FLASHBACK, PART II
Arriving at the Leaky Cauldron, Hermione made her way into Diagon Alley and headed towards Ollivander's wand shop but, as she had suspected might be the case, the shop was not open. It was not very long since Mr Ollivander had been rescued after several months' captivity by Death Eaters and the wandmaker was not a young man. Hermione hoped he would be well enough to open his shop again soon, but understood that it might take time for him to recover enough to do so. Her shoulders sagged dispiritedly—this final setback seemed like one too many—and with a sigh, she turned back towards the Leaky Cauldron. As she turned, Hermione accidentally bumped into someone who was coming out of the shop next door.
"Hermione! Are you all right?" came a familiar voice, as a pair of arms slid around her waist to keep her steady.
"Oof! Neville!" exclaimed Hermione as they collided. "Thanks for catching me."
"No problem, Hermione," replied her friend with a grin. "I don't know if you remember my Gran?" he added, gesturing to the elderly witch beside him. "Gran, this is Hermione Granger."
"It's good to see you again, Madam Longbottom," Hermione said politely, shaking the older woman's hand.
As Neville looked at Hermione, he noticed that she was on her own and his grin faded. "Where are Harry and Ron?" Neville frowned, looking around. "You shouldn't be here on your own. It's still dangerous."
"The Weasleys and Harry all went back to the Burrow after the battle," replied Hermione with a shrug, trying to hide her hurt over having essentially been abandoned now that the war was over.
"So why didn't you go with them? You're as close to the Weasleys as Harry is," Neville commented, his face screwed up in confusion.
Hermione shook her head. "It's not the same, Neville. Harry is regarded as family by the Weasleys. I'm just Ron and Harry's friend. And that's the way it should be, because unlike Harry, I do have my own family that cares about me very much. Given that I hid my parents overseas, I'm sure if I had gone back to the Burrow, they would have taken me in but I'd have been intruding on their grief."
"If your family is overseas, Miss Granger, where have you been since the Battle ended?" asked Augusta Longbottom sharply.
"I stayed on at Hogwarts to help with the dead and injured, after which I paid a visit to Madam Pomfrey myself. Professor McGonagall allowed me to remain in the castle long enough to get some sleep and have something to eat, and then I went to check on my childhood home but it's been destroyed. We figured that might happen, which is why my parents didn't sell it—they didn't want to risk putting the new owners in danger. After that, I came here to replace my wand, but Mr Ollivander hasn't reopened yet."
"What happened to your wand?" asked Neville in concern.
"It was taken from me when we were captured by Snatchers. I've been using one Ron took off a Death Eater as we escaped. I was going to hand the wand in to the Ministry for disposal once I replaced it but now that I think of it," Hermione looked at Madam Longbottom, her brown eyes wary in case she was about to cause offence. "I wonder if you might like to be the ones to destroy it? I've been using Bellatrix Lestrange's wand."
Augusta Longbottom gasped as Neville went pale. "Yes, Miss Granger," said Augusta emotionally. "I would very much like to be the one who destroys that particular wand."
Hermione nodded decisively. "I'm just sorry I can't give it to you now, but however badly this wand works for me, I can't be without one at all."
"I understand," replied Augusta sombrely. "Miss Granger, may I ask where you are planning to stay if neither your childhood home nor the Burrow are viable options? Or are you planning to join your parents?"
"I do want to see my parents, of course, but I think I need to stay for the funerals. There are people I want to pay my final respects to." Hermione had been thinking about this. She had a feeling that as the Boy-Who-Lived, Harry would be attending most, if not all, of the funerals and had thought to support him through that ordeal. However, as Harry did not seem to need her support any longer, that freed her from the obligation to attend all the funerals. Hermione was not the public figure that Harry was and her attendance would most likely not be looked for, meaning that she could pick and choose which funerals she would attend—there would be too many funerals and she did not think she could face attending them all, especially as it seemed she would be attending on her own without Harry or Ron to support her.
"Miss Granger, please don't feel me presumptuous, but I would like to offer you the hospitality of our home," said Augusta. "I know you are a good friend to Neville, and I cannot in good conscience leave you to fend for yourself at this time. It's still dangerous for Muggleborns—especially one as prominent as yourself."
Hermione gaped at Neville's grandmother. This was unexpected, as she had had little to no interaction with Augusta Longbottom over the years. "Thank you, Madam Longbottom. That's very generous of you, but I couldn't impose."
"It's not an imposition, Hermione," Neville interrupted firmly. "We offered. Besides, Luna's also staying with us at the moment. Her Dad has been released from Azkaban but he needs to stay in St Mungo's while he recovers, and their home is currently uninhabitable, so Luna will stay with us in the meantime."
"In that case—if you're sure I won't be imposing—I gratefully accept," Hermione said.
