Hermione Granger and the Year Hidden from Hogwarts
Harry Potter Fanfiction
Chapter 30
A/N: Here's the conclusion to this story. I hope you enjoyed it. From here on out, we'll have the full Harry Potter cast as we head into the second year, so keep an eye out for the sequel.
June 7th, 1992
"Fizzing Whizbees," Filius stated clearly to the gargoyle, stepping in as the statue spun around to reveal stairs. He climbed to the top, not bothering to knock. Albus was the one to call the meeting.
Inside the room, he saw he was the last Head of House to arrive and claimed the empty chair between Severus and Minerva. Severus had been gloating lately about winning the House Cup, and the feline animagus was as competitive as they came, even if she considered herself to be the most professional of them all, her intense rivalry with the house of snakes had always been her small allowance of the depth of her true personality beneath the strict professor visage. The Marauders and, to some extent, the Weasley Twins had been the only ones to not fall beneath her intimidating aura. Filius was certain the Weasley Twins would be no less incorrigible than the Marauders once they grew into themselves.
They were only in their third year, after all, and he'd already started keeping a mental tally of the amount of times Minerva ranted and raved about their wasted talents.
"Ah, Filius, welcome. Would you care for a lemon drop?" Albus asked, holding out the brass bowl of candies.
Minerva pursed her lips. "Honestly, Albus. Lemon drops? At a time like this? One of my students is in the Hospital Wing and has yet to regain consciousness. Three days, Albus. Three days!"
Filius politely waved off the offer. Even if he'd wanted one, how could he have accepted after a statement like that? Potter and Weasley had nearly died.
Severus snorted. "You're only upset because your precious Potter wasn't there to win the last match of the season."
Minerva looked to fit to burst, and Albus wisely stepped in, navigating to the purpose of the meeting. "Although I do believe Minerva's concern stems a measure deeper than just over losing their star seeker, Harry's tendency to run into danger with the youngest Weasley does pose a concerning situation."
Pomona snorted. "Were it not for my star pupil, Longbottom, trying to help them regain points by revising them about herbology on the side, I doubt they would've made it past the first obstacle."
"Either way, Albus," Minerva jumped in, turning to him. "How is it possible that you never suspected Quirrel? You're a Legilimens."
"Yes, and when I interviewed Quirrel for the post, I suspect he was acting of his own accord. Once what I believe to be a shade of Voldemort had latched itself onto him, the man made himself scarce. And I admit that I was so worried about the stone and Harry's safety that I overlooked one of our own as the suspect."
Severus scoffed. "Surely, you do not believe this was the work of the Dark Lord?"
Albus popped one of the lemon drops into his own mouth, sucking on the sour burst of flavor as he considered his answer. "I believe that Harry will be able to confirm my suspicions when he wakes."
"Merlin help us all," Pomona breathed, falling back into her seat.
"And what of the stone?" Minerva prodded.
"Nicolas spoke with his wife, and they've both agreed that the only course of action is to destroy the stone. They're using the remainder of their elixir to get their affairs in order, but I believe the Flamels are both very content with this choice. They've lived over six hundred years. To them, death is but their next great adventure."
Minerva sniffed and dabbed at the corner of her eye.
"Now, as to matter of the rumors floating around, I suspect any attempt to dispel them will only flame the minds of those with active imaginations. For now, we will remain silent on the events of Thursday. Minerva, I would encourage you to speak with the youngest Weasley and recommend he do the same. Hogwarts' rumor mill has always been active—"
"Yes, but with one student injured, another in the hospital, and a professor dead, wouldn't it be best to make a statement?" Minerva argued.
"And we will, but only after we have all the pieces to the puzzle, which Harry will no doubt be able to provide once he wakes. For now, I fear it is just a waiting game."
Severus stood. "Tch. I have papers to grade. If that is all."
He swooped from the room, and Filius couldn't fault the students for their referencing to him as the dungeon bat—another spot of mischievousness from the Weasley twins that Filius had only discouraged if a student blatantly disrespected another teacher in front of him.
