Recommendation: Story recommendation for this chapter is "Vox Corporis" by MissAnnThropic. If you're a Harry/Hermione fan, you should already be familiar with this story.
Chapter 02 - Belling the Cat
Thursday, December 10, 1994, Evening.
When the two Gryffindor witches walked into the Great Hall for dinner that evening, it was technically their second meal as a couple — though lunch barely counted given how little time they'd had to wolf something down. To be fair, they weren't announcing themselves as a couple yet, but they still felt like a couple.
Things they had done together thousands of times before now suddenly looked new and different, simply because they were doing them as a couple rather than as two separate individuals who happen to be together. Well, that's not entirely true, is it?, Hermione mused to herself. The two of us — three, when Ron was with us — were a team for most of the past three years. Jasmine and I weren't a romantic couple, but we were far more than two individuals or even two friends, weren't we?
All of a sudden, Hermione became very self-conscious and wondered if people could tell, even if neither she nor Jasmine had said or done anything overt yet. Can they see it in my face? Are we standing too close? Is someone going to jump up, point their finger, and start making accusations?
Draco Malfoy, of course, was all too happy to oblige Hermione's worries, although not quite for the reasons she was afraid of: "Hey, scarhead! Who are you going to pay to go to the Yule Ball with you? Do you even have enough galleons to pay someone to do that?" Jasmine stiffened as soon as she heard Malfoy's grating, sneering voice. "At least you have a chance at buying a decent date; that's better than your mudblood friend can say. Maybe she can rent herself out, assuming anyone would be that desperate." Malfoy's comments were accompanied by jeering laughter from the Slytherins and more than a few snickers from the Ravenclaw table.
Jasmine wasn't conscious of drawing her wand, but on her right Hermione felt the movement and was able to put her hand firmly on her friend's arm to keep her from maiming or possibly killing the pureblood bigot. "Don't, Jas," she hissed. "He's not worth it!" She could feel the auburn-haired witch trembling in anger as she pulled hard to direct her over to the Gryffindor table. It wasn't unusual for Jasmine to get upset at things Malfoy said, but this struck Hermione as far worse than usual.
Glancing sideways at her, she thought she could see her eyes almost glowing in barely-contained power, but when she blinked it was gone. Must have been a trick of the light, she decided. I think. I don't know where this level of anger is coming from, but I'll need to get her to control it.
The two witches sat on the farthest side of the hall away from the Slytherins; that meant having to face the Slytherin table on the opposite side of the hall, but looking at the Slytherins was preferable to having their backs to them. Across from them Neville Longbottom and Ginny Weasley had already started dishing out their own dinners and looked with concern at their two friends.
"Is everything alright?" Neville asked. Looking specifically at Jasmine, he said, "You look... a little upset."
Judging by how violently Jasmine was flinging food on her plate, she probably wouldn't be able to put together a coherent thought for a bit, so Hermione answered for them both. "It's been a hectic day. You know of course that there will be a Yule Ball in a couple weeks; well, Jasmine was told after Transfiguration that she's required to go because it's 'tradition' for champions to open the ball with a formal dance." Neville grimaced at the thought. He was still having trouble dealing with the idea that he had an option to ask someone to go with him.
"Obviously, this means that Jasmine is required to have a date," Hermione continued. "She can't skip it, even if it's not an official tournament event. She can't come alone, even though everyone else is allowed to. She's been in a right state all day, and then Malfoy had to vent his vile little spleen as soon as we came in here."
"Well, that explains why Jasmine is getting all stabby with her food," said Ginny a bit nervously. "Do you think we should take away the sharp utensils until she calms down?"
"Not unless Malfoy is stupid enough to come over here before dinner ends," Hermione said brusquely. Could that be it? she thought to herself. Is she so angry because so many things happened at once? But she wasn't angry earlier, she was panicked….
"Yeah, and when was the last time Malfoy was known for his brains or self-preservation instincts?" Neville asked, interrupting her train of thought. "This is the same Slytherin who thought it was funny to insult a Hippogriff before approaching it, remember?"
Hermione's fork paused halfway to her mouth and she sat there with her mouth open for a moment before responding, "Nah, he's not that stupid. Right?"
