(A/N): Hello :)

All the gratitude to Catzandbookz8 and JustPretend2 for reviewing this chapter for me! I have been reassured that you should be able to follow along with the story even if you aren't super familiar with the Fate franchise. This story is set during Fate Zero.

Thanks for reading! Enjoy!

"Hermione!" Kingsley Shacklebolt greeted, standing up and coming around his desk.

"Minister Shacklebolt," she returned, tone dry.

Kingsley nodded in thanks at his assistant and firmly closed his office door, placing a hand on Hermione's back to escort her to the pair of chairs off to the side of the room by the window. "There's no need to be so formal," he chided. "It's not like we're strangers."

Sinking down into the chair resting in the corner, Hermione eyed the older man. "True, but the way you summoned me implies that we're not friends either, are we?"

He sighed, also sitting down. "I am sorry for that, but you're so rarely ever in Britain nowadays that I wanted to ensure you'd actually come see me since I wanted to speak with you about a time sensitive matter."

Raising a brow, Hermione asked, "And it was what? Too risky to just request I drop by as soon as possible? Safer to send an official notice that I was required to come to the Ministry within the next thirty days or risk being charged with treason?"

The only visible sign of discomfort was the way the corners of Kingsley's lips tightened slightly. "Unfortunately, in order to be allowed to use a gyrfalcon to contact you, I had to be sending an official summons. Ministry procedure."

Hermione snorted. "Don't try that with me, Kingsley- you're the Minister of Magic and your approval rate has never been higher. The pureblood families have finally stopped trying to have you thrown out of office on a monthly basis, the Daily Prophet has stopped peddling articles about your questionable practices, and you're slated to win reelection next year by a landslide. Breaking protocol for something as simple as sending a letter wouldn't have even yellow carded you."

Kingsley frowned. "Yellow carded?"

She waved him off. "Doesn't matter. Let's just get down to business. What do you want?"

Studying her intently for a long moment, Kingsley slowly answered, "I want to discuss that red mark on your hand."

It took all of Hermione's considerable skills to keep from reacting. "What mark?"

If he was any less a professional, Hermione was sure that Kingsley would be rolling his eyes. "The red rune on your right hand marking you as a potential master for the upcoming Grail War taking place in Fuyuki, Japan."

She was going to ride her train of denial straight into the ground. "What's a Grail War?"

"Hermione," he chided, but unfortunately for Kingsley that tone had stopped working on Hermione quite a few years ago.

"Kingsley," she mocked, before turning slightly more serious. "You know the only wars ever covered in our History of Magic classes were goblin-related and none of those had anything to do with a Grail."

"That's because Dumbledore did his best to remove all mentions of the Holy Grail Wars from the Hogwarts library and curriculum."

Allowing a more serious mien to cross her face, Hermione said, "Please tell me that you're not referring to the Holy Grail, Kingsley. That is clearly just a fanciful tale created by the church as one of the many excuses they had their spies spread around to explain away their witch hunts and wars."

That derailed the Minister a bit. "I see your hatred of the church is still alive and well."

She scowled. "The only people who are fans of child abusing pricks are other child abusing pricks. And don't bother acting as though you like those monsters any more than I do because I know you're just as aware as I am about where Umbridge got her little Inquisitorial Squad idea."

"I am," he agreed softly. "But I also know that you're aware of exactly why now is not a good time to be openly displaying any… contempt for the church."

"First of all, no, I'm not," Hermione responded flatly. "Second of all, I think it's a little late for that. The Vatican is well aware of where we stand with one another and it is not as friends or allies."

"Hermione," he started, tone hard.

Sighing, Hermione sat back in her seat. "Take all the tones you want, Kingsley, it won't suddenly make me understand what you're saying."

"Then I suppose I'll have to just explain the entire situation to you and waste both of our time."

She shrugged. As long as Kingsley was going to be put out as much as she was, then she was willing to endure a very pointless lecture on a subject she suspected the Minister didn't know nearly as much about as he thought he did.

