Disclaimer: Harry Potter and characters are the property of J.K. Rowling and co. although I wish I had made them up. Enjoy!!
The Secret
Chapter Nine; A Visit to the Headmaster
The five students looked at each other, each one occupied with their own thoughts about the year ahead.
Finally, Draco broke the silence. "So, I should probably leave first and find Crabbe and Goyle," he said, wrinkling his nose in disgust.
"Yea. That would probably make sense," agreed Hermione. "Remember, we all still dislike you, but if you ever need to talk or just get away from the other Slytherins, just send a school owl with a note or something. And if it's possible, please don't call me Mudblood, ok?"
Draco nodded. "Sure, sorry about that," he said, somewhat awkwardly.
Ron snorted, "I am really going to have to get used to you apologizing Mal-…Draco."
"Yea well, you won't really have to get used to it, 'cause I won't be apologizing where others can hear it," Draco answered with a grin. "Ok then. See you losers out there," he said still smiling.
Ginny shoved him out the door with a huff, and then turned around smiling to address the other three Gryffindors. "Well then, wasn't that interesting. Never thought I would start the year off with an apology and a truce from Malfoy. Or Draco...whatever. But seriously, that was kinda weird."
"Yea I know what you mean, Gin," agreed Harry. "Although I definitely think he meant all of it. And that, in my opinion, is the weirdest part of all. We should probably tell Dumbledore what happened, huh?" he asked.
"Knowing him, he probably already knows," said Ron, while cleaning up the rest of the uneaten candy and stuffing it into someone's bag. "Especially because Draco said that Dumbledore was the one Draco's mom told, remember? He was probably the one who put Draco up to trying to talk to us, you know?"
"Yea you're probably right. I mean, he most likely wouldn't have done anything about that if someone hadn't told him to, right?" agreed Harry.
"We should probably go, guys, unless you want to miss the carriages to the castle," interrupted Hermione, still thinking over what had ensued on the train ride. If what Draco had said was true, then his mother had been working for the Light for many years. Did that mean that he, too, could be the child in the prophecy? Although, the prophecy did say it was a girl. Shaking her head, she quickly focused on what Ginny was saying.
"Yea, you're right. Let's get going," stated Ginny firmly.
The four hastily checked the compartment once last time, collected their things, and rushed out of the train and onto the platform. Unlike last year's downpour, the weather was nice and clear, if not a little chilly.
Over the heads of the other students, the four were able to see Hagrid trying to collect the new first-years. His booming voice was heard clear across the crowded and noisy platform.
"Firs' years! Firs' years over 'ere!" As the four approached him, he noticed them and smiled. "Alrigh' you four? No problems? Good. See yeh inside at the feast!" he said, herding the first-years to the boats that waited to take them to the castle.
"Guys come one! We want to get a carriage!" exclaimed Hermione, pulling on Ron's sleeve to make him move faster.
The four made their way through the crowd and were able to get into a carriage right before it started moving with a great lurch. Caught off-balance, Hermione was thrown into Harry's lap, where they then both crashed to the floor of the moving carriage. Hermione was now lying completely on top of Harry. As Ron and Ginny burst out laughing, the two stared at each other for a second, before quickly extricating themselves from the floor, both blushing a red that matched the Weasley's hair.
"Sorry about that, Harry," Hermione said embarrassed, glancing out of the corner of her eye to watch Harry straighten his clothes.
"No problem, 'Mione," answered Harry, also giving Hermione a quick look when he thought no one was watching.
Ginny saw this exchange of looks and smiled and chuckled softly to herself. ::Well, well, well. Is this a crush I see?:: thought Ginny, with a mischievous glint in her eyes. ::Looks like I've been given the job of matchmaker this year.:: Sniggering evilly to herself, she turned her attention to the conversation in the carriage.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Draco quickly rushed out of the compartment, darting through the crowd till he reached the compartment where his 'friends' were.
"Finally," whined Pansy in her shrill and obnoxious voice. "We were just going to leave without you. Where were you?!" she asked, once more clasping to his arm.
"I told you before that I had stuff to take care of. For Merlin's sake, can't I walk around in peace around here?" he grumbled softly to himself.
If Pansy heard him, she didn't acknowledge what he had said, just started pulling him through the door of the compartment and out onto the platform. He heard Crabbe, Goyle and Millicent huffing to keep up with them as they made their way through the crowd to the awaiting carriages. Even though the carriages were only meant to hold four, the five squeezed in. Draco was squashed between Pansy and Millicent, barely able to breathe the entire ride to the castle.
The carriages reached the entrance of Hogwarts, dropping off the students before disappearing once more down the road leading to Hogsmeade.