"Shall we go and get your trunk then?" said Neville. "Where is it?"
"Here," said Hermione, taking her beaded bag out her pocket and waving it at Neville. "Undetectable Expansion charm," she explained with a grin, as he gaped at the tiny bag.
Hermione accompanied the Longbottoms to the Leaky Cauldron, whence they flooed back to the Longbottom home. Augusta showed Hermione to her room, and then invited her guest to join herself and Neville for tea. "Miss Lovegood is visiting her father," Augusta explained.
Hermione soon found herself in a comfortable parlour, with a very welcome tray of tea and sandwiches before her. "Now, what are your plans, Miss Granger?" the formidable Longbottom matriarch asked.
"Hermione, please," the bushy-haired witch replied. "I'm planning to stay in Britain for the next week or two, so that I can attend the funerals of the people to whom I wish to pay my final respects. I'm hoping Mr Ollivander will open his shop again during that time, so that I can get a new wand before I leave. Of course, I'm not sure how I'll pay for it, since I only have Muggle money and I doubt I'll be welcome in Gringotts since our adventure in bank robbing. Perhaps Neville or Luna could accompany me to Diagon Alley and if I give them my Muggle money, they could exchange it for me in Gringotts?" Hermione suggested with a glance at Neville, who nodded in agreement.
"Actually, Madam Longbottom, I'd greatly appreciate your advice on that—I'll need to make reparations but I don't know how to approach the goblins under the circumstances. If you have any suggestions, they'd be very welcome," Hermione continued.
Augusta looked thoughtful. "I do believe I can open negotiations for you. What are you willing to offer the goblins in reparation?"
"Only a third of the damages—Harry and Ron will have to pay their own shares. I hope they'll accept a payment plan, though, as I doubt I can pay it all at once," Hermione replied.
"Hermione, the goblins will be able to make the repairs with magic. It won't cost them for materials, since they can use the rubble," said Augusta in amusement. "It's the fact that you caused them to lose face that you need to worry about."
"That and the dragon we liberated," said Hermione ruefully. "I'm not about to help them get another one, though. The conditions the dragon was kept in were appalling."
"Why on earth did you rob Gringotts in the first place?" asked Neville in amusement.
Hermione sighed. There were aspects of this story that she felt ought not to be shared, namely the Horcruxes. Taking a moment to think, she cautiously began to tell the tale. "There were certain items belonging to You-Know-Who which needed to be destroyed before he could be defeated once and for all, as these had been imbued with Dark magic in order to keep him alive artificially," she began, all the while thinking, 'There, that should be vague enough—I hope!'
"Harry, Ron and I spent the last year searching for these items and destroying them. You-Know-Who gave a number of them to his followers to keep safe for him, some of which he had actually stolen, murdering their original owners in the process. When we were at Malfoy Manor, Bellatrix Lestrange said something while… questioning me that made us realise one of those stolen items was in her vault," Hermione continued. "One night during our search we happened to come across Ted Tonks, Dean Thomas and two goblins—Gornuk and Griphook—who were all on the run, although I'm not sure why Griphook and Gornuk were on the run, given that the goblins of Gringotts seemed to be working with the Dark Lord's regime. They weren't aware of our presence, because we were under wards but when we were taken to Malfoy Manor, Dean and Griphook were in the dungeons there, while Gornuk and Ted Tonks had been killed. When we escaped, we managed to get the other occupants of the dungeons out with us—that also included Luna and Mr Ollivander. We then asked Griphook to help us get into the Lestrange vault and he did so on the condition that we gave him the Sword of Gryffindor, which we had in our possession at the time. You probably know that the goblins regard all goblin-made items as their possessions, even after sale?"
Hermione paused and seeing Augusta grimace in acknowledgement, she continued, explaining further for Neville's benefit, as he seemed to be puzzled by this fact.
"As far as the goblins are concerned, we merely rent goblin-made items for the duration of our lifetime, and handing such treasures down to the next generation is theft in their eyes. Godric Gryffondor's sword was a goblin-made item, and Griphook wanted it back. Harry and Ron agreed to give it to him after we had found the item we needed in the Lestrange vault but they were planning all along to double-cross him and keep the sword. I didn't agree with that, but we didn't actually have a choice. Those items of the Dark Lord's could only be destroyed by basilisk venom or Fiendfyre. We had no basilisk venom, nor did we know how to conjure or control Fiendfyre, however, we knew that the sword was imbued with basilisk venom and so it would be able to destroy the Dark Lord's items. I have a certain amount of sympathy over Griphook foiling our double-cross," Hermione mused, "but once he took the sword from us, he set off alarms so that we could be captured, and that was a poor thanks for our saving him from Malfoy Manor. So we had no way to get out without being captured by the goblins… except there was an old, blind dragon shackled near the Lestrange vault. We climbed on its back, broke its shackles, blasted through the roof and made our escape."
