'Use your wand!' Snapped the older witch once again. Hermione quickly brought up her right hand, casting a second spell through it. Her magic was sluggish with exhaustion and the jinx had almost flickered out by the time it blinked pathetically against Frau Hassel's shielding charm. A stinging jinx that she'd missed with her own shield sparked against her leg and her knee buckled, sending her sprawling across the floor. She let herself lie there, exhausted. The sooner she stood, the sooner she would have to cast more spells. That pit inside of her had never felt so empty, the fire of her magic felt dim and distant and she could barely remember which hand held the wand and which didn't. In fact, she could barely remember where her arms were. She'd stopped feeling them hours ago.

'Up.' Frau Hassel ordered sharply. Hermione debated with herself whether it would be worth it to just ignore her.

'Yow!' She shot to her feet, hopping sideways as the damp ground hissed with steam.

'I said up.'

Frau Hassel looked soft, with a short build and rounded frame. Hermione had never taken her to be much of a dueller, let alone the brutal taskmaster she became during their lessons every Tuesday. Hermione hated Tuesdays... and Mondays with Anneken... and every other day that she spent with Lady Grindelwald. She wished she had declined Sun, that she had allowed Alice to keep her spot.

'Your magic needs time to regenerate. Drink up.' She was passed two potions, one a stormy purple and the other thick and forget-me-not blue. One, apparently would help her magic regenerate quicker and the other contained the exact mix of vitamins and minerals to keep her healthy despite the exercise. Both tasted vile and she was very glad to not have seen the ingredient list. The only thing worse than something tasting like slug entrails was knowing that it was actually slug entrails.

'Now, meditate.' Frau Hassel instructed. Hermione gratefully dropped to a sitting position on dirt that seemed awfully soft and comfortable and delved into the dim cavern that was her magic. Empty, empty but shimmering with the purple glow of the potion. The idea of the exercise was to grasp as much magic as possible and direct it from her core to her wand as quickly as possible. Apparently, the more familiar both her new wand and her magic were with the path and the connection, the faster she would be able to cast spells.

The wand was a cool and calming counter to the fire of her magic but that made it no less curious about performing magic than she was. Her magic tended to be less showy and much, much more powerful when channeled through the wand, like it was a focus for her power. It was happy to go along with her non-structured spell casting, but it really didn't like vague directions and tended to backfire spectacularly unless she focused clearly on what she wanted.

Unlike Gellert, she had fallen in love with her wand immediately upon receiving it and it had fallen in love with her, puffing happy smoke when they had returned to the shop. It was long and slender, never thicker than her finger and inky black with rippling ridges treating a grip up to about a third of the length. It was vine apparently, although one would hardly have placed it with the colour of the wood, which was apparently a side effect of the colour action of the particular dragon breed whose heartstrings were inside - Nidhoggs, the only non-Asian serpent dragon breed, had a black colourant in their blood (according to the library, it was an evolutionary trait that made them harder to track if they were bleeding).

Gregorovitch had winked meaningfully and informed her that Nidhogg were notoriously long lived, and that her wand should last for centuries if properly cared for. Lady Grindelwald had huffed but seemed pleased enough none the less.

Now, it was that connection that was her saving grace. Her wand was so good at channelling power from her core into the world, that it allowed Hermione to almost completely disregard that part of the process.

So she spiralled down to where she had found that thing, the other... Since she had first found it during the ritual, she had danced nearby several times. It stirred occasionally, clearly not her own magic, but connected to her. It was like performing magic with Gellert - familiar but still a seperate entity, carried with her - inside her.

Again, that other stirred. Immense and powerful, she lingered for a moment and the other magic seemed to watch her in return. She was certain that this wasn't normal, that she had something possessing her. Her mind jumped to images of demonic possessions and priests performing agonising exorcisms and shuddered, pushing the other down and away. If she ignored it, perhaps it would go dormant again and she wouldn't have to worry about it.

It refused to go to sleep; it seemed that this time she had managed to truly awaken it. Like a floodgate, the barrier between her and the other dissolved and magic flooded in. It was like a howling wind, grey and swirling yet attuned to her fire. It whipped up the glowing coals, sparked life back into her magic and stoked the flames back up to a roar. Suddenly buzzing which energy, she opened her eyes again to see Frau Hassel looking at her with raised eyebrows.

