Chapter Twenty One
Hermione knew she'd been busy lately, but it was only three weeks until Christmas now, and she realized that it was possible it had been almost a month since she'd last seen Filius and Caelum outside of wishing them a good morning and a good night on the weeks they were with her. The elder of the Flitwick boys had just turned six, and the younger of the pair would be four in February, but no matter how big they were getting it didn't change the fact that they needed her in their lives. This week, they were with Melok, but that didn't mean she couldn't swing by the house on Baker where they were being cared for by Eileen Snape. She had the time today, and there was no reason for Hermione not to take advantage of it. Besides, Severus would be born soon, and Hermione wanted to continue building on the foundation she had with Eileen, with hopes of being part of her brother's life from the day he was born. Honestly, she'd expected Eileen to have gone on maternity leave by now, but despite being near her due date, the woman had insisted that she was feeling fine and would work up until she delivered, then plan on taking a few weeks off when the baby was born. Hermione had tried to argue with her, but her mind was set, insisting that the boys were no trouble at all and she could handle them despite her advancing pregnancy. Cedrella was Eileen's emergency contact, if Hermione or Melok couldn't be reached, to watch the boys should the heavily pregnant woman go into labor while she was on duty.
After changing into Muggle clothing in case she decided to take the boys outside to play, Hermione went downstairs to the kitchen, briefly poking her head into the sitting room to tell Lycoris that she was stepping out for a bit and to where. Her step daughter smiled knowingly at her and shooed her off, and a moment later, Hermione was stepping through the Floo to Number Seven, Baker Drive, cleaning off the displaced ash with a flick of her wand as soon as she arrived on the other end.
"Bloody hell," came an unfamiliar voice. "How did you do that?"
Hermione looked up to see the startled face of her Muggle neighbor, Margot Evans. She'd seen the woman a few times, but never actually met her. "Oh, bother," she muttered. "I hadn't realized you and Eileen socialized."
Eileen stepped into the room a moment later, tea tray in hand. "Oh, hello Hermione. When did you get here?"
"Just a moment ago," she said, smirking a little. "I came by Floo, Eileen. I do believe Mrs. Evans is going to require an explanation."
She sat the tea tray down on the coffee table. "Overdue I suppose. Filius and Caelum are with Petunia in the playroom. The children have become fast friends. I didn't think you'd object."
"The boys had mentioned Petunia, and I suppose it's just as well. We should have the children join us in any case," Hermione sighed. "Filius has been up my arse to tell Petunia for months. At least the nagging will stop now."
"So you're Filius and Caelum's Mum?" Margot asked timidly.
She took a seat in an armchair, smiling a little as she noted that like Eileen, Margot was heavily pregnant. Lily Evans was, if memory served, only a few weeks younger than Severus. "I'm Hermione Black," she said, introducing herself. "Technically I'm their Godmother. However, their mother died during Caelum's birth, and since Filius is only a bit over a year his elder, neither of the boys remember her at all. I'm the only Mum they've ever known.
"Mernte!" Filius' voice called, as he led the troop of three youngsters coming into the room. "See Caelum, I told you I heard Mernte's voice!"
"Hey!" five year old Petunia said, eyeing her critically. "I know you! You made the flowers live, like me!"
Margot, who'd just begun to take a sip of tea, paused at her daughter's words. "Petunia, darling, what do you mean made the flowers live?"
"With magic, Mummy!" the little girl said defiantly. "It's real, I swear it is!"
The Muggle woman took a deep, steadying breath, and then looked at Hermione. "Five minutes ago I would have been telling my daughter, emphatically, that magic was not real. However, that was before I watched a grown woman just appear out of a fireplace. So, please, you tell me Mrs. Black."
"Technically, it's Lady Black, if you insist upon formality, as my husband is a Lord," she said, smiling a little. "I'd prefer you just call me Hermione, though. I can tell our children are very friendly, and I imagine you and I will get along quite well once we get to know each other. Also, yes, magic is real. I'm a Witch, as is Eileen. Filius and Caelum are Wizards. I'm fairly certain your daughter is a Witch as well. Petunia is already displaying deliberate magic, and I expect if we brainstorm a bit, we could find examples of what we call accidental magic as well. That bit usually kicks off by the time they're two or three, so you'd likely have noticed things by this age. Somebody I know decided to start his accidental magic at nine bloody months though, so really, it varies."
