Chapter 4 - More CorrectionsThe next morning, the students were surprised to see a new professor at the head table. The new professor was sitting between Professors Sprout and Snape, talking to the Herbology professor. She was about the age of their parents and pretty with an aristocratic look. She sat and ate with proper manners. She had very dark brown hair down to her shoulders, and her elegant look was in sharp contrast to Snape, who looked far more unhappy than normal.
Harry noticed something besides the new professor. Nudging Hermione, he whispered, "Look at Malfoy; he seems upset with something."
Hermione looked across the room and found that Harry was correct. Draco Malfoy did not look happy as he stabbed at his food, with an occasional glance to the head table. "If the Slytherins had the same talk that we did last night, perhaps he has realized that Snape will not allow him to get away with breaking so many rules," she theorized.
"Maybe," Harry quietly said. "We can always hope."
Midway through breakfast, the Headmaster stood and rapped his fork on his goblet. The room instantly became quiet. "Thank you," he told everyone, as he looked over the student body. "No doubt you are wondering who our new professor is. I'd like to introduce Professor Andromeda Tonks. She will be here on a part-time basis to teach the first two years of Potions."
There were many murmurings at that admission.
"Professor Snape has become rather busy and this should help give him more time." Dumbledore was pleased to see that both Harry and Hermione looked surprised at this news, as it suggested this was completely the elder Granger's idea. "For those of you in the first and second years, your classroom will be in another Potions lab two doors down from Professor Snape's classroom at your usual time. There will be no schedule changes. Thank you for your attention."
"Brilliant!" Ron exclaimed. "No more Snape this year." His comment got several agreements from classmates around him. However, after a moment, he stopped participating in those conversations and looked at his friends across the table. "Wait a minute. Why aren't you telling me to stop, Hermione?"
Hermione shook her head slightly. "Because while I can respect him as a knowledgeable person, he's really not a very good teacher; therefore, I look forward to see how Professor Tonks teaches."
"Harry?" Ron asked, wondering what his friend would say.
Harry tilted his head towards Hermione. "What she said, although I don't have respect for him in any form."
Surprisingly to Ron, Hermione did not raise any fuss over Harry's statement.
Hundreds of miles to the south, a tawny owl was winging its way across London.
The next morning contained a surprise for everyone. None was more surprised to read the morning's Daily Prophet than Albus Dumbledore.
How Unsafe Is Hogwarts?
Yesterday, we received a letter detailing two major safety breaches at Hogwarts School for Wizardry and Witchcraft. One has already put students at risk, and the other is still risking the very lives of students at this moment.
We have been able to verify that a troll was loose in the dungeons on the evening of Halloween. Whilst the students were having their annual Halloween Feast, Professor Quirrell, currently teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts, ran into the Great Hall and announced that a troll was in the dungeons. Headmaster Albus Dumbledore then sent the students back to their common rooms. The troll was later found in a girl's bathroom on the dungeon level.
There are several problems with this story. How did a troll enter Hogwarts? Shouldn't the defensive wards have prevented that? If the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor found the troll, why was he not able to subdue it or contain it in a room? Why doesn't Hogwarts have a better Defence professor? Why were the Slytherin students sent to their common room, which is in the dungeons, since that was the area the troll was known to be in? Wouldn't it have been safer to keep all of the students in the Great Hall where they already were? What happened to the troll? Besides the Slytherins, were any other students at risk?
That last question is even more interesting because there is no official report of students being at risk, yet the letter we received mentioned that two students accidentally came across the troll on their own and barely escaped with their lives.
While the troll incident is past, there is a current safety issue that has been present all year and remains today. At the Welcoming Feast, Headmaster Dumbledore warned the students not to venture to the third floor corridor unless they wished a most painful death. No classes have been taken to that corridor to date, however, indicating that what is up there has nothing to do with the school or what students are being taught. Also, we have heard that multiple students have opened a locked door in that corridor - despite the warning - to find a Cerberus! What is a Cerberus doing in a school? What is it guarding? Should what is behind the three-headed monster be in a school full of children if it needs such a dangerous guard? Will a child be killed by the monster? Or will whatever is hidden in the school attract criminals who could hurt the students as they go after the hidden item?
