"Hey, how's it going?" Hermione asked after she had stowed away the Marauder's Map and closed the connecting door from the Potions classroom to Severus' private chambers behind her.
"I'm fine," Severus said, not looking up from his book but waving his wand, whereupon two cups of steaming tea appeared on the coffee table. Smiling, Hermione dropped onto the couch next to him, where she gave him a kiss on the cheek and let the cup float towards her with a wave of her hand. She skimmed over a few lines with interest and realised that he was educating himself on the magic of the mind. She took a sip of tea and let the cup float beside her as she rested her head on Severus' shoulder and read along for a while, enjoying the close physical contact. "How was Occlumency with Potter?"
"Good, he's getting the hang of it. It'll be a while before his barrier can really stop an attack, but he understands what I'm talking about now."
"One would need your patience."
"I'm sure you would have gone ballistic several times by now," Hermione said, giggling as Severus nodded with a snort. "You have to remember that he was raised by Muggles."
"I know someone who was raised by Muggles and isn't a lazy, arrogant..."
"Stop it! You don't have to like him, but Harry isn't arrogant or lazy! He tries really hard! And he's got a lot better since he's been spending more time in the library with Luna and me and actually reading books instead of staring at them."
"Okay, you're right. He has indeed improved a bit since he's been with the Lovegood girl."
"See, give him another year, and he'll be a paragon Ravenclaw," Hermione said, and they both laughed out loud. "Seriously, it would be really nice if you could settle your grudge sometime."
"I'm trying hard," he said, wincing when Hermione pinched his arm. "Really!"
"Okay, come here," she said softly, placing a hand on his cheek to draw his attention away from the book. She sighed softly as her magic melted into his as they kissed, triggering that inimitable feeling inside her. She forgot for a moment about her duties, Occlumency with Harry, Apparating with Moody and let herself fall completely into the loving touch. Hermione smiled happily at him as they broke away from each other and dropped into his lap, looking up at him.
"Have you thought of what you want to give Tonks yet?" Severus asked, beginning to massage her scalp with the fingertips of one hand as he continued to read. Hermione closed her eyes in enjoyment and shook her head. "I can go to a Muggle sex shop for you if you can't think of anything else," he said with a grin, and Hermione rolled her eyes.
"I shouldn't have shown you those memories."
"Hey, that's only fair! You get to experience them, after all. Besides, I'm just making suggestions here. But she probably doesn't need anything else anyway. Not that I know anything about it," he said and took a sip of tea.
"If you keep being so cheeky, you won't get to see anything!" Hermione said firmly and closed her eyes again, but she couldn't keep her poker face for long because Severus tickled her stomach, and she had to laugh when she opened her eyes again and noticed his pout. "Who would have thought that a year ago," she said, looking deep into the black eyes she so often lost herself in.
"Which of all the things I would have thought impossible a year ago do you mean?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.
"That we're lying here so relaxed, you tickling and caressing me, for example. A year ago, you would have had to be forced to even touch me with your clothes on. Or that we're watching memories of nights with Tonks together."
"Sounds like you're complaining," he said with curled lips and stopped stroking her stomach, to which Hermione giggled and shrugged.
"Never would I complain about that. But enough goofing around. Are you sure you can't think of anything either?"
"Why don't you think a little bigger?"
"What do you mean?" Hermione asked, looking intently at Severus.
"You've only thought about things that Tonks would be happy about. How about something that would really help her?"
"You mean as an Auror?" asked Hermione, sitting up as he nodded. "Maybe an enchantment!"
"Sounds interesting. Did something come to mind now?"
"Nothing specific,, but I'm sure there's an enchantment that could help her. I wanted to make something again anyway, but I couldn't think of anything interesting enough. Is that what you meant by 'thinking a little bigger'?" she asked, and Severus nodded smilingly. "Will you help me?"
"Why not. Let me finish reading this for a moment," Severus said, and Hermione laughed as he flicked through the book so quickly that his eyes only lingered on one page for about a second. It was a technique he had discovered to access whole books in a trance during the night without actually consciously reading a sentence in them. Hermione stood up and walked over to his office with the cup, where she pulled Spellman's Syllabary from his bookshelf and opened it. As she had done with the message parchment, she let her eyes wander over the multitude of word runes, hoping to find something useful that could be woven into an enchantment.
"How about this?" Severus, who had joined her with his cup of tea, asked a few minutes later, pointing a finger at a rune as Hermione was about to turn the page.
"Protection? Tonks' shield charm is really strong, I don't think she needs any help with that."
"Hmm, as far as I can remember, there's no limit to a shield charm. How about a reinforcement?"
"You mean an item that makes a cast shield charm even stronger? That's a brilliant idea!"
"For example."
"But then it would have to be an item she always has with her. And if it's supposed to strengthen a spell, the magic probably has to flow through it before it's focussed by the wand."
"A bracelet?"
"Yes, or a ring," Hermione said thoughtfully, turning a few dozen pages. Severus watched Hermione with a smile and pulled his copy of 'Numerology and Grammatica' from the shelf before gently manoeuvring Hermione back to the couch where she could read more comfortably. They spent the rest of the Sunday afternoon and evening going over dozens of rune combinations in theory, and Hermione happily realised once again how well the two of them harmonised when it came to complex magical theories.
In the days that followed, Hermione experimented on enchantments for Tonks when she wasn't having Quidditch training, Occlumency training with Harry, or Apparating lessons with Moody. She was making progress in all activities, so she was cautiously optimistic when she returned to Severus' private chambers the following Friday evening.
"Look at this," she said, twitching her eyebrows as she levitated the bracelet towards Severus, who put down his book with interest and sat up. Hermione smiled as he immediately drew his wand and cast an analysing charm on it, already assuming that the bracelet was enchanted. He hummed approvingly a few times as he examined the individual aspects of the enchantment and recalculated the rune connection and its engraving in his head.
"Good work," he finally said, raising an eyebrow when Hermione just looked at him with a smile and shook her head.
"Nerd," she said, biting her tongue with a grin as she let the bracelet fly back into her hand with a nonverbal summoning charm.
"Genius," he said in a playfully snide tone, and they both laughed. "But it's not finished yet, is it?"
