Disclaimer: Not mine, don't own it — I wish! Unfortunately, Harry Potter belongs to JKR and not to me; I'm just playing in her sandbox.

Author's Notes:

» Hermione changes her name during the story. However, to make it easier to understand, I'll continue to refer to Hermione by the name we all know. The only times her new name will be used is when she introduces herself to new people, or when someone is speaking to her and addresses her by name.

» This story is has been written in full and will be posted at the rate of approximately one chapter a week.

» Thank you to atokkota for her support and feedback.

.o.O.o.

CHAPTER 2

Waking up early the next morning, Hermione erected wards on her hotel room and repeated the blood oath ritual from the day before. Cutting the palm of her hand again, she held her wand and made her second oath: "I hereby declare on my magic that henceforth my name is Nonie Gale."

Once again, magic accepted her oath and, just to be sure, she cast a Patronus, grateful to see that her magic was still as strong as ever. What surprised her, however, was that her Patronus had now changed. She knew that significant emotional events could cause a patronus to change and she had certainly undergone significant emotional upheaval since the previous day. No longer was her Patronus the playful otter it had been in her childhood, it was now a lioness prowling around the room. She recognised that this probably reflected the fact that she would fight like a lioness to protect the baby growing inside her. This, after all, was the most precious thing to her and the main reason she was leaving the wizarding world, even more than her distress over the way she had been treated by Harry and Ron.

Hermione believed strongly in a father's right to know his child. However, she also believed even more strongly in doing what was in the best interest of the child: children were innocents who should be protected and kept safe. If a man would use his fists once, he would use them again. Putting a child in a potentially abusive situation was not in its best interest; adding magic to that equation could easily make the degree and type of abuse worse. Hermione shuddered to think what Ron might have done to her had he had a wand in his hand when he attacked her the day before.

Resolutely putting all thought of Ron out of her mind, Hermione fondly admired her new Patronus until it faded and then decided it was time to go out and do some errands. Her first stop was at a Muggle beauty salon, where she requested a makeover and put herself completely in the hands of the stylists. The hairdresser looked delighted at the thought of getting her hands on Hermione's mane. She advised Hermione that her hair was always bushy because she tried to brush out the curls and recommended that Hermione instead let it fall into natural ringlets, explaining that she should only brush her hair just before she washed it, to get the tangles out. This was not the first hairdresser to give that advice to Hermione but in the past, the goody-goody young girl with the penchant for following the rules and doing what was proper had been scandalised at the thought of not brushing her hair every day! Older, wiser and far less prissy than in her youth, Hermione now took the hairdresser's recommendation on board.

The hairdresser also gave Hermione tips for simple day-to-day maintenance and care of her curly hair. Allowing the hairdresser free rein, her hair was cut into a jaunty bob, which fell just below chin length and curled riotously. The hairdresser also punched some colour into Hermione's mousy brown hair by adding a mixture of blonde and red highlights. Next, she was given quick and simple make-up tips by the salon's beautician and purchased the basic makeup kit recommended by the beauty consultant. Finally, the beautician suggested some boutiques to help Hermione change her look and she paid them a visit as well, buying some young and funky clothes that no one who knew Hermione Granger would ever imagine she might wear. Nonie Gale now looked nothing like Hermione Granger and Hermione was thrilled with her new look. 'A new look for a new life,' she thought happily.

After that, she spent the day browsing bookstores and street stalls before retiring to her hotel for an early night. She checked out bright and early in the morning and made her way to Charles de Gaulle airport to catch her flight to Canada.

Neither of Hermione's friends had ever shown any interest in her family. Harry because he was usually too busy fighting for his life to care about much else, and Ron because he had no interest whatsoever in Hermione's life outside the wizarding world, or indeed, anyone or anything Muggle. Although he had enough sense not to say so to Hermione, he had been singularly undisturbed by the absence of her parents, deeming them unimportant because they were Muggles. Therefore, no one in the wizarding world knew that Hermione Granger actually had dual British/Canadian citizenship, due to her mother having been born in Québec Province in Canada. Although Hélène Granger had lived in Britain since the age of twelve, she had made sure that Hermione could speak fluent French. None of Hermione's friends were aware of her language skills — not even Bill's wife, Fleur, herself a witch from France.