As bad as that news is, there is one last unanswered question. Why are we just now finding out about these safety issues? All that remains is to ask: What now, and who will protect the children since the current staff at Hogwarts appear unwilling or unable to?
Albus closed his eyes for a moment, questioning fate about why this had to happen now. To be honest, he had a good idea why this was happening now as it had all the characteristics of Emma Granger.
"What did you tell the Grangers?" he heard from his deputy. "This reads like a tale from a scorned woman," Minerva casually said, as if discussing what lunch might bring.
"I did my best to explain to her that the topic of the third floor was of importance to the Wizarding World and removing what was there was not an option," he tiredly said.
McGonagall harrumphed. "It appears she believes differently and has sought aid in removing the item."
"Yes, and the Prophet seems willing to help her, as long as it stirs up controversy," Dumbledore idly agreed as he considered the ramifications. "The Minister will be most happy to step forward and claim to be helping the children here." He sighed heavily. "I had better contact Nicholas and have him find another hiding location before the Minister arrives."
"I believe you're too late for that," Minerva said as she watched the Minister, Director Bones, and four Aurors enter the Great Hall and walk directly toward them.
"Please don't say it, Minerva," Dumbledore quietly said as he stood to greet the guests, who were the centre of attention.
McGonagall almost smiled as she thought 'I told you so', but she managed to maintain her normal expression. She had argued with him for most of the summer to not bring the Philosopher's Stone into the school.
"Ah, Minister Fudge, Director Bones, what a welcome surprise," Dumbledore greeted them. "Why don't we travel to my office for a little more privacy?"
"Dumbledore," Fudge greeted him with a nod. "We have much to discuss," he said with confidence.
The Headmaster would have preferred the Minister not have as much confidence, but one rarely got everything one wanted in life. "Professor McGonagall, would you join us please?" He led the entourage out through the side door the Professors used, quite sure he was about to have a discussion he did not wish to have.
All of the Gryffindor first-years were walking from breakfast to their first class of the day: Potions. The Slytherins were a little ahead. The two groups kept themselves separated quite deliberately.
"What do you suppose that was all about?" Ron asked those around him. "I mean, it's not every day the Minister for Magic walks into school."
Hermione shot Harry a significant look before she answered, "Didn't you see what was on the front page of the newspaper, Ron?"
"Yeah, so? The Minister may be here for something else, though."
Hermione started to argue back, but Harry reached out and squeezed her arm for a moment, stopping her. It only took a split second for her to realize what Harry was trying to tell her non-verbally. This was a pointless argument.
No one answered Ron and he did not seem upset at that.
When they arrived at their new Potions classroom, the door was already open. Inside, they found their new teacher already at her desk waiting on them and the Slytherins taking up most of the desks near the front. The room was bright with off-white walls. There were numerous charts around the room, but nothing like all the jars of vile looking things like Snape's room had.
As soon as everyone had found a seat, the professor picked up a sheet of parchment and started calling roll, looking up at each student to try to put a name with a face. When she got to Harry's name, he felt that she looked a fraction of a second longer, but that was the only difference. So far, he thought she was being reasonable.
"Good morning, everyone, I am Professor Andromeda Tonks and I am here to teach you Potions," she said calmly with a slight smile, her pleasant voice easily reaching the back of the room. "While I am well versed in the art, I will admit up front that I do not have a mastery in the subject - yet. However, I am presently working on earning my mastery and I should have one in the near future. For the level you are presently at, I do not expect any problems."
"I will only be here part-time; I am not a full-time resident professor. I live at home with my husband and a daughter, who recently graduated from Hogwarts. Because I do not live here, my office hours will be limited and you should plan accordingly. I will be here starting at seven in the morning and will leave after lunch. If I am not in this classroom teaching, you are welcome to stop by my office, which is next door, and ask me questions about class. Are there any questions so far?"
Hermione stuck her hand in the air.
"Yes, Miss … Granger, wasn't it?"
"Yes, Professor. Do you plan to start where Professor Snape left off, or do you have a different course plan?"
