"My Father's name is James as well."

The comment was made in an attempt to get his attention… to perhaps find some common ground between them. To become friends. But all Harry Potter did was roll his eyes and move away from her, deep in conversation with Ron Weasley about how much they disliked Professor Snape.

Hermione tried to stop herself from crying. No one at this new school seemed to want to be her friend. She was so lonely… the only people who seemed to even remotely be kind to her was her teachers.

Every week she had spent writing letters to both of her parents… her Mother, Jean Granger, a dentist living and operating in Paris…. And her father, James Bond. Who was a dentist in London.

She had been looked after by governesses all her life and had a very poor relationship with both of her parents. They had never even been married… her mother, apparently, had felt that having her father's child would have kept him around. It did not work. She had never even seen her parents in the same room together her entire life.

Her Father… if her Mother's word to was to be believed… was the worst womanizer she had ever met in her life. Her Father never spoke about her Mother at all, save for the passing comment about how she greatly resembled her. Hermione could never see how… her mother was beautiful and charming, and she gawky and awkward.

In her entire time at Hogwarts, two whole months… her father had never once responded to any of her letters. Her Mother had, every time, assuring her that she had simply not found her place in life yet. But she had received nothing.

At dinner that day she barely noticed as the owl lander at her side and pecked at her hand. Percy Weasley had to point it out to her. She ignored the laugher of her fellow Gryffindors, blushing furiously, as she undid the letter on the owl's leg and opened it. She was expecting it to be from her Mother, but found herself ecstatic to see that it was from her father instead.

My Dearest Hermione,

My deepest apologies for taking so long to write. You have been in my thoughts always since you left for school, and it pains me to see that you are struggling in your education.

Or, perhaps knowing you, you are struggling more in making friends. You are like me in that regard, I like to think. The only real friends I've ever met in my life were in times of hardship and struggle. I know that something working hard doesn't feel like it's getting you anywhere, or that it's all pointless… but that couldn't be farther from the truth. Keep working hard, and happiness will find you. I promise.

It was a very short letter, but her father had always had a way with words. It was probably why he kept ending up with all of those different women. She found herself smiling as she turned the paper over, examining it. Her smile faded as she noticed that he had stamped it.

Owl post did not require stamps, but it seemed her muggle father had put one on simply out of force of habit. And going by the stamp… and the rather exhausted looking owl that had delivered it… the letter had come from Spain.

Her pleasure at the unexpected letter gave way to annoyance. She had long been of the opinion that her womanizing father, who owned and operated a dental business in London… took far too many exotic vacations. Every time she heard from him he had just gotten back from Russia, from the United States, from Cuba, from China. Once she had gone to see him in London and he had told her that he had just gotten back from Paris… not twenty miles from where she had been staying, without any kind of formal visit or acknowledgement. It rankled her.

She set the letter down irritably and huffed, and returned to her meal. Her Father's good advice, for the moment, was completely forgotten.

…

"How was Spain, 007?"

"Oh, the usual." Bond said airily, as he stepped into the office. "Dreadfully boring. I do wish you could have come along, Moneypenny."

"Don't we all." Moneypenny said dryly, as she checked her notes. "But I am quite enjoying my quiet evenings alone in London."

"Surely you could use some company?"

She smiled at him.

"The thought never crossed my mind."

The door to M's office opened.

"Perhaps if the two of you are done." M said dryly, as she stood in the doorway. "I can begin debriefing 007 on his next assignment."

"Of course." Moneypenny said immediately. She sat back down and resumed work as Bond followed M back into the office.

"I daresay the country hasn't imploded while I was away?"

"This country is always imploding, 007." M said primly, as she walked behind her desk. "It is our job to keep it from getting worse."

Bond grinned.

"What do you know about Albus Dumbledore, 007?"

"Dumbledore?"

007 frowned.

"An odd case." He said at last. "He is a fringe politician. In the 60's he was actively campaigning for the government to declassify everything it knew about magic and witches. A real oddball, to be sure. He vanished some time after that. I daresay he would be dead now. He would be easily over a hundred, if he was still alive today."

"He is still alive today, 007." M said. "And in very good health indeed."

"Really?" Bond inquired. "I daresay he won't be for much longer, then."

'I wouldn't be so sure." M said. "Ten years ago he was still very active promoting his ideas all over Britain."

"Ten years ago he was in his nineties." Bond said. "I daresay he was on his last legs, even then."

"You are wrong." M said. Bond raised an eyebrow. "For fifty years Dumbledore has been the headmaster of some kind of private school in Scotland. We have received reports that children from all over the country have received strange invitations to this place… and never return."

