Even though Hermione just wanted to spend her time wallowing in front of the TV binging Star Trek and Xena: Warrior Princess, she forced herself into activity after activity. Her hand wasn't quite right and no amount of magic would fix it. When they went to a No-Maj doctor he was horrified at the state of her hands and gave her splints for both of them, claiming the muscles were practically non-existent and it was a wonder she could even move them at all. He told her to wear the splint on her right hand as often as she could and the one on her left at night. He was curious as to what happened, but how could Hermione tell him that her hands had been burned down to the bone by a cursed necklace and the flesh was slowly and painfully grown back but worse than they had ever been? That it was getting harder and harder to hold pencils and her wand even with the exercises she had been given?
Instead, she told him that it was being explored by her G.P. and that she would be sure to follow his advice to rest them and take it easy. Manuia and Hana wanted to know why she didn't tell them her hands were so bad and when she said she was embarrassed at how helpless she was becoming, they let it drop. She could still run, she had enough strength in her left hand for Capoeira. Her legs worked just fine.
Márcia's last full day was also the Kilokilo Multicultural Festival and the whole family would be attending. Hermione knew last time she had spent it with Cedric, but she wasn't going to let those sad memories stop her from making new ones. She was Hermione-freaking-Granger and she didn't let silly things like broken hearts stop her from experiencing things again. At least, that's what she told herself. Besides, she wanted to see her sister perform again, especially now that she taught her how to breathe fire and had been given a last minute little solo with the fire dancers, which she was excited about because she rarely got to be in the center even though she practiced all the time and was really good at it.
This year Hana was wearing her hanbok and it turned out she'd had one made as a surprise for Hermione. It was beautiful and super comfortable. Esperanza had her own for both the Multicultural Festival as well as the Lunar Festival, which she was thrilled to start getting together with the family for again. At least there would be booths and games and stuff. They wouldn't quite be getting the same prizes for winning as they would at the Hearthstone Festival, but that wouldn't make it any less fun.
While they were getting ready, a knock came at the door.
"That must be Nana," said Hermione.
"I have it," said Viktor, the only one ready to go. He answered the door.
"Another one? You know, if Hermana keeps bringing home boys like this, people around town are going to talk."
"Clarence, that's Viktor Krum. He's very famous!"
Hermione skidded across the room and slammed the door shut. Viktor looked at her questioningly.
"That's my grandfather," she said. "Ooh, Papí is not going to like this."
"What do we do?" asked Viktor.
Hermione cringed and Esperanza entered the room.
"What's going on?" she asked.
"Clarence is here with Nana."
"That bum?" she sighed. "Go tell Papá. Viktor, let them in."
Viktor opened the door.
"Hi, Nana!" said Esperanza, hugging her.
"Esperanza, it's been years!" said Nana. "Look at you, you got fat."
"And you got old!" she replied, not taking offense.
Hermione went to her parents' room. "Papí? Clarence is here with Nana."
Manuia inhaled sharply.
"I can't believe he'd use her to weasel his way in again!" he hissed.
"Deep breaths, honey," said Hana, rubbing his back.
Hermione went upstairs to tell her friends what was up.
"Ooh, he hates magic, right?" said Márcia. "Want me to freak him out?"
"Think you're up for it?"
"Yeah." After Hermione got her video camera ready, she went around the staircase. "INCOMING!"
She slid down it and there was a terrified scream. Hermione followed and got her camera from her friend.
"Hi, Nana!" she said, rewinding the tape to see the reaction.
"Hello, Nia," said Nana. "Is this your friend?"
"One of them, her name is Márcia. Where's Clarence?"
"Oh, he went outside to collect himself, I'm afraid he has a small fear of snakes."
"Mom, why is he here?" Manuia asked tightly.
"It's wonderful, Manny. He said he's done a lot of reflecting and he wants to be a part of our lives. We've reconnected and I really think he's here to stay."