The sole response to that was the "clank, clank" of Jasmine stabbing her food while glaring daggers in the direction of the Slytherin table. Ginny and Neville were growing increasingly nervous, so Hermione poked her friend hard in the side with her elbow, breaking her out of her cycle of rage. Jasmine looked over at the bushy-haired witch, blinked a couple of times, and exhaled deeply. "Sorry about that. I'm not sure what exactly came over me. It's not like he hasn't insulted us before."
"You need to watch your anger, Jas. Despite being a champion, you're not immune from punishment if you hurt Malfoy badly. Well...at least, I don't think you are. It's true you're exempt from classes and end-of-year exams." Hermione stopped to consider that for a moment. "Come to think of it, we were never given a copy of the tournament rules like we asked for, were we? We've got to get that to see what exactly you are and are not allowed to do."
"Yeah, but you know what's especiallyinteresting, Hermione?" Jasmine waited as her friend raised in eyes in response. "Malfoy used the m-word again — he practically shouted it in the Great Hall in the middle of dinner. Did anyone say anything to him? Did any of our teachers dock him points, give him detention, or even warn him? In fact, did any of you notice any sort of negative reaction from anyone at the staff table?"
Hermione frowned at that. It was true, nothing happened to Malfoy for what he said. Why didn't I notice that? she wondered. Maybe it's because nothing ever happens to him for what he says, no matter how vile his words or threats are. I've become so used to it that I don't even notice it anymore!
"You're right, Jasmine," Ginny said, frowning as well. "I don't think I've ever seen him punished for his language."
Neville looked troubled. "You don't think they actually condone the things he says, do you?"
"That's something Jasmine and I were talking about earlier," Hermione replied. "I never noticed it before because I kept looking at all of the incidents in isolation, but every year Jasmine has problems and she never receives support from our teachers — not in little things like bullying from Malfoy, and not in big things like accusations of cheating to get into the Triwizard Tournament. If you look at it all together... well, it doesn't make the school look very good, does it?"
"I don't know if any of them approve of it, but failing to even tell him off, never mind punishing him, sends everyone the message that his bigotry is OK," Jasmine added. "And it's not just the pureblood bigots who are getting that message — the rest of us are being told that it's fine for us to be abused and harassed. That we should get used to it. That our feelings aren't important. That feeling safe in our own school isn't important."
Neville grew even more troubled at these words, but Ginny became visibly upset. Turning to Jasmine, she said in a rush, "I'm so sorry that I didn't support you right away when your name came out of the cup. I'm sorry I didn't speak up when people called you a cheater. I may not have known you for as long as some, but I certainly knew you well enough to know that you wouldn't cheat and you wouldn't lie about it. I never truly believed that you cheated, but I did have doubts and I feel awful about that..."
"No, Ginny, it's OK. Given your experience with your brothers, it's natural for you to wonder about that. More importantly, you did apologize to me — and you did so even before the first task. That's way better than most others in this school have treated me, so I don't hold your doubts against you." Jasmine smiled warmly at the girl, trying to reassure her.
"I know I didn't treat you as badly as some, but I also didn't treat you as well as others." Ginny looked pointedly at the boy sitting next to her. "Neville, here, believed you right from the beginning and even helped you a bit to prepare for the first task." Turning back to the other girls, she said, "I hope you know that I'll do anything I can to help with the second and third tasks." Neville blushed at the praise, but then sat up a little bit straighter, too.
Smiling at this exchange, Jasmine glanced briefly up at the head table, wondering what the teachers thought about Malfoy's words, and wondering how they justified not saying anything. As she did so, her eyes caught those of Professor McGonagall, who gave her a short, quick nod. Jasmine nodded back in response, then quickly returned her attention to the Gryffindors across from her.
"I can't tell you how great it was knowing that Neville supported me. Having his help to prepare was important too. I'm glad that you'll be there for me in the coming tasks, Ginny. It's a shame that the teachers aren't allowed to help, so I need support from friends even more." Looking over at Hermione, she added casually, "Speaking of which, don't forget you promised to help me with Transfiguration after dinner." Hermione's eyes widened, then she smiled at hearing that.
