Chapter 38 – OH MY Guardian of Deities!!!

20 April 2010

Gringott's Wizarding Bank

Diagon Alley, London, England

Hermione Granger

I met Chris Beason during my first class at M.I.T. He was tall, about 6'4", but was very thin. He had brown hair and hazel green and brown eyes. He wore thick black rimmed glasses. He had a terrible case of acne and had an a large overbite. I befriended him immediately. I started M.I.T. the spring semester of my freshman year of Uni. I had just purchased my house and started living with Sasha, Mac, and Kelly. Chris and I became study partners. He was probably the sweetest, most intelligent person I had ever met. He was also the safest man to study with because he was so shy, I never had to worry about him making a pass at me. During one of our sessions his mom called him. He told her he was studying with a girl, and she didn't believe him. He told her where we were studying and about twenty minutes later she comes through the door of the café. He introduced me as Mia Granger and she looked at me and exclaimed, "Oh my God, Christian Daniel Beason! That's not Mia Granger, that is Hermione Granger!"

This is how I found out he was a squib. It is also how I found out his mother had deep psychological issues as she was a controlling helicopter parent of her grown 19 year old son. After a couple months of us studying together I introduced him to my group of friends. The guys, Josh, Colton, Mikey, and Jason were your run of the mill jocks. In high school all for of them played American football, baseball, and Quidditch. They took one look at Chris and decided to take him on as their personal project the way Sasha had done with me. By the following year, Chris had gained 75 pounds in muscle and started wearing contacts. His skin cleared up thanks to the potions Mac and Kelly brewed him. I magically fixed his teeth. He was still the sweetest, most intelligent man I had ever met. He helped me understand the things we were studying. Once I told him my story, he made it his mission to get me caught up. I never would have made it through M.I.T. without his amazing mind and patience.

Amanda Wheelock was part of the Harvard group of friends from Ilvermory, but she wasn't particularly close with Sasha, Mac, or Kelly. She had her own group of girl friends who all went to Brown University. Amanda traveled with us and went to the bars with us, but she never hung out with only the girls. Amanda's group of friends and my group of friends had a long standing rivalry dating back to their early days at Ilvermory. Though Amanda stayed neutral, she never particularly warmed up to Sasha, Mac, or Kelly.

Seeing as I didn't understand the nuisances of girl school rivalry, since all my friends were boys, I tried to stay neutral as well. I was always kind to Amanda. She was at Harvard to study Magical Law. Magical Uni doesn't require a undergrad degree to get a Magical Law Degree.

Amanda and I had a tentative friendship until she started dating Chris. It was like having a Ginny Weasley all over again. No matter how many times Chris and I explained we had absolutely no romantic interest in each other, Amanda still made accusations at Chris and myself. Luckily, they started dating after I received my undergrad degree and was confident with the material. Chris was a huge help with my company. He assisted with the network and operating system. When I started Enchantex, I offered him a job as Vice President of Technical Operations. Amanda insisted I would need a legal team as well. After careful consideration, I hired her to lead my legal department, despite my better judgement.

On the 6th of June of 2009, Amanda became Amanda Wheelock-Beason in an overly extravagant New York City wedding. She asked me to be a bridesmaid along with her three toxic best friends from Brown University. It was a nightmare, but I performed my bridesmaid duties with absolute precision. The wedding cost me personally $300,000 since Amanda begged me to pay the deposits, and promised she would pay me back. (She did not.) I managed to get through the ordeal not having to hex anyone. Though I really, REALLY wanted to hex the absolute shit out of all of them.

Chris and Amanda are expecting their first child in August. I had contacted her Sunday to ask her to come to London the next day. She was clearly not wanting to, but as I am her boss and it's part of her job description, she agreed with protest. Yesterday she informed me, after Sasha and I arrived back at the Manor, Chris, Jason, Mikey, Josh, and Colton were coming that night and had a 3:00 p.m. portkey from New York to join us early as well. I was not happy.

Colton Remington is Kelly's fiancé he's tall, blond, and the most easy going guy. He reports to Sasha in the company and is in charge of Transportation. Mikey Mecca and Josh Dahl both report to Chris. They are all in charge of setting up and maintaining our networks systems. Jason Franklin is Head of Manufacturing. I'm not sure why he decided to come to London, but last night when they arrived by portkey, all five of the guys were here. It's not that I was upset, but I hadn't planned on them coming until Wednesday.

Josh Dahl and I dated from April of 2001 until May 2003. It was a slow burn that fizzled out quickly. He was overly confident, cocky, not necessarily egotistical, but has a presence about him that drew me in. We became great friends from the start. He was dating a complete airhead by the name of Tiffany when we met in 1999. Josh and I discovered a shared love for magic, magical theory, theology, and history and would often debate various topics. This formed a good friendship and he broke up with Tiffany in February of 2001. He kissed me at the end of April.