As the daughter of a Canadian, Hermione was a Canadian citizen by descent and her identity as Nonie Gale was also as a dual British/Canadian citizen. Although she no longer had any living relatives in either Canada or Britain, she now intended to move to permanently to French Canada, knowing that it would not occur to anyone in the wizarding world to look for her anywhere other than an English-speaking region. In fact, efforts would probably focus on Australia, since Hermione had told Harry and Ron that she had sent her parents there. Although this was in fact true, the assumed names she had given Harry and Ron — Monica and Wendell Wilkins — were not. In their fifth year of Hogwarts, Harry had failed spectacularly at learning Occlumency and Ron had never shown any interest in it, so Hermione, who had quietly taught herself, did not feel able to entrust Harry and Ron with her parents' safety in case they were captured during the war and the information was taken from them. Neither boy had ever shown any interest in her parents since, not even to ask about retrieving them, and so she had never supplied them with any further information. As such, looking in Australia for Monica and Wendell Wilkins would not help them find either Hermione or her parents.

Arriving in Toronto, Hermione again checked into a budget hotel and went to sleep. Waking up refreshed the next day, she decided it was time to pay a visit to the magical district, as she wanted to buy a new wand, since she was sure that if asked, Mr Ollivander, the British wandmaker, would give Harry or the Ministry the details of her current wand, including the wand signature, and she did not want to be traced by it. She had researched the whereabouts of the magical district back when she first decided to plan an escape route to Canada during the war and so knew exactly where to go and how to enter the sheltered area. Fortunately, she would not need a wand to enter, as she intended to leave hers at the hotel. She wanted to buy a new wand and did not want the wandmaker to sense that she already had another wand with her because this would not fit her cover story.

Locating the wandmaker, Hermione entered the shop. "I'd like to buy a new wand, please," she said to the shopkeeper.

"You're British from the sound of it. May I ask what happened to your previous wand?"

Realising he was probably being careful in case she was an escaped Death Eater, she casually pushed up her sleeves to show that she had no Dark Mark as she gave her cover story. "I'm a Muggle-born witch. I lost my wand when I escaped Britain — I barely managed to escape with my life. I've been travelling the world since then — I thought it would be a good idea to keep moving — but it's time to settle down in one place again. I'm not sure if I'll be staying in Canada but I'm ready to replace my wand. I have some galleons or a Muggle credit card. Do you accept either of those?"

"Indeed I do," he smiled, relieved both by the lack of Dark Mark on her arm and also by the mention of the credit card, since he was sure that no Death Eater would even know what that was. "I accept both. We use both wizarding and non-magical currency here in Canada. Now, if you're British, you'll be used to Ollivander's method of letting witches and wizards try out different wands until they find one that suits them. I do have ready made wands available to try but I also offer custom wands, for a slightly higher price."

"How long do the custom wands take to make, Mister…?" Hermione asked, not sure how long she wanted to stay in Toronto.

"Curran. Boyce Curran. If you choose the materials today, I can have it ready for you tomorrow," he said.

"That sounds perfect, Mr Curran. I'm Nonie Gale. How do we do this?" she asked curiously.

"Follow me, Miss Gale" he said, leading her to his workroom. "You'll find different woods in that box. Put your hand in — don't look! — and see what calls to you. Don't worry if you end up picking out more than one."

Hermione did as instructed. Rummaging through the box she could feel two magical signatures calling to her. She grabbed the first, laying the piece of wood down on the workbench, and then put her hand back inside to find the other.

"Cedar and rowan," said the wandmaker, glancing at the pieces of wood she had selected. "An interesting combination. Both make wands which are ideal for defence and protection."

Hermione raised an eyebrow at the man but he just indicated another box. "Cores are in there. Given that you've selected two different woods, I rather think you'll end up choosing two different cores as well."

Sure enough, the wandmaker was correct, and Hermione ended up choosing a dragon heartstring, like both her first and her current wand, and a single coarse hair stored in an unbreakable potions vial that at first glance she could not identify. "What kind of hair is that?" she asked curiously.

"Oh my," the wandmaker said. "That's a hair from the tuft at the end of the tail of a griffin. My great-grandfather was gifted that hair from the creature — just that one hair and nothing else. I was beginning to think no one would ever choose it. This is going to be a very powerful wand indeed, Miss Gale."

"I've never heard of griffin hair being used as wand cores," she said in astonishment.

"No, Ollivander only uses the three main cores: dragon heartstring, phoenix feather and unicorn hair. Besides, it's rare for a griffin to offer hair or feathers to a wandmaker." The man scribbled something down on a scrap of parchment and handed it to her. "This is the name of a book about wand-making; I think you might find it interesting."

"Thank you," Hermione smiled at the man. Paying him in advance for the wand, she took her leave and headed for the bookshop, to find the book he had recommended.

