Hermione did not even know where to begin. There were so many books sitting beore her that she felt almost overwhelmed. She had not been so lost in a library since she had first come to Hogwarts. There she had had to struggle with the knowledge that everything that she had once thought to be mere fiction was very much real, but now she was in completely uncharted territory. She had no idea what the world at large was like, outside of the bare basics. She knew of the Monastery, and the Three powers that existed on the continent, but very little about the world itself.

"Hey Lindhart?"

He blinked up at her. He had been staring absentmindedly at her for the past several minutes. Hermione wondered what was running through his mind.

"What is the Empire like?"

He yawned. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, I want to know."

He waved his hand at a specific volume on the table. "Everything you need to know is in there." He said. Hermione frowned. She had been hoping for a more thorough explanation. She had just realized that it would be very difficult to piece together the history of an entire continent when she had no idea what year it was.

"Yo hoo!"

Hermione jumped. A book clattered at her foot as she glanced upward to see the tall, busty girl from earlier walking towards them, a tray of food in hand.. A strange hat lay on the side of her head, but she was smiling more widely than anyone she had seen at the Monastery so far.

"The Professor asked me to bring you food." She explained, as she set the tray down on the table. "We're not usually allowed to eat in the library, but the Professor understands that you're not willing to leave just yet."

"Wow." Hermione said, impressed, and very grateful. "Thank you!" She paused. "Your name is… Dorothea, isn't it?"

"That's right." Dorothea said, looking very pleased. "You remembered!"

"How could I not?" Hermione answered, recalling the conversation in the dining hall. "You stuck out."

Dorothea giggled as she set the tray down on the table. Hermione hurriedly reached upward and moved the books to the side. She was quick to notice there was enough for two. "Did I?" Dorothea asked, laughing a little, as she moved to sit down. "Well, I suppose… I was very worried."

"Worried?" Hermione repeated, a little befuddled. Dorothea was staring at her rather intently. She giggled.

"I've never seen Edelgard look at me like that." She confessed. "I think I would have known you weren't her just by looking at you. You carry yourself differently."

"I see." Hermione said, a little warily. "Were you close to Edelgard then?"

"Well, as close as anyone CAN be to Edelgard." Dorothea said. "She's very shy, she's not very forward with what she's feeling and her position makes her… ah, reluctant to associate with anyone beneath her station. And since she's the Imperial Princess…"

Hermione felt an unpleasant welsh wall up in her stomach. She suddenly saw the image of Draco Malfoy in her mind's eye.

"She's not a stuck up snob, is she?" Hermione asked anxiously. She barely had time to worry whether or not this was offensive before Dorothea burst into giggles.

"Stuck up?" Dorothea repeated. "Well… a little bit. But she's really not a bad person at all. I daresay she treats me very well. And I'm a commoner, so it's not required for her to even speak to me."

"A commoner?" Hermione repeated, surprised.

"Oh yes." Dorothea said. "I'm the only commoner in the Black Eagle House." She sounded incredibly proud of the fact. "Everyone else here are from Imperial Noble Families, but not me. I'm here of my own merit." She traced a finger along her neck, smiling. But Hermione could not help but feel that the smile did not quite reach her eyes.

"So this school isn't open to the public?" Hermione inquired. She had been wondering about this ever since she had learned that Edelgard was an Imperial Princess.

"Well, you have to pay a lofty fee to the Church." Dorothea said. "And you need to have the necessary qualifications… But this is the premier academy for Knights on the continent. Students from all three powers go."

"The Adrestian Empire, the Kingdom of Faerghus, and the Leicester Alliance."

Dorothea gave her a surprised look, before giving a knowing glance to the books sitting to her side. "Well, you've certainly been working hard." She chirped. "The professor warned us that you knew nothing about the world, butit seems you're catching up. I'd say a month or so and you'll be able to get by just fine."

"I'm not so sure." Hermione answered. "Do I even have a month?" She had feared that the Emperor of Adrestia, Edelgard's father, would come bursting in the monastery demanding her back. The thought was not very appealing to her.

"Well, when do you think you'll be sent back?" Dorothea asked anxiously. "I mean… are they working on it now, do you think?"

Hermione sighed. "I'm here because of a freak accident." She said gloomily. "If it had been an easy fix, I would have been sent back by now. I suspect my Teachers are going to have invent new magic to get me back." She had heard of how most magical discoveries had traditionally been made to undo accidents like this.

"You came from a school of sorcery, right?" Dorothea asked, placing a finger against her cheek. Hermione felt herself instinctively seize up.

"Uh, yes…" She said cautiously, not entirely sure where this conversation was going to go.

"Ooooh, how wonderful." Dorothea said, beaming. "Are you any good at magic then?"

The way she said that was so casual, Hermione was almost taken aback by it. She had wondered whether or not magic had a place in this world, and whether it was tolerated by the Church. If Dorothea was so upfront about it…

"Well, yes." Hermione said. "Hogwarts is the world's most prestigious school for magic."