I wouldn't say we were together then, but that was the start of Josh and I. Things progressed rather slow with us. I didn't want a relationship. I didn't trust myself or him. I didn't want to be hurt again. Josh was patient and didn't push me. What we had together progressed rather naturally, albeit slowly. We had amazing chemistry and he made me feel safe.

It took a year and a half for me to trust him enough to get intimate. It was awful. He was rather large, and despite trying different positions, he couldn't get it in. I guess he wasn't cocky for nothing. I didn't know how to handle the situation, it definitely wasn't covered in any book I had ever read. We tried for about a half a year, but no amount of stretching exercises could get his rather impressive eleven inch thick appendage to fit inside me. We broke up and stayed rather close friends. I never told anyone why we broke up. I was embarrassed, and didn't want to explain it to my friends. We simply said we made better friends. After seven years, I can safely say he is one of my best friends. The reason we broke up was a sore spot for him. He thinks if we were just more patient we could have made things work because we were great in every other aspect. He was right, we were great together.

My problem was I had experienced what it was like to have someone perfect for me. Though I refused to admit it at the time, in the back of my mind I just knew. I know my anatomy is made to stretch, but I never had to work so hard to get off. It wasn't only about sex, but was a deciding factor. Draco knew the perfect way to touch me. He knew the right things to say to me. Draco understood me. Though he wasn't as impressive as Josh below the belt, he's still beautiful everywhere. Draco and I had perfect sex. There wasn't a single day once we started that we went without it. Every time with Draco was perfect. Going from perfect to great just never sat right with me. I felt I was comparing the two relationships, and in the end it wasn't fair to Josh because he was never going to be perfect for me.

I was resigned for awhile knowing I would never be able to love anyone. Sure, I dated. I tried, but deep down I knew my heart would forever be lost to the man who never wanted me. It crushed me because I finally had to admit there may be something damaged inside me and I can't give my all to another person.

Until I found out Draco wanted me again. Now my emotions are all over the fucking place. Being in his arms is like home. I'm so confused right now. Draco and I had a meeting yesterday at DG Potions and Holdings. We could hire a C.E.O. and just collect money from the company. When I found out the structure of the company, I decided not to sell for now. Plus I have no interest in reviewing every one of Ophelia's memories right now. I left the meeting knowing Draco would only ever be my friend. He will never leave the company he has helped grow over the last decade.

Why do all my thoughts end with me thinking of Draco lately?

Last night after the eight of us arrived at the Manor we had dinner. It was good to see everyone. I needed an excuse to come to Gringott's today alone, so I gave them all 500 quid each to tour London. I hope seven Americans roaming London won't cause a National crisis.

I have been waiting for Ricbert in his office for the last five minutes. Today is the day I will explore The Morrigan vault. I don't know what they expect of me. It seems like a huge responsibility, but at the same time meetings are only during the full moon. It's not an unreasonable responsibility.

Ricbert enters the room along with an elderly elf and a person in a black cloak that completely covers them. I wonder if it's a vampire. Ricbert takes a seat behind his desk and says, "Miss Granger this is Ælfric, the elf representative on the Magical Being Council." I look to my right and see an elderly elf dressed in a three piece suit. Ricbert continues, "On your left is High Priestess Dina, she is the deity, or fairy representative on the council." I look at Dina and she is everything mystical one could image. She has a soft glow around her. Her skin is luminescent and bathed in the faintest pink. She's dressed in a long flowy white gown that seems to hide her body, yet accentuate all of her perfect curves. She doesn't appear to have wings, yet it would be hard not to mistake her for an angel. Her long golden hair is accented with a wreath made of pine cones, feathers, and a variety of unearthly beautiful flowers. Her pupils are slightly glowing, with the most stunning cerulean blue eyes. She is hypnotizing to look at. I turn to Ricbert and nod.

I address Ælfric, "It's a pleasure to meet you, I have the pleasure of knowing your daughter, Hester, I believe."

He nods, "Yes she is my youngest. She speaks highly of you, Miss Granger."

I look towards the mesmerizing woman to my left. How can one person be so beautiful? "It's an honor to make your acquaintance High Priestess Dina. Dina? Isn't that the same name as the Angel of Learning, Language, and Wisdom?" She simply gives a knowing smile and bows her head.

