Song Suggestion: Kiki Rockwell- "Same Old Energy"
As always, this chapter is 100% better because of my beta, MyPrivateInsanity!
Wildfire Whiz-bangs
Hermione found Titus in his study. It looked meticulously organised and clean as always. A single pot of ink rested next to a stack of parchment on the ancient wood.
The desk was her favourite piece of furniture in the manor, showcasing the story of Atherol Nott— a dragon knight from the fourteenth century— on three heavy panels of wood attached with a thick top. Much like the portraits, the carving came to life. As Hermione walked in, the dragon launched into the sky, splinters of fire erupting from its mouth in a silent roar. And when she sat in a chair across from Titus, Atherol brandished his sword as if to fight her.
Titus looked regal, framed by the light from the window, still in his Auror uniform and armour from an early morning mission. His blue eyes flicked up once to acknowledge her entrance before returning to his task.
Hermione knew she'd need to use every bit of her cunning to enact her plan. Since the auror tried to kidnap her, Titus didn't like her to go out without him, but she needed a new robe and a few books to read—at least, that's what she'd tell him. Her real reason was far more dangerous.
She listened to the comforting scratch of his quill, watching his intense concentration on his task. When he finally finished filling out the last parchment, he looked up, studying her until he frowned.
"You want something, but you think I might say no." He narrowed his eyes.
"How could you possibly know that?"
"You bounce your right leg when you're nervous." He pointed to his face. "And you lift your eyebrows a little, forcing your eyes to go big and round, already pleading." He leaned back in his chair, hands clasped across his stomach. "What do you want?"
Hermione took a breath.
"Diagon Alley."
"No." Titus leaned forward and grabbed his quill again, as if to dismiss her.
"But that's not fair."
He grimaced.
"Your safety is more important than being fair."
Hermione bit back a frustrated scream. She hated being treated like porcelain, one fall away from shattering.
"I need more to do than wandering the manor and having friends over. I'm going insane cooped up in here. It will be weeks before Theo is home, and you're always working."
The harsh lines of his shoulders relaxed, and he gave a deep sigh.
"Are you feeling neglected?" He looked at her in a sharp way, full of analysis.
She frowned. He said that as if she was some fussy, exotic plant that needed correct sunlight and attention to flourish.
"No," she said. "I just want a change of scenery."
Maybe she did feel neglected. Titus was her only outlet to the outside world. When he had time, he'd always taken her on shopping trips or to the ministry, but he'd been more busy than usual. The past few weeks she barely saw him.
However, her plans went further than a simple shopping trip this time, so she'd take the ego hit if it meant getting to go.
"You lie so well," he said. "But not well enough. You're right. I think it's time I took a break and spent time with you. Books and then ice cream, like normal. Does that sound good?"
Good enough. She'd prefer some random auror, because it would be easier to slip things by them, but she thought she could fool Titus.
If she was careful.
The plan had long been set in motion. The boys were less guarded than the girls, so she relied on them for the initial contact. Dean—the braver of the two boys— had followed Ollivander when he'd exited his shop. He'd waited until his auror was distracted before "accidentally" knocking into the old man, slipping a note into his wrinkled hand while steadying him.
It was a risk— the biggest one their tiny coven had ever attempted. The first rebellion. It all hinged on a small look Ollivander had given Titus along with a few misplaced words, hinting toward the idea the wand maker didn't agree with the current ban of magic for muggleborns.
The note read:
Four muggleborns need wands. If you're willing to give them, leave a note outside your shop under a stone near the door, telling us your answer.
It had taken three weeks for the stone to show up. It seemed the wand maker needed to consider the risk, which Hermione understood. She still remembered Titus' threatening tone toward him. The punishment for giving them wands might be severe. Still, they had no other option.
Each day had dragged, waiting for an answer. They all checked, asking their masters in turns to go. Hermione only managed to walk by once and tried to not be disappointed seeing the barren doorway. It would devastate her friends to reach a dead-end, especially since none of them grasped wandless magic, besides an accidental spark made by Julie.
But then, one day, the stone showed up, agreeing to their request for help.
They exchanged several notes this way, until all four of them got a chance to stand before the store, so Ollivander could glance at them through the window. The old man had a sixth sense when it came to wand cores and matching them with wizards. Still, the first time he'd sent a wand—one for Finch—it did nothing but almost zap Julie with an errant spark of magic. Since then, they enacted a complicated merry-go-round of wands.
Hermione had charmed a purse for the girls that they passed around that could shrink down anything to fit into a small space, which she hoped would fool their masters. She'd given the boys a shopping bag, which sported the same charms. So far no one had been the wiser of their sleights of hand, though Hermione worried that one day their luck would run out.