Caelum raised his hand and looked sheepish. "I'm somebody. Mernte's just cross because I used to vanish my bath water."
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Among other obnoxious things that drove Jeanette, me, and your Father spare."
"Who's Jeanette?" Margot asked.
"Their Nanny before Eileen," Hermione explained. "Good woman, you may meet her at some point. Her daughter Anna is Filius' age and she was quite close with the boys, so Jeanette still brings her around when she can."
"Is she a Witch as well?" came the next question.
The poor woman looked dazed, Hermione mused. "No, she's not, although she's not exactly Muggle either. Muggle, by the way, is what we Magical folk call those of you who have no magic and no family history of magic. Honestly, I have a hunch that the Evans line are Squibs, though. I'd have to talk to your husband about it a bit more to sort that out, although it's not really important. Anyhow, Jeanette's a Muggle and Anna is what we call Abnormal. They exist in the middle ground between. Not quite Muggle, but not quite Magical."
"I don't understand what that means."
Filius explained it very simply for his friend's mother. "It means she can't do magic but she can turn herself invisible."
"Wicked!" Petunia said, looking intrigued.
"Petunia Grace!" Margot said sharply. "Mind your tongue."
Hermione couldn't help but be reminded of the Petunia she'd known in Beta as the five year old little girl crossed her arms, rolled her eyes, and kicked at the floor with her foot petulantly. "Yes Mummy," she sulked.
Just then, an Owl flew in the window and deposited an envelope in Hermione's hand before flying right back out again. She opened it quickly and sighed at the contents. "I suppose I should have expected that."
"Statute violation citation?" Eileen guessed.
She nodded. "I'll take care of it. Really, what is the Wizengamot going to do? Put Lord Black's wife on trial? We've got the confidence of five other seats on a bad day, Eileen. This is an annoyance at most, and half the problem will likely come from your father."
"Oh, well feel free to annoy him for me," the disowned Prince said with a cheeky grin.
"Am I understanding correctly here that you people… you Witches and Wizards…" Margot asked, still tightly gripping her teacup, "... have enough population to warrant a government of your own?"
"We make up a little under one percent of the population in the United Kingdom," Hermione explained. "So yes. There are plenty of us running about. It is very possible that you know others, and simply don't realize it. It's unusual that I'm telling you, Margot, because normally Muggleborn children aren't informed of magic until they receive an invitation to Hogwarts - that's a school in Scotland for magical education - when they turn eleven. However, given you are regularly socializing with two Wizard children and I am fairly confident you are raising a Witch yourself, I think it's somewhat stupid for you to not be made aware ahead of time, Muggle or not. Honestly, if you or your husband do come from a Squib line, it's very possible your second child could be magical as well. Even without a family history of magic, on occasion two children in the same family - Muggleborn, we call them - will spontaneously have magic."
"Is there some sort of class Rodger and I can take?" the neighbor woman asked timidly. "One that can help get us up to speed on your history and culture so we're better prepared to support our daughter and her sibling?"
"Not at present, but that's a brilliant idea and I can probably help bring it into existence," Hermione said, mind racing over the possibilities, thinking it may be something to tack onto the Preparatory Academy she and Sirius were working up. "I'm going to want your help, of course. Who better to help figure out what a Muggle needs to know than a Muggle going through it?"
For the first time since this conversation began, Margot Evans looked intrigued and engaged and not like she was about to pass out. "I'm in," she agreed.
"So," Petunia interrupted, "does this mean I don't have to hide it when I do magic anymore?"
Margot looked startled. "Darling, you've been hiding this from me and your father?"
The little girl looked perturbed. "Well I tried telling you, but you didn't believe me, so I stopped. I didn't want to be a bother."
The Muggle woman looked exasperated. "Like when?"
"When Patches turned red and I told you it was magic," Petunia said crossly.
Margot groaned. "And I was certain you'd somehow gotten into my hair dye and then punished you for lying about it."
"And when I was in the tree in the back yard and you were cross at me…" the little girl stomped.
"Because I was certain you must have let some stranger put you up there, and you insisted you magically jumped up," the Muggle woman sighed.
