Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any associated content. I'm merely a fanfic author messing around with the world JKR has created.
Warnings: Violence, Gore, Depictions of Trauma, Minor Sexual Content, Mentions of Abuse, Use of Substances
A/N: This is an AU Fic. Quite a lot of things are gonna be different compared to canon. The main pairing in this fic will be Harmony, or H/Hr, but there will be side pairings involving characters like Neville, etc.
The main focus of this fic is not romance, even if it is a significant part of it.
Without further ado, please ENJOY!
Through the car's tinted windows, the outside world whizzed by in a blur of familiar sights and sounds as the wheels hummed against the asphalt. In the backseat of the car, which was far more spacious than one would think looking at the car from the outside, sat one Hermione Granger.
Today was Hermione Granger's 10th birthday, and it was also the weirdest day of her life yet.
It had all started after lunch, which had been a massive disappointment for her, given the complete lack of acknowledgment of her birthday by her parents. At around 3 in the afternoon, she had heard a knock on the door, and had been instructed by her father to attend to it.
Her life had started changing the moment she had opened those doors, her eyes falling upon the pair of a man and a woman, dressed in expensive-looking black business suits. They had asked her if the house was the residence of the Granger Family, in response to which she had nodded and called her father.
Her father, upon noticing the visitors' attire, had invited them in, her mother offering them refreshments, which they had denied. Her father had then instructed her to head to her bedroom, but the visitors had stated that she ought to stay, since the reason for their visit concerned her.
She had been rightfully frightened at the withering glare her father had given her following that. His gaze pierced through her, demanding to know what she had done, and if she had done any of her freakiness. The last time she had been on the receiving end of that glare, she had been nearly starved for the day.
But before her father could speak, the female visitor had started speaking, addressing all 3 members of the Granger family. The conversation had been enlightening and life-changing, to say the least. That had been followed by a demonstration. And it was the most wonderous thing she had ever witnessed.
Dancing flames and flying cups. She'd actually smiled. After who knows how many months or years, Hermione Granger had smiled. A genuine smile, not the smile her parents forced her into when they went outside. She, Hermione Granger, was a witch. And there was a whole world out there, filled with others like her. A world of magic.
Unlike her parents had claimed, she wasn't a freak or a devil-spawn, but instead, she was a witch, and there was a place where she belonged. She was sure that she had never felt any emotion that intensely. She didn't even know what emotions she was feeling.
Happiness? Glee? Satisfaction? Relief? Hope? Panic? Foreboding?
She wasn't sure what all she felt, but she knew that she was excited. Excited about her future, about the new world she would be entering, about the fact that she wouldn't have to live with her parents.
Her parents.
Their reaction to the revelations had been mixed. On one hand, they had been utterly astonished and outraged at the existence of such witchcraft and a society of witches and devil-children, but on the other, they were immensely satisfied at the prospect of not needing to house her anymore. She wasn't surprised though, they had made it quite clear early on that her existence was not welcome, and they would be perfectly pleased if she just disappeared.
And now they were getting their wish, so good for them.
The conversation had lasted for almost an hour, before the visitors; Mr. Grant and Mrs. Abbott had asked to talk to her personally. Hermione's parents had been uncaring, and so the 3 had gone to her room to talk.
They had asked about her home life, and if she had any questions that she wasn't comfortable asking in front of her parents. And she obviously had many.
After the two had kindly answered all her questions for over 30 minutes, they had finally returned to the living room, where Mr. Grant had given her parents two options, which were apparently given to all the parents in the same situation as hers.
Either sign off Hermione's guardianship willingly and take an oath to protect the Statue of Secrecy; or get their memories of her and the whole incident completely wiped, and all evidence of her existence erased from their lives.
She had been sure that they would choose the second option, but to her surprise, she'd been proven wrong. Her parents had absolutely refused to be touched by any of the devil's freakiness and had stated that they would happily give away their daughter and take the oath.
It had stung for a while, their willingness and eagerness to give her away; their only child, but she realized that there was no point in being sad because of them.
She'd suffered enough at their hands… no more… never again.
Mrs. Abbott had then asked her if she needed any time before leaving, but she had quickly denied it, stating that she could pack her few possessions, most of which were books, in under 10 minutes. The older woman had simply smiled at her, a pitying look in her eyes, before she'd taken out a wand and waved it once; and all her possessions had flown out of her room and packed themselves into a trunk that had appeared out of thin air. She'd been quite ashamed at the pitifully small size of the trunk that carried essentially everything she had, but there was something else on her mind then.
It was her second time witnessing the amazing phenomenon known as magic, and it hadn't been any less captivating than the first. And in that moment, she had known. This was something she wanted. Something she craved. Apart from her love and borderline obsession with books, this was the first thing she'd been so attracted to.
