Except he magicked it to fly. It's pretty wicked. You should drop by and test it out some time."
The way this man spoke, with so much energy and excitement, made the mood infectious. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to be nice to him. To perhaps befriend him. He could teach her some things about the world she now resided in.
"Sure. I would love that. And you should teach me some wizarding customs. But it's a secret that I'm new here," she added, a touch playful.
"Deal," he stuck out his hand for them to shake. "You teach me muggle manners and I'll teach you wizarding ones. But now this means you have to come visit my house and my family."
She shook his hand. "Agreed."
"I'm Ron, by the way."
"And I'm Hermione."
Hermione was sitting at her desk at work when a file fell flat onto it, disrupting her reading of her Charms book. She looked up to see Bellatrix standing over her, hands on her hips. "It has come to my attention that you have not yet been informed of a case of utmost importance. This folder contains the compilation of all the data I've compiled. Read it, breathe it, live the information. And then I expect some feed back on it." With that she strode off back to her desk, pulling out a cigarette to light up.
Hermione stared at the manila file. So this was the case that was pertinent and all consuming on Bellatrix's mind. The one that was extremely dangerous. She opened it up and began to read the case files. There were many of them- and each example more horrifying than the rest. This artifact, dated back all the way to ancient civilizations and Bellatrix had put together every single scrap so much as associating with it.
"Apophis," Hermione breathed out, tracing the image with her finger. It was blurry and barely there, but two glowing red eyes were visible, and they must belong to whatever was the artifact. It was a chaos maker, determined to be able to bring about the end of the world. And each time it had arisen, terrible wars had started. Like WWI and WWII. But there was a way to lull it back into slumber. And that was for someone pure of heart to sacrifice themselves.
But there was no description of how to destroy it, or if it could even be neutralized. And there was never any case where the physical form of the artifact had been found.
Done reading, Hermione approached Bellatrix's desk. The woman did not look up. She was filling out some paperwork. "What do you think?" she asked.
"It's all very disheartening and horrid," Hermione said, clutching the thick files. "And it seems to be like no one has ever been successful in attempting to find this artifact. Which begs the question of how will we stop it, if we do not know it's physical appearance? And if it is in slumber now, since there are no impending signs of doom, like natural disasters or wars breaking out, then how will we find it?"
"Those are all questions I've already asked myself. I'm quite saddened by your analysis. I was hoping to hear something fresh."
Well excuse me, Hermione wanted to snap out. It was the first she heard of something chaotic enough to destroy the whole world. "Maybe you should enlighten me with your analysis then?" she challenged.
Bellatrix looked up here, with a quirk to her brow. "I heard you're taking classes in DADA and Charms," was the non sequitur.
"Yes, I am," Hermione did not understand why this question.
"I'm curious to test your new spells and your new ability."
"Well, it's only been one class-"
"Perfect, let's see how much you've improved then." Bellatrix got up, an eager look on her face.
Hermione was in no mood to battle Bellatrix but something told her one didn't refuse Bellatrix.
She reluctantly followed the dark haired woman into the training room and got ready for another unfair duel.
Bellatrix took out her wand and tapped it against her chin.
"If nothing has been recorded of the physical form, then what do you think that implies," she questioned before zinging off a blue spell.
Hermione waved her hand and directed it into the ground. Bellatrix did not give any indication if she was proud or satisfied with Hermione's process.
"It could mean any number of things. Either that it's form changes, or that it has no form."
"You don't think it's a physical object?" she arched an interested brow and then sent another spell. These were all slow paced and allowed Hermione greater amounts of time to duck or dodge. This time Hermione sent one of her own spells. Bellatrix blocked it easily.
"Think about it. Apophis is a snake, according to ancient Egyptian myth, which is the embodiment of chaos and the natural opponent of order. In going with the laws of its existence, chaos shouldn't have a singular form as chaos is a body-less concept. Thus, it's not a who, or a what, that we are looking for, but a when. As in, when will he next rise."
Hermione ducked a spell coming in over her head. Bellatrix was flinging them quicker now and Hermione was beginning to sweat. She only knew a handful of spells and Bellatrix kept bringing out new ones. They whizzed past Hermione's head like rockets, and her body was jerky with motions.
"If that is the case," Bellatrix posed. "Than how do we determine the when?"
"According to the data, there isn't an exact way of measuring that. Different religions and different nations had their own version of this chaos, but it all works in the same way. It will grow stronger in power and bid its time until it is strong enough to attack only for it to be thwarted when it tries to do so by some worthy heroes. The heroes sacrifice their lives to defeat Apophis and then it slumbers once more until it can rise again. The only pattern is the sacrifices but there is no set way to determine how long the sacrifice will keep the snake down."
Bellatrix looked more pleased by Hermione's deductions now. "Good." It was like she was testing her. "And tell me, what is wrong with the sacrifices?"
This made Hermione think a bit more. She threw up a protego to block Bellatrix's attacks so she could gather her thoughts. "They seem to be lasting less and less. With mere decades in between each rising."
"Exactly. And does that denote that people are getting less pure of heart, or that simply the sacrifices are lacking because they are missing some core element?"
Here Hermione shrugged. "It could be both. Though it seems to me that if order is the natural enemy of chaos, then order needs to somehow be utilized and brought into the fight."
Bellatrix smiled before jerking her wand up like a fishing rod hooking up a fish and Hermione found herself flat on her back as her feet were jerked up from beneath her. She lay there, trying to catch her breath, face red from exertion. Bellatrix stood over her, smiling keenly. She had been taking it easy on Hermione today, is what the smile said.
"It seems to me, Hermione, that we aren't looking for Apophis, but for Order. Now get back to your desk and do your part in looking up clues as to where it could be hiding."
A/N: Thought I'd include the ages of the characters just for fun.
Hermione- 28
Luna-19
Nymphadora-22
Ron-24
Bellatrix-40
Tom-39
A/N: Next up: Hermione learns the truth on what happened to Tom Riddle.
