Title: Artificium Magum
Author: Calliopeia17
Summary: The Slytherins are trying to murder Harry, Hermione has a Magical Theory book that holds all the answers – if she knows where to look, and Snape seems to be putting himself in more and more danger – for what? There's a plot to make Harry immortal, the trials of being Head Girl, and Hermione hates Snape…doesn't she? A novel-length 7th year SS+HG fic.
Rating: Will eventually be R
Pairing: Snape/Hermione
Warnings: Pre-fic character death. Sorry, Draco fans. I don't want to scare anyone away with that, but though this is not yet AU, I'm pretty sure it will be as soon as HBP comes out. There will eventually be teacher/student relationships, obviously non-canon ones, and some violence.
Reviews: Please! Feedback is good!
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. That honor belongs to JKR and Warner Bros.
A/N: Sorry for the downtime in my updating. Midterms, you know- but in a week it'll be spring break, and I will have plenty of time to write. Thanks to beautifulrain for the beta.
Hermione managed to catch up with Harry after Herbology later that afternoon, though it had taken considerable effort to find him. Somehow he was attempting to fit Quidditch practice in between the end of classes and the DA meeting, and Hermione had to corner him out by the pitch to get a word in.
"Harry, I got the message on the Galleon," she said by way of introduction.
He grinned. "Glad to know it worked," he said, "though since it came up on Ron's, I reckoned it would on everyone's."
"That's not my point, Harry," she said hurriedly. "Did you talk to Tonks about it before you decided to restart?"
"Yeah, for nearly an hour," Harry replied. Hermione looked at him expectantly. "We're going to keep it a secret," he said. "If Tonks sponsors it, it has to be open to everyone, and that'd defeat the purpose, wouldn't it? I thought we could have everyone talk about it tonight—we have to let more people in, you know; a good bit of the original group's left school by now. I was actually going to ask you—would you enchant another parchment? Not that I'm hoping to deal with another Marietta Edgecombe, but better to be safe than sorry."
"I'd be glad to," Hermione said, grinning. This was the old Harry, the one who came out only rarely now, but oh, how she loved it when he did. "But Harry," she added, "I think this time we should really warn people what they're signing."
"They'll probably figure it out, Hermione," Harry grinned. "Most of them saw Marietta last time."
She laughed. She couldn't help it, really. Hermione's emotions on that particular incident were somewhat mixed, but she couldn't help feeling as though Marietta had gotten exactly what she deserved.
"I've got to go now," Harry continued, "'cause we're planning tryouts for the new season."
"Have fun," Hermione replied. "I'll see you at six."
She jogged off the pitch and back to the Gryffindor dormitory, where she had several sheaves of thick parchment that held charms nicely. It was a fairly simple matter to replicate the spell she had used on the original DA roster—not that the spell wasn't complicated, but now that she'd already done it once, it didn't take more than thirty minutes to layer the hexes—one to bind the signature to the parchment, one to bind the signature to its owner, and one to reflect the SNEAK hex back on the owner of the signature if someone betrayed the group.
That part was the trickiest, because Hermione had to modify the criteria of betrayal since Umbridge was no longer the issue. Then, almost as an afterthought, she added telling Voldemort or a Death Eater about the DA as a possible criterion of betrayal, something she hadn't thought of before. That was a rather frightening thought, actually.
Lavender and Parvati came into the room just as Hermione was finishing. They offered quick greetings, then, noticing that Hermione had her wand out, looked closer.
"What are you working on?" Parvati finally asked.
"A new roster for the DA," Hermione responded. "Are you two coming to the meeting?"
"Yeah," Lavender replied, popping her gum. "It's terrifying though, isn't it? I mean, we aren't learning this to pass OWLs anymore, you know? It's to fight."
Hermione nodded, and looked appraisingly back at her. "Now that I think about it, maybe I ought to make the roster jinx a bit stronger."
"Oh, no one's going to betray us this time around, I don't think," Parvati said. "They all saw what happened to that Edgecombe cow."
Lavender snickered. "That was a brilliant jinx—make this one even better, ok?"