"Is there anything I can do?" Neville asked. "Unfortunately, my Transfiguration grades are barely average."
"No, thanks," Hermione answered quickly. "We already have it planned out, and it shouldn't take too long anyway. We need to make certain that we get it done while we have a chance. Now that we know the Yule Ball is coming — and by the way, can I just say that it's ridiculous that they announced such an event with only two weeks notice! — it's going to get busy around here."
After this, the conversation turned to more casual matters as the four Gryffindors discussed classes and gossipped about the other schools. It wasn't long before Jasmine spied Professor McGonagall finishing her dinner and slowly making her way along the head table. She nudged Hermione, who nodded that she had noticed the same thing, so they both hastened to finish their own meals and said goodbye to their friends.
Walking along the corridors from the Great Hall to McGonagall's office, the moods of the two young witches were, ironically, the opposite of what they had been before dinner. Hermione was still conflicted over what might be going on with Professor McGonagall, but she was trying to feel more confident that it would all work out. Jasmine, who had been quite confident earlier, was starting to feel increased trepidation over the coming conversation and what consequences it might have.
When they arrived at the office door, Jasmine stopped Hermione from knocking and asked her, "Are you sure we're doing the right thing?" Hermione could see that her friend was getting increasingly nervous and tried to reassure her. "Stick to the plan we discussed earlier and it'll be fine. No matter what her real feelings are, she shouldn't be able to betray you."
Seeing that her words didn't work as well as she had hoped, Hermione took some inspiration from Jasmine's earlier actions. Grabbing the front of her robes with one hand, she pulled the green-eyed witch into a short but intense kiss, leaving her a bit stunned but smiling. "For luck!" Hermione said before she turned and knocked on their professor's door. As she did, a strange thought flashed through her mind: I wonder what would have happened had I simply done that back in first year before she left me to face Voldemort. Wait, I didn't want to do that at the time, did I? I never thought about any girls in that way, right?
Jasmine was still smiling a bit goofily when they heard the old Scotswoman bid them enter, but she managed to shake most of it off by the time they sat in the hard, straight-backed chairs in front of the professor's desk. Minerva McGonagall looked a bit surprised to see two witches enter her office, having received a request for an appointment for only one. "I want to say I'm surprised to see you here, Miss Granger, but truth be told, you and Miss Potter have been so attached at the hip for the past three years that I shouldn't be shocked to see you anywhere with her." Raising one eyebrow, she added, "To be honest, I half expected to see you follow her out to face the dragon last month."
"Frankly, I almost did, Professor," Hermione responded. "I was in the champion's tent, in fact, almost up to the point where the four champions chose the dragons they faced. Headmaster Dumbledore had to order me out."
McGonagall's mouth twitched ever so slightly, "I hadn't heard that, but I can't say I'm surprised in the least. Now, which one of you would like to tell me what urgent personal matter has brought the two of you here at this time of evening — and after a rather secretive request for an appointment, too. Don't think I didn't notice how your familiar delivered a message within the castle and after I was alone, Miss Potter." The older professor folded her hands on her neatly-organized desk and waited.
The two witches shared a meaningful look before Hermione turned back and said, "We both have something important to discuss with you — in some ways it's mostly about Jasmine, but it does involve both of us. However, we were unsure whether to bring this to you at all."
"To be specific," Jasmine cut in, "I was unsure whether we should bring this to you or not. In principle we should be able to do so — you're the one we should be able to go to. That's why Hermione recommended you in the first place. But I'm honestly not sure whether I can trust you enough, and when I explained my reasoning, Hermione agreed that I had a point. So she's unsure now, too. And so we have a problem. We have something that we need to talk to someone about — someone with experience and authority — but it needs to be someone we can trust unconditionally. What should we do?"
Minerva McGonagall sat stunned at what she just heard her two young lionesses tell her. She had anticipated many different possible topics of conversation — this wasn't the first time a girl under her care had needed to talk to her about "urgent personal problems," and it certainly wouldn't be the last. Of all the possible problems she might have had to address, however, she hadn't expected this — she hadn't expected that she would be the problem.
