CHAPTER ELEVEN
Summary: Hermione's secret is discovered by The Order of the Phoenix. Before Harry is rescued, she needs to be first. But from who? With the help of Sirius she learns to put the past behind her, and with the help of two Weasleys, they show her a happy future. But Hermione isn't who she thinks she is, what she discovers will change her life for good. Rated M for a reason.
Disclaimer: All original characters and canon events belong to J.K. Rowling. Non-canon events are my own ideas. I am not making any profit from posting this fanfic.
Page count: 7
Hogwarts - Friday 12th January 1996
Hermione woke feeling calm and rested. She didn't know how long she had been asleep for but she'd had no nightmares, it was the best night's sleep she'd ever had. She sat up and looked around, she was in her bedroom and Sirius was sat at her desk eating breakfast.
"Good morning, Kitten," he said smiling. "How are you feeling?"
"Good, really good actually, what happened? How long have I been asleep for?"
"After completing the final test, your body couldn't handle the magical depletion and you fell into a magical exhaustion and passed out. You used a large amount of your power yesterday; you're still new to this and so your power usage is limited. As you become more skilled in your powers, that limitation will expand, allowing you to use more than before. It's just after seven in the morning and you've been asleep since not long after eleven yesterday morning."
"Twenty-two hours!"
"Yes, your body needed to recover from all that strain on your magic and energy levels. It's a good thing you woke at all; most that suffer magical exhaustion fall into a coma."
She gulped and nodded at his words.
"I suppose that I should get ready for school," she mumbled. She climbed off her bed and walked to her bathroom.
"Kitten?" she turned around and she only just caught the newspaper that was thrown at her before it smacked her in the face.
Hermione Black: The Blue Mage
It has been confirmed by Minister Cornelius Fudge, that Hermione Black –previously known as Hermione Granger- the daughter of Lord Sirius Black, is the next Blue Mage and she has come to Europe.
Yesterday morning, after a series of tests –which we can only assume involved controlling the elements- and gruelling hours of work, the new Lady Black was rewarded with the title of being the true Blue Mage for the next five hundred years, until her abilities are to be passed on.
Minister Fudge held a press conference at The Ministry to make a statement.
"Wednesday lunch time I received a letter from Lord Sirius Black claiming that his daughter, Hermione Black, was the next Blue Mage. Of course we could not ignore his claims and so a team was assembled. On Thursday morning at precisely nine-thirty am, testing began on Hermione Black. After just under three hours, I am delighted to confirm that Hermione Black is indeed The Blue Mage."
"Where is Hermione Black now?" this reporter asked.
"Miss. Black is currently resting after completing the testing, which are challenging, vigorous and tiring."
"What does the testing entail?"
"I am bound by magic to protect the secret of the testing process; I can, however, give a brief description. Miss. Black was required to provide evidence of her ability to control the five elements, which she did. I cannot reveal how she completed this portion of the test."
"What is her ability in regards to the fifth element, Quintessence?"
"Unfortunately, I cannot give an answer, to do so would disrespect Miss. Black's privacy in which could hold unknown consequences. The next portion of the test was to see how Miss. Black's magic reacted to being threatened, followed by how Miss. Black's magic would react to someone she cared for being threatened. The tests were not kind to Miss. Black and she is suffering from magical exhaustion."
"Will Miss. Black be holding a press conference? What will she do as The Blue Mage?"
"I am unaware of Miss. Black's intentions, but she has provided a statement, which I will now read for you all. 'I was having magical outbursts that I couldn't control and slowly my elemental abilities started happening at times I couldn't explain. It was a week later that I confided in my father about my magical outbursts. The day before my return to Hogwarts, my father explained to me about The Blue Mage and what she is and what she stands for. It was difficult to digest and I'm still coming to terms with what it means to me to be a Blue Mage. I understand that this is a very exciting time for everyone, but I ask that the public please respect my privacy at this moment in time. Not only am I still digesting the news myself, I have the added stress of preparing for my OWLs and learning to control my abilities."
We have not yet been able to contact Miss. Black or Lord Black, so we can only assume that she is yet to awaken from her magical exhaustion.
"Well, that wasn't as bad as it could've been," she commented.
He snorted. "Not even Rita Skeeter is stupid enough to disrespect you now, everyone is afraid of the consequences it will have."
~000~000~000~
Hermione took a deep breath and with Padfoot at her side she stepped through the doors of the great hall.
As she stepped through all chatter stopped and all eyes turned to her and before she knew it, everyone had stood from their seats and had rushed towards her, stopping right in front of her and shouting over each other to be heard. Hermione's breathing increased as she couldn't escape the crowd of students; they surrounded her.