"Very good question, Miss Granger. I shall start with a review for a week or two, and depending on how everyone does, I expect we shall start approximately where you left off with Professor Snape." She turned around and picked a book off of her desk and held it up. "How many of you have seen this book, Magical Substances and Their Reactions to You? Raise you hands if you have, please?"
Hermione raised her hand and saw that she was the only Gryffindor, while all of the Slytherins raised their hands. Her eyes narrowed as only one possibility for this occurrence entered her head, and she was not pleased with it. She had run across the book only because she had tried to find an introductory book for each of her subjects in the Hogwarts library.
"I see," the professor drawled and did not look happy. "Please raise your hand if you have your own copy?"
Hermione's hand went down and all the Slytherin hands stayed up.
"You may put your hands down." Professor Tonks put the book back on her desk with a heavy thump. "I will have a box of those books by your next class period. You will use it for the remainder of your time in Hogwarts and it is imperative that you have it and keep it with you if you plan to do well in this class. Now, let's start with a review of the material from your first term…"
Hermione wondered if she needed to file another complaint, but after thinking about Professor Tonks' reaction to her book survey, she doubted that she would need to. It also appeared that she was about to get a free book, which would be a nice compensation.
Andromeda Tonks stormed into the Great Hall for lunch; she did it regally, but there was no doubting that she was angry at the moment. As she reached the head table, Pomona Sprout was about to sit down next to Minerva. "Pomona? May I please borrow your seat for the meal? I desperately need a quick conference with Minerva." The headmaster normally sat on Minerva's other side, so she could not use that seat.
The Herbology teacher gave her a gracious smile and slipped over one chair.
Professor Tonks took her borrowed place. When she looked at the Deputy Headmistress, she found a quizzical look.
"What can I help you with, Andromeda?" McGonagall had already started eating, having arrived a few minutes before.
The new teacher served herself some food while she composed herself. She prided herself on being able to maintain an even keel, reacting as needed, instead of to the emotion of the moment. It was in her upbringing from the house of Black. But this situation infuriated her. "Minerva, I know that I'm allowed to given detentions to students who commit a large enough offence, but am I allowed to punish other teachers too?" A touch of exasperation and anger had crept into her voice at the end and she worked again to push that down.
A greying eyebrow arced its way up McGonagall's forehead. "Oh? What has Severus done now?"
"I suppose that wasn't too hard to guess, was it?" Andromeda asked before she ate a little, hoping to settle her upset stomach from her anger.
"No, it wasn't. However, Albus and I do have that authority. What has happened?" It was just as well that Albus was still tied up with the Ministry, Minerva thought. She could probably handle the younger witch better than Albus could, as she sympathized with her feelings about Severus.
"That … man," she finally said, restraining herself, "has sabotaged at least seven years of Potions students and probably every year he has been here. He has deliberately ensured that only Slytherins would do well in Potions."
McGonagall's eyes went wide and she jerked up in her seat, fork frozen on its way to her plate.
"I took a survey in my classes, the last just before lunch, and in all the first and second year classes, only the Slytherins had a magical substance reaction book. That book should be on the required book list! If the students don't know how substances react together, how are they to know what to do in their labs when something goes wrong, or better still, how to prevent accidents? I love my old house, but what he's done is criminal."
Minerva stirred herself and leaned forward slightly to look down the table, noting that Severus had come in. He was at the far end of the table, safely out of hearing while the room was so noisy during lunch. "So only the Slytherins have this required book?" she asked, wanting to be very sure of her facts.
"Yes. A few of the Ravenclaws and one Gryffindor had seen it in the library, but none of them had their own copy for study or usage."
"I assume the Gryffindor was Miss Granger?" Minerva asked with a slight smile. She hated to have favourites, but Miss Granger was working her way into that category.
Andromeda nodded as she swallowed. "That girl really should have been in Ravenclaw."
"Yes, so Filius tells me constantly," she mused. "So what needs to be done, in your opinion, Professor?" adding the title to get the conversation back on track.
"I believe that the school needs to buy the book for every student who does not have one, since it should have been on the required list and the professor failed to include it out of obvious spite," Andromeda said, barely containing herself again. "The book costs about a Galleon and a half. We'd probably have to order it direct from the publisher, as I would not expect the book store to have enough on hand."