With a feeling of relief at finally being able to breathe again, Draco led the other four Slytherins up the steps and through the doors into Hogwarts. Draco breathed in deeply, calming down immediately as the feeling of Hogwarts rushed over and through him. He felt a sense of peace, a feeling of being home. He briefly wondered if this was what Potter…Harry felt when he got here each year. Smirking at himself, he quickly shook his head and began walking towards the great hall. Upon entering, Draco once more breathed deeply as he looked up at the enchanted ceiling. He had never told anyone, but he was always amazed that such a thing existed. It was simply…enchanting. Draco didn't think there was any other word to describe it.
Draco shook himself slightly as he realized that he had stopped walking. Quickly, he made his way over to the Slytherin table and sat down between Crabbe and Goyle, facing Millicent and Pansy. He glanced up at the Gryffindor table and saw Harry, Hermione, Ron and Ginny talking quietly. He smirked, and then glanced at the Head Table where the professors were sitting. He intently watched a conversation between the Headmaster and the Potions Master, thinking off all that had happened this summer.
As if Severus had felt Draco's gaze on him, he turned and looked at him. Draco gave a short, small smile, before turning to reprimand Crabbe or Goyle about something. After a few minutes of paying attention, he let his gaze and mind wander around the Great Hall. He absently saw Professor Sprout walk up to the Gryffindor quartet and say something to Hermione. He focused on them when he saw Hermione nod and leave the Great Hall. He noticed that the other three were now talking in fervent whispers, no doubt trying to figure out what had just happened.
Draco smirked to himself again before letting him mind wander once more.
Before long, Professor Dumbledore stood up and held up his hands for silence.
"Welcome back, children," he said in a kind but commanding voice, smiling at the students. "I hope that everyone has had an enjoyable vacation. It is with sincere heartache that I am sorry to report that a number of your fellow students will not be returning this year to Hogwarts. It is my firm belief that we cannot let the return of Lord Voldemort (a collective gasp from the students and some of the teachers) disrupt our everyday lives. I hope that each and every one of you will continue to study and educate yourselves, either here at Hogwarts, or at some other school. Education and training are essential to survival in the world, especially now, and it would be a grave misfortune to stop learning. And now, without further hesitation, the first years will be sorted."
He finished, waving his hand towards the side door that was opening. Professor McGonagall walked out, leading the first years into the Great Hall.
Draco absentmindedly paid attention to the Sorting Hat's song, and the actual sorting of the first-years. ::No one of great importance. Although there were two McGonagall's. That is certainly different,:: he said to himself, bored and tired from the long day. After the sorting was complete, Dumbledore once more stood up. After stating his usual welcoming speech about no Forbidden Forest, etc, etc, he waved his hand and the food appeared.
Draco followed the actions of his housemates and started filling his plate with food. Absently, he glanced up at the Head Table, then back down to his plate. He quickly lifted his head once more, and curiously watched as Professor McGonagall, Professor Snape and Headmaster Dumbledore conversed quietly.
Watching intently now, he was surprised when Dumbledore stood up and started walking out of the hall.
::He never leaves before the end of the meal,:: Draco thought, extremely curious now.
He was even more shocked when he saw Professors Snape and McGonagall get up and follow him out of the hall.
::Something is definitely going on. Wonder what's up?:: Draco spent the rest of his dinner eating quietly, not taking part in conversations around him.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Hermione quickly made her way out of the Great Hall and started walking towards the Headmasters office. She was pretty sure she knew what this meeting was about, but she was nervous nonetheless.
In order to calm down, she took deep breaths, forcing herself to relax and enjoy the welcome sight of her surroundings. She loved Hogwarts, and the feeling of security and home that accompanied being in the castle. She waved to figures in pictures here and there, before reaching the hunched over gargoyle that led to the Headmasters office. Saying the password that Professor Sprout had given to her, she entered the office, and sat down in one of the chairs in front of the Headmasters desk.
No one else was in the room, for Dumbledore had to be at the feast, and McGonagall was bringing in the first years. Professor Sprout had said she would be joined as soon as the sorting was over.
Hermione was content to let her gaze wander throughout the extremely interesting office. She got up and made her way to a set of shelves where interesting knick-knacks were laying about. Looking through the set of shelves, as well as the shelves on two other walls, she didn't notice how much time had passed until suddenly the door to the office opened.
Startled, Hermione swung around to find Professor Dumbledore watching her amusedly from the doorway. Smiling sheepishly, she stepped away from where she had been studying an interesting looking journal on one of the shelves.
"Hello Hermione. How are you, my dear?" asked the Headmaster.
"I'm fine, thank you, Professor Dumbledore. May I ask you why I was told to come here?" Hermione asked curiously.
"Of course my dear," he answered with a smile. He stepped fully into the room, making his way over to his desk. As he stepped out of the doorway, Hermione realized that her uncle had been standing behind him.