She had always been drawn to the world of books, mainly because they made her feel safe. Books didn't judge her, books didn't shun her, books didn't call her names and shove her down school stairs, and books definitely never told her that she shouldn't have been born.
And not only did they provide her with an escape from reality, but they also provided her with knowledge. Knowledge that ensured that she would always place first in class, and would ensure that her parents didn't starve her out of disappointment of her grades.
And now there was something more. Magic. It made her feel special, but not in a bad way. It made her feel like she belonged somewhere, that she had something amazing for herself.
She swore right then and there. She would find out all there is about magic. She would make magic her own.
Almost an hour had passed since then. Almost an hour after she had sat inside the car along with Mr. Grant and Mrs. Abbott.
The first thing she noticed was the irregularity in the dimensions outside and inside the car. Mrs. Abbott had laughed heartily at her puzzled expression, commenting on how every child reacted the same way. But when Hermione inquired about how it worked, the reply she got was simply, "Magic."
Pushing down the frustration at not receiving a proper answer, Hermione began to ask more questions. About where they were going, what was going to happen next, etc. etc.
And thankfully, Mrs. Abbott answered all of those questions properly, with Mr. Grant chiming in from the driver's seat once in a while. She found out quite a lot of new things by the time the car reached its destination.
Mrs. Abbott and Mr. Grant worked for something called the Muggleborn Conformation Commission or MCC for short. Mrs. Abbott was also a Muggleborn like her, and Mr. Grant was a Half-Blood wizard.
She had inquired about what exactly 'half-blood' meant, but she had been told that everything would be explained in further detail where they were headed. And they had just reached there. The MCC Center 04, one of many scattered across Britain.
It was a relatively large campus, at least compared to her Middle School. It was surrounded by huge stony gray walls with black metallic spikes poking out of the top. The walls were covered in beautiful engravings, and so were the spikes. All of it gave an intimidating feeling to the place.
They entered through a large, metallic double-gate which opened automatically as they approached. They slowed down to a stop in front of the large building in the middle of the campus; and as soon as the car stopped whirring, the ornate wooden doors of the building opened, revealing a woman dressed in… robes?
There was no question about the woman's beauty, despite her aging features, but her clothing struck Hermione as… odd. Perhaps it was a thing in the Magical World.
Mrs. Abbott then helped her out of the car and then instructed her to walk to the building. Hermione asked about the trunk and her belongings, but Mrs. Abbott shrugged her off claiming that she would find them once she was settled in. Then they headed towards the door into the building, where they were greeted by the beautiful lady.
"Greetings Mrs. Abbott," she spoke elegantly, nodding to the woman in question. And then she turned to Hermione, "And you must be Miss Granger. Welcome to the MCC Center, my name is Agnes Sayre, but you may call me Madam Sayre," she said with a small smile on her face.
Giving her most polite smile, Hermione replied, "Thank you for the warm welcome, Madam Sayre. My name is Hermione Granger."
Her smile widened slightly, and Madam Sayre gestured Hermione inside, then turning to Mrs. Abbott. "Will you be joining us, Mrs. Abbott?" she asked. "I'm afraid not, Madam Agnes. Lord Abbott has called for a House Meeting, and my presence is required. I'm sure that Miss Granger will be perfectly fine in your capable hands," Mrs. Abbott replied.
"Very well, Mrs. Abbott. Goodbye," Madam Sayre said, nodding her head in understanding. "Goodbye," came the reply, which was followed by Madam Sayre closing the doors.
Turning to Hermione who was standing obediently by the door, she spoke, "Well then, Miss Granger, let's get you settled in. Once that is done, I'll explain everything. I assume this is all very confusing to you, but fret not, it's something we're used to dealing with."
Hermione just nodded and uttered a small, "Yes, Madam Sayre."
3 hours had passed since she had entered the MCC Center. And she was exhausted and overwhelmed along with a bunch of other things. Thankfully, she was sitting on a bed with her back against a wall with her legs straightened out.
She had just returned to her new dormitory after a long lesson with Madam Sayre. She was fed a lot of information in that lesson, and she was conflicted. While she was glad to be given so much information, the information itself was a source of worry for her.
The lesson had been very enlightening, and Madam Sayre was a very good teacher, answering all her questions and clearing all her doubts. They had started with some general information about the magical world, or rather, the Wizarding World. The basic history of Magical Britain, the history of Hogwarts, the history of the various Lordly Houses, and the history of some prominent figures in the world.
The world had apparently been at war a mere 10 years ago, against the forces of the Dark Lord, You-Know-Who. The war had ended when the Dark Lord had attempted to murder a boy named Harry Potter, and somehow perished when his spell had rebounded. The boy had come to be known as the Boy-Who-Lived.