Pomona also stood. "I should go as well. I'm glad that Mr. Potter is okay, Minerva, but I still have several projects to grade and harvest and prepare for Severus' stores. It's a busy time for a herbologist, you know. Mustn't tally or things will start to wither and rot."
When it was just the three of them, both Minerva and Albus turned to Filius.
"Ah, yes?" he squeaked.
"Do you have more information on your special case?" Albus asked, steepling his fingers.
"Oh, other than I discovered she'd been threatened with her parents' safety to move into the government building and do what they told her…" Yes. "…no."
Albus' head tilted, and his blue eyes seemed to twinkle. "Interesting."
Filius wasn't sure why he hadn't told them about her wild magic abilities, even without a wand, or her affinity for the dead. He hadn't told them about her ties to two ancient and noble houses, nor about anything involving the goblins—and certainly nothing about the nundu. He still couldn't believe it.
Even Newt Scamander, the most skilled and renowned magizoologist in the world, always said that the nundu, especially a wild, rampaging one, took no less than one hundred skilled wizards working in tandem to contain the one that resided within his special suitcase for decades. He'd been able to tame it and care for it until it died naturally, but it'd certainly taken him years to gain that level of trust.
No, he hadn't shared anything about Miss Granger, other than the government had mistaken her ability to see the dead as being a psychic, and then how they'd gotten her to move out.
"Not so interesting, I would say as she's probably just being cautious. People that were supposed to be helping her navigate through her difficulties turned out to be using her ruthlessly. I'm not surprised she would keep adults at arm's length."
Which was why it surprised Filius all the more at how quickly she'd bonded with him, even before signing a contract that allowed him to act on her behalf.
Minerva sniffed. "That is unfortunate. Well, if she's not too attached to you, then I'm more than happy to add her to my schedule when I start making rounds to visit all the Muggle-born families."
"No!" Filius blurted before calming down. "I mean, it's not a problem. I have to meet with the team of obliviators anyway to check that I successfully wiped everything involving Miss Granger from their records, and then I'd promised to check in with them once that was finished since I would already be in London. It's really no trouble at all. And while Miss Granger hasn't confided much in me, I do feel like it would be detrimental to juggle her about. Since I've met with the parents before, it would probably be best not to switch things up. It would be no trouble at all."
Minerva gave him a shrewd look. "Filius, you're not trying to convert this child to your house because you find her puzzle interesting, are you?"
Filius wanted to snort because how could he convert Miss Granger when she was already a direct descendant from Ravenclaw? Instead, he went with, "No more than Severus accusing you of being solely concerned about Mr. Potter in that he is your prized seeker."
Minerva looked ashamed and nodded in concession. "Touche, Filius. I'm not in the most pleasant of moods. These last few weeks have been trying to say the least."
Filius waved off her apology. "Say no more. Now, I do have one matter to discuss. Miss Granger has asked me to inform you that she'd like to be placed with her fellow classmates as a second-year student next year."
Minerva spluttered. "Why? She has no connections with them. She'd be able to blend in much better as a first-year enrolling as the rest, especially when she goes to be sorted."
Filius held out his hands wide. "I explained that to her, but she has a keen mind. She skipped a grade in muggle school and would've another if she hadn't been busy juggling her responsibilities at that secret muggle government building. I've no doubt that she would be able to keep up."
Minerva shook her head, concern lining her face. "Be that as it may, but intelligence is not a guaranteed indicator of an ability to thrive with magic."
Albus nodded. "I agree. We could possibly be setting her up for failure. You know how Muggle-borns are looked down on by certain families. Not only would she stand out as an anomaly once they realized they had a new peer in their classes that'd only been sorted this year, but if she falls behind, it would open her up to those individuals with strong views on blood supremacy."
Filius nodded. "She had a suggestion. In her muggle schools, they would make her perform tests to display her ability to advance. We could do the same, give her first-year exams during the summer, and if she can pass, you let her join her rightful class."