Ricbert interrupts, "Yes, I have asked these two to accompany us to The Morrigan vault. We have matters to discuss. I understand you are a well read young woman. I know Hester and Ophelia insured you knew the histories and mythologies of the world. Many books don't know the full story and many are written to hide the full truth. There are many contradictions in what was verbally passed down through the generations and what was finally written down once languages were established. Though most written things have some truth to them, it's not the whole truth. I will be giving you a overly simple explanation of events. Our world history holds many complicated secrets, we will not delve into. As The Morrigan, it is imperative you understand where we all came from in order to move forward. The Deities, or fairies and angels as humans call them, are the originators of magic. Their race called themselves the Deities and consisted of five million beings who ruled the Earth from the beginning of time to about 250,000 years ago. In that time the Earth consisted of one large continent called Pangea. They lived a peaceful and beautiful life. They were ruled by a single leader Gaia, the Guardian of Deities. Gaia created all things including the Deities in her image. She created the females to rule the lands and were given magic and abilities to govern. The male counterparts were created to protect the Females and guard the cities from predators. The men also served as the workers in the community. They were the hunters, the farmers, and the vendors. Gaia had an intimate partner by the name of Lucifer. They had a terrible disagreement. Lucifer believed he could rule Pangea better than Gaia. Gaia cast him out of the ruling city of Arcadia causing the most destructive divorce in history. Lucifer was well loved amongst many of the other Deities. He convinced one third of the entire population to join him in battle, and went to war with Gaia. The Great Deity War destroyed half of Gaia's army. The winners of The Great Deity War gathered Lucifer's followers, a total of 1,650,000, and took away their powers and made them mortal. Their skin was colored based on their crimes, and languages were changed so they could no longer communicate with one a other as punishment. This created humans as we know them today. The war destroyed the land and split the continent into many fragmented pieces. Once the war was over, the areas of land that sustained the most damage in the final battle were moved across the waters and away from the rest of the lands in order to heal from the damage received. The final battle took place in what is now North America. Gaia created magical ley lines across all the lands to help restore the lands. However even magic was unable to salvage some parts of the world. These places are now the deserts we still have today. Gaia, angered by her Deities, secluded herself, many trusted Deities, and a few of The Fallen, whom showed true remorse, to islands north of the land. The remaining Deities dispersed with The Fallen throughout the lands and stayed to guide The Fallen. They helped build civilizations and even enslaved some The Fallen. Gaia created a large concentration of ley lines in one area and restored the land of the islands and created a paradise."

"Our Isles, you know as the British Isles were originally called The Garden of Eden. Gaia created Goblins to protect the Garden of Eden and made us immortal like the other deities. The Deities discovered they could mate with other species. They mated with other beings creating new magical species. Deities first mated with goblins. This created what you know today as elves. They mated with Unicorns creating Centaurs. Beings born from two immortal beings gave them extraordinary power, but they are mortal after a millennium. Next the Deities mated with the Fallen's offspring. When the deities mated with them, it created what we know today as wizards and witches."

"The high concentration of ley lines in The Garden of Eden had unexpected effects on The Fallen who had now lived many generations and were multiplying in numbers. Magic was being created between two humans without the involvement of the Deities. The ley lines are powerful, but with the combination of the human emotion love it was creating magical humans as well. Offspring of the deities and humans known as Demi-Deities resented the offspring of The Fallen for having magical powers as well. The Demi-Deities believed they were superior to the witches and wizards born of The Fallen. They were disgusted by the behavior of The Fallen and believed all offspring of The Fallen were below them. The Demi-Deities believed their magic was pure, since their blood came directly from the Deities. The Demi-Deities considered the blood of The Fallen dirty because they were mortal and had diseases, they considered their magic muddled. Many of Demi-Deities tried to destroy The Fallen. They called them mudbloods for muddled blood. The Fallen's population grew and out numbered the Demi-Deities. The Fallen lived in tribes, and the tribes were mostly at war with one another and with the Demi-Deities. During these wars, The Great Queen was born. She was a product of a Fallen witch and a Deity. She held extraordinary power. She disagreed with the Demi-Deities or pureblood wizards trying to kill the muddled blood wizards. She fought for the rights of all beings because she believed that magic was too important to destroy. Origins of the magic didn't matter because in the end the humans were still magical. She was backed by all of The Fallen offspring. The pureblood Demi-Deities left The Garden of Eden to explore other parts of the world. The Demi-Deities discovered in other parts of the world some of the Deities had taken residence with The Fallen to toy with them and sometimes to torture them. The Deities created laws and punished The Fallen who broke the laws. This is where today's mythology originated.

"Back in the Isles, The Morrigan was commended for her bravery and wise actions. When she had a son, he disagreed with her beliefs as his father was also a Deity, so he left The Garden of Eden as well. The Magical Beings Council was formed and The Morrigan represented the human interests. Once she died the remaining humans in the Isles began fighting. The constant wars destroyed our land and killed many magical creatures. They slaughtered the entire community of Phookas on the Isles. The Magical Beings Council made the decision to enable Deity or Fairy Law and banned humans from The Garden of Eden for a millennium. Many of the Deities dispersed to watch over the humans and counteract some of the damage done by Deities who gained too much power. Goblins and elves magic were bound to the land as guardians of The Garden of Eden."