"That's what you said the last time."
"Yes, well, that was when you were fifteen. People change. Give him a chance."
"I gave him plenty," he muttered and rubbed his temple. "I won't make a scene today. It's the festival, we're going out to have fun and we will have fun. Okay? Okay."
He took a deep breath and put on his best customer service smile. Clarence came back in, looking ashen. He avoided looking at Márcia.
"Um… I have presents for the girls," he said.
"Why don't we bring them with us and they can open them at dinner," Hana suggested. "We're already running behind and Amalea has to check in."
They divided into the canoes and made their way to Kilokilo. As Hermione ran her hand along the water and admired the rainbow the sun made in the spray, she found it hard to believe that two years ago she was afraid of being in these things. She supposed it helped that if she fell in, she could just turn into an aquatic mammal and let instinct take over.
A flock of seagulls flew nearby. A juvenile broke off and squawked at them. Viktor got to his feet looking outraged.
"What did you call me?" he shouted.
The seagull squawked again, and if animals could show surprise, this one definitely did when this human shrank down to a seagull and attacked.
"You go on ahead," Esperanza called above the wind. "I better help him."
She transformed into a swan and raised her wings using the draft to lift her into the air.
Hermione made eye contact with her friends and they broke into fits of laughter. She looked at her papá who no longer looked like he wanted to jump into the ocean. Instead, he was clutching his sides and laughing. Before long, they reached Kilokilo. Looking at it like this and having met a variety of trolls, it was actually pretty easy to tell that Kilokilo used to be the skull of a very large troll. Worn away a little bit, but the craggy rocks were teeth and there were five dips that looked like they once held eyes. Even some of the stones beneath the clear water were rigid and shaped like shoulders.
There was a line to get into the place and Amalea was starting to get antsy about being late for her check in.
"I know what to do!" said Hermione, opening her purse. "Get in and don't worry when you can't find the entrance."
Confused but compliant, her sister slid into the purse with her gym bag. Hermione closed it and turned into an otter, jumping into the water and speeding through the tunnel. She found the source of the pile-up. A party boat was too fat and got stuck. Volunteer wixen were trying to figure out how to get it unstuck without sinking the whole thing or collapsing the tunnel. Hermione dove back and found a stone on the right side. She grabbed it with her little paws and pulled. The boat lurched forward, nearly smashing her against the wall. Heart pounding, she swam to shore and jumped out, turning back quickly to let her sister out.
"You really need to clean that thing out," she said.
"Okay, after you clean out your closet."
"Touché."
"Want me to walk you to your meet site?"
"Nah, it's the same every year. Thanks, Nia!" She ran off and disappeared through the crowd.
Hermione stood just out of the way and waited for everyone else. While she did, a swan and a seagull flew down from the top of the volcano and landed next to her.
"You didn't have to wait for us," said Esperanza.
"I didn't. I'm waiting for everyone else."
"Well, I was feeling special, but now I don't," said Viktor.
"What did the seagull call you?" Hermione asked.
"I'd rather not say," Viktor replied. "It was very unkind."
It wasn't long until the rest of their party arrived and was able to valet their canoes.
"Whatever it was, that was the funniest thing I had ever seen in my life," said Manuia, swiping tears from his eyes. "I almost fell out of the boat."
"You know, you really shouldn't let what people or animals say get to you," said Clarence. "It only lets them win."
"Not if I hit them with chair," said Viktor. "Then I win."
Esperanza nodded in agreement.
"Well it might be that way in Russia…"
"Bulgaria," everyone corrected at once.
"He's Bulgarian, dear," said Nana. "It's near Greece."
"Where's Amalea?" asked Hana.
"She's all checked in," said Hermione, though she wasn't actually sure if that were true or not.
"I saw her with dance group during fly over," Viktor confirmed.
They had to line up in order to get through the crowds. Hermione set up her camera over her shoulder and held hands with Márcia so they wouldn't get separated in the crowds.
