A deep thunder echoed across the stormy water as a metre-high wave hit the prow of the wooden ship, which glided silently, motherless, across the rough sea. The planks and floorboards of the old vessel creaked as the sail was caught by a strong gust. The unmanned steering wheel turned uncontrollably for a moment, then it stopped, as if gripped by the hand of a ghost, and steered against it. The spray of the waves spattered across the small deck, but the water bounced off an invisible barrier before it could reach the old wood. They were not far from Azkaban.
For hundreds of miles around them, there was nothing to see but the stormy North Sea. The eerie silence on board was broken only by the crashing thunder and lashing sea, and the lightning bolts of the storm illuminated the figure of a hooded man against the dark horizon. No lamps were burning on the ship, as was customary when crossing for the changing of the guard. He glanced over his shoulder and looked into the blank eyes of his companions for a moment. Everything was going according to plan. He narrowed his eyes as a tremendous bolt of lightning lit up the night sky and eagerly opened them only a moment later when he spotted the outline of the wizarding prison on the horizon. He bared his teeth and readied himself.
Some time later they emerged through the viscous wall of protective spells and as soon as they had passed the barrier he reached into his pocket. He pulled out one of the two potion bottles and walked a few feet towards one of the men who, since they had cast off, had been staring motionlessly into the vastness of the horizon. A wave knocked him off balance briefly, but a moment later he slipped two vials into the man's breast pocket and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Cheer up, it'll be over soon," he called out to Rupert Browning over the whipping wind and laughed when the man didn't bat an eyelid. When the black granite of the prison was close enough for the fire at the landing to be seen, he ordered his second companion to announce the changing of the guard with the lantern at the top of the mast. He then directed the ship with his wand to the mooring against the otherwise completely smooth stone wall and pulled his hood deeper into his face. He felt the adrenaline surge through his body with the rising tension. But instead of letting it unsettle him, he welcomed it with open arms and bathed in the incredible feeling of being back in action after so long in captivity. He would not let his master down.
"About time! You're a minute late!" the guard shouted with a sarcastic undertone as he descended the wet stairs that led from the prisoners' wings to the dock. "Who is..." was the last thing he managed to get out before the Imperius hit him and his gaze was filled with the same blankness that was visible in the eyes of the newcomer's companions.
"You two come with me, McAllister stays on the ship ," he ordered in his mind and immediately the guard turned on the spot and followed him up the black staircase along with Browning. It was an exhausting climb, but the closer they got to their destination, the faster his steps became. His hood was blown off his head by a strong gust of wind as they entered the roof of the prison, where the cells of the high-security prisoners were located. The rain was hammering down with full force against the black granite here. The prisoners on this level dwelled in magically reinforced cells that consisted only of metal bars on the outside to expose the inmates to the full force of the North Sea in addition to the torment of the dementors.
He ordered the guard to keep the Dementors away from them with a Patronus and his steps quickened as he walked between the rows, looking searchingly into the cells of the prisoners who held their arms protectively before their eyes in the blinding light of his wand. He recognised almost all of them, but he did not stop. Only one of them was worthy. He narrowed his eyes as he peered into a cell whose occupant was huddled against the bars of the back wall, unaffected by the light of his wand. A smile flitted across his lips as he held his wand higher and caught sight of the person he had taken this dangerous journey for. He had reached his destination.
"Trixie!" he said loud enough for the prisoner to hear him over the wind and a pair of eyes flashed in the shadows of the back wall of the cell. He repeated the call and was not surprised at the prisoner's hesitation; after all, only he had ever called her that. Moreover, she believed he had died here, just a few metres from where he stood, in Azkaban more than a decade ago.
"Can it really be?" breathed Bellatrix Lestrange from the shadows and Bartemius held the wand next to his face so that she could see it. Her dark eyes widened and she came leaping to the bars like a cat. "It's true!"
"We don't have much time, Trixie, give me one of your hairs and drink this," he said, handing her another potion bottle from his pocket before accepting the hair from her. "Drink as we discussed," he ordered Browning in his mind, levitating the hair to him, who caught it and stuffed it into the vial containing polyjuice potion. Bartemius ordered the guard to open the cell after Browning had transformed into an image of Bellatrix Lestrange. He grinned as he heard Bellatrix's laugh with Rupert Browning's voice and waited until the two had changed clothes and places before ordering the cell to be locked again.
"Here, drink this, there is no time to waste, McAllister must have completed his first watch round before the poison takes effect," he whispered to Bellatrix as he thrust the Strengthening Solution into her hand and ordered the Muggle, who was still under the Imperius, to take the poison that would stop his heart in an hour without any evidence of poisoning. He vanished the empty bottle and turned without a last glance at the Muggle. "Hurry," he said, and they rushed down the stairs to where the second guard of the prison, McAllister, was waiting for them right where he had left him. "Get below deck, no one can see us from now."
Bellatrix, in the guise of the Muggle, hurried to the ship while Bartemius moved the two prison guards into position and used Memory Charms to ensure that no one remembered that more than one person had come on the ship. Rowan McAllister blinked and rubbed his eyes for a moment. It took him a moment to get his bearings.
"Seems like it's time for a holiday," he thought to himself as he reflected on what he had been thinking about during the crossing, watching the storm and the sea.
"About time! You're a minute late!" he heard Tim Watson's voice say and chuckled. It was a running joke among colleagues to mock the tardiness of the fully automated magic ferries, which tended to miss their arrival times depending on the swell of the sea. He exchanged a few short sentences about Tim's shift and took over the magic signet ring that was used as the key on Azkaban.
"Safe journey home!" he wished his colleague and set off to do his first lap after watching the departing ship for a few seconds.
"Everything has gone according to plan! The Master will be more than pleased," Bartemius said as he stood on deck ten minutes later, having taken the Imperius curse from Watson as well. The Ministry official had disapparated home as soon as they had passed the wall of protective spells. Bartemius hoped that the Polyjuice Potion the Muggle had taken would last long enough for the exchange to go undetected. But even if it was discovered, the most important thing was that Bellatrix was now back with them. She was still very weak despite the Strengthening Solution, but her eyes widened at his words and an expression of wild elation appeared on the face that still showed the features of the man who would draw his last breath in Azkaban in a matter of minutes.
"Harry writes that a lot of students are spreading rumours about what's going to be so special at Hogwarts this year," Hermione said, waving her wand to summon a chocolate frog from the large pile of sweets lying next to Luna on the opposite bench of the compartment. She put the parchment aside and glanced at Susan and Ginny, who were sitting opposite each other by the window with their legs comfortably entwined. The purring cat Susan's parents had given them both was switching back and forth between them by the minute, as neither of them could get enough of their new, fluffy family member.
"My parents didn't want to tell me, but said there hadn't been this much action at Hogwarts in a long time," Susan said as she affectionately scratched the little cat behind his ears, which seemed far too big for his head.
"I've had enough for the last few years as far as action goes," Hermione said and the four of them laughed. She looked back down at her lap where the piece of Black Mail had lit up green again.