With narrowed eyes, she regarded the two witches for a few seconds and noted that neither shrank back from her gaze. "If I'm going to answer that, perhaps you should explain to me first why it is, exactly, that I don't have your trust? I hold three important positions in this school, all of which require me to have at least some trust and respect from the students. I have many years of experience and like to think that I do a fairly good job. But do tell, Miss Potter — in what way am I not living up to your expectations?" she asked frostily.
It was a mistake for her to adopt such a stern, defensive posture in her reaction — understandable, but a mistake — because the witches before her responded in kind. When they laid out the problems which Jasmine had earlier explained to Hermione, they did so in a harsher and more aggressive tone than they might otherwise have used. Between the two of them — with Hermione adding in some details which even Jasmine hadn't thought of — they presented a case that forced even McGonagall to start reconsidering some of her decisions.
Not quite willing to admit fault on all the points they raised, she attempted to defend herself on at least some of it. "I can appreciate not wanting to be treated poorly by some of the other students, Miss Potter, but the staff here at Hogwarts cannot regulate what every student thinks and cannot force students to treat everyone else nicely. That's especially true when it comes to the interactions between Gryffindors and Slytherins. Learning to live with the fact that not everyone will like you is a part of life."
Both girls frowned in annoyance that their professor didn't seem to understand the gravity of the situation. "If this were simply a few students and isolated incidents, I'd agree with you," Jasmine said. "But it's not. It's about everybody in the school acting the same, horrid way. In some cases, you could even say it's organized. During my second year, an awful lot of students treated me badly because they thought I was the Heir of Slytherin — because they thought I was guilty of attacking others in the corridors. None of the teachers tried to correct the false rumors being spread. That's not the same as making people like me."
Professor McGonagall sat back to consider that, but Jasmine continued. "It's similar this year. Most of the students believe that I cheated to get into the Triwizard Tournament, but the teachers know better. Yet no one has tried to stop any of the harassment, and no one has done anything to set the record straight. Nobody lifted a finger about those buttons that were so popular before the first task."
Hermione added her own thoughts, saying, "Professor, there's a huge difference between a few students not liking Jasmine or not treating her very well, and most of the students harassing her because of accusations which the staff know are wrong. Professors can't do much about the first, except maybe in extreme cases — it's something we all have to live with. The second, however, is a different story. When teachers don't correct false accusations, they're basically giving their approval to both the accusations and the resulting harassment."
"If there were false rumors going around that you cheated to get your position," Jasmine said cautiously, unsure of how this analogy would be received, "and students were being disrespectful because of that, I'm pretty sure you'd publicly denounce the accusations and punish people who ignored the correction."
"You shouldn't be expected to work in such an environment, Professor," Hermione added, "so why should Jasmine be expected to learn in such an environment?"
That last statement hit Professor McGonagall like a slap in the face. She had worked hard to get to where she was and was proud of her achievements. I'd be furious if I were accused of having cheated, she realized, and while such an accusation against a student isn't quite as grave as it would be against someone in my position, it is still quite serious. When the cheating is bad enough, it's something they can be expelled for. The same is true for attacking others in the halls. It is also something that the staff has an obligation to address, at least when it reaches the level it has in Miss Potter's case.
Now, looking back on all of the incidents and problems that her two young Gryffindors had raised, she wasn't nearly so confident in her ability to defend herself. This is something I am going to have to give a lot more thought to, she thought wearily. It seems likely that there is more truth to their concerns than I was willing to acknowledge.
It was at that point that it struck her how some of her actions or inactions could have gotten one or both of these young witches killed. Sweet Merlin, she thought as the full gravity of those incidents finally hit her. How could I have been in such denial? Why would I have thought those decisions were... Albus! He was the one who kept reassuring me that everything was fine and that no one would be harmed, even when I raised my own concerns and objections. But that doesn't explain why I always went along with him….
Her face had paled at this realization, and there seemed little left to say. Instead, she stood and walked over to a set of nearby shelves that contained a mixture of books and decorations. With a slight tremor, she poured herself a large measure of scotch from a bottle and serving set located on the middle shelf and brought it back to her desk.