"Several hundred years ago, an object came into existence that some believed to be the Holy Grail. Given the limited history we've been able to find on it, it's unlikely that that is what it truly is but, much like with the actual Holy Grail, the story that goes with this object involves quite a bit of unnecessary bloodshed. Either way, there is a magical artifact out there with the power to grant a single wish to the one who manages to take hold of it."

Almost 250 years ago, three magical families worked together to create an item that would grant them any wish they desired, Hermione mentally revised. The item happened to look like a chalice, which is why it was given the title of 'the Holy Grail'. Unfortunately for the three families, the Grail only grants a single wish, and none of them trusted each other enough to willingly allow someone from a different family to take the Grail and make the wish they had originally agreed upon.

"Every sixty or so years since its creation, the object reappears in Fuyuki, Japan for a limited amount of time," Kingsley continued. "In order to keep the bloodshed to a minimum, the object was imbued with additional magic that mimics what was done to the Goblet of Fire except that no one has to put their name in it. In the years preceding the start of the next Grail War, multiple individuals from across the globe are marked by the Grail as potential Masters that meet the requirements to fight in the next war for the right to make a wish on the Grail. The exact requirements are unknown to the Ministry, but we do know that Masters must be able to expend a large amount of mana."

The fight over the Grail quickly turned loud and bloody. The families members were being slaughtered. Worse, they had lost control over the power of the Grail and it had started calling to others, to outsiders, and beckoning them to join the fight. They realized that they would wipe each other out sooner rather than later if they didn't do something to fix this. And then one of them had an idea- rather than fight each other head on, send others to do so in their steads, like they did in the days of old. The Grail took that idea and ran.

"Mana is essentially magic that cannot be channeled through a wand. This means that, for the most part, those who grew up in Wizarding Britain have never been eligible to be chosen by the Grail as potential Masters. Except for the Malfoy family." Kingsley scowled. "I have no idea how they've managed it, but for the last two Grail Wars, the Malfoy family has always managed to produce someone with enough mana to be a Master. This time is no different."

Hermione silently scoffed at just how ignorant Kingsley clearly was. Mana is not magic that can't be channeled through a wand- mana is magic. Pure, raw, unfiltered magic. It's what we all used originally. But we civilized folk in Europe and America had to be different. We had to find a way- a tool- to filter our magic through in order to make it more controlled, to make a single spell stronger. We left behind all but the most basic of runes and incantations in favor of wands that could channel spells into hitting a specific point. And what was first a tool quickly became a crutch, and we found ourselves unable to do much more than parlor tricks and silly charms without our wands. Except, of course, for the oldest of families. The Einzbern's and the Malfoy's are two of the oldest magical families in Europe. They remember the old ways. But while the Einzbern's refused to conform to the new way of using magic taking hold of the continent, the Malfoy's went along with the tide in the hopes of eventually taking control. Fools.

"But I'm getting off topic. For every war, only seven Masters will actually fight to win the Grail, though more than seven can be marked as potential Masters. It's only once seven Masters have each summoned a Servant to fight for them that the war will begin. The mark you and Malfoy both currently have printed on your hand is called a Command Seal, or a Stigmata. It gives you the power to command a Servant. From what we can tell, only the most accomplished of mages are chosen but, as I've said, we still don't know the exact criteria the Grail uses to pick the potential Masters."

Desperation. It's not all about power because sometimes the most powerful mages are the most careful and that's not what the Grail needs. The Grail needs someone just powerful enough to summon a Servant but so incredibly desperate that they live, breath, and bleed the need for a wish. Someone that would be willing to sacrifice every bit of power in their body to get what they want because that level of desperation will transfer to the poor Servant they're forcing to dance to their will. Hermione very carefully didn't look down at where the red rune was hidden on top of her right hand. It takes quite a bit of power to manifest every sixty years. The Grail draws its energy from its wars and the deaths of all the Servants. And thanks to that extra power, it's actually able to grant two wishes- one for the Master, and one for their Servant.

"While an artifact that can grant any wish is an extraordinary thing, I personally find the Servants much more fascinating." It was plain to see that Kingsley was lying. To him, the best thing about the Grail War was the Grail itself. But he clearly believed that Hermione would be more entranced by the Servant aspect of it. "The Servants are Heroic Spirits summoned by the Masters to fight as their champions. Anyone in all of history can be summoned as a Servant, provided you can find an object that belongs to them. The amount of potential there is incredible."