Harry Potter
Harry: Can I come over, or are the fans still queuing up for autographs?
Hermione: Give me a break. Maybe you can draw some attention away from me. I don't know how you've put up with it the last few years.
Harry: I'm trying my best, but you might as well get used to it...
Hermione had indeed been surrounded by her classmates from the moment she had been spotted on the platform and many had asked for her autograph. She had finally had to put her foot down in the compartment when people had clogged the corridor outside their door and had been peering through the compartment door's viewing window the whole time.
She had also had to listen to a few nasty comments from the Slytherins along the same lines as Dolores Umbridge, but Hermione had ignored them. She sighed, slipped the parchment into her shoulder bag and announced that Harry was coming over. Luna turned pink around the tip of her nose and rolled her eyes as Hermione, Susan and Ginny grinned at her.
"You better not make me look stupid," Luna said with a threatening look around the room and Hermione could tell by the look in her eyes that she meant her threat.
"Don't worry, but I'll just create suitable seating conditions real quick," Hermione said and with a mischievous smile, she levitated the mountain of sweets onto the empty seat next to her, so that now only the seat next to Luna was empty. Luna shrugged with a smile and leaned back as if nothing could harm her, but Hermione knew her heart was beating faster now that she knew Harry would be sitting right next to her. Not five seconds later, there was a knock on the compartment door and Harry dropped down next to Luna after glancing around. Their eyes met as their legs touched and they both immediately slid a little away from each other. It was hard for Hermione to keep a straight face.
"It's seriously war out there. You should just give everyone your autograph and answer their questions if you ask me, Hermione."
"It'll blow over," Hermione said hopefully, closing the compartment door with a wave of her wand and magically turning the glass milky again.
"Did you overhear something? Malfoy acts like he knows all about it," Harry said, grabbing a liquorice wand.
"Malfoy talks a lot of horseshit all day long. I'll bet you five galleons he doesn't have a clue," Hermione said and Harry nodded with a grin. "Well, I don't know what everyone's talking about, but I could tell you who the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher is if you don't want to wait until the feast," Hermione said, casually glancing at her fingernails, fully aware that the others would be dying to know before the rest of the school. They all looked at her expectantly and Hermione didn't keep them in suspense.
"Alastor Moody," Hermione said and as almost always happened when a familiar name from the wizarding world came up, Harry looked at her in confusion while the rest of the group raised their eyebrows with wide eyes. "Former Head of the Auror's Office and recipient of the First Class Order of Merlin for his services in the war against... You-Know-Who," she added, and Harry pushed his lower lip forward, impressed.
"He's said to be a real badass," Susan said, joining Hermione in recounting what she knew about the ex-Auror.
"Sounds like we're getting someone who knows his stuff again. Although I would prefer Remus," Harry said and Hermione nodded. She too was looking forward to the lessons the gruff wizard with the magical eye would give to her class and to her individually.
"Has Hermione told you guys what she bought in Diagon Alley yesterday?" asked Harry, grinning as her cheeks turned red. Luna, Susan and Ginny looked at her with interest and so she had no choice but to tell.
"A Firebolt," she said, glancing at Susan and Ginny who gasped and looked at her with their eyes shining. They exchanged a glance and then both looked at Hermione with mischievous grins.
"That still won't help you against us though," Susan said and Hermione rolled her eyes, but joined in the laughter of the others. "What are you doing with your Nimbus?"
"Give it back to the school, it wasn't mine after all. Maybe a talented Ravenclaw student will get it," Hermione said, giggling as Susan and Ginny looked at each other and rolled their eyes.
"And which one of you lot isn't talented?" asked Ginny with a grin, causing Luna and Hermione to giggle. They enjoyed the rest of the ride and Hermione amused herself by repeatedly levitating Harry a few inches towards Luna with an imperceptible movement of her finger, causing their thighs to lightly touch again. Each time Harry blushed, but Luna kept smiling shyly at him and so eventually he didn't seem to find the physical contact embarrassing anymore, which pleased Hermione. He said goodbye as they all changed into their school robes and a little later, to Hermione's surprise, joined them in the carriage that would take them to the castle with a grumpy look on his face.
"Ron's an idiot," he said miffed when Luna had asked him what was wrong, and Hermione looked at him with a furrowed eyebrow. No one had ever been able to separate the two of them before, but even during their visit to the amusement park and the Quidditch World Cup, Hermione had noticed that something had changed between the two Gryffindors.
"Yes, he is. But what did he do exactly?" asked Ginny, causing a short laugh.
"Wanted to know what I was doing with you guys and was ranting about you. Plus he doesn't want a Black Mail parchment and says all the time that it's a short phase anyway and a waste of gold. I got fed up at some point and told him to shut up. Then he said that I can ride to the castle with you girls if I enjoy your company so much, and here I am."
"You are always welcome here! There's only harmony here when we're not talking about Quidditch," Hermione said cheerfully, and they all laughed, knowing that almost every conversation they had was about Quidditch when Harry was around.
"I don't know what's wrong with him since the holidays," Harry said seriously, glancing at Ginny who also just shrugged her shoulders in consternation.
"Maybe he's jealous because you're so popular with the girls," Luna said and the others chuckled as Harry blushed, but Hermione didn't think it was far-fetched. Maybe it wasn't necessarily about the fact that Harry, unlike most of his male classmates, could talk to girls without getting nervous, but Harry's new living arrangements could definitely cause envy. Hermione, however, could not think of a solution to the problem that Harry could actively apply. She was glad to see his mood improve again as they were taken up the meandering path to the illuminated castle and looked forward to the feast irrepressibly. This time however, she was more looking forward to seeing Severus again rather than the actual feast itself.
When they entered the Entrance Hall, Luna screamed loudly as a water bomb hit her squarely in the face. Hermione glanced angrily up at Peeves, who already had the next water bomb in his grasp, and cast a nonverbal Full Body Bind curse. The poltergeist's arms and legs folded and he dropped to the ground along with the water bomb. With a loud splash, the water-filled balloon burst as the poltergeist fell through the solid stone floor.
"Bloody poltergeist! Are you okay?" asked Hermione of Luna, who was shivering with cold. She immediately conjured a heat sphere and dried Luna, who was already being cheered up by Ginny and Susan.
"That really hurt," Luna said, rubbing her still red face. Hermione put her arm around her, wondering why no teacher had stopped Peeves. She dried a few more grateful Hufflepuffs who had also been hit by Peeves on their way through the Entrance Hall. As they crossed the Great Hall, she felt her heart beat faster the closer her gaze came to the teacher's podium. Trying not to show her joy outwardly, she blinked rapidly when she felt the twinge in her nose that heralded her tears of joy. She hadn't seen Severus in over a month and his black eyes seemed to magnetically attract hers. A barely noticeable smile played around his lips as their eyes met briefly and Hermione couldn't help but enter his thoughts.