"And you punished me again," Petunia said petulantly. "So yes, Mummy, I stopped letting you see my magic. I didn't want to be punished anymore!"
Hermione drew in a sharp breath of fresh understanding. Perhaps not Petunia's experience in Alpha, but something similar may have been Lily's experience. Margot seemed like a reasonable woman, who was appropriately punishing her daughter for what she thought was lying or doing dangerous things, but if Lily, in Alpha, had responded similarly to Petunia here, and opted to hide her magic from her mother rather than continue to be punished for it, then it would go a long way to explain why Petunia in Alpha would later think that punishment might prevent Harry from using his magic, or at least prevent him from using it in their presence. Hermione didn't believe that Margot and Rodger Evans were ever the abusers that Petunia and Vernon had become in Alpha, but conceptually, it would have been something Petunia remembered from her own childhood and carried forward into her rearing of Harry. "Well," she said softly, "now that your mother understands what's going on, I believe that punishments will be reserved for when you've actually done something wrong."
Margot nodded, looking regretful. "Absolutely. Petunia, sweetheart, I'm so sorry I didn't believe you."
Hermione's eyes narrowed as she saw her older son's eyes brighten a bit. "Hey Mernte…" he asked.
She sighed. "Yes Filius?" knowing full well he was up to something.
"If we share with Petunia, can me and Caelum get our training brooms out?" he asked sweetly. "Now that she's officially in the know?"
"I may actually hex your Uncle Sirius for buying those," she said, sounding annoyed. "I suppose so, although for the love of Merlin, no higher than a meter please. I do not feel like spending my evening at Mungo's."
"Could just call Poppy," Eileen suggested.
"You're no help," Hermione grumbled. "A meter, boys, and be kind with Petunia as this will be her first time on a broom. Remember your first attempts. Be encouraging, and be gentlemen. Understood?"
"Yes, Mernte," Filius said, grinning brightly.
Caelum, her sweet little introvert, just hugged her in response. Petunia, who had evidently had broom use explained to her by the boys at some point, was bouncing on her toes in excitement, and all three children were bolting out the back door a few moments later, no doubt intent on causing mayhem.
Margot cleared her throat. "Brooms?"
She smiled brightly, trying not to let the Muggle see her own nervousness on the subject. "Ah," Hermione said. "Some clichés are clichés for a reason."
So much for this being a short visit, Hermione thought to herself.
It was quite irregular, Minerva mused, for Hermione to be at Hogwarts of her own free will when not making a direct shot for the Transfiguration corridor where her quarters were located, or for the Hospital Wing when she was dropping something off for Poppy. Today, however, Hermione was here for neither of those purposes, it seemed, and to Minerva's surprise, it seemed she was here with the Headmaster's approval and heading up a staff meeting.
What on earth was that woman up to now?
"I imagine many of you are familiar with Lady Black by now," Dippet said calmly. "She and her husband are heading up a project, the development of which I am excited about and think will benefit the Wizarding community a great deal, and I agree with her that our cooperation will help the project see its greatest potential realized. Now, all that said, I shall give the floor to Hermione…"
She smiled, and stood, taking position at the podium where the Headmaster typically stood to lead staff meetings. "Thank you Armando," she said with a smile in his direction. Then, she turned her attention to the gathered staff. "As the Headmaster indicated, myself and my husband are working on a project which would benefit deeply from the cooperation of the Hogwarts staff. In short, we're putting together a Preparatory Academy, which would be a school attended by Wizarding children the year prior to when they'd come to Hogwarts. The students would not board; it would be a day school only. Among the many benefits of this program, this would be available to Purebloods, Halfbloods, and Muggleborns alike, and unlike Hogwarts we would not have a House sorting system, and would encourage the children to mingle with one another and foster friendships with their peers regardless of bloodline, in the hopes that those friendships would continue once they came here."
Slughorn spoke up. "Surely the Ministry would not approve such a program for the purpose of encouraging integration. Mind you, I don't disagree that it is a worthy goal, but I know full well how many Purebloods are in positions of power who'd consider that a goal that, if the singular purpose, not worth the effort."