Normally she would never drink in front of students, especially ones so young as these, but their complaints cut too deep. The scope of her failure was too great. Even if I didn't accept any of the rest of their concerns, she thought with resignation, the danger I've put them in more than justifies their lack of trust in me.
Seeing such a strong reaction from their normally unflappable teacher, Hermione felt compelled to add, "Professor, you should know that any one of these incidents might be dismissed as a fluke if it stood alone. It's when you put them all together that you realize there's cause for concern. I didn't even notice the pattern, much less think about how these incidents might appear to someone else, until Jasmine brought it all to my attention earlier today — and she didn't start making the connection herself until this term."
Minerva took a healthy swig of her scotch and paused for a moment to collect herself before responding. "That's a fair point, Miss Granger; but given my position, I probably should have noticed the pattern long before now. It worries me greatly that I didn't. It worries me that I consistently listened to the counsel of others rather than my own conscience. Granted, I am busy with many duties, and that includes an entire House to supervise; but my first duty is to the students, and if I don't have the time to notice such problems and deal with them, then I've stretched myself too thin."
Jasmine and Hermione had hoped for some sign of contrition that could eventually lead to a resolution and possibly trust, even in the face of Jasmine's doubts. This reaction, however, was much more than they had expected, and so they didn't quite know how to proceed. Fortunately for them, their professor chose to continue — but only after taking another sip of her drink.
"Given the severity of the incidents, you deserve an explanation for what's happened. I'm not sure I can give you a satisfactory one, though. While I have to take full responsibility for my own actions, you should know that I'm not entirely responsible for everything. In many cases, I have been following instructions and advice given by someone else..."
"Dumbledore," growled out Jasmine as Hermione grabbed her hand.
"Indeed," the Deputy Headmistress responded with a frown. "His choices and actions with regards to you are... suspect. It's not something I ever thought about before, but now that I'm looking back at everything the problem seems rather obvious. I don't think it would be unreasonable to say that if these things had happened to any student other than you, action probably would have been taken to help them, and they would not have been left to flounder on their own."
McGonagall pondered her last words and considered that Miss Potter had indeed been left on her own so often, abandoned to her own devices without any system of support or comfort. What would she be like if she didn't have the witch sitting next to her right now? she thought to herself. It was scarcely an exaggeration to describe them as being attached at the hip — it's so rare to see one but not the other. Even the Weasley twins seem to go their separate ways more often than these two.
"Well, I think that should probably be a discussion for another time. If you haven't already, I suggest thinking more critically about the things Albus Dumbledore has or has not done with regards to you, Miss Potter. Maybe Miss Granger can help. Do the same thing you did with me and look for patterns. We can meet again later to discuss it further, if you'd like. Right now, though, I think we need to focus on your reason for being here: trust. You don't trust me. I must admit that when I first heard that I was shocked, but now I'll concede that you have some grounds for your concerns. I doubt I would feel differently in your place."
After pausing for a moment to give everyone a chance to think about that, she resumed, "So where do we go from here? I do wish to deserve your trust — not only because I'm your professor and Head of House, but because I'm genuinely fond of the two of you. We professors aren't supposed to have favorites, but I can't deny that I have greater regard for you both than I do most other students. What can I do to earn your trust? What can I do to help you with this personal problem, Miss Potter?"
The two witches looked at each other, trying to decide what to do. They unconsciously mirrored each other, biting their bottom lips in thought. Minerva thought it was cute and wondered how long that had been going on. Finally, Jasmine turned to her professor and said, "I have a lot of trouble trusting adults, but Hermione is convinced that trusting you is our best route forward. I'm not so sure, but I've learned that my Hermione is right far more often than not, so I'm willing to try going forward. But the problem we need to talk about is serious enough that even if we did trust you, we wouldn't talk about it lightly. We need strong assurances that it wouldn't go beyond this room. Would you be willing to do something like take a magical oath?"
Minerva had hoped that the evening's shocks had ended, but clearly she was in for a bumpy broom ride. The admission that Miss Potter didn't trust adults wasn't all that surprising, though it was disturbing. What truly surprised her was the request for a magical oath. Such oaths were dangerous and only made in the gravest of situations. Asking for one lightly was considered by some as tantamount to an assault, given the consequences if a typical oath were broken.
