Disclaimer:
I do not own the world and characters featured in this Harry Potter fanfiction, nor do I have permission to use them. Harry Potter, his story, and the settings and characters involved in it, are owned and trademarked by JK Rowling and the many licensors of her work. I do not make money through this story.
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Hermione smiled to herself as she made her way down the stairs to her favorite place in the Castle. Maybe even the whole world. She had always been a bookworm. Although she had learned to rely just as much on her wits and instincts over the past year, she still enjoyed the feelings she got in discovering something new in a book. Hermione's smile faltered slightly when she saw the many scorch marks on the doors of what had been her sanctuary during school time. She knew some of the Death Eaters had targeted the Library during the battle. Because she had been in the Infirmary for most of the time since then, Hermione had not yet had the opportunity to assess the damages. She hesitantly pushed the doors open.
"No one is supposed to come in here yet."
Hermione winced at Madam Pince's tone more than at her words. She sounded like she had been crying. As she caught sight of fallen bookshelves and scattered pages on the floor, the younger witch could easily understand what her older bookworm counterpart was feeling.
"Hello, Madam Pince. I'm sorry but Professor McGonagall has sent me. I need access to some books…"
"Oh, Miss Granger…"
As Hermione slowly made her way into the room she spotted Madam Pince sitting on the floor, the space around her littered with broken books and loose pages.
"Dear Gods!"
"Sadly, knowledge is often the first to be destroyed when a revolution is attempted," the older witch said as she carefully lined pages and bound them back together in their respective places. "Professor McGonagall mentioned you might be dropping by. I have the books you might need right here."
Madam Pince waved in the direction of her desk.
"Knowing well your reading and researching habits, I have taken the liberty to add several titles you might well end up wanting to read alongside what your Professors recommended."
Hermione nodded with a smile as she looked at the three large piles of books. She pointed at the large, heavy-looking roll of parchment beside the books.
"What's that?"
"Those are the plans for the Wards."
Hermione nodded once more and turned to look at the mess around her.
"Would you like help with the Library first?"
"Oh no, deary. Reparations have to come first. And your job is the most important of all. Without the Wards, we have no hope of reopening the school, never mind if the walls are standing strong and all our books are back to their pristine selves. You're welcome to stay here to research. The Death Eaters might have taken their stupidity out on the books but the wards remain strong - in particular the Silencing Charm. You won't be disturbed by the construction noises here."
Hermione nodded slowly and took at seat at the desk, looking at the list in her hand. Professor Babbling and Vector had recommended four titles each. Madam Pince had added a good two dozen titles, from Dark Arts and Charms theory texts, to Ancient Languages dictionaries, to Arithmancy and warding journals. She does know me and my tendencies to branch out during research, Hermione thought as she pulled several pieces of parchment from her beaded bag as well as a quill.
Soon enough, Hermione was engrossed in Basic Warding for Beginners. She had never before really looking into warding, beyond the basic wards she had learned last year in preparation for her time on the run with the boys. She wasn't really surprised to find the very wards she had used in that book.
Wards are a powerful form of magic. When broken down to its simplest element, a ward is simply a spell, usually moderately to highly powerful, attached to a place or object. It is possible to attach a ward to a person but this can lead one's magic to become unstable and as such is not used very often. Although wards can be both offensive and defensive, most people will first think of protective spellwork when talking about wards.
The true power of warding come into its own when one starts to layer spells in arrays. An array is constituted of two or more warding spells working to achieve the caster's specific goal. As mentioned before, the spells will be anchored to something, some place, or someone. When people speak of wards, they usually mean an array but this term has now fallen into disuse in non-academic circles, the more generic term of 'wards' being used instead.
Although this may seem an odd contradiction in theory, wards are always a very personal piece of spellwork. The spells used in creating wards will often be generic ones, such as the ever popular Shield and Silencing spells. However an array will be put together by the caster in a very specific way, linking the two or more spells together in a distinct way - whether by instinct or intent. It is this natural uniqueness that allows even the most basic of array to be more difficult to dispell than any single generic spell, by anyone other than the original warder.