"Hmm…" Minerva did the math in her head. "That would be approximately three hundred and twenty Galleons, not a small sum. However, it might make a nice … fine … if I can talk Albus into it. Your Slytherin traits are alive and well, my dear."
For the first time in the conversation, Andromeda smiled.
"Yes," Minerva quietly said, as if agreeing with someone. "That would do nicely. I shall have to search our records and if Horace Slughorn recommended that book, then it would further show that its disappearance from the curriculum was purposeful."
"Minerva?" Andromeda gently got her attention. "Slughorn did indeed tell all of his students to get the book. It was how I was introduced to it. It is a standard in the subject of Potions - everywhere."
"I see, and that should simplify matters." Minerva took a drink from her goblet. "I would suggest that you steer a wide course around Severus for the rest of the week."
"That's probably a good idea for his sake as well as for mine," she quipped, her usual good nature starting to reassert itself.
McGonagall almost laughed, but suppressed it and only let a wan smile out. Full blown laughter would ruin her image with the students. "If you'll stop by my office or classroom before you leave with the name of the book and publisher, I'll send a letter out tonight with the order, assuming Albus frees up sometime soon."
"Thank you, Minerva," Andromeda told her very sincerely.
"I'm glad to help. It is part of my job, as I was recently reminded by one of our student's parents," Minerva replied as she reached for a small piece of dessert.
"Oh?" The intense curiosity in Andromeda's question could not be missed.
"Let's just say that certain complaints have reminded several of us as to exactly why we're here. Personally speaking," Minerva said, lowering her voice and leaning in a little. "I'm glad it happened and I appreciate the reminder. Such a thing is good for all of us from time to time."
Andromeda nodded. Albus had said that a few things had changed recently, which was why she had been offered the job. She wondered exactly what had happened, but it was plain that Minerva would not be very forthcoming with details. That implied there was dirty laundry and it was not hard to guess whose robes were the dirtiest, based on what she had confirmed in class that morning.
Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts, wearily walked into the Great Hall for dinner. It had been a very trying day. Dealing with the Minister and the Director of the MLE had been bad enough, but then he had also received numerous Floo calls and Howlers over the contents of the Daily Prophet article, greatly slowing down his meeting with the Ministry officials. After that had been the difficulty of dealing with the board of governors for the school. The real cake-topper had come when Nicholas Flamel had walked in his office and demanded his Stone back. While Nicholas had not blurted out the real reason for the Stone being at the school - to act as a magnet for Voldemort - he had implied it and Albus was sure Amelia Bones had caught the implication, even if she had not commented on it.
The most embarrassing part of the day had been when he had led Nicholas and the Ministry group to the third floor. Nicholas had pulled out his wand and transfigured the three-headed dog into a three-headed mouse before opening up the trapdoor and shooting a fireball into the hole and then jumping down onto a number of cushioning charms. By the time Albus went after him and caught up, Nicholas had transfigured the locked door to paper and was walking through it. Before Albus could stop him, Nicholas had shrunk the giant chess set and was walking across the room. He barely slowed down for the door that led to the troll room. As soon as the door was open and he saw what was in there, he cast a sticking charm on the wall and banished the troll over to the wall.
"Now we know why there was a troll in the castle on Halloween," Director Bones said acidly as she walked in. "The first one got away from you, didn't it, Dumbledore?"
Albus did not bother to answer, still hurrying after his mentor. However, he was not fast enough and the magical flames leapt up in front of him, causing a gasp from Director Bones. By the time he had dispelled the borderline Dark Magic, Minister Fudge had finally caught up. The three of them found the room with the potions empty and the flames on the other side were no more. They hurried to the last room, arriving just in time to see Nicholas cast a blasting spell at a red object on the floor, spraying red dust over a small area as the spell hit.
The oldest man in world looked up at those entering the last chamber. "Really, Albus, if that's the best you can do for traps, you should be ashamed of yourself. Well, my Stone is gone and my wife and I must take care of a few things before our time is up. We have been bored with life for most of the last century, so I suppose this will make a nice change. Considering how matters stand at the moment, I believe this is the last time you will see me, Albus."
