Chapter 02 The First Lesson
Morning, late at 10 o’clock, the
transfiguration classroom was filled to the brim with the first years of
Slytherin as well as Ravenclaw. A good combination overall.
Carl Crabbe had smuggled a pastry
from the breakfast, which everyone could tell from the smell and bulge on one
side of his legs when he sat. McGonagall informed icily the glutton boy that
there would be no further bringing of food to lessons, and deducted 5 points
from their House for improper behaviour and reminded everyone that bringing
anything consumable was strictly prohibited.
While Professor McGonagall was
explaining away the fine basics and compendium of the history of
Transfiguration, Hermione was busy noticing small nuances of difference in her
trusted, favourite Professor. For example, there was not so much grey in the
hair strands, not perhaps quite so many a line in her face, her stern look
seemed sharper, her voice more firm, and if she wasn’t altogether wrong, her
Professor was taller than before, or it could have been just that Hermione was
back in the body of an eleven years old and her sense of lengths was altered.
They started with transfiguring peas
into round wooden beads. Easy as a pie to complete it, but what would prove the
actual challenge here, was to act like she was concentrating hard and doing
nothing in reality.
However, neither could Hermione give up
without doing anything at all - and it would not do that every lesson in the
future she just stood there doing nothing - so she would make the
transfiguration look wavering and happen partway, very slowly, sometimes
changing back, and not changing anything too much, and of course waiting at
least ten minutes before allowing any sort of change.
In her first year not one student except for
Hermione had been able to have any sort of success and were she to show her
real abilities it would only increase her already suspicious character.
Hermione felt most daft pointing her
wand at the small olive grey dry pea, sitting innocently on her table. Just transfigure me! it seemed to say.
It proved hard to look like she was
intensively concentrating. Was her act alright? At some point she felt a drop
of sweat roll down her temple. It was nerve-wracking. Did her Professor notice?
Perhaps the time had come to start
transfiguring. She tried to conjure an image of atomic speed of the change in
her mind, the change process would be like building with one tiny particle at
time, changing slowly, then progress more forward, then more backwards,
altering the speed of change, creating the small flickerings, she was
definitely sweating now and decided that the object could be left half pea hued
and half wooden colour for a while.
Wiping her brow she took a glance
at the clock on the wall, it was bloody well only fifteen minutes since they
started, still another quarter left!
She sighed miserably and raised her
wand again, not even daring to pass a glance at the Transfiguration Mistress. She
now mainly concentrated in the slow change of hue to a more wooden like colour
from the greenish, greyish brown. Never did time pass so poorly.
“Splendid work, Miss Granger”, came
suddenly from her right as to catch her unprepared, and almost in her scare did she change the pea all the way.
“Thank you Professor”, she squeaked
in a small, cracked voice. Her shaking arms felt more or less clammy while their
Professor proceeded to show the whole class the result of her accomplishment
and called the lesson to an end.
Just as Hermione was about to take
her leave to the next class that would be Defence against Dark Arts with
Ravenclaws again, McGonagall informed her about Professor Dumbledore finally
wanting to see her. She had been expecting it anxiously; of course they had
questions after a strange child popped up at Hogwarts out of nowhere.
“Miss Granger, please visit
Headmaster’s office after your Charms, if you’d be so good.”
She was looking at Hermione
perusingly, as if trying to make out something.
After the Defence against Dark Arts, and
one flying lesson - the first and only one where she wouldn’t have to pretend
anything because she had never exceeded in it - and finally one measly hour of
Charms, Professor Flitwick was kind enough to walk her to her destination. The
password of this period, Dotted Doughnuts,
was uttered and the large oaken door opened to reveal a familiar sight, masses
of different sort of peculiar objects, piles of scrolls and books, and
somewhere in that tall book shelve divided in two was sure to be found few
books on a very important subject, the Horcruxes, and sure as sun was shining
the old Headmaster was sitting in front of his desk in a large amber hued
armchair, half-moon shaped spectacles perched on the top of his nose, and a
kind twinkle in those knowing eyes, and a funny star decorated, lilac pointy
hat sitting in top of a mass of white long hair. Of course let us not forget
the fact that his beard was also very white and long as well. Headmaster
Dumbledore was very proud and pleased with it.
