The Burrow was alive that day. They woke to lunch, which they did not eat as much as they felt breakfast was not long ago. Afterward was the family getting the Hogwarts envelopes, Hermione bouncing on the balls of her feet excitedly as she opened hers. It was yet another welcome letter, this time welcoming her back. The items were much more plentiful in potion ingredients and books. In fact, the book list was almost twice as long as last year and it was fairly clear why.
Gilderoy Lockhart, which Hermione was starting to think was becoming a theme in the background of this strange book called life, had a ridiculous number of books. Wanderings with Werewolves, Gadding with Ghouls, Marauding with Monsters, Voyages with Vampires were there, of course, but also included Year with a Yeti, Break with a Banshee and last, but not least, Travels with Trolls.
"All of this," Fred said, looking at the rest of them, "on top of the standard textbooks? Are they mad? This will cost a fortune!"
"It will be fine, Fred," Arthur said as he walked through the dining room carrying a small, strange black box that all of his sons eyed as he passed. "Hogwarts tends to make things more affordable when your teachers lavish in their own glory. Especially this Lockhart bloke."
"Gilderoy Lockhart happens to be a brilliant storyteller, and quite the hero." Molly told her husband and then also eyed what was in his hand. "And what in the world is that?"
"This is what muggles call a 'pager' or a 'beeper'. It tells muggles when someone has dialed their pheletone and informs them that they would like to converse with them over the eclectic line of communication." Arthur said as he continued to gaze at the box. Molly was quick to correct him with "telephone", though she didn't bother with the rest.
"Um, Mr. Weasley," Hermione cleared her throat, "have you given someone the number to that pager?"
"Oh, does it have a number?" Arthur asked, looking over toward Hermione. She made a very quick mental note to see if she could set Mr. Weasley up with a phone company. Then she quickly realized such an idea was barking.
"Will we be taking the car to Diagon Alley?" Harry asked and George was quick to catch Harry before he set off this horrible argument again.
"Uh, no, we have another way of getting there. We have floo powder. If you've got a grate you need to get to in a hurry, it's quite handy." George explained and then leaned over toward him. "Also might not want to have too much in your stomach the first few times you try it." He tapped his own nose and winked.
"Oh, yes! I have some floo powder I won't be needing." Hermione said as she got into her tiny little bag at her side, which held dung bombs, floating candles, snack bags and two ten gallon water bottles that would not get warm, and appeared to be twenty ounces.
She handed Mrs. Weasley a bag of floo powder the size of a grown man's fist. Molly opened it with a bit of a gasp.
"Careful, mum, you don't want to breathe it in." George remarked, looking a tiny bit concerned.
"Darling, we can't take this." She said with a shake of her head, "it must have been enormously expensive!"
"Mr. Ollivander gave it to me. Is it really that much?" Hermione asked, eyeing it curiously. "Just loan it to me when I come back. Use it as you like." She shrugged, honestly not caring. "I have another, smaller bag in my trunk."
"Bloody hell, Hermione." Ron said, receiving a pointed look from Mrs. Weasley about his cursing. "Who have you been getting all of this from?"
"People who support Harry Potter and want him to come back to Hogwarts." Hermione said with no shortage of pride. "Of which, your family can count yourselves."
"I suppose that's true." Ron said with a grin.
Then the shadow of Mrs. Weasley loomed over all of them, and they suddenly remembered what they were talking about. For someone so short, she certainly carried a large presence about her. "Don't you let me catch you pulling those stunts again. I'll have a word with your parents, Miss Granger!"
Hermione became pink in the face. Her parents were aware that she would be driving off into the distance, but they did not mention the flying, which could be a cause for concern.
"Now then, since we have the parameters of future events well in mind, let's get ready to go. Ron, you'll need some new robes, you've already outgrown those, of course." Molly fretted and then went on to put the ridiculous amount of Floo Powder into the large tin above the grate. It was full for the first time in what seemed like forever.
"And we're staying there?" Harry asked, and Hermione nodded. "You're sure Ollivander will be alright with it?"
"I've been in contact with him all summer." She said, bringing out what looked like a wooden dagger in the making. It was clear that it started rough, however, it seemed she began to get the hang of it. The edges were getting smoother and the dark wood piece she was working with actually looked like it was taking the form of a wand, eventually. "This will be the easiest part. The hardest part is putting the unicorn hair in correctly."