"Well spotted! I want to make a few more tweaks. And I was thinking more of a ring. That would suit Tonks better. I only went for the bracelet because engraving the sequences on a larger object is easier. And save the jokes, she's not wearing a bracelet. It's not her style."
"I can't think of any jokes about rings," he said with a grin, and Hermione giggled before hugging him. "Really great work," he added, giving Hermione a kiss on the tip of her nose. "Have you told Black yet that he can look forward to selling a new product soon?"
"I don't know if that's a good idea," Hermione said, her mouth twisted in resignation. "I don't want the Death Eaters to have better shield charms against us. It's enough that they're using Black Mail now."
"That was unavoidable, but you actually make a good point. You still have time to think about it, though. Maybe there's a way to keep the reinforcement sequence more generic so harmless spells could be reinforced?"
"Doesn't sound bad, but I don't know yet. I'll make the ring for Tonks first, then we'll see."
"All right. Have you tested it already?" he asked, and Hermione shook her head.
"I considered wearing it during the one-on-one lesson with Moody yesterday, but I didn't dare use shield charms for curses that I would have had to dodge otherwise. Would you test it with me?" she asked, and she could see from his expression that he was having second thoughts, too.
"I... I don't know, Hermione. I don't want to hurt you. You've been in enough pain lately."
"Hey, come here," she said, hugging him tightly when she realised that Severus was getting very emotional by his standards.
"I can't hurt you," he whispered, and Hermione felt a strong twinge in her nose. However, she stopped the tears before they could make their way into her eyes and lifted her head to look at Severus determinedly.
"You don't have to hurt me. Luna and I improved her shield charm with tickling spells. It would only hurt if it tickled for a really long time, and I can handle that. Okay?" she asked, looking into the black eyes that returned her gaze uncertainly. Hermione was sure there was more to his emotional outburst than the idea of hurting her. He still didn't allow much insight into his feelings, but Hermione knew that the meetings with Voldemort were extremely upsetting for him. She stroked his cheek with her thumb and tried to radiate as much certainty in her gaze as possible.
"Okay. I'm sorry," he said, but Hermione immediately put her index finger to his lips.
"Never apologise for showing emotion," she said firmly, taking her finger from his lips to place a gentle kiss on his them. They lost themselves in the wonderful touch for a few moments, and Hermione giggled as Severus began to gently tickle her neck. "Hey! Does this mean we can start?"
"Yes, but let's go to the classroom, more open space there," he said after taking a breath, and the two of them crossed the connecting door to the Potions classroom.
"Ready?" asked Severus after the two had levitated the desks to the walls to make more room and looked at Hermione in confusion as she tucked the bracelet into one of her robe pockets.
"We need to find the limit of my shield charm first. We need a comparison."
"Good point," Severus said, twitching the wand in his hand almost imperceptibly. Hermione just managed to cast her shield charm and looked at him with narrowed eyes, but was glad to see him loosen up again.
"That was cheeky!" she exclaimed with mock indignation and giggled as a multitude of weak tickling spells flew at her in response, unable to overcome her shield charm just yet.
"Your shield charm is really strong," he said a few moments later, looking down at Hermione in amusement as she rolled on the floor laughing with tears in her eyes.
"Help," Hermione cried as she tried to catch her breath between her laughs. Severus couldn't suppress a laugh as Hermione continued to giggle in a fetal position after the spell had ended. She thanked him when he levitated her back to her feet, and it still took her a few moments to recover. They both burst out laughing again several times as they looked at each other. "I don't know if I can take that again. It'll be even harder next time," she finally said, holding her stomach.
"Don't make me laugh," he said, and they both burst out laughing again, but managed to calm down more quickly this time. "How about we brew a potion to give you some time to calm down?"
"Good idea, a bit of focussed work might help," Hermione replied, holding her stomach again when Severus brought up a fictitious and completely absurd recipe for a potion called 'Depression Solution' on the blackboard. Laughing, he put an arm around her and made the actual recipe appear on the blackboard. "I love you," Hermione said, hugging him tightly.
"I love you too," he replied, hugging her to his side. At Hermione's suggestion, they brewed a tonic for sore muscles, which she would definitely need later. It didn't take them long to make the potion, but it was enough time for Hermione to recover a little, and she was eager as she slipped the bracelet over her hand after they had cleared the classroom once more.
"Are you sure you don't want to wait?" Severus asked to be on the safe side, but Hermione shook her head resolutely. "Fine, I'll start where we left off," he said, waving his wand. Hermione cast the shield charm and cheered as the tickle spell bounced off it.
"It works!" she exclaimed and jumped. Severus looked at her appreciatively, and it was clear from his expression that he hadn't had any doubts that the enchantment worked. "Okay, now to find out the limit," she said, taking a few breaths to stop herself from giggling as their eyes met. It took a much stronger spell to break through her enhanced shield charm, and Hermione could barely breathe as she rolled on the floor laughing after they finally found the limit of her enhanced spell. Severus knelt on the floor beside her and held her hand as they waited for the end of the tickling spell, for which there was no counter.
"Oh Merlin," Hermione sighed when the now painful giggle attacks were over and lay spread-eagled exhaustedly. "This is going into my repertoire against dark wizards. You really can't think of much while you're being maltreated like this."
"Not a bad idea, but it was really tiring in the end," Severus replied, and Hermione noticed that he looked genuinely exhausted. Mobilising such amounts of magic was not easy, and once again she realised that he was a truly powerful wizard. She took his outstretched hand and hugged him after he effortlessly pulled her to her feet.
"Thank you," she said, smiling at Severus, who gently stroked her cheek and nodded. "How about we relax some more?" she asked, grinning when he raised an eyebrow.
"I don't want to be responsible for any more sore muscles, but you've definitely earned it."
"Oh, so I have to earn it now?" she asked with mock indignation, closing her eyes as Severus gently stroked her arm with his fingertips.
"Never," he replied with a grin, melting with Hermione in a long kiss before lifting her up and carrying her to his bed.