Holy shit! The mudblood bullshit started tens of thousands of years ago. Racism also originated because of this war. The skin was colored based on their crimes during the war. Years of ridiculous prejudices in the magical world and the Muggle world explained. Muddled/Muggle, could this be where the word Muggle came from?

I'm running through all the things Ophelia as Mina had me learn as a child. She made me read history book after history book. She had me study mythology and fairytales. She made me learn about religion origins. She had me study all the Gods in every culture around the world.

I think about Hester saying, "We's all mythical, Young Mistress, no less real." Ophelia knew I would need to know all of this because I would become The Morrigan. She had been preparing me since I could talk. I have my hands over my face as I process all of this information. I remember all of it. Everything she taught me. Everything she made me read and combining it with this knowledge and it's slowly falling into place. Ophelia knew who I was because Hector was her soulmate. He would have told her about being The Morrigan. I realize I'm close to a panic attack. I feel a hand on my left shoulder and get a sense of calm and clarity. A rush of 250,000 years of history is given to me. It presents itself in a clear and concise manner and now makes sense.

I sit up and look over to Dina, "Thank you."

She again gives a knowing smile.

I clear my throat and address Ricbert. "Pardon me. This is a lot of information to take in and process. Ophelia prepared me for years teaching me every mythology and history she could. There is so much conflicting information about this, but I understand most of it. Humans were The Fallen or rather the offspring of the Fallen. The Deities were the Gods of Mythology. Humans who mate over ley lines and love each other can create humans with magic. Purebloods are the offspring of Demi-Deities. That is why throughout history they have felt superior to muggle-borns.

Ricbert nods to Dina, "Yes. That's the gist of it. When humans returned to the Isles we lived in relative peace for thousands of years. The Celtic tribes were peaceful people whom embraced magic. When the invasions from outsiders began, that is when magical beings and creatures went into hiding. Gaia knew the humans were too great in numbers and she called a great many of her Deities to go into hiding as well. She forbade Deities from mating with other beings. She thought since humans were mortal they would kill themselves into extinction. However, before we hid, we suppressed many of the ley lines throughout our Isles. The ley lines in other parts of the world were not as concentrated as they are in this land. Magic is dying on our lands without the ley lines and we need human approval to let them flow freely once again. We need The Morrigan. The Morrigan needs to decide if we can open the ley lines again on The British Isles since this will effect humans."

This is the big decision Hester said I needed to make. It amazes me how wrong history is, but how much of the stories told hold some truth. I carefully say, "There are many factors to consider. Firstly how will the ley lines effect the magical population that already exists. Will this decrease the amount of squibs being born to pureblood families?"

Ricbert answers, "It would allow magic to flow more freely on the land. Purebloods fertility should be impacted in positive ways despite their tendency to inbreed."

I nod. "The next issue is the increase of first generation witches and wizards being born. You said the combination of the ley lines and love produces magic. The population of the United Kingdom is currently 62.7 million people. The population growth trend the last few decades is population grows by 5 million people every ten years. If the next decade of children born are 50% magical, it's going to cause a crisis. Wizarding Law's are made to protect the Statute of Secrecy. If 2.5 million children are born magical, it's going to be incredibly hard to keep magic a secret. It's already getting harder with humans having access to video cameras on their phones. The I.C.W. is inundated with incidents of magic being filmed and blasted on the internet. A sudden increase of magical births in the United Kingdom is going to raise serious alarms. Also drastic changes to the environment will raise alarms with scientists. There are scientists who specialize in environmental changes in the Earth. This may also trigger alarms with the I.C.W."

Ricbert looks at Ælfric and then Dina, I turn my head to look at Dina, and she nods. Ricbert answers, "First of all, even if we were to release all the ley lines it may not effect the population to the degree you speak. Love has many meanings. The love that creates magic has to be the purest, unselfish love. Unconditional love is hard to find even with a high population. There are a few magical places that have freed ley lines already. Dagworth Castle, Caisleán Draíochta Rúnda, Hogwarts, The Forbidden Forest, Stonehenge, and the Cairngorms where the giants reside, as well as about ten more small locations. The British Isles still have many rural low populated areas we would like to free. There are areas near waterways that are unpopulated that will clean the water with ley lines. Crops will grow better. Wildlife will flourish. Magical creatures will flourish. The ley lines within major populated areas will remain dormant. We wouldn't want to take any unnecessary risks. Of course we do not expect you to make the decision today. The next full moon is the 14th of May. The decision can wait until you have full knowledge of the situation. We may go visit The Morrigan vault now."

I nod and we all stand. Dina places her black cloak on and covers herself completely with it. We enter the vaults and ride to the darkest depths. I take a moment gain my equilibrium once the cart has stopped, and look for the vault. There is a long corridor that begins to light up. At the end of the corridor is a gold door with what appears to be hieroglyphics. It is quite colorful and has many jewels clustered in an elaborate henna design. It's stunning.