Albus watched the spry old man walk out without a backwards glance. The disappointment on his mentor's face hurt.
"Did you see that?" Fudge asked excitedly now that Flamel and his impressive presence was gone, allowing Fudge's tongue to work again. "He hardly paused walking as he passed all of the traps." He glowered at Dumbledore. "So much for the Stone being well protected."
"Perenelle once said he was brilliant when he was young. Over six hundred years of experience would only build upon that, Minister," Dumbledore said thoughtfully.
Albus Dumbledore shook his head to clear the thoughts of the afternoon. The school was indeed safer, but was the world? His goal of trapping Voldemort, or at least of exposing his continued existence, was unsuccessful and now out of reach.
His mind returned to the present as he reached his golden chair at the head table. Albus noticed that most of the students were present, so he tapped his fork against his goblet. With all eyes staring at him, he announced, "While all of the safeguards are not yet gone, the object on the third floor that was behind all of the danger is now gone. The last of the safeguards will be removed this evening and you may venture there as of tomorrow morning, although I dare say you will find it quite boring. Have a pleasant dinner."
A small roar of conversation started as all of the students discussed the announcement. Hidden by all the noise, Minerva leaned over to him and said, "Another problem with Severus has arisen while you were occupied this afternoon."
He closed his eyes for a moment before turning to her. She had her usual austere look, but there was also a touch of anger. "What happened?" he simply asked. Many years had taught him that simple approach.
She explained what Andromeda Tonks had said. "I wanted to place the order for two hundred and twelve books tonight after dinner."
Severus would not be happy, but he could see the logic in charging the order to him, as a fine. The thought of Emma Granger getting a hold of this information filled him with dread. Yes, this needed to be taken care of as soon as possible. "Please go ahead and place the order, signing for it as Deputy Headmaster so it comes out of school funds," he told her. "I will take make sure those funds are recovered from Severus's pay-check, even if that is the majority of this month's pay."
Albus wondered if there was anything else that Severus had done that he needed to know about. Perhaps it was time for another conversation between just the two of them.
To the surprise of everyone, Quirinus Quirrell not only missed breakfast the next day, but he missed his first class as well. Dumbledore went to the man's quarters to see if he was ill. After unlocking the man's door and going in, he quickly found him on the floor, sprawled in a twisted position as if he had had a seizure. The exceedingly pale colour of his skin left no doubt as to why he had missed breakfast and class.
A few diagnostic spells left Albus no more knowledgeable about the man's demise than before. Perhaps Poppy would have better luck with the cause of death, but he suspected not. He sighed as he considered having to find a new Defence professor for the term. It was barely mid-January. Usually they lasted until at least late May.
He closed the door to Quirrell's quarters and headed off to find Poppy. Perhaps he could get one of his older friends to do this if he promised them it was only for the last few months of the year. He started to wonder what Dedalus Diggle was doing these days.
Harry and Hermione hurried to the carriages so they could board the Hogwarts Express to go home for the summer. Ron was tagging along, as usual, and engaging Harry in talk about Quidditch, also as usual.
Neville was also walking with them, which was not common, though he did spend some time with the pair/trio from time to time. He and Hermione were talking about useful magical plants that could be grown around a Muggle home and not seem out of place. Hermione was most interested in any that could be used for potion ingredients.
The four found a compartment on the train and settled in. After putting her things up, Hermione pulled out a book on Runes.
Ron noticed the book and shook his head. "Hermione, you do realize that we're about to start summer holiday and you could wait to start your summer homework until the last week in August and still have plenty of time to finish, right?"
"This isn't for summer homework, Ron. Professor Dumbledore lent me this book from his personal library." She was leafing through the book, searching for something.
"Then why did you ask for it?" Ron persisted.
"Because Professor Dumbledore is coming to our home this evening to put some protective wards up and I wanted to know specifically what he is doing," she replied as she put a slip of parchment in the book to mark a page before continuing her search.
"That could be interesting to watch," Neville commented. "You might get to see some really awesome magic."
"I think it will be fascinating," Hermione agreed.