"Hello, Professor. Are Harry and Luna at Black Manor already?" Hermione greeted her headmaster one day later in the afternoon as she entered his office. Dumbledore greeted her and nodded as he summoned an armchair for Hermione and gestured for her to sit down.
"I have news," he said quietly, and Hermione sat down cross-legged on the chintz armchair with anticipation. "I've been to Azkaban to investigate how Bellatrix Lestrange escaped and faked her death. However, that was just an excuse to have another look at Morphin Gaunt's mind," Dumbledore explained, and Hermione followed his words attentively. "First to Bellatrix. I questioned old Tiberius, and after finding no evidence of the Imperius Curse, a previously unknown associate broke his silence. Yesterday, while preparing for the second task, I asked Bartemius Crouch about his son and... shall we say... verbally forced him into a corner a little. After all, he told me that he and his wife smuggled his son out of Azkaban a long time ago."
Hermione followed Dumbledore's narration with wide eyes, remembering the wizard who had stepped out of the shadows in Hogsmeade with Bellatrix Lestrange.
"His wife was terminally ill at the time, and her last wish was for her husband to give her son the chance of a life away from the Dementors. So he made her look like their son with Polyjuice Potion to exchange the two. From then on, Bartemius Crouch Jr. lived under the Imperius Curse in his father's house, under the supervision of a house elf."
"So he was the Death Eater who broke his chains? And then surely he also helped Bellatrix escape from Azkaban with Polyjuice Potion!"
"That's my conclusion too. He must have given someone Polyjuice Potion with one of Bellatrix's hairs, and Tiberius must have examined the body while the potion was still working. That's one of the few things I still had to learn."
"Polyjuice potion works even after death? That's certainly not mentioned in any relevant potions textbook," Hermione said in surprise.
"It was definitely Bellatrix's appearance, which I could also clearly identify in Tiberius' memory."
"Okay, so Barty Crouch Jr. freed Bellatrix from Azkaban. And Morphin?" Hermione asked tensely. It was good to know how Bellatrix had escaped, but the information didn't change their situation. She was dying to know something new about the Horcruxes.
"As you know, his mind is very fragmentary, but after some time, I was finally able to pull out some helpful memories. At least on a visual level, because as you know from Tiberius' memory, the Gaunts mainly spoke Parseltongue to each other. I was able to find out how Voldemort got the ring that belonged to Marvolo. I could show you the memory, but it can be summarised in a few sentences. Morphin was sitting in his armchair one night, examining his father's ring as he probably did every night, when a teenage boy suddenly appeared in the doorway, looking like the Muggle Tom Riddle. He storms towards the boy, but a word in Parsel makes him break off his attack. After a short conversation I cannot understand, the memory terminates suddenly. The next thing he can remember is that the ring is gone, and he's been charged by Aurors for the murder of Tom Riddle Sr. and his family, who were killed with the Death Curse performed with his wand."
"So the ring is a Horcrux?"
"I would assume so, yes. Voldemort may have even turned it into a Horcrux that night when he killed his father with Morphin's wand," Dumbledore concluded, and Hermione slumped back in her chair as she took a breath.
"Where could he have hidden the ring? You said he only wore the ring for a short time at Hogwarts."
"That's right. I searched the Gaunts' weathered house over the summer, as well as the manor, but without significant success, if you disregard a few Sickles under a loose floorboard in the Gaunts' sitting room. From what Harry told me, I seem to have missed Voldemort and Crouch by only a few days at his father's house," Dumbledore explained, and Hermione pressed her lips together in resignation. She had hoped for more positive news.
"Could he possibly have foregone spells to hide the ring, to conceal it from detection spells?"
"Not impossible, but unlikely. Voldemort would not simply bury an artefact so valuable to him, a part of his soul, in the garden. Especially not in the garden of that derelict figure he found in the Gaunts' house. You should have seen his face."
"Didn't you also say he can't stand love and detests it? Then how do you explain that the diadem urged me to take the first step with Severus and also didn't reveal itself when we met? We mustn't be blinded by old assumptions," Hermione said, and Dumbledore gazed at her for a moment as he ran his fingers thoughtfully over his beard.
"Hmm, perhaps you're right. We shouldn't blindly take assumptions as the truth. Thank you, Hermione," Dumbledore said nodding, and Hermione raised her eyebrows.
"That wasn't meant as criticism, but rather as a reminder that Voldemort is more versatile than we might think."
"And that's why I'm glad you're part of the Order, Hermione. But I've been keeping you from visiting Sirius for too long. If you have no more questions, have fun and enjoy your dinner. I'm sure Dobby has once again produced something exquisite," said Dumbledore kindly, and Hermione, who couldn't think of anything else to ask after a moment's thought, stood up. "Be so kind as not to let on to Sirius how much you really know about the Order. I went to see him this morning and asked if he wanted to join."
"What did he say?"
"That he's in. He also offered to let me use one of the old Black family homes as our headquarters."
"And you wanted to let him live on as a street dog," Hermione said, unable to keep a reproachful tone from her voice.
"I only had Harry's protection in mind, but you're right, Hermione. Thank you for convincing me then. It seems that age is taking its toll on me."
"You're still the greatest wizard of our time!" said Hermione.
"Thank you very much, but I think it's only a matter of time before I'm replaced by the greatest witch of our time," Dumbledore replied with a smile, and Hermione had to use her mental strength to stop herself from blushing.
"Thank you. Hopefully, that's in the distant future. See you later," she said, smiling and waving to her headmaster after walking to the fireplace and throwing a handful of floo powder into it. "Black Manor!"
"Hermione! Finally!" was the first thing she heard before she was nearly knocked over as she stepped out of the fireplace, after removing the ashes from her mouth and dress with a cleansing spell. She laughed and hugged Tonks, who greeted her warmly and gave her a kiss on the side of her neck during their embrace, which gave Hermione goose bumps. She glanced around the drawing-room, and when she realised they were alone, she pulled her into a fiery kiss that ended with Tonks breathing heavily and conjuring a mirror to check if there were any traces of it on her face.
"Good to see you," Hermione whispered, grinning as Tonks' hair turned a little redder. She had spoken to Severus at length about her conflicting feelings for Tonks, and he had urged her to explore them further and disregard ancient customs. She had been amazed that he really didn't have a problem with it as long as she was happy. It had really helped to get that out of the way, as she had realised when Tonks had greeted her that she was more relaxed with her than usual.