There were crowds waiting for the hula performances to start.
"You know, I bet we could earn some extra coin," said Bernice, pointing to the video camera.
"I smell what you're stepping in," said Hermione. "Let me talk to the person setting up."
She pushed over to the Emcee. "Excuse me, hi. So, I have a video camera and I was wondering if I could record and sell videos."
"A what?" the woman asked.
"Here, look." Hermione replayed Márcia scaring Clarence.
The woman laughed and looked at Hermione. "That's amazing. What are you proposing?"
"A profit split," she said. "Half to the hula schools and half to me since I need to buy the crystals, assemble packets explaining how to watch, and of course for my time and effort."
"Okay." She waved over one of the volunteers. "Add a new column to the photograph sheet for video recordings. We'll sell them at…" she wobbled her hand, thinking over the exchange rate. "Three galleons?"
"Sounds fair," said Hermione. "The other dance competition is tonight, yeah?"
"Yes, I'll send word to them," she said. "Gemma! Set up a stand for, who are you?"
"Nia. I'm Amalea's big sister."
"For Nia. Something far enough back, but also high so the crowd can't get into the shot. We'll put one of the photographers up there with you."
Hermione set up one of the add-ons to the stage so the sound would be clear. They'd had to make it when the test run for the theater club turned out hard to hear. It wasn't too difficult and it worked pretty well, even with large concentrations of magic. Gemma brought her to the stand and she climbed up, sietting in a director's chair.
"How come she gets to sit up there?" someone asked.
Hermione paid them no mind as she set the camera up on the tripod and focused it. She placed a new crystal in the deck and counted herself lucky that she now had a friend in the crystal growing industry.
"Hey, Nia."
She looked down to see Kai and scowled. He was sporting a black eye and she wasn't sure if it was from Viktor or Esperanza, but he shot them both a nervous look. Márcia moved over to stand between them and hissed, her fangs unfurling from her palate. Manuia stood next to her, crossing his arms.
He stepped back but continued looking at Hermione.
"I'm really sorry for what Andres tried to do," he said. "I know I reacted badly at the party, but I'm not friends with him anymore. Can you forgive me for not defending you?"
Hermione rolled her lips. This dance competition would be going on all day.
"There is something you can do," she said. "You get to go to this thing every year and this is the last chance I'll have to spend time with my family for a while, so after Amalea's performance, you can take my place in this chair and make sure all the performances are recorded. We're selling these, so they have to be good. No dark towers, no rude remarks on your end drowning out the audio."
He pursed his lips. "Do I get a cut?"
"Do you really think you deserve one?"
He looked down at his feet, then at Manuia who raised an eyebrow.
"Okay, fine," he said and Hermione gave the okay for him to climb up so she could give him the rundown of how it worked.
The Emcee stepped out on the stage and held her wand at her throat to magnify her voice.
"Good morning everyone," she said. "Welcome to the Kilokilo Multicultural Festival Hula Competition! We've got a first for this competition. Thanks to Nia Lotulelei, we'll be selling recordings of these performances. Divided between divisions of course. If you'd like to sign up for a recording, we will be selling them for three galleons each to fund our hula schools. Our volunteers will be over by the sign-in table."
Several parents booked it over to the table. Hermione turned her attention to the stage, double-checking that it was in focus. Part of her wished she had a time turner just so she could sit here and record it all herself, but figured if she had that power again, it wouldn't be the best idea.
Amalea's school was performing near the end of her division, which would put them out in time for lunch. Hermione figured they would have plenty of time to explore the booths between lunch and dinner. After dinner, she would have to get over to the other stage for the other dance competition. Or maybe she could guilt Kai into recording that one, too.
Well… nah, she wanted to watch and collect some new moves for her own repertoire.
"Oh, this is lively!" Márcia gasped.