"You're seriously getting into wandmaking. Do you think you can get a phoenix feather?" Harry asked and Hermione's expression brightened immediately.
"Oh, yes! I'm sure I can find one somewhere. They're really rare and cost a fortune, but I think with a bit of research, I could track one down." Hermione said with a bit of excitement. The thought of finding an actual phoenix was even more exciting.
"Yeah, so far, I've loved my wand. I've got phoenix feather and you said you had dragon's heart?" He said, though he was sure he remembered that wrong.
"The dragon's heartstring." She corrected, like he figured she would. "It's actually more commonly used than either of the other two. Astoundingly, other countries use a myriad of other cores. Americans use Thunderbird feathers and the hair from a creature with the head of a dog but the body of a human." She explained and Harry's face screwed up with puzzlement. Thunderbirds were real as well? Wait, wasn't that a car?
Hermione made sure she had her money. "We'll need some of your gold from Gringotts, but we should be fine to just stay at the Leaky Cauldron for a few days. Mrs. Weasley says we can stay here after that until we go to Hogwarts."
"Who are you making this wand for?" Harry asked and Hermione smiled at him.
"It's really more just for practice. The possibility of it actually working is rather narrow. There are so many calculations in the shape, diameter, length and placement of the core. It's dreadfully delicate and one false calculation can end in a broken wand. They're practically impossible to truly repair." Hermione looked at her carving, which was looking more and more terribly uneven the more she looked at it.
"Then your second wand will be the one I use to defeat a dark wizard." Harry said and she looked up at him with a smirk. Her face became pink.
"Oh, flatter me a bit more, please." Hermione asked in a rather meek voice before kissing him on the cheek. Just then, Ron walked into the room with his cloak on.
"Alright, we're off, are you ready?" Ron asked and they made their way to the fireplace in the living space.
Harry watched as each of them stepped into the space. With a location spoken clearly aloud, "Diagon Alley", they were transported to a designated fireplace at the Leaky Cauldron. There, they were greeted by Tom, the owner who was bald and quite toothless. Harry and Hermione stepped through the fireplace before Molly and Arthur.
Hermione was not at all a fan of the Floo Powder method of transport. Her head felt like it could spin for a few more days after she stepped out. She almost felt like a tornado. There came the sudden hope that other methods of transport weren't quite so disorienting.
"Oh, Hermione," Harry said with an enthusiasm that took her off guard. Then she saw what he was looking at and rolled her eyes.
"Alright, you want to go to the Quidditch store?" Hermione asked and the smile on his face answered her before he even nodded. "Alright, I'll check my notes, but don't be long, we need to get to Gringotts first." She waved him off before she turned and looked through the parchment with all of the supplies they needed. She had the stores marked beside them where they could be found.
"Hey, Hermione." A lower toned, younger female voice said from beside her and she looked to see Ginny leaning against the wall.
"Ginny! This is your first year at Hogwarts, isn't it?" She said to the shorter, red-headed girl who nodded vigorously with a smile. "Did your mother leave you here?"
"Yes, I said I wanted to walk with you two and she said as long as I met her at Flourish and Blotts in an hour." Ginny explained, tilting her head to the side. "You don't mind, do you?"
"No! Of course not! Come on, I was going to see if I could find some interesting magic items in the–" Hermione said before Ginny started walking toward Quality Quidditch Supplies. "Oh, I was a bit more interested in the broomsticks and maybe looking at some bludgers." She walked into the store, pulling the door open and walking in to see Harry looking at the new Nimbus 2001, unimpressed.
"Hey, Harry." Ginny walked up beside him, facing him directly. She began to sway from side to side, her hands clasped behind her back. Then her ears began to grow red and Hermione glared through the window.
"Oh, hey, Ginny. It's good to see you'll be at Hogwarts this year. I'm sure you can't wait to get your wand." Harry said as he went back to looking at the broom, but then noticing the Snitch replicas.
"Yes, that will be amazing! We're going there after we get the textbooks. I heard Ollivander's a nice old man." Ginny said as she smiled at him.
"He is. I can't imagine having another wand." Harry said as he pulled his out and snapped it into his palm from the reflex of countless times doing it. She looked genuinely impressed.
