I was caught up in the ordinary life of a prosperous person. Well, almost ordinary - I am a witch, after all. I worked at the hospital, practiced dancing, shooting, and mentalism, went on dates with André.
André met my parents when they came to the dance evening organized by our studio. My parents liked him, and even the age difference didn't particularly bother them. I think André earned great sympathy primarily because he's a normal person, a neurosurgeon, and not some stick-waver. I've really worn my parents down - after the magical world, they're ready to love many things just because they're not magical.
Some time ago, Snape brought pleasant news to the Order of the Phoenix - someone had killed Voldemort's snake. Well done, Sirius, may the rabbit-bomb rest in peace! But to my disappointment, this didn't cancel out my life debt to Snape.
Strange that I even hoped for that. And the book Voldemort acted strangely. After all, if you need to kill the previous owner to become master of the wand, why didn't he kill Snape himself? Nagini is his familiar, but why risk it like that? What if after that, Nagini herself became the magical owner of the wand? Voldemort would have to kill his own familiar and horcrux. Or it simply wouldn't work, and the wand would remain ownerless? In general, a very thoughtless act on Voldemort's part.
Rita still lives in France. After giving birth, she settled into the local magical scene a bit and started flying as a beetle again, gathering scandalous news for French publications. Cassiopeia recently dyed my hair emerald green - she inherited her mother's love for all things green, no doubt. Her childish magic couldn't be removed by any spell, so I had to walk around looking punk for a week. However, attention-diverting charms on hair - and no problems in the ordinary world. In the wizarding world, spontaneous child magic is commonplace - I could walk around with horns and no one would be surprised. Though André still looked at me with some suspicion.
***
And then thunder struck. Late at night on June 30th, Sirius wrote that Dumbledore had been killed. Death Eaters attacked Hogsmeade, where students were celebrating the end of exams, took children hostage and demanded Dumbledore. Thank Merlin, they didn't manage to kill any of the children, but they tortured Neville and Katie Bell with the Cruciatus curse. Dumbledore came, already dying, barely able to stand. Along with Harry, who was under an invisibility cloak. Theodore Nott was supposed to kill the headmaster. But he couldn't do it - stood for several minutes, aiming under the mocking encouragement of the Death Eaters, but Avada Kedavra didn't leave his lips. The killer was Severus Snape. Dumbledore's last words were: "Severus, please." The Death Eaters retreated, using children as shields until the end, so the arriving Aurors couldn't do anything. Not a single Death Eater was harmed. Snape was put on the wanted list along with the other attackers, though most of them were masked anyway.
Black asked if I would come to the funeral, which would take place in two days? No, I won't come. I wrote Sirius words of condolence appropriate for such a situation. Great man, blah-blah-blah, died as a hero, blah-blah-blah...
People are truly grieving - I won't interfere with their sorrow. Besides, in such a state, my advice to remove the headmaster's wand won't lead to anything. Better to talk about it later, when Sirius calms down a bit. I would have felt relief, but I know that the headmaster is a master at throwing curveballs, and death won't stop him.
The first curveball didn't keep us waiting. The next evening, Rita sent a patronus asking me to come over. I apparated to her in Nice and saw Rita with a packed suitcase.
"Hermione, please stay with the children while I fly to the funeral! Bonnie will stay with you. Bonnie, obey Hermione."
"Rita, what! Three children..." I didn't finish.
"Mio, you know I'm writing a book about Dumbledore, it's almost ready. I have to be at the funeral!"
She didn't even remember about supporting her husband in grief. Journalist - that's a diagnosis.
"I can't..."
"Thank you, dear, you're a true friend!" Rita interrupts me and after a brief hug grabs her suitcase, activating the portkey.
"RITAAAAA!" she couldn't hear my scream anymore. But Reg and Arc heard it. I'll go calm them down. Going up the stairs, I think I'll kill that bitch.
Good thing there's Bonnie and she takes care of all household tasks. But children need not only food and clean clothes, but also adult company, especially Cassi - she's at an age where emotions and energy overflow. I can't stay here, I'll have to take the children with me. Good thing that in my parents' house, Cassi never acts up with magic. She's been there many times, my parents fussed over her - and not a single spontaneous outburst. And Regulus and Arcturus are still too young. Children tolerate elf transportation better than apparition, so Bonnie moved everyone to our house. Susan also helped, and it distracted her from the thought of going to England for Dumbledore's funeral. Because hell no.