Even while she maintained an expression of careful interest, Hermione could feel a storm of rage swelling inside her. Imagine being dead. Imagine finally being at peace. Then imagine being ripped away from that peace to fight in the place of someone else because your tragedy was interesting enough for someone to remember. Imagine being forced to bend to someone else's will, being expected to happily accept being thrown into the arena like the gladiators of old and fight to the death with strangers for the entertainment of the powerful. That's what being a Servant in the Grail War is.

That's the fate that could await any of us, if someone in the future got it into their head that we'd be a powerful enough Servant to win their war. And if we resisted, they could force us to do their bidding- there's a reason the mark is called a Command Seal.

"Seven Masters will participate in the Holy Grail War taking place in Fuyuki in one year's time," Kingsley finished softly. "Seven Servants will be summoned to fight for them. I know you're one of the potential Masters, Hermione. And I understand why you might wish to avoid getting yourself involved, but I also know that you can understand why it's imperative Draco Malfoy not be allowed to become a Master."

Hermione wrinkled her nose. "Not really."

Kingsley's eyes widened. "Are you really trying to say you don't see the danger of Malfoy being able to make any wish he wanted considering your history with him?"

"It's my history with him that makes me unconcerned. Malfoy is an above average wizard when it comes to wand magic. But he's also a British Pureblood through and through. Calling them stunted is being generous. He may be able to summon a Servant for this Grail War, but he certainly doesn't have the power necessary to make him a credible threat."

"Which is why he just married Astoria Greengrass," he retorted. "Their marriage bond will supply him with the energy needed to maintain a stronger Servant bond."

She cocked her head to the side as she considered that new piece of information.

"Astoria's older sister, Daphne, was in your year at Hogwarts," Kingsley explained, leaning forward. "She was raised to one day take the Greengrass seat on the Wizengamot so her education was focused entirely on wand magic. Astoria, on the other hand, was raised the old way, so that her strength lies primarily in working with mana. She can still use her wand, but not as easily."

Hermione hummed. "Interesting. Astoria will provide the power, but Malfoy will control the bond. Two people, one unit."

"Exactly. We've been tracking Malfoy for over a year now and have managed to intercept the artifact he had procured for the summoning." He nodded to a box on his desk that Hermione hadn't noticed before. "With it, you can summon the Servant in his place and ensure Malfoy never gets a chance to fight for the Grail."

"I see three issues with that," she started, tone flat and bored. "First, I'm not marked as a potential Master for this war of yours. Second, even if I were, there is not a force on Earth that would make me willingly throw myself into another battle for something as… abstract and downright suspicious as a magical, wish granting cup. Finally, having me fight would not necessarily keep Malfoy from also fighting. My taking a spot doesn't change the fact that there would still be six other spots available."

Kingsley shook his head. "Honestly, Hermione, I don't know why you're being so difficult about this. You have been marked. Members of the Einzbern, Matou, and Tohsaka families are always participants in the war, so that's four slots filled."

The Holy Church has also found a fool willing to throw his cap into the ring, so it's actually five. Though fool is the wrong term for Kirei Kotomine- monster would be more appropriate. The only Inquisitor that managed to escape the slaughter at the Vatican.

Leaning forward, Hermione let her annoyance show in her eyes. "You're making a lot of assumptions here, Kingsley, and it's growing incredibly annoying. You know nothing about me, my abilities, or my wants and desires. Here's what I think: you desperately wish that you were eligible to participate in this Grail War but when it comes to anything other than wand magic you are laughably weak. Whatever qualities the Grail is looking for in its Masters are lacking in you. You don't want Malfoy to get something you want- a sentiment I can understand- and due to our previously close relationship, you were hoping I could assist with this and allow you to live vicariously through me. Unfortunately for you, I wouldn't be interested even if I did have the potential to be a Master."

Instead of getting angry as she had anticipated, Kingsley just sat back in his seat with a pensive look. "There's really nothing you would wish for if you had the chance? There's nothing in life you would change if you could?"