"I'll be curious to see what the wards do," Harry said.
"Mental, all of you," Ron said with a snort. "So Harry, you caught the Snitch in all your games this year and Gryffindor got the cup. Think you can do it next year, too?"
Hermione shook her head as she continued to skim the book and listen to the conversation at the same time. She was starting to think that Ron only had a three track mind. The question in her mind was what would happen to him in a few years. Would girls become track number four, or would it replace one of his other current loves: Quidditch, chess, and food? She was very happy that Harry took a broader view of life.
When the train pulled into King's Cross, everyone exited the train as quickly as possible. They rushed to find family and enjoy the next two months away from school. Harry and Hermione were no different. However, like the other Muggle-borns, their family was not on Platform 9 ¾, as they could not come through the magical portal.
On their way to the Portal, they were stopped for a moment by Ron. "Harry, Hermione!" Ron shouted and waved them over. He had already found his parents and little sister. Percy and the twins were not there yet.
They walked over, dragging their trunks behind them. They had cast a lightening spell on their trunks to make it easier to carry the heavy trunks. It was a second year spell, but Hermione had searched for it specifically for travelling and they had both learned it.
"Hello Mr and Mrs Weasley." Harry greeted them. When he saw Ron's little sister, he added, "And hello … Ginny, right?"
Ginny blushed and shyly looked down for a second, before she looked back up at him and beamed. "Hi, Harry."
He heard Hermione make a small noise, so he looked over and saw her smiling at him. In fact, it almost looked like she was about to laugh at him. He was not sure why, so he tried to remind himself to ask her later.
As he looked back up, he realized the Weasley parents were looking at him and smiling.
"Hello, Harry and Hermione," Mrs Weasley greeted them. "It's good to see you. I trust everything went well this term?"
"Yes, ma'am," he answered.
"We're very well, thank you," Hermione answered right after him. "It's nice to see you again, but if you don't mind, we need to find our parents. I'm sure they're waiting for us outside."
"Yes, of course. We'll be right behind you." Mrs Weasley grabbed her daughter's hand. "Come along boys," she called. Percy had just walked up and the twins were almost there.
As they were leaving, Mr Weasley walked next to Hermione. "Your parents are Muggles, are they not?"
"Yes, sir," she answered.
"Splendid!" Mr Weasley said, as if he had just won a contest. "Do you suppose they would have a few minutes for me? I'd like to ask them a few questions."
"I don't think that would be a problem, but it's up to them," she answered honestly.
"Oh, of course, of course." The man's enthusiasm was still high.
They passed through the portal and saw the Grangers not too far away. Hermione hurried over to her mother and gave her a hug. Harry was not far behind her, even though he was a little more hesitant. Dan did not let that interfere and grabbed Harry in a one-arm hug.
"It's good to see you, Harry," Dan told him.
"You too, Dad," Harry said, looking very happy now.
The two children switched parents and hugs were again exchanged.
Dan and Emma let go of their children and realized there was a family of redheads nearby, obviously watching them, but back just enough as not to intrude.
Hermione realized what her father was looking at and waved the other family over. "Dad, Mum, this is Mr and Mrs Weasley, along with Percy, Fred, George, Ron, who is in our year, and Ginny."
The father stepped forward. "I'm Arthur," he shook hands with Dan, "and this is my wife Molly."
"Dan and Emma, please."
"Do you have a few minutes?" Arthur asked. "I have a few questions about the non-magical world…"
"I don't see why not."
In the meantime, the women drifted toward each other.
"Molly, I have a few questions about the Wizarding world. Could you help me with those?" Emma asked.
"I'd be delighted, Emma…"
Hermione slowly shook her head and leaned over to whisper in Harry's ear. "I wonder how long it will be before we leave?" Harry shrugged and she noticed something else, so she whispered, "Don't look now, but you have an admirer."
Harry did look around slowly, as if examining the station, and noticed that Ginny was watching him carefully, although she also looked at Hermione a little. He blushed slightly, hoping that the girl's focus of attention would change soon.