"Greetings, most wonderful appearing lady. I've almost forgotten the feeling thy ravishing countenance evokes in mine heart," she heard in his thoughts and immediately had to restrain herself from laughing out loud and blushing. She averted her eyes with a smirk and let the mental connection break as well. She was a little sorry that she couldn't answer him in her thoughts, but she was sure that he had recognised on her face how happy she was to see him.
Hermione dropped onto the bench next to Luna and smiled at the teachers, some of whom greeted her happily. Professor Moody sat next to Dumbledore and let his magical eye move quickly between the students until it finally rested on Hermione for a few seconds. She nodded to her new teacher and waited eagerly like the rest of the students for their Headmaster to start the feast. After an excellent meal, Hermione rested her head on Luna's shoulder and listened to the Headmaster's words. Soon, however, her head shot up again as Dumbledore announced that this year the Triwizard Tournament was being held at Hogwarts.
"One champion each from Hogwarts, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang schools will compete in three tasks to determine the winner. However, participation is limited to students who are of age," Dumbledore explained, which caused some displeasure among the Gryffindors.
"Furthermore, there will be no Quidditch Cup of the Hogwarts Houses this year," Dumbledore said, raising his arms soothingly as almost the entire school jumped to their feet and made their displeasure known. Hermione's mouth was open as well and she sought the glances of Susan and Ginny.
"However, Quidditch will not have to be missed!" shouted Dumbledore now in a magically amplified voice to stop the commotion in the Great Hall. "Each of the schools participating in the tournament will form a team of the best players and compete in a tournament of schools for the Quidditch title!" shouted Dumbledore and the displeasure swung into boisterous cheers.
Hermione cheered too and looked to Susan and Ginny who were in each other's arms and looking at Hermione with glowing eyes. It took a while for all the students to sit down again and for Dumbledore to continue. He explained the rules of the two tournaments and announced the date of the trials for the Hogwarts team. When he reached the end of his speech, he cast a smirking glance at Hermione and raised his voice again.
"Furthermore, due to a special circumstance, a new school rule has been introduced this year that prohibits the use of the parchment called 'Black Mail' during class time. So whoever's parchment starts turning green in class will only get it back in exchange for detention. The punishment intensifies if the rule is repeatedly disobeyed. Due to the extremely pleasing circumstance that the inventor of this product is sitting here among us, I would like to express my compliments on behalf of the whole school to Hermione Granger, who has really managed to achieve a milestone in wizarding history!"
Hermione's face became very hot as the attention of the whole school was focused on her. Dumbledore then clarified that the ban was only applied in the classrooms and encouraged the students not to be deterred from continuing to use it to communicate with their loved ones in their free time.
Hermione happily snuggled up with Luna in one of the big armchairs by the fireplace after the feast and enjoyed the hustle and bustle of the common room on the first evening after the holidays with her. They wrote a little more in the group and discussed the two tournaments before Hermione charmed herself into a trance later when she arrived in her dormitory. Tonks wished them a good time and Hermione was delighted to read the next morning that there was a chance Tonks might be coming to watch the tasks with the Aurors.
The next day, classes passed quickly and everyone was eagerly anticipating their first lesson in Defence Against the Dark Arts after Fred and George Weasley had told Harry about their first lesson at lunch. In Transfiguration, Professor McGonagall once again reinforced her warning about the consequences if anyone was caught with the parchment, but also didn't miss praising Hermione for her achievement.
Since Professor Moody seemed to prefer teaching smaller groups, the Ravenclaws had Defence Against the Dark Arts along with just the Gryffindors. Hermione settled down next to Neville, as the seat next to Harry was already taken by Ron, and looked at the blackboard with joyful anticipation.
"Good afternoon. My name is Alastor Moody and I am here to teach you all what it means to defend yourself in the face of magic being directed at you. It has come to my attention that some of my predecessors have not really interpreted the title of the subject in the way that is appropriate in my eye," he said, glancing around the class with a determined look, who, despite his pun, held their breath in the face of his presence and authority.
"So why not start right away," Moody said, slamming his walking stick on the floor, whereupon a red flash shot towards Hermione. She managed to yank her wand up at the last moment to protect herself against the stunning spell nonverbally. Hermione's hand shook under the force of the spell and she realised immediately that her shield charm would not have withstood another of his stunning spells.
"Constant vigilance!" rumbled Moody, causing the surprised students to wince. "Fifteen points to Ravenclaw, Miss Granger. That was a truly fine reaction. Not even the seventh years could fend off my stunning spell."
"Thank you," Hermione said breathing heavily, feeling her rapidly pounding heart slowly calm down. She was still surprised by the fact that Moody had been able to cast the stunning spell without his wand, which lay behind him on his desk. Either he had a second wand in his walking stick, or he could cast spells without a wand like Hermione.
Moody's actions had caused both him and Hermione to have the respect of the entire class if that hadn't been the case before. They all had their wands gripped tightly and were obviously expecting to be the next target of a stunning spell from Moody.
"This motto has enabled me to bring some of the most notorious wizards and witches to Azkaban in Lord Voldemort's time," Moody said and, as was to be expected, the entire class except Harry and Hermione flinched. "Those who wish you harm do not need to use dark magic. Keeping a watchful eye on your surroundings is the first step to survival. However, if it actually comes to you facing a so-called black mage, in my experience there are three curses you need to be particularly prepared for. Does anyone know which curses I'm talking about? Longbottom, correct?"
"Yes sir, you probably mean the three Unforgivable Curses."
"Exactly. Five points to Gryffindor. Five more points for anyone you can name."
"The Cruciatus Curse," Neville said tonelessly and Hermione could see Moody eyeing Neville for a moment before he nodded.
"Five points to Gryffindor. The Cruciatus curse is the torture curse. Many who have experienced it would have been better off being killed. The curse cannot be warded off and your best chance of avoiding it is to dodge it. Does anyone know how to recognise the spell?" asked Moody, glancing around for a moment. "No? That relieves me," he said, waving his wand, whereupon a description of the curse appeared on the blackboard.
"The curse is a long, brownish bolt of lightning. I will now show it once and will not repeat it. Anyone who thinks they have something better to do will have detention with me and believe me, I have you all in my sights," Moody said, pointing to his magic eye, which quickly twitched back and forth between them. A pin could have been heard dropping in the classroom as Moody, with a sweeping flick of his wand, conjured up a practice figure that Hermione had used several times before in the Room of Requirement for her exercises. She was glad that Moody wasn't demonstrating the curse on any living creature and watched intently as he stepped into the other corner of the classroom with the loud sound of his wooden leg so that there was as much space as possible between him and the figure.
"Crucio!" shouted Moody, moving his wand more extensively than necessary, but Hermione realised immediately that he wanted to show them the move in the best possible way. A flash of brown lightning shot from his wand and hissed towards the figure with a dull buzz, which caught fire instantly, extinguished a moment later by Moody.
"If it can be proven that you even cast this spell against a creature such as a snail, you will spend some time of your life in Azkaban," Moody said into the tense silence of the classroom.
"Yes, Mr Longbottom?" said Moody, nodding to Neville as he held up his hand.
"Can... um... can we practice dodging the spell?" he said, blushing as the class gave him shocked looks.