And the next evening, André came to visit. When he called me to arrange a meeting, my mother answered the phone and cunningly lured André to visit, telling him about my friend - the irresponsible mother. Three children didn't scare him, but they should have. And now I'm feeding Regulus, Bonnie is feeding Arcturus, and a person with whom I need to maintain the Statute of Secrecy is ringing the doorbell.
"Bonnie, you must disappear."
Bonnie obediently disappears and continues feeding Arc while invisible. Well yes, much better, nothing suspicious at all. My parents, as if on purpose, went to a restaurant, and Susan went to her dance classes - they have some important rehearsal, so even mourning for the headmaster isn't a valid reason to skip classes.
"Bonnie, go to the guest bedroom and be invisible, please, I'll finish feeding the twins myself."
Damn, I have to open the door.
I opened it and handed over Arcturus to finish feeding. André knows how to handle children. Cassi climbs closer to André - new person, she's interested.
I hear Cassi laughing joyfully and clapping her hands. I look up. Oh no! André's hair is green! Cassiopeia has never shown child magic around ordinary people, not on walks, not when visiting. And right now she had to start! My green hair lasted a week, and no spell could fix it. I need to manage to cast attention-diverting charms on his hair before André sees himself in a mirror. And then renew them regularly while the green color lasts. I feel like over this week I'll become the most annoying girlfriend ever. Cassi - you're just as much of a troublemaker as your mother!
I try to act like everything's fine. André stays with Cassi while I go put the twins to sleep. I didn't want to separate, but I couldn't leave Cassi alone. Well, she's already released her child magic and won't act up again in the near future. No more than ordinary children.
Bonnie and I washed and changed the twins with magic. They love bathing, but not today. I go downstairs. Cassi is showing her toys to her new friend. Sweet. André clearly likes her. All magical toys stayed at the Black house, there are only ordinary ones here. I quietly approach them and take out my wand - now's the right moment to cast diverting charms on his hair. André already has both hands busy with toys, Cassi is also holding a doll in each hand, and her face shows that two hands aren't enough for happiness. So she takes a third doll with magic and levitates it into André's hands. Holy hell. I gasp convulsively. How is this possible? Child magic doesn't manifest several times in a row - that's a well-known fact! Cassi will be a very powerful witch, but that doesn't help right now.
André, instead of freezing while processing an event that can't be because it can never be, quickly turns at my gasp and sharply grabs my wand hand by the wrist.
"And what were you going to do?" his voice sounds impossibly cold, "erase my memory?"
"What? No, I... Wait! You?" I formulate my question very clearly.
"Me?" he smirks unpleasantly, "I'm a Squib. And still... obliviate?"
"No! Just attention-diverting charms," I'm panicking.
"Why?"
"Your hair... Cassi likes to dye everyone. It just can't be undone..."
With his other hand, André snatches my wand and goes to the mirror. Good thing he doesn't know how easy it is to take a wand back with telekinesis, or he'd probably have run away already. Cassi sits unhappy among scattered toys.
"Well, fun," the angry man returns, waving my magic wand, "and when were you planning to tell me about this? In a year? After the wedding? Or weren't you planning to?"
"I was going to, but... We've only been dating for a few months. I would have told you, but later!"
"Have you used magic on me?" judging by his tone, he's already sure the answer is yes.
"No!"
"Are you sure?"
"I swear by magic that I haven't used spells against you. Lumos!" I lit a ball of light on my palm, "Nox!"
"And against other people? Well, you probably wouldn't physically harm innocent people, but I'm not sure about everything else."
It seems I'm dating a magic-hater. Or should I say, was dating? It would be better if he were a Muggle. And now before me is a person who knows perfectly well about wizards and treats them even worse than I do. I also have my own score to settle with wizards, but it's hard for me to really think badly of them, since I'm one of them.
"Legilimens? Obliviate? Confundus? Gregorian ointment? Was there?" André continues the interrogation.
"Confundus, only once..." why am I saying this, stupid me?
"Of course, only once. Once doesn't count, right?"
"André..."
The confused Cassi started whimpering. I hug her, trying to distract her.
"I understand everyone else too? Susan, Mr. and Mrs. Granger, Rita?"
"My parents are ordinary people," I try not to raise my voice so as not to worry the child, "and you're just as xenophobic as English wizards. They look down on Muggles and Muggle-born, and you - on wizards. And none of you care about the person themselves!"
"Really? I don't recall cases of Muggles trying to erase someone's memory. Or confusing with confundus..." André also lowered his tone because of Cassi, but it didn't get any warmer.
"You didn't even ask under what circumstances! I was just saving my life!"
"Did this person attack you?" his voice softened slightly.
"It's a long story... but it doesn't seem like you intend to listen to me."