Hermione smiled. A few of the performances had a storyteller to narrate what was going on for those unfamiliar with hula. The rest relied on their magic and dancing to tell the story. Nana was moving in place and Hermione remembered how important hula was to her. She wished she could've grown up with it.
During Amalea's performance, there were fire knife dancers. Well, the teenagers didn't use knives like the adult performers would, they used batons that were on fire on the ends after what the regular festival goers call the Incident of '73. Hermione nearly laughed as her little sister eagerly jumped in with a warrior's scream and belched a good jet of flames. She'd been so excited to break into something usually reserved for boys and the crowd applauded the feat of magic. That would be sure to get them some extra points.
In Hermione's personal opinion, she would hate to follow up that performance.
"We'll announce the winners of all divisions at six o'clock," said the emcee. "There will be a ten minute break until the next division."
"Alright," said Hermione, waving Kai over. "Now there's only five known video cameras like this in the world and Cedric isn't around to make me another one. If you break it, I'm gonna string your underwear up a flagpole with you still in them."
"Noted."
She traded places with him just in time for Amalea to run over. She had changed into her own hanbok and held up a comb for her mom to put into her hair.
"I am starved!" said Amalea as they made their way to the eating area. "Oh, I hope we can get a table for all of us!"
Márcia moved ahead, her mouth hanging open so she could smell everything. She diverged to a large group who was hogging a table and sipping drinks.
"Hi! What was in this bowl?"
They screamed and ran off. Hermione walked up to her friend and put a hand on her shoulder.
"You don't have to keep doing that," she said. "I know it hurts your feelings."
Márcia shrugged. "I think of it this way. When the move is met with general annoyance rather than fear, I know they see me like anyone else."
"They sell scorpion on a stick here. Want me to grab you some?"
"Yes, please. It's so hard to find good scorpion."
Esperanza and Viktor cleared the table while Márcia, Amalea, Nana, and Clarence saved the table and everyone else went to get the food. Hermione stuck with her dad since she couldn't actually hold anything, but did know what her friends would like.
"Are you okay, Papí?" she asked.
"Yeah. I don't want to bog you down with my issues," he said. "It's my job to worry about you, not the other way around."
"I know, but what if Clarence is trying to make an effort? Family is so important."
He seemed to debate whether or not to tell her, then sighed. "I spent my whole life trying to get him to stay. He's only reaching out now because he's old and alone and I hate that he's trying to reach me through my mom. She never did take off her rose glasses. When things get hard, he's going to leave and I don't want to be involved."
Hermione rested her head on his shoulder. "Then don't. Pretend he's one of Nana's visiting friends and treat him as such. You wouldn't hang out with my friends, so why would you with Nana's? At the very least, you can stop stressing. I mean, geez, do you want to go grey like me?"
He chuckled and shook his head. "I guess I can try that and I'll schedule an appointment with my therapist."
They brought plates and bowls of food to their table and settled down to eat. Hermione itched to have her video camera, but knew the money she got from selling dance performances would be good to have. She could still take pictures and made sure she had her camera around her neck to do so.
"What school do you go to again, Nia?" asked Nana.
"Well, I went to Castelobruxo this last year," she said. "But there was… an incident. Mom and Dad tried to apply me to Uluru with Amalea, but my application got rejected on account that I'm a danger magnet. I think at this point, my only option is to return to Hogwarts, but I'm not even sure if that will be possible considering Voldemort."
"Who's that?" asked Clarence. "Is he some kid from school?"
Hermione looked at her friends then back to her grandfather. "Yeah… he's a real jerk. Thinks he's superior to everyone else. And he has this gang of people who think they're better than everyone because they're associated with him."
"I knew a boy like that. He and his friends liked to drive by the segregated schools, show off his fancy car. Is this Vole guy like that?"
"Uh-huh."
"Well, I think I got something you can show to your friends. You got your license, right?"
"… to kill? Not yet. Still working on the paperwork."