Ricbert stops at the door and takes out a long gold key with another jeweled design on the end. He hands me the key. I step forward and place the key in the hole and a solid gold plate appears in the middle of the design. Ricbert says "Place your right hand against the plate. Only the true Morrigan can open the vault."

I place my hand against the plate and feel the magic surrounding me. The door vanishes and we step into the vault.

Dina removes her cloak. She walks to a wall that has many items on shelves. She grabs what appears to be a gold necklace with an pendant in the shape of a raven. She walks to me and gestures for me to allow her to place the necklace on me. I turn my back and lift my hair.

When the pendant is placed around my neck, I turn to face Dina and say, "Thank you."

She smiles and says, "Hermione, you are welcome." Her voice is clear, but her dialect is nothing I have ever heard before. I have traveled the world and never heard someone speak the way she does.

She smiles at me, "This pendant allows you to understand me without me influencing you. I know you are aware of the mythologies. Deities are also called fairies. The legends behind fairies toying with humans and playing with their emotions are quite true. Not all fairies hurt humans, but we are designed to influence them. I'm sure you are aware of the muses. It is part of our magic and something that doesn't always have nefarious intentions. The cautionary tales are unfortunately real. The Fallen's punishments were rather harsh and this is a consequence. Though I am unsure of our influence on you, I didn't want to take the risk."

I smile, "Thank you so much for the respectful gesture. It's was kind of you to be so thoughtful to me."

She takes my hand, "I have watched you your entire life. I protected you when you were tortured. I, along with others protected you during battles. Healed you when you were hurt. The Morrigan is special. They are all powerful and you, Hermione were always destined for greatness. Your children will be destined for greatness."

She guides me to a sword. "The sword belonged to the Father of The Morrigan. He used this very sword to defeat The Fallen so many years ago. It destroyed the land. Michael struck the land that is now The Grand Canyon. The land around it is still fragile. There are many earthquakes not far from where this sword struck the land. The sword was forged by Gaia herself and given to her strongest general."

She hands me the sword and I can feel the magic radiating from it. It is a rather large, intricately designed sword with a cross shaped handle. I look in her eyes. "The archangel, Michael, was The Morrigan's father? I'm holding The Cross of Light?" The Cross of Light is a legendary sword Michael used to defeat Lucifer.

She smiles, "Yes. It's simply a magical sword, a quite powerful one. It was given to The Morrigan when she was quite young and she wielded the sword to defeat and drive away the Demi-Deites. Of course this sword's use has become antiquated, but it's part of your armory should you find yourself in another war. As The Morrigan you a quite driven to right the wrongs of others. The Fallen's very nature prohibits them from living in peace. Lucifer and his followers were quite ambitious. The punishment for The Fallen were quite harsh, but it never destroyed their ambitions. They wanted to wield power over the ones they found inferior."

I look at her and realize what she is saying. The argument Lucifer and Gaia had was over power. He was physically stronger than her and thought it made him more powerful. I say, "Are you saying the war that destroyed Pangea was over some patriarchal nonsense."

She smiles, "In the simplest terms, yes, though it is much more complicated, but the female Fallen were given especially harsh punishments because Gaia took their betrayal personal. She made The Fallen women weaker physically than man and caused childbirth to be rather harsh. The Fallen males took the advantage and dominated The Fallen women. Gaia wanted The Fallen females to experience what a male dominated society would be like since they didn't appreciate the luxury, peace, and love they dwelled in. Females were made to be the minds and heart of the society. Females are more powerful magically than our males counterparts. Males were made to be the protectors and to provide for the female counterparts. Males were not made to rule. When the histories were written they were changed by the males who wrote them. Gaia laughed at the females plight. They could have lived in peace and comfort for all eternity, but aided the males they lusted after. The Fallen females have paid for their mistakes, and will continue to pay."

I remember something written in Psalms 'God will turn the sins of evil people back on them.' The Guardian of Deities is GOD . As a feminist I'm highly indignant over this, however it all makes sense. If a perfect peaceful society was created to the advantage of women and those women rebelled against their creator and leader, I would have punished them too. It must have been very hard to watch the world you created destroyed. I can't believe I've been given the answers to why racism, sexism, and blood purist exist. There have always been theories, thousands of theories. Some have been correct, but none of them are the whole truth. I truly believe 250,000 years of it, is enough. Children cannot be held responsible for their parents wrongs let along a relative that is too far to back to identity.

She smiles, "You have received a great many truths today, Hermione. Let me tell you about some items in this vault that are available for your use."

She leads me to a helmet, "This helmet was made to give the user invisibility."

I take the helmet and look at the markings, "Is this Perseus' Helmet of Invisibility?"

