Revelations from the Past
As soon as Ginny awoke the following morning she leapt from her bed and over to Hermione's, which was still occupied. The tiny redhead pulled back her friend's curtains and proceeded to shake the sleeping witch awake. "Hermione, get up! We need to talk now!"
Hermione groaned as she tried to fight off the attack of her best friend. "Ginny, it's still early. Can't it wait at least another hour or so?"
Ginny sighed in exasperation. "No, Hermione it can't." She leaned in close to the girl's ear and whispered, "I talked to Dumbledore last night."
Hermione's reaction startled Ginny as her eyes flew open and she sat up straight in the bed. "Dumbledore? Why didn't you say so? Let's get dressed and find a place to talk." With that she jumped out of bed, grabbed some clothes and hurried into the bathroom.
Ginny allowed herself a little laugh as she moved back to her bed to grab some clothes for herself.
A half an hour later found the two girls showered, dressed, and occupying one of the numerous empty classrooms within the castle. Ginny recounted her conversation with Dumbledore as Hermione listened intently and took notes. She seemed quite impressed with the description of the room that Ginny had created and even more so with the focus crystal that she had been able to produce. Her expression grew thoughtful as Ginny explained the gift that Dumbledore had given her before taking his leave the previous night.
"This book that Dumbledore gave you, do you have it with you?" Ginny nodded and pulled it from her schoolbag.
Hermione took it from her, handling it as if it were made of delicate glass. She opened it to a random page and scanned the insides. "Well, it's obvious that this book is very old."
"How do you know that?"
Hermione turned the book so that it was facing Ginny. "It looks like the entire book is written in Ancient Latin."
"Latin? Aren't most magic spells made up in Latin?"
Hermione shook her head. "Most are derivatives of Latin phrasing, but they tend to pull from other languages as well. Norse, Welsh, even some Anglo-Saxon words have popped up in magic incantations, depending on the mother tongue that the creator spoke."
Ginny looked confused. "So what is so important about this being in Ancient Latin then?"
Hermione thought for a second. "Well if there are spells in this book, then they are going to be extremely powerful. This is because they haven't been diluted by the more modern languages. They will be in their original conceptual form, meaning we will need to be very careful with what we find."
"So, aside from this being a potentially powerful book of spells, what else is there to know about it?"
Hermione flipped to the front of the book. "Well, the cover doesn't give a title or author, and strangely enough, there is no title page inside the book either. Just one blank page and then the Latin starts."
Ginny sighed. "There has to be some way to find out more about this book!"
Hermione shrugged. "Other than asking Dumbledore about it, I can't think of a way to…" The bushy-haired witch trailed off for a moment and then began muttering to herself, "Well it's possible… No, that would be too simple… Worth a shot…"
Ginny was beginning to become agitated. "What is it, Hermione?"
Startled from her thoughts, Hermione looked up into the liquid brown eyes of her friend. "Well, perhaps we aren't seeing anything because someone disguised the information inside. If so, then perhaps a revealing spell would allow us to see it."
The redhead didn't seem convinced. "A revealing spell? Isn't that a little too simple for what you said was such a powerful book?"
"Sometimes, people overlook the simple spells because they think that there is more there than there really is. Besides, this is the only other option I can think of besides going to Dumbledore and asking him, and somehow I think he wanted us to figure this out for ourselves."
Ginny threw her hands up in surrender. "Alright, alright. Go ahead and try it; just be careful. I don't want some ancient curse sending you to the hospital wing for a month."
Hermione nodded and took a deep breath. She closed the book and pulled her wand from her robes. Tapping the cover of the book three times, she spoke in a firm voice, "Reveal your secrets to us, those who seek the truth."
The two witches held their breath, expecting the worse, but all that happened was that the book glowed violet faintly for a few seconds and grew dark again.
Hermione's face broke into a smile as she opened the book again. "See there! That wasn't so bad. And look! There are two new pages in the front of the book!" She pointed excitedly to the now visible pages.
Ginny scooted over next to her to gaze at the once hidden pages. "Wow, Hermione! I've never seen anything like this before!"
As both girls watched, the blank pages filled with ink as if someone was writing before their very eyes. Both of them were speechless as the magic completed its work and they read the entire page.
Lachrymancy
A Study of Principles and Practice
Conceived and Developed
By
The Most Ancient and Wise Hippocrates
Translated from the Ancient Tongue
By
Mungo Bonham
Hermione turned to Ginny with an awestruck look on her face. "Ginny! Do you know what this is?"
Ginny returned her gaze. "Well, I know how to read, so it seems that this is a book about some old branch of magic."
"Yes, but did you look at the authors?"
"Once again, let me remind you that I can read, so yes I did, but what's so amazing about them?"
Hermione shook her head in exasperation. "Honestly, Ginny, am I the only person who ever reads any History? This book was written by Hippocrates…THE Hippocrates, who is the greatest medical wizard in all history. His practices and theories revolutionized both Wizard and Muggle Medicine in ancient times. And then there's the little fact that it's been translated by Mungo Bonham, who is another of the greatest medical wizards of all time. In fact, our hospital was named after him."