By the time the two families split ten minutes later, the kids were all bored, except maybe for Ginny, who seemed to still be interested in Harry, although Hermione thought the girl's expression had changed from adoration to more calculating over their time there. She suspected that Ginny was trying to work out her relationship with Harry.
In the car, everyone got settled for the ride home, which would take roughly forty minutes.
"Well, that was useful," Emma proclaimed with a large smile.
"Oh?" Dan asked. "Arthur seemed like a pleasant person, although I barely got a question in."
Emma lightly laughed. "Molly was very talkative as well, but she answered several of my questions and volunteered to answer any that I might owl her."
"Excellent work, dear. We'll figure this new world out yet," Dan said confidently. He looked in his mirror to the back seat. "Did this term go better than last one?"
"Yes, Dad, thanks to the work you and Mum did on the complaints," Hermione answered.
"I'm glad, honey," her mother answered. "Our meetings with Professor McGonagall also went well." They had met with the Professor for a short meeting once a month to ensure that Severus Snape was behaving himself.
"Yeah, I didn't lose any points or get a single detention from Snape this term," Harry said happily. "I'm sure that not being in his class helped."
"Are you still as happy with Professor Tonks at the end of the term as you were at the beginning?" Emma asked him.
"Yes. She really is good. She was patient with everyone, and didn't let any of the Slytherins bother us either," he said enthusiastically.
"Have you received your grades yet?" Dan asked as he drove.
"We did," Hermione said, almost bursting with happiness. "I got straight Outstandings."
"Excellent," her father told her.
"Congratulations," her mother said. "Harry, how about you?"
"I didn't do quite as well, I got four Outstandings and two Exceeds Expectations."
"That still sounds very good, Harry," Emma said.
"Yes, very good, Harry," Dan praised.
He blushed and looked down, not used to being told such things.
"It was good, Harry," Hermione told him. "I asked Professor McGonagall about class rankings and you're second behind me in Gryffindor, and eighth overall in our year."
The elder Grangers smiled. "Very impressive, Harry. And you, Hermione?"
It was her time to blush and look down. "She said I was first in our year."
"Also impressive. Perhaps we should go out to eat to celebrate?" Dan suggested.
"Will we have time before Professor Dumbledore gets there?" Hermione quickly asked.
"Yes, honey, plenty of time," her mother answered.
They found a small Italian restaurant a little later and had dinner there. The meal time was spent talking about summer plans. They would be gone the last half of July and the first week in August, slowly travelling down the coast of Spain. Hermione liked the idea and Harry was in awe of simply getting to go anywhere.
The Grangers and Harry had barely arrived home when their doorbell rang. Answering it, Dan Granger found their expected guest was a little early.
"Ah, Mr Granger, it's nice to meet you again."
"Good evening, Mr Dumbledore," Dan said evenly. "Won't you come in?"
"Thank you. I hope you don't mind that I'm a little early, but I have a few things to do later this evening and I hoped we could start a little sooner," he said pleasantly.
"No, no problem at all. From your letter, I understand that you'll need Harry to do this?"
"Yes. I will need a hair from you and your wife to key you both into the wards. I understand that your daughter wants to watch and I can get a hair from her at that time," he explained.
"Certainly … I'll get Emma."
A few minutes later, all five of them were walking around the property. Dumbledore found five stones from the property, four of which would go to the four corners and the last into the back garden near the house. He then etched a few runes onto each stone with a carving spell; Hermione recognized them all from the book she had borrowed from him. On each of the "corner" stones, Dumbledore cast a spell that connected it to the last stone that would sit in the middle. After the last connection, he buried the corner stones and then cast one last spell on the center stone. There was a brief flash of light, like one sees when a camera flash goes off. When everyone's eyes adjusted again a few seconds later, there was nothing special to be seen, other than an ordinary looking rock, which Dumbledore buried under the ground near a bush.
"What was that?" Hermione asked, blinking furiously.
"That flash was from the control stone accepting an initial charge of magic and passing it to the border stones. From here on, it will draw magic from the earth around it," he told them. "This ward set should hold off people with harmful intent for a few minutes and give you time to escape. It will also warn me should someone try to attack you."
"Thank you, Professor," Hermione quickly said.
