Here we are again, another chapter for you all to, hopefully, enjoy. I ended this chapter a little earlier than I had planned, but I think it was a good place for me to leave it. I'm interested to see what everyone thinks of the wand I've chosen to give Hermione, so please feel free to comment on it. If I've made a mistake in the traits of the wand wood or core, I apologize but what I chose was mostly based of the information from the HP Wiki.

The Girl who lived

Chapter 4

After putting the wooden box containing her holster into the pocket in her jacket, Hermione consulted her list and decided to get her books next. Smiling at her decision Minerva led her to a store named Flourish and Blots, saying this was where she could get her books. Stepping inside Hermione could only smile at the rows upon rows of books. Upon entering Hermione started searching the rows upon rows of books for something she can get to supplement the course books and let her learn a little more. It was no surprise to Minerva that as she got the assistant to gather the course books Hermione would need that Hermione was looking for more books and wasn't surprised to see her browsing in the advanced sections of the store. Telling the assistant to keep the books gathered at the counter Minerva walked over to Hermione and looked at the book she was flipping through.

"Hermione, this book is much too advanced for you. You won't be able to work even half of these spells until midway through your 5th year at the earliest."

Frowning and looking up at Minerva, Hermione kept the book open and spoke.

"Minerva I know it sounds strange but, I think I can do some of these spells, I don't know how but, I can see the wand movements in my head as well as how to properly pronounce the incantations."

Frowning back at Hermione, Minerva closed the book in front of Hermione and slid it back on to the shelf. Taking a moment, Minerva used a spell to allow her to see Hermione's magical core and was surprised to see that not only was there a great deal more magic there than any first year student should have, Minerva could also feel the bind that was placed on Hermione's magic. Minerva had developed this spell with Albus' help, and knowing the power she felt from Albus' core, she knew that the magical strength of Hermione's core would compensate for the lack of experience she had, making Hermione able to cast these spells as she thought she could. Seeing Hermione's frown change to a look of worry, Minerva spoke.

"Well, there are a few things I need to look into but, with your father's consent, instead of returning home, I will take you to my home and we will see if you are correct."

The smile that lit Hermione's face made Minerva unable to hold her own smile in, the young woman's eagerness and happiness always seemed to bring out her emotions as well. Shaking her head softly Minerva led Hermione to the front counter where Hermione paid for her course books and the two left. While Hermione bought the rest of her school supplies Minerva was thinking of the bind on Hermione's magic, more specifically how to unbind her magic without destroying her or her magic, Minerva knew if all of Hermione's magic was unbound at one time it would cause an explosion of magic that would not only kill the two of them but anyone within an area of at least 100 miles, destroying anything in the way as well. Nodding Minerva decided on a slow release on the bind and, upon doing some quick rough calculations, Minerva figured it would take about 20 hours for the bind to be undone. When Minerva finally brought her full attention back to the present, she found herself outside Ollivander's wand shop. Smiling Minerva led the way inside, Minerva had hoped she would be done with her thoughts when Hermione got her wand; she was more than interested in seeing what type of wand Hermione would be chosen by. Sitting in the chair to wait, Minerva watched as Hermione walked around the shop, looking at the shelves.

"Well, if it isn't Miss Hermione Granger, it is good to finally see you in my store."

The voice made Hermione jump and spin around, making Minerva, who had spotted the man long before he spoke, smile at Hermione's reaction. Standing up Minerva walked over to Hermione and smiled down at her.

"Hermione, this is Mr. Garrick Ollivander. He runs this shop as you no doubt have guessed and is considered one of the greatest wand makers in the world."

Reaching out a hand Hermione smiled up at the man, seeing a warm and kind smile on his face in return. Once he let go of Hermione's hand Garrick walked into the back of the shop and came back with a dozen long wooden boxes, very similar to the one that Hermione already had and contained her wand holster.

"Normally Miss Granger, I would pick from these many wands here, but I can tell just by a glance that you will need one of these specialty wands. These wands are made with not just a single wood but a combination of them, normally this would be impossible, yet sometimes there are special cases. These wands are often known to go to people of great importance. I have a good feeling you will be well matched to one of these wands. Here try this one, a combination of Yew and English Oak with a Phoenix Feather core, 13 ½ inches, good for curses and offensive spells."

