Just as Leeroy figured, Hermione did pick the tea room, and Thimi did a good job clearing it out. All of the furniture except for a loveseat was moved to another part of the chateau where it wouldn't be damaged, although Hermione couldn't promise the same for the flooring or the carpet. She wouldn't ever admit that she whined, but she did wheedle to keep the carpet in there while she was training, and Thimi said she would clean up any mess, ash, or scorch marks should the carpet be inflicted, much like she would for the whole room.
Abagail looked as though she were crossed between appalled and shocked, but held her tongue. They already knew it was going to happen, but the thought that her daughter could possibly be hit with anything that could leave scorch marks was not sitting well with her. Her husband though blinked at her and sent the silent message of, 'Better alive than dead.' She took a deep breath and calmed her nerves. She dressed to impress these wizards and wore one of her own wizarding robes that they bought a while ago, in light blue. Her husband wore his own robes, looking dapper in a dark gray. She was always impressed with how similar they were styled to semi-formal clothes, however she knew better than to ever say that to a witch or wizard.
Hermione was not dressed to impress, but was still wearing one of her new robes. She was wearing an oatmeal colored robe, which looked lovely on her. She looked like royalty that she was, Thimi had helped Hermione with her hair and it hung about in untamed curls, framing her face. She stood tall with her shoulders straight looking determined, much like her father did when he had to handle business matters.
Everyone had woken up early and Thimi had fixed them all a hearty breakfast, which was greatly appreciated. More so since Abagail admitted that her mind was so preoccupied that she would have likely burned breakfast. Thimi clucked her tongue to herself, 'All the more reason for Thimi to be cooking the meals.'
It was nearly 9 now and they were supposed to be arriving in Nimes soon. While Hermione was originally going to meet them alone, Leeroy felt that he would be a poor host if he let his daughter meet two grown men alone. At least if he went with her they would look like his friends and draw less attention, which Hermione begrudgingly admitted was better than looking like a high end escort.
The guest rooms were aired and ready, the closet and dressers were empty and ready to be filled although Hermione chuckled knowing that most wizards lived out of their trunks on trips, but knew they might appreciate it.
"Well come on then, let's go meet the Professors, we only have about a week. I've been doing my stretches, meditating, and read my books 3 times each," Hermione said, standing up from the kitchen table.
Leeroy grunted, leaned over and kissed his wife before following his daughter's lead.
"We'll be back soon, Abby. Don't overthink, go over the files again," he said to his wife.
Abagail hummed her agreement. She stayed seated as she watched her husband and daughter leave the chateau.
As soon as they left Abagail turned and looked at the small elf that her daughter owned.
"So, Thimi. Tell me… what do you know about familial blood bonds?"
Barty and Moody woke up early, already packed. Barty went and helped Moody out of the trunk where Moody quickly transfigured the younger wizard into a small dwarf hamster. Barty was given no warning and started making grating chattering noises.
"Hush, you. We have no time for your fussing!" Moody barked at the straw colored hamster who sneezed in response.
He leaned down with a grunt and held his hand open for the wizard to walk into. The hamster complied and lay pliantly in his calloused hand, looking cutely plump.
Alastor carefully placed his companion in his baggy right coat pocket.
"Let's be off then," he said as he summoned his trunk with a flick of his wand and shrunk it down, placing it in his other pocket. He then did the same for the clothes that the lass has picked out for Crouch Jr. Packed and prepared, Moody left his rooms and went to the Great hall to grab a bite to eat before starting his day, and made sure to grab a piece of toast for the hamster in his pocket.
It was too early for students to be up, so it was decently early, none of the professors woke up as early either, so it was nice and quiet before he departed without seeing anyone letting himself out.
As soon as he passed the wards he apparated to the toilets that lead to the ministry of magic. Flushing himself, he hobbled his way over to the Department of International Travel. Much like Hogwarts, the Ministry seemed empty, but he saw the few morning shift employees sitting at their desks drinking their coffee and tea. Very few memos were flying about, but he was no stranger to the Ministry considering he worked there for a number of years.
When he reached the desk he grunted at the half asleep witch sitting at customs.
He softly growled at the witch and his eye spun around.
"Welcome to customs of the Department of International Travel; how may I help you today?" she asked, barely holding back a yawn at the end of her sentence.
"I'm here to travel," he gruffed at her.
"Where to?" she asked, obviously uninterested.