"Wow, may I have a look at it?" She asked as she held her hand up to his wand and he placed it very gently into her outstretched hands. She examined it as she held it with dainty fingers.
"Oh, Harry, are you ready to get going?" Hermione asked from the doorway, a certain edge to her voice. Her eyes, however, were not glaring with scornful defense at Harry.
"Yeah, I'm ready." He said, with an air of disappointment as he didn't get a very good look around. He got his wand back from Ginny and the two of them went to the door.
As the two of them crossed paths, there it was. There was the look. That look that no one needed explaining. Their brown eyes felt the rift between them and there was an unmistakable call to arms. This was Ginny's choice.
Hermione made it a point to get beside Harry and hold his hand. She was looking away from Ginerva Weasley as she trailed behind them. Gringotts was a fairly quick stop for the gold, as Harry has his key on a necklace around his neck that he literally never took off. It was even charmed never to break, nor could it be used to cut off his oxygen, should he be caught unaware. This was a handy little charm Hermione found in a book, Wizard Jewelry: Beauty and Magical Remedies.
Ginerva did not speak, but made sure that Hermione could feel her presence as she walked through the crowds at Diagon Alley. They went by the apothecary which was having a sale on troll dung, so there were people inside with rags on their noses, complaining of the smell. The three of them were very quick to get their potion ingredients and leave. Thankfully, the shop owners made it easy.
Robes was also a quick and easy affair, as the old, squat witch had hired a few of her granddaughters to help measure and fit students with robes.
"I'm so excited! This year is going to be the best!" Ginny said as she looked at her newly fitted robes. Madam Malkin came and began to stitch her up, using her wand to carry on the action until snipping the string.
"Hogwarts really brings out the best in people." Harry agreed and smiled at Hermione, who became pink in the face as she smiled back at him.
That's when she caught the grin on Ginny's face and then frowned over at her as she narrowed her eyes.
"We should be heading the Flourish and Blott's next." Harry offered, "it looks like there's a line almost out the door and probably getting longer."
"Oh, yes, Mum found out that Gilderoy Lockhart is there, she's already in line." Ginny said, and both Harry and Hermione looked at each other with wide eyes.
"Wait, Gilderoy Lockhart himself is at the store?" Harry asked, having seen a lot of his books and remembering his face plastered all over that Witch Weekly. The smile he gave off was not at all a pleasant one as far as Harry was concerned.
"Yes, he's releasing a new book or something. I don't know, I'm not really interested…" She grinned at Harry, "in him." She added with a coy smile that Harry did not catch because Madam Malkin gave him the go-ahead to get off his stool.
Hermione, on the other hand, caught onto it completely, but made a strained effort not to react to it. At this point, Ginny was not about to play puppetmaster. If she kept it up, though, there would be swift and precise reaction. When Ginerva looked into Hermione's face, she certainly would read a level of anger but with fervent calculation.
However, there was a glance. The look silently dared Ginny to underestimate her before the newly robed second year student turned and walked to the front of the shop with Harry.
Soon, it became very clear that, yes, Gilderoy Lockhart was in Flourish and Blotts and yes, Molly Weasley was very close to the front of the line. He stood in front of what looked like a hundred witches and wizards, many of them with his entire collection in their cauldrons as they were also Hogwarts students mixed in among adults, many of them witches.
"Yes, yes, very good, my entire collection. Well done." Gilderoy said, as if he hadn't assigned all of Hogwarts students to purchase his books. He passed the signed pile to the lady and a younger man approached him, claiming he loved his book on vampires. "Yes, yes, sure gave it to the old blood-sucker, eh?" Gilderoy laughed as his hand signed with muscle memory of the connected letters.
"Hey, Mrs. Weasley!" Hermione greeted her and Molly jumped a bit.
"Oh, hello darling! Harry, Ginny, I purchased your books. Take them from me, they are quite heavy." She instructed all three of them and sighed with relief as her load was drastically lighter. Harry took Ron's as well.
"Ah! Harry Potter!" Gilderoy Lockhart said very loudly, though, it seemed with some alarm. "Wait, he was the baby, wasn't he?" He leaned over to his shorter assistant with the camera who nodded. "Oh, right, so he wasn't the bloke that killed the people? Okay." The smarmy, arrogant smile crossed over the handsome face. Underneath a sky blue hat trimmed with gold were beautiful, curly blonde locks, dashingly straight, white teeth and robes that must have cost a fortune. "Harry Potter! Dear boy, come to my arms, so that I might embrace you in a fatherly way."