She was being touched left, right and centre and it was sending her into flashbacks.
"THAT IS ENOUGH!" Dumbledore's voice roared over the great hall, the Sonorous Charm he used greatly magnifying his voice. All sound stopped and they turned to look at Dumbledore in surprise.
"Miss. Black is dealing with unimaginable circumstances and she has very recently awoken from a magical exhaustion, if you do not allow Miss. Black to breathe, you will all earn yourselves detention."
The crowd grumbled and slowly dispersed, heading back to their seats but still watching Hermione. Fred, George and Harry stayed.
"What's a Blue Mage?" Harry asked confused.
"We'll explain later, Harry," Fred mumbled. "Are you alright, Hermione?" he asked her softly.
She nodded, her breathing still coming out in laboured pants, her eyes focused on the floor and her body shaking slightly.
Fred and George looked at each other worriedly and then nodded in agreement to their unspoken conversation.
"Come here, Princess," George spoke, opening his arms. She didn't hesitate and moved into his arms and clung to him, pulling Fred to her as well.
"It's okay, it'll get better when the novelty wears off," Fred whispered.
"Not with something like this," she mumbled.
"I was trying to make you feel better," he chuckled.
"Try harder," she replied.
George chuckled at her. "You should've seen the look on Ron's face, priceless. Malfoy's was even better, Parkinson's..." he whistled. "I wish I had a camera, should've nicked Colin Creevey's."
She gave a light laugh.
"Okay, now I feel better."
"How are you feeling?" Fred asked her.
"I feel rested, since I was magically exhausted I didn't have nightmares. I woke not long after seven, I was out for close to twenty-two hours."
"Lazy sod," George teased.
"Have you eaten?" Fred asked, rolling his eyes at his brother.
"Not yet," she shook her head.
"Let's get you some breakfast then."
They released her from their hug and together they walked to the Gryffindor table. Fred and George sat on either side of her, Harry opposite her and Padfoot sat on the floor behind her.
Hermione picked her breakfast foods and started eating.
"How did you do in the tests?" Fred asked her. Hermione knew that everyone close enough to her was listening, they didn't even bother hiding it.
"I had to prove that I could control the elements. First was water. I moulded it into the castle and then separated the water into molecules."
"Like you did for us in the common room?" Fred asked.
"Yes, but on a much larger scale. I then poured it over one of the aurors present, he was being a prat." They laughed at her. "Next I had to command the element of earth. I forced a beanstalk to grow from under the stone foundations of the castle. Next I had to command fire. I had a flame from a torch move over to me, it floated in the air and came over to me and I made it disappear. Then next was air. Daniel Cameron..."
"Montrose Magpie, Daniel Cameron?" Harry interrupted, a stunned and awe-like look on his face.
"Yep, he's the Head of the Magical Sports and Games Department, he was part of the team from The Ministry."
"You met The Daniel Cameron?"
"Yes."
"What's he like?"
"Arrogant," she snorted. "He asked me to use my control over air to make him fly on a broom that had all of the magic deactivated. I'm glad I was able to do it without hurting him."
"The last element?" Harry asked.
"Quintessence," she nodded. "Quintessence is associated with many different abilities and powers. Every Blue Mage has a different ability. The previous two had telekinesis and astral projection."
"And what's your ability?"
"I'll tell you later."
He looked disappointed but nodded.
"It's worth the wait, her ability is awesome," George grinned.
"You know?" he asked surprised.
"Yep, witnessed it a few times too, quite frightening, Malfoy looked to have shit his pants when he was on the receiving end of it the other day," George said proudly. Harry just stared as the twins laughed, fondly remembering Malfoy's reaction.
"Hermione?"
Hermione turned around to see a first year Gryffindor stood behind her, looking nervous.
"Yes, Sarah," Hermione replied with a smile.
"What's a Blue Mage?" she asked, her eyes darting everywhere.
"A Blue Mage is a witch that has the ability to control the five elements. She is the only thing that can control the elements. She protects people and their land. In times of war she remains neutral, making sure that neither side has too great of an advantage, but she must not actively be involved. Blue Mages are warriors, we right the wrongs of others. We are essentially, the living embodiment of Mother Nature."
"Joshua said that you're powerful, if anyone disrespects you bad things happen." Joshua was her brother and in the year above Hermione. She looked down the table to see everyone staring at her.
"Then your brother is correct, Sarah, as much as I hate to admit it, I am a powerful witch and my abilities are becoming easier to control. It is said that if anyone is to harm or disrespect a Blue Mage, terrible consequences will befall them. I don't know if that's true or not, as far as I'm aware, no one has ever tried to test that theory."