Preferring not to spend much time in the magical district, Hermione headed back out into mundane Toronto to do some sight-seeing. Once back in her hotel that evening, Hermione took out the book on wand-making that she had bought and looked up the various woods and cores that comprised her wands — her first wand, her current wand and the custom wand now being made for her. Her very first wand, at the age of eleven, had been of vine wood and dragon heartstring. She had loved that wand but it had been taken from her during the war. Afterwards, it had been replaced by one of walnut and, again, dragon heartstring. Hermione was amused to note that all three wands had dragon heartstring cores. 'I guess that core must really suit me,' she mused, turning to look it up in the book.

.

As a rule, dragon heartstrings produce wands with the most power, and which are capable of the most flamboyant spells. Dragon wands tend to learn more quickly than other types. While they can change allegiance if won from their original master, they always bond strongly with the current owner. The dragon wand tends to be easiest to turn to the Dark Arts, though it will not incline that way of its own accord. It is also the most prone of the three cores to accidents, being somewhat temperamental.¹

.

'Dragon heartstring is very powerful and wands with that core learn quickly, just like I do. That's good, I wouldn't have the patience to wait for the wand to catch up with me. Hmm, and it bonds strongly with its owner. That's like me then. Not that I have an owner, of course, but I do tend to bond with the people who I'm close to. Not that anyone would know that, given that I'm all alone now. I guess that just because I bond strongly with other people, it doesn't mean that they bond with me in return,' Hermione thought sadly.

Trying not to dwell on her current circumstances, Hermione turned to the section on wand woods, characteristically deciding to be methodical and look up the different woods in chronological order of her purchase of each wand.

.

Vine: The druids considered anything with a woody stem as a tree, and vine makes wands of a very special nature. Vine wands are among the less common types, and their owners are nearly always those witches or wizards who seek a greater purpose, who have a vision beyond the ordinary and who frequently astound those who think they know them best. Vine wands seem strongly attracted by personalities with hidden depths, and are more sensitive than any other when it comes to instantly detecting a prospective match. Reliable sources claim that these wands can emit magical effects upon the mere entrance into their room of a suitable owner.¹

.

'Hmph! My first wand was the very first one I tried. Mr Ollivander handed that wand to me practically the moment I entered his shop. I wonder if he could tell that the wand had matched itself to me as soon as I walked in? That wand certainly suited me back then. Helping Harry defeat Voldemort and wanting to change the magical world was definitely a greater purpose. Well, I'm older and wiser now and I realise that wizarding Britain doesn't want to change. They just want to carry on in exactly the same way until the next Dark Lord or Lady arises. And I'm leaving them to it,' she thought guiltily.

Hermione sighed. 'I have other things to worry about right now than a hidebound and antiquated society that doesn't even want me to be part of it. I'm going to be selfish now and put myself and my baby first. No wonder vine doesn't suit me any more. So what's next? Walnut.'

Hermione looked at her wand and shuddered. During the war, she and the boys had been captured by Snatchers and taken to Malfoy Manor for questioning. Hermione's vine wand had been confiscated from her and in their escape, they had made off with the wand of one of the most insane and evil Death Eaters, Bellatrix Lestrange. Hermione had used Bellatrix's wand until the end of the war but she had hated it — and the wand had hated her. As soon as the war was over, she had handed in Bellatrix's wand to the Ministry, who on feeling the Dark Magic imbued within the wand, had decided to destroy it. When Hermione had gone to replace her wand after the war, she had been dismayed to find herself being chosen by a walnut and dragon heartstring wand, just like that of Bellatrix. Even though Hermione's wand did not feel malevolent, it still gave her the heebie-jeebies to have such a similar wand to the notorious witch.

.

Walnut: Highly intelligent witches and wizards ought to be offered a walnut wand for trial first, because nine times out of ten, they will find in each other their ideal mate. Walnut wands are often found in the hands of magical innovators and inventors; this is a handsome wood possessed of unusual versatility and adaptability. A note of caution, however: while some woods are difficult to dominate, and may resist the performance of spells that are foreign to their natures, the walnut wand will, once subjugated, perform any task its owner desires, provided that the user is of sufficient brilliance. This makes for a truly lethal weapon in the hands of a witch or wizard of no conscience, for the wand and the wizard may feed from each other in a particularly unhealthy manner.¹

.

'So walnut wands are suitable for witches and wizards who are highly intelligent. Not to blow my own trumpet, but that's me. Walnut wands are good for magical innovators and inventors. That could also have been me once but no more; my priorities have changed now. Versatile and flexible — that's good, but I sort of get that in the wand's core, as dragon wands learn quickly. But that bit about the wand being a lethal weapon in the hands of a user with no conscience and it having an unhealthy symbiosis with it's owner… no thanks!'