"Will do," Hermione affirmed, with a complicated wand motion that sealed the spell into the paper. "It's all done. I'm going to go to the library and read for a bit, all right? I'll see you two this evening."
"Sure," said Parvati. Hermione gathered her books together, sliding the Artificium Magum into her satchel.
As she was leaving, Lavender called out, "Hermione!"
Hermione turned.
"Thanks for doing this. And congratulations on being Head Girl, since I didn't tell you before. You deserve it."
Hermione smiled. "Thanks, Lavender."
What was it, Hermione wondered as she left Gryffindor Tower, that had brought her two roommates closer to her in the past year. She'd spent at least the first half of her years at Hogwarts bickering with Lavender and Parvati—Hermione accusing them of being boy-crazy, of paying far too much heed to Trelawney's nonsense; the two other girls calling Hermione an anti-social bookworm. And yet they'd come to some sort of acceptance of one another. It had come with the war, Hermione realized, and the understanding that they were on the same side. Was it, then, the nature of war to bring people together? The nature of hardship, anyway, Hermione decided. She'd read that in books before, in the great epics of literature, and even in the ridiculous romance novels she'd borrowed from her aunt one summer when she'd run out of other books. In the poorly-written, flowery paperback, the hero and heroine fell in love after being trapped together in an impossible situation, forced to work together to find a way out. A common enough theme, it seemed.
Hermione shot a smile at Madame Pince as she entered the library. It was custom by now, and it had paid off—the stern-faced librarian was so fond of Hermione that she'd even let her into the Restricted Section without permission by her sixth year.
Dumping her satchel on one of the tables in a corner, Hermione pulled out a chair and opened the Artificium Magum. She was hoping to find something that might help with the potions Snape wanted her to brew. A Translation Potion that maintains its integrity when exposed to Aether, he had said. She flipped through the large pages until she came to a likely segment.
The Symbols involved with Speech, Translation, and Writing are generally very complicated, as they tend to involve Words themselves rather than materials that may be brewed into a Potion or used in a Spell. Words are, by their very nature, Symbolic, representing the concept of their definition, and by that token, finding Symbols to represent other Symbols becomes a very trying task.
One of the most potent Symbols of Language, for example, is the Hebrew Biblical Myth of the Tower of Babel. According to this Myth, the Men of Earth planned to build a tower to heaven, in pride and disrespect for God. Genesis 11 reads, 'And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the sons of men had built. And the Lord said, "Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is only the beginning of what they will do; and nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let us go down, and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another's speech."' The Tower represents the Wealth of Language that covers the World, yet it is impossible to put a Mythical Tower into a potion. Using Symbols to represent the Words of this story, therefore, requires using a Symbol to represent a Symbol—always a dangerous endeavor. For example, one might use Mortar as a Spell ingredient to represent the Myth, but it would be uncertain that the Magical Energy would recognize both Symbols—the Symbol of the Symbol—and could result in the malfunctioning of the Spell.
Hermione sighed. It didn't look like this was going to be an easy task. She looked up at the large wall clock and saw that it was already half past five. She packed up her books and decided to head to the Room of Requirement early—after all, Harry would be there setting up.
By the time she'd managed to get in, Harry and Ron were already there, and Hermione handed Harry the enchanted parchment.
"Thank you," he said absently, taking it from her and putting it on the small table that had appeared by the door. "Could you help Ron pull those cushions into a circle?"
"Sure," Hermione replied, doing so. The room was quickly in order, and the three of them took seats facing the door.
"Are you ready for this, Harry?" Hermione asked.
"Yeah," he said, though he looked slightly edgy. "I'm just planning on discussing what we want to do with the group anyway, this time. You know, if we want to open it up to anyone, or just keep the people who are already in it. I sort of think we should let in a few people from the younger years—I mean, we were fighting Death Eaters when we were fifteen—but then, that's not exactly what Dumbledore is striving for in his 'keep the students safe' campaign."
"Good point, mate," Ron replied consideringly. "And you have to think about the fact that the people who have already had lessons from you are going to be miles ahead of the people who haven't. You don't want to spend half the bloody year catching up the new ones."
