A/N: Here is the next chapter

Chapter 5: Homely Affairs

The return home from excavation with the ridiculously dubbed "The Magic Killer Tablet", very unoriginal but it sums up it rather succinctly, was a sombre affair. The whole incident in Iraq is kept hush due to the nature of the item and to prevent absolute panic. I don't generally agree with governments keeping things from their citizenry, however in this circumstance I think that it is warranted. The things unsavoury people could do with this tablet, could be deadly. It was too dangerous, however the curiosity to get the bottom of the mystery of this tablet was too great. I would like to study it, somehow. But, in the mean time it was best if the tablet remained in the bowels of the Department of Mysteries for the foreseeable future. Lord knows someone will try something and then get blown to pieces. However, even though I am not a part of the curse breaking department, I'm still going to petition to get access to study it.

Poor Sylvester, if something good can come out of his death, it's figuring this damn thing out to prevent it from happening again. I am never going to forget the haunted look on is blood smeared face when he knew he was going to die. The resignation. It was heart breaking. It is something that I will never forget. Resolve filled me, I will look at that tablet regardless if they say no. My back up plan can always be Kingsley and Harry.

12th of November 2013 The Ministry

A few days later, after getting the rejection letter from my petition to study the tablet, I storm into Lewis' office to give him a piece of my mind and demand why I cannot study it.

" Lewis what the hell?", I growl as I slam open his office door. The older gentleman flinches at my cuss. He watches me like a spooked animal waiting for attack, but then I see the shift of false bravado overtake his features.

He clears his throat. "Yes, well Hermione I wondered how long it would take before you came thundering over here like a herd of hippogriffs". I slapped down the rejection letter, holding it in place with a single index finger on his desk. I glare daggers, at his implied condescension.

He withers slightly under my gaze. I may be young and at times naive, but one thing they should all know by now is that Hermione Granger does not give up.

"Talk Lewis now!", my impatience bleeds through.

"I….well….you see…(sighs)…Pascale thought that because you aren't apart of the dark artefacts team, it would be inappropriate for him to grant access to someone outside the department. I agree that while you are the "brightest witch of your age", you are in procurement, that is where you chose to work. You can't just change as you see fit because, something else takes your fancy", he looked up hoping I'd be mollified.

I wasn't. I was seething.

I understood where they were coming from and I didn't like throwing around my weight as a war heroine to get what I wanted, I looked petulant. Opportunistic. But this wasn't just some random artefact that took my fancy. Most of the time after a dig if there was something I was truly interested in, I studied it anyway in Conservation and Preservation. I generally ignored Dark objects so normally this wasn't an issue. But this was something else- on par with Horcruxes. Seeing Sylvester die the way he did, as well as Farzenah and Moh. I couldn't ignore their deaths and just pretend that they didn't exist.

I owe him this. I owed them this.

"This isn't over Lewis. I owe Sylvester", Lewis' gaze turned solemn at the name of our fallen colleague.

"I know Hermione, but my hands are tied. You could try Silas, but I doubt he would grant you access. Especially after last night…." He trailed off expecting me to understand what it was he was saying. When I didn't answer he motioned for me to close the door, I relented and cast a 'Silencio' for good measure.

"Do not speak about this. It is not to leave this room. I am telling you because you can be trusted. The tablet killed an Unspeakable last night, stupid idiot didn't follow precautions, just wandered in. However, word is that the Dark Arts section of DOM are unsure if the tablet can be contained. It seems to be affected by some magic but not others. The problem is too much testing could…. make it unstable". I was shocked by his words. Another dead, although thinking about it realistically, I was expecting another death or two while people where deciding what to do with the tablet. The Ministry wasn't exactly filled with brightest bunch. I hate to say it in comparison to the muggle world, the wizarding one is fairly limited in regard to jobs. Most people after Hogwarts just join the ministry because there isn't anything else to do. Which lead to complacency, they turn up just to get paid and stamp their card. This lack of competence and urgency was giving me a headache.

I rubbed my forehead thoughtfully. It made me think of something….

"Alright, this changes things though Lewis. I will go to Kingsley, I need to see that tablet. Out of curiosity, does anyone know if the Unspeakable said anything before entering?", Lewis looked at me funny but humoured me anyway. I had kept that small detail to myself, I purposefully left it out of my report. To protect Sylvester and reduce panic. I didn't want people thinking he was weak. While yes, he did succumb to the tablet eventually, in his last moment he showed courage in flinging me across the room and throwing himself on top of the tablet. For that I am very grateful.

"Ah yes he said vo-can-tem. Why?" He clearly enunciated the syllables of the word.

"I haven't given it much thought yet, but I think the tablet doesn't just randomly absorb magic. You said that it is affected by some but not others? What type of spells does it absorb? Is there a list I can look at? Just go with me for a second", my mind was reeling with the hypothesis forming.