My body decided this was the perfect time to cry. Tears started flowing from my eyes on their own, and seeing this, Cassi started whimpering again.
André was clearly torn between dislike for wizards in general and the desire to comfort one witch in particular. I could see this contradiction in his facial expressions through my tears.
"Don't cry... Everything will be fine. Quiet, Mio, everything's okay..."
He carefully wipes my cheek. But this doesn't give me much hope. Now he's comforting me because many men have that reflex - to calm a crying woman. But once I stop crying, he might leave anyway.
"Women's tears are scarier than confundus," he even smiled slightly.
That evening we didn't talk. We had to calm Cassi down, feed her, put her to sleep, then Susan and my parents returned. The next day we had a serious conversation. The Leduc family is very numerous and influential - they prefer not to lose track of their Squibs, since a wizard might be born to a Squib after several generations. No point in losing blood relatives. But the attitude toward such relatives is somewhat... second-rate. They help the first generation of Squibs get settled in the Muggle world, continue to keep an eye on the following generations, but treat them condescendingly. André remembers the first time he encountered wizards. One of his distant relatives relaxed and allowed himself to do magic in front of the Squib boy. He remembers his admiration for the magic, he remembers his fear when his father shielded him from another relative with a wand. André didn't understand then what they wanted to do to him, but he was scared. Yes, from the wizard's point of view, he meant no harm - just eliminate the threat to the Statute of Secrecy. And he didn't want to harm his Squib relative - no one ever died from obliviate, and it's too early for the boy to know about the magical world. When he grows up - we'll tell him. Then the father managed to convince the wizard relatives of his son's conscientiousness and responsibility, then there was a long and serious conversation, but André remembered well how defenseless his father seemed against those incomprehensible sticks. There were several more similar cases, and in his youth, wizard peers used spells a couple of times as a joke, only not everyone found it funny. André also experienced the effect of confundus on himself a couple of times. Therefore, André strongly dislikes wizards and prefers not to deal with them.
"As one of my acquaintances said, a bullet stops any wizard, and two or three bullets stop any wizard with a magical shield," I remembered the words of Lord Finch-Fletchley, "ordinary people aren't so defenseless if they know about the threat."
"And that's why you practice shooting?" André smiled, "covering your bases? That's an idea..."
"You'll definitely find common ground with my parents. You'll unite in a shared dislike of all things magical."
"And what have wizards done to upset Mr. and Mrs. Granger?"
"About the same as they did to you. When a professor from the magical school came to us, she almost immediately cast confundus on my parents so they wouldn't ask too many questions. Or maybe there's some special artifact for talking to Muggle-born parents. And they really didn't like the laws of the magical world. In France, the discrimination isn't as harsh, at least on paper, but it's still noticeable."
I also told my story. Without details, of course. I didn't tell him about the murders. Maybe someday... but it's clearly too early now. I also told him about my ambitious plans to try to combine magical and Muggle medicine. In this matter, I found my best like-minded person, and with medical education too.
I was upset by André's opinion that he liked me primarily because of his Squibness. According to him, wizards and witches who leave for the Muggle world for some reason most often fall in love with Squibs. Unconsciously, the magical core is drawn to someone who has at least some magic. In many cases, no one knows about one parent's Squibness until a born wizard child has a blood test. That's when unknown relatives from the wizard side might be discovered. And sometimes a wizard from an ancient family is specially matched with a Squib from another suitable family, since through Squibs the family is cleansed of many curses. Besides, gifts can be passed through Squibs. Children from such unions can be very powerful wizards.
Too many decisions for wizards are made by their magic. It's hurtful to think that these might not be my own feelings, but that the magical core simply made the choice for me.
***
I received a notice from the goblin bank that a package was waiting for me. The package turned out to be a letter from Dumbledore. Great! The old man reaches from the grave for his puppets. I spent the rest of the day looking at the envelope as if anthrax spores were sealed inside, and it clearly shouldn't be opened. And it doesn't matter that all diagnostic spells assure me everything's fine. I could only gather the courage to sit down and read it at one in the morning.
"Dear Miss Granger,
If you are reading this letter, it means Severus has fulfilled my request, and I am no longer alive. I think it's useless to apologize to you. We didn't have everything smooth between us, but believe me, I really didn't see another way. Sometimes for the good of many, you have to sacrifice the good of few. And I regret every such sacrifice. But you, my dear girl, absolutely didn't want to help me solve everything peacefully.