"We'll see," Harry replied, as the door opened and the first group of students poured in. Colin Creevey was first, though his brother Dennis was nowhere to be seen. Ginny was next, followed by Luna Lovegood, Lavender Brown, and the Patil twins. Seamus and Dean stepped in right after them, closely followed by Neville. The Hufflepuffs were next—Hannah Abbott and Susan Bones, and Justin Finch-Fletchley, Ernie Macmillan, and Zacharias Smith. The Ravenclaw group was missing Michael Corner, but Terry Boot and Anthony Goldstein came—and, as Hermione went over the list of names in her head, that was all of the remaining original members. It was something of a shock, actually, to see so few faces.
"Is this everyone?" Ron asked in a low voice, and Harry nodded.
"Hi, everyone. Thanks for coming," Harry began awkwardly. "I know you're all busy and all that, but I wanted to talk to you about restarting the DA. I know it doesn't have to really be a secret anymore, since Umbridge is gone, and we'll talk about that later, but, well, there's a war on now, and I think Dumbledore would want us to be able to protect ourselves."
"We have a decent Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher now, though," Padma Patil pointed out.
"Yeah, I know. It was Professor Tonks who talked to me about getting the group started again. She said it would be a good idea to have a group of students who were loyal to Dumbledore and to the light who had extra training, though," Harry replied.
Ernie Macmillan raised his hand.
"Yeah?" Harry asked, nodding at him.
"I have a very serious question about this, then. Are we being trained as some sort of militia, in case You-Know-Who attacks the school?" he asked rather pompously.
"Well," replied Harry consideringly, "I wouldn't quite put it like that. I won't deny that, personally, I would like to see a group of students able to help out if Voldemort were to attack—but I'm not sure how much help a bunch of students, even with extra training would be. Certainly not a militia—but a part of the defense if there needs to be one. If that makes sense."
Ernie nodded.
"Anyway," Harry continued, "we have a lot to talk about—particularly what we want to do with the group over the next year. Professor Tonks suggested that we not simply make it open to anyone—and I agree that there at least needs to be an age limit—but we need to think about other things, too. Can we let Slytherins in? And do any of you have friends who didn't join last time who might want to now? I want to hear what everyone has to say on this."
"But before we start," Hermione interrupted smoothly, "could you all please sign the roster? If you don't want to, you can leave now, but if you want to stay, we need to put in a safeguard against betraying the group."
"Is this parchment jinxed like the last one?" Justin Finch-Fletchley asked seriously.
"Yes," Hermione replied simply. "And the jinx will manifest not just if you betray us to a teacher, but to Voldemort."
There was a gasp. "You seriously think that anyone in here might be helping You-Know-Who?" Zacharias Smith said angrily.
"Wizards from every House have turned to the dark, and some of them have been unlikelier candidates than any of us," Neville replied simply, surprising Hermione. The outraged murmur fell silent at that.
"Gryffindor Death Eaters?" asked Lavender, slightly imperiously. "I find that hard to believe."
"Believe it," Harry said shortly. "One of them is the reason my parents are dead."
There was a silence. "Anyway," Hermione continued, "I'm passing around the parchment before this discussion goes any further."
Somehow, almost miraculously, there were no complaints about signing. Everyone simply took the parchment, signed their names, and passed it on, though a sense of import weighed on everyone involved. Ernie Macmillan's comment about forming a militia had honestly affected them, Hermione thought. When it came her turn, she signed her name with a flourish. Harry signed last, then handed the parchment to Hermione.
"Would you keep this for us, Hermione?"
She nodded, and Parvati grinned. "You should make her secretary," Parvati declared, and Harry looked at her consideringly.
"That's not a bad idea," he admitted, "but just to actually take notes. I don't think we should have officers, as though this were Charms Club—I just want to teach you all what I know, so you can protect yourself."
"I'd be glad to take notes," Hermione agreed, "but I don't want to be in charge of everything—being Head Girl's more than enough." She didn't really mean that—to be honest, she'd as soon have as much authority as possible—but it seemed politic to put forward the appearance that she wasn't just after power.
"Now," Harry continued, "we need to decide what we're going to do about letting other people in."