Lewis realised I was on to something and summoned a piece of parchment that I was most likely not cleared to look at. It was the list of spells recorded that were used on the tablet. Mentally cataloguing the different spells, a pattern started to appear, well what I would call a pattern.

Then it clicked. Oh god

My eyes widen and I bolt out the door parchment in hand. I could hear Lewis calling out to me as I ran towards Kingsleys' office. People seemed unaffected by my manic look, this was a regular occurrence I am ashamed to say.

"Kingsley, the tablet!" I burst through his office down, waving the parchment like a woman possessed. He looked up at me momentarily surprised, my eyes moved to other occupants in the room Silas, my department head and Pascale, my opposition. He glared. I rolled my eyes.

"Hermione, what are you doing here?" Kingsley said standing up, tone friendly.

I closed the door behind me and walked over to the desk, that was currently occupied by the three men. I know I shouldn't have come barging in here, but this was too urgent.

"The tablet, the magic killer as everyone is calling it, bloody ridiculous name if you ask me, but I think I know at least partially what it is doing."

"How?" Pascale barked harshly. I frowned. His face was becoming flushed with a colour I recognised too well from Ron.

"I have been talking with Lewis just now and he hinted at something and I drew some conclusions", I didn't directly want the get Lewis fired, but this information I couldn't have just 'found' on my own.

"He's too soft on you", Pascale once again grumbled, glaring at the table hoping most likely it would catch on fire. Pascale has never liked me, I guess my forceful personality rubs him the wrong way. Our interactions have always consisted of clipped tones and a lot of scowling.

"Rousseau", Kingsley warned.

"Anyway, who cares right now that Lewis told me, I have a theory. Now I don't know what the tablet is entirely doing, since I've only had limited contact with it, but one thing I have worked out is that it seems to have an inbuilt protection mechanism. This list of spells that were used can be split into two categories, the ones it absorbed and the one's it didn't."

I started pacing as I was talking. I took a deep breath and looked up to see if they were listening.

"Go on Hermione", the dark-skinned man urged with a polite smile.

"So…. the box absorbed the spells that it felt threatened it, and didn't react to the harmless ones, at least that is what I am assuming. Now…the dead unspeakable…. yes, I know about that and Lewis did tell me about what he said, 'vocantem' before he just wandered in. Now you should know that vocantem is Latin for 'calling'. It is my belief that the tablet is somehow using mind magic to latch on to a weak-minded person and quite literally calling them to their deaths. Like a siren calling the sailors to their demise. It might be an altered version of an imperio, it is intriguing, like what is the range? How does it pick a person? Is it just who is closest? Does it take into consideration magically signature? Could you potentially resist it or would it increase the pull?.", I couldn't stop my mouth working with all the questions running through my brain.

"Hermione, Miss Granger…. before you get too carried away. We do have people looking into this, I have already rejected your request to look in to the tablet. You don't need to stick your know-it-all nose into everything!", Mr Rousseau's' face was bright red with seething anger.

I glowered at his jab about me being a know-it-all. I hate being called that, I was not as bad as I was while at school. I have shed my naivety; I have come to realise that the world is not so black and white as I once thought it was, more shades of grey.

I started talking before Kingsley could cut in.

"Mr Rousseau, I believe that your department has no idea what it is doing, they may have experience with complex dark curses and hexes, however this goes beyond that. This is on the level of Horcruxes, which nobody but, Harry, Ron, Dumbledore and I have/had the experience dealing with. I'm sorry, but no one here has enough experience with this, even I really don't. We should start to quietly feel out other countries Ministries to see if there is someone extremely knowledgeable in the dark arts that includes mind and soul magic. There shouldn't be too many people with that kind of training. If not, we will have to come up with a long-term plan for this box. Thinking about it… how did the Unspeakable just wander in? I thought the tablet was being held in a secure room?" I crossed my arms looking like a cross mother scolding her children.

Finally, Silas spoke up.

"We hadn't moved it just yet because of the testing, no one wanted to touch it without using magic. We didn't want to risk overloading the tablet with magic…so we just left it where it was. " I rolled my eyes at their incompetence. I looked down at the list of spells.

"Did no one think to use a simple levitation spell? It is innocuous. I did say in my statement from Iraq that I did use the levitation spell to place the tablet inside the Perspex box. I would say that the tablet must somehow read your intent when near it. So, levitating it to a safe place should be fine". My eyes flicked to Kingsley, he was shaking his head at their level of stupidity. While I think that the death of the Unspeakable was probably coming sooner rather than later, it could have been later if they had only moved the damn tablet.

"You do it then Miss Granger, risk your own life moving the tablet".

"Fine". I had no problems doing it. I was pretty sure in my deductions that I would be safe moving the tablet, as I did it in Iraqi without consequences.

