Chapter One: Old Wood
As he walked through the deserted corridors of Hogwarts, his paces echoed within the old stones of the castle. He could feel the autumn wind from an open window not far from here. He still felt the tingling in his fingers from the work he had done on the old wand. He was confused about what he thought he had just discovered. It couldn't be real, but then, what else could it be? As he turned right in the dim light, he ran into Hermione, scattering all the books she had in her arms.
«Oh I'm so sorry Hermione. Let me help you.» He said, gathering the volumes from the ground.
«It's okay Nick, really, I was lost in my thought» She looked at him, frowning. «You look awful»
«Well thank you, really » he responded, smiling at her horrified face.
She hit him on the shoulder.
«Stop playing with me Nick. And really, you look tired, What's going on?»
He gave her books back and put some order to his robes before looking at her.
«Nothing, i'm just a little tired» He told her, running his hand through his chestnut slicked-back hair.
She gave him a last worried look and then smiled, a lock of her hair escaped from her hat and fell in front of her eyes. Putting it back, she cleared her throat.
«So, where were you going this late? Patrolling?» she asked.
«No, just finishing some late work. You?»
«Same, Ministry work doesn't know rest. There's so much to do, even years after the war. I'll stay at Hogwarts for some time, I have some work with Minerva. Still odd to call her by her first name.»
«Not for me! After all, I knew her as Minerva since i arrived here as a teacher»
They started walking through Hogwarts hallways while talking, stopping just outside Hermione's office.
«We should meet tomorrow, catch up. Why don't you come to the library after breakfast?» she said suddenly.
«Library, huh? Well, why not?»
They bade each other goodnight before he walked to his own office. As he arrived in front of the door, he looked up to the shiny golden nameplate.
Nicholas Beowulf Arundel McCallum
Magical Artifacts History
He was the first teacher to ever occupy this position since it was created a few years after the war, under McGonagall's reform of Hogwarts education. In front of the door, he unlatched the two hidden locks he placed to secure the entrance and walked in. He got off of his robes and hat, putting them on the armchair beside the mirror. He was, indeed, looking tired. He was taller than average, but not by far, well built with large shoulders and strong legs. Except now, he looked ten years older. He put the old wand on his cherrywood desk and stared at it for several minutes.
«So what now?» He said out loud.
…
After a late breakfast, he went to meet Hermione at the library. As he entered the sanctuary of knowledge he saw Sunya, one of the new senior students, seated in an old victorian chair, lost in a tremendous pile of old books, her glasses slipping down her nose.
As he walked through the silent room, she noticed him and, adjusting her glasses, smiled at him.
"Nick!"
He was startled by the whispering in his ear and let out a loud "Blimey!" before getting shushed by Madam Pince.
As he turned, he couldn't help but see Sunya repressing a laugh. Hermione was standing there, giggling, as he mumbled excuses to the librarian. She gestured to him to follow her to an ancient wood desk on which he could see a lectern supporting a very old book with a totally worn-out leather cover. He sat facing her and tried to read the title before realizing it was written in unknown runes.
"It's something I am working on, part of the reason I am here." she told him. "We are trying to understand how wizards sometimes can be born from muggles family, and this volume relates the research of a wizard who asked himself the same thing some centuries ago"
"Oh, I can see what benefits you could get from this discover" he said
"Well, it's not to the taste of everybody at the Ministry. That's why I took some distance"
They spoke for some time about her work, and she gave him news of her family. He couldn't help but inspect that old book on the lectern for it looked really ancient. The leather cover used to be brown, but it was discolored, the runes partially erased, and the brass corners almost gone. The parchment pages were looking so dry that they could crumble just by looking at it.
"What are you thinking?" Hermione asked him.
"I was wondering how old this book could be?"
"The wizard who wrote it died in 65 B.C, and we think it's the original, so it's over two thousand years old"
It immediately struck him, too much of a coincidence to not tell her, or at least to let her know some of it. It was probably not related, but he wanted to share his discovery with Hermione for some time anyway. Giving a last glance at the old book, he made up his mind and looked at her with a sudden seriousness.
"I have to tell you about something" He told her, lowering his voice.
"I'm listening" whispered Hermione, gazing at his hazel eyes, amused by his tone.
He glanced around, hesitating.
"Not here, we can't be heard"
As he stood up and turned from the table, he found himself in the path of Sunya, walking with her nose deep in a book. He tried to take a step back and fell on the carpeted floor. Sunya, losing her balance, fell on top of him with a cry of surprise. They stayed there, staring into each other's eyes for long seconds, their faces inches away, until the awkwardness of the situation became obvious to them.
They hurried on their feet to find Hermione staring at them with a mischievous look.
"Are you going to make all the girls fall, Nick?" She said, giggling.
"What? No! I…I just…" He stammered, his face going from light brown to crimson red in seconds.
Hermione laughed loud enough for Madam Pince to scowl at her.
"I think we should go now!" said Sunya, her face as red as Nick's, pointing to the annoyed librarian. "She scares me a little"
They got out of the library, Hermione still laughing. They walked for some time in silence, until they reached the astronomy tower.
"It was nice to see you Nick" Said Sunya "Oh! And you too Mrs. Granger"
"Please, call me Hermione. I'm not old enough for people your age to call me Mrs."
Sunya's face got even redder and she fled, stuttering some excuses. As the echo of her paces faded, Hermione turned to Nick to find him staring at the corridor where Sunya disappeared.
"Oh!" she said, astonished.
"Oh, what?" Asked Nick.
"No, nothing. So what did you want to tell me that is so secret we couldn't talk about it in the library?"