At the present moment, Hermione wore her black leather purse tight against her body as they walked down Diagon Alley. Titus looked at it with one eyebrow raised.
"I've never seen you wear a purse."
Of course, he would notice.
And he was right. She never needed her own galleons in Diagon Alley.
"Fashion, Titus," she answered.
He gave a snort.
"When have you cared about fashion? I almost have to beg you to pick out new clothes from the current catalogues."
"You caught me," Hermione said. "I'm using it to carry my extra books in case I read through my main one."
"That sounds more like it, though it looks much too small for its purpose. Perhaps next time you could bring something larger."
"Fair point."
He placed a hand on the small of her back, leading her through the crowd, and something warm zipped up her spine.
Honestly, she didn't lie about carrying books. Their first stop had been at the bookstore, and she'd pilfered a few tomes, placing them into the depths of her purse, hoping they contained new knowledge. She didn't have much time to examine what she'd stolen, but she planned to add them to her mini library hidden in the treehouse by a simple charm. Only if they proved interesting. She'd run out of space under her floorboard a long time ago, but she wasn't too worried. Titus never went up there, so there was a statistically low chance he'd find them. They'd be placed next to the newest muggle books Professor Booth gave her on Calculus and Microbiology.
At the moment, they walked side by side down the street without destination, just enjoying the day. At least, that's what Titus thought. In reality, she was leading them by Ollivanders wand shop.
"Having fun, Sprite?" he asked.
"Bunches," she said and gave a little skip of her feet to show him. Despite her mission, It felt great to be out, seeing something different than her normal four walls.
But she didn't let it distract her from her plan.
When Titus turned his head, she pulled out a small box from her purse and held it to her side. Titus twisted back around, and she smiled at him, hoping it didn't look suspicious. His eyes lingered on her face in a soft way, lifting up half a smile, letting a single dimple show— the type of charming smirk that she'd seen him give pretty witches. No matter how many times she'd seen it, the grin still almost made her trip on her shoes.
Earlier in the year, Theo gave her the trick box as a secret birthday present. The Weasley twins invented it, though they hadn't tested it. Theo told her the two men were either future entrepreneurs or future criminals, and there wouldn't be an in-between. Hermione wished she could meet them. She loved Theo's stories of them tormenting Filch and Headmaster Snape. On the last day of seventh year, they'd even turned the great hall into a swamp and flew away to the cheers of students.
She held their latest idea—Wildfire Whiz-bangs.
The prank might be enough to pull Titus away from her side.
"We should stop by the quidditch store and get something for Theo before we go," Titus said. "He doesn't get to play much, but I'd prefer he wear quality equipment."
Hermione gave a nod in agreement. They were now in front of Ollivanders, and Hermione groaned internally. Titus kept staring at her, and she needed his attention to be on something else or else the whole day would be for nothing.
"Do you think we could go over there after?" She pointed to a store across the street.
Titus turned his head, and she used the distraction to act. She threw the box and watched it land. With a quick wandless stunning spell, it exploded. Fireworks burst around them in a glorious display.
Within seconds, Titus grabbed her and shoved her to the ground, putting his body over her with his wand out. When he realised it was just fireworks and not some errant explosion, his stance loosened.
"Who the fuck did that?" He got off her, leaving an odd warmth along her body. No one paid attention to his furious demand, because the fireworks kept coming. Each time someone tried to vanish them, they multiplied. Hermione laughed and then covered her mouth. Titus turned his sharp gaze on her for a moment.
"Don't move," he said. "It's probably just a couple of dumb kids that need to learn a lesson."
"Don't be too hard on them." Hermione watched him stalk away.
In the chaos, Hermione scooted to the edge of the building. A small bag of garbage awaited her. At least, it looked like garbage, charmed to hide the wands. She picked it up and shoved it in her purse and then scooted back to her spot.
Titus didn't seem to notice that she'd moved, so she sat there and waited, whistling and fidgeting.
It took several minutes for him to return to her.
"Did you find the dumb kids?"
"No," he said. "But this has those fucking Weasley twins written all over it. They are a menace to society."
"Seemed like harmless fun."
Again, he looked at her, examining her. As an auror, he'd been trained in body language, able to tell when someone lied or was nervous. She controlled herself as much as possible.
"Harmless fun," he repeated in a dry tone. "Well, it cut our day short. I'm going to need to go to the ministry to sort out the complaints."
Titus' mood darkened as they apparated home. Hermione endured the unpleasant pop and reappearance as he guided her inside.
"Are you going to the ministry now?" She asked, a little worried. Titus was usually placid. He rarely showed a bad mood in front of her, but he seemed to be seething.
"Not anymore. There are a few new hires that can handle it. I think I already discovered the culprit, and it's not someone I can name."
"Oh, okay."
