Chapter 34: Not a Head Girl
Hogwarts Castle didn't look as if one of the most magically charged battles of the century rolled through it mere months ago. The grounds were orderly and covered fully by green grass. The walls, windows and rooftops appeared completely intact. Only on closer inspection the thicker shimmer of magic over some castle towers and walls, and over some structures and surfaces at a distance, became noticeable.
The Welcoming Feast started promptly at 7pm. The Grand Hall looked stunning. The feast, which happened after the snail-slow Sorting and before the appetite-spoiling announcements, was tasty and plentiful.
The impression that the new school year was going to be quite different than the years before set in during the Sorting, and only strengthened as the evening progressed. To be fair, the previous school year, the year under the Death Eater control, was not that customary either. Most simply chose not to think of that time as a true Hogwarts experience.
The Hat stalled for at least a minute on top of every other young head. The ceremony turned boring for everyone but the immediate wearer of the Hat pretty fast. The Great Hall filled with low hum of conversations as everyone was waiting for the Sorting to end and the meal to start.
'...didn't want to say before but Daphne isn't far from the truth... about the purebloods' options.' Ginny whispered. 'Harry says, purebloods from old families are marked as 'untrustworthy'. Unless they were clearly anti-Voldemort, like my family was or like Sirius Black was...'
Hermione heard that before but dismissed it as a silly fatalistic rumor. Perhaps she was too rush to dismiss it. She very much hoped the new government would bring change and undermine the grip the old traditions and the old families had on all branches of the Ministry. However, such blanket exclusion didn't sit well with her.
Wizengamot members came mainly from the old families. Almost half of the seats were inherited; this meant half the Chamber was controlled by purebloods and half-bloods from the oldest of wizarding families. A third of the seats were elected by the wizarding population. And the remaining fifth of the seats were assigned according to the complicated set of rules, with some assignments being automatic, some deferred to the Minister, and some deferred to the Wizengamot itself. After Voldemort's defeat, all assigned members were replaced; and some self-initiated reshuffling happened among the inherited seats with the less controversial members of the families taking over the representation in the Chamber. Thus, the Chamber's complacency about this new practice against their own ilk, if true, was very puzzling.
'I don't know if alienating a good portion of the wizarding population is the right way to go in the long-term, Gin. What was the point of forcing us into the bloody marriages then?.. I might be biased though, since with the luck I've been having I must be marked the same.'
'Still no luck with the applications? What are you gonna do? Why aren't you letting Harry to at least look into it?'
Hermione shrugged, and shook her head. She didn't want to spoil the evening thinking and talking about that. The Great Hall wasn't the place to discuss stuff like that anyway. Just like it wasn't the place to discuss Daphne's observation... rumor... suspicion... Hermione couldn't figure out which one that was. Ginny didn't look pregnant... Ginny didn't say she was pregnant... Then again, Ginny was annoyed and disappointed by Hermione keeping secrets...
'Oi, just let them go wherever they wish already.' Someone shouted from the middle of Hufflepuff table. 'No one wants to be in Slytherin. Everyone wants to be in Gryffindor. We know! We just wanna eat!'
Everyone cheered when the last of the smaller then usual group of first-years was sorted.
Most of the new students went to Gryffindor. And just two joined Slytherin. The rest split evenly between Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff.
It wasn't just the first-years numbers which were lower and unusually unevenly spread between the houses. The attendance was lower for all houses too, and not proportionally lower either. While Gryffindor and Ravenclaw missed just a few of their students, about a third of Hufflepuffs and two thirds of Slytherins chose to miss the year.
Everyone cheered again when Headmistress kept her first words brief and saved the announcements for dessert.
Students were on their second and third helpings of dessert when Headmistress' voice rose up again signaling the beginning of the last part of the Feast: the welcome words and the year's notices.
Hagrid was reinstated as Care of Magical Creatures Professor. Horace Slughorn stayed on as the Potions Professor and the Head of Slytherin House. Augusta Longbottom joined the staff as the interim DADA professor and a temporary Head of Gryffindor House. The Headmistress was going to continue teaching Transfiguration until the proper replacement was found.
Eighth-years, particularly those who completed seven years of study, were invited to apprentice with the faculty or staff of their choice. Exceptional seventh-years were encouraged to apply for the same.
'..Due to the nature of the damage the castle sustained during the battle, and limited resources to recover from it over the summer, many restorations had to be put on hold. You will notice physical and magical barriers separating unsafe areas from the restored spaces. Intentional interference with those wards and barriers will result in immediate expulsion...'