She nodded. "My husband said the same thing, and I agree. That's far from the only purpose, however. I'm sure many of you, especially those of you who are seasoned Professors, can attest that children coming from Wizarding backgrounds have a very diverse understanding of reading, writing, and arithmetic when they arrive. Some families can afford private tutors and some cannot. Most of the time, it's the parents who educate the children before they come to Hogwarts. The Muggleborn children, on the other hand, are in primary school prior to coming here, so arrive with a better grasp of those things. The flip side of that coin is that Wizard born children come to Hogwarts with a clear understanding of basic dangers inherent to the magical world, whereas Muggleborn children are ignorant of them. I believe the example I used to convince my husband was Felrobur weed. Commonly found in Wizarding areas and very prevalent in the Forbidden forest, it's highly toxic. You all know this. Do your Muggleborn students? I had a Muggleborn friend growing up who nearly died because he touched some and thought he had poison ivy, and neglected to get treatment for three days."
"Bloody hell," Leonard Bagshot muttered. "I don't think I really appreciated the things we take for granted. Just thinking off hand, I can come up with a few dozen other examples of things here on the grounds Muggleborns wouldn't know to look out for. So you mean to educate those children about those sorts of things at your Academy?"
"Among other things, yes," Hermione said with a nod. "The other thing I want to do is essentially be a primer for those of you who teach the core classes. Minerva, Chelsey, Horace, Herbert, Tiberius, I'd like to be able to sit down with each of you and figure out what very basic concepts would be helpful to you if your students already had a handle on coming into their first year. My Academy can spend a full year helping children refine those simple skills so that you can get started working on developing their repertoire of spellwork and not have to waste time on things like wand grip, ingredient preparation, safety protocols, or even some of the more simple spells that you think they would be able to master a year earlier, giving you room to fit more into your own syllabus. In my own experience, while not educated here…"
Minerva snorted in amusement at Hermione's very specific wording. She hadn't said she wasn't educated at Hogwarts. She just said she wasn't educated here - at this Hogwarts.
"...I was taught by a Potions Master who, while incredibly gifted, taught in a manner where it was clear he assumed his students knew, from go, how to properly prepare ingredients. As such, many of his students fell behind early on, struggling to get potions right because they were preparing the ingredients incorrectly and he never bothered to help them remedy that. So Horace, in your case, I'd ask how much time do you want to spend on ingredient preparation in your syllabus, or is that something I can take off your plate?"
"Well if Horace wasn't sold before, he is now," Keating quipped, and Minerva nodded in agreement, noticing the Potions Master's head bobbing up and down.
"That would be a great help," Slughorn remarked. "For my first years, I spend up until Christmas break on ingredient preparation, and in second year I spend a week in review on the subject. If I could reduce my first years to only that week of review like my second years… Merlin, if you manage to really get it in their heads that young, I may not even need the review for my second years any longer."
"I can probably make you up a list of Charms," Keating said, looking thoughtful. "I have a few that I push my first years to learn fairly quickly for no other reason than knowing them makes life simpler here at Hogwarts, and can help them prevent injury. I'd rather them know some charms to keep themselves safe in a school where the staircases bloody move."
Hermione looked at him questioningly. "Are you teaching first years Arresto Momentum?"
He shrugged. "Beats face splatting."
Kettleburn looked thoughtful. "While perhaps not a core class, I'd like to offer my support to your program as well, Lady Black. You're right in saying that children coming from Muggle backgrounds do not know what dangers are inherent to the Wizarding one, but that goes beyond plants, and quite frankly, the Hogwarts' grounds are home to a great many creatures that the children could run afoul of. Care of Magical Creatures is an elective course at Hogwarts. I think that Magical Creatures education should be mandatory at your Academy, so that children coming here know what to expect - we'd focus on creatures known to be on the grounds here - and how to behave around them. Honestly, I've met as many ignorant Pureblood children as Muggleborn ones in regard to creatures."
Hermione nodded. "Astute. I can get on board with that. Do any of the rest of you, from other departments, believe the children would benefit from some input from your areas of expertise prior to their arrival at Hogwarts? I am very open to ideas here."
"I will not commit to teaching them," Agatha spoke up. "Gods know I'm not any good with small children. That said, I've heard any one of you talking about how much many of the children from every background butcher the pronunciation of spells. A Latin primer would not go amiss in your program, Hermione."