"I like to believe that things happen for a reason, Kingsley. If I were to erase any of my past experiences or the hardships I have and am currently enduring, I'd be changing who I am with no guarantee it would be for the better."

Hermione had thought long and hard about her options when she first realized what the red rune on her hand meant. It had appeared two years ago due to the desperate need exuding from a Hermione that no longer existed. A different girl had wanted a chance. She wasn't that girl anymore and she never wanted to be again.

Standing up, Kingsley walked over to his desk and picked the box up off of it. Striding back to Hermione, he held it out to her and waited for her to reluctantly take it before speaking again. "I think neither of our stances with one another will be changing today. I've been told you're to be staying in London for the next week. Think about what I've said and about the implications of your refusal. If you reconsider things, let me know."

"I don't get it," Ron stated.

"I'm shocked," Hermione hummed, sprawled out on the floor as she slowly flipped through one of the many books surrounding her. "You not getting something? Inconceivable."

Ron's sock-covered toes dug into her side from where he sat on her couch. "Don't be like that," he scolded. "After all, I'm doing you a favor here."

"How is you annoying me on behalf of Kingsley somehow doing me a favor?"

"Because he could have waited for Harry to return from his mission and sent him to bother you into submission."

Hermione groaned, finally turning to look at her old friend. "You're not wrong. Having to deal with Harry's thoughts on this situation is one of my greatest fears in life."

He nodded in sympathy. "Harry would hear 'wish granting cup' and instantly start planning on who to bring back to life."

Rolling over and pushing herself up, she grumbled, "Yes, his unhealthy attachment to the idea of what his life could have been like if his family didn't drop dead is getting old."

Ron snorted. "Yes, good. Get it out now so that you don't say any of this to Harry's face the next time he pisses you off."

She let out a huff. "Look. I'm not doing it. I don't care what Kingsley told you. I don't care what he thinks of this situation. And honestly? I don't care what you think either. This whole thing is ridiculous and frankly barbaric."

Sliding down off the couch to sit next to her on the floor, Ron shrugged. "Maybe. But like I said, I don't get it. I mean, I get the idea that seven wizards fight for this magical cup, but I don't get the whole 'Servants' thing."

Shaking her head, Hermione said, "That's fine. You don't need to get it because it doesn't matter since I won't be participating."

"You know Kingsley is going to tell Harry the moment he gets back about this," Ron pointed out, being unfairly reasonable. "I can't help you tell him to bugger off about this if I don't understand it."

After thinking it over for a moment, she groaned. "Fine. As you said, there are seven magic users- or Masters, in this case- chosen by the Grail to fight for the right to claim it, like with the Triwizard Cup. However, instead of actually fighting themselves, each Master summons a Heroic Spirit to fight in their stead using an artifact that either belonged to that hero or is closely connected to them. These spirits are referred to as Servants."

"But why? Why bother summoning some dead guy to fight for you?"

"I'm not sure," Hermione hesitated, unsure if she should bother explaining her suspicions. When Ron gave her a knowing look, she realized that he wasn't going to let that lie. "I don't know if Kingsley explained everything to you, but it took the power of three of the oldest magical families in existence to summon the Grail the first time. But that same ritual hasn't been done before the other Grail Wars. I believe that the Servants are necessary for the Grail to collect enough energy to both grant a wish to the Master and Servant who manage to claim it and reappear in sixty years for the next Grail War."

Ron frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Look, research on the subject is scarce. I've only been able to get my hands on fragments. But from what I've gathered, the Grail assists the chosen Masters with summoning a Servant, but the Master provides most of the energy the Servant uses to fight in the war. I believe that the energy the Servant releases while it's fighting is somehow collected by the Grail."

"That's… weird. That's weird, Hermione."

"I know," she agreed. "It's weird and gross and inhumane."

Still as strategically gifted as ever, Ron asked, "Is that why all Masters have to summon a 'Heroic Spirit'? Because those spirits should be stronger and expend more energy for the Grail to collect?"