Minerva tilted her head. "Clever. I can see why you want to get your talons in her."
Filius turned on her. "Is that a reference to my goblin blood?"
"No," she said. "It is, however, a reference to your Ravenclaw pride and your tendency to scoop anything up of interest and bring it back to your eagle nest."
Filius grinned. "If you met her, you'd be doing the same, you proud lion."
Minerva's lips twitched, and she didn't deny or agree.
"I'm sorry," Albus continued. "That is a nice solution, but I just don't see how a student—a Muggle-born one at that—could possibly hope to pass a full year's worth of curriculum."
"Give her the chance," Filius insisted. "It would make a great story if she rose to the occasion."
"Very well," Albus conceded. "We will hold these tests for her two weeks before school resumes. That should ensure she has ample time to study the material, but also allow enough time for her parents to make the trip to Diagon Alley and purchase the second-year school supplies if that is necessary."
Filius was pretty sure she would have her hands on the second-year curriculum soon, if not already. They'd already been in to collect her wand from Ollivanders, so she would be able to owl order on her own now, and she had every bookstore catalogue in Wizarding Britain. Between that and being able to charge a tab through the prestige of her vaults, she would be unstoppable in her quest for knowledge this summer.
"Thank you, Albus," Filius nodded. "Now, I must go. I've a meeting with the obliviators soon."
They said their goodbyes, and Filius turned down the offer to Floo to one of the London locations. Instead, he walked to the ward boundary surrounding Hogwarts and apparated with a crack.
Filius glanced up at the brown brick two story house nestled in the cul-de-sac before he approached, giving the door a swift knock.
In no time at all Dr. Granger, Emma, as she'd insisted he call her, opened the door before her eyes travelled down.
A large smile stretched her face. "Oh, Filius, do come in. I'll set a pot of tea on."
Filius followed her inside. "I'm afraid I can't today, Emma. Hello, Richard," he greeted as Hermione's dad joined them from the side room to see who'd appeared.
His eyes lit up. "Filius! How's my daughter's favorite person?" Before Filius could reply, Richard continued. "Hey, between you and me, what are the odds that Tootsie would notice if that erkling of hers went missing? I know he's to blame for my suddenly missing jumpers."
Emma huffed at her husband. "Oh, honestly, Richard. You're only saying that because you hold a grudge against him for what he did in Russia."
Hermione had been distraught when after Filius performed the memory charms on the muggles in the laboratory that she'd returned to find some of her parents' memories affected as well. Luckily, due to their familial bond, they'd only lost the memories of Lake Baikal and Ignis, so he'd been able to restore them.
Richard cast his wife an incredulous look. "Aren't you?"
Emma sniffed. "Of course. She's my baby, but he's changed now. Surely you must see that."
Richard crossed his arms, and Filius had to fight off a smirk.
It'd gone against his every instinct as a Hogwarts professor to allow a child-eating beast to continue living in close proximity with Hermione, but after testing out the bond for himself, and seeing just how complex it was, he'd conceded.
"Ahem, excuse me. I hate to be rude, but I just wanted to drop Hermione's latest books off and tell you about the meeting I had today."
"Oh, no, we're the ones being rude," Emma insisted, calling up the stairs for Hermione. "Let's talk in the living room."
Filius gave himself a nonverbal, wandless boost up on the couch, something he'd mastered at a young age since it was undignified to be scrambling up onto the Grand Hall's bench seating for every meal as a child.
Once settled, he glanced around, chuckling at the stacks of books and random bits of magical trinkets lining the furniture.
Guessing what had him so amused, Richard gave him a sardonic look. "Yes, Tootsie has gotten the hang of owl ordering now that she's got her wand. I fear your job as her overworked carrier might be drawing to a close."
Filius grinned. "Have you picked out a personal owl?"
