THIRTEEN

Hermione spent the day embroiled in research. Though most of it was focused on the supernatural creatures native to the area so that she might figure out what that was last night, she could not ignore the true purpose of her trip.

Referencing the locations from Minerva's notes, Hermione dutifully marked off any areas that had already been searched. If her own excavations turned up nothing, then she would circle back to those older sites in case anything had been missed—not that she'd ever mention to her beloved predecessor that she just might be questioning how thorough the elder witch had been.

Now, as she turned her attention back to the books Oksana had dumped in front of her, it was only the smell of food cooking that made Hermione realize how much of the day had already been swallowed up with her work. The sky had already darkened a bit and Hermione tried not to feel as though she'd wasted a day—after all, how could a day spent with books and knowledge be wasted?

As her host set dinner on the table, careful not to put the food too near any of the books, Hermione finally found something.

Pulling the book into her lap—she didn't want to alarm Oksana by telling her what had happened last night, well, that and she wasn't certain she'd be able to speak on it at all without a furious and telling blush blooming in her cheeks—Hermione ate absently as she read. There had been so many interesting and unique creatures in these books. A type of water sprite thought to be the unclean spirits of those who'd died by suicide, amongst other generally frowned upon manners of death. The origin of the Veela was here, though the spelling was different—Vila—but the creatures were just as lovely and hypnotic, and just as terrifying when angered, as their modern-day descendants scattered about the globe. Domovoy, spirits of the house …. Oksana had explained that she she did not have any such spirit here, because she hadn't made the proper offering to attract one's attention. That was all right, she'd said, as they tended to like tidy spaces, causing mischief when things were out of place, and Oksana wasn't exactly the best housekeeper.

There was of course Baba Yaga, a forest-mother figure with quite a lengthy history of being vilified for both her powerful magics and her continuous lack of need for a male counterpart.

But it was this latest entry before her that truly snagged Hermione's attention.

Upir …