"Yes, but it's an imperfect system, in my opinion." Picking up an open book, Hermione turned it so Ron could see the small portraits covering two of the pages. "Just because a spirit is supposedly heroic does not necessarily mean that it's powerful. Two of the Servants previously summoned have included the Greek hero Jason, from Jason and the Argonauts, and Paris of Troy." She paused. "I know Greek myths are popular in the Wizarding World, but have you heard of both of them?"

Ron nodded. "I know the story of Jason and the Argonauts and Harry showed me one of those moving picture things about the story of Troy."

Hermione grimaced. "Yes, well, that movie took certain liberties with Paris' character. But, anyway, those are two heroes who were previously summoned. They are considered heroic. Yet, from what I can tell, neither were particularly strong fighters. Which means that the Grail couldn't have collected much energy from them."

"But it still collected enough to reappear?" Ron verified. "Then what does it matter if those two weren't strong? The other ones that were summoned must have been enough."

"It doesn't. It just bothers me."

He laughed. "Blimey, Hermione. You can't just complain about how terrible something is and then talk about how inefficient it is in its awfulness."

"I can. It may be pointless and a little stupid, but I can do it."

Waving her off, Ron tried to get them back on track, staring at the book Hermione had gestured to before. "What does it mean by 'Classes'?" He pointed to the word under the portrait of Paris.

"Well, see, that's where things get complicated."

"Yeah, because things were so simple before," he snorted.

Hermione ignored him. "Servants who are summoned will each fall into a different class. It's… think of the different Hogwarts Houses. Each house is known for having certain traits, right? That's how it is with the classes. There are seven classes and when a Servant is summoned, it will fall into one of the classes and there can only be one of each class during the war. The classes are: Saber, Archer, Lancer, Rider, Castor, Assassin, and Berserker.

"What class a Servant will fall into depends on a variety of things, but it's mostly based off of what their weapon is and what's available when they're summoned. Jason, for example, fought with a sword so he was known as the Saber Servant during the war he fought in. But, if the Saber class had already been taken by a Servant summoned before him, I imagine he could have fallen into the Rider class because they're known for being able to control any vessel, and he did captain a ship."

Ron nodded. "That sounds like a lot of useless information."

She rolled her eyes. "You're the one who asked!"

"I sure did. So get to the good bits."

"Fine! As I said, each class has qualities that separate them from the others. Generally speaking, Sabers and Lancers are the strongest classes, with Archer and Rider following close behind them. Assassin and Castor's are considered the weakest because they're generally not the best fighters. However, it really does depend on who exactly was summoned. Jason was a Saber, but still not particularly strong compared to the other servants. Berserker is the outlier. They're generally able to cause a large amount of damage to their opponent regardless of what class they belong to, but their defense is just as weak. Most Berserker Servants are… well, insane, for lack of a better word. They care about nothing but killing their enemies and causing as much destruction as possible."

"Alright. That still seems like a lot of worthless information, but I think I got the basics. If, say, Malfoy were planning on summoning a Servant, he'd primarily want someone who could be a Saber or Lancer, but might settle for an Archer or Rider?"

"Precisely," Hermione agreed. "He could go for an Assassin or a Castor, but it would be a risky move to make unless he can be sure he's summoning the most powerful of heroes available for that class."

Ron's eyes narrowed. "So, unless Malfoy could summon someone like Merlin, he wouldn't want to summon a Castor? Which would probably be the easiest for him to summon since it wouldn't be too hard for him to find an object that belonged to a famous wizard?"

"Yes. Except not Merlin, because the legends say that he's still technically alive, and a living person can't be summoned as a Heroic Spirit. And Malfoy's also at a disadvantage because he's a Pureblood. Heroic Spirits are primarily people from muggle stories."

He nodded. "Alright." And then, "I still don't get it."

Hermione leaned back so she could repeatedly hit her head on the couch. "Don't get what?"

"The classes! It doesn't make sense! Like, say you summon Godric Gryffindor. He's a wizard, so he'd probably be a Castor, which might make him weaker compared to the heroes summoned but he was also skilled with a sword so he could have ended up a Saber, right? Well, what does it matter if his class is Castor? It wouldn't change the fact that he can still use a sword."