"France."
"Time frame?"
"Now."
"Name?"
"Alastor Moody," he growled.
"Are you bringing any luggage with you this trip, Mr. Moody?" she asked.
"Aye," he said taking out his trunk and resizing it, placing it on her desk.
"Are you transporting any illegal substances, creatures, banned plants, or dark objects?"
"Nae."
"Are you bringing along a familiar or pet?"
"Nae."
"Passport?"
He handed her his passport extremely annoyed with her lack of professionalism and thoroughness, merely looking at his trunk instead of looking through it. She looked through his passport and firmly placed a stamp of approval on it. She pulled out a chipped china plate and incanted, "Portus."
"Have a lovely trip to France, Mr. Moody. Please be sure to hold on tightly, you will portkey in approximately 3 minutes. You will be transported to the Ministry of Magical France. Please stand off to the side while you wait," she said, placing the plate on top of his trunk.
"Thank you," he growled, obviously annoyed with the witch. He shrunk and re-pocketed his trunk and grabbed his portkey before hobbling over to the area that she pointed to.
Moody growled and left the Ministry of Magical France having arrived in what was obviously a designated portkey area with a sign of "Bienvenue en France" in gold lettering.
As soon as he left the building he went to what looked like a hotel where he made a straight line for the men's toilet. Luck was with them since it was empty and clean, he walked to the farthest stall.
He opened his pocket to find the young wizard laying there, obviously on good behavior.
"Alright, lad. Out you go, it's clear," he said as he carefully picked him up and placed him on the floor.
Barty ran into the other stall on his small legs and waited in the middle and squeaked at Moody.
Moody saw his small hamster body and reversed the transfiguration. Barty swiftly locked the latch on the door. Alastor quickly gave the younger Crouch his clothes and stood awkwardly in the stall waiting for his companion to finish dressing.
When the stall opened, Moody took that as the signal to leave his stall as well, but not before flushing to make it believable in the event that someone was listening. The lass had walked them through a map of France and shown them a recent picture of Nimes and where they could apparate to. Moody and Crouch agreed to side-along as Mad-eye had more experience apparating to places from pictures. He handed the younger wizard his wand before grabbing him by the collar and apparating out of the bathroom to a small alley in Nimes close to the meeting place.
They walked about a block away before spotting the young witch standing next to a tall fellow that couldn't have been anyone other than her father. They knew that her parents would be here, but it didn't stop the awkward feeling that crept into their stomachs. It wasn't often that the professors of Hogwarts had to meet the students' parents, even with most of them having been graduates themselves. It was a small community and people knew people, but it was different meeting an obvious outsider, but Moody took it in stride and made the best of it, knowing that his leg would catch attention regardless. Barty simply took Moody's lead and used his pureblood upbringing to his advantage and made it seem as though nothing was wrong.
Hermione was obviously scanning the crowd for them with a keen eye, and Moody silently approved of her vigilance.
"Here we are, lass. Now let's go, we don't have daytime to waste," the older wizard growled.
Hermione smiled at the familiar wizard while Leeroy took them in slightly surprised at the battle worn wizard.
"Yes, sir. Before we do, this is my father Leeroy Granger," she said.
"Nice to meet ye," Moody said and held his hand out for a firm shake which was reciprocated. Barty merely nodded.
"Shall we then? Our car is right over here," he said as he started walking towards the automobile.
The wizards watch witch and father open the doors and sit in, and followed their example. The closest they had to compare was a carriage, but the smooth metal finish was like that of a cauldron.
Leeroy started the car and watched as the engine startled the wizards.
"Don't worry, we'll be there in about 10 minutes," he said as he shifted the car into drive.
As they arrived at the chateau Barty's mouth opened in amazement. While he had seen quite a few manors in equal size, this was his first time seeing a muggle castle. It wasn't nearly as impressive as Hogwarts of course, but that was to be expected, not much in the world was. But it was larger than he expected and was reminded that his pupil was royalty and now he had a building to help solidify it. Moody on the other hand scrutinized it silently. It was an impressive size, but he wasn't impressed by things like that.
Once they were parked and exited the car, they made their way to the side door.
"Welcome to the chateau, we hope you'll enjoy your stay here even if you're here on business," Leeroy said as they walked.
Moody grunted in response while Barty quietly thanked him.