It should be noted that although the theory behind warding is simple enough, execution is often far more complex. Many spells will work together well enough, while others will interfere with each others causing any number of problems for a warder, from weakened effects to total collapse of an array. To make matter worse, while certain negative effects are immediately apparent, other will only develop over periods of time. This very challenge is why many wards are passed down through family lines, the elders teaching familial wards to just-of-age witches and wizards as a coming-of-age rite of sorts, in the same way new adults receive a watch for their seventeenth birthday.
These difficulties can be worked around by dedicated warders through various means. A good knowledge of existing arrays as well as various spells will allow a warder to choose pieces of spellwork that will naturally work well together. Arithmancy equations will go a long way to point out eventual problem with a planned array, and can also be useful for modifying existing spells to fit better into an array. Knowledge of different Ancient Runes will give any warder a useful tool to encode their arrays, making breaking the wards more difficult. A sound knowledge in Charms, Defense, and even the Dark Arts will be an excellent starting point for any warder looking to create their own arrays. Although often forgotten, potions are also a good tool for warding. Many warders of old used potion-based magical inks, created specifically for a particular type of arrays, to boost the power of their wards.
The sheer vastness of knowledge required to become a true Wards Master is the precise reason why this mastery has fallen out of favor. Most warders calling themselves wards masters nowadays choose to specialize in either protective or offensive wards and only use a small numbers of arrays that they tweak and encrypt as they proceed with each new job. Very few go through the trouble of inventing completely new wards, and simply layer arrays on top of each others.
Hermione jotted down notes as she read along, ideas about how to make her own wards more powerful and maybe how she could ask the Weasleys to share their familial wards with her - given she had no magical relatives… It all seemed a fascinating subject, and it had the added bonus in her mind to incorporate her two very favorite subjects: Arithmancy and Ancient Runes. Hermione continued working, the pile of annotated parchments beside her growing as she went.
After quickly skimming through a first read of Basic Wards for Beginners, Hermione took a quick look at the School Wards plan. She carefully unrolled the parchment on one side of the Library's floor, away from Madam Pince so as not to disturb the librarian's work. At first glance, the parchment seemed to be a giant edition of the Marauders' Map. The entirety of Hogwarts and its surrounding grounds were represented. And superimposed on the black lines denoting physical features such as the Black Forest, the Lake, the Castle and the edges of the grounds, were waving colored lines that were representing wards. Hermione absently noted that the map had been signed by the Four Founders and a Perseus Draconis.
Hermione spent some time studying the map, noting the physical differences between Hogwarts at the time the map was created, and the Hogwarts she had grown up in. For example, back then, the entirety of the grounds had been surrounded by a brick wall. She knew that part of that wall remained today. But she also knew that it had been severely damaged by time and neglect. In the forest, there were places where that wall was only a vague memory. Other changes included the rather recent addition of the Whomping Willow and the secret passage to the Shrieking Shack.
With a smile, the young witch discovered that the parchment had been spelled to show the evolution of the Hogwarts Castle and of the Wards over the centuries. With a touch and a few whispered words, she could get the map to display current Hogwarts with the original wards superimposed, or vice versa. Or even Hogwarts from the seventh century, without any wards at all. Hermione dreaded to think what the Marauders or the Weasley Twins would have done with access to this map.
Pulling her mind back onto the subject of the Wards themselves, Hermione requested the map to show her the evolution of the Wards. In front of her eyes, Hermione watched at the original wards were layered and then added to by each of the following Head. It was the School Head's duty to make sure that Hogwarts was protected. As such, past Headmasters and Headmistresses had regularly added layers of protection to the School Wards, whether in terms of actual protective arrays or arrays designed to encode the layers beneath, making breaking through more difficult. Hermione made notes of arrays she found interesting as well as concepts used in their making that she did not understand yet. Then she went back to Basic Wards for Beginners, ready for a more thorough read.
The young witch ended up working right through lunch and well into the afternoon before the sound of the Library doors opening suddenly broke through her concentration.
"No one is supposed to come in here yet."
Madam Pince's words echoed in the silence before the would-be intruder could even step properly into the Library.
"Yes, Irma. But it was pointed out to me earlier that both you and Miss Granger were absent for lunch. And I thought I would make sure you would be present to dinner."
Professor McGonagall entered the Library with a little smile directed at Madam Pince. The librarian smiled back from her position on the floor.
"There's simply too much to do, both for myself and for Miss Granger."
"I wish we had the manpower to spare for you both at the moment, but we really want to try and fix Hogwarts as much as possible before everyone decides to leave for the holidays."