"Can I see?" she asked, shifting on her feet. Hermione sighed and looked at the anxious first year.
Fred spoke. "If you show them something, they might back off a little, seeing for themselves will make them believe that you shouldn't be messed with."
"Fine," she mumbled. "Come with me."
Hermione stood from the table and made her way to the front of the hall, standing in front of the head's table and facing everyone, who had gone quiet and was watching her eagerly.
Hermione walked up to the head's table. "May I?" she asked, gesturing to the vase of freshly cut flowers.
"Of course, Miss. Black," Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. She removed a thornless rose from the vase and turned back to the students.
Hermione looked down at Sarah who stood next to her and then her attention moved to the yellow rose in her hand. She cupped the rose in her hands and cleared her mind. A few seconds later Hermione lifted her hands and threw the rose in the air. As she did, thousands of roses of every colour started falling from the ceiling, landing in people's food, on the tables and on the floor. Everyone gasped and whispered excitedly.
When she heard a snort she turned her attention to it. Pansy Parkinson.
"Anyone could cast a Duplication Charm, you're not a Blue Mage, I don't know how you fooled the Minister."
The hall went silent and everyone gawked at her words.
Hermione's eyes narrowed. She wanted proof, Hermione would give her it.
Hermione focused her mind on the water in the hall. She allowed her magic to flow freely, not bothering to contain it. She slowly lifted her hands from her sides and raised them in the air. When she heard gasps of awe she opened her eyes.
The great hall was filled with gawking and awed students and professors. Hermione had made all of the water in the great hall rise from every jug and goblet and it floated in the air above everyone, but not only water. Pumpkin juice, orange juice, tea and coffee had also responded to her command, they too floated in the air.
Hermione breathed out and the liquids separated into single molecules, surrounding everyone and they reached out and touched them. This was quickly becoming Hermione's favourite trick. She slowly lowered her hands and every molecule returned to where they had come from.
The great hall erupted into applause as everyone clapped and whistled and Hermione blushed over the yells of amazement and praise.
When it finally died down everyone looked at Hermione expectantly, before she could do anything further, Pansy stood up and stumbled away from the Slytherin table. She ran into the wall and slid down it until she hit the floor and she started screaming and clutching at her stomach.
Everyone watched in horror and Hermione panicked. Snape rushed forward from his seat at the head's table and he kneeled down next to her.
"I'm not doing it, I swear," Hermione said hysterically.
"As much as I hate to admit it, I believe you, Miss. Black," Snape drawled.
Pansy stopped screaming. "Punish the bitch!" she screeched. She started screaming again, before stopping and panting with tears falling down her face.
"Watch your tone, Miss Parkinson!" Snape snapped. "Miss. Black is not the cause for your pain, you are. You disrespected The Blue Mage and you suffered the consequences. She is not able to harm another innocent witch or wizard because she was born to protect them."
"My father will hear of this," she promised.
"And he won't do a thing, he is not stupid enough to disrespect The Blue Mage, he would likely punish you himself once he discovers what you did," Snape hissed in her ear.
Dumbledore cleared his throat and stood, claiming everyone's attention.
"Let this be a warning to you all, the consequences of disrespecting or harming The Blue Mage are real. Miss. Black is not able to control the consequences and she does not cause them, so it's pointless in being upset with or afraid of her. You will have to watch every comment you make, every action you do when around her, for it won't be her fault if the magics of the world decides you need to be punished." Everyone digested his words. "Professor Snape, please escort Miss. Parkinson to the hospital wing for testing of any lasting damage. Miss. Black, do not feel guilty for what transpired, you are not to blame, now, I suggest everyone prepares to leave, lessons will be starting shortly."
Hermione walked over to her table and picked up her bag, idly walking out of the great hall with Padfoot at her heels and Fred and George on either side of her.
"You heard Dumbledore, it wasn't your fault," Fred said softly.
"Yeah, there's always been warnings of consequences; no one has been stupid enough to test them."
"Enter Parkinson," Fred nodded. "I always knew she wasn't the smartest person to walk the halls, but to disrespect a Blue Mage..." he snorted. "She just took stupidity to a whole new level."
"Yeah, you have nothing to feel guilty for, so you can stop those thoughts right now, Lady Black," George scolded softly.
"Now, first lesson, I believe it's potions, let's get the lovely lady there without any more hassle."
"Right you are, Freddie, our girlfriend has a few nasty hexes up her sleeve."
"And a mean right hook," Fred added.
"Not to mention all that scary shit she can now do with the elements," George shivered.
They then slowly took her hands, making her realise their intentions and she gripped them tighter. They gave her hands a squeeze and pulled her down the corridor, away from the gawking students that were following them.