"That will be part of the lessons this year, yes. Of course, you won't be dodging the actual curse in the process, but I will be training you all to dodge spells that can't be deflected with a shield charm. Can anyone tell me another one of the three curses? Weasley, isn't it?"
"Yes sir, the Imperius Curse."
"Correct. Five points for Gryffindor. That curse has caused the Ministry quite a headache," Moody said, explaining the Imperius Curse, but confining himself to an explanation with a note that they would be training to resist the curse over the course of the year.
"But sir, the curse must not be used!" interjected Parvati Patil and Moody fixed her with both his eyes.
"Explain that to the Death Eaters and other criminal wizards who will put it on you without batting an eyelid," he said and continued. Parvati pressed her lips together and seemed caught off guard by this statement. Hermione could feel for her, for most of the children of wizards and witches had grown up in peace for the past fourteen years and had not had to fear Death Eaters.
"The last curse? Anyone? Potter, how ironic," he said, chuckling for a moment.
"The Death Curse," Harry said, keeping his cool as usual as the gaze of everyone present fell on his scar.
"Five points for Gryffindor. I think the name explains the effect enough. Another curse that can't be deflected. Don't try to imitate Mr Potter, no one has an explanation for that," Moody said, straightening the wooden figure with a wave of his wand. Hermione felt a little queasy as she vividly remembered that this curse had already been performed with her own wand, even if she had had no control over it at the time.
"As with the Cruciatus Curse, if you are proven to have used the curse against living creatures, you will face a trial, which in most cases will result in life imprisonment in Azkaban. Attention. Avada Kedavra!" shouted Moody and let his wand fly forward in a lightning-like motion that closely resembled the shape of Harry's scar.
The green spell flew across the room with a bloodcurdling whirr and struck the wooden figure squarely in the chest. The destructive power of the spell was demonstrated despite its lifeless target, for the figure dissipated in a cloud of fine dust that slowly trickled to the floor.
"Um, sir?" asked Terry Boot, who had hesitantly raised his hand after Moody had cleared the dust from the floor with a wave of his wand. Moody nodded at him. "Sir, why is the Death Curse unforgivable while other spells, the misuse of which could also result in death, such as Incendio, are not classified as such?"
"That's a good question, which I hope everyone in this room has asked themselves. Well, first and foremost, the intention to definitely kill someone in cold blood without the chance of defence is a factor that sets the spell apart from other spells. But yes, as you pointed out, Incendio can also be used to kill a person and probably the victim would wish it had been the Death Curse. The Wizengamot of course rates such a case equally, if not more severely, however, this is already getting too much into magical law, of which you will hear plenty more if you aspire to become an Auror or a Lawyer. The death curse is to be connected with murder in 99.9 percent of the cases and thus has been classified as unforgivable. So it does not apply that you can get away with another spell if you kill someone with it or cause them serious harm. A good critical question, Mr Boot. Ten points for Ravenclaw."
The rest of the lesson was similarly impressive as Moody recounted some of his most famous and spectacular arrests. Unlike Lockhart, however, he did not focus on himself, but on the challenges his opponents had presented him with.
"Miss Granger, a word, please," Moody called out as Hermione had packed up her bag after the lesson and was already heading for the door. "A really good shield charm. I think we'll make good progress in the practice lessons on the weekends," he said when she arrived at his desk. Hermione thanked him and smiled as Professor Moody thrust what appeared to be a blank parchment into her hand.
"That makes it easier to find an appointment. Really great magic."
"Thank you, Professor," Hermione said, fighting against blushing in front of Moody. After he sent her out, Hermione ran after the rest of the students and caught up with Neville and Harry on the grand staircase because Neville had gotten stuck in the trick step as he often did.
"Wow, what a lesson!" said Harry to both of them as they walked down to dinner together.
"He displayed the curses really impressively," Neville said appreciatively, gasping as he was bumped into by Ron, who walked past them at a fast pace. "What's his problem, exactly?" asked Neville, glaring after Ron in confusion and also a little anger. Harry excused himself and ran after the redhead.
"Don't worry about it. By the way, that was really brave of you earlier in class, Neville," Hermione said.
"What do you mean?"
"That you brought up the Cruciatus Curse on your own, even though..."
"Oh, you know about that?"
"Yes, sorry," Hermione said, only now realising her insensitivity, and looked at Neville with an apologetic look, but he shook his head.
"It's not like it's a secret, it's just that not many people know. How come you know about it?"
"I've been reading historical Daily Prophets for the past year and I found the trial about it."
"Oh, okay. Well, I'm really glad Professor Moody is going to show us how to recognise such curses and protect ourselves from them."
"Yeah. From what I can tell, he's going to give us quite a challenge," Hermione said, waving at Neville as they separated to sit at their respective house tables.
"Hi, Luna! Have you had your first lesson in Defence Against the Dark Arts yet?" asked Hermione after sitting down next to Luna.
"Yeah, first lesson this morning. Professor Moody stunned Colin Creevy without even using his wand!"
"He tried that with me too, I just managed to yank my wand up," Hermione said and they both giggled. After dinner, she noticed that one of her parchments had turned green and realised that Dumbledore had called her in for a short appointment that evening.
She made her way to Dumbledore's office at the appointed time and, once there, dropped into the comfortable armchair she had conjured for herself.
"Before we begin, there is another subject I would like to speak about," Hermione said as Dumbledore just sat down behind his desk. He nodded and gestured with his hand for her to begin. "First, I'd like to return the Nimbus," Hermione said, pulling the shrunken broom from her shoulder bag. She made it grow to its original size in her hand and placed it in front of the surprised Dumbledore. "I recently got a Firebolt with my own gold and hope that you will provide this broom to another talented student."
"As always, you are most obliging. As you say, I'm sure I can find someone to take it," Dumbledore said with a smile, levitating the broom into a corner of the office.
"I would also like to do my part to ensure that Muggle-born students can receive the same support in the future as I have. I would like to donate ten thousand Galleons," Hermione said and Dumbledore raised his eyebrows in surprise. Hermione looked at him sternly to confirm that she had thought it through and Dumbledore finally nodded.
"That is truly generous. On behalf of the school advisory board, I thank you for this donation."
"You're very welcome. I could never have done all this so quickly without your support, so you're sort of reaping the benefits with this," Hermione said with a grin and Dumbledore chuckled. "Also, Sirius Black asked me to give this to you," she added and Dumbledore accepted the letter that Hermione floated to him with interest. His eyes flew over the contract that, to Hermione's surprise, Sirius had drawn up without her knowledge and given to her on the platform before the Hogwarts Express had departed. In it, he had stated that any Muggle-born or financially challenged first year would receive one or more free copies of Black Mail so that they could communicate with their relatives.
"That is extremely generous as well, thank you very much. I will also send my thanks to Sirius."
"You're welcome. That's all," Hermione said with a smile as Dumbledore looked at her questioningly.