The war and its eventual end had brought countless changes to Magical Britain. The most major political change was the abolishment of the Light and Dark Factions in the Council of Wizengamot. The Wizengamot was the Parliament of Magical Britain from what she understood. It sat at the top of the Ministry of Magic, as its governing body. The Wizengamot contained 3 houses.
The House of Lords, which included all the Lords of the various Noble Pureblood Houses and Families of Britain.
The House of Merlin, which included all the holders of the Order of Merlin, which was the highest honor bestowed upon few witches and wizards for their achievements and contributions.
And lastly, the House of Commons, which included the heads of the various departments of the Ministry of Magic.
The whole Council was presided over by the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, a prestigious position currently held by Albus Dumbledore, who was also the Headmaster of Hogwarts, the only magical school in Britain, another important position.
Speaking of Hogwarts, that was where she would be living for 7 whole years once she turned 11 and got her Letter of Acceptance. She was already feeling impatient, and simply couldn't wait until she could finally go there to learn magic.
The next topic in their lesson, had been the thing that had birthed the unease within her.
Blood Purity.
There were Purebloods, Halfbloods, and Muggleborns. Hermione was a Muggleborn. And while Madam Sayre hadn't explicitly stated anything of the sort, it was clear to Hermione that her place in magical society as a Muggleborn was below Purebloods and Halfbloods.
Hermione was many things, but stupid or naive was not one of them. She had figured out pretty quickly that Madam Sayre's lesson had been crafted to drop hints about various things. And Hermione was pretty confident that she had picked up on most of them. Every time Hermione's expression changed during the lesson as she realized new things, Madam Sayre's face would give a small smirk of satisfaction.
Now that the lesson was over and she had time to actually think over all that she had learned, she only felt her distress growing.
The treatment of her parents, who were muggles… the existence of the MCC and its Centers… the strict hierarchical structure of society… All of them were things that painted a very different picture of the Wizarding World than what she had initially imagined.
The fact that her Blood Status would influence her whole future, was disturbing, to say the least. Something she had no control over would determine her fate, and that scared her. But no matter… she wasn't gonna let something like that stop her.
She wasn't gonna give up… She was Hermione Granger, and she had magic.
She slowly shifted her neck, brought her legs close to her body, and let out a huge sigh. All this thinking was making her sleepy. Madam Sayre had told her that she was free to sleep until she was called for dinner at 8:30. It was currently 7:15.
She reckoned she could get in a sweet hour of sleep to refresh herself, even if the time of day wasn't exactly suitable for a nap.
2 hours later
"I'm done with my dinner, Madam Sayre," said Hermione as she dabbed a tablecloth at her lips.
"Good, now join me for one more short lesson, then you can sleep in for tonight," replied Madam Sayre. Hermione nodded in response and followed the older lady out of the room, or rather the hall, toward another room. It was the same one where she had gotten her first lesson.
It was a relatively small room, with beige-colored walls and light furniture and decorations scattered around. In the middle of the room was a hexagonal table with 2 wooden chairs on opposite sides. As Hermione and Madam Sayre entered, they both took their seats in the chairs, settling down comfortably.
Wasting no time, Madam Sayre immediately began, "So, Miss Granger. Let us begin. Firstly, this lesson will be a bit different from the one we had earlier. Unlike that one, which dealt with general knowledge and the history of the Wizarding World, this one will concern you and your future in particular."
Hermione nodded, waiting for her teacher to continue. "This lesson will also be much more straightforward, even though to my surprise, you had no problems in picking up the thinly veiled hints I dropped in our last meeting," Madam Sayre continued with a slight smile tugging her lips.
Hermione gave the woman a strained smile, even when there was a clear rush of pride in her chest. Carefully judging Hermione's reaction, Madam Sayre said, "I know that you most probably have numerous concerns about the information you were given in the last lesson, but there is no need to hurry. What we'll be discussing right now will make things much more clear. Am I understood?"
"Yes, Madam Sayre," Hermione answered, pushing down her worries for the time being. Madam Sayre's smile widened and she nodded, "Good. Now, I will be explaining a few things to you, but I won't tolerate any interruptions. Any questions that you may have, note them down and ask them after I finish speaking," said Madam Sayre as a small notebook and pen suddenly appeared before Hermione on the hexagonal table.
Hermione nodded her head mutely.
And then Madam Sayre began her explanation, "The Muggleborn Conformation Commission, or MCC for short, is a department within the Ministry of Magic that deals with the adoption and adaptation of Muggleborn children into Magical Society. It is funded directly by the Ministry, but also heavily depends upon generous donations from various Lordly Houses. The MCC deals with many jobs, but its primary purpose is to bring Muggleborn children into the Magical World, educate them about it and its traditions, prepare them for their future, and finally help them get accepted into a respected Pureblood House."