"Ah." She raised her head to look at him. "I should have explained. I told you that the class a Servant is usually categorized as depends on their weapon. Each Servant essentially has one weapon. If Godric were to be summoned, depending on the class he was assigned to, he would most likely either only have a wand or he'd only have his sword. He wouldn't have both. As a Castor, he'd only be able to use his magic in the Grail War. Even if we gave him his sword, it still wouldn't do any good because the other Servants aren't technically human anymore. He'd be outclassed in a swordfight with a Saber despite his skill with a blade. More than that, every Servants weapon has some sort of specific attack imbedded within it, which is called a Noble Phantasm. It's a Servants most powerful attack." Her mind scrambled for an example. "Take Harry, for example. Let's say someone summoned him. His class would be Castor, so his wand would be his weapon. He could cast any spell with his wand, but the strongest spell he could cast- his Noble Phantasm- would probably be Expelliarmus since that's the spell he's most fond of and he's well-known for."

"Oh, that's ridiculous," Ron complained. "Why does there even need to be classes? Why not just have seven random Servants summoned and go to war? Why limit them with classes and with Noble-whatevers?"

"I don't know, Ron, why can't it just be any three wizards for the Triwizard Tournament? Why does it have to be one from each school? And why the arbitrary points system? Why not just do 'last man standing' and be done with it?"

Ron pointed at her. "That is fair. There are categories for the Triwizard Cup and there are categories for the Grail."

"Exactly. Well done."

"So, who does the relic that Kingsley nicked off of Malfoy belong to?" he asked.

"I don't know and I don't care."

He grimaced. "I think you might need to care a little."

Hermione's jaw dropped. "Were you not listening when I explained just how ridiculous this all is?!"

"Oh, I was. And I definitely agree. But hear me out. What happens if Malfoy gets another relic and ends up fighting in the Grail War?"

"I hate this game," she told him flatly.

"He could have a chance at having a wish granted," Ron continued, ignoring her. "And it doesn't sound like there's any limits with that. Just anything he wants, handed to him. Do you really want to risk living in a world that's been shaped by the wish of the Amazing Bouncing Ferret?"

She inhaled sharply. "Did Kingsley tell you when I received the mark of a potential Master? It was while we were on the run. You were gone, Harry and I were wandering around angry and lost and hopeless." Ron flinched at the harshness in her tone. "It was my turn to take watch. I was sitting outside the tent, staring out into the woods, praying. Praying for a way to win, praying for answers, praying for anything. Because with the way things were going, we weren't going to win. Then this red rune appeared on my hand. A few months later, we won. I got my wish. We are living in a world where I got exactly what I wanted. And yet, things still don't feel like they're all that much better.

"I got my wish," Hermione repeated. "And things still aren't better. So no, Ron, I'm not afraid of living in a world that's been altered by whatever Malfoy might wish for. Because I didn't get everything I wanted with my wish, and I doubt he will either."

Ron was silent for a moment. "Maybe you're right. But Malfoy not getting exactly what he wants doesn't necessarily mean that things won't be bad for you. It doesn't mean a lot of innocent people won't suffer. There's also a lot worse out there than Malfoy. Who's to say one of the other Masters won't make a wish just as awful as Malfoy's?"

"Who's to say Malfoy's wish is bad?" she countered. "For all we know, he could just want the Grail so he could wish his parents had never taken ill and passed away. We're just borrowing trouble by assuming it's bad."

"And the other families that will be competing? What about them? Do you think they'd make a good wish if they got the Grail?"

Hermione grimaced. The Einzbern's and the Tohsaka's were not necessarily Dark families but the Matou's… and nothing good had ever resulted from Kirei Kotomine's presence.

"Exactly!" Ron crowed. "Look, I get why you don't want to get involved in this. I don't see how a cup that grants wishes can be anything other than a trap. But just because you compete doesn't mean you have to win, right?"

She blinked at him. "What?"

Ron's brows rose. "Just because you compete doesn't mean you have to win," he repeated. "Why don't you just summon a Servant, become one of the Masters, and then make sure someone who isn't going to wish for something awful gets the Grail?"

"Why should I have to nanny the situation?" she demanded.

"You're the one who got the mark!"