"How fascinating." Bond drawled. "Perhaps the child protection service should become involved."

"We believe it is more serious than that, 007." M said. "This school is not officially recognized on any documents, and parents are not truly given any autonomy to refuse… when a child is invited to this school, they almost always end up attending."

"What is the name of this school?"

"Hogwarts."

Bond felt his throat seize up. M was watching him closely.

"Do you know something, 007?"

"That's where my daughter goes." He said.

M stared at him.

…

It took a good long while for them to piece together everything that they knew.

"Her Mother is French." James was saying, as he paced back by forth. "I see her, perhaps, maybe one week out of the year."

"A full week?"

"A weekend." James admitted. "I often have to cut visits short because of work."

"Does she know you're an agent?"

"The Mother does, but my daughter does not. She believes I am a dentist, like her mother."

"You have been writing to her since she went to school?"

"I recently contacted her Mother who agreed to pass along a message."

"You are on good terms with the Mother?"

"As good as possible."

"She would be your wife if that were true." Moneypenny quipped, as she set him down see tea. Bond gave her a dark look, and she laughed at him before moving along. M was still staring intently at him.

"This is an amazing development, 007." She said. "We have had no luck pinpointing the location of this school and what the purpose of Dumbledore's operation is, but if we make use of your daughter…"

"I'm not involving my daughter in my work." Bond said, his voice cold. M quickly remedied her statement.

"She doesn't have to be directly involved." She clarified. "All we need is more intelligence on the nature of this school and what these students are being taught. And where they end up after graduation. We may be dealing with a highly sophisticated cult, 007. You daughter may have fallen into a dangerous situation indeed."

"I will go to Paris." Bond said. "And arrange a meeting with her Mother. We need to have a little chat."

"Being a good father means that you should be having these little chats all the time, James." Moneypenny said. Bond ignored her as he stood up.

"You do that." M said. "And perhaps we can look into your daughter's personal history… see if we can find a common link between her and all of the other students at this school."

"I doubt very much this is a serious situation, M." Bond said. "She has told me in her letters that she very much enjoys her classes… her primary concerns right now are making new friends."

Moneypenny smiled.

"She sounds like such a sweet little girl."

"Let's just hope that this Dumbledore fellow has her best interests at heart." M said gravely, as 007 turned and stepped out.

…

Jean Granger was busy enjoying a cup of tea and her book when a knock came at the door. Expecting it to be a friend or a neighbor, she stood up and made her way over.

"Hello, I-"

She stopped, mid-sentence, and stared.

"Good evening." James Bond said pleasantly.

"The instant the daughter is out of the house you come crawling back." She said, trying to keep herself from sounding snide. "Typical James."

"On the contrary, Hermione is why I'm here." James said. "Can I come in?"

Jean rolled her eyes and acquiesced. Bond stepped in and observed the room around him with a practiced, calculating air. She watched him just as carefully. He seemed just the same as he had twelve years ago, when they had first met.

She had been a young dental assistant at the time, working for a well known practice in the area. This practice was very popular among the politicians in the area, and eventually she became aware that there was an elaborate conspiracy by the French government to implement tracking devices into the teeth of notable politicians in French parliament to extensively monitor their words and actions, using her practice as a front. When she tried exposing the story to the press, she was considered a lunatic and fired. Only James Bond believed her, and with his help she was able to shut down the entire practice… and even became famous enough to start her own. Without any government conspiracies backing her.

She had imagined, though, that after all was said and done that Bond would remain an instrumental part of her life… but he was gone the instant that he had gotten everything from her that she could give him. If it hadn't been for the birth of their daughter, and her connections with the French government, she would never have been able to track him down and force him to take responsibility.

And now he was in her house, like nothing had ever happened.

"Hermione isn't here." Jean said stiffly. "Surely you knew that?"

James turned to face her.

"Of course I did." He said. "She was sent to a private school, I believe."

Jean smiled grimly.

"The most exclusive private school in the world." She said.

"Yes, I was told." Bond said. "Hogwarts, was it?"

Jean stared at him. "How did you know that name?" She asked, sharply. "Did Hermione tell you?"

"No, no." James corrected her. "The name came up at work, and I-"

"Work?" Jean repeated, surprised. "What does MI6 have to do with Hogwarts?"

"Albus Dumbledore is a dangerous man." James told her. "Did you know that?"

She glowered at him.

"So are you."

"You may have sent our daughter to study under a madman." Bond said. "I need to know everything about this school."

"If you had been here when her letter came, you would have known already." Jean said, as she turned away from him. "I could hardly believe it, myself… a school of magic."

…