The assistant was quick to go and pull Harry Potter over to Gilderoy, who did indeed clap his hand over Harry's shoulders and pointed toward the crowd.
"My dear boy, in front of all of these people, have you any idea what a momentous occasion this is? Two titans of the wizarding world come together in this chance meeting of a lifetime! Harry Potter and the ever famous, ever dashing Witch Weekly's most magnificent smile, Gilderoy Lockhart! Could there be a more dashing pair?! I think not! Brave Harold Pottar! You and your family shall not spend a single Knut on my bibliography today!"
The crowd went wild and Molly's face went absolutely flush with relief. Harry looked up at him with both a confused bemusement and concern for this man's general wellbeing.
Hermione was torn at that moment. The man was quite dashing in his own right, not that he held a candle to Harry, not at all. However, he did seem to exist in a world parallel to this one, but just slightly missed the mark. Did he really call him Harold? That wasn't right, was it?
Harry said his goodbyes to Gilderoy Lockhart, who had him stand by for about five more photos before he was let go. He made his way back to the Weasley family, as George and Fred arrived, having gotten new Quidditch bats. The other ones had cracks going down multiple surfaces. They were joined by Arthur, but that's when Harry almost ran headlong into Malfoy.
"Can't go anywhere without drawing attention to yourself, can you, Potter?" Draco spat his words like disgusting things on his tongue.
"Draco, do maintain your posture in public. Don't show them your hand." A taller, blonde haired wizard with a narrow face and a nose that was undoubtedly Draco's predecessor.
"Yes, Father," he glared at Harry as his father grinned.
"So, you're the famous Harry Potter." Malfoy senior said as he stepped closer toward him. That was when his eyes went over to Hermione, who stood beside him and gave both him and Draco a dirty look. "And you're the famous muggle-born. What a pair."
Both Malfoys grinned at this.
"Yes, Harry, you two do look like a good pair." Fred said as he stepped up beside Harry and handed him a chocolate frog. George stepped up and did the same to Hermione.
"Even as pure bloods, we do so love a good mixing of the old pot, know what I mean?" George patted Hermione on the shoulder and hugged her with one arm.
"Oh, George." Hermione rolled her eyes with a warm smile toward him, lightly embracing his back.
Both of the Malfoys were no longer smiling. That was when Lucius, to Hermione's surprise, pulled a book from her cauldron that she held in her hand. "Arithmancy. Quite advanced for a muggle-born. Are you sure you wouldn't like home economics?" There was a grin and all of them glared toward Lucius Malfoy with murder in their expression.
"I think, I can manage. Thank you very little." Hermione grabbed her book out of his hand and dropped it back into her cauldron. That was when all of them decided their time was better spent elsewhere, seems how Harry's entire family got free books compliments of Mr. Lockhart. The fact that his family included six students of Hogwarts probably didn't enter into his equation but none of them mentioned such a thing.
"I swear, some pure bloods are the scum of the Earth." Hermione made this pointed statement. She hoped that a certain other Weasley was listening as she spoke and took Harry's hand. "There's Ollivander's, we can go from here."
"Right." He turned and waved to the rest of them. "We'll see you in a few days. Tell Ron we're in there." Harry said as he and Hermione made their way across the street to the wandmaker's shop.
As soon as they got into the door, Hermione was very quick to give him another warm embrace. "No, I'm not going to stop hugging you." She whispered.
"Alright, then." Harry smiled at her and leaned his forehead onto hers.
"Ah! Hermione! There you are. It's good to see you made it and with Mr. Potter! Holly, eleven inches, phoenix feather, nice and supple! I will never forget it! How are you, my boy!" He walked up to him with a hearty shake of his hand.
"Hello, Mr. Ollivander. I couldn't believe it when Hermione told me she was learning how to be a wandmaker from you." He said as he saw Hermione setting up all of the wand making equipment on the counter in the front of the store.
"Yes, there are characteristics that all wandmakers possess and Hermione possesses very prominent ones that I happen to hold with great value." Ollivander said as he smiled and nodded at them both. Then he picked up a quill from his desk and began to scribble something down onto a piece of parchment. "Now, I have told your parents that you are safe and that I am now holding myself responsible for your safety. You will find me a humble caretaker, but you will also find that I am very particular with how my wands are handled."