"Uncle Sev!" she exclaimed, throwing herself at him for a hug. Giggling at his reaction of surprise, she said with a smile, "Hi Uncle Sev. I'm glad to see you. Especially before going to Potions on Monday morning and having to put up with your 'greasy git' attitude."
"Careful, you. Better watch your mouth," Severus answered with a smile, hugging her back. He then cleared his throat, and pulled away from Hermione. "Now then, I'm pretty sure that there is someone here who would like to meet you properly," he said softly.
Hermione slowly stepped away from the door, Severus following, and Hermione caught sight of Professor McGonagall. Hermione looked at her shyly for a second, before Severus spoke up. "Alexial, please meet your grandmother, Winona Griffin."
Winona smiled softly, and then enveloped Hermione in a warm hug. Still holding Hermione in her arms, she leaned down and whispered in her ear, "You always were my favorite, my dear. Now I'm just glad that you know why, and that I am so incredibly proud of everything you have done. I look forward to this year very much, Alexial."
She pulled back slightly, and then leaned in and kissed Hermione's cheek.
"Your grandfather, aunts, uncles and cousins are all looking forward to meeting you so much. It will be wonderful to have the family together once more," she said with a smile.
Hermione smiled back at her grandmother and said softly, "Yes, I would like to meet everyone." After a pause she continued, "It's just so strange to think that a couple of weeks ago I didn't have family. And now here I am with my uncle and my grandmother as my teachers. It's just…a lot to take in, what with everything else that mum and dad have told me."
"And that is completely understandable my dear," Winona said in a kind, sympathetic voice, completely uncharacteristic of the usually stern teacher. "This is probably something that you'll have to get used to. Just remember that your uncle and I will be with you everyday, whenever you need us. And I look forward to helping you train your new powers and getting to know you as a granddaughter as well as a student," she finished with a smile.
"I'd like that a lot," Hermione said, matching her grandmother's smile with one of her own.
"That, along with having you meet your grandmother properly, is why I have called you to this meeting, Alexial. Or would you prefer it if we continued to call you Hermione?" Albus asked, motioning that everyone should sit in the comfortable armchairs in front of the fire.
Sitting down between her two family members, Hermione thought for a second and then replied, "I think I would like it if you called me Alexial when it is just us. I mean, I know you'll be calling me Hermione in front of everyone else, but I got used to my parents and Uncle Sev calling me Alexial this past week. Is that alright?" she asked tentatively.
"Perfectly fine, child. It will be nice to not have to worry about accidentally calling you your real name. That has almost happened once or twice in the past, I'm afraid. Not that you would have answered, but it might have aroused suspicion," Albus replied with the familiar twinkle in his eyes.
Everyone laughed, and Winona and Severus nodded. "I've almost done the same thing a number of times myself, I must admit," said Winona with a smile.
"And me as well. Especially when you were doing something particularly Gryffindorish, or exactly like how your mother would," added Severus, grinning at Hermione.
"Oh ha, ha," said Hermione, laughing at her uncle and playfully pushing his shoulder.
"Now, now, no need for violence," interrupted Albus with a smile. "And I hate to put a stop to Severus smiling (a grunt from Severus at this statement, and a chucklerom Winona), but we do really need to work out Alexial's timetable for this year. Now, I think these are all the classes you are currently taking: Care of Magical Creatures, History of Magic, Transfiguration, Potions, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Arithmancy. Did I leave anything out?"
Hermione thought for a second, reciting her schedule in her head, before answering, "You have everything except for Muggle Studies. Besides that one, that's it."
"That's it?" her uncle asked incredulously. "How can you say 'That's it' with a course load like that? And you still manage to pull off top grades? For Merlin's sake, do you even sleep? Or eat? Or have a life besides studying?"
"I think you are forgetting all the time she has to get into trouble with Harry and Ron, are you not? I believe that constitutes as a social life, as you call it," Winona answered Severus' question with a smile.
"Oh, yes. Can't forget that now, can we? How do you have enough time for all that? Especially getting yourself into mischief and everything?" Severus asked his niece.
"That, Uncle Sev, is my secret, and I'm not telling you, especially after making fun of my friends and I all summer long," Hermione replied, sticking her nose in the air and turning to face her grandmother with an impish grin.
"Why you little…don't make me come over there and tickle you senseless. Remember what happened the last time you provoked me?"
"Alright, alright. I'm sorry! I didn't mean it! Grandmum, don't let him tickle me. Last time he did that, my sides hurt so much that I couldn't move for an hour!" Hermione pleaded.
Laughing, Winona patted her granddaughter on the arm, and turned her glare on Severus.
"Fine then. I'll just have to wait till the holidays, where there are family members who will let me tickle her," Severus replied with a smirk.
Laughing, Albus called order once more. "It is very nice to see you all getting along so well. But we really need to finish this. And if I'm not mistaken, Alexial is quite hungry, as well as tired. Am I right?"