"Yes, thank you, Headmaster," Dan agreed.
"You're quite welcome. If you will excuse me, I have another engagement to attend." With one last nod to each of them, he left with a quiet crack.
"That's all there is?" Emma asked.
"Yes, Mum, at least for him," Hermione said quietly.
Emma focused on her child. She knew that tone and look. "What are you thinking?"
"That protection does a little more than he said but we can add to it, with this book to guide us," the girl explained. "Harry and I can put another layer up to make it even safer. We can also add a fire suppression ward to the house, as well as one to increase the structural integrity. There's even one to make sure the roof never leaks."
Dan looked impressed. "Those sound useful. Maybe magic isn't such a bad thing after all."
Emma sighed. "And what about the letter we received about you not being able to do magic outside of school?"
Hermione sheepishly looked down. "Technically, we're not supposed to as the goal is to prevent giving the secret of magic away to those who don't already know; but one of the side-effects of the wards the Headmaster installed is that it blocks the detection of magic. That's why it has an alarm on it. Should someone try to take it down, he'll know and can send help."
Dan and Emma looked at each other and had a silent mental conversation. Eventually, Emma nodded. Dan looked at his daughter. "Very well, but I believe you should limit your work to just the protective magic and where no one else can see you. I believe I can defend that use to whomever asks."
"Thanks Dad! Mum!" She quickly gave them both a hug. "Come on, Harry. We have to plan this." She grabbed his hand and pulled him inside. The adults chuckled at them.
It took two days for Hermione to be completely happy with their choices, but she finally had a list of what she wanted to do and how to do it.
While her parents were in the house, Harry and Hermione found five more stones native to the property and inscribed the needed runes on the stones. She placed them in a shallow hole, but still exposed. Taking hairs she had plucked from all four of them, she dripped a little blood from herself and Harry on the control stone and grabbed Harry's hand to start the ritual to set it up. They went through the ritual in unison, just like Dumbledore had done by himself, and as they finished by powering the runes on the control stone, there was not the brief flash of light like before. This flash of light was so bright it left them blinded.
"Hermione?" Harry asked worriedly.
"I-I'm here, Harry," she answered nervously. "A-are you all right?"
"Apart from not being able to see?" he asked with a nervous chuckle, as if trying to make a joke. It fell flat.
"Yes, apart from that," she said quietly.
"I believe so. We will get our sight back, right?" He pulled off his glasses and rubbed his eyes before blinking rapidly, not that it did any good.
"We should. I mean, we had the light after Dumbledore did it; we just had more this time," she told him, trying to sound like she knew what she was doing, even if it was half guess work and she was more than a little scared.
"So, more light would mean what? It's stronger?" he asked hopefully.
"I can't think of any other answer. Hey, wait!" she said excitedly. "I think I'm starting to regain my sight. It's sort of like being in a very dark room and being used to it, and then someone suddenly turns on a very bright light."
"Err, yeah, I think I'm starting to see spots. I think those are the street lights," he said.
A half minute later, they were able to see fairly normally. "We need to get a book on healing charms so we can make sure we don't have any permanent injuries to our eyes," she suggested.
"Yeah, good idea," he whole-heartedly agreed. "Maybe there's a potion we could brew to repair eyes, assuming it doesn't hurt healthy ones."
"We could…" Hermione paused as an idea dawned on her. "Harry, we should research to see if there is a potion to correct your eyesight, too. Then you wouldn't need your glasses."
"Not a bad idea, but I'd bet there isn't one."
"Why not?" she thought it was a good idea.
"Because if there was one, then no one in the Wizarding World would wear glasses," he told her.
"Oh, good point. I should have thought of that," she said sheepishly.
"Don't worry about it. I've given the idea of having good eyes a lot more thought than you have. Well, that's done and we can see again," he said. "Let's do the rest of the runes to protect the house itself. We don't want someone standing safely in the street and shooting a Fireball hex at the house and burning it down." He stood and reached down to help her up.
"Right. Let's get started…" she said as she took his hand and stood. Hermione liked learning, but the practical usages of magic were more interesting, or maybe the unexpected ways to make magic do what you wanted was more interesting still, she thought.