"Why don't we just invite our friends that we trust?" Terry Boot said practically. "I mean, I know Mandy Brocklehurst from out House would want to join, and I'm sure there are a few younger years."
"Speaking of younger years," Ginny interrupted, "I think there should be an age limit. I know I was the first one to want to be let in as a fourth-year when Harry first started this, and I've spent my entire life having my brothers tell me I'm too young to do things." She smiled slightly in Ron's direction at that. "But like we've already said, this time we're not working to pass our OWLs, you know? Definitely no one younger than fourth-years, anyway."
"What if we only let in fifth-years or older, unless, well, unless they really deserve it?" Susan Bones asked. "I mean, if we had a fourth-year who knew as much as Harry did at that age, it would be all right to let them in…"
Colin Creevey raised his hand tentatively. "I told my brother not to come to this meeting because I thought he'd be too young," he said. "He's a fourth year, and I know you let him come to some of the meetings last time—but I don't think he'd ever actually be able to fight. And, to be honest, he just doesn't have the experience. He'd hold the rest of the group back."
"What about the Slytherins?" Anthony Goldstein asked.
"What about them?" Seamus replied snidely.
Goldstein glared at him. "I know you Gryffindors don't get along with them—but there are some really bright Slytherins."
"Who would listen to Harry and take lessons from him?" Seamus asked skeptically.
"It'd be worth a try," Goldstein argued. "Daphne Greengrass, anyway, if no one else. I went out with her for a few months last year, and she's really smart—and she didn't like Draco Malfoy's politics."
"I don't think she has Death Eater parents," Ginny pointed out, "but most of the others do. I think letting in people whose parents support Voldemort is probably a pretty stupid idea."
"I didn't say that," Goldstein grumbled.
"You can't always blame people for what their parents did, though," Hannah Abbott pointed out. "I mean, I don't think Theodore Nott supports You-Know-Who, but I heard his parents did."
"Nott's father is a Death Eater," Harry said absently.
"Nott hates Harry," Luna Lovegood said, speaking up for the first time.
"What?" Hermione asked, staring at the younger girl—it certainly wasn't the first absurd proclamation Luna had ever made, and Hermione had to admit that the Ravenclaw and her Crumple-Horned Snorkacks grated on her nerves. "How on earth would you know that?"
"He stares at Harry all the time," Luna said dreamily, "but not like boys do when they have a crush on someone. He glares, and his face goes all wary. It's like the Frumious Bandersnatch…"
Everyone stared for a moment. "Right then," Hermione said finally, putting Luna's ridiculous declaration from her mind. "Why don't we have Anthony invite Daphne—but tell her she has to sign the parchment before you'll tell her anything. If she doesn't want to, fine, but if she does, then we can ask her about any other Slytherins that want to join."
"It's like what the Sorting Hat said," Neville pointed out, a small smile on his face. "We really do all have to work together."
Harry actually smiled at that. "Yeah, it is," he agreed. "Now, when's the next time it's good for all of you to meet?"
Was the meeting over already? Hermione looked at the clock, which read—eight o'clock? She cursed inwardly and jumped to her feet.
"I'm late for a meeting, you guys; I really, really have to go. I'll talk to you all soon."
And with that, and to a litany of internal panic, she slung her bag over her shoulder and practically sprinted from the room.
Notes to reviewers:
Fiona McKinnon: Thanks! I do miss writing Draco sometimes, but there's a reason he's gone. Aside from plot purposes, he's a very hard character to write, you know? Complicated in one sense, and at the same time, very simple. It's interesting.
Jessica Deal: Thanks for reviewing. More is on the way.
Dafina: Thank you so much for reading, and for your lovely reviews. The romance is going to be getting underway within the next two or three chapters - depends on how the sections break up - but it's going to be very subtle at first, I think. They just have to get to a point where they realize they don't hate each other.
Magic and sparkle: Thanks! Haha, I love writing them both when they're angry- it's always fun to have characters with tempers. Thanks for reading still!
Mlle Saltwater: Thanks so much! I love that line too; it seemed very Snape-like to me. Keep reading; I hope you enjoy!