"I can't tell you here either. Don't look at me like that, it's serious!" Nick said, annoyed at Hermione's amused face. "Follow me"
They walked back to the staircase of the divination tower and up to the fifth floor. Nick led the way to an empty wall between two suits or armor. He looked back to make sure no one had followed them and, taking out his wand, he cast a Muffliato and a Disillusionment charm, getting Hermione to raise her eyebrows.
"Ok Nick, the joke goes a little far, isn't it?" She said, unsure now that it was a joke at all.
Nick didn't respond and, instead, put his wand back in his pocket and took out another wand, a really old one, made in what looked like olive wood but a little darker, long, with a finely carved handle and two gold lines spiraling all the way to the tip. He handed it to Hermione.
"You remember about this? That old wand I bought in Cyprus?" He asked her as she took it from him.
"You mean, the one you paid a thousand galleons for? Of course I remember! You figured it was a scam and you want to track the wizard who sold it to you? Well, let me tell you I won't use my influence at the ministry…"
"I don't ask you to, Hermione" He cut her. "In fact, I'm now almost certain he was telling the truth about this wand, being in his family for centuries. It's not old Hermione, it's ancient!"
As he was talking, she looked at the wand, sliding her fingers along the gold inserts, feeling the weight in her hand, and the warmth of the handle. For a reason she couldn't quite explain, it did feel ancient. She gave it back to Nick who was waiting, his hand outstreched.
He took a step toward the wall, and after a few seconds, he touched one of the stones with the wand. The wall started to shimmer, the stones fading to the shape of a door.
"A secret passage?" She exclaimed. "It never showed on the marauder's map! How did you find it?"
Taking her by the hand, Nick pulled her into the passage, going through the door as if it wasn't here. They found themselves in pitch-black darkness, the absolute silence only broken by their breathing.
"Lumos!"
Nick's wand lit up, radiating a soft, warm light through what appeared to be an endless corridor. Hermione turned to the door to see that it had disappeared, leaving another endless passage. She turned back to Nick who was now smirking , apparently pleased with himself.
"Where are we? Where does it lead? And how do we get out?" She asked, somewhat anxious now.
"Don't worry" Said Nick. "I've been here before, it's safe. It's a secret passage, but not like any other you've ever encountered. You can enter it only where we entered, but it'll take you anywhere you need. It's acting a lot like the room of requirements. You could walk in this corridor for weeks, if you don't think about somewhere you need to be, you'll never find a door. But as soon as you think of a place, it'll take you there."
Hermione was stunned so he started to walk, telling her about this place and how he spent an entire day trying to figure out how to get out the first time he entered it, and telling her how time was a lot slower in here for some reason. And for the first time since he met her, he found her speechless.
"It's amazing Nick! But how did you find out about it?" She finally asked him
"Well, that's what I wanted to talk about."
"Oh! Because there's more to it?"
He told her about his research on the old wand, how its magic was erratic, all the experiments and mistakes. He also told her what Ollivander had told him about this wand, as well as another retired wandmaker he found back in Cyprus. It was no ordinary wand, really old, made of the wood of an olive tree extinct two thousands years ago and with an unknown core. And finally, ho told her how using the old wand gave him the ability to, somehow, perceive "echoes" of magic.
"So," Said Hermione, overwhelmed by the amount of information. "You experimented for months with a wand no one could tell you anything about, and you continued even when you found out that it was doing unusual things? And you persisted to do so after finding yourself stuck in some weird secret passage with no exit to it? WHAT WHERE YOU THINKING NICHOLAS?"
She ended up yelling at him, her eyes full of anger. At the usage of his full name, Nick took a step back, surprised by the intensity of her reaction. He knew she wouldn't be too happy about it, but she was furious right now, and he knew better than staying too close. He held his hands in front of him, just in case.
"It's not as bad as you…" He started
"HOW SO?" She took a breath and tried to speak calmly "And what if it was a cursed wand? Did you think about that just for a second? There's still dark wizards out there, ask Harry about it! And with such an old thing, who knows what could've happened?"
"But nothing bad happened! Look, I took a lot of precautions, and everything is ok. And I think I know what we are dealing with now." he said softly, trying to tame the beast he had involuntarily awakened.
"And what would be this Grand discovery, if you please?" She snapped at him.
"I…I think I found ancient magic" He said, unsure if it was a good idea to tell her now.
There was a time of silence, a long time where she looked at him, disbelieving. She shook her head and took a deep breath.
"What?" Said Nick.
"Well, you're not the first to get caught chasing rainbows, Nick. But you know better than that, don't you?"
He took a step back, closer to her, took the old wand from his pocket and held his hand out.
"Take it." He said softly; "Take my hand, you have to see it. It can't be explained, you have to experience it. I'll guide you through it. Go on, take my hand"
She rolled her eyes, protesting, but he insisted and she finally agreed to give him a minute.
As their fingers touched, she felt a tingling going from her hand through her arm, and to all her body. Colors started to change and everything got a little blurry and bright. Heat started to spread to all her body and she saw curled lines of light appear all around. On the floor, the walls, the ceiling, and even on them. Some of them ranging from bright white to dim yellow, others passing through every shade of purple. The lines acted like waves, moving slightly around. It was astonishing, colors were more vivid than ever, and she looked around for some time, trying to understand what she saw. As she was going to speak, it all disappeared and everything felt dull, lifeless, and she was suddenly filled with great sadness.
"I'm sorry, I haven't told you about the backlash" Said Nick. "It'll pass soon, take a deep breath"
She did so, and the sadness receded. She looked at Nick, feeling a little dizzy.
"What was that?"