I'm afraid you're unlikely to find a kind feeling for your former headmaster, but I believe that Harry Potter is still important to you. Even if you're offended, you don't not care what happens to him. I saw that you always wished only good for Harry. And I ask you, Miss Granger, take care of him. It's bitter to write this, but Harry really is the chosen one, and being chosen is always a heavy burden. You can't escape fate - it's Harry who must defeat Voldemort in the end. And you must help him live to see this decisive battle. The fate of all Britain depends on you, hundreds of innocent wizards and Muggles, adults and children may die if you abandon Harry, if you don't help him walk this path. Can you live with such a burden on your heart? I think not. Because you are a good person, Miss Granger. A person who made mistakes, but you haven't yet made the biggest mistake of your life. Don't make it, Hermione.
Respectfully, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore"
I knew it. The headmaster manages to lie even from the grave. Harry must defeat Voldemort, sure. Not a word about how Harry must expose himself to the killing curse and will very likely die from it.
When Rita finally remembered she was a mother a week later and returned to France to pick up her children, I'd already lost the urge to curse her. I had other things on my mind. To cheer me up, Rita handed me a draft of her new book to read: "The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore." It's always pleasant to read nasty things about the headmaster.
André's words about covering bases made me think: here I am practicing shooting. And I've gotten pretty good at it. But if they attack me suddenly, how will this help me? I don't carry firearms with me. I've become inexcusably relaxed. My wand is in a holster that, thanks to extension charms, looks like a bracelet. In a bracelet on my other hand - essential potions. I need another bracelet with extended space - for a gun. And the gun itself. I'll have to use confundus again. Damn, I just told my boyfriend that was the only time in my life... This is how half-truths in relationships begin.
Said and done. I acquired another convenient bracelet with space extension from an artificer on Fountain Alley. Bought a gun, rifle and ammunition supply with the help of a couple of confundus spells. Applied Muggle-repelling runes to the weapons. Thought about it and added water-repelling, dirt-repelling and durability runes. Learned to quickly summon the gun from the bracelet and back. Too bad I'm not ambidextrous and can't shoot from both a wand and gun with both hands simultaneously. And it's also too bad that the rifle doesn't fit in the bracelet - not enough extension. I'll have to carry it in a bag.
***
News came from the island. Luna told about Bill and Fleur's wedding, described the ceremony in detail, explained the importance of sunflowers and the philosophy of garden gnomes. Sirius wrote that Scrimgeour was killed and Death Eaters had taken over the ministry. Harry and Ron won't return to school this year. Dumbledore entrusted Harry, Ron and Sirius with an important mission to search for something very important. Lupin also wanted to join - he wants more than anything to avenge Tonks. "Sorry, Hermione, but Albus forbade telling details." For now, all four are hiding in the house on Grimmauld.
I also won't tell you yet that your something important is now singular and in Potter's head. Not out of spite. And not even because I can't explain having the information. I could refer to the dead headmaster - he won't refute my words now. But telling about the horcrux in the head is dangerous. I know Harry - while Sirius is figuring out if the horcrux can be extracted another way, our hero will go and kill himself for the greater good.
Whether to tell about destroying the others is also a question. While the little detective squad follows the trail of horcruxes, they won't go after Riddle himself. Fortunately, no one's planning to rob goblins - Sirius managed to guess that the cup was the one, and once again rejoiced that we blew it up. But this is a temporary reprieve. Soon I'll have to decide what to do with this information.
An article appeared in the English Prophet that Severus Snape had become headmaster of Hogwarts, and the Carrow siblings - teachers.
I'll write a letter to Snape, since he now has normal access to the castle. I need to work off my life debt.
I charmed the parchment so that anyone except Severus Snape would see a letter from Mrs. Bishop, who wanted to order a batch of Polyjuice Potion to diversify her family life.
I really wanted to start the letter like this: "Congratulations, Professor, you're an idiot! Couldn't you have poisoned him without unnecessary witnesses?" Yes, the professor needed to convince the Death Eaters of his loyalty to the common cause, but that's no reason to expose himself like that. But Snape might not finish reading such a letter. So I dryly stated that Dumbledore had the Elder Wand and if it interests someone who wants to gain maximum power, then Snape's life, as the current owner, would be in danger. So it would be good to remove the wand from the tomb and destroy it.
A week later comes the reply.
"Miss Granger,
I admit, the thought was interesting. Unfortunately, you weren't the only one who knew about the Elder Wand. Instead of his wand, a simple piece of wood without a drop of magic lay in Dumbledore's crypt. Someone got there first.
SS"
This complicates everything. Interesting - who stole it?
Since Snape doesn't ask why I suddenly decided to help him, he understood that I know about the life debt.