Taking a short pause to discern Hermione's reaction, Madam Sayre resumed, "Now you may be puzzled about the 'getting accepted into a Pureblood House' part, but we will get there. Firstly, you have already been successfully brought into the Magical World. However, often it is not so easy. Many parents are unwilling to let their children go. Fortunately, they are mere muggles and not much of an issue to deal with. If they choose option one and let their child go willingly and take the oath to protect the Statue of Secrecy, they are promised scheduled visits from their child during the holidays. Otherwise, their memories are simply erased, dealing with them in a far less messy manner."
Hermione quickly noted down something in her notebook, keeping her attention on Madam Sayre. "Also, Miss Granger, you need not worry about having to visit your parents. These visits only take place if the child in concern wishes so, and Mrs. Abbott has already informed me about your circumstances. You will not be forced to go back to your old muggle household," Madam Sayre added.
Hermione gave a wide smile and nodded, but otherwise remained quiet. Madam Sayre then said, "Next up, is the education part. Every Muggleborn child that enters the MCC stays there for 7 months. Over that period of time, they attend many classes covering various subjects like etiquette, basic magical theory, history of the magical world, basic politics, common traditions, etc. After those months pass, they have to take a mandatory Aptitude Test which involves what they learned over those 7 months, as well as some muggle subjects like Math."
"Now, listen to this next part very carefully. The Aptitude Test will most likely be one of the most important tests you will ever take in your life. It is something that will affect and shape your future, so I need you to take it very seriously. Although I'm sure I don't need to warn you, since your past results in Muggle school have always been exemplary. Even so, it is my job," said Madam Sayre, and Hermione nodded in understanding, after which she scribbled something down in her notebook.
"Now, moving on to why exactly the Aptitude Test is so important. To understand that, you will first need to know about the Ward Act that was put into place during the formation of the MCC. The Ward Act is a system put into place for the proper transfer and inclusion of Muggleborns in Magical Society. Once a Muggleborn child takes the Aptitude Test, their results are made public. Any eligible and interested Pureblood House can come to visit the Muggleborn child, and express their interest in making the child their ward. As a ward, the Muggleborn child is the responsibility of the Pureblood House. In simpler terms, the Pureblood House essentially adopts the Muggleborn child. However, do note that it is different from a regular muggle adoption. The Lord or Lady of a Pureblood House possesses more rights over their ward than a parent does over their children."
Hermione's face now carried a small frown and she rapidly wrote down her thoughts and questions in the given notebook. She hadn't missed the clear emphasis Madam Sayre put on the words, Pureblood and Muggleborn and Ward.
Taking a short break from her explanation, Madam Sayre simply watched Hermione for a few seconds, taking a breath to rest her throat, after which she resumed her speech. "Your performance in the Aptitude Test will directly affect which Pureblood House will seek you as a ward. And it is extremely important for your future that you get accepted into a good Pureblood House. The better you perform in the test, the more prestigious houses will seek you out. Tell me Miss Granger, what are the various tiers of Pureblood Houses?"
Remembering the answer from the last lesson, Hermione quickly answered, "The first are the Common Pureblood Houses, carrying no titles. Above them are the Noble Houses, who possess a lower seat in the Council of Wizengamot. Next, are the Most Noble Pureblood Houses, who possess a higher seat in the Wizengamot. And lastly, there are the Ancient and Most Noble Houses, who possess the highest seats in the Wizengamot, and are the greatest powers in Magical Britain."
Madam Sayre's smile widened into a grin, "Excellent answer, Miss Granger!"
Then, her grin turning into a serious expression, she spoke again, "In the best-case scenario, a Muggleborn child will be recognized for their brilliance and catch the attention of a Noble House, and then become their ward. Becoming the ward of a Noble House will almost guarantee a bright future, as long as you don't mess up in any way. In case a Muggleborn Child is approached by multiple Pureblood Houses, it is up to the child which house to become a ward of."
Hermione's pride at answering and being praised quickly faded as the atmosphere turned serious again. "In these next 7 months, you will be trained to your limits, with the goal of becoming a proper ward to whatever Pureblood House you get accepted into."
"That concludes my initial explanation, you may now ask any questions and speak freely, and I will respond to the best of my ability," said Madam Sayre as she gestured for Hermione to speak.
Finally… There are so many things to ask, and so much to know…
Hermione then started shooting questions one after another and didn't stop for quite a while. Thankfully, Madam Sayre answered all her questions just as enthusiastically. At around 10:30, Hermione was finally satisfied, and Madam Sayre urged her to go to sleep for the day, since the next day was going to be quite hectic for the newest Muggleborn in the MCC.
As Hermione lay in her bed inside her own dormitory, she thought about her day, hoping that she wouldn't wake up tomorrow to realize that it had all been just a dream.
A/N: Please leave a review, your thoughts (especially constructive criticism) are appreciated.