Everyone else laughed at her joke, but Clarence just slid over a wrapped present, also giving one to Amalea.
"Don't worry," he said to Amalea. "I own a good place, so you'll get yours when you're the right age."
All that did was confuse her.
"Okay…"
Hermione scratched at the wrapping and Bernice helped her out. She lifted the lid off the box and found, nestled in a cushion, a car key and a tiny yellow Volkswagen Beetle toy.
"A car?"
Manuia choked on his drink and slammed the bottle on the table.
"You bought my daughter a car?!"
"I own a dealership," said Clarence. "The more expensive part was getting it adapted for magic use."
"One of my friends is a mechanic and gave us a discount," said Kamalei. "It shrinks so she doesn't have to worry about parking, it's got extendable seats to fit all her friends, and I know what happened to Michelle, so we added the anti-crash features. She'll still have to pay attention so she doesn't cause accidents to others, but she'll be safe."
"Nachelle," Hermione and Esperanza corrected.
"You bought my daughter a car?!" Manuia repeated.
"I'm going to get a car when I get my license?" Amalea gasped.
"I missed a lot of birthdays and Christmases, Manny," said Clarence. "If she takes care of it, that car will last her years."
Hermione looked at the instruction manual on how to activate the car's magical features. It came with the warning that the longer she had it in her possession, the more personality it would get so it was important to treat the car well. Perhaps that's what happened with the Ford Anglia. Harry and Ron swore the thing was still running wild in the Forbidden Forest. She got a license, but she didn't actually think she would have a car all her own. Still, it was a gift and she was sure the magic voided the return receipt. So, she got up and went around the table.
"Thank you very much," she said, kissing them both on the cheek. "I'll take good care of it."
"You're a responsible girl, Nia," said Kamalei. "Manny told me so."
"You can take it out for a spin later," said Clarence. "Now, this food looks delicious."
When she sat down, Márcia leaned over.
"So, like, is your whole life just a never ending soap opera?"
"Pretty much."
"I don't envy you."
Hermione looked at her parents who were conversing quietly and focused on eating her food. It was tough eating left-handed and she was tempted just to use her fingers.
"You know, it might be fun to film more of the festival next year," she said. "Compare it to some M.B. ones to really drive home that our basic instincts are the same. Gather, wear ostentatious hats, and fry dough."
"You're not wearing an ostentatious hat."
"It's still early."
The tense atmosphere was broken when a couple of girls came up to the table.
"Excuse me, are you Viktor Krum?" one asked eagerly.
"Ya know?" Viktor said in an excellent impression of Jim Nabors. "I get that a lot, but he's a might bit shorter than me and much more handsome. I've never even been to Bull-gah-ria."
They deflated and left the table.
"What was that?!" Amalea shrieked, clutching her sides.
"Is new impression," said Viktor. "I disguise myself sometimes and liked the accent. Thought I would try it."
"That was hilarious but slightly unsettling," said Hermione. "I thought you were mouthing along with something for a minute there."
"Unfortunately, I do not think I could copy his singing," said Viktor. "I will leave the good voice to Esperanza."
Esperanza smiled and kissed his cheek. "I will have to listen to you and decide that for myself. You will not get out of karaoke night before we have to get back to our jobs."
o0o
Hermione jogged up the steps to her house. Since the incident at the party, she felt that she had gotten too lax in working out and had bumped up her routine. Viktor and Esperanza had gone, so had Márcia, Bernice was working full-time at the shop. It was fine though. She was able to spend time with her papá and sister. She wasn't really keen on leaving because it meant she'd have to check back into reality. There was plenty of reality here to deal with, but there were things much, much bigger than she felt prepared to face.
She paused at the sight of an owl and her heart jumped in her throat. Perhaps it was from him! She took the letter tied to the owl's leg and eagerly looked at the return address.
Gringotts U.K.