"Well, no. We've been by a few times since. I have to admit, Emma and I are just as fascinated as Hermione, so we've been by at least every other weekend. It's addicting. But every time we enter Eeylops, she just says none of them feel right. Feel right. Can you believe it?"
Flitwick chuckled. "Well, no matter now. It seems you've got a handle on venturing to Diagon Alley and utilizing the Owl Post Office."
"Yes, Mum?" Hermione appeared at the top of the stairs, hunching over to glance through the archway into the living room. "Flitwick!" she called, racing down. "You're here!"
"I am, but I'm afraid my time will be short. I have to get to meet the Obliviation Team at the Secret Service Headquarters." Filius warned.
She nodded, some sadness entering her eyes. She'd confided in him about her closeness to the two lab doctors.
Wanting to cheer her up, he added, "I mentioned your wishes to the Headmaster, and he agreed to allow you to start your second year on the condition that you pass the first year exams which he said you may take two weeks before the school year starts."
That did the trick, perking her right back up until she realized she only had ten weeks to study. She disappeared back up the stairs so fast, he might have suspected some form of apparition at play if he hadn't seen how fast she could dodge and dive before the nundu turned her bubble-shielded form into a toy to bat around.
Filius laughed before informing them on more details he was sure Hermione would ask once she had more time to think on the matter. Then he popped away, reappearing with the team of obliviators on the sidewalk.
"Ah, Flitwick," the lead obliviator, Donald, called out when he spotted him. "How are you at the disillusion charm?"
"I'm a charms master, so fairly good."
"Excellent. We thought you'd be able to guide us right into the correct lab, and then we could work our way out from there instead of bursting in through the front door. Our foreign counterparts already hit up the lab in China and Russia's Kremlin building. Oddly enough, the Chinese had already done a round of oblivation, but you mentioned that might be the case. At any rate, they came clean about operating in British territory while trying to clean up what they thought was a breech in the Statue on their part only. Since the leak in fact originated from our shores, there wasn't much we could do to reprimand them for sneaking around beneath our noses."
"Of course. Other than politics and foreign relations, were there any other problems?" Filius asked.
"Other than being drawn out?"
"Really?"
"Yeah, in fact, they just finished wrapping up since they wanted to make sure the information hadn't spread beyond the three areas Miss Granger mentioned to you. Luckily, they were all playing their cards close to their chest, not wanting to share the information with more than necessary. Still, this has been a nightmare. We haven't seen a case this big since You-Know-Who."
"As long as that's sorted. Will Miss Granger be facing any repercussions?"
"No, as she didn't know about magic. Dumbledore already threw his weight around. As a minor unaware of the Wizarding World he argued that her actions fell under the same protections we afforded breeches in the Statue due to uncontrolled magic. The vote passed through the Wizengamot by a hair, but that's blood prejudice for you."
Filius breathed a breath of relief. He hadn't informed the Grangers that this had been a possibility, and he was glad he hadn't. "Alright, get your first men ready for apparition."
They worked on a tree system. He popped in the first three people. They disapparated away and each brought back three people. And in no time at all, they were nearly done.
While they were doing so, Filius approached one of the desks lined with odd looking picture boxes and a still-photo frame. It was of the two doctors he'd had to obliviate the most memories from, but their spacing in the photo was suspect, as if a small, Hermione-sized person had originally stood between them, wearing a matching, toothy grin to match the two doctors.
He picked it up, waving his wand at it, but nothing happened. He couldn't bring Hermione back to the photo, just like he couldn't recover her memory within the two men from the picture. Unlike her parents who shared a familial bond to protect them, Dr. Hampton and Dr. Saxon shared no blood and possessed no magic, so their memories were irretrievable, as he'd had the unfortunate burden of explaining to her.
He replaced the photo on the desk and glanced around, watching as the obliviators worked like a well-oiled machine, gathering stunned people in the room they'd coopted for their base of operation and checking their memories, while another person accioed anything relating to Hermione Granger and the magical world. Luckily, there was a team to contain the spell within a small area so they weren't bombarded by the building collapsing in on itself if the Wizarding World's secrets had spilled that far—which they had considering how many boxy, delicate things flew at the caster, strings trailing behind them like strands of rainbow.
