Chapter 151

Return of the Mentor

Hermione sighed as she looked through the remaining books that were in the library of the castle, shaking her head. "Nothing useful at all," she growled angrily.

"Hermione, you can't expect to find everything in a library, as poetic as that would have been," Ron said. "Let's face it, if there was a library with a clue, you'd live in the place."

"He's not wrong," Fleur agreed, with a small smile. "You are ze best researcher I've ever known."

"That's not true," Hermione replied bitterly. "If that was the case, I'd have found the information I needed to save Nicolette, and others."

"Hermione, no one blames you, other than you," Fleur said softly, taking her hands in her own. "You aren't all knowing, and you couldn't have changed anything."

"Hermione, you're turning into Lily, taking the weight of the world onto your shoulders," Lavender said kindly. "You can't do that."

"It took us ages to get Lily to stop blaming herself. Do we really need to stage an intervention with you?" Ron asked. "You've been blaming yourself a lot lately."

"Not lately, ever since Sirius and the others led the attack on the Ministry," Lavender said softly. "Are you angry about that?"

"That's ridiculous? Why would I be?" Hermione asked, looking at Lavender. There were, however, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Because of Mad Eye," Ron said. "He was going to be your mentor, and you weren't there when he died. You think that if you were there, you could have helped keep him alive."

"Ronald, that is… that is…" Hermione stammered, with Fleur sighing.

"Hermione, my love, Ron is right. You have been blaming yourself for all ze deaths that have happened. I hear you mumbling in your sleep. I hoped you would talk to me about it, but it sounds like you've not been able to talk to yourself," Fleur said.

"Hermione, I've known you for years, and I've always been amazed by your brilliance. You've saved us time and again, but you've been taking on so much. First, Nicolette died, and then Mad Eye. You've lost the people you loved and looked up to. Nicolette was an amazing young woman, and I know she cared about you; when she and I talked before Riddle got her hands on her," Ron said. "She looked up to you and knew how much you and Fleur were in love. She didn't understand how quick you fell for one another, but she didn't care because she knew Fleur was happy."

"My parents didn't understand either; at first, they thought zat I was getting caught up in ze excitement of ze tournament, but after they met you, they knew why I loved you," Fleur said, with a small smile. Ron could see tears starting to flow from Hermione as Fleur pulled her into a hug.

"It's okay to struggle with these kinds of feelings, Hermione," Lavender said. "I've been worried about Ron a lot, and about you, and Lily. I'm terrified about Parvati, and Padma, both of them back at Hogwarts still. I just want to see them again, and I keep blaming myself for not being there with them, though I'm not upset about being here with all of you."

"All of us are doing this together, Hermione. You're not alone, and you won't be, ever," Ron said.

"I… I appreciate that," Hermione sniffed. "I just… it happened on my watch. I gave them ideas for the attack plan for the Ministry, I told them the best way to get in the back entrance. Sirius and I… he wanted my advice, so I told him to attack in different directions. It was my plan."

Ron looked at her with a realisation; she hadn't told them that before. No wonder she was blaming herself.

"Bloody hell, Hermione. No wonder you've been blaming yourself," Ron said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Look, you're not to blame for any of this. Mad Eye knew the risks, they all did when they went in. They needed to help people, and to stop Riddle and his people. We were elsewhere, and it kept them busy and kept eyes off us."

"I… I've been thinking about how… how different it could have been," Hermione confessed. "I keep thinking if I had been there, or if I'd thought of a different exit, or if I'd given portkeys to each of them, or told them to make portkeys… I could have done anything different… and maybe he'd have still been alive."

"You can't think like that, Hermione," Lavender said. "It wasn't your fault; none of it was."

"She's right, Lass, you can't blame yourself for my choices," a familiar voice came from behind them, and as the group turned, they saw the spirit of Mad Eye smiling at them!

"Professor?" Lavender asked, her eyes widening.

"Hardly a Professor anymore, Lass," Mad Eye replied gruffly. "Granger, what the hell are you doing, blaming yourself? That's Potter's job, not yours."

"But… I came up with the plan… I made mistakes…" Hermione stammered.

"No Lass, you didn't," Mad Eye replied. "Your plan was a good one; it's why we went with it. Unfortunately, even the best plans can screw up with a single thing changing everything. We can't plan for everything."

"I've… I've always…" Hermione began, but Ron cut her off.

"You've always tried to plan for everything, but Hermione, we know not everything can be planned out. One small thing happens, and the whole plan screws up. It happens a lot, and the scary thing is that we can sometimes be helpless. We try and adapt when things go wrong, but we can't always succeed," Ron said.

"Wise words, Lad," Mad Eye said, nodding. "Granger, I'm sorry that I won't be able to teach you more, and guide you through your time at the Ministry, but I know you've got this. You're a hell of a witch, and you've been letting this guilt eat at you. That's why I'm here. This place is a Conduit, and whilst everyone other than you has no idea what that means, I know you do."

"A Conduit is an ancient source of magic, focused in one area. There are magical cores in each country's ministry, but the Conduits were essentially older cores. There were more of them naturally occurring, but eventually they were being drained by people misusing them," Hermione automatically explained. "They were supposed to all be gone now."

"This one is the last; kept going by the spirit of Slytherin. When we all take him down, and you won't be alone, this one will disappear, as will I," Mad Eye said. "But I want you to know that I'm damned proud of you, Granger. You're gonna be one of the best the ministry will ever have had, with whatever you do."

"You think?" Hermione asked. Mad Eye nodded.