She smiles and she guides me to the sandals, "Good then you shouldn't be astonished by the other items in this vault. They are gifts from the Deities who have blessed The Morrigan." The sandals are The Talaria of Mercury and were gifted to Perseus along with the helmet of invisibility. They allowed one to fly faster than a bird to their destination.

I ask, "Do these really make you fly?"

She says, "It's quite similar to your ability to apparate, however it doesn't take the concentration or the need to have been to your destination before. You simply concentrate on where you will like to go and the sandals will take you there."

I pick up a large gold armband, and examine it. Dina says, "The Draupnir. This arm band is a favorite of your ancestors. It was worn by Odin himself and brings the source unendless wealth."

I laugh, "I believe it's worked quite well in the past if my vaults are anything to go by. It explains the massive amount of galleons I have." I set the arm band down.

She smiles, "These items are at your disposal as The Morrigan, rather you use them is up to you. However I have a few other items to show you."

She picks up an old book, "This book was written by the Deities and gives an accurate account of history. As Morrigan, it is important to understand the history of our world so you may make decisions and judgments of humans. You must know all beings are similar. The makeup of Deities and humans are quite similar. None of us are infallible. Even Gaia her self has made mistakes. The Deities are forbidden to make judgements of mankind since they took advantage of their positions in the past. Deity interference is rare, but we still watch humans and help when necessary. We are forbidden to interfere in wars, with the exception of protecting our Morrigan. Your Grandfather Hector was the sole survivor of the bombing of the Ministry of Magic many years ago." The Ministry of Magic was once in a building in the heart of London. All offices were above ground. The Blitz wiped out the Ministry of Magic and because of the Statute of Secrecy, the bombing was not reported in muggle history books.

I remember the day in Malfoy Manor while under the Cruciatus Curse, I felt a calming in my mind. All this time, I thought it was just an acceptance of my fate. I believed I was going to die. I knew I wasn't ready, but I accepted it and felt a peace in my mind. During the Battle of Ministries I was hit with a unknown curse that should have killed me. Though I had physical pain, I healed quite quickly. The Battle of the Seven Potters I saw a spell deflect that I couldn't explain while on back of the Thestral. I felt a heightened power I couldn't explain during the Battle of Hogwarts. As tired and malnourished as I was, I was hyper aware and my spells seemed to always hit. I thought it was adrenaline. I look at Dina and she is waiting for me to process the information and I see her face when she realizes I understand.

She grins, "You and your mate were both protected during the final battle of the wizarding war. As I said, your children are going to be important."

Why does everyone keep referring to a mate I clearly don't have?

Dina giggles, "Hermione, the look on your face is priceless. The combination of your ancestors and your mates ancestors brings together the blood of many Deities. Some things just happen, but others have been destined since the beginning of time. Your union with your mate, whom you already have accepted in your heart, but not your mind, will produce offspring of immense power. To forgive is to be divine. To be divine is to love. Brace your destiny. I shall leave you, but first," she grabs a gold banded ring with pine cones and ravens engraved on it, and places it in my right index finger. "This ring identifies you as The Morrigan. You are to wear it until you pass it to your second son when he is of age to be The Morrigan. If you place the ring over your heart, you may call a Deity to help you. The Morrigan journals found at your castle give a complete list of your gifts. I shall see you soon." She reaches for my hand and squeezes it, and I feel a calming sense pass through me. I feel weight lifted and completely energized. She smiles and fades until she is gone.

I look to Ricbert and Ælfric, and they are smiling, Ricbert says, "You have been blessed, Miss Granger. The damage done with the use of your time turner has been reversed. You are now your true age. Don't waste more life trying to over live it. You had aged yourself close to 12 years. Take your renewed time to live your life. You may take the book as well as these three books. You may read them in the secret library at Dagworth Castle, but they are for the Morrigan only to read."

I nod, and place the books inside my bag. "Thank you Ricbert. I thank you for your help and information today. I need to meet with Bill Weasley about my other vaults. I understand he is the assigned curse-breaker."

He nods, "You will find some replications of these items in your other vaults, though they work well, they don't have the divine power these items do."

I smile. "I understand. Thank you, Ricbert. Ælfric it was lovely to meet you."

He bows his head, "The pleasure was mine to finally meet The Morrigan."

Ricbert leads us out of the vault. He takes me to vault number 3 and says he shall return with Bill. Ricbert hands me a handful of straight pins. I take one of the straight pins and prick my finger with it. I place my hand on the door not knowing what to expect. When the door opens I gasp. Inside it appears to be filled with gold coins. They aren't galleons. I pick one up and see it has a horse on one side and on the other side appears to be a picture of a scale with a human heart dangling from it? Other coins have a face with what appears to be Latin written on it. This vault is huge. For as far as I can see it appears to be mounds of gold coins. I walk farther in and try to find the back of the vault when I find several gold chests. I easily open one of the chests and it appears to be full of diamonds. I pick a diamond up and it appears to be of perfect clarity to the naked eye. I hear Bill call my name.