"Oh, I understand perfectly. But this job requires fastidious care, and I would prefer dedicated people to handle my damaged books."
"You mean you just don't trust anyone but the Professors to handle them."
"And Miss Granger. I'm certain she would do an excellent job. Alas, she has her own task to get on with right now."
The Transfiguration Professor turned to her favorite cub, looking amused by the assortment of books and parchments littering the desktop.
"Hard at work, I see."
"It's rather interesting, actually. Why isn't warding taught at Hogwarts?"
"The basics are, I suppose. But warding is an intensive field of work, and it is generally best learned from a Master. Or at the very least, someone who dedicates their work life to the craft."
"So, Bill Weasley?"
"To my knowledge, Mr Weasley was apprenticed under a man named Polenius Stoddard. Mr Stoddard was then in the employ of Gringotts, as warder. I believe Mr Weasley chose later on to specialize in curse breaking rather than warding because it was more into his nature."
"His nature?"
"I'm afraid to say that George and Fred were not the first of the Weasley brothers to display characteristics similar to that of a Bludger. Although Bill Weasley did settle down somewhat after a few years."
Hermione smiled softly, trying to imagine the eldest Weasley emulating the Terrible Duo while at school. Madam Pince started to gather the books around her, making sure that any loose page was secured with a few temporary Sticking Charms. Hermione gathered her own notes and tidied the desk she had been working at, all the while pondering on the School Wards.
"Professor, do you know a Perseus Draconis?"
"I can't say I do," Professor McGonagall said. "Why?"
"I'm not entirely sure if it even is relevant, but his name was signed on the wards map alongside the Founders."
"Actually," Madam Pince interjected, "Perseus Draconis was a Wards Master and a contemporary of the Founders. I would not be surprised to learn he was the one to draw that map."
"His name was never mentioned in Hogwarts, A History."
"It is always assumed that the Founders had no help when creating Hogwarts," Madam Pince scoffed. "But this is ridiculous. Four witches and wizards, no matter how powerful, could not have raised a castle in the middle of the forest, by themselves, and with the youngest of them being some seventy-five years old at the time. I wouldn't be surprise to learn that Mr Draconis was the one in charge of laying the Foundation Wards, and maybe even all of the others too."
"Are you maybe entertaining thoughts of pursuing a career as a warder, Miss Granger?" Professor McGonagall said with a small smile.
"The thought may have crossed my mind," Hermione replied with a smile of her own. "I just enjoy being able to research and use more than just one field of magic."
"Well I you are really interested, I could make a few inquiries regarding a potential master for you. Sadly, it would have to wait until after you finish your schooling with us."
"Thanks for the offer, but I would prefer to wait a bit longer. Just because I enjoy the research doesn't mean I'll be any good putting it into action."
"There's nothing wrong with a purely academic career either, Miss Granger."
Hermione smiled at her Head of House and nodded.
"In the meantime, both of you should join us all in the Great Hall. Preferably before the food gets cold."
Hermione heaved a large, put-upon sigh then stood from her desk and followed the two older witches to go and have dinner.
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Hermione couldn't help but smile as she entered the Great Hall behind Professor McGonagall and Madam Pince. Although the school year had unofficially ended just a few weeks ago, the House tables were full. Even the Slytherins were represented, even if they were a rather subdued lot. Harry and Ron waved her over to the Gryffindor table, and for a moment, Hermione could almost see two eleven-year-old boys there, waving at her as they were stuffing their faces with the good cooking of the Hogwarts Elves. The witch made her way to her friends and took a seat between them.
"Nice to see you emerged from your books!"
Hermione punched Harry in the shoulder for his little jab and everyone around them laughed. The atmosphere was relaxed as they talked about the reparations. Apparently the boys had spent to entire day dogging Professor Flitwick's every move, lending their strengths to his spells as they went along.
"Why are you starting at the top of the castle?"
"Flitwick secured the Foundations yesterday," Harry said after swallowing his mouthful of roast beef, "but he was worried that we would end up with half the ceilings falling on our heads, so we're now working from the top down."
"We've got about half of the Seventh Floor secured," Ron added in between bites of his own dinner. "It's not perfect or anything, but it is safe. The Professors keep on saying that they can take care of decorating over the summer. They want to make the castle safe for use before all of us have to go back to our jobs. Or training, in our case."