Minerva frowned a little as Hermione offered a smirk. "That's alright, Agatha. I think I know a man who I can tap to teach the children Latin. You'd like him. He likes to go on and on about the subtleties of the language and how bloody amazing that is."
Agatha crossed her arms. "It is amazing."
Hermione laughed. "I'll have to introduce you two. Anyhow, other ideas?"
Tiberius spoke up. "Aside from wand grip issues and the ability for the children to write an essay without completely butchering it, the only thing I can think to have you do for me in preparation for their first year is going to be to cover the history. The history of Defense is part of what the OWL is on, and I have been spreading it out a little each year, making sure they all know that they will be tested on it for the OWL so to keep their notes, but if you cover the lot of it that's five years worth of two weeks that I can allot other things to for the students. Just make sure they keep the research they do so they can use it for review come fifth year."
"Very doable," she said calmly. "Herbert, Minerva, what about you two?"
"The biggest hangup I have with students," Herbert replied, "is that many of them have never set foot in a garden, much less a greenhouse, and are often very put out over the notion of getting dirty. It's hard to get children into Herbology if they come into the class with a preconceived notion that they're going to dislike it because they've never had a positive experience. I'd simply be thankful if you'd just instill in the children a positive spirit toward the field. If you could get clearance for it, I'd even suggest taking them on field trips to some of the larger greenhouses in the United Kingdom. Let them see some of the wonder first hand. Your sister-in-law, for example, has a hell of a Devil's Snare crop going. One of the largest in the country, I believe. She's also got a pretty decent Mandrake nursery."
"Field trips are a good idea, Herbert," Hermione praised. "I'll look into that. I'm sure Belvina won't mind, at least, not after she gives birth."
"I still say she's mad for doing it at her age," he said, shaking his head.
"We're Blacks," came a practiced reply. "We're all a bit mad."
Minerva spoke up, by now having had some time to really consider the question at hand. "As a field, it is often difficult for children to see why and how Transfiguration could be of any real use to them. Why turn a matchstick into a needle to sew up a hole in their trousers when they could use a simple repairing charm? Why Transfigure a log into a chest to transport something with when you can just use a shrinking spell and put the items in your pocket? That said, what would be most helpful to me would be to educate the children on what people do with Transfiguration in the Professional field. Show them Transfiguration-applied dueling, decorators, seamstresses, construction workers, those in the Game and Sports department who set up locations, and so on and so forth. Get them to walk into my classroom with a clear understanding that the matchstick to needle is only the beginning, and that they can achieve great things with the skill."
"Well said, Minerva," Albus praised. "I would add to that, however, that you could also garnish interest by introducing the children to any Animagi you happen to know, Lady Black."
Leonard Bagshot snorted in amusement. "Lady? Shouldn't we just call her Professor Black?"
"Professor?" Hermione inquired, raising an eyebrow at the Ancient Runes teacher.
"Do you or do you not have a Mastery?" he teased.
A Mastery, Minerva scoffed internally. What a joke, as Leonard knew full well. He'd pushed Hermione through two of her Masteries alone.
"Not after my position, are you Hermione?" Horace said, clearly in jest.
"Hardly," she laughed. "I got my Mastery in Potions because I wanted something to do with my time and the respect of the academic community. Intelligence only gets you so far without that certificate to back you up."
"Well needless to say, you have our respect," the Headmaster said, looking at her fondly. "Professor Black."
"Oh Merlin," Hermione groaned. "Leonard, I'm going to hex you later. Anyhow, moving on. Another point of interest in this program was actually the suggestion of a friend of mine. I own a property in a Muggle neighborhood, and chance being what it was, the home next door is owned by a couple who have a young daughter who is a Witch. They are not magical themselves, although I suspect one of them may be a Squib, if for no other reason than there's every indication that their second daughter is also magical."
"The odds of that are very low," Albus agreed, "unless it's a Squib line."
"My thoughts exactly," she concurred. "I haven't fussed with looking into the genealogy or anything, but I doubt it matters much. They're likely a number of generations removed from whatever family in any case. Margot, however, inquired if there was some sort of class she and her husband could take that would help them learn about the Wizarding world and be better prepared to support their daughters. There isn't, but I'm prepared to create such a program as an umbrella to this Academy. It seems perfectly sensible to do so, as the two goals are not mutually exclusive."