That explained the heavy shimmers of magic all over the place.
Headmistress droned on and on about places closed to the students, and about the rules for areas with supervised access.
Astronomy tower was off-limits...
Moaning Myrtle's bathroom was off-limits...
Quidditch field available only with Professor's supervision...
Room of Requirements was closed off...
Indeed, the whole sixth floor was closed off...
And fifth...
And seventh...
And most of the fourth...
Some of the more impatient students started to fidget clearly wondering why they needed to know all that if they were going to get the special maps on their way out anyway.
'...Gryffindor tower and Ravenclaw tower are scheduled for the next summer restoration and are strictly off-limits. For the duration of this school year Hufflepuff House will host Ravenclaws, and Slytherin House will host Gryffindors.' Headmistress waited several moments before calling everyone to order. 'I expect the guests and the hosts to behave cordially towards each other.'
That pretty much ended the feast, literally and figuratively.
Hermione mused idly that even Dumbledore hadn't likely ever been brave enough, or desperate enough, to dream up such an arrangement.
Hermione tossed and turned restlessly in her new bed.
Everything was different, and not a good different either.
The bed was smaller.
The room was colder.
The utter blackness of the underwater window was creepy.
The school shrank to the limited number of safe spaces.
For the second time in the past month she thought that Grotto might be a better... and even safer... place to be. She would be sleeping there already despite having her unnerving housemate.
At least the library was not off-limits... Its main section, on the third floor, was not off-limits to be exact. The Restricted section on the fourth floor was available only within certain, supervised, time slots. Preparing for NEWTs was going to be quite a task. Getting an Acceptable, or even an Exceeding Expectations, was possible with just general literature but Outstanding was unlikely.
The library at the Grotto didn't have time slots. Hermione puffed out an exasperated breath. The library at the Grotto wasn't designed for studying for NEWTs. The library at the Grotto with its protective charms would require Bellatrix's assistance to be useful. And the dark witch was never in overly sharing or overly helpful mood.
Hermione shared the room in the Slytherin's dungeons with Ginny, Lavender, Daphne and Astoria, Daphne's sixth-year sister. Daphne wasn't a Prefect but the younger Slytherins deferred to her regarding the living arrangements. The witch was perceptive and efficient; she kept the housemates together where possible, listened to the requests from both houses, and accommodated those to a reasonable degree. Hermione wasn't looking for faults or slights, but Ginny and Lavender were. Neither noticed any, and started to look almost at peace with the situation by the time they all got to their room.
Even though everyone settled down quickly in the girls' dorms, Hermione's night was far from restful.
Twice her room was roused by alarmed second-years informing the older witches about the altercations in the common room.
First time, it was a Great Hall battle replay happening in the middle of Slytherin's common room. Between the shouted insults and explosions of redirected or misfired spells, no one paid the older witches any attention, not until they started to disarm the students.
..Hermione ducked away from the incoming spell, then sent several silent Expelliarmus'es all around. She saw Ginny and Lavender disarming and binding the biggest troublemakers as well. The younger students from both houses were no match for the witches who experienced battling Voldemort's strongest fighters.
'Anyone else wishes to lose a wand?!'
Hermione spotted Blaise peeking from behind the heavy window curtain.
'You are not a Prefect, Granger! Give us the wands back!'
'I'm not. But he is.' She nodded at the only eighth-year Slytherin wizard. 'Or I could send the wands to the Headmistress office to sort out.'
'You are a traitor, Granger!'
'Well, Zabini?'
'Ten- ah… thirty- ah… fifty… fifty points off for brawling!' Blaise glared at Hermione for making him a very unpopular wizard, then sighed and added. 'From each participant.'
That went over brilliantly, especially with Gryffindors who outnumbered Slytherins 3-to-1. Headmistress and the House Heads would wake up to quite a surprise.
They returned the wands to the students and went to bed thinking everyone learned their lesson.
They were roused once more not even an hour later.
'..Are those idiots actually targeting us?!'
Those idiots absolutely did. A spell sailed past Hermione barely grazing her, but a chunk of her hair was gone with it, leaving behind only the smell of the burned hair. Most hexes coming their way were innocent enough. Even those though could turn into quite a hassle to fix if hit though. Hermione was most definitely not interested in being hit.
That would be just perfect if she had to return to the Grotto bloody bold, or spitting slugs, or spotting bunny teeth!
Are you a witch or what, the spawn of Muggles, she could almost hear the flat mocking statement.