"I'm so glad you're here!"
"What's wrong? Has something happened?" Hermione asked worriedly at the look of despair on Tonks' face.
"She's so hot, Hermione! Have you ever seen Penny? I think she's already noticed me ogling her," Tonks said, raising her hands in front of her face. Hermione took her in her arms, laughing, and was glad that Tonks didn't have any serious worries. "She was already gorgeous when I was at Hogwarts, but this is a whole new level! Sirius really is a lucky boy. At least now I can ogle you without it being embarrassing."
"Anytime," Hermione said, giggling as the young Auror blew her a kiss before opening the door and pulling Hermione into the dining room of Black Manor, which already smelled enticing.
"Hermione! Good to see you!" exclaimed Sirius, jumping up to embrace Hermione. Only a moment later, she also hugged Penelope, who did look stunning with her festive robes and shiny golden curls. Hermione ruffled Harry and Luna's hair a little from behind, who giggled and grinned at her over their shoulders. They hadn't got up because they'd last seen each other at lunch in the Great Hall. Finally, she shook Dobby's hand before sitting down opposite Tonks at the lavishly laid table.
As always, the lively house-elf cooked a fantastic dinner, and Hermione was able to fully immerse herself in the invitingly cosy atmosphere without thinking about Voldemort or Horcruxes. Tonks provided the entertainment as usual and, much to the amusement of Sirius, Penelope and Hermione, managed several times to make Harry and Luna choke on their food, their heads red with embarrassment.
"How about a little dance? I hear you've had practice," Tonks said as they sat in the parlour after dinner, and Harry, Luna and Hermione slowly ran out of recent stories from Hogwarts. Everyone present burst out laughing as Tonks grew herself a large Adam's apple and called out, "Gentlemen's Choice," in a voice as deep as Kingsley Shacklebolt's. Hermione grinned as Tonks immediately approached Penelope and held out her hand, which she accepted, somewhat perplexed, but smiling a moment later.
Sirius let Harry go first, while Penelope was already being pushed around the room by Tonks, laughing more than being led. Harry smiled at Luna, who stood up and giggled, curtsying before snuggling close to Harry. Sirius twitched his eyebrows with a grin and made a deep bow, as Dobby usually did, before grabbing Hermione's hand, and they danced around the room, laughing.
"How's it going with Penelope?" Hermione asked as they slowed down after a few laps around the parlour to some quieter music, grinning when she saw the amorous expression on Sirius' face.
"Really good," he said, and Hermione giggled as he blushed. He reminded her of the younger Sirius she had seen with James Potter in his memories.
"She seems to have a good effect on you! You didn't make a single inappropriate joke at dinner today," Hermione said with a cheeky grin and laughed when Sirius scowled at her and chuckled a moment later.
"Seems so," he said with a grin, making Hermione do a pirouette.
"She's a diamond. Give her your all," Hermione said seriously, and Sirius gave her a look as if she'd never said anything more obvious.
"How are things going with you? Any groundbreaking ideas lately?" asked Sirius, and Hermione shook her head with a laugh. She had thought about it again that morning and wanted to look into Severus' idea of a more general enchantment to enhance specific spells before she told Sirius about it.
"I've really had a lot on my mind since Christmas. And I won't be around too much for the next few weeks either. Are sales declining?" asked Hermione, to which Sirius laughed barkingly.
"On the contrary! The Black Book has sent sales soaring even higher. The old Remus is hardly recognisable. I think you reminded him how much he loved enchantments when we were at school."
"I'm glad!" said Hermione, furrowing her brow as an increasingly worried expression spread across Sirius' face after some time of wordless dancing. She guessed what he was going to say and weighed up in her mind whether she should honour Dumbledore's request.
"Listen, Hermione. Dumbledore told me what happened in Hogsmeade during the holidays," Sirius began in a whisper, and Hermione, still undecided, raised her eyebrows, not wanting to say anything for now. "I... that... that he asked you not to say anything to anyone..."
"He has good reasoning," Hermione said curtly, and Sirius glanced at her briefly, then nodded. "I know how you feel. And I think I know what you want to say next. You should definitely talk to Harry about it. I'm sure Dumbledore told you the same thing he told us. I think he's right, Sirius."
Sirius looked at her for a moment with glazed eyes, and Hermione could understand him only too well because every day it was difficult for her, too, to keep him and her friends in the dark for the most part. Hermione didn't know how much Dumbledore had told Sirius about the prophecy, but she felt it was important that Harry had someone other than her to talk to about his visions and feelings. He nodded, and a mischievous smile suddenly appeared on his face as he glanced over Hermione's shoulder. She flinched and giggled as she heard Tonks, who had snuck up behind her and asked Hermione to dance with her again in her altered far too deep voice.
"Hello, beautiful lady," Hermione said with a smile after she had agreed and was now leading Tonks across the dance floor. Tonks immediately adapted to her role as lady and let her cheeks blush deliberately several times as their eyes met.
"What's going on at Hogwarts? Do I have to call you Hermione Krum soon?"
"Oh please don't ever say that again!" said Hermione, and they both fell into raucous laughter. "He's quite nice, but somehow not my type."
"Does that mean I still have a chance with you?" asked Tonks teasingly, and Hermione grinned as she got into their usual game.
"You'll always have a chance with me. Maybe you'll have to defend yourself against jealous husbands or wives in the future," she replied, and bit her tongue with a playful grin, which made Tonks genuinely blush this time.
"Maybe I'll beat them to it and be the jealous wife?"
"Don't make promises you can't keep," Hermione said seriously, and Tonks looked at her for a moment, like a deer in headlights, before she started laughing again.
"God, you're really good. Sometimes it's so hard to tell if you're joking or being serious. Maybe I really will propose at some point," she joked, and so it went on for a few minutes until the music changed, and the two of them gazed silently into each other's eyes for a few moments to a slower song. Hermione found it hard not to show the affection she had for Tonks too much in front of the others, and she realised that the young witch felt the same way. "When are you going to do your internship? Spending a week with you might bring some 'relief', if you know what I mean," Tonks whispered, and Hermione struggled not to blush.