He then went through many rules he had about keeping the wands firmly in hand and with a particular grip to make sure there was less chance of dropping them. He also had rags that he preferred to wipe the wands with to get rid of fingerprints. "Now, you are welcome to come and go as you please. I only ask that you check in with me on occasion and let me know you are in good health. Hermione, your first lesson begins soon. Your trunk is in the coat closet."
"Wonderful! I'm so excited to get one-on-one lessons! Though, my wand isn't…" She said as she showed him the wand she was carving out of walnut wood.
"This is a good start, but yes, you can use a bit of direction in terms of even carving. Here is a good rule of thumb," Even though he said that her lessons hadn't started yet, he jumped right in. Not only did he guide her how to carve the wand properly but also how to use magic to quicken the pace while keeping its integrity. Then, he used a hollow wand to show her how to input the unicorn hair properly. It was immensely difficult.
Harry and Ron looked around the shop, seeing wands of every sort. Not to mention, books on exotic wands of other countries. There were books on wand cores from common all the way to legendary and nigh-impossible to find.
"Hermione being able to make wands. It's a weird thought, isn't it?" Ron said as they watched Ollivander instruct Hermione through weaving a handle.
"A little bit, but that's a better thought than we have. I mean, I don't want to mess with dragons when I get out of Hogwarts. What was that thing you said that was like the muggle police?" Harry asked as they walked back through Diagon Alley to get back to Quality Quidditch.
"Oh, yeah, an Auror. Those guys are awesome, but you need to be tip top with your N.E.W.T's. They are picky even when it comes to recruiting Aurors. Even fewer wizards make it to be actual Aurors." Ron warned Harry as they got to the window with the Nimbus 2001. "You sure you don't want one?"
"My Nimbus 2000 got me my first win in Quidditch. I don't need to replace it because they make the new ones slightly shinier." Harry said, remembering how he'd missed the final game because it happened the day after they'd fought the vampiric Lord Voldemort.
"Oi, Harry, Ron." Seamus joined them at the Nimbus display, "already with the new model. You'd have thought the 2000 stayed a bit longer. You reckon for a 2002?"
"Wouldn't surprise me. You heard anything about the new Defence teacher? The Lockhart fan?" Ron asked, doing his very best to avoid that store. Gilderoy Lockhart looked like a right git.
"Oh, it's a Gilderoy Lockhart fan alright. It's Lockhart himself. Reckon he fancies himself more than anyone." Seamus said and both of them screwed their faces in surprise.
"What? What's that moron gonna teach us? How to smile Dark Wizards to death?" Harry asked and Ron nodded, motioning to Harry.
"Mind you, a smile like his could." Ron said and all three of them began laughing.
"Couldn't tell you. All I know is my mum fancies that lump so I need to see his stupid face on magazines and his bloody book covers." Seamus lamented and Ron sympathized.
They had a little chat about the Quidditch lineup that year and bid Seamus adieu once his mother came by with a cauldron full of signed Lockhart merchandise.
They returned to Ollivander to see Hermione was still hard at work on the wand she had earlier.
"Yes! I put the unicorn hair in perfectly on the second try! It is a really tricky process and takes years to get right the first time." Hermione said with no shortage of pride. The second time was a place to improve upon but it was an excellent place to start.
Hermione turned and started getting tweezers and a small knife, then started pulling out twine for the handle. As the wand sat on the wooden stand, suspended in a way where she could reach and work on any part of the wand, it made a small flash from the tip.
Both Ron and Harry stopped everything and gazed at the unfinished wand with no handle, just a shaft. "Um, Hermione?" Harry said as Ron inched away. She grunted. "This wand doesn't work yet, does it?"
"It has the core, so yes. Why?" Hermione asked as she started measuring out twine.
"It can't do spells, can it?" Ron asked, still keeping his eyes firmly on it.
"Not without a magic user. Why do you look so–" Just then, both of them lunged out of the way as the wand shot forth an enormous flame. Hermione jumped back, screaming a bit as the fire blazed until it finally stopped.
They all gazed at the wand as the smoke rose and made them cough.
"Everything alright?" Ollivander called from the other room in the back.
All of them looked at each other. That was a very good question.