'Technically they are targeting you, Granger. Must have hit a nerve.' Blaise slid into their hiding spot behind some columns and couches. 'Taking their wands as you did, and basically singlehandedly too.'
'I cannot believe it!' Hermione muttered 'All I wanted was one peaceful studious school year... Is that so unreasonable?..'
'Wait, that was a trap?' Ginny was about to storm out of their cover, and Hermione yanked her back.
'The guys from both houses wanted to see how long you all would last without the element of surprise.'
'I cannot believe it!' Hermione muttered again. She should have stayed sleeping as Daphne and Lavender had done.
She ducked out to see where everyone was in the dimly lit room.
'Zabini, are you not a Prefect? Do something!' Ginny tried to kick the wizard out in the open without too much luck.
'Oh no, Headmistress said nothing about duels and battles being part of the job description! I'm just filling in because Slytherins have only the newly appointed 5th year Prefects. I have no strong commitment to law and order.'
'We can make a run for it. Let Zabini deal with this.' Ginny suggested then raised her voice. 'Mcgonagall will hear about this! You bloody idiots!'
'Cover your eyes on my mark' Hermione had had enough.
'What?'
'Why?'
'Just do it…Now!'
The blinding light lit momentarily the dim space. Lumos Maxima. While her opponents were blinking the light spots away Hermione was silently casting. Expelliarmus wasn't even a word so much as a thought, a sense, at this point. She caught and dropped the wands into Blaise's lap to collect.
'At least they now work together…' mused Ginny as she too sent the disarming spells out.
Hermione collected the wands from Blaise and headed to the girls dormitory corridor.
They promised to return the wands the next morning; and threatened to send the wands to the Houses Heads instead if anyone disturbed their peace again.
This was all very unfair. Hermione flipped on her back again to stare at the bed canopy. She was too full of energy to fall asleep. And Headmistress expected her bright and early the next morning, for some long discussion.
Hermione sat sleepily in the chair in front of the Headmistress' desk.
She tried really hard not to be resentful about the Head Girl thing, or the Prefect thing, or the library thing, or the dorms, or... There were too many things not to think about.
In short it was hard not to be resentful.
During her very early breakfast every other person felt the need to comment on her lack of the extracurricular roles for the coming year. Then there were Daphne's dry quips, Ginny's sympathetic looks, Luna's misplaced optimism, and especially Susan's enthusiasm about the position which should have been Hermione's!
Hermione was ready to explode and the day hadn't even started properly yet.
So she sat quietly across her former Head of House reminding herself to keep her composure no matter what the old witch said. She would stay composed if Mcgonagall reprimanded her about the last night. She would stay composed if Mcgonagall would give some ridiculous pacifying explanation about her Head Girl decision. She would stay composed even if Mcgonagall asked her to assist Susan with her role!
'What is on your mind, Miss Granger?'
Headmistress set the teapot down, and picked a cookie from the bowl of her desk. Only then Hermione realized she crushed the chocolate frog she picked from the bowl moments ago. She put the lump of chocolate aside.
'Why am I here, Professor? I don't plan to apply for the Transfiguration Apprenticeship. My list of subjects for NEWTs is large and I have no idea what I'm going to do afterwards.'
The old witch just smiled kindly at her speech.
'Understandable. Regretfully, I'm not taking on formal Apprentices. Susan will be assisting me with certain tasks, but it won't be anything close to a proper apprenticeship.'
Hermione pressed her lips together not to scream. Susan. Again. She never thought of her classmate as a competition and now it seemed the witch was everywhere Hermione was ought to be. Was it because Susan was from an old wizarding family. Not a pureblood, and not the Sacred 28, but still part of the old and the established. Or was it because of Hermione... because Hermione attached herself to a Death Eater, the least trustworthy of the society, as Kingsley put not so long ago.
'What do you say?'
'Good for Susan, ma'am! May I go?'
Hermione rose abruptly.
'May I ask what are your reservations about the role?'
Hermione blinked at her Head of House. Former Head, she reminded herself. This was another wrong thing with the coming year. Augusta Longbottom was her Head of House; a witch who without a doubt had plenty of own grievances towards Bellatrix and by association, towards Hermione.
'Susan having it is pretty self-explanatory, Professor.'
The old witch pursed her lips as if hiding a grin.
Hermione frowned.
'Miss Granger, do pay attention. We are discussing a role I want you to take, not the one already assigned.' Headmistress sighed but clarified. 'The Hogwarts' Liaison to the Ministry.'