"In a couple of weeks. I've already written to Scrimgeour. I've got something to do before then," she said, and Tonks raised an eyebrow.
"Think you can surprise me in our next duel, eh? Well, you were too quick to rejoice, Madame! Word has already spread around the department that you're learning to Apparate," Tonks said with a satisfied smile, and Hermione rolled her eyes.
"Can't hide anything these days," she said, giggling when Tonks pinched her arm.
"Naughty girl! I'll spank you for this when you get to London," Tonks whispered.
"Last time I checked, you were the one who was into it," Hermione whispered back, flashing Tonks the same satisfied smile that had been on her face earlier.
"Just you wait," Tonks grumbled in mock annoyance and laughed when Hermione pouted at her. "Bloody hell! How long have you been sitting there?" Tonks asked suddenly, and Hermione started laughing when she spotted Sirius, Penelope, Harry and Luna in the armchairs in front of the fireplace, all of them looking at them with interest. Hermione was glad that they had been whispering, but she could tell from Harry and Luna's mischievous smiles that it was probably obvious, at least to some extent, how much the two witches liked each other.
"Only about ten minutes," Sirius said, and everyone laughed.
"Don't listen to him, we've only just sat down," Penelope said with a smile, and Hermione thought she recognised that her former prefect was now seeing her in a different light. She didn't let it upset her, though, and a moment later she was cuddling up to Luna, who was sitting next to Harry in an armchair that immediately expanded for Hermione when she dropped down. They enjoyed the evening, and Hermione had to tell Tonks how the apparating was going after she had asked several times. Penelope and Sirius agreed with Tonks that it definitely wouldn't hurt with her internship at the Auror's office and raved about Hermione's skills until it became too much for her, and she suggested a game of Exploding Snap.
"See you soon! I can hardly wait. Hopefully, there'll be an exciting case when you join us," Tonks said as they finally said goodbye by the fireplace. Sirius and Penelope had already said their goodbyes and had left the drawing room. Tonks took the opportunity to give Hermione a soft kiss on the cheek as a farewell, which made the hairs on the back of Hermione's neck stand up.
"That would be really cool. Can I maybe sleepover when I'm in London?"
"God, I was hoping for that," Tonks said, exhaling in relief, which made Hermione giggle. "Any time. Take care," she said as Hermione climbed into the fireplace to get back to Hogwarts.
"Will do!" said Hermione, waving at her before turning in the green flames and disappearing into the floo network.
Destination, Determination and Deliberation. These three keywords were drilled into the students' heads time and time again when they first learnt how to apparate in their sixth year. Hermione had quickly realised that the words only served to break down a complex magical process so students wouldn't be anxious. She had learnt in her mental library that conventional apparating, as taught by the Ministry examiners, was just the tip of the iceberg. Her shelf wasn't even filled to a tenth after three weeks, and the exam would be the next day.
"Fuck! Ouch!" she cried out loudly as she reached the other side of the classroom. A sharp, stinging sensation emanated from her left hand, and tears welled up in her eyes. She clasped her hand and crouched down, clutching her painfully throbbing hand.
"It'll be fine in a second, it had to happen sometime. Don't worry," Alastor Moody's voice said, and Hermione closed her eyes as he waved his wand to reattach her pinky to her hand. It hurt, but as always, the pain passed relatively quickly after the Episkey spell. "Are you all right?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Not as bad as the cruciatus," she said and drew a breath. She had imagined splinching to be less bloody and painful. With her wand, she soaked up the blood that had spilt onto her cloak and the floor from her suddenly missing pinky and took another deep breath. "What did I do wrong?"
"I can't judge that, there's no posture to correct when apparating motionless. It's all up here," said Moody, tapping his temple. "But it was just the pinky. I didn't expect you to do it so well the first time."
"A little warning would have been in order if you were already expecting me to splinch."
"Sorry, Hermione, but you would have tensed up more if you'd known. But it's really not a problem. At least as long as you're apparating in the same room. If you've left your leg in London and are in Edinburgh already, you'll have a problem," Moody said, and Hermione joined in his roaring laughter, although her stomach sank a little at the idea. If a single finger produced that much blood, she didn't want to know how a whole leg would look, let alone hurt. She resolved to avoid the experience at all costs. "Still, a fantastic first attempt. And the exam tomorrow is hardly worth mentioning anyway."
"Don't say that! I haven't apparated under exam pressure yet."
"Oh, because you've done so badly under pressure so far. Ask Bellatrix Lestrange," Moody said sarcastically, and Hermione giggled. "Seriously, there are few wizards or witches who could keep up with her in a fight, let alone survive."
"One of them is standing in front of me, after all."
"You're forgetting that I took a considerable beating in two fights," Moody replied seriously, pointing first to his eye and then to his nose. Hermione pressed her lips together and looked at Moody apologetically.
"Besides, she had orders to let us live."
"Oh, you don't know Bellatrix as well as I do. You don't want to experience her definition of 'alive', believe me. There are several examples in St Mungo's to prove it," Moody said grimly. Hermione thought of Neville's parents and nodded. She wouldn't lose to Bellatrix Lestrange again.
"Can we practise for the exam outdoors one last time? I think I'll feel more confident once I've practised the distance again," Hermione asked after a few successful attempts at Apparating without rotating in the classroom, and Moody nodded. He conjured a piece of Black Mail and used his wand to direct a quill to write a message on it. It only took a minute for Hermione to feel the familiar sensation that the re-established Anti-Apparition Charm produced in her. Moody let her go first, and so they made their way to the snowy castle grounds, which were only bathed in gloomy light from the illuminated windows in the darkness.
"From Hagrid's hut to the opposite shore of the Black Lake? Twice the distance of the test should be enough," Moody said as they arrived in front of the gamekeeper's hut, from whose chimney rose thick clouds of smoke. Hermione nodded and waited for Dumbledore to lift the Anti-Apparition Charm on this part of the castle grounds. She looked over her shoulder and thought she recognised a tall, shadowy figure on the balcony of the Headmaster's Tower.