"Good, I've asked you here to discuss what I've been doing over the holidays. I have mainly been making enquiries into the whereabouts of the Slytherin medallion and Hufflepuff's cup, unfortunately with little success so far. I have therefore decided not to dwell on it and let the subject rest for a while. Perhaps it will help when I return to it later," Dumbledore said and Hermione nodded.
"Any news of Voldemort's current whereabouts?" asked Hermione and Dumbledore shook his head, smiling bitterly.
"However, with the announcement in the Daily Prophet about the Triwizard Tournament, most people should have missed the fact that Bellatrix Lestrange was found dead in her cell last night."
"I saw it, it was on page 14 in a two-liner. Seems the Daily Prophet doesn't want to run any news that has to do with Voldemort or his followers again."
"That is my conclusion as well. When I asked, I was confirmed that the body had been positively identified and handed over to the Dementors."
"Do you believe she is really dead?" asked Hermione, voicing what she had been thinking about the night before.
"She was identified by Tiberius Ogden, do you remember him?"
"Was that the wizard who visited the Gaunts that one night?"
"Very good, Hermione. Tiberius' judgement is usually to be trusted. However, we could approach another form of evidence, although we don't yet know much about how reliable that source is."
"What do you mean?"
"You could ask Harry if he had another vision or dream that Voldemort found out about it," Dumbledore said and Hermione nodded. Harry had not told her anything more about his visions in his dreams until now, however, they had never spoken privately in the last few days and had only communicated briefly via Black Mail. "Thank you very much, Hermione. It feels more and more like Voldemort is intent on drawing as little attention to himself as possible. Severus has told me through one of his contacts that the group of Death Eaters at the Quidditch World Cup acted without Voldemort's knowledge or orders."
"Why?"
"Severus says they wanted to take the opportunity to pay tribute to their former master. From what we've learned from Harry, however, Voldemort was not at all amused by it"
"True. Strange that he hides himself from his Death Eaters, don't you think?"
"Think about it, Voldemort doesn't know who he can trust anymore, especially if he's as weak as we assume. Many of the former Death Eaters have rehabilitated themselves and are publicly tolerated. Take Severus as an example, or the Headmaster of Durmstrang, Igor Karkaroff," Dumbledore said, to which Hermione raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Indeed, a former Death Eater is the headmaster of one of the schools that will be coming here to Hogwarts for the tournament in the autumn."
"Is that why you brought the tournament back to life?" asked Hermione, and Dumbledore smirked.
"Not directly, I could have just invited Igor if that was all I wanted. I was looking for a way to give Voldemort the seeming calm he undoubtedly needs to come back after the Quidditch World Cup. It will likely be all about the tournament this year when the tasks come up."
"But doesn't that put the students in unnecessary danger? What if he infiltrates his unknown servant among the spectators?"
"Security will be much higher than at recent tournaments and all tasks will have the minister present, which includes a battalion of Aurors."
"And Karkaroff?"
"Is a coward and should be wary of ever facing Voldemort or his followers again. He betrayed dozens of his former Death Eater colleagues as a key witness back in the day to gain immunity. I don't think he can ever be on his side again," Dumbledore explained and Hermione scratched her chin thoughtfully.
"I can understand that you want to lull Voldemort into a false sense of security, but wouldn't it be better if he couldn't come back until we destroyed the Horcruxes?" she asked and Dumbledore nodded.
"Undoubtedly, however, Tom Riddle is as naïve in some aspects as he is dangerous. He will be more careless in his approach when he has more power. Possibly we can use that to learn of more Horcruxes or their whereabouts."
Hermione pressed her lips together. She thought Dumbledore's plan made limited sense and the danger outweighed the benefits for them.
"Alastor is another one of those safety measures," Dumbledore continued, seeming to have noticed her unspoken criticism. "Having the best Auror of the century in close proximity to the students is a great safety factor in addition to my presence, don't forget that."
"Good, is there anything I can do to help with that?"
"I was actually going to ask you to keep an eye out during the time we have guests at Hogwarts and use your skills to look around a bit, if you know what I mean," Dumbledore said and Hermione raised her eyebrows in amusement. "I'm aware that I pointed out the moral doubts about this to you two years ago, but your abilities are too valuable not to be used to our advantage."
"Fair enough," said Hermione, looking expectantly at Dumbledore, for he did not give the impression of being finished.
"There is one more thing. I know we've already discussed your relationship with Severus. To make sure no one notices, I would prefer that you stay out of each other's way outside of classes and private lessons. I have scheduled another one-on-one lesson for you during the week for that purpose. I have left it up to Severus to decide on the topics. I'm sure you can find a good balance between free time and lessons that way. Is that all right with you?" asked Dumbledore and Hermione nodded enthusiastically. She wouldn't say no to another opportunity to see Severus officially. Happily, she stood up at Dumbledore's gesture, with which he made it clear that their meeting was over.
Severus Snape
Hermione: I'm so excited for the one-on-one lessons! And now we have even more time!
Severus: I'm looking forward to it too. Still, there are plenty of potions you don't know yet, and also plenty of ingredients we can collect together.
Hermione: A trip would be great. I'll let you fly on my Firebolt sometime.
Severus: I wouldn't say no to that. Will you sign up for the Hogwarts team?
Hermione: You bet! I wouldn't miss out on playing with Susan and Ginny.
Severus: If you play as you usually do, it shouldn't be a problem. In fact, I've often thought while watching that you could probably compete without a Seeker if the three of you were on a team together.
Hermione: At Hogwarts maybe, but we still have to train hard to compete against the best students from the other schools.
Severus: Undoubtedly. I hope you don't make us look old.
Hermione: Not even in your dreams! How was your day? Did you enjoy your lessons?
Severus: It was alright. One first-year accidentally put a few drops of his shrinking solution in his water bottle when he was bottling it...
Hermione: Oh no. Is he all right?
Severus: Yeah, wasn't much of a fuss, but of course, the first years were quite traumatised when he suddenly became a baby.
Hermione: I can imagine! Right in the first lesson. And you surely were mean to them.
Severus: No more than usual.
Hermione: Sigh.
Severus: The cover has to be maintained. Besides, it's fun being the evil, dark Slytherin Head of House.
Hermione: Just don't overdo it.
Severus: Don't worry. There's only one Potter at the school, after all. The other students are all right, for the most part.
Hermione: Harry's more than all right, too. I've seen enough in Sirius' memories and yours to know that he's much more like Lily in character than you think.
Severus: You're biased.
Hermione: You're one to talk!
Severus: Enough already. I look forward to seeing you in the classroom tomorrow night.
Hermione: Me too ❤
Severus: Good night.
Hermione: Sleep well.
Hermione quickly settled back into Hogwarts and enjoyed the first week of school to the fullest. During her one-on-one lesson with Severus, they had brewed a blood-building potion and then spent some time in Severus' office. He, like Hermione, wasn't too keen on Dumbledore's plan with the tournament, but it was beyond repair. The selection matches were scheduled for the weekend and so Hermione went to bed early on Friday night after her weekly practice session with Luna so that she would be well-rested the next day.