They stood in the foyer, the giant chandelier dangling above them. She tried to walk toward her room, but he grabbed her upper arm near her shoulder.
His intelligent blue eyes now narrowed on her, and she instantly felt dissected.
"Where did you get it?"
"What?" She asked, heart pounding. He tugged her around to face him, pulling her close. Her chest heaved against him as he glared down at her.
He'd never done anything like this—an interrogation—as if she was one of his criminals.
He loosened his hold on her shoulder but leaned down. She glanced up at his eyes, viewing them closer than she ever had before. Flecks of white dotted the center with a dark outer ring. She thought she might see a little green buried in the blue. If they resembled water, now they were a storm.
"The fireworks. Where did you get them?"
"You're scaring me."
"Answer me!"
She flinched. He'd never yelled at her like that before.
Hermione knew she'd need to admit something if she wanted to lower suspicion. She'd lied several times that day, so she picked the least volatile one.
"Theo," she admitted. She tried to tug away, but his grip tightened, keeping them close together. "The Weasley twins gave it to him. You were right that they invented it. I—I didn't mean anything by it. Just a funny prank. I thought you'd laugh."
His jaw muscles clenched.
"It wasn't just a prank." He pushed her shoulder, walking with her until her back pressed against the wall, right next to a portrait. "What were you trying to distract me from?"
Hermione swallowed hard. She shouldn't have attempted this with Titus present. He was too observant. He let go of her shoulder now and placed both hands on the wall beside her head.
If he found the wand, Ollivander would be placed in Azkaban for helping them, and she'd never see her friends again. It had felt like a game until now, but the consequences would be dire.
She decided to tell another lie with a truth.
"I saw the book on the side of the street. Someone must have dropped it."
"Take it out of the fucking purse."
She flinched at his tone.
With shaking fingers, she reached into the purse and took out one of the books. It was a blind grab, so she hoped it would be good enough to fool him. When she saw the cover, she breathed a sigh of relief.
Dark Spells from Dark Wizards. It was controversial enough it contributed to the lie.
Titus grabbed it and straightened. He flipped it over and skimmed through it.
"You charmed the purse," he said, snapping the book shut and throwing it to the side. Hermione flinched when it landed. He didn't have to treat the book that way. "I'd be impressed if I wasn't so angry. What were you intending with this?"
Hermione crossed her arms on her chest.
"To learn something new for a fucking change."
He glared at her tone and language, even if he had just used the same against her.
"I provide you with countless opportunities to learn new things. What are the tutors I pay for, if not to learn? Do you think other muggleborns get the same opportunity?"
Hermione took a deep breath and pushed it out through her nose.
"I want to learn real magic," she said. "Half the library is off limits. I need… I need something more than what I'm getting."
Titus leaned toward her, crowding into her space.
"I've given you everything you need, even a fucking wand." He once again placed his hands next to her head on the wall. It made her nervous in a way she didn't understand. "Do you even know what would happen to me if the ministry discovered I'd given you one? I'm not trying to hurt you. I'm attempting to protect you."
She believed he held good intentions despite his harsh tone, but she felt too distracted by his proximity to respond. Her mouth felt dry.
"I'm going to need to take your purse," he said.
That absolutely could not happen. Her wards were pathetic—only basic ones. Titus could break through them in five minutes. She needed to keep it away from him.
She acted on pure instinct and brought one hand up and placed it on his neck, wondering if begging would soften him. His pulse thumped against her palm as she touched his heated skin. The tendons and muscles tightened beneath her fingers.
"Please, don't take it. The purse is the first thing I've ever created." She glanced up, giving a pleading expression, one that usually made him give in, but he only tensed up. "I just saw the book and wanted to see what it was. That's all."
"You have another book, don't you?"
Hermione hated giving up another, but she had no choice.
"Yes." She groaned, sliding her hand off his neck.
"Let me see."
She dug down and brought up the other, pressing her teeth together in agitation. The book she brought out was thicker than the other one and something she realised that she'd already read.
"The Magical History of the Roman Empire." He turned it over and handed it back. She slipped it back into her purse. "I shouldn't even let you have this one, but it's innocuous. Are these all the books you have?"
She was lucky he asked for books and not items, or else he might see through the lie. Luckily, she could answer the truth.
"Yes," she said. "Can I go to my room?"
She needed to get out before he asked to rifle through the purse contents.
But Titus didn't move out of her space. He leaned down, so that their faces were level. He smelled of cinnamon and something purely Titus. She resisted the desire to take a deep breath of the pleasant scent so close to the source, reminding her of comfort.
"You tried to manipulate me." His teeth flashed white with his grimace. "You're playing a game you don't understand. It's a form of power, I admit, but only if you know how to use it." He reached out and placed his palm against her cheek. It was rough and large, the calluses prickling her skin. "Right now, you're so naive. There's so much you don't know about life that I wish I could explain to you."