Despite Filius' scare, the team of them must've been prepared for a scenario like that because three of them that weren't working on the shield to contain the radius of the spell's reach had several protegos at the ready to protect the poor wizard at the epicenter.
They would be at this for days.
Donald approached. "Thank you for bringing us to this lab. It's acting as a great temporary headquarters."
"No problem. Besides, if there's one place where Miss Granger's footprint will be, it's here."
Donald nodded, watching with him while his men worked in their crews.
"What will the muggles think happened here?" Filius asked after a time.
Donald tilted his head. "We've got a cover story of sorts. The people in charge will think that a rival broke in and looted them. They will look into securing a new secret location. I doubt they stay much longer than a year, two at the max if they try to set a trap to catch who did it."
"Who will they think did it?"
"No one," Donald shrugged. "They will have their suspicions and relations will be tense, but it's better not to point any fingers, especially with the political climate the way it is at the moment. That's all we'd need is another world war breaking out on the muggle side like what happened when Grindewald's crimes spurned the second world war."
Filius nodded, glad that they employed experts that kept their thumb on the goings on of the muggle world. "And what will they think they were researching all these years?" he asked, remembering the soft way Hermione had spoken of her lost friends.
"That they were close to a breakthrough in creating some animal cross hybrid, but all their data was stolen."
They watched as a confused woman was led into the room. Filius took a sick sort of satisfaction watching the way the woman—who'd committed the worst transgressions against Hermione, Ms. Walker as she'd called the woman—adopted a blank expression once more beneath the spellcaster's wand, her eyes glazing over.
It was almost too kind of a fate, to just have her forget all the harm she caused Hermione, but based on how shrewd and keen she'd been with Hermion, her mind was her power, and she'd had a large chunk of it altered.
Donald's brows rose. "I recognize that dazed expression. You were quite thorough with your wipe on some of them."
Filius shrugged. "I might've been a little heavy-handed in my anger. They were treating Miss Granger as a weapon, putting her at risk and coercing her to move from home by threatening her parents."
Donald gave a low whistle as he glanced around at all the weird contraptions. "Yeah, I was there for your initial report, and I heard all the details, but it just didn't feel real. In the Wizarding World, children are just so precious, you know?"
Flitwick nodded. "I do."
"Right, Hogwarts professor." Don laughed. "Well, at any rate, I think we've got a handle on the situation. They just had gaping holes in their memories, but we've got the best people on hand to falsify their memories, and with the ruling from the Wizengamot in Miss Granger's favor, there shouldn't be any problems. It'll just be tedious, repetitive work for the next few weeks or so, but I'll personally make sure these muggles won't be able to go after Miss Granger's family."
"Thank you."
"So, now that your job is done, you're free to go."
Flitwick nodded, glancing at the distance between the two doctors in the photo. He duplicated the picture and nodded his goodbyes to Donald who wisely didn't comment about his actions.
Flitwick thought Hermione would appreciate having this small memento.
The past shaped people into who they are today, so no matter how painful the memories would now be, that she, of all people, would appreciate this small reminder of those that helped make her so strong, brave, and intelligent because she'd overcome great adversity and grown all the stronger for it.
And maybe that shared adversity, having the deck stacked against them with prejudices and being underestimated, was what helped Filius start mentally planning out a schedule to tutor her this summer. He'd not had anyone in his back pocket, but he'd be in hers. She'd ace her exams, and one day, the world would know that Muggle-born Hermione Granger had fought off a nundu as a mere twelve-year old, without a wand, and lived to tell the tale.
The Wizarding World could do with having their very foundations shaken right to the core, and he would enjoy every minute of it.