"Hmm," Augusta deliberated. "There's the fact that one of the goblins assisted you to enter the bank. Presumably this Griphook opened the vault for you?"
"Yes, but he probably always intended to see us captured afterwards. We didn't think to negotiate a safe exit with him in advance. He only went along with us until he had technically fulfilled his part of the bargain—enabling us to remove the object from the Lestrange vault."
"He still opened a vault that wasn't yours and allowed you entry," Augusta said firmly. "Besides, the item you removed was stolen."
"I'm not sure we can prove that," Hermione pondered. "It was Helga Hufflepuff's Cup, which You-Know-Who stole from her last descendant, Hepzibah Smith. He then killed Madam Smith, framing her house elf for the murder. Dumbledore showed a memory of the event that he had obtained from the house elf to Harry, but I haven't seen the memory myself and can't prove Madam Smith didn't just hand the cup over willingly. This took place long before he became the Dark Lord."
"Well, we'll save the fact that the item had been stolen in case we really need it. Perhaps Mr Potter will be able to provide the memory of himself watching the memory provided by Dumbledore."
Hermione mentally rolled her eyes at this, not at all sure Harry would be so cooperative, but said nothing and tuned back to Augusta.
"Now, let's see what you can offer the goblins as restitution," the older witch mused.
Hermione shook her head. "If they don't want gold, then all I can offer is my apology. I don't have anything else I can offer."
"An apology will be a good start," said Augusta. "Goblins aren't used to receiving them from wizards."
"I'm willing to make it a public apology, published in the Daily Prophet—assuming the Prophet would be willing to publish it exactly as I give it to them. Rita Skeeter doesn't exactly like me," Hermione added dubiously.
"I can take care of that," said Augusta with satisfaction. "I don't think Rita would dare interfere, if it's something required by the goblins of Gringotts. She's offended the goblins a number of times over the years, and I heard she's been warned that one more infraction against them would see her being handed a lifetime ban from Gringotts."
Hermione smiled evilly. "Is that so? What if I could tell the goblins how Rita manages to get much of her information for her stories? The last time I looked, it was through illegal means. If that's still the case, do you think that piece of information would interest the goblins? It would give them a hold over her."
"And just what exactly is this illegal means?" inquired Augusta in amusement.
"She's an unregistered animagus. Her form is a winged beetle. Almost unnoticeable and able to sneak into all sorts of places she shouldn't be. I have a feeling she's still unregistered."
"And why would that be?"
"Because I blackmailed her over it in our fifth year," relied Hermione bluntly. "If she was going to register, she would have done so then to invalidate my blackmail attempt."
Augusta shook her head. "Registering now would cause people to look back over her career. The penalties for being an unregistered animagus would be applied retrospectively. And if she ever used her animagus form to sneak into sensitive meetings at the Ministry, which I'm sure she did considering some of the stories she's broken over the years, the penalties would be extreme. No, it's highly unlikely that she's registered, but I'll check to be sure. I have no doubt that the goblins would find that particular piece of information very interesting indeed."
"How do you know she's an animagus, Hermione?" Neville asked curiously.
"I caught her at the end of fourth year, after the end of the third Triwizard task. She was using her form to listen to what was happening in the hospital wing after Harry had been taken there. It's how she got all her stories that year, since Dumbledore had banned her from the school grounds. I kept her trapped in a jar for a while, before letting her go once I had her agreement that she'd keep her quill to herself for a year."
Neville was gazing at Hermione open-mouthed in admiration. "Blimey, Ron was right about you, Hermione. Brilliant… but scary¹!"
.o.O.o.
¹ Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by JK Rowling. Quote from the movie, not the book.
A/N: I had some reviews to the last chapter, ranting at Lavender, as though it was an indisputable fact that she's a slut of the worst kind. As one of them was a guest review, I couldn't respond to the reviewer directly, so I decided to share my thoughts on that here. It seems to be a common theme in FF that Lavender and Parvati, and very often Padma too, just by virtue of being Parvati's twin, all sleep around. I have no idea where this idea comes from. Lavender had a date to the Yule Ball but, other than that, there's no indication that she dated anyone before she went out with Ron, nor is there any indication that she ever did any more than kiss Ron. Dating someone does not automatically equate to sleeping with them! As for Padma and Parvati, if the boys hadn't been desperate to find dates, it would seem that the Patils were willing to go to the ball on their own without dates, since it wasn't until close to the ball when Harry managed to get Parvati to agree that she and Padma would to go with him and Ron. Other than that, again, there's no evidence of either of the Patils dating anyone else. I appreciate that most FF is AU and characters often are OOC otherwise it wouldn't be FF, but there really is no evidence in canon to support the assumption that any of Lavender, Padma or Parvati is in any way a slut.