Once down in the anti-chamber, the three men were lined up along with Harry and Ron.

"Hermione you don't need to do this, someone else could", Harry looked at me frowning.

"No Harry, I'm doing this to prove a point. While the tablet is inherently dangerous, at its present state it seems to be only dangerous to some people. The weak minded, similar to an imperio, at least that's what it seems like. I'm doing this."

"Alright Mione, just be careful", the green-eyed boy gave me a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

"I'm coming with you, I don't want you to go near that tablet alone", I nearly rolled my eyes at Ron. I broke up with him, but he still thinks I'll just come around to his way of thinking. Did he even listen to a word I said from our fight months ago? I sighed and said nothing stepping forward towards the tablet.

Now that I was concentrating on the tablet, I could feel the sliminess of its sinister magic rubbing against my own. Maybe, because I rejected it before, it has changed its signature. In the tunnel it initially felt enticing, like a soft cuddly blanket enveloping you. I tucked that observation away for later. I sent out vibes that I wasn't going to harm it just move it to another room. Hoping it would pick up on the intent. That's also when I felt it brush the outskirts of my mind. So, I was right.

About three steps from the box Ron the idiot trips…. it's like watching a train wreck, you cannot look away. Part of me wants to do something but the other half just wants to watch in horror. I'm torn because we don't want to the tablet to activate. He staggers forward falling partially onto the tablet and pedestal the tablet is displayed on. No one moves or says anything, we all know what this could mean.

Seconds tick by, Ron doesn't move.

"Ron, move slowly away from the tablet….", I watch as he gradually moves backwards off the tablet keeping his hands steady on it, so he doesn't knock it off the pedestal.

"OK now gently remove your hands… that's it… do you feel anything?", I think everything will be fine as nothing has happened, but the ever-persistent thirst for knowledge is demanding I ask questions.

"Umm well I can feel it moving around the edges trying to penetrate my mind. It feels like a hot summers day and the smell of lavender floating on the air", he had a giddy smile on his face. This was not good. While it hasn't taken over his mind, it was on its' way to breaking down his occlumency walls. This was like the bloody locket all over again. I turned to look at Harry and the others.

"Who else is affected? If you are please leave now", I call out the men watching, in shock and horror. Silas stepped forward looking a little pale.

"I'll take Ron out with me. Can you Hermione please write a report about this and any findings or theories you have? We could use your input, I think you have shown us that". I nodded.

"Hermione, I'll leave you to it. I would like a copy of that report as well please. I think I'll place you as a consultant on this case for the immediate future", Kingsley said and I smiled, finally I got on this case. Pascale glared and stormed off.

"Harry do you feel anything?", I really wanted his opinion as I was curious to see how his previous connection to Voldemort may have affected his exposure to dark magic. Like was he more receptive than the average person or has a higher resistance? I had often wondered if the accidental horcrux connection changed any of his neural pathways.

"Honestly, not much. It feels almost repellent. Like it doesn't want me here, but not enough that it sees me as a threat. I sense that it would change in an instant if I had any ill intent. Does that answer your question? What do you think?", Harry wasn't completely stupid as people thought he was. He was intelligent and not as brash now that he has matured. Ron however….

"It's interesting to say the least. It reads you, your intent possibly or your mind. To me it feels slimy, repulsive. It doesn't want me here either, but it knows I'm not a threat; I'm too curious about it. Ron's reaction was what I had expected, lulling a weaker mind to opening up. Ron will have to stay away from this side of the building as I haven't ascertained the range at which this thing works. At this point this is all just speculation mind you, I'm guessing". I sigh, staring at the tablet in contemplation, there were so many unanswered questions. I could feel the weight of them pressing down on my shoulders.

Rather than move the box like I had intended, I conjure an air tight viewing case like you see in museums. I levitate the tablet into the box and seal it. Afterwards, once I think the conjure will hold, I place some complex wards around the case. No one should be able to get to the tablet, it would take a couple of hours to unravel my wards and set off an alarm. Pleased with my work I turn back to Harry and ask him about my thoughts on horcruxes.

"Harry, do you feel any similarity in the magic that the tablet is emitting, to the magic of Voldemorts horcruxes? Disregard his magical signature but focus on the underlying magic of the spell. Call me crazy or I am imagining things that aren't there, but it just feels like it. Gut instinct tells me there is some form of connection. Not to Voldemort obviously, but do you think this is like some early form of a horcrux? Or something along those lines?", I was really hoping he would, or have another insight. Harry was in the unique position, having had a horcrux inside him. I can only speculate and guess from wearing the locket briefly.