"All right! The cards are reshuffled this year! Do your best!" shouted Madam Hooch to the approximately fifty applicants who were interested in a position on the Hogwarts team. Among them, as every year, were a few second years who were trying their luck to break into the established teams, as Hermione, Susan and Ginny had succeeded before them.
However, it became apparent from their first trial around the Quidditch pitch that most of them were no match for the established players. First, the Beaters competed against each other and it quickly became clear that no one was going to get past Fred and George Weasley. The two of them simply had too good a knack for the bludgers.
Next, it was the turn of the chasers and Hermione made an effort to get into a group with Susan and Ginny, which earned her a sideways glance from Roger Davies, but she didn't care at that moment. Her goal was to play with Susan and Ginny no matter what. The three of them had used almost every evening of the first week of school for this, practising as a trio. It had initially felt to Hermione like she was a foreign body in the well-oiled machine of Susan and Ginny, who were producing goals like a conveyor belt, but the three of them were eventually able to use Hermione's strengths to their advantage, which they demonstrated impressively in the trial.
It required quite a bit of bravery for Hermione to execute her trademark, the Lee Jordan-titled Cannonball with the Firebolt. She felt the metal of the goal rings brush along the hem of her robe, but she made it through unscathed and then high-fived Ginny, who had presented her with an excellent overhead pass into full flight.
The three cheered profusely as Madam Hooch nominated them after all the chasers had presented themselves. They were instantly called up for the choice of keepers and asked by Madam Hooch to hold back a little to give the keepers a chance to show off their skills. McFinley and Marcus Flint went head-to-head, with McFinley winning by a hair's breadth, much to Hermione's delight.
Predictably, Flint was not pleased and got detention for instigating a brawl. Last up were the Seekers and Hermione fervently hoped that Harry could stand his ground against Malfoy, who had of course been given a Firebolt by his father. They each competed in duels and needless to say, Madam Hooch paired Malfoy and Harry off.
Madam Hooch released the game Snitch, which was noticeably more nimble than the practice model and it took a while for Harry to finally overtake Malfoy and catch the Snitch while hanging on to the broom with only one hand. Grinning with satisfaction, Harry returned to the mostly clapping students and Hermione cheered along with Susan and Ginny when Harry became their Seeker.
"Now that's what I call a team," Fred said, high-fiving his new teammates along with his brother.
"We're going down against Durmstrang! I think I'll change schools first before I support that joke of a team," Malfoy said, to which Ginny snorted.
"Seems like you can only buy your way onto your house team, Malfoy!" she exclaimed, causing him to blush. Hermione watched him closely as Ginny turned her back on him again and pulled her wand out of her forearm holster in a flash when she realised he was about to curse her.
"You'll have to get up earlier than that, Malfoy," Hermione said, catching his wand out of the air after she had disarmed him. "Fetch!" she called to him, like to a dog, and threw the wand across the stadium above Malfoy, giving it another push with a spell through her palm. Harry laughed as the wand flew about 50 yards and disappeared behind the walls of the Quidditch stadium.
"Hideous mudblood!" shouted Malfoy, running after the wand. Hermione laughed and gave Ginny a high-five, who thanked her and complimented her on her throw. There was not much discussion about McFinley becoming the captain of the team and they were all so motivated that they started a practice session immediately after Madam Hooch and the rest of the applicants had left the stadium. Happy and motivated, she headed for the classroom on the sixth floor that evening where Professor Moody had ordered her for her first individual lesson. She furrowed her brow as she stepped through the ajar door into the room, which was so pitch-black she couldn't even see her own hand in front of her eyes.
"Professor Moody?" she said, wincing as the door slammed shut behind her and a red glow shot towards her at the same moment. Just like in the first lesson, Hermione just managed to snatch up her wand and deflect the spell. She immediately braced herself for more spells to follow and jumped to the side as two spells came at her this time.
It was still pitch black and Hermione feverishly considered how to deal with the situation. First, she tried her mind-reading ability in the direction the last spells had come from, but she felt no response. Again, red flashes of light hissed at her out of nowhere and she dived as one of them bounced off her shield charm while the other shattered it like a thin window pane, missing her by a hair's breadth. She immediately scrambled to her feet and tried to light up the room with a Lumos, but her own spell blinded her more than it let her see anything in the darkness.
"All right, if that's the way you want it right away," Hermione thought to herself, conjuring a bolt of lightning that bounced off her wand and onto the opposite wall, briefly illuminating the room like a camera flash. She saw the shadow of Professor Moody in a corner and immediately followed her first bolt with a second to where she had briefly glimpsed him. When the second lightning bolt whizzed across the room, however, her teacher had disappeared. Hermione wheeled around and realised just as the lightning died that enchanted ropes were flying towards her. She reacted instinctively and conjured a blazing flame that reduced the ropes to ash and bathed the room in flickering light. This time she spotted a quick shadow and fired a stunning spell at it.
"Ever vigilant!" shouted Moody's voice behind her and Hermione realised it had been a trap as her wand flew from her hand. Hermione didn't give up though and cast a disarming spell in the direction she had heard Moody's voice from as well. She heard a clatter of wood on the stone floor beside her and couldn't stop a grin.
"Trade a wand for a wand," she said.
"Don't celebrate too soon!" shouted Moody and Hermione was too slow this time to dodge the Full-Body Bind curse. Her arms and legs folded and she toppled backwards but landed softly due to a cushioning charm. She cursed under her breath, annoyed that she had forgotten that Moody had already proved in his first lesson that he didn't need his wand. The light returned to the room as Moody lifted the darkness spell. Without making a sound - Hermione suspected a silencio - he stomped towards her and took the Full-Body Bind from Hermione, poking the floor with his walking stick. With a grin, which still took some getting used to for Hermione, he offered her his hand and finally pulled her to her feet.
"Thanks for the lecture, Professor," she said, summoning her wand to her hand.
"That was better than I expected for the first time, Miss Granger. I'd give you points, but Professor McGonagall outright threatened me. You don't want any trouble with that woman, believe me," he said and Hermione giggled.
"So you can do magic with your walking stick?" asked Hermione and Moody nodded. "Is there a wand in it?"
"The remains of my first wand, yes. Snapped on a mission and old Ollivander made me this handy stick out of it," Moody explained, tapping the walking stick on the floor, causing red sparks to flare from its tip on the ground. "As I learned in the course of our little skirmish, you don't rely on your wand either," he said and Hermione nodded as he eyed her with his so dissimilar eyes. "This is going to be an interesting year," he said, waving his wand, whereupon a table appeared on which stood a vessel with which Hermione was well acquainted.
"If you don't mind, I'd like to take a look at our duel with you a few times and talk through what can be improved and where we'll start next time," Moody said and Hermione approached the Pensieve, nodding. She let Moody go first after he put the memory in and followed him back into the darkness.