Hermione had never been truly happy with this wand, although she had tried telling herself that she should be pleased since it would be one up on Bellatrix Lestrange, who would be furious to know that Hermione had the same wand type as her, and she now determined to destroy this wand when she got her new one the following day. 'I know there's nothing bad or evil about this wand but I'm just not comfortable with it. I don't want it around me.'

Putting Bellatrix and the walnut wand out of her mind, she looked up cedar and rowan.

.

One who carries a cedar wand, has strength of character and unusual loyalty. The cedar wand finds its perfect home where there is perspicacity and perception. The owner of a cedar wand is not one to cross, especially if harm is done to those of whom they are fond. The witch or wizard who is well-matched with cedar carries the potential to be a frightening adversary, which often comes as a shock to those who have thoughtlessly challenged them.¹

Rowan wood has always been much-favoured because it is reputed to be more protective than any other, and can render all manner of defensive charms especially strong and difficult to break. It is commonly stated that no Dark witch or wizard ever owned a rowan wand. Rowan is most happily placed with the clear-headed and the pure hearted, but this reputation for virtue ought not to fool anyone — these wands are the equal of any, often the better, and frequently out-perform others in duels.¹

.

'Well, I can't be particularly perspicacious or perceptive if I didn't realise that Ron must have been cheating on me for a while with Romilda, if she's already pregnant and moving in with him. I guess I haven't been particularly clear-headed either. Luna would say I've been befuddled by Wrackspurts. Or was it Nargles?' she snorted. 'Am I pure-hearted? I'm not sure — if I had the opportunity for revenge right now, I'm not sure that I wouldn't take it… which, of course, is why the cedar called to me. What was is the book said? The owner of a cedar wand is not one to cross, especially if harm is done to those of whom they are fond. The witch or wizard who is well-matched with cedar carries the potential to be a frightening adversary. Well, that's me! That's definitely me! Ron did call me scary but brilliant once and if he crosses me again, he'll find out just how true that description is! Especially if he tries to harm my child. And, of course, rowan is about defence and protection and I would most certainly fight to protect this precious baby. I don't know if those woods would have chosen me a week ago but they're certainly appropriate now.'

Closing the book, Hermione reached for her beaded bag to put it away when she remembered. 'Oh, I nearly forgot! The griffin hair!'

Opening the book again she looked it up.

.

The griffin, griffon, or gryphon has the body, tail, and back legs of a lion; the head and wings of an eagle; and an eagle's talons as its front feet. Because the lion is traditionally considered the king of the beasts and the eagle the king of birds, the griffin is thought to be an especially powerful and majestic creature, the king of creatures even. Like Sphinxes, griffins are used by wizards as guards, in particular for treasure and priceless possessions.¹

Although known as fierce creatures, skilled wizards have been known to befriend them.² Griffins rarely offer anything of themselves for wands (griffin parts may be taken from a deceased animal for use as potions ingredients, however, for use as a wand core, the parts must be freely offered) but when they do, the wand will be exceptionally strong and powerful in healing magic if a feather or claw is used as the core, since a griffin's claw has medicinal properties and a feather can restore sight to the blind. The wand will be equally strong and powerful in defensive magic if a hair is offered, since the lion is a strong and dangerous animal, and the griffin is a formidable guardian. However, only the most talented and skilled witch or wizard would be able to wield a wand with a griffin core and it is said that such a wand will only bond with a witch or wizard who a griffin would deem worthy of befriending.³

.

'Wow!' she thought, in shock. 'I'm worthy of being befriended by a griffin? That's such an honour! But that is going to be one formidable wand if I should ever need to use it in defence. I know Ron and I always fought a lot but I never thought I'd ever see him as a threat they way I must do now, given the materials I chose for my wand. I wonder what happened to change him or was it always there under the surface and I just didn't see it? I wish now I'd thought to take the Deluminator from him.'

The Deluminator, or Put-Outer, had belonged to Albus Dumbledore, who had left it to Ron when he died. Professor Dumbledore had charmed it to turn it into a kind of portkey that when Ron's name was spoken by either Harry or Hermione during the war, it would lead Ron to them. 'I don't know how long the location charm will last, so I have to be careful not to speak his name again — not that I have reason to now.'

As Hermione lay trying to sleep that night, something occurred to her. 'The griffin is half eagle and half lion. The Sorting Hat had a hard time choosing between the Ravenclaw (the Eagle's Nest) or Gryffindor (the Lion's Den) for me, and my Patronus has changed to a lioness. I wonder if all that is somehow connected to the griffin hair choosing me? Well, I don't suppose I'll ever know for sure but it's a nice thought, anyway, that somehow, no matter how obscurely, it's all connected.'