As soon as they entered the building Moody turned and shot a stunner at Hermione, who was quick on the draw and threw up a shield.
"Good. CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" he shouted, startling Leeroy and Abagail who was behind them.
Not even 5 seconds into the house and they had started.
"I assume you picked a room for our purpose?" Barty asked.
"Yes, sir," the witch nodded.
Abagail looked at her husband and pointed at the wizards with her eyes.
"Ah! Gentlemen my wife and I were hoping that we'd be able to sit in on some of these sessions. We want to support and be there for our daughter, but we'd also like to see what it is she's doing exactly. Also I didn't quite catch your names," Leeroy said.
"I'm Bartemius Crouch Jr., please call me Barty, and this is Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody," he introduced them.
"I don't see why not, we will have to have her ward part of the room so stray spells don't hit you of course. You will see the lass sweat, bleed, and cry. But at no point are you to interfere!" Moody barked at them.
Leeroy nodded with hard eyes. He knew what was needed to turn a civilian into a soldier and while it would be painful to watch, he wanted to be there for his little girl. Abagail thinned her lips and made a face but knew that there was no other way for her daughter to learn. It was a matter of life and death in this case.
"Well?" Moody growled his magical eye shifting to Hermione.
"Right this way to the tea room. If you leave your trunk here, Thimi will take your trunk to your room which she will show you later," the petite witch said as she turned and started walking assuredly with her wand in her hand.
The wizards followed her, with her parents tailing behind them. When they reached the tea room Hermione walked to the loveseat that was left in the room for her parents. It was already in a corner nearest to the door.
"This will be one of your first tests, Granger. If you read the books properly you should be able to put up a good ward for your parents," Barty said walking into the middle of the room, while Moody went and stood closer to the opposite wall.
Hermione thought hard on which ward to put up, there were a few of them that would work well, but she wanted them to be able to pass through with ease, but prevent spells from passing through as well. A magical nullification ward would be ideal, but it would get in the way of training in the room and it might be slow on taking out the magic of a spell that was already flying about. It would be better if they were in a separate room, but they didn't have a room like that, and if they did Hermione would seriously judge her parents for having something as weird as that in one of their homes.
She tapped her wand against her lip thinking about a proper ward. She couldn't cast the ward that the ministry put up in times of trouble as that prevented people from entering and leaving, even if magic stayed in or out. If she tweaked it a little bit though, it might work well enough.
She took her wand and felt for the ley lines that ran through the chateau, pleased that it had its own cornerstone and instead of casting while pointing up and letting the ward fall down, she held her wand pointing to the ground and slowly raised it. The magic was showing up in what would be a dome shape over the couch and looked like a waterfall in reverse. Once it reached the high ceiling, she twirled her wrist in an infinity motion, then downwards in a large zipper motion as though she was painting it. It glowed with magic for a few more seconds before disappearing from regular vision. When she was done she lowered her wand and looked at the ward that she could feel standing securely hard.
Then she took her wand and whipped it up quickly and shouted, "BOMBARDA MAXIMA!"
A loud shot gun noise exploded from her wand and her arm kicked back from the force of the spell. The shimmered where the blast hit it, but the couch was never hit. The ward seemed to absorb the magic and strengthened it. The petite witch ran her hand over the ward and then through it and was able to pull it back out.
"Dad, come here and make sure you can move in and out please," Hermione called out.
She would have called for her mum, but she knew that her spell startled her mother quite a bit. It was loud, forceful, and shook the floor a bit. Her father walked over impressed with his daughter's magic and spellwork. He did what she did and started with his arm moving in and out, feeling a slight chill where the ward was, almost like a silicone gel. He then stepped in and out of the warded area and grinned at his daughter.
"Way to go, kiddo. That seems like a fine ward to me," her father said.
Hermione grinned back at her father, glad that he was impressed and happy with her first display of purposeful magic. She looked over at her mum, who smiled shakily.
"Well done, lass! Excellent work in testing it! A strong spell to make sure it can stand strong hits and not just light stinging hexes. Your parents should be safe behind that, now get them in there!" Barty said with a slight growl in his voice.
He had fallen back into teaching mode, which meant that he had fell into his Moody impersonation. After she shepherded her parents behind the ward her lips formed a feral grin, eager to begin.
Moody took the time to cast a silent stupefy at the witch, who dodged, letting the spell hit the ward.
"Good! AGAIN!" he shouted.