"You have already handled the situation well, however, you have been very defensive to the end. If you end up with the wrong opponent, you'll never get out of that defensive role, especially if he's up against you in a scenario that's familiar to him, like me. However, I don't want to be too hard on you because, for a fourth year, that was beyond my expectation," he explained to her as they looked at the flashes that flew through the pitch-black classroom from the memory in complete silence. When the memory ended, Moody conjured up two armchairs for them and dropped into his.
"Thank you very much, Professor. At what point do you think I should have switched to the offensive?"
"From the time you conjured the lightning bolts. I had enough time with both of them to move around you and cast more spells, although my rough position was known. Had you increased the frequency of the lightning bolts, I probably would have been hit by one of them and had to deflect it, which would have given you an opening to go on the offensive."
"I didn't mean to hurt you," Hermione said, to which Moody shook his head and tapped his forehead.
"And there lies the biggest mistake. You've been thinking too much. You assumed that in the room I invited you to, it was really me waiting for you. What if you had not encountered me, but someone else?"
"Then it would have been too late before I'd realised," Hermione said in consternation.
"If you are invited to dinner at the Minister's house, it doesn't mean that the Minister will open the door for you."
"You're right."
"Constant vigilance," Moody said calmly, and Hermione nodded. "Always assume the worst when you are ambushed. Very rarely will one of your friends pull a prank on you by starting with a stunning spell or worse," he said and Hermione took a deep breath. "Don't worry, we all have to learn that one day. Hogwarts is the well-protected egg from which we all hatch one day. You've really done great. Next time, I'd like to start by working with you on becoming more proficient at casting spells both with and without a wand at the same time, as I do with my walking stick."
"I'd love to," Hermione said, standing up.
"One more thing before you go, Miss Granger," Moody said, already on her way out with her bag over her shoulder.
"Yes?"
"I have been told by Albus that you have a keen interest in Potions and are also taking one-on-one lessons with Professor Snape. I had my reservations, but I trust Dumbledore. So why not take advantage of your interest? It would be good if you could brew a strengthening solution until next time. I'll then show you how to magically strengthen the glass so you can carry potions with you at all times."
"Okay, no problem," Hermione replied, having already brewed advanced tinctures in this area with Severus. She waved goodbye to Moody, who responded by nodding his head, and left the room, still overwhelmed by the lesson. It motivated her incredibly that Moody had shown her several of her weaknesses within the first minute of their lesson and she could hardly wait to continue. Half an hour later she dropped into her bed, exhausted, and charmed herself into a trance, where she found several new, unorganised books on several shelves in her mental library that very night.
"This is going to be an interesting year," she thought to herself as she recapped the lesson again in her mind.
The rest of the week flew by and Hermione was glad to finally be able to enjoy life at Hogwarts again. Because she had already passed her O.W.L. exams, she was free to skip lessons by arrangement with the respective teachers, but hanging out alone in the almost empty castle or in the Room of Requirement was something she was used to from the last few years, but it increasingly seemed like a waste of time if she couldn't find out anything more about the Horcruxes. So she enjoyed the company of her friends in class and, of course, didn't miss a second of spending time with Severus.
The night before her birthday, she joined her friends in the courtyard after dinner to enjoy what was probably the last nice late summer night of the year. The others kept dropping teases and meaningless hints about their presents, and so Hermione's curiosity grew as everyone kept telling her to wait for the next day, grinning broadly at each other each time. She was glad that the group that had found each other at the Quidditch World Cup continued to meet at Hogwarts and enjoyed the opportunity to laugh light-heartedly with her friends and discuss the happenings at Hogwarts.
When she walked into the Great Hall the next morning, she was surprised to find that for the first time in a long time, at this early hour, she and Professor McGonagall were not the only ones there. She laughed when she spotted the all sleepy-looking Harry, Neville, Luna and Susan all sitting at the Ravenclaw table with a cup of tea. Susan nudged Ginny, who must have been still a little asleep because her head rested on her arms and Hermione giggled as Susan gave Ginny a quick kiss on the cheek before they all started singing for Hermione. Birthday serenades had always made Hermione uncomfortable and she didn't know where to put her hands. She exchanged a quick glance with Professor McGonagall and thought she saw a gleeful smile play around her lips as Harry and Neville sang horribly off-key on purpose. Nonetheless, she was very pleased with the gesture and stormed towards them when they had finally stopped singing.
"Happy birthday!" shouted Susan loudly, hugging Hermione tumultuously. The others also congratulated her and finally pulled her to the table where, to her surprise, a particularly beautifully arranged breakfast appeared for her as she sat down.
"Dobby pulled some strings," Harry said with a grin as Hermione looked touched at the various dishes, which had her initials and little ravens worked into them in various ways.
"Thanks! That's really sweet. Also, thank you for getting out of bed so early," Hermione said, enjoying her breakfast with the others.
"Alright then, happy birthday!" said Harry when they had finished and handed her a beautifully wrapped package, the paper of which was adorned with little Snidgets, Bludgers and Quaffles. Hermione couldn't contain her curiosity and wasted no time.
"Wow, these are amazing!" she exclaimed when she had put on and examined the pair of Chaser gloves. She could tell immediately that they were high-quality gloves that had been expensive. She stood up and gave Harry a kiss on both cheeks, which immediately turned pink. "Thank you so much!" Next up was Neville, who had given her a book on enchantments in the various wizarding cultures of the world. Hermione gave him a kiss on the cheek as well, as she was very happy to receive it and took it upon herself to read it right away in the evening. Finally, Susan and Ginny couldn't wait any longer and were already shoving the next present in Hermione's direction.
"Greetings from Tonks too, she had the idea. This is from all of us," Luna said and Hermione curiously eyed the small box that had been in the package Susan and Ginny had handed her, alongside a mountain of sweets. Her curiosity was high, but she stuck to the traditional order and read the card that had been at the top of the parcel first. A tear rolled down her cheek as she read her friends' kind words and she thanked them before opening the small box and gasping.
"This is beautiful, thank you so much!" she said and lifted the medallion on its chain to see what was engraved on it. She recognised Celtic runes and it took her a moment to decipher what was engraved in the bronze metal. "True friendship is everlasting," she read aloud, unable to stop the tears.
"Open it," Harry said with a smile and Hermione only now realised that the round piece of metal had an inner life. She parted the two halves and her eyes widened as she saw the magical photo of Harry, Tonks, Luna, Susan, Ginny, Neville, Sirius, Remus and Dobby standing in front of Black Manor, all smiling and cheering for her, throwing confetti in the air and making magical paper streamers dance through the air. Hermione didn't know where to put her emotions and finally decided to give them all a long hug and express at least a little of her gratitude, which she couldn't put into words.
"This is the best birthday I've ever had," she finally said after putting the locket around her.
"Don't get too excited," Harry said with a mischievous grin, exchanging a glance with the others.
"What do you mean?"
"It might be that I slipped out in front of Sirius that you don't like a big scene and well, you know Sirius..."
"Oh no! You have got to be kidding!" said Hermione, her eyes wide as she looked around the now-crowded Great Hall. She eyed the ceiling of the hall suspiciously, under whose thick clouds the mail would arrive in a few minutes. Harry just shrugged with a grin and Hermione narrowed her eyes in warning. She braced herself for the worst and could only half-heartedly rejoice when, among all the owls flooding the Great Hall at once, she spotted Lancelot gliding towards her with a flat package.