The following day, Hermione went to pick up her custom wand from the wandmaker. The two woods had been carved and blended together seamlessly. The wand was surprisingly flexible, given that it was a blend of two different woods, and yet it was deceptively strong. It was an exquisite piece of art.

"I was always told that Mr Ollivander is the very best wandmaker but I can't imagine him ever creating a masterpiece like this, Mr Curran," Hermione said to the wandmaker in awe, as she picked it up. The wand immediately warmed in her hand and she could feel it connecting to and bonding with her magic, making her gasp at the surge of raw power running through her. "I think I'll need to be very careful using this wand until I become accustomed to it," she added.

"I have a shielded duelling room," the man offered. "I make all the particularly powerful wands — like yours! — in there for safety's sake. You could use it to practise for a while, if you would like, Miss Gale."

"Thank you. I'd appreciate that very much," she smiled at him.

He ushered Hermione into the shielded room and she spent an hour accustoming herself to the power of her new wand. She was quite surprised by how quickly she became used to it but she could feel it working in tandem with her magic and understood that was why she could control it so easily.

Heading back into the shop, Hermione paid double what the man asked for her wand. "I insist," she said when he tried to demur. "This is a magnificent wand and you've been very helpful to me."

The wandmaker accepted the full amount but threw in a free wand holster with it. "It's Auror grade, with invisibility, anti-theft and anti-summoning charms," he explained.

Hermione smiled in appreciation and immediately strapped it on, loading her fine, new wand into the holster.

The wandmaker chuckled. "Tell me, Miss Gale. Were you by any chance a Gryffindor?"

"Yes, I was," she grinned. "Perhaps my being a Gryffindor lion is the reason that the griffin offered a tail hair, rather than a feather or a claw. Interestingly, I was considering being a Healer but not any more. I'm not sure what I want to do now."

"You could be an exceptional Auror with that wand, I'm sure. Your wand would be almost invincible in a duel."

Hermione shook her head. "I've had enough of fighting. I'll defend myself if attacked but I have no intention of going looking for trouble."

The wandmaker raised an eyebrow in surprise, which Hermione understood given the nature of her wand. She smiled sadly. "You said that the griffin gave the hair to your great-grandfather. Do you know anything about the griffin it came from?"

"Indeed I do. It's so rare for a griffin to offer part of itself that it's quite the family legend. My great-grandfather didn't even go to the griffin to ask for anything. He just wanted to see it as he'd never seen one before, and the griffin offered the hair."

"Did he happen to mention if the griffin was male or female?"

"Yes, he did. It was female. It was pregnant, I believe…" The man's voice trailed off as he made the connection. "I understand," was all he said.

Hermione thanked him profusely and bade him farewell. As she made her way back out of the magical district, she stopped for a moment at a stand selling international wizarding newspapers. Taking a deep breath she picked up a Daily Prophet and tucked it under her arm. Paying for the paper, she decided that it was time to make a decision about her next move. Before she could do that, however, she felt that she needed to see what was happening in Britain. It was nearly a week since she had left and she wanted to know if there was mention of her disappearance.

Sitting down at a café near the wand-maker's shop, she read the paper over a bottle of Butterbeer. To her relief, there was only a small mention in the Prophet, but she decided it was time to leave the magical district in case anyone should recognise her from the photograph that accompanied the article, despite her new look.

.

'It has emerged that Hermione Granger has quit her job at St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries with no notice. Not only that, but it would appear that Miss Granger's relationship with her friend and fellow war hero, Ronald Weasley, is no more. Miss Granger has not been seen for nearly a week and Mr Draco Malfoy, who saw her in Gringotts Wizarding Bank the day she quit her job, claims that the war heroine must have left the wizarding world since he heard her close her vault at Gringotts and request that all her money be transferred into her Muggle bank account. Given the long history of animosity between the two, is that wishful thinking on Mr Malfoy's part or is he correct that Miss Granger has in fact left the wizarding world? When asked, Miss Granger's close friend, Harry Potter, declined to comment, whereas Mr Weasley has been seen with fellow Gryffindor, Romilda Vane, on his arm and seems quite unconcerned by the seeming disappearance of his former girlfriend.'

.o.O.o.

¹·⁰ ¹·¹ ¹·² ¹·³ ¹·⁴ ¹·⁵ ¹·⁶ Taken from/paraphrased from Pottermore and the Harry Potter wikia.

² Taken from/paraphrased from both Wikipedia and the Harry Potter wikia.

³ All the information about the griffin parts regarding potions and wand-making is completely fictional on my part and does not come from canon.