Hermione nodded as she helped herself to some mashed potatoes and green beans, along with a small steak and a small dollop of gravy. Although she had not done anything physical herself, she found herself famished. The friends ate mostly in silence and as Hermione finished the last bite of her dinner, an owl dropped an envelop in our now empty plate. It flew off before anyone could identify it and Hermione looked suspiciously at her piece of mail.
"Who sent it?" Ron asked as he tore into a slice of bread.
Although he was still eating, Hermione didn't fail to notice that his posture had tensed and his gaze was fixed on the letter. Harry and Neville actually had their wands out. Hermione silently extended her hand, palm up in Harry's direction, and her friend almost casually dropped his wand into her grasp. Hermione performed a series of detection spells, none of which revealed any nasty surprise. The young witch finally gave Harry his wand back and went to open her letter.
"You need to get your own wand, Hermione."
Harry's tone was gently reproving and Hermione nodded absently.
"It is on my to do list, just as handing over that wand is."
Hermione was still carrying around Bellatrix Lestrange's wand. She wasn't really interested in keeping it, but until now she had not had the opportunity to leave Hogwarts in order to purchase another wand. She refused to be caught anywhere without a wand, knowing that many of Voldemort's sympathizers were still at large. But she also refused to use the mad witch's wand unless she really had to. For one, it just wasn't suited to her magic. And for another, it always felt like that wand was just waiting for the opportunity to turn on her current user. Paranoia or not, Hermione wasn't willing to run the risk.
"So what does it say?" Ron asked.
"It's from George, actually. He wants to know if I can pop round to shop tomorrow. There's something he wants to talk to me about."
"And he couldn't just write it in that letter, or just send a Patronus?"
Hermione winced as Ron returned to his meal. Somehow, she didn't think George was able to produce even the slightest wisp of a Patronus mist never mind his full bodied fox.
"I guess I'll just have a day out tomorrow. Between visiting George, getting a wand, and dropping by the Ministry, I probably will be out most of the day."
Hermione stood from the table, and Harry, Ron, and Neville followed suit. The four Gryffindors made their way to the dungeons. Everyone was currently staying there as it was still the safest place in Hogwarts at the moment. Hermione had now been given her own rooms, and the boys had gently mocked it was because she was McGonagall's favorite cub. Hermione had chosen to smirk and remain silent. As she waved the boys to their own rooms, she couldn't help but be grateful of that fact once again.
As she entered her quarters, Hermione kicked off her shoes and sighed. While not as opulent as what she had heard the teachers were afforded, Hermione quite enjoyed these rooms. Her living room was spacious enough, with a large bookcase filled with fiction standing next to a desk. A small couch and two armchairs sat around the small fireplace. Professor McGonagall had made a point of warding off the Floo access in front of her. This space was decorated in midnight blue and gold tones. Two doors led from the back of the room: one to her bathroom, the other to her bedroom. The blue color scheme carried through the other two rooms, the bedroom with accents of silver and the bathroom of bronze.
Hermione let herself drop into what had become her favorite armchair. She sighed as she rotated her head, wincing as she felt and heard her bones crack. She reached for the bowl sitting on the side table and sat it on her lap. Carefully, she took off her top and unwrapped the bandage from her left arm. Taking Lestrange's wand from her wand holster, she considered the piece of wood.
"Just a few more spells, and I'll release you."
She wasn't sure when she had started talking to the wand, but she wasn't about to stop if it kept the magical implement compliant for the next twenty-four hours. With a flick of her wrist, she summoned a soft cloth and her Essence of Dittany. She then set about cleaning her wounds and, as Professor Snape had recommended, she kept the bandage off for the night. All the while she wondered what George could want.
In the end, she decided to skip her shower tonight and set her alarm to wake her up an hour earlier than usual so she could get ready. She went in her bedroom, changed into her pyjamas, took her Dreamless Sleep, and was asleep before her head had even come to rest fully on her pillow.
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Author's Note: As a 'thank you' to bacrawford and DutchGirl01, my first reviewers, I've given you the second chapter today. But don't get used to frequent updates. I write for a living and I will concentrate on the writing that might make me money. Although a generous supply of reviews and comments might convince me to take a break more often than I usually do so I can write fanfiction :)