Opening the first box Garrick pulled a wand that was pure white, except for the grip which was a dark brown, from the box and handed it to Hermione, but no sooner had Hermione's hand grasped the grip did Garrick pull it away to be replaced by a new one, this one a rich brown colour with a matching handle.

"No, no, no. That's definitely not for you, here try this one, Hawthorn and willow with a Unicorn tail hair core. 11 inches, good for healing magic."

Once again the wand had barely touched her hand and Garrick was pulling it away again. As with the last two the next was taken away before she'd even gripped it properly. Again and again wands were placed and snatched away, Hermione was beginning to feel a little depressed until she was handed the last one of the dozen wands. It was a longer wand than the others and pure black in color.

"Here you are, Ebony and Alder with a dragon heartstring core, 17 ¾ inches, good for transfiguration and combative magic."

When Hermione felt the wood touch her fingers, a strange warmth shot up her arm and through her body, and before Garrick could move, the wands tip erupted in a blue flame that shot from the tip and landed on the floor, not consuming the wood but just crackling and still producing heat. With a wave of Minerva's wand the flames died and both Garrick and Minerva were smiling at her.

"Well Miss Granger, it seems as though we've found your wand. Quite a powerful one as well, it will serve you well I think."

Smiling and staring at her wand, Hermione paid Garrick for the wand as well as a kit to clean and maintain her wand. Storing the case that held her wand in the same pocket as her wand holster Hermione smiled as she followed Minerva out of the store and was surprised as Minerva pulled her to the side, making sure they were not getting in anyone's way and looking down at Hermione.

"Would you mind if we took a quicker way to your home Hermione? I have a few things I need to discuss with you and your father and it is best we do it as soon as possible."

Unable to pick between being confused and being excited, Hermione simply nodded and waited stepping closer to Minerva when prompted to do so. Hermione's eyes flew wide as she suddenly felt the sensation of being squeezed through a tube and was disoriented enough to not even notice they were no longer standing in Diagon Alley, but in an alleyway that was close to her home. Minerva picked Hermione up and walked her to her home and once inside, Minerva carried Hermione to the couch and set her down to let her regain her equilibrium. Standing, Minerva left Hermione to find Morgan, finding him in his office Minerva stepped inside.

"Morgan, I have something I'd like to ask of you. I'd like to take Hermione with me to my home for the rest of the summer, to help the transition into Hogwarts as well as a few other things."

"Not at all Minerva, just keep your promise and tell her I'll see her when she comes back for the holidays."

Minerva frowned when she realized that Morgan hadn't even looked up when she spoke to him or when he responded. Shrugging softly, Minerva turned and walked back out to find Hermione sitting on the couch, still looking a little disoriented from the trip and holding her head in her hands. Walking over to her Minerva placed a hand on Hermione's shoulder.

"Are you alright Hermione?"

Hermione lifted her head from her hands and smiled softly at Minerva.

"I'll be alright, but what was that?"

"That was called Apparition, and as you can tell, it's very disorienting until you get used to it. We should get going after you pack some clothes Hermione, your father has given me permission to take you to my home for the summer."

Hermione stood and shook her head softly before walking up the stairs with the trunk she had gotten while in Diagon Alley, it was charmed to be lighter and be more durable, which made carrying it an easy task for Hermione, even while she was still a little wobbly on her feet. Minerva sat on the couch and started thinking about how she was going to do the unbinding of Hermione's magic. Binding the magic of someone under aged was common in the magical world, to keep them from getting out of hand with accidental magic, but from what Minerva could feel over 90% of Hermione's magic was bound. It was more common to have half of the child's magic bound. Frowning Minerva ran through ways to unbind Hermione's magic slowly and decided to use a variation of the standard bond dissolving spell that would dissolve the bond at a much slower rate than normal. Minerva was brought out of her thoughts when she heard Hermione coming down the stairs with her trunk.