Dorian Burke, the Muggle studies Professor, raised his hand slightly and then spoke. "I'm not certain how practical a class would be. Unlike in our society, many Muggle housewives do have jobs themselves, and even when they don't, the husbands certainly do and to try and coordinate so that everyone could be at a class at the same time would be extremely difficult."
"Do you have an alternate suggestion?" Hermione asked, frowning.
"What about a book?" Burke posed. "I'm certain with enough research among Muggleborns and their parents we already know we could come up with a good list of frequently asked questions and sort out the answers. Perhaps include with the book an Owl whistle and directions on how to use it, so if they had additional questions beyond what was answered in the book, they could summon a magical Owl and send a letter to a predetermined address, also offered in the book, and the questions be answered that way. I'd also suggest that these parents be offered a tour of the Ministry, Diagon Alley, and Saint Mungo's sometime prior to their child heading off to Hogwarts. I know a number of Muggleborn students whose parents were very intimidated having to go to one of those places for the first time without any guidance."
An idea struck Minerva. "Why not have our seventh years be the tour guides? Have it be an extra credit thing for them, to encourage the development of leadership skills?"
Dippet nodded. "Good thinking, and I do believe I could approve that, although only for the seventh years who are already over the age of consent and who have passed their apparition tests, including the side along apparition test. I don't want to risk them splinching Muggles if an emergency were to come up and they were compelled to make a hasty exit with their charges."
"Good precautions," Hermione agreed. "That actually falls in line with another aspect of the program Sirius and I were considering. While this program would be primarily for children prior to their entry to Hogwarts, there are some dangers and points of education that we think the seventh years could benefit from, Muggleborn to Pureblood, that we'd like to work with you on as a mandatory class for your NEWT students their second term."
"What issues do you mean, Hermione?" Minerva inquired.
"On the less dire level, I mean an understanding of conversion rates between pounds and Galleons, educating Wizard borns on how to use the Tube and how to drive or Muggle borns on how to use the Floo or Portkey, or take the Knight Bus. On a more concerning note, I think about how these are young men and women who are going to go out and have a good time with friends, and on both the Muggle and Wizarding side, there are date rape drugs."
Poppy, who'd been sitting quietly thus far, nodded. "We had a seventh year come back from Christmas break, a half-blood who grew up in the Wizarding world. She went to a Muggle pub with a friend over the holiday and they were both subjected to date rape drugs, and consequently violated. Thankfully, neither is pregnant, but neither one of those girls will ever be the same. Headmaster, I implore you to make this class mandatory. Any education our students have which could help save them from this…"
Dippet nodded seriously. "I am aware that it may take you and your husband some time to get the full Academy up and running. That said, how soon do you think you could get this program together? The need for it, I believe, is more pressing than not."
Minerva was touched by the look of tender understanding on Hermione's face. "I'll have it ready by start of next term, Headmaster," she promised. "I had been thinking on having it just be a program for the second half of the school year, but Poppy's example of a student over Christmas break makes me consider that there are a number of students who turn seventeen over the summer between sixth and seventh years, or over the course of September to December. I'm thinking that perhaps we do it in halves; students who turn seventeen between June and December take the class the first half of their seventh year, and students who turn seventeen after January take it the second half. That way we cover our bases."
"What can I do to help make this happen?" Dippet asked.
Hermione laughed a little. "Armando, if you would be kind enough to write a letter to the Board of Governors expressing your support for the Academy project in general, and the urgency of the need for this aspect of it, that would be very helpful. If the Board knows that the Headmaster and the Professors are behind Sirius and me on this, there will be very little they will be able to do to hold us back. Poppy, if you would speak to the girls involved in the altercation, I would request that an anonymous testimony from them be attached to Armando's letter. They don't have to say who they are, or what House they're in. There are dozens of girls in this school. They don't even need to say they're seventh years for that matter. I just need them to give firm testimony to the need. Don't pressure them, however. If they really don't want to, we'll make it work without. I have a feeling, though, they'll want to help prevent this from happening to other girls."
Poppy nodded. "I'll speak to them."
Hermione turned back to the group. "Any other questions?"
Minerva shook her head. Professor Black indeed.
PLEASE REVIEW!