Oh…
Hermione sighed and went inside to get food and water for the owl. Once it was taken care of, she went back to the cool aircon and opened the letter.
To Miss Herminia Juana Kamalei Lotulelei-Sanchez y Granger,
We have been following your efforts with S.A.M.B. and are quite surprised with the traction it has taken in Brazil and Bulgaria. While we were reconsidering your efforts, Albus Dumbledore came to us advocating for you as well as his own Order of the Phoenix. We, the Goblins of Gringotts, will publicly align ourselves with the Order only if you, yourself can accomplish a task. This task will prove that you are willing to let us stand on equal ground with wizardkind.
We request that you give us the secret to wandmaking. The law explicitly states that Goblins are not allowed a wizard-made wand, therefore we will make our own.
Sincerely,
Ragnok the Pigeon-Toed,
On behalf of the Goblin Council,
Founded by Gringott the Clever
"Oh, he did not!" Hermione gasped aloud.
"Oh, who did not what?" asked Bernice, helping herself to some cereal.
"Dumbledore," she huffed. "He went behind my back and tried to use S.A.M.B. to manipulate the goblins to do what he wanted."
"Weren't you going to do that?"
"It's different. I was going to give them something they actually wanted instead of empty promises." She looked through the letter again. "Hm… wandmaking. They don't actually have a use for wands, they can do magic without them…"
"But it's the principle of the matter," Bernice concluded.
"Yes. They're so skilled with crafting, I imagine they could make some very fine wands."
"Well, if you want to talk to my friend he's one of the wandcrafters stationed at Kilokilo," said Hana.
"Think he might be open to working with goblins?"
"I don't know," she admitted. "But the wandmakers here are very experimental. The council might have to agree unanimously to allow this though, so I'd build a good case before going in."
"Council this, council that, why is everybody the council of something?" Hermione huffed.
"It sounds cool?" Bernice suggested.
"Mm, yeah," she conceded. "Still, this can't wait. Is there any chance he's there today?"
"He should be. I'll send him a note to expect you."
"Okay. I'll eat something, shower, and go in."
In an hour, she had apparated to Kilokilo dressed professionally and with everything she thought she might need in her folder. Hana told her that she'd known Mr. Lim from school and that they both suffered long nights in their apprenticeships together. Hermione felt like she remembered a Mr. Lim from when she was little. Yes, that's right, when Manuia had to work late, Hana watched her and occasionally a man came by with takeout and he and Hana studied books and papers while Hermione stared at the pictures in fascination.
She entered the wand shop to see someone new at the counter. The girl looked up.
"Hi," said Hermione. "I'm here to meet Mr. Lim?"
"Oh, right," she said. "He's in his private work room upstairs. Second story, the door with the dolphin."
"Thanks." Hermione followed the directions and in fact found a door with a sticker of a dolphin on it just at child level. She clacked her nails against the glass and the door opened a minute later.
Mr. Lim was a very small man but he was also vibrant.
"Well, this can't be little Herminia," he said, looking up at her. "I mean, I really can't believe it's you. Do you have vitiligo like Amalea?"
"No, I've just had a stressful decade."
"Do you remember me?" he asked.
"Of course. You'd help babysit me with Mom."
"Can you still feel magic?" he asked, letting her in. "You were really sensitive to it. You once got a hold of a botched wand I made and said, 'Mama Hana this feels icky!'" he chuckled at the memory.
"Yeah. I can see it now, too."
"Judging by the state of your hands, I don't think you're here to ask for a lesson in wand carving."
"Not exactly. It's actually a bit complicated."
"Have a seat, I'll make us some tea."
The room reminded her a lot of the one Cedric made in the Room of Things. Though there were special stations for the wand crafting process as well as some prototypes set up in a case. In the corner at a little table was a toddler scribbling in a coloring book.
"That's Tian, my daughter," he said.
"Hi, Tian," said Hermione.
Tian barely looked up.