Her stomach tumbled. Titus talked in riddles. Was he mocking her? He must have seen the confusion on her face, because he frowned and let her go with a frustrated sound.
"Just go to your room."
She took the reprieve and ran to the exit, only looking back once to see Titus glaring at the ground, hand still braced on the wall.
Several days later, she crawled into the treehouse. She darkened the windows just in case Titus became curious. Since the incident, she'd been hesitant around him for reasons she didn't quite understand. Her vocabulary didn't contain the explanation for what she felt. She'd barely seen him, and when she did, she found a way to leave the room.
Katie, Julie, Finch, and Dean sat in a circle in the treehouse, waiting for her. Each of them had gone through several wands before finding their match. Ollivander was quite skilled at matching wands to their owners, but he operated at a disadvantage with them, since none of them could stand in his store while he chose wands for them to try. After much trial and error, Julie, Dean, and Finch had each found their wands, leaving only Katie without one.
Hermione reached into her purse and extracted the illicit wand.
"Let's see if this one works," she told Katie. Her friend took a deep breath, reached out and clasped the wand in her hand. Brilliant sparks erupted from the tip, bathing the room in celebratory light. Katie opened her mouth in awe, Julie squealed in happiness, Finch began to cry, and Dean gave a loud whoop.
Hermione waited for everyone to settle down to bring up the serious discussion points.
"We'll need to keep the wands hidden here," Hermione said.
"What happens when I leave?" Katie asked. All of them tensed up with the question. The thought of Katie leaving sent spikes of anxiety through her.
"You might have to keep it here until I go to the Trials," Hermione said. "After that, I'll try to smuggle it to you. Do you think Flint would get angry if he found it?"
Everyone knew Flint would win. He'd paid her masters to rig the Trials in his favour, so they only accepted tokens from wizards they knew he'd win against. Hermione had been mad when she heard about it, but Katie was resigned to her fate, saying he was a better choice than some, and the Goyles needed money.
Katie shrugged her shoulders.
"I don't know him much. You wouldn't think it by seeing him, but he's shy. Every time he tries to talk to me, he usually just stammers out something awkward and walks away. He was even willing to wait to start the Trials, but my masters grew impatient."
"We'd better not take the chance," Dean said, and Katie agreed.
"And what about you?" Hermione turned to Juile. "Do you still think you can keep this from your mum?
Bellatrix was a master legilimens, but luckily Julie was a natural occlumens. Hermione suspected it had something to do with her pleasant nature, able to calmly compartmentalise her emotions.
"Of course," she said. "She can't use legilimency on me without ripping my mind. It's her fault she taught me occlumency in the first place."
Julie might be the only human not afraid of the witch, but Hermione trusted her judgement.
"We're complete now." Hermione raised her wand, flicking a little lumos. The others did the same, and they touched in the middle. "The Coven of the Tree."
"The Coven of the Tree," they repeated. They'd said it as a joke at first, but it sounded serious now, like they were something to contend with—educated muggleborns enacting real magic with wands. They were everything they weren't supposed to be. A deep pride filled Hermione that they managed the impossible. She wished she could hug Ollivander.
Maybe someday she could convince Titus it was okay for muggleborns to have wands. If she could convince Titus, she could convince anyone.
A few days later, Hermione stumbled across a woman stepping out of the floo. She was tall, blond, and wore strappy shoes that had a point on the back, pushing up her heels, showcasing her skirt hit the middle of her thighs, revealing a scandalous amount of skin.
The woman startled when she saw Hermione, putting a hand to her chest with a little laugh.
"Who are you?" Hermione asked.
"I'm here for Titus."
Oh, she was one of his women. Hermione somehow withheld her instinctive sneer.
But this one was different than normal. It took her a moment to realise the woman was obviously a muggle. Titus only slept with purebloods or halfbloods. Never muggles. It didn't make any sense.
The woman was beautiful, but wore a lot of makeup, and her hair looked unnatural. Hermione had never seen anyone like her.
The muggle looked her over with a sly grin.
"And who are you?"
"I'm a Nott ward."
"Ward?" The woman's brow creased. "How old are you?"
"Eighteen," she said.
The woman looked her over again, no longer looking concerned.
"Such a pretty little thing. Aren't you just a doll." The woman gave a loud laugh that grated along her skin. She hated the rotating women that entered and left the house, but something was off about this one.
"Titus is in his study."
"Oh, I know." She gave a flippant wave as she walked out. "This is not the first time I've been here."
Another oddity: Titus rarely had the same woman over twice.
A/N: The wildfire whiz-bangs were taken from canon, but I did change it a little for this universe, much like I did for other things, including the purse.