Hermione's grin dropped. Powerful as this being might be, it was still a possession and she shouldn't encourage it.

'Sorry, Frau.' She said meekly.

'I think I should fetch Lady Grindelwald. This is an issue best discussed with your matriarch.' The older witch flicked her wand and a silvery animal bounded away over the lawn. A moment later, Lady Grindelwald popped up beside them, an elf gripping her hand tightly. Frau Hassel stood smoothly.

'I'll take some tea.' She suggested, taking the elf's hand and popping away, leaving the two Grindelwald women alone.

Lady Grindelwald sat opposite Hermione, arranging her skirts perfectly before finally looking up to meet the eyes of her ward.

'Did you know, Hermione, that it is often believed that new bloods are actually the descendants of squibs?'

'No.' Hermione said, mystified. 'What's a squib?'

'Someone born to a magical family that doesn't have magic.'

'Oh.' Hermione said. 'So I'm descended from a squib?'

'Certainly, even if most aren't. Come, touch my hands. I want you to follow my lead.'

The two women touched gently and Hermione quickly delved into her magic, then looked towards Lady Grindelwald. Her matriarch was becoming familiar to her now, and she quickly located her icy presence. Her matriarch guided her towards a certain area, deep and cold where Hermione had never been before. It was here that she felt something else, as ancient and powerful as the being that lived inside of her. This one was shockingly sharp, like electricity and it gave her a healthy jolt as she came too close.

It shocked her back to reality and she opened her eyes to find the sunny world startlingly bright after the depths of her Matriarch's magic.

'What is it?' Hermione asked when the older witch's eyes opened.

'That is family magic - it connects to all of us in an ancient family, and it is what sets us apart from the newer families. There are many of us who believe it is the residual power of generations of magical ancestors, others believe it is some kind of supernatural sponsor. I am inclined to believe the former.'

'So that's Grindelwald magic?' Hermione asked, relieved. If it was something special and common, that was much better than the demon possession she'd started to suspect.

'No. Yours is not. Family magic may be present in all family members, but it is not accessible by any but the family head. For Gellert, I can tell that he is alive and well through the magic but until I pass, he will not be able to control it. You will not be able to control the Grindelwald magic until he passes.'

'You said I'm descended from a squib?' Hermione asked suddenly, realisation dawning suddenly. Lady Grindelwald smiled.

'Well done Hermione. Your magic is that of another family, one that has had no magic for generations.'

'Which?' She murmured, in awe.

'That, I don't know.'

Disappointment dampened her amazement but then something else occurred to her.

'Does that mean the Grindelwald ritual didn't work?'

To her surprise, Lady Grindelwald barked a harsh, unladylike laugh.

'Gellert asked me exactly the same question. I told him that you can be of more than one family; your birth family, your ward family and your marriage family. Gellert is a member of almost all the coven families, although Grindelwald has by far the strongest claim on him.'

'Am I meant to use it? That family magic?' She asked curiously. She'd never seen Lady Grindelwald wielding her family magic, but that didn't mean that she didn't. Hermione doubted she saw even half of the powerful magic her Matriarch performed.

'It will answer your call if you need it, but it will jump to provide in certain situations. The Grindelwald magic finds combat exciting, and will leap to provide for me then. It also takes interest in dark magic, which is perhaps why so many of our family have fallen to its temptations though history. Yours seemed to take interest in the ritual.'

'What else?' She demanded, reaching for the other magic within her, already imagining all the different things she could do with it.

'I don't know. I suggested to Gellert that perhaps Samhain might be the time to find out. If you attend, it will be your ancestors who answer.'

Hermione grimaced. Samhain was one of the two days she hadn't appeared at Blau Berg last year and she had a strong suspicion that had been because she had only made it to bed in the small hours of the morning. The other day had been New Years.

Already, the idea was running through her mind - she could easily pretend to be sick, with her immaculate record her teachers certainly wouldn't question anything. Her parents on the other hand... her mother read medical journals for pleasure and would be significantly harder to dupe. Not to mention the reputation dam age that it would cause if she missed such a big party.

An idea occurred to her - one that was brilliant enough to excuse missing the party and perhaps it would even be a popularity boost among her minions in the process. She would have to go to the library when she next got a couple of minutes.