"Of course I do, Lass. You've got damned good instincts, you're one of the brightest witches of any age, and you have loyalty, dedication, and compassion in spades. If there were more people like you, the Ministry would never have fallen," Mad Eye said.

"He's right about that, Hermione. There needs to be a lot more people like you. You care about everyone. You helped Draco when he needed help as well, you saved our lives in the first year, you helped us study and helped us get through our studies. Without you, we wouldn't be even half as good as we are," Ron said.

"Why didn't you tell us about this?" Fleur asked. Hermione sniffed, looking down at the ground.

"I… I didn't…" Hermione stammered, one of the few times she did so. "I didn't want you to think less of me."

"Are you bloody insane? How the hell are we gonna think less of you? You are our best friend, guiding light, and you're so damned amazing," Ron scoffed.

"Hermione, you are incredible. You've been an amazing friend to all of us, and we're lucky to have you as our friend," Lavender added.

"Hermione, ever since you came into my life, I've felt so much lighter, and happier. You mean everything to me. You've shown me that I'm wanted for more than my looks, and you've given me so much confidence as well," Fleur said. "Look at yourself, at everything you've done. The spells you can do that others can't, how easily you learnt to make portkeys, which I know are difficult spells to perform."

"She's right there, Granger. You need a lot of skill to create a portkey, let alone however many you created to escape the wedding ambush," Mad Eye said, smirking. His smirk faded as he looked at her. "Lass, I've got one more spell to teach you, before we face off against Slytherin, one that very few can learn because of how difficult it is. You need a pure spirit and core, dedication, determination, and most of all, you need a good heart. No dark witch or wizard can ever cast it."

"What kind of spell is it, Professor?" Lavender asked.

"It's an old spell, Miss Brown, and not an easy one to cast. The incantation itself is Lucem Vincas Tenebris Spiri. Loosely translated, it reads as Breathe the light into the darkness. A long time ago, there were witches and wizards who used their magic to leave their bodies to become spirits. They wanted to conquer the world, and as spirits, they were essentially immortal. It took a group of good witches and wizards uniting to create a spell to destroy the spirits, but creating any spell can be dangerous. So many things can go wrong, and if the creator isn't powerful enough, it can destroy them completely. Hundreds died trying to create the spell," Mad Eye explained.

"But will it work against Slytherin?" Ron asked.

"Maybe, but it's the only chance we have, Lad," Mad Eye replied, with a grizzled smile. "Fact is, no one's been able to successfully cast it in centuries; they always end up dying in the attempt."

"How the hell are we supposed to do it?" Ron asked.

"Not you, Weasley. Your sister, Potter, and Granger are the ones who'll need to cast it. Granger, you have a pure core. The fact you were ready to wipe your parent's memories of your existence to protect them, being willing to give up everything and everyone, to keep them safe… that's the kind of act that purifies a magical core, making it powerful. That's why you've been able to do so much more this year; magic isn't something that just happens, it's a part of our souls. Even muggles have magical cores, though theirs aren't awakened. Whenever someone is born into this world, they have a magical core. For some, their core is already awakened. For many others, it never awakens, and for some, it takes something impressive to awaken it," Mad Eye explained.

"I remember Neville telling us that when he was younger, he didn't seem to have any magic, until he was dropped from a window and bounced down a hill," Hermione said.

"Aye, that's a prime example of it. The last group are those who have a passive core. That's where Squib's come from. Some of them can awaken their core fully, but it takes a lot of time, training, and power. A few can, but not many succeed," Mad Eye continued.

"I've never heard this before," Fleur admitted.

"Not many people pay attention to this, Lass. It's one of those things that people try not to think about, or care about. They have magic, and they don't care about others who don't have it. You remember what we said before, about muggles being given magic?" Mad Eye asked. Hermione gasped.

"They're not being given magic; the spell awakens their magical core!" Hermione realised.

"Exactly Lass, though because those cores are being given a jump start, they're unstable, so the magic might not last, or it might kill the poor buggers," Mad Eye said. "If you were still at school, you'd be getting a lot of points. Fact is, I didn't realise it until after I died; I guess a lot of things made sense when I was killed."

"And now we can pass on that knowledge to others," Hermione said. Mad Eye nodded.

"I fully expect you to do so, Lass. When this is all over, I want you to take some time for yourself and Delacour there, before working for the Ministry, either as an Auror or in the Magical Law Enforcement. One day, you'll be the Minister for Magic, I have no doubt," Mad Eye told her.

"I won't let you down," Hermione promised, smiling sadly at Mad Eye.

"Good. Now, let's start training; we don't have much time to prepare for this, and you need to be ready," Mad Eye said.

"How will I know if I've got the spell right? I mean, without a dark spirit here to practice on, will anything happen?" Hermione asked.

"The spell will be cast, and then fade," Mad Eye replied. "Say it after me; Lucem Vincas Tenebris Spiri."

Hermione nodded and took a breath. "Lucem Vincas Tenebris Spiri," she incanted.

"Good. Again," Mad Eye told her. "With more feeling."

"Lucem Vincas Tenebris Spiri!" Hermione called out.

"Good. Now, get your wand, and the rest of you, stand back," Mad Eye insisted. Fleur, Ron, and Lavender stepped behind Hermione, as did Mad Eye, whilst Hermione aimed her wand at a wall, taking another breath.

"You got this, Hermione," Lavender said.

"We believe in you," Ron added.

"I will always believe in you, and I will always love you," Fleur promised, stepping up to Hermione and kissing her. "I'm staying by your side, where I belong."

"I love you too, Fleur," Hermione said, smiling softly, before facing the far wall. She took a breath and raised her wand.

"Lucem Vincas Tenebris Spiri!"