"She's really focused, I won't bug her until it's snack time," he said. "Go on, sit."
Hermione took a seat in one of the stools at the carving table and placed her folder on an empty space. Mr. Lim set down a cup of tea and a jar of honey.
"So, what did you want to talk about?" he asked.
Hermione told him about the horcruxes, showed him the video using a compact mirror as a device, and also about S.A.M.B. and what she had been trying to accomplish. She also explained a little bit about the Sword of Gryffindor and how there was a centuries old debate as to who actually owned it.
"See, they won't make the weapon unless I can give them the secret to wandmaking," she said. "I wanted to see if you could give it to me to give to them."
"Aren't you a little young to be stopping dark wizards?"
"Yeah, but the guy who had sixty years to do so thinks the key lies in grooming my foster brother to die."
His eye twitched and he inhaled sharply. "Stupid. Okay, I understand. See, there is no actual "secret" just like there's no secret to… say… crafting jewelry. There's books and documentaries and tv specials on the right metals, smelting, and how to use the machines, but that doesn't mean just anyone can walk into a workshop and make a beautiful ring. Do you get what I'm saying?"
"Yes."
"Now, if it will help, I can give you copies of those books and manuals to give them," he said. "I don't know them, maybe they would be able to make them with just the instructions."
"Yes, but if it doesn't work then I worry that maybe they'll say I gave them a dud."
Mr. Lim nodded and sipped his tea. Tian came up and gave him a drawing. He smiled and spoke to her Malay before showing the picture to Hermione.
"Look at this! Isn't she so talented?"
It was mostly scribbles, but Hermione was pretty sure it was her and Mr. Lim sitting at the table. On the left figure there was white crayon streaked over the brown.
"It's lovely," she said and looked at Tian. "Is that us?"
Tian hid her face in her father's leg and nodded.
"I seem to live up to my middle name," said Hermione. "I was named after the Tenth Muse, Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz. I seem to inspire a lot of people."
"It's a good thing to do," he said and looked back at his daughter. "Are you hungry?"
She shook her head and ran back to her table to keep drawing.
"I'll get her a snack after we're done here," he said. "You know, Herminia, we're all about experimentation here. Well, maybe not all of us, there is something to be said for 'if it's not broke don't fix it' but the world is also constantly changing. Whether we like it or not, magic is evolving and the old ways of wand crafting aren't always good enough to channel the power some magic users have. I actually think there could be a way we could merge goblin smithing techniques and our wandmaking techniques to make better wands and channels. What if I give you those books, plus an offer for them to send some of their own to train with us?"
"Really?"
"Yeah." He looked at the S.A.M.B. pamphlet. "Our magical world is getting smaller. Putting up these pretend barriers won't help anyone."
"Wow… Would anyone here mind?"
"Well, there might be some who fight back, but Kilokilo is neutral ground. Laws here are different. If I bring them on, I won't be able to have a wizard apprentice, but honestly? They're in short supply. Very few people can actually refine the skills necessary for wandmaking and even fewer have the patience."
"I think this could be very big," said Hermione. "Goblins have been restricted to banking for centuries so they wouldn't be displaced from their home. I think even just opening up this opportunity would be a good first step in anti-discrimination laws towards the workplace, which could then open up to social changes! I'm leaving in a couple days, do you think you'd be able to get everything together by then?"
"It'll be tight, but I think so," he said.
"Oh, I'd also like to record your offer and maybe show you working on some wands to show you're the real deal," she continued, bringing out her video camera. "You understand."
"I do. Do you have anywhere else you need to be?"
"Not until dinner."
He nodded. "Let me just get my daughter a snack and we can start recording."
Hermione could have jumped for joy. This was the best possible outcome. Now she just had to hope it would be enough. She could put everything together and go to Gringotts her first day back. She'd write the goblins requesting the meeting. Until then, she'd have to see what the family in D.R. thought about this whole thing.