As if on cue, Hermione's stomach started rumbling. Sheepishly, she nodded her head.
Smiling, Albus said, "Ah. I thought as much." With a wave of his hand, a tray of four plates brimming with food appeared on the small table in front of the fireplace. "Seeing as how we missed our dinner as well, I thought it would be better to eat before working out your timetable."
With that, the four dug into the food, talking and joking with one another, and enjoying each other's company. Albus was quieter than the other three, but was watching with a contended smile. He was very glad Hermione and finally found her family, and was thrilled to watch them interact. He especially enjoyed seeing Severus happy and laughing, something he hadn't seen in a very, very long time.
After everyone was stuffed from the delicious food and drink, Albus waved his hand once more. On the table, instead of the food, was now a stack of parchment. Shuffling through them quickly, Albus finally pulled out Hermione's timetable. With a wave of his hand, the rest of the parchments were gone, and a quill and inkpot were now in their place.
"Now, this is your current timetable, without your extra sessions. As of right now, you have most evenings free, and some late afternoons. I think that to start off, you will have one meeting a week with each of us, for an hour each night. How does that sound?" he asked Hermione.
"That's alright. I'm looking forward to these, just as long as I can keep up with my homework and everything," she answered, smiling.
"Of course, of course. Nothing less would be expected," Albus replied and nodded.
He continued after reading through the timetable once more. "So Monday night, after dinner, you will be going up to the Divination tower to meet with Sibyl Trelawney. She will be helping you develop your talents as a Seer (a snort from both Winona and Severus, whom then received a mock glare from Albus).
"Tuesdays before dinner, you will meet with Filius Flitwick in the Charms room to learn advanced Charms, and to develop and control your wand less magic. Wednesdays, an hour before dinner, meet with your grandmother in her office or private rooms, where you will be working on Advanced Transfigurations as well as learning to become an Animagus (gasp of excitement for Hermione). Thursdays, after dinner, you will meet your uncle in the Potions room, his office, or his private quarters. Severus will be helping you with advanced Potion-making, as well as the art of being a spy, you could say. The last bit might come in handy in the future at some point, so learning how to take care of yourself in the world will be invaluable," he continued.
Severus interrupted him to add, "This will include physical conditioning, and learning how to protect yourself without your wand. I will also be instructing you on ways to survive under veritaserum and other truth serums without giving away vital information. This has come in handy a number of times and might be useful to you in the future. There are a number of other, minor things that we will be doing, but that is the gist of it," he finished.
"Wow. I never realized exactly what I would be doing. It all sounds extremely interesting," Hermione said excitedly, her face flushed.
Albus chuckled, and then continued. "It does seem rather adventurous, doesn't it? However, if at any time, it becomes too much, you must come to one of us and let us know. We can't have you tire yourself out before the real work even begins. Understand?"
Hermione nodded, and Albus continued.
"Ok, the last day will be with me. After your last class on Fridays, you will spend two hours with me, since there are a number of odds and ends that we have to work on, but I won't go into that now. Since your Friday afternoon class ends at 1, you can be here at 3, so that you can spend some time with your friends. You will be done before dinner, and for now, the weekends will be free time as well. This all might change in the future, depending on how much time we need, and how well you progress with all of your studies. Now, I know this is a lot of work for you to handle right now, but will this schedule suffice for the time being?" Finally finished, Albus leaned back in his chair and awaited Hermione's answer.
Thinking for a few minutes, calculating how much time will be spent doing what, and how much time would be left over for homework and her friends, Hermione finally nodded. "That should be fine. If there is a problem, though, can we change some things here and there?"
"Of course, my dear," Albus answered with a smile, relieved that she had agreed to his schedule. "Now then, it is a bit late, and I am sure Mr. Potter and Mr. and Ms. Weasley will be dying to know what happened to you and why you were called to the Headmasters office," Albus went on, his eyes twinkling. "I believe that when they ask you why you were asked to come here, if you tell the truth and say you were working on your schedule, they will understand perfectly. If they need more information out of you, just let them know that you are scheduled private tutoring classes with a few of your teachers, in order to prepare yourself for your O.W.L.S., which of course, is also a variation of the truth."
Hermione laughed, and replied, "I think they'll think I am nuts, tease me about it for a while, and then leave it alone since it's what they have done for the past four years. Although when they hear that I'll be working with you, Uncle Sev, they're going to think I went completely bonkers," she continued with a laugh. She then jumped out of her chair and rushed to the other side of Winona's as Severus made to tickle her.
"So funny, my dear niece. Just you wait until this Thursday. Just you wait," he smirked evilly at Hermione, who pretended to cower in fear.
Everyone laughed, before Albus ushered them all out of his office and down the stairs. When they were once more in the hallway outside the Gargoyle, Hermione gave one last quick hug to Severus and Winona, before saying goodnight and making her way to the Gryffindor common room.