“Ah, Miss Granger, please sit down,
sit down. Would you care for tea and some Cracky Crumbs, or perhaps Minty
Morsels would do the trick?”
Hermione politely declined and sat
down quietly for a while. She already knew what she would tell; she had had the
whole morning to think upon it.
“Professor Dumbledore, sir, I wanted
you to know I’ve always admired you a great deal. And I know that you are aware
that sometimes there are things that one can’t tell, things that must be kept
secret.”
Hermione looked upon Dumbledore with
eyes lit by hope, anticipation and worry.
“My dear girl, I’m afraid I’m lost as
to what you’re talking about. But I am very delighted that people in Australia
have heard about me. How cheery! Thank you Miss Granger.
Now, am I to understand, that you
cannot talk about why you came here, and in such an odd manner no less?”
“Yes sir, you have it quite right.
And I’m sorry that that’s how it is. However, I promise you this, a time will come when I will tell you my reasons! But I cannot yet.”
The headmaster took it all in stride,
ever so calm.
“Alright then. Perhaps you could tell
me about your parents instead?”
“No, I’m afraid not sir. I’m sorry,
that too, I must tell you later.”
Dumbledore let out a jolly,
good-natured laugh.
“Ah, no worries Miss Granger, no
worries! How extraordinary! But I have to ask you, is there anything you can
tell me?” Dumbledore smiled, as if sharing a joke between old friends.
Hermione paused to think.
“Well… I suppose… I came here to help
my friends first and foremost, and to study”, Horcruxes ,” I love studying, and always take it very seriously. I
beg you to believe me professor, that I mean no harm – can I stay here at
Hogwarts?”
Headmaster Dumbledore was a skilled
legilimens. He could sense no dishonesty from the small girl, albeit there was
a mysterious and a bit restless air around her. Of course he knew that there
was much left untold, but it would all no doubt unfold in its own time, like
things generally were bound to do according to his experience.
“Why, there’s no good reason to send a
potential student away! Minerva was very pleased with your half wooden pea
today, you ought to know. If you ever need help, feel welcome to visit me
whenever again. Oh, and also, seeing as you came here with no equipment other
than your wand, we considered it appropriate to provide you with useful items,
which have been conducted to your room in the Tower of Slytherin.”
Somehow, Hermione felt reluctant to part with the homely office room, storing the living and healthy Professor Dumbledore
in it, nevertheless she sighed and rose up to leave anyways.
Dumbledore wondered at the sadness
that reflected on the young student’s eyes, and sincerely hoped that the small girl
would find here at Hogwarts what she sought after.
“Ah, before you go Miss Granger, I
must say that you certainly have a very grown-up and clever mind for someone of
your age”, he called out from his desk and winked knowingly at Hermione.
That rattled her a bit. Was he
already on her secret? No less from the great Wizard Dumbledore. Well, maybe he
didn’t understand her fully yet, but still, what insight he had!
Hermione ran all the way to the Tower
of Slytherin.
Sure enough in her sleeping room,
beside her bed was sitting an auburn trunk, filled with all the necessities the
first years would need, as well as a small purse containing ten Galleons,
thirteen Sickles and twenty-eight Knuts. What they thought she would do with
such money as a first year was beyond her, but it might come in handy had she
the need to shop in the middle of the school year.
She paused to think on what had taken
place in the Headmaster’s Office, her brows forming wrinkled lines. Why had she
not told Dumbledore everything, pour out all the horrors they had met, reveal
that she had crucial information about what was to come and how it could be
possibly prevented?
Because she did not want to involve
him. Not yet at least. She was afraid that Dumbledore would take too much on
himself, would leave her out of it, and die from one of the Horcruxes like he
did the last time. The temptation of the Resurrection Stone… Hermione held no
such temptations. Nothing existed in this world for her to resurrect. She needed Dumbledore at his best to defeat the weakened
Voldemort in the final battle, and to protect the school while the Dark Force
rose. He could not be out Horcrux-hunting because he was needed at the
Hogwarts, but Hermione could. She would sneak out in the weekends and holidays
and hunt every and last one of the Horcruxes down using every ounce of her
knowledge, past experience and resourcefulness.
