A small man stood at the center of the Weasley's living room. He barely came to Hermione's midsection; he could very well have been a goblin. Except nothing else about him looked like a goblin. The man had blond hair that curled in tight ringlets around his head. Atop his crop of curls sat a purple hat with a peacock feather so long it draped down his back. He wore a gold and purple tunic with a large S emblazoned on the front. The ends of the letter curled in an impossible pattern and Hermione watched as the tendrils moved over the fabric. Under one arm, the man held a rolled up scroll tucked close.
"What's going on?" Hermione asked timidly. Mrs. Weasley, who stood next to the small man, stepped forward to answer. The older woman opened her mouth as if to explain, then closed it again upon deeper consideration. Instead, Mrs. Weasley shook her head once, as if at a loss for words.
"Good afternoon," the small man said. His voice was high pitched and Hermione had to stifle a laugh. She didn't want to be rude. "May I presume that you are Miss Granger?"
"Yes, I'm Hermione Granger."
The man motioned with one hand in the air at Hermione's declaration. Suddenly, a trio of men dressed similarly to the first appeared from thin air. Each of the trio lifted a strange, horned instrument to his lips and began to blow. The Burrow was immediately filled with strange, loud music bouncing off the walls.
"Molly, what is that racket?"
Mr. Weasley walked in from the den, his hands over his ears. He looked about the room in disbelief, stopping in his tracks as a series of small cherubs flew out of each of the horns. The cherubs floated around the room, knocking paintings off the walls and disturbing a vase of flowers on the mantle.
Hermione watched the display, growing more confused by the minute. She saw Ginny and Harry walk in from the kitchen, wearing matching expressions of confusion. Ginny began to shout something at Hermione, but the message was lost as the band members chose that moment to play louder.
In a grand finale, the cherubs flew back toward the trio of musicians, floating in place above then men's heads. Each cherub pulled a small bow from its back and began to shoot off arrows. As the arrows hit the walls and pieces of furniture in the room, they exploded into a burst of flower petals. The music reached a crescendo then and finally the room was quiet once more.
"What the bloody hell was that?"
Hermione whipped around to see Ron standing at the bottom of the stairwell. His hair and shoulders were covered in a blanket of the cherubs' flower petals.
"Hear ye, hear ye!" the short man near Hermione shouted. She watched as he pulled the scroll from under his arm and gave it a good shake. The scroll unrolled in an instant and ran across the floor as the man began to read aloud from the page.
"We, the members of the Sylvan Court, do hereby proclaim Miss Hermione Granger a descendent of our most noble kingdom. Pursuant to the Sanctimonious Sylvan Treaty of 432 BC, we hereby charge you as a royal candidate for the title of Sylvan Princess and pledge ourselves as loyal servants. I designate this in the name of our most esteemed Highness, the late Princess Amelia Judicia Persephone Price!"
With that, the little man rolled up the scroll. He leaned forward in a deep bow and held the scroll out in front of him, using a dramatic flourish of his hand to point the parchment toward Hermione.
"What's he on about?" Ron asked as he stumbled off the last step of the stairs.
Ron came to stand just behind Hermione and she glanced at him over her shoulder. Looking back ahead, Hermione noticed Harry and Ginny had taken seats at the sofa, watching the display as if they were at a muggle cinema. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had taken to moving around the room, vanishing flower petals with their wands and righting the fallen pictures.
"There must be some mistake," Hermione said finally.
"You know what all that rot was about?" Hermione jerked her head toward Ron again, about to scold him for his language. She thought better of it, remembering it was one of the first unprompted things he had said to her in days.
"This man," Hermione said with a sigh, "is under the illusion that I'm one of these Sylvan princesses they've been talking about in the Daily Prophet."
Ron scrunched up his face at that. Apparently, the idea of his friend as a princess was as unbelievable to Ron as it was to Hermione.
"I beg your pardon miss, but there is no mistake," the small man said in his squeaky voice. He was still bowed over, his face pointed toward the carpet. "If you would, this scroll here explains it all thoroughly."
Hermione reached out tentatively toward the scroll, taking it from the man. She looked around the room at her friends and caught Ginny's eye. Ginny gave a hand motion of get on with it. Hermione rolled her eyes and swiftly unrolled the scroll with a flick of her wrist.
Her eyes scanned the text. The parchment was filled with small writing. Amendment after amendment followed the initial paragraph, the bit the tiny man had already read aloud. At the top was her name, written in large, looping script.
"I don't understand."
"Hermione Granger doesn't understand something?" Harry asked. "Is it the second coming of Voldemort?"
"Third," Hermione corrected.
"What?"
"If my not understanding something were indicative of the return of Voldemort," Hermione said with an exasperated breath, "it would be his third coming, not the second. Can we please stay on topic?"
"If I may, perhaps I can be of some service."
Hermione scanned the room, looking for the source of the new voice. A man stepped from the kitchen where he had been concealed. He was dressed in the same colors as the others, but the similarities stopped there. He was tall and broad with a plush cape that hung around his shoulders. His auburn hair was thick and hung over his ears, matching the full beard he wore. Hermione could just make out a few gray hairs at his temple.
"I am Leopold, miss, and I believe you'll find this useful."
At this, he held a thick, leather bound book toward Hermione. The book looked even thicker than Hogwarts: A History and Hermione tentatively reached for it. She took it from this new stranger, studying the large S on the cover. The letter matched the initial on the men's tunics, the ends of the S on the book also moving as it curled.
"Is this for real?" Ginny interrupted.
"Pardon?" Leopold asked.
"Is this real? You're saying Hermione is this girl you've been looking for, the one who' supposed to be the leader of your whole community. You're searching for a royal princess and she's been here at the Burrow all this time?"
"We're saying that this young lady," Leopold said, indicating Hermione, "might be who we're searching for."
Hermione listened to the conversation around her as she opened the cover to the book she'd been given. It looked to be over one thousand pages and her fingers itched to start turning the pages. The information revealed to her over the last few minutes was unbelievable. Even with her name printed prominently on that scroll, Hermione still wasn't convinced. She knew she wouldn't be anywhere near ready to discuss this until she had thoroughly researched the subject.
"Perhaps we should give you a moment, Miss Granger," Leopold said. "My men and I are not commissioned to return to our kingdom until we've completed out post. However, we have our supplies. With your permission Mrs. Weasley, my men and I can set up camp outdoors and return after you've had time to do some reading."
Hermione's head jerked up at this, momentarily distracted from the tome in her hands.
"I'm sorry," Hermione said. "Who are you?"
"Sir Leopold Ignatius Price, miss. I am what is known as your squire. You'll learn all about it in there," Leopold said, pointing toward the book. With that, he turned on his heel to exit, motioning for the other men to follow. His thick cape swirled around him as he moved. Hermione watched as Mrs. Weasley showed them out, telling the group they were welcome back for dinner later that evening.
"Wait!" Hermione called out. Leopold and the men paused, all turning back to look at her.
"This book," Hermione said. "Do all the girls receive this?"
Leopold gave her a gentle smile.
"No, miss, this was brought specially for you."
"B-but how? How did you know I would want this?"
"You'll be surprised by how much I understand you, Miss Granger," Leopold said quietly. "I've been studying you for quite a long time."