"I see what you mean…I think. It feels dark, really dark like horcrux magic. But something seems slightly off. Maybe it is a type of horcrux, if you are using what we know of horcruxes as a starting point or comparison. But not that I am as smart as you Hermione, so I don't want to tell you how to research this, but I guess remain open to ideas? Using only horcruxes as a starting point could mean you miss something? I don't know it is just a suggestion", while listening to Harry, I could see that he has come a long way from when we were at school. He thinks about things more and takes a little bit of interest in what I am doing. His eyes don't glaze over like Ron's does as soon as I start taking about a research project I am working on. It makes him a good Auror, because he does need to pick up on bits and pieces and then puzzle them together.

"Thanks Harry, I know what you mean", I turned to him and smiled, sticking my arm out to indicate we should head towards the door.

"This will be difficult because it is ancient, I doubt I will be able to figure it out completely, because a lot of this will be interpretation. Especially with the cuneiform, that in itself will take a long time to decipher. I guess we should go see if Ron is ok. I'm glad the tablet didn't activate, to be honest I was expecting it to. It almost seems random how it picks and chooses the victims." I drifted off on that last thought, it is weird how the tablet does it. It's a complicated puzzle, that I am determined to solve. Once we leave the room, I ward the door as well. No one is getting into that room without me present. I'm sure Pascale will try to roast me for it, but tough luck.

Ron was going to be fine, being an Auror himself Harry and Kingsley decided that it would be best for Ron to the take a couple of days off and then return to do mainly field work. He needed some space between him and the tablet and to possibly practice his occlumency shields. I hope he does, he was always the weakest of us three. In hindsight, it was pointless accosting Harry for failing to keep Voldemort out of his mind, when they were literally linked. Of course, we didn't know at the time Harry was an accidental Horcrux. So, no amount of occlumency was going to solve that.

I lean back in my office chair and just stare out the window. I know I need to write this report, but it can wait a little longer; I don't have answers just a lot of theories. I watch the artificial scenery, giving the impression I am looking out at a cluster of trees, rather than underground. I picked the trees waving in the breeze. It is calming, after the stress of the war and the year after it, it's nice the sit back and take stock of my life every now and then.

I am ashamed of myself for being so gullible during my time at Hogwarts, I wished I didn't take everything at face value. To be perfectly honest I am surprised I am still alive. We did a lot of rash foolish things, like the Department of Mysteries battle. I shake my head at that memory. We were children of 14/15 years of age, going off to fight against adult death eaters, who had a heck of a lot more experience that we did. But we thought as most teenagers do, we are invincible. They didn't kill us at least, they very well could have, like my scar from Dolohov. We should have just left the fighting to the adults. It was supposed to be their job, not ours.

Dumbledore could have done a lot more than he did, I realised a couple of years ago. Hell, even going all the way back to Tom Riddle. I saw the parallels between him and Harry. The boy-who-lived and the boy-who-made-all-the-wrong-choices. If Dumbledore made more of an effort, some of this may have not come to pass, but instead he ostracised an orphan boy, because he could talk to snakes. Bloody ridiculous now. All his talk about love, forgiveness and acceptance, and he does that to a child who didn't have anyone and was already being bullied. Dumbledore should have focused on his potential, not his supposed darkness at the age of eleven. Tom Riddle had potential to do a great many things for the wizarding world, good things. Instead his drive, ambition and intelligence were wasted, by intentionally and unintentionally pushing him towards the darkness. That was one of his biggest mistakes, along with leaving Harry with the Dursleys to be abused and then fattened up to be martyred for the wizarding world. Disgusting. I've never revealed these thoughts with anyone as most witches and wizards view Dumbledore as a hero of sorts. Personally, I think he was manipulative and someone who didn't like getting his hands dirty. Constantly moving pawns on a chess board. He was playing with everybody else's life before, he had to step in. There was no way Harry was going to be able to get past all those inferi and get the Gaunt ring that had the resurrection stone attached. Clearly, Voldemort was also distantly related the one of the Peverell brothers, which in turn distantly related to Harry. I'm not sure anyone else has pieced that bit of information together. Harry would be horrified to know he was related to Voldemort. However, in the wizarding world it's not really that surprising with the amount of in breeding that goes on.

Anyway, back to the report. I'm not going to write a report as such, just a confidential memo. I don't really have any solid evidence to back up my theories. I will just give Kingsley and Silas a brief rundown of what I think is happening, and that I have warded the tablet and the room it is in. I will begin my research tomorrow, bright and early.

I sat scribbling out my memo and magically sent a copy to Kingsley and Silas. I looked up and noticed a picture frame on my desk that wasn't their before. It was a picture of my team, Tilly, Elijah, Sylvester and me. The four of us hugging each other and laughing, we looked happy. There was a post it noted stuck to it,

To remember,

T

Tilly must have come in while I was out of the office and put it on my desk. I sighed, stroking the picture. I wont forget Sylvester, I will get the bottom of this any way I can.