It was but three in the evening, and
after she had her supper she’d have time to take to her favourite place, the
Library, and have several hours for planning and research.
Ensuring that she had found a
suitable secluded place in a far-end corner caved in by massive shelves,
Hermione started with something she rather liked to make: To Do Lists. Her favourite of
favourites. (Though if you asked Hermione, no doubt anything concerning
schedule, keeping order, research and rules would be her favourite)
First she charmed her paper against
other possible eyes. She did not want anyone happening on her planning
parchments and overseeing things that could absolutely endanger everything.
To
Do List
Keep up appearances
Research Horcruxes
Research Time Travel
Get information from Death Eaters and
their children
Confirm the locations of Horcruxes
Find means to destroy Horcruxes
– Sword of Gryffindor, Fangs of
Basilisk or even Fiendfyre (last option!)
Destroy Horcruxes X number (anything
under six)
Discuss with Dumbledore about the
future
Defeat the Dark Lord and his
followers
Decide whether to return to your own
future devoid of any hope (if it’s possible, even) or go hiding to the other
end of the world because there cannot be two Hermione Grangers.
It formed quite the list. If she
completed it she deserved a well-earned pat or two on her back.
Looking at her Time Table, she mapped out her planning/research/information gathering time accordingly:
Monday 8-10, 16-20
Tuesday 8-9, 14-22
Wednesday 8-10, 14-22
Thursday 8-10, 14-22
Friday 8-10, 14-22
Saturday – Sunday all time
Free time after classes was meant for
homework and different clubs. Hermione would not spend it as such, although she
would be unable to resist completing homework of any sort.
There were still plenty of hours to
use. Unlike in their seventh year, Hermione had now the time and safety to go
about things at the pace she wanted. There were no Death Eaters panting at your
neck on every door and corner. Yet. That could be arranged as well no doubt.
She would start on the Horcruxes
easiest and most unnoticeable to acquire, which would leave Tom Riddle’s Diary
in Malfoy Manor, Helga Hufflepuff’s Cup in Bellatrix Lestrange’s vault and
Nagini somewhere near Voldemort himself, for later undertaking.
She needed potions, and the
ingredients for them, also a space to make them in secret – perhaps the Room of
Requirement – and inventing a long lasting invisibility charm would take her a
long way, or finally studying what she had been contemplating on for years; becoming an animagus. Otters
were small and the form of it would prove almost as handy as being invisible.
Either solution would require an immense amount of studying. Time, it seemed,
was all she had in here with her light school schedule, and studying was the
favourite way to spend time in Hermione’s books and a real challenge in
studying sounded naught but a thrill!
However the queer day of Monday had
taken its toll on our soon-to-be hero of the Wizarding World Hermione, and
after leafing through some (quite few) books on aforementioned invisibility
charms and animagi she felt her eyes droop, neck make small nodding movements
on its own and her head drowsy and as such was unable to produce
anything sensible anymore deciding to venture out at the Slytherin quarters.
The day had proved exhausting and
Hermione for once, was not looking forward to the next day’s classes.
Earlier, in the morning she made a decision: she would not behave in the class as she usually did.
Such as answering anything as thoroughly and enthusiastically as she wanted lest she be carried away and start babbling out information known only to the seventh years or even more advanced.
She thought the best solution for this was not answering any question in order to not to stand out in any way. She had always wanted to stand out, she realised with more clarity than ever. It was tedious, a chore to change something that was so deep down in her spine. How vexing!
Such as answering anything as thoroughly and enthusiastically as she wanted lest she be carried away and start babbling out information known only to the seventh years or even more advanced.
She thought the best solution for this was not answering any question in order to not to stand out in any way. She had always wanted to stand out, she realised with more clarity than ever. It was tedious, a chore to change something that was so deep down in her spine. How vexing!