June 8th, 1992
The elf flew through the woods, moving too fast for the human eye to detect as she dodged between tree trunks as thick as cars before stopping in front of one in particular. She used her sharp teeth to tear into the palm of her hand before smearing her blood on the knot in the gnarled, twisting trunk.
With little hesitation, the massive tree untwisted itself to show two separate trees that'd woven together to protect their world. She stepped inside, moving rapidly through the maze of tree houses and dirt paths as people with pointed ears went about their business.
She was on a mission.
On the human side, it was dusk, but here in Seete, it was midmorning, and scents of stew and sweet honeyed bread swirling through the air reminded her of how long she'd been mingling with the wizards on the other side.
The second she reported to the queen, she'd be hitting up her favorite tavern for a tall glass of honeydew ale and a nice Cornish pixie stew.
The guards outside the megalithic tree blocked her entrance at first, and she wanted to roll her eyes at them. "Really? Blark, Hornett, we went to school together. You know who I am."
"What is your business with the king?" the tall one on the left, Blark, took particular relish demanding.
She should've never agreed to that disastrous date with him years ago and listened to her instincts. Tired, cranky, and not wanting to mess around, she raised her voice. "I, Krisslan, have news of the one, the daughter of le Fay, and I will speak with King Arawn at once."
Blark and Hornett paled, with Hornett being the one to speak this time. He'd always been a gentle soul, but was often put into guarding people of importance automatically due to his large stature. "Is it true? Is it really her? The one from the fables?"
Krisslan's ears twitched, but she softened. "You know I must speak what I know to the king first, Hornett."
They both nodded and stepped aside without further issue, and she entered.
The sooner she unloaded what she'd learned while disguised as an obliviator, the sooner she could get drunk and forget everything she'd learned about Hermione Granger.
Then maybe she would be able to get a decent night's sleep without nightmares plaguing her.
One could hope, anyway.
A/N: This is the end of the first year. I'm still in the process of outlining the next book for year two. As of right now, I haven't decided if I'm going to do a novella for the things that will happen between now and the start of term, or keep a lot of the stuff with the other magical creatures to within the school year. That would mean less time with the Harry Potter characters, and I don't want to sacrifice that. It's still up the in air for now.
If I do a novella, the book will be much shorter than novel length like this one was and will be called: Hermione Granger and the Summer Before Hogwarts.
Not very creative, I know.
If I decide to instead skip over the summer scenes and make them happen at different times throughout Hogwarts, then the sequel will be: Hermione Granger and the Displaced Sorting.
Or something along those lines. I will put in the description what the sequel will be.
Also, some replies to the most pressing reviews fanfiction since there's no easy way to reply to them—even if I do love and adore each and every one:
Brithund: your reviews cracked me up, thank you for them!
Cassandra30: Thank you for taking the time to review every chapter when you were reading them!
Guest: I'm not sure who, but the one that mentioned the invisible Yeti comment, yes, that was the reason the British government was interested was the military applications including and not limited to stealth suits 😉
Kyuline88: Gracias por su repsuesta de mi pregunta! Es bueno verificar que alguien lea las notas que escribo en el comienzo de los capitulos!
Valiernienna01: Gracias por los commentarios de los Capitulos, y Tambien para escribir en Espanol para que practicarme. Muchas gracias! Estoy agradable que la quieres la historia! Y estoy de acuerdo contigo que es muy divertido exployar el mundo de Harry Potter.
TheReader81: Actually, I hadn't intended to include the part about the vaults having a special section. I only threw that in because when I went to select three numbers at random for the Ravenclaw vaults, I discovered from PotterWiki or Pottermore that vaults 1 and 2 had already been covered in canon. Since in my head I'd already considered Merlin and Morgana to be vaults 1 and 2 respectively, and I was too stubborn not to, I reworked it so that there was a separate section. In retrospect, it would've been more special if they were actually able to boast their own name instead of being numbered, but hindsight is 20/20, so we're stuck with this random piece of info from canon! Sorry there wasn't some elaborate plan in the works for that.