"You'd better say good bye to your father Hermione, you won't be seeing him until the Christmas break."

Nodding, Hermione walked out and into Morgan's office coming back in a matter of minutes, smiling to Minerva and nodding to indicate she was ready to leave. Smiling softly Minerva picked up Hermione's trunk and pulled her in to wrap her arm around Hermione's shoulder. Looking down at Hermione, Minerva had to try hard not to laugh, Hermione was standing straight as a board, her eyes clenched shut and her mouth shut tightly as well. Deciding to get it over with quickly, Minerva tightened her hold on Hermione's shoulder before Apparating them to her home, landing just outside the wards that protected her home. Minerva was surprised to see that Hermione was much less disoriented than her first experience with Apparition, enough to make her unsteady on her feet but not enough to stop her from taking in the view of Minerva's home.

"Welcome to McGonagall Manor Hermione, come on and I'll show you to where you'll be staying while you're here, then we have some things we need to discuss."

Hermione gave no indication that she had heard what Minerva said, but started walking with her, she was too busy staring at the building in front of her, made of pure white stone, the building was the biggest home Hermione had ever seen, at least 3 stories high but what it lacked in height it made up for with how big each floor was. Even from the outside Hermione could tell that the building would take a while to fully explore. Minerva stopped Hermione from walking into the fence that bordered her home, made of a sturdy thick wood, coming up to Minerva's waist and painted the same tone of white that the stone of the house was, it also served as the border to the wards. Minerva placed her wand against the gate and whispered a word that Hermione missed, but the effect was clear, the gate that Hermione and Minerva were standing in front of started to glow a bright gold and Minerva turned to Hermione once the whole gate was glowing.

"Place your hand against the gate Hermione."

Slightly unsure, Hermione hesitated for a moment before stepping forward and placing her hand against the glowing door, her trust in Minerva absolute when it came to Minerva keeping her safe. Hermione gasped when she felt a slight shock against her hand and shivered when it traveled up her arm. Finding herself unable to pull away as her instincts told her to do, Hermione kept track of the slight tingling running through her body, to find it traveling back to her hand that was placed on the door, pulling her hand away when she was able to, Hermione turned to look at Minerva.

"What was that?"

"The wards that protect my home will now allow you entrance Hermione, if you hadn't placed your hand on the gate you would not be allowed to enter through them."

Minerva pushed the gate open and led Hermione up the walkway to her home. The door to the Manor was a solid oak door with a gold door knob on the right hand side of the door at about waist height for Minerva. Opening the door Minerva stepped through and smiled as she watched Hermione's jaw drop when she saw the inside of the Manor. The white oak floor shined against the sunlight the walls made of the same stone the exterior was made of, directly in front of her was a stair case made of the same wood as the rest of the floor, to her left was a door and a hallway leading to the back of the house beside the staircase, to her right was another door, both made of the same solid oak as the front door but not as large and less extravagant. Hermione stood in awe at the house, she had never seen such a beautiful building before and instantly she felt at home. Stepping in after Hermione, Minerva placed a hand on her shoulder and spoke.

"On your right, is the Library. It is quite large and contains a number of books that will be useful to you if what I suspect about you is true. However, there are some things we need to do before you even start to look at those books. To your left is a hallway to the back of the house that leads outside and the door is the Sitting Room that also leads to a Dining Room and a Kitchen. Come, let me show you to your room so we can get you settled in before we worry about anything else."

Still somewhat confused about what Minerva was talking about, Hermione followed Minerva to the Second floor. When Hermione stepped onto the second floor she saw 3 doors on the left that Minerva explained were all bedrooms, as well as a door on the right that Minerva said led to a duelling and practice room. Minerva led Hermione into the middle room and stepped to the side of the door to see if Hermione would like this room.

"If you do not like this room there are several others."

Hermione turned and looked at Minerva, a smile on her face as she walked towards Minerva and hugged her.

"I love it, thank you."