I answer and start moving to the entrance, "I'm coming back to you."

I see him at the door with his eyes wide open in shock. "Hermione, it's good to see you. Wow, you look terrific! What do we have here?"

I sigh, "It is one of my vaults, I'm not sure what to make out of all this."

I hand him a coin with a horse on it, and he smiles, "These are ancient Egyptian gold coins. I found some in a pyramid while I was in Egypt." I hand him the other coin and he says, "This appears to be Roman."

I lead him to the chest I found. The chest is about four feet wide. I show him the diamonds. "Hermione, this is full of diamonds. Have you checked the other chests?"

I shake my head. "No." We walk to another chest and it appears to be full of pearls of all sizes and color. Chest after chest is full; rubies, emeralds, moonstones, sapphires, and some I can't identify.

I look at Bill and ask, "What am I supposed to do with all of this? Where did this come from? It wasn't even listed as one of my vaults in Ophelia's will." I pick up a few more coins and recognize the symbols on them, but could never guess where they are from.

Bill looks at them. "Isn't this a symbol for Atlantis? The sun?"

I tell him, "I need to find out where this vault came from." He nods, and says, "Follow me."

We head out to the cart and head to the ground floor of the bank. He leads me to Ricbert's office, and I enter alone. Ricbert appears. "I understand there are questions about one of your vaults, is that correct, Miss Granger?"

I nod, and say, "Is there an origin to Vault three? I seem to be an owner of a lost treasure of several ancient civilizations."

Ricbert gets up and goes to his filing cabinet, and comes back with a scroll, he opens the scroll and reads it. "Miss Granger the first vaults were established thousands of years ago. The Morrigan vault is 20,000 years old. Vault Three is a Dagworth vault that has not been accessed for one thousand years."

I nod, "I see. Is there any information about the vault?"

Ricbert shakes his head. "As you know the Dagworth's were quite the treasure hunters. They prided themselves on establishing wealth. My suggestion would be to look in your Castle, for the Dagworth's always kept records of their exploits."

I walk out of Ricbert's office and Bill is waiting for me. "Thank you Bill, can we go get a tea somewhere. I've had quite the morning."

He smiles, "Yes there is tea shop close to Gringott's. I'll take my lunch now."

We leave and go to a small café. We enter and I ask for a private room. We enter the private room and I order a tea set and some finger foods. Bill orders a sandwich.

We sit in silence for a few minutes, when Bill says, "It seems my family owes you a great debt, Hermione."

I look confused. "What do you mean?"

He smiles and says, "Ginny received an anonymous donation for her surgery last evening. It seems awfully suspicious after George admitting to speaking with you about her situation. Don't worry, George only told me. It was kind of you. The three of us, George, Charlie, and myself received a generous amount from Madame Dagworth-Granger with the stipulation that we don't share with our parents or other siblings. I have a feeling she was quite angry about how part of our family treated you. When dad left mum, I had to speak to Ophelia about allowing him to build on our land. She was overjoyed, and had his cottage built within days. See, she was never angry at our father, she was very angry with our mother. Us older children, myself, Charlie, Percy, and the twins were always doted on by Ophelia. We even called her our aunt. Ron was always very fussy and Mum never wanted Ginny out of her sight. So the older kids would spend a great deal of time with Ophelia at Shell Cottage in the summers. That is why Shell Cottage was such a special gift to Fleur and I. Our children love it as well. There is something truly magical about the land we live on."

I remember visiting Shell Cottage one day in the summer of '96. It is near Dagworth Castle. It's a bit of a walk, but I wonder if the ley lines are active there.

He continues, "Ophelia promised our grandmother to watch over her daughter Molly before she died. I always wondered what happened between Ophelia and my Mother, but knowing you are Ophelia's granddaughter it all makes since. Last week mum started a rant about how Ophelia caused Ginny's accident. None of us believed her. Knowing Ophelia the way I did, since Ginny was so cruel to you, I believe it's in the realm of possibilities. Last night when Ginny received her letter she fainted, and Mum caused a scene. She called us all to the house to tell us the news. Hermione, George is sure it was you, and if that's the case, I just want to say thank you. Ginny spends most of her time studying quidditch books. It's the only thing she really does. We have tried to engage her over the years, but she has lost her spark. I hope this will allow her to live again. If it does, thank you."

I shake my head. "I'll let the anonymous donor know." I smile. "Just don't tell them. I have worked very hard to be polite to them despite their terrible personalities, and I would hate my reputation of being too good for everyone to go away."

He smiles, "Have you viewed all your vaults yet?"