Seeing the reaction in her professor's face, Hermione hastened to add, "Please, Professor, we wouldn't think of asking for something like that unless we thought the situation was serious enough. But we'd be willing to go with a different option if you know of something that will provide us with similar assurances that our secrets will be protected."
Minerva's eyes widened a bit. Miss Granger is normally quite level headed, but even she thinks that an oath might be justified? And what's this about our secrets — I thought that the issue only involved Miss Potter. What could possibly be so serious that it concerns both of them and might need to be protected by a magical oath?
The Scotswoman lifted her glass to take another drink, but found to her dismay that she had already finished it. It wouldn't do for her to get another, so she closed her eyes to think about the question. After a minute of silent thought, she looked back again at the two witches. "Only a magical contract would work as an alternative to a magical oath, but contracts are complicated and time consuming to create." The girls looked a little distressed at this, so she quickly continued, "However, I think I can formulate a magical oath that isn't made on my life or magic."
Once again, the two girls looked at each other, silently communicating. Hermione raised one eyebrow, Do you think that will be acceptable? Jasmine frowned slightly, I think so, but we'll have to see what the actual wording is. Hermione smiled, See, I told you it was a good idea to come here! Jasmine rolled her eyes, Yeah, yeah, you're always right. I did agree to this, didn't I?
Simultaneously, they turned back to their professor, seeing her eyes wide in amazement. No words, but clearly a conversation, she realized. That reminds me of how James and Lily would interact, but they didn't start doing that until after they left school and had gotten engaged. And of course they were... no, it's not important right now. We need to move forward with an oath.
"How about this?" Minerva began to write, I vow to not reveal the secrets told to me this evening by Hermione Jean Granger and Jasmine Dorea Potter unless given permission by one of them to do so or until they both tell me that my oath is lifted.
She handed the piece of parchment over, saying, "I won't recite it aloud until you confirm that it is adequate. Breaking the oath won't kill me or take away my magic, but if I inadvertently start to violate it my magic will warn me, and if I continue it will hurt. The consequences shouldn't be permanent, but they will probably be unpleasant. The magic involved here is complicated, but since magic is all about intent, the consequences to me if I break the oath will be more intense the more sincere I am. After I am done, if you hold out your wands and touch mine while reciting, 'I accept your oath,' your own intent will be added to it, so you won't have to rely solely on trusting my intent."
After reading over the suggested oath, Hermione looked at Jasmine to gauge her reaction. She wouldn't go forward with this without Jasmine's complete agreement. The witch in question gave a sigh of relief and nodded her head. "Yes, that sounds like it would be perfect. I wasn't happy about putting you in any danger, but we didn't know of any other way of guaranteeing our privacy."
Minerva smiled. While she was disappointed to not have the trust of two of her favorite students, she was heartened to learn that even Jasmine, the most distrusting, didn't wish her ill at all. This gave her a lot of hope for the future — though that future clearly depended on what she could do to help them with whatever problem had brought them to her tonight.
Rising so they could stand facing each other at the side of the professor's desk, the three witches all recited their parts of the magical oath and witnessed a bright glow swell out between them, signalling that the oath had indeed been accepted by their magic. "Well," said Minerva after they had sat back down again, "that was a rather stronger than usual magical reaction — certainly stronger than I expected. It looks like I'll be in for a difficult time if I break my word to you. So what is it that was so important that we had to go through all this before coming to the point?"
Both witches reached out for each other's hand and, after a moment's pause, Jasmine looked directly into Minerva's eyes to ask the much-anticipated question: "Professor, how does magical society treat gays and lesbians?"
A/N: Some may feel that Jasmine's anger is a bit out of character. You'd be right, she is acting unusual. But something unusual started happening to her recently. Coincidence?
A/N 2: No, that's not telepathy from a soul bond. I'm sure you've read fics where characters are described as being able to have an entire conversation with just a couple of looks? Yeah, that's what's happening, except they are especially good at it. And they don't realize that it's odd.