Hermione shook her head. "That's a terrible idea. First, a war is still a war even if you're not planning on being an active participant. It would be incredibly stupid for me to risk my life for something I have no real interest or stake in. Servants may be the ones officially fighting, but there have been Masters who were murdered during previous wars. Second, it's not just the Master who gets a wish, their Servant does too. Do you really think any Servant I summoned would be thrilled at the fact that they were pulled out of the afterlife to assist me with keeping an eye on things once they realize that the only possible perk of having been summoned is not going to be a possibility for them? Finally, do you honestly believe that Malfoy won't manage to find another relic to summon a Servant with over the course of the next year? Because I don't. He's going to find another relic, officially become a Master, and then target me immediately the first chance he gets. It wasn't fun fighting with him at Hogwarts and I highly doubt that will have changed now that he's an adult."

He snorted. "You could take Malfoy in your sleep! But your Servant point is fair…" Ron trailed off, seeming deep in thought, and then suddenly brightened. "Here's a thought: do you have to make a wish if you win?"

Eying him suspiciously, she slowly answered, "I'm not sure."

"Well, why don't you just make sure to summon a Servant who's Harry-level honorable but without all his baggage? Then maybe they'll either be able to understand what you're saying about the Grail and be willing to help you with monitoring the situation, or their wish will be a not terrible one so, if you win, they can make their wish and then you can just not make a wish. Or wish the Grail out of existence."

"Why don't I just go to where the Grail War will be held and keep an eye on it on my own?" Hermione countered. "No Servant necessary."

"Didn't you basically just say that the only way for a Servant to be killed is by having another Servant kill them?" Ron argued. "I suppose you could just go after the Masters but what happens if someone figures out what's going on and sends their Servant after you? You couldn't defend yourself against them. It's inefficient. And didn't you just say inefficiency bothers you?"

"And you think I should leap from that to participating in the war myself?" Hermione shook her head. "Despite the comparisons I've made to the Triwizard Tournament, this is nothing like that. Outside of not involving or threatening anyone not involved in the war, there are no rules here. The majority of the Masters who partake in the war don't make it out alive. And the other Masters participating are much older and more experienced than I am. I've improved tremendously in my studies since leaving Britain, but Hogwarts is a handicap I'm still trying to overcome."

Ron looked almost sad. "You said these happen every sixty years? Then wasn't the last one right before Grindelwald's war? World War II?"

Hermione closed her eyes. "You don't know that the Grail War played any part in that."

"Alright. But do you know for sure it didn't?"

Covering her face with her hands, she sighed because no, no she didn't.

Stumbling up off the floor, Hermione carefully stepped over her books and Ron's sprawled limbs and made her way to the dining room table. She stared down at the engraved container holding whatever relic Malfoy had managed to dig up.

"Do you think you could persuade Kingsley into not telling Harry anything?" she asked Ron without looking up. "The last thing I need is Harry hearing the details of this and demanding I summon one of his parents. Or worse, Dumbledore."

She could hear Ron climbing to his feet. "I'll try. Should be able to manage it if I point out that Harry might be able to nag you into doing it, but he'd want you to summon someone who would probably be a Caster and they're usually weak compared to the other Servants." He paused for a moment before cheekily adding, "Look at me, remembering things you said. I've really grown up."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "What you're doing is getting on my nerves. Please go bother someone else so I can contemplate my own stupidity in peace."

Once the door closed behind Ron, Hermione carefully lifted the box's lid to reveal two spear heads- one a brilliant yellow and the other a vivid red. Unimpeded by the lid, the magic from the objects filled the room and Hermione could feel the hairs on her arms raise up.

Throughout the years and all her travels, Hermione had never felt anything like it. These were powerful objects and the magic within them had kept them well-preserved. It was likely that the Servant attached to them would be one of the stronger Heroic Spirits.

As she closed the lid, Hermione pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and dialed a familiar number. The phone rang and rang before the answering machine picked up.

"Hey. Sorry I missed your call. Leave a message."

Despite her teasing him so many times about how awkward his voicemail was, it still hadn't been changed.

"Hey Kariya, it's me. Please call me back. I think… I think I'm about stupid again."

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