"No pressure," she thought, trying to block out the sight of her hand and the pain of being splinched. She felt the magic around her shift and blew out air from her nose in amusement as Moody vanished beside her without moving. "Looks really easy when he does it."
Hermione looked to the other side of the lake, where she could see a white ball of light in the distance. She raised her wand, took a breath and focussed on the magical pull as she spun on the spot, arms outstretched.
"Very good. All limbs still attached?"
"Yes," Hermione said with a smile and stowed her wand in her forearm holster. A wave of relief flowed through her body, and the fear of splinching again was somewhat alleviated. After Dumbledore had put the charms back up, Hermione and Moody walked around the lake, and meanwhile, he told her about one of his missions in the first war against Voldemort. Every day, Hermione felt more and more admiration for the former Auror, who had barely escaped with his life in numerous situations.
"Good night! And don't get too excited. You've proven how good you are earlier," Moody said goodbye to her on the third floor, and Hermione walked straight up to Luna in the Ravenclaw common room, who was sitting in an armchair near the fire, reading.
"Hey, you here?" Hermione asked, and Luna smiled at the fact that since the Yule Ball, she usually spent the night before bedtime with Harry in the Room of Requirement or the library. She shrugged with a smile, and Hermione dropped into the armchair with her.
"Are you excited?"
"I am," Hermione said, playing with one of her braids as she looked around the quiet common room. Many students were reading or doing homework, which often made the atmosphere resemble the library. At least when there wasn't a Quidditch victory to celebrate.
"You can do it easily, you've been training like crazy for four weeks."
"I know, I'm still nervous."
"I understand that. I'm always nervous too when I have to demonstrate a spell in class, even though we've been practising it together," Luna said, half-hugging Hermione in her chair. A feeling of security immediately flowed through her, and she closed her eyes briefly as Luna rested her head on Hermione's shoulder. "How are things with Viktor?"
"You're just trying to distract me. You can see exactly how I feel about him, and what my situation is."
"Busted. But I don't always look at the connections, otherwise, I'd only see colours all day. I haven't looked at other people's connections for a while."
"Because of Harry?"
"Mhm," Luna hummed dreamily, and Hermione giggled. It was nice to see her friends slowly getting closer at their own pace. She had the feeling that Luna was also helping Harry cope better with the loss of Ron as a friend than she had expected. Ron had returned after a week's stay at St Mungo's and hadn't looked at Harry once or exchanged a word with him.
"If you meant how things are going with a certain someone..."
"That's exactly what I meant."
"Then it's going really well, even if we're both busy at the moment," Hermione said, hoping Luna would be content with that. She was finding it hard to hide so much from her.
"I'm glad to hear that. Just think about him tomorrow during the exam. It always helps me when I think of Harry, too," Luna said and Hermione nodded with a smile. It really was a sweet suggestion, and she was going to take it to heart.
"Thanks, Luna," Hermione said and stretched, yawning. "I'm going to bed, goodnight!" Hermione said, and was sitting in her bed fifteen minutes later with her Black Book. She wrote a little while with Severus, who also encouraged her and had no doubt that she would pass the exam perfectly, despite her splinching.
She was greeted the next day by a cloudless sky that made the white blanket of snow sparkle and glisten over the hills of the castle grounds. Hermione enjoyed the walk to Hogsmeade alongside Moody, who accompanied her, calming and reassuring her along the way. The sun's rays, heralding a spring not too far off, were like Valerian for Hermione's excitement.
In Hogsmeade, the two of them were greeted by a lean man who introduced himself as Wilkie Twycross. He greeted Moody curtly and then held out his hand to Hermione with an artificial but warm-hearted smile. She grasped the hand of the wizard with thinning hair, and was glad that, after praising her invention of Black Mail, he limited himself to a few sentences of small talk before starting the exam.
"As I'm sure you could see from this morning's mail, the trace has been taken from your wand for the next hour so that you can take your exam without any trouble. Well, I'm sure that Alastor has trained you excellently. I've never come across anyone who trained Apparating with him and ever got lost, let alone splinched," Twycross explained. He seemed to have noticed Hermione's excitement, and she giggled as the correct wizard reminded her of the three D's as Moody had predicted.
"Ready? Then my first task would be to ask you to Apparate to the other side of the street. Take as much time as you need. You're under no time pressure."
"You actually are. I want to be back at Hogwarts for lunch!" Moody exclaimed, earning him a scowl from Twycross and a laugh from Hermione. She looked around and couldn't suppress a snort as a witch, who was walking down the road with her daughter, aged five at most, seemed to recognise Twycross and put her hands protectively over her daughter's eyes. Hermione smiled as the little girl tried with all her strength to get away from her mum to catch a glimpse of Hermione. She nodded to Moody and drew a breath before quickly stretching her arms once to smooth out her sleeves. She pulled her wand from her forearm holster, concentrated and turned with her eyes closed, as she had practised for hours with Alastor.
"Excellent! Exceptionally delicate technique!" Twycross called out to her a second later from across the street and applauded. "That was very good. I think we can skip the next step and go straight for a few hundred yards if you agree."
"Mummy, I want to watch too!" the girl cried, and Hermione winked at her as the seemingly reassured mother took her hand away from her daughter's eyes. Hermione waved her wand and conjured a sunflower, which she levitated a moment later to the girl, who was jumping with joy.
Hermione concentrated after Twycross had disapparated to the point at the end of the long main road to mark her destination. She knew she would have no problem with the normal technique she had used in the first part of the test and felt a momentary desire for the greater challenge, but she finally reconsidered. She turned on the spot again, and a second later she heard the praising voice of the examiner from nearby. Several onlooking wizards and witches also smiled at her and raised their thumbs to encourage her. Twycross checked briefly to see if she had left anything behind and reappeared a few moments later, beaming.
"Excellent! Then let's get straight to the final test. If you'd like to accompany me to the edge of Hogsmeade?" said the Apparition teacher, and after a short walk, Hermione and Twycross stood in front of the large boar statue that marked the southern entrance to Hogsmeade. Moody had agreed to meet Hermione at their destination so that Twycross could keep an eye out for any remnants of Hermione.