Comprehension began to dawn on Ginny's face. "You mean this book was translated by St. Mungo himself?"
"Precisely. The mere fact that this book has been touched by both of these wizards probably makes it one of the most valuable books in the entire Wizarding world. It also means that whatever Lachrymancy is, it is extremely powerful and potentially dangerous. We'll have to be very careful with anything we find in here."
Ginny nodded, but grew aggravated again. "That's all fine and good, but how are we going to read any of this? I don't know Ancient Latin, and somehow I don't think you do either."
Hermione didn't seem discouraged. "Well the title page of the book says that it was translated by St. Mungo, so there has got to be a way to read the translated passages." She turned the title page and gave out a startled exclamation as more lines began to form on the once hidden page.
"What does it say?" Ginny asked as she leaned over to examine the page.
Hermione remained silent as she pointed at the writing that both girls proceeded to read.
Dear Lady Ginevra Weasley,
I am sure you are wondering just how exactly I am writing this note to you, considering you live quite a bit in the future. Well, let me first assure you that this is indeed an authentic note to you, as is the edition of the book you hold in your hands. The reason that I know to write this to you is that I was approached by a seer recently, instructing me to translate this particular tome and place it in a secure location. She then told me that the fate of the saviour of the Wizarding world relied both on it and the person to whom this work would go to. She then told me your name and that I would need to instruct you in how to utilize this book. So here I find myself, writing to someone I shall never know, for reasons I shall never understand. But enough of my rambling, let's get to the important things, shall we?
When the seer told me that I needed to find the ancient works of Hippocrates and his studies on Lachrymancy, I was somewhat confused. I knew, of course, of the great medical studies of Hippocrates, but I had never heard of any form of magic called Lachrymancy, nor what its purpose was. Regardless, I scoured many libraries and ancient ruins, looking for some information concerning this work.
My travels were many and unimportant, but know that, after much searching, I came across a small collection of Hippocratic works in a damp and secluded cave in Greece. While these badly mildewed parchments were not in Hippocrates' original language, they had been translated into Old Latin, which had become the accepted language of the magical community at that time. Considering how very few people know how to speak or translate the old languages in my time, let alone yours, I deemed it necessary to translate most of the work into English. The incantations remain in their original form, however, to maintain the potency of magic.
I must say that as I read more and more concerning the theories of Lachrymancy, I was even more astounded with the power of this art. I must admit that if you are able to perform the magic of these spells, then you are indeed a witch of great power and compassion. I know not what troubles face the future saviour of the Wizarding world, but if you truly care for him enough to use this art, then there is indeed great hope for the future. The spell to reveal my translated passages is "Reddo libri." The spell shall remain active until such time as you close the book again. Remember that with all of the old tongue incantations, determination and correct pronunciation is key. Study hard and you shall achieve results in no time. I wish you the greatest of luck in your quest, Lady Ginevra, and may the magic flow freely through you and bend ever to your will.
Yours in magic,
Mungo Bonham
P.S. As an added precaution, I enhanced the translation charm so that only you have the ability to activate it. The book has been designed to recognize you when you hold it. While I would love to take credit for that little piece of magic, I must admit that it was my strange Seer visitor who cast that particular spell. Godspeed!
M.B.
Ginny finished reading the page and sat slack-jawed, unable to process the enormity of what she had just read. Hermione, who seemed just as shocked, was able to recover first. "This is unbelievable, Ginny! Mungo Bonham was told to make this translation just for you! And if I'm not mistaken, I would say that this is the only copy of this book in existence. I was wrong about what I said before. This book isn't just extremely valuable…it's priceless!"
Ginny was only able to nod her head slightly as her gaze remained fixed upon the book sent to her from antiquity. Perhaps here, within these very pages, was the means by which she could rescue Harry from his torment.
She was jolted out of her reflections as Hermione snapped her fingers in front of her face. "Ginny! Are you going to cast the spell or not?"
Finally finding her voice, Ginny smiled at her friend. "I guess now is as good a time as any." She pulled out her wand and placed its tip on the open book in front of her. "Reddo libri," she whispered.
The book began to glow bright violet and the two girls watched as the unfamiliar words began to shift and form coherent sentences. In a minute or two, the entire book was written mostly in English, with snippets of Latin here and there among the pages.
Hermione had a satisfied look on her face. "Well, now that we know that it works, it looks like we have some work to do."
Ginny glanced down at the book in her hands. "Since the book responds only to me, it looks like I'll be going through here and learning about Lachrymancy."
Hermione nodded. "And I'm going to find out everything I can about Hippocrates and his work. Add that with whatever we can find on the Emerald of Empathy, and hopefully it will be enough to come up with a way to find Harry."
Ginny permitted herself a small smile. "It's going to happen, Hermione. Everything is starting to come together. We're going to find Harry, and it's going to be soon." Her smile fell as she paused. "It better be soon, or there may not be much of Harry left to find."
Hermione could only nod sadly as she watched a tear escape to trickle slowly down Ginny's fair cheek.
