When Pandora Lovegood thought about the very curious girl Hermione, it was mostly to chuckle about how eagerly she was, no doubt, pursuing her research. She and Xenophilius had already sketched out research questions on the Deathly Hallows, which was his Holy Grail of the last several years, and probably could do with a fresh set of younger eyes.

She vaguely recalled that Hermione was "A Friend," and after taking several sensible precautions, she'd mostly forgotten her warnings, even though she was aware the girl had some kind of Seer qualities.

Unfortunately, perhaps, what her Arithmantic calculations were telling her was so big, it drove other considerations completely out of her mind. It wouldn't do to mess around, but her heart skipped a beat when she realised a family tragedy - really, The family tragedy - might be undone by research she could carry out.

Selene could be saved from her awful fate, the man who abused her so terribly before her sad, lonely death could be stopped. Pandora was almost certain now, given her calculations, that he didn't merely resemble Lucius Malfoy. He quite likely was him, which meant that she would only have to replicate whatever was allowing him to manipulate the Curio Shop to pursue Selene into the past.

She'd always felt a kinship to Selene, but she'd read her journal where she'd said a terrible tragedy would happen if she were to encounter a distant relative, one named "Pandora." That they'd be distant in time as well as place had not, apparently, been revealed to the poor girl. Witches were only allowed to study at Hogwarts on half of the weekdays in Selene's time, but she'd managed to teach herself what she needed to know. Ironically, Pandora would use her knowledge and Lucius Malfoy's (If it was indeed him) magic to interfere.

She would prefer to have Xeno home, but he had to go to a magizoology conference. Most people didn't realise that The Quibbler was credentialed as an international magizoology publication, so these events were required at least yearly. Xeno had discovered the common Snorcack, but after that, it had been variations on things like Bowtruckles or Nifflers that few others had the patience to find. He was usually allowed a few minutes after his presentation to have questions and answers on the crumple-horned Snorcack. Like Heliopaths, they were officially listed as dubious. Meanwhile, she might have trouble fitting her experiments in with watching Luna. In that light, it was a small comfort that Hermione and Harry Potter would be watching over her, too, on occasion, children though they might be.

It was speculative, could even risk a paradox, and was probably rather dangerous, but Pandora wasn't thinking of that now. A promise she'd made to herself reading Selene's journal when she was too young to see how impossible it was now was possible, and on top of that was the thrill of a challenge harder than anything in her past. Hermione Granger reminded Pandora Lovegood of herself. In full research mode, they were unstoppable.


Hermione and the dolls had a new "worst immediate enemy." He was the fly in the ointment, no matter which direction you looked. You could not reform Hogwarts School of W&W because he ran the board. You could not get the law on your side because he ran the Ministry. And through the Ministry or directly, he ran the only press in the wizarding world aside from the Quibbler. He was Dumbledore's "greater evil" justifying all the powerful positions he held. If Sirius Black died, his wife and son would probably inherit the Black family money.

In essence, Lucius Malfoy was the enemy, and Hermione couldn't see anything she could do about him. In fact, her life wasn't worth much if he found out she was investigating him. Which she was. Because the last two times she'd been to the Curio Shop, someone had eased out of the shadows then jumped back in as customers came and went. She'd made herself inconspicuous in Diagon Alley while trying to identify people from the books. She'd learned his profile and his appearance well. Lucius Malfoy was stalking Selene.