Hermione refocused, consciously blocking out any thoughts she associated with her destination. With a smirk, she thought of Moody's muttered request to stop messing around and briefly considered whether she should take the risk. She thought of Severus as Luna had suggested, which filled her with courage and the conviction that she could do it. She finally apparated to the lookout point of the Shrieking Shack without moving a muscle. When she saw the scenery, a cold shiver ran down her spine, but she breathed a sigh of relief when she realised a moment later that she had made it without any problems.
She turned away from the stone Harry had been leaning against a few weeks ago, bleeding profusely, and smiled as Moody patted her on the shoulder. With a barely audible 'plop', Wilkie Twycross apparated behind her and couldn't stop praising Hermione. He waved his wand, and a sheet of parchment appeared in front of them with 'Apparating Licence' written in large letters.
"Of course, you will have to make do with obtaining permission to suspend the trace before you apparate in the future. Nevertheless, I would like to congratulate you on your newfound freedom and hope to see you again at the Ministry. Until then, I wish you all the best at Hogwarts," Twycross said after handing Hermione her magical licence and after a small bow, which Hermione returned with a curtsy and a smile. Twycross stretched out his arms theatrically and turned elegantly on the spot, whereupon he disappeared without another sound.
"Nitpicker," growled Moody. "Congratulations. Let's take a detour to the Three Broomsticks. I'll buy you a butterbeer," he said, and Hermione laughed as he imitated Twycross and quickly disapparated with his arms outstretched, looking quite elegant despite his wooden leg.
"Nailed it," Hermione thought happily, and giggled before thinking of the entrance to the Three Broomsticks and standing next to Moody a moment later. Apparating for the first time after the exam actually felt very satisfying, and Hermione felt a sense of freedom that she had last experienced when she had flown in her raven form for the first time.
Nymphadora Tonks
Hermione: Monday's the day! I'm staying with my parents for the weekend, but I've already told them I'll be with you more often. If you want...
Nymphadora: Yay! Of course! God, I'm so looking forward to seeing you. I took the liberty of assigning you to Kingsley and me.
Hermione: I'm sure it'll be great! I'm so excited!
Nymphadora: Me too, and congratulations on your Apparition licence! There's no stopping you now! I really hope that a good case comes in by Monday, it's really bleak at the moment. We've all got sore elbows from the practice duels.
Hermione: Thank you, Tonks! Then rest your arm until I get there, I want to duel you at your best!
Nymphadora: You betcha! Otherwise they'll say I'm making excuses. Have a lovely weekend, dearest Hermione. See you soon, kisses!
Hermione: Wish you the same and kisses back, dearest Tonks.
Hermione was glad that Dumbledore had agreed to her travelling to London with Lancelot in her raven form. No one at the Ministry would notice that she hadn't travelled by floo powder, and so she set off on the long journey with her animal companion on Friday morning. Hermione enjoyed the clear air of late winter and the sun, which grew stronger from day to day and warmed her black feathers pleasantly.
They took frequent breaks, which Hermione used to collect places she could Apparate to if necessary. This made the journey, which was already long anyway, even longer, and Hermione only arrived at her parents' house at night. They hadn't been expecting Hermione any earlier, however, as she had announced her late arrival in advance via Black Mail. She savoured the weekend without magic at her parents' house but couldn't bring herself to confront them about the fact that they would probably have to restrict their lives in the future if Hermione was actively fighting Voldemort and the Death Eaters.
But Dumbledore, Moody and Severus had convinced her for the time being that there was no real danger for them in the current situation. However, the thought of this never quite left her mind when she was with her parents, so she decided to sleep over at Tonks' for the next few days. She managed to convince her parents quickly, but they were terribly curious, so Hermione had to promise them that she would at least invite Tonks round to the Grangers' house for a glass of wine one evening.
She took the bus to the broken telephone box, the visitors' entrance to the Ministry, on Monday lunchtime, as her parents were already at work and Hermione didn't want to cause them any inconvenience. She was surprised when the imposing, warrior-like man in an olive green Auror cloak greeted her after she had passed the security check at reception.
"Rufus Scrimgeour, it's a pleasure to finally meet in person, Miss Granger," the Head of the Auror Office said, and Hermione thanked him as she shook his hand. "Miss Tonks is in an interrogation at the moment, so I've agreed to pick you up," he explained.
"Thank you very much. I hope I'm not keeping you from anything important. I'm really looking forward to the week in the Auror's office. Thank you again for making this possible. And please call me Hermione," Hermione said as they entered the lift. She immediately noticed that the amount of memos flitting through the Ministry had dropped drastically.
"Nothin to thank for, my dear. I'm sure you'll be able to make a good impression, and judging by your record so far, I'm sure you'll be able to support us after you've worked through the list of challengers."
"List of challengers?"
"That's right. On your last visit to the office, you made quite the impression in your duel with Miss Tonks, it would seem. There are quite a few colleagues who would like to duel with you, and I must admit that I'm looking forward to watching you in a duel or two. Of course, only if you agree and the work allows it," Scrimgeour explained, and Hermione looked at him with wide eyes.
"If it can be arranged, I'd love to," Hermione said, frowning when the lift didn't stop on the second floor, where the Department of Magical Law Enforcement was located, but went up another floor and stopped at 'Minister of Magic and Support Staff'.
"Sorry for the little surprise. Cornelius asked me to take you to him before you came to us."
"No problem," Hermione said politely, wondering what this unannounced visit to the Minister might be about. She wasn't exactly keen to be a photo model again if the Minister wanted to show himself off. She walked down the long corridor beside Scrimgeour towards the red door behind which Cornelius Fudge's office was located. The door opened before they even got there.
"Miss Granger, it's a great pleasure to welcome you back to the Ministry!" said the beaming Minister, shaking Hermione's hand vigorously. Hermione, who had feared that Dolores Umbridge would also be present, was happily surprised that Fudge received her and Scrimgeour alone. "I hope you've arrived safely. I'm sure you're wondering why I had you abducted here without warning," he said, and Hermione smiled. "As you haven't been to the Ministry since your appointment to apply for the patent for your invention, I've taken the liberty of waiting until you're back with us before awarding it to you. Well, let's not waste any time! On behalf of the Ministry of Magic and the entire wizarding world, I would like to thank you reverently and award you the Order of Merlin for your special services to revolutionising national and international magical communication!" said Fudge and with a wave of his wand he conjured up a precious box, which he levitated with a small bow to Hermione, who had to take a breath in surprise.