I'm still traumatized over Vault 3, not to mention the overwhelming amount of information I have learned today. I know history wasn't what we thought it was. To learn where the origin of all the discrimination was a bit mind-blowing. I thought it went back to like the middle ages or something, but that long? I know there is so much more to know. I wonder if the books will give me insight on the big questions. Like what happens when we die? What is the origins of Gaia? If humans are The Fallen then where could the Theory of Evolution come from. What about Neanderthals?

I look at Bill, and answer his question. "No. I haven't viewed all my vaults yet and after finding a vault I inherited that hasn't been opened for a millennium, I'm a bit frightened to. You said you helped Ophelia. Were there many things that required curse-breaking?"

Bill laughed, "Not too much, no. There are some questionable items. I had a difficult time with a particular nasty necklace, but most items aren't cursed. I just knew you had a lot of things to go through, and wanted to explain to you there are statis charms on all the vaults, so if you don't feel like going through them all now, you can go through them anytime. There is no rush."

I nod. "Thank you Bill. I feel I'd like to put it off for another day. I had a trying morning. I am suppose to have tea with Pansy Parkinson-Pucey in a couple of hours. I think I'll head home until then."

He smiles, "No problem, Hermione. I have a feeling you will feel rather exhausted over a great many of your vaults."

We spent the next few minutes chatting about life and his children. He ordered a sandwich to take to Fleur and we parted ways. I closed my eyes and, focused, when I opened my eyes I was standing at the doors of Dagworth Castle.

I walk in the main foyer. The walls are a light stone that are rather smooth, I guess they could be limestone. I walk to the music room and lean on the door and cross my arms over my chest. I am left with so many questions. Is there a way to stop the discrimination? Generation after generation passed down their prejudices to their youth. Racism is rampant all over the world. How could that be solved? How can you change such a deep-seated belief? The muggle-born issue has seemed to improved in this country at least. What happens when we open the ley lines and muggle-born births increase?

"My child, you think exceedingly loud."

I look up and see a woman very similar to Dina. She seems to have a white glow around her. She appears to have body glitter all over her skin. Her dress is a mossy green with a similar style to Dina's, but has a gold rope belt around her waste. Her wreath on her head is made of gold pine cones, but instead of flowers it's interwoven with ivy and white peonies. Her hair looks highlighted in every shade of blond, red, black, brown and even green. It flows down in many layers to the top of her legs. She is wearing gladiator sandals in gold. She has many gold bracelets on her arms.

I look at her and down at my crossed arms and realize the ring is against my heart. I look back at her and say, "I am so sorry for disturbing you. I was only thinking. Music helps me process and I was debating playing the piano."

She smiles, "Ah yes, that would be Sandalphon's influence. It is written Sandalphon uses music to help people communicate with God in Heaven. He used to rock you to sleep while humming to you as a babe. He has always been quite fascinated with you. Using music to work through your emotions was Sandalphon through and through. You will learn my child, we are all similar. I am who I am just as you are who you are. God in ancient times referred to our souls. You must make peace with god to find salvation. You must make peace within yourself. Most humans are unable to understand the intricacies of our world, per my design. I suppressed use of 90% of their minds as punishment. Witches and Wizards use about 25% of their minds, and I believe you use around 32%. Deities are the only beings with the capability to use their whole minds. Humans rely on religion or science to explain things they cannot explain. It's much simpler than all that. I woke up to darkness, and snapped my fingers and there was light. The same is within all of us. If we need something to happen we find a solution. You are The Morrigan, that simply means you represent a being that lives on our planet. The big decisions aren't left to you to decide alone. However, it is within all of us to find a solution. DNA is something I didn't consider, however my DNA and yours are not so dissimilar. I make mistakes, and so will you. No being is infallible. You should have seen some of the messes I have made in the past." She laughs to herself, and continues, "It will all work out, my child. Next time you need to make peace in your soul, don't think so hard with the ring so close to your heart."

She starts to fade, "Wait, who are you?"

She smiles, "I am who I am, but you may call me Gaia." She fades until she is gone.

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A/N

Ok. I recieved a cruel comment about this chapter on AO3. I want to address that here as well. There is a lot Hermione still doesn't know about the history. The Deities are not the benevolent beings you think of when you think what a god should be. Hermione is making assumptions about how the racism began, just as the reader is. The Great Deity War created races, not racism. The truly repentant were taken to the Garden of Eden. No where did it state only "white people" were taken to the Garden of Eden. It's a fair assumption since The British and white Europeans are responsible for the many atrocities towards other races in history. It's not the full story. The sins of the father should not reflect on the sons. However the good deeds of the father do not reflect on their sons either. The Deities are also known as fairies, and fairies were misleading and mischievous towards humans. This will be explained in later chapters. I just wanted to point out that I'm not perpetuating a Colonist Power mindset as I was accused of.