"Hey," she said softly, petting her animal companion, who caressed her palm with his beak and cooed softly. "Thank goodness, it's from Mum and Dad," she said with relief as she glanced suspiciously at the sender of the parcel. She opened the parcel after setting down a large portion of scrambled eggs for Lancelot and smiled as she pulled out a beautiful leather-bound book.
"This is really nice," Luna said as she and Hermione took a look at the photo album, each double-page spread showing pictures from one year in Hermione's life. Hermione was fascinated by how much she had changed since she went to Hogwarts, knowing that she was a witch and realising that after three years in the wizarding world, she had less trouble seeing herself in photos from her previous life. She was so distracted looking through the photo album with Luna that she didn't notice how the sky of the Great Hall darkened briefly as a huge package, transported by eight owls, slowly floated down towards her. She was startled when the massive wooden crate crashed onto the table beside her with a huge thud, causing the entire Ravenclaw table to tremble. With a fear-filled look, she glanced at Harry, who was laughing as he freed the owls from their ropes, who were screaming reproachfully.
"Make some room," Harry said to some curious Ravenclaws and Hermione hid her face behind her hands. "Hi, it just arrived," she heard Harry say and glanced through her fingers. Harry held out his mirror to her, from which a euphoric Sirius grinned mischievously at her. They all jumped when, with a loud bang, the lid of the box burst open and four envelopes rose into the air. Hermione's eyes widened again as she realised they were Howlers.
The Howlers cleared their throats theatrically and Hermione realised with horror that the bang had now brought all the attention of the students and teachers to her and the box. As she had already feared, three of the Howlers lived up to their names, all singing in Sirius's voice at different pitches the worst, longest, yet funniest version of 'Happy Birthday' Hermione had ever heard. The fourth Howler imitated a violin in wry tones and accompanied the cacophony that resounded loudly through the Great Hall. She wanted to sink into the ground.
"Happy birthday, Hermione Granger! And if there's anyone around who hasn't noticed, they'd better pay close attention!" one of the howlers let out, and only a second later complete chaos broke out as the contents of the box revealed themselves and set off infernal fireworks. Countless rockets flew in loops through the hall, several firecrackers whistled through the air and finally formed huge letters that joined together to form 'Hermione Granger' and did a few rounds through the hall before they all exploded with a loud bang. Most of the students cheered and a glance at the teacher's desk led Hermione to suspect that Sirius had pre-arranged the fireworks with Dumbledore, who was watching the goings-on with seemingly serene glee.
"I'll get you back for that!" said Hermione as she wiped the tears of laughter from her face after the fireworks and took the mirror from Harry's hand.
"Happy birthday Hermione! I hope you like the other present we gave you at least!" he said grinning mischievously and Hermione thanked him for the medallion as well. After the last remnants of the fireworks had dissipated into thin air and the haze had cleared, some calm finally returned and Hermione thanked the numerous students and teachers who had congratulated her personally and also wrote briefly to Tonks, who had congratulated her via Black Mail.
She was glad when life at Hogwarts went on as normal after breakfast and enjoyed every second she spent with her friends and Severus on the following days. He had flown with her to the Isles of Orkney by broom on the evening of her birthday, where they had snuggled close to each other and watched the starry sky and the Aurora Borealis. Hermione could not have wished for a better birthday.
Susan Bones, Neville Longbottom,
Luna Lovegood, Harry Potter, Nymphadora Tonks, Genevra Weasley
Nymphadora: PASSED!
Hermione: Congratulations!
Harry: Yeah! Well done!
Luna: That's really nice, congratulations Tonks!
Neville: Congratulations, Auror Tonks!
Ginny: Oh, that's great, congratulations Tonks! Susan sends her congratulations too.
Nymphadora: Thank you, everyone! Oho, don't tell me you're writing this while you're 'busy', Ginny!
Harry: Why, Tonks? Why?
Ginny: Knew this would come now... We're just sitting together in the common room. Susan's Black Mail is in the dormitory.
Nymphadora: Anyone can say that... When is your first Hogsmeade weekend? I'd love to take you all out for a Butterbeer.
Hermione: November 12th. Would be really cool if we could see you there!
Nymphadora: Cool, I'll try to keep it free. What's going on at Hogwarts?
Harry: Not much, everyone is waiting for the other schools to arrive.
Nymphadora: How are the lessons with the old Mad-Eye?
Neville: Really good, we've been doing the Imperius Curse for a fortnight. Harry managed to shake it off yesterday too.
Harry: Neville and Hermione were quicker though.
Hermione: It's not a competition. Besides, we're the only ones who've managed it so far. So you don't have to worry.
Nymphadora: Wow! Congratulations, you three. It's really not easy. I remember how Mad Eye tormented me with it in my first year as an apprentice. Took me two months to figure it out. Two weeks, that's really quite an achievement!
Hermione: That doesn't mean we're immune, though.
Nymphadora: Of course, you play it down again. Has Mad Eye corrupted you that much already? Shoulders back, chest out, Miss Granger!
Luna: I wish we were doing that already. We treated a boggart last week.
Nymphadora: That's important, too. And believe me, you'll meet more boggarts in your life than people who put the Imperius on you. Mad Eye would disagree with me, but not everyone pulls out the three unforgivables right away.
Luna: That makes sense. Thank you, Tonks.
Nymphadora: Not for this. I'm really looking forward to seeing you guys again and hope it works out in November. I've got to go, have a good evening everyone! Especially Ginny and Susan!
Ginny: I knew there'd be more... Enjoy your evening, Tonks.
Harry: Give regards to Andy and Ted!
Nymphadora: I will! Thanks again for the congratulations, you're the best!
The days and weeks flew by and Hermione enjoyed the time of harmony while it lasted. To the astonishment of all the initiates, the Dark Mark on Severus' forearm had weakened again and Harry had had no visions either since Voldemort's unknown Death Eater had returned to him on the night of the Quidditch World Cup final.
Dumbledore assumed that Voldemort was using the silence to grow stronger, as he expected, but Severus did not trust the silence. Their search for the Horcruxes had not progressed either, even though Dumbledore had theorised about another Horcrux. However, there was no way to prove that the snake Harry said he had back with him was really a Horcrux. They didn't even know if living creatures could even be the vessel for a soul piece.
Hermione was training hard for the Quidditch tournament with Susan and Ginny and was able to find enough time to practice with Luna and spend enough time with Lancelot and his partner in addition to her individual lessons. Professor Moody trained hard as nails with her every weekend and only released her from the individual lesson each time when she had exceeded his expectations. Hermione could hardly wait for the other schools to arrive for the tournament. She hoped that it would make school life a little more exciting.
Author's Notes: Hey everyone, I hope you are doing great and that you liked this Chapter! As always, thank you for reading and also thank you to all the people that already left favorites, follows and reviews!
See you next time!
Kasing