"There's no guarantee that you'll find what you're looking for, Miss Granger," the slant-eyed goblin drawled. "It's not uncommon for Muggleborn witches and wizards to come to us, seeking to find that they are miraculously related to some illustrious witch or wizard to raise their standing amongst your kind," he said with clear disdain in his voice.
Hermione and Luna shared a glance and had to resist rolling their eyes. This wasn't anything new to them.
"I'm not expecting a miracle, sir," Hermione said with a tone that was respectful, but had a certain edge to it. "I'm not unhappy with my earthly origins," she chuckled, and Luna snorted in amusement. "I just want to discover my lineage for knowledge's sake. Knowledge is power, as you well know," she smirked in a feral way, and the goblin responded in kind, recognizing the inquiry for what it was - a way to gain an advantage.
The goblin had a gleam in his eyes as he spoke, "Well, in that case, all you need to do is sign your name on this parchment, with this Blood Quill, and let the enchantments in the paper and the magic in your blood do its job," he instructed, and stepped back to give Hermione some space, his eyes never leaving her petite form. The goblin was very keen to know whether this particular witch held any secrets in her bloodline. It would be entirely too delicious if that was the case.
Luna stepped next to her lover, her fingertips gently caressing the small of Hermione's back in a show of silent support. She didn't really care whether her girlfriend's family line had Magic in it or not, but she was well aware how important it was to their plans for Hermione to be a lot more magical than people assumed she was. After all, seducing the Pureblood elite to their cause would be much easier if Hermione Granger was not a Mudblood.
Hermione's fingers tightened around the Blood Quill, and with a deep breath, she quickly signed her name on the parchment, gritting her teeth at the sharp sting at the back of her hand, however, she resisted the urge to hiss, careful to keep her dignity and not appear weak in front of the goblins, that simply would not do.
Luna leaned over to peek at the quickly filling parchment, her bright silver eyes filling with wonderment and awe. "Oh my," she whispered breathily.
Hermione's gaze snapped to Luna's face. Her beloved's expression was positively bewildered. She looked fascinated, and that made her heart flutter with excitement and hope. "What do you see, my sweet?"
Luna grabbed the parchment and grinned as she saw several notable names on it that made her heart beat faster. "I would say that you quite possibly have the most potent magical blood in our generation," she said, positively giddy.
The goblin's slanted eyes gleamed with the desire to be in the know, just as much, if not more than Hermione's honey coloured eyes brightened with curiosity. "Let me see," she demanded, and once her eyes greedily glided over the written lineage of her family line, her body felt faint at what she had discovered. "Is this even possible?" she asked so quietly that it was barely audible, but Luna and the goblin had both heard her.
"Blood Magic never lies, Miss Granger," the goblin replied.
"My heart, you'll just have to deal with the fact that somehow your blood is a mixture of Emrys, Le Fay, Slytherin, Flamel, and Dagworth-Granger," Luna smiled her brightest smile yet.
The goblin's eyes widened a ridiculous amount, knowing the vast amount of fortune and treasure the vaults of those certain families hid. He would have to be clever and sly to make sure he'll benefit from the situation, but he knew he would eventually have to notify his superiors. It wasn't every day that the direct magical descendant of Merlin's and Morgana's shared lineage walked into Gringotts to do business with them.
Hermione closed her eyes briefly and took a calming breath, then she looked back down to study her ancestry in more detail. She wanted to know how she happened to be classed as a Muggleborn when she had such mixed magical blood.
The Dagworth-Granger line was naturally connected to her father, although she wasn't an acknowledged part of the family line. Hector Dagworth-Granger had a son that was a Squib and got removed from the family from what she could ascertain, as his name was crossed out on the parchment. Hector's estranged son also had a son, who simplified his name to Granger, and eventually married a muggle woman, and from their union her father, Henry Granger, was born, ignorant of the magical world and his background.
Things were far more interesting on her mother's side, because she was connected to both the Emrys, Le Fay, Slytherin, and Flamel families, and that bit of knowledge was doing Hermione's head in.
Hermione traced her mother's name, Isabelle F. Granger, fondly on the parchment, her eyes widening when she gazed slightly upwards. The brunette witch was surprised to find just how closely related Isabelle was to Nicolas and Perenelle Flamel. It didn't quite make sense to her, but it looked like Isabelle was the couple's daughter, making Hermione their granddaughter. She would have to ponder how that was possible at a later date, as she didn't want to derail her current mission of tracing back her family line.
Hermione was connected to the Slytherin line through her maternal great-grandmother's side. Perenelle Flamel's mother was descendant of the main Slytherin line, and Salazar Slytherin himself was directly related to Merlin and Morgana, making him their son.
"This is a lot to process," Hermione whispered breathlessly. Her heart was thudding in her ears, and she could feel her pulse racing with all this new information.
"We'll figure everything out, 'Mi, don't you worry. For now, we have the information we wanted. We don't have to use it right away," Luna gently said, drawing the shorter girl into a tender embrace. She knew it wasn't entirely proper to show such a public display of affection in front of the goblins, but she knew Hermione needed her comfort, thus she didn't give a flying frick about propriety.
Hermione simply nodded, pressing her forehead into the junction of Luna's neck and shoulder, seeking the blissful sensation of peace that always enveloped her in the blonde's delicate arms. "Thank you," she softly chimed, and after a few more seconds of relief, she withdrew.
Sharpstone politely pretended to ignore the witch's conversation while hanging on every word. It wasn't often that the witches and wizards who frequented Gringotts for business forgot themselves so completely. Oddly enough, he found that some sign of trust, which the magical humans usually lacked when it came to his kind.
"Alright, are you ready to do the test yourself?" Hermione peered at Luna. "I'm certain we are in for a few more surprises yet. I can feel it in my veins."
"Yes, let's do this," Luna easily agreed, and without even blinking an eye, she signed her name on the piece of parchment Sharpstone silently handed to her.
It was Hermione's turn to sneak a peek before her girlfriend could. She quickly scanned the parchment, her lips curving into a smirk as she read up on two certain ancestors Luna had. "Well, that certainly explains a lot," she teasingly drawled.
Luna narrowed her eyes and yanked the paper from Hermione's hands, making the brunette witch laugh. "Don't you tease me, Mimi," she playfully huffed, and trailed her eyes over the parchment, quickly skimming it, her smile brighter than the stars as she found what she was searching for.
Luna Lovegood was directly related to no other than Rowena Ravenclaw, furthermore she was descendant of the line of The Oracle of Delphi. That certainly explained why she had the affinity for Divination.
"Wonderful," Luna grinned at Hermione. "I'm pleased to be related to Rowena Ravenclaw, and come from a line of Oracles and Seers. I feel very comfortable with this," she beamed.
"I figured you would be," Hermione chuckled. "Now, what's next on the agenda?" she asked, but it wasn't Luna who answered her.
"Now you have some decisions to make, Miss Granger, Miss Lovegood. These prominent magical families you're related to all have several vaults within the depths of Gringotts. Some are under the control of living family members, while others haven't been touched in centuries…"
A/N: Abrupt ending for a most confusing chapter. Hermione's family line is a doozy. I've been pondering how that'd be possible for weeks before writing this down, and even now... I know it's a mess, but a fun kind of mess, right? And Luna's lineage is just natural, I think.
Very AU. Very odd. Very me.
Either way, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Thank you for reading! :)