"Thank you very much," she finally said as the box opened in the air in front of her and presented the golden medal with a large M emblazoned on it. The purple ribbon on the medal told Hermione it was the Second Class Order of Merlin, which, according to 'History of Magic', was awarded for extraordinary achievements or endeavours that went above and beyond the ordinary.
"It is all of us who have to thank you, my dear. You have done the wizarding world a great service."
"I'm glad it's so well received and adds value," Hermione said, allowing the blood to make its way to her head. She really hadn't expected to be honoured with such a prestigious title.
"No false modesty, you deserve this award," Fudge said, smiling at Hermione, who thanked him again. "I would like to apologise in retrospect for taking you by surprise last time and would therefore like to ask you if you would be willing to take a photo in the Daily Prophet with the medal. It's no problem if you don't want to."
"Okay," said Hermione, who had already figured that the Minister would certainly use this occasion to present himself in the Daily Prophet and gain sympathy. However, she was pleased that she was treated with more respect this time and posed for a photo a few minutes later, where Fudge presented her with the medal again and shook her hand. She wasn't really thrilled about being in the Daily Prophet again, but she preferred it to made-up stories in Witch Weekly or other gossip magazines. The Minister also told her that when she arrived and had her wand checked, the trace had been deactivated until the end of her internship. Hermione thanked the Minister one last time before she and Rufus Scrimgeour were dismissed.
"I would also like to offer my congratulations and thank you for making our work much more efficient and less dangerous in many areas," Scrimgeour said as they entered the lift at the end of the long corridor.
"Thank you very much. How has Black Mail made your work less dangerous?" Hermione asked as she waved her wand to shrink the clunky box containing the Order of Merlin and stow it deep in her pocket. She had no intention of adorning herself with it, although the award had intrigued her from her first glance at Bathilda Bagshot's book on wizarding history.
"Well, for example, it is much easier to keep your cover in undercover missions and still report back. Spies also run a much lower risk of being discovered."
"Oh, that makes sense! I'm glad it's so useful," Hermione replied and was happy when they finally arrived on the second floor. Scrimgeour proceeded to explain the rules and guidelines of her internship as he gave her a tour of the floor, of which she had only seen the inside of the Auror's office before.
"You will be assigned to the Shacklebolt and Tonks team, which in turn will work with several teams working the morning and night shifts if there is a case that requires a lengthy investigation. You are committed not to interfere with investigations but are encouraged to contribute your ideas and skills should you see the opportunity. The main aim is for you to gain an insight into the Auror's everyday life and, last but not least, to have fun doing it. Otherwise, what's the point of missing an exciting History of Magic lesson with Professor Binns if you can't have fun here," Scrimgeour said dryly, which made him a lot more approachable for Hermione, and she couldn't stop herself from snorting in amusement.
He went on to explain what she was and wasn't allowed to do during the week and Hermione thought she could tell that he had as little desire to lecture her as she had to be lectured. The head of the Auror's office gave her the impression that he could just about stand the bureaucratic part of his job and was actually at home in the field. After they had walked around the entire floor and Hermione had waved to many delighted witches and wizards, they finally arrived at the Auror's office, and Scrimgeour led Hermione to the interrogation rooms, which, like the duelling rooms, were observable from the outside.
She had to look twice to recognise Tonks, who was sitting opposite a small, dodgy-looking wizard. She had used her abilities to give herself an authoritative appearance that reminded Hermione a little of Professor McGonagall. Tonks, however, had taken care to keep her features attractive, showing more than usual with a plunging neckline. She seemed to be achieving her goal of intimidating and distracting her counterpart at the same time, as Hermione didn't even have to use her powers to realise that the short man sitting opposite her was struggling to concentrate on the conversation.
"If what you say is actually true, it might increase your chances of getting off with a large fine. Be sure that your every move will be monitored from now on. If you or your contact don't turn up tomorrow, you'll have an even bigger problem than before," Tonks said, standing up as the wizard nodded and wiped the sweat from his brow. Two young Aurors stepped through a door that materialised out of nowhere behind the suspicious wizard and took him away.
"Phew, that was exhausting," Tonks said when she was alone, waving her wand to stop the quill that had been taking notes of the interrogation. Hermione smirked as Tonks changed her appearance back to the typical 'Ministry Tonks' before leaving the room. A bright smile formed on her face as she caught sight of Hermione. "Good afternoon, Hermione! It's good to see you again," she said formally, and Hermione had to hold back her giggles as Tonks simply shook her hand in greeting in front of her superior.
"Hello, that was certainly interesting to watch," Hermione replied, and a mischievous smile played around Tonks' lips before she became more formal again and addressed Scrimgeour.
"Fletcher spit out a few names that we're already investigating anyway. However, I was able to elicit an interesting piece of information from him that could help us in the Moontear case."
"Do you think he's credible?" Scrimgeour asked, and Tonks nodded with a serious look.
"His back's against the wall. If he's made a false statement, it'll break his neck in front of the Wizengamot."
"He'll do anything to minimise the punishment. Be careful, Miss Tonks. Good work. Please send the report to my office if the information turns out to be accurate. I now commend myself. I wish you much fun and success, Hermione," Scrimgeour replied, nodding to them both before swiftly leaving for the lifts.
"You might have caught a really good time," Tonks said, pulling Hermione into a quick hug now that her superior was no longer present. Hermione followed her down the long corridor to the Aurors' offices, wondering what was in store for her.
Author's Notes: Hey everyone! I hope you are fine and that you enjoyed reading this chapter! I have struggled a bit to find time to write in the last weeks, but I'm still doing my best to keep the chapters coming in a somewhat regular interval.
As always, thank you for reading, and also thank you to all the people who already left reviews, favourites and follows, it really means a lot!
If you liked the chapter, feel free to jot down some words!
See you next time!
Kasing