Hermione slowly sat back down. She had no idea what Mcgonagall was going on about. She never even heard of such a position on Hogwarts staff before. However, the name of the role was intriguing all on its own.
'What of Susan?' Hermione realized how inane she sounded a moment too late.
'What of her?' The old witch pursed her lips as if hiding a grin once more, and there was a definite twinkle in her eyes. 'Do you think she is better suited?'
'No!' Hermione heart thundered. She was finally getting a break and she was behaving like an idiot. 'No. I... What does the role mean exactly?'
'The role is to coordinate Hogwarts rebuild. The Liaison would work closely with me, with Hogwarts staff, with the Minister's finance person and with the specialized teams responsible for the actual rebuilding tasks.'
'Are there any funds? I thought the Restoration Act debates were pushed off the Wizengamot docket once again…'
'Kingsley assures me that some sort of deal was worked out. High time I say!'
'Oh… that is good… but… well... the Ministry and I...'
Headmistress pursed her lips.
'The Ministry has no say over my decisions. And will have even shakier ground when students start writing to their parents… or when parents come over for visits and games. You'd be the last of their concerns.'
This was not what Hermione expected to hear when she went to Headmistress' office.
'What do you say, Miss Granger? It is not a magically intense role… though I'd say it's on par with many Ministry positions available to young people.'
This was so much better than a Prefect!
'The role comes with some compensation. It would normally be handled by my deputy, if I had one, or by a teacher, as an extra duty. I'd rather have the limited staff I do have focus on teaching and keeping the school in order... as long as I find a qualified person for the task.'
Better than a Head Girl too!
'Hagrid has several less straightforward requests regarding the war impact on the creatures of the Forest. I am inclined to support him in it. For instance, Tom's presence and activities contaminated areas of the forest. Before contamination turns to corruption, and corruption spits some unusual horrors out, so close to the school, it needs to be addressed. Centaurs, with proper incentives, would return to the forest and heal the land. Or, acromantulas, their activities during the Final battle landed them under the Ministry's magnifying glass, and Hagrid hopes some compassion towards the creatures could be negotiated. These requests need someone interested and willing to advocate for different beings, and to deal with Department of Magical Creature Regulation.'
And most definitely better than two dozen Ministry roles Hermione applied to and was rejected from within the last month.
To her absolute mortification, Hermione found herself crying.
She was crying not like someone deeply touched by the trust and the opportunity either. There was no dignified watering of the eyes and the subtle brushing away of the escaped tears. Not at all. She was crying like someone who was hurt too deeply, and who tried to stay strong for too long. She was sobbing in her hands. And then she was sobbing into the Headmistress' shoulder. And she was unable to stop.
'Oh Hermione… It is not a good game they are playing… whoever they are.'
Hermione agreed wholeheartedly, and cried harder for it, and attempted to apologize for her irrational reaction to such wonderful opportunity, between the loud hiccups and the stuffy-nose snorts.
When Hermione stayed quiet and sob-free for sometime, Headmistress made a strategic mistake of asking if everything was alright. Hermione confirmed and burst back into tears.
Everything and alright were truly very relative terms. She was alive and healthy and mostly safe, so she was alright. Yet her future looked like an endless line of Ministry hoops she'd have to jump through. So she wasn't really alright, was she? Bellatrix, her personal nightmare, was better behaved than Hermione ever hoped. But the witch was becoming more animated, and restless. She was getting better. Was she returning to the last-spring type of better? Could Hermione remain alright if that was so?
Hermione couldn't explain herself as she kept sobbing.
Everything that came to mind sounded like whining. Majority of the previously single wizarding population was in a similar boat. And Bellatrix situation was of her own doing. She had no right to complain... Bellatrix didn't even do anything complaint worthy yet.
Her nose was so stuffed, and her breathing so distraught, and her head pounded so much, she couldn't formulate and squeeze out any complaint anyway.
So much for staying composed...
Eventually, Hermione collected herself and confirmed her acceptance of the role. It promised more than most junior Ministry positions she applied for. More responsibility, more visibility, more opportunities to influence change, if only just for Hogwarts and Hogwarts related things.
Headmistress passed her a thick binder of papers, added three weekly meeting slots to her schedule, two with herself and Hogwarts staff and one at the Ministry with a 'restoration contact', and gave her the list of school staff to approach for more information about restoration progress and needs.
Hermione's first Ministry meeting was in two days.
End of Chapter 34