Turning back into the room Hermione took in the décor of the room. A large twin bed stood against the wall opposite the door with a window just above the headboard. The room was painted in a cream color and the furniture was a light earth brown. Hermione saw bookcases lining most of the walls that were filled with books as well as a large desk and a chair in front of it. There was an open door at the back of the room that Hermione saw led to a bathroom. Placing the trunk that was brought with them at the foot of the bed, Minerva placed a hand on Hermione's shoulder and told her to follow her down to the sitting room.

Pulling the door to the sitting room open, Hermione couldn't help the smile that lit her face, the room was a warm and inviting space, with carpets that were begging to be walked on in bare feet to feel the plush warmth they provided and the couch that faced the fireplace looked as comfortable as the bed in Hermione's room. Watching Minerva sit on one of the chairs that were on either side of the couch Hermione moved to sit on the couch so that she was close to Minerva and waited for the older witch to begin her explanation of what she was doing here.

"Hermione I brought you here so that we could discuss something I found while examining your magical core in the book store today. Aside from the sheer power that was flowing from your core, I also felt a bind on it that was limiting you to about 10% of your magical capacity. This is normal for children as most parents do place a bind on their child's magic to lessen the instances of accidental magic. However, as you are going to be going to Hogwarts in September it should be in the process of being removed slowly, allowing you to access your full core before it is time for you to attend Hogwarts. As that isn't happening I don't have an explanation to offer you. I do have a solution for you however. I can break the binding on your magic in the same way that it should be although in an accelerated time but it will still be safe for you."

Hermione was silent as she stared at the fireplace, absorbing what was said to her. Why was the bind on her core not being removed as it should be? Who would bind her magic like this? Shaking her head to try and stop her head from spinning before speaking.

"How long would it take for the bind to be removed if you do it?"

Minerva's hand came into her field of view and Hermione found herself looking at Minerva's hand covering her own that was resting on the arm of the couch. Looking up at her face, Hermione found Minerva staring at her with a warm smile on her face.

"That depends on you Hermione, I can have it removed when you wake up tomorrow but we will have to start soon, or we can have it removed in a few weeks. Regardless of when the bind is removed you will be perfectly safe, I promise you that."

The smile and Minerva's mere presence but Hermione's fears and worries at ease, nodding at Minerva with a smile of her own and letting out a breath that she hadn't realized she was holding.

"Well then, I think it would be best if we got this out of the way now, that way we can concentrate more on teaching me to control my magic, I'm sure it will be a lot harder without the bind on."

A smile that was full of pride for the maturity that Hermione was showing on her face, Minerva stood and motioned for Hermione to follow her.

"Better to start now then, come with me. It will take a few moments for me to get things set up and explain how things will work."

Nodding as she followed Minerva into the Library, Hermione watched with interest as Minerva set up a circle that Minerva called a Runic Circle. Interested in the symbols that Minerva was drawing with her wand around the inside and outside of the circle Hermione made sure she asked for some lessons in this subject before she left for Hogwarts. When the circle was finished Minerva instructed Hermione to kneel in the centre after placing a large pillow on the ground. Nodding Hermione walked into the centre, being careful not to disturb any of the symbols written around the circle and knelt on the pillow. Closing her eyes and taking a few deep breaths after indicating she was ready Hermione felt herself soothed by the words Minerva was speaking, regardless of the fact that she couldn't understand what she was saying. Keeping her eyes closed as she was instructed instead of watching Minerva walking the circle as she spoke the incantations that would break the bind on Hermione's magic as she wanted, Hermione could feel a pressure starting to build in her chest with each lap Minerva made around the circle. Hermione fought down her initial spark of worry when she remembered that Minerva had said it would happen.

Hermione's eyes flew open as she let loose what could only be described as a blood curdling scream as Minerva finished her last walk around the circle. A blue sphere encompassed the circle and Hermione could see what looked like lightning bolts striking her, pain coursing through her as she started to feel the bind being broken. With one last scream Hermione fell to the floor and the last thing she saw before blacking out was the sphere coming down and Minerva walking over to her.

Another chapter down. The next chapter will earn the M rating I've given the story, although I have a feeling that most of you are just going to read it to find out what happens to Hermione. Well, I'm off to get the next chapter started so I hope you enjoyed it and please Review. They make me work faster.