"Fascinating." Dorothea said. "Perhaps you could offer me a demonstration? I'm a mage myself."

"Mage…" Hermione murmured. Did she mean that she studied wandless magic? Or did it have a different connotation here? "Well, I haven't my wand." She said apologetically. "I'm not sure if I could show you anything interesting… besides, I'm not sure if my magic came with me."

The thought of Edelgard running around in her body with powers that she might not be able to control bothered Hermione. From everything she could gather Edelgard was a cool and sophisticated young woman and would probably simply live life as a squid or a muggle. She probably wouldn't run around blowing things up with her mind. Unless something at Hogwarts really, really upset her…

"What do you mean, came with you?" Dorothea inquired. "Do you not remember how to use magic?"

"I remember." Hermione said. "But I'm not sure if Edelgard has the capacity for magic."

"She is familiar." Dorothea said. "She doesn't specialize in it, but she does understand the fundamentals."

"What does Edelgard specialize in?" Hermione was growing increasingly curious about the curriculum at the Academy. Dorothea smiled at her. This time she looked genuinely happy.

"She's a frontline fighter." She explained. "She's incredibly strong, and a fantastic leader."

"A fighter…" Hermione glanced at the back of her hand doubtfully. The soft, delicate looking skin did not look anything like that of a warrior. For whatever reason, Garreg Mach seemed to have a much more egalitarian approach to warfare than the Muggle World had. She had noticed upon meeting the Black Eagles that the class was almost evenly split between male and female. But Edelgard was a small, lithe girl that stood just a little over five feet tall. She had difficult imagining her carrying a sword into battle.

"I swear it's true." Dorothea told her. "Do you want to sit in on our training session? You can work with us if you like."

Hermione almost immediately found herself shaking her head. "No… no." She said quickly. "That won't be…. I'm not interested." She flushed. "I think I'll just sit in here until my teachers fix this problem." She said. "I'm not… interested in fighting."

Dorothea nodded, and gently touched her hand. "I understand." She said warmly. "But you can't stay in here all the time… tell you what. How about I show you around the Monastery?"

Hermione gave her a surprised look, and then returned the smile. "Yes- yes! I would love that." She turned to the green haired boy. "Er, if that's okay with you Lindhart-"

His head was on the table. He had fallen fast asleep. Dorothea rolled her eyes at him as she gave Hermione an exasperated look.

"Ignore him." She said huffily. "I'm amazed he was still awake when I got here."

She got to her feet and beckoned Hermione to follow. Hermione grabbed the half eaten tray and followed her back down out of the library.

…

Later that evening Edelgard found herself sitting in the Gryffindor Common Room. She was warily eyeing the awkward looking ginger cat that was glaring at her from Ron's lap. The cat, she had been told, belonged to Hermione and understood perfectly well that Edelgard was an imposter. It did not seem to take kindly to her, and seemed to have decided that Ron Weasley was its owner for the time being. Ron, seemingly taking the task to heart, had been spoiling it cat treats that Edelgard had found in Hermione's things.

"Tell me…" Edelgard said, now that they were alone. "Who is Voldemort?" The question had been burning in her head ever since the name had been brought up.

Ron was looking very uncomfortable, but Harry was looking very grave and solemn.

"He is…" Harry said, his voice quiet. "A Dark Wizard."

He stopped speaking, as if trying to decide how best to explain. Edelgard sat patiently, understanding that it must be very difficult to explain these complex societal issues to a complete outsider.

"Many years ago." Harry said. "Voldemort came into power. Witches and Wizards all over the country lived in fear of him. He wanted control… he wanted power. And he was willing to kill to get it."

Edelgard stared at him, unable to tear her eyes away from him. Once again she was beginning to find herself strongly reminded of the Flame Emperor. How so many viewed her as extreme, a complete monster.

"He seemed unstoppable for a long time." Harry said. "Anyone who stood up to him ended up dead." He spoke with a bitter finality. Edelgard found herself suspecting that Harry himself lost something precious to this Dark Lord.

"And what happened?"

"He was stopped." Harry told her. "By…"

Ron shot him a knowing look, but Harry took no heed.

"By something." Harry said. "And for thirteen years he was out of power. But now…"

"He's back?" Edelgard whispered, her eyes not leaving his face. Harry nodded.

"Yes." He said. "And he wants…" He hesitated. "Something."

He was being awfully vague and unspecific, but Edelgard thought she understood why. Harry was a nobody to this Dark Lord. He likely did not understand his motivations, his methods, his powers. He was only aware of what the children of his most devout followers did, and despised them for it. She could not expect to get a reasonable answer about the true nature of the Dark Lord from this boy.

"I see." Edelgard said quietly. "You are in the middle of a war?" She had rather thought the school had seemed rather peaceful and upbeat. It did not seem like wartime.

Harry and Ron cast a dark look at each other.

"No." Harry said, his voice dark. "But we should be."

Edelgard did not understand the situation. She did not feel as if she understood the politics of the world, the nature of school, or the Dark Lord himself. But in that moment, she saw herself in Harry Potter.