Chapter 1 "My brothers, you have gathered here this week to participate in our preparation to rid me of a threat I have

recently been made aware of. I would like my strong backed and brave to step forward...the work will begin with you. Mulciber, if you could take them somewhere and outline their assignment." The younger men went off towards the pier. "I am now left with my strong minds, and the dimwitted are off feeling significant...I have a pu le for you to solve for me." !e began to read. "The one with the blood and the eyes of the "haraoh, The one with the hands of an infant, The one who can speak without saying a word, Is the one who will strike revenge for the innocent. # mother dead, # brother throttled, #ll because of those who command serpents. #s surely as I shall yet dispense $ustice on the %oman Capital, I shall gain my revenge. "&e know that it was translated from an 'gyptian Tablet, circa 1(( )C and a few other details. I want you to figure out where is comes from and the story surrounding it. It is e*tremely important to us, but we cannot disclose the rest to you all $ust yet." Three weeks later +umbledore sat at his desk sipping at a cup of tea. &ork was all he had done for the last ten hours. !e had endured the scratches of ,awkes on his shoulder and had attempted to focus on matters of the school instead of the matters that were really concerning him. !is day had been very much a reflection of what he had done for the last year. !e felt worn to his very soul. The election had taken patience and many appearances by him. )ut it was all worth it. Minerva was the new Minister of magic. !er $ust and understanding policies had won the election by less than -( individual votes. It left a sense of peace in #lbus. mind. Maybe there were enough good people left in this world to defeat the /oldemort. ,or the first time in a long time, things were beginning to look up. It had been si* years since it had all begun and Cedric +iggory had been murdered. 0ot to say it had all begun si* years ago1 it really begun thirty or so years ago. #nyways, not to #lbus. surprise the +iggorys had very much contributed to Minerva.s campaign with money, hard work and moral support. It was not without sacrifice though. This year #lbus had three positions to fill. Minerva of course left her post in light of her more important duties. 0ot only had she left room for a transfiguration teacher, but also a new head of house for 2ryffindor was needed. "rofessors ,litwick and 3prout had retired last year1 they also were both head of house, for %avenclaw and !ufflepuff. +umbledore still had yet to retire and he was one hundred4 and4fifty4 Oh dear he could no longer remember. !e moved to take a sip of his tea when he reali ed it had gotten cold and the biscuits ne*t to his tea had gone dry. +umbledore removed his spectacles and rubbed his eyes. It was then that he reali ed the former headmasters on the wall were doing the same. !e glanced at his solid oak grandfather clock. It was nearly 5 am. The elderly man rose from his seat and walked to the edge of the room. ",awkes, it is far to late for an old man like me. 2ood night." !e fed the bird the remains of his dry biscuit and headed up the stairs to his chamber.

I will sort it all out tomorrow 3omewhere, not very far away, someone was thinking the very same, although they had not fully convinced themselves that that would be the case. !ermione 2ranger lay tossing and turning in her bed. 3he had no idea what she wanted to do with her life even still. #t twenty4three years old she had been accepted to every ma$or program, in every ma$or wi arding school in the world. 3he had taken advantage of a few of those opportunities, studying under some of the most respected in their field. 3he had now surpassed most in her thirst for knowledge. Charms had been her strong point if you could call the others anything less than strong. It was unfortunate thought that charms was not very useful. It had its practical uses, like dueling and helping around the house, but the only paying $ob that really entails charms is being an #uror. !ermione did not want to be an #uror.. In seventh year she could have predicted what every last one of her classmates would do for a living and been accurate about all, but one. !arry was of course, still helping +umbledore and The 6rder in their 7uest to bring down /oldemort. )ut his real $oy was playing 7uidditch for the 'nglish national team. !e was popular and sought after, but not available. 2inny and he were inseparable. !arry loved her more than life itself1 he $ust didn.t know it yet. It was painfully obvious to everyone else. 2inny &easley became a reporter and a responsible one too. 3he now holds the $ob title %ita 3keeter did before her unfortunate demise. #ll the &easley boys seemed to be doing very well. "ercy had stopped with his thirst to prove himself. !e was happy in his $ob. )eing the Magical #mbassador to ,rance was no small thing. Molly and #rthur had voiced how proud they were of him many times in many letters to !ermione. "ercy regularly communicated with !ermione. They found each other interesting, and easy to talk to. It is always more fun to talk to those at your own level of intellect. ,red and 2eorge &easley had earned fair wealth by starting their very own company. They manufactured various novelties of the $oke variety and much to their former headmaster.s dismay1 their business was doing 7uite well. %on became an #uror, and without a doubt was very good at what he did. !is $ob was dangerous and !ermione felt her heart become heavy every time they had to say goodbye. 3uch a good friend !ermione had never had. They had dated for a while in seventh year, but it didn.t work out. 0eville settled down with "ansy "arkinson, and had a set of twins1 they are both working for the reversal of accidental magic s7uad. The irony of 0eville working to fi* magical blunders made her laugh. 8et "ansy and 0eville ceased to surprise her. +raco Malfoy was the one who had the honor of doing so. +raco had never become a death eater. !e had become the minister of finance for the magical world, after being denounced by his father. !ermione later found out it was because he refused to become a +eath 'ater. # much4needed break from thought approached her window and tapped on the glass. #n owl she did not recogni e stepped into the room. 3he untied the letter from its foot and pointed at a perch, the owl graciously took advantage of her offer. Dear Hermione, I would like to thank you for your never failing support in my campaign. There is still much to be done now that I have reached this point. Here is a gift certificate to a store I have heard much about from some of the girls that have been shopping recently in London. erhaps you can buy yourself something. Thanks again. !inerva !ermione dug into the envelope only to find a one4thousand4galleon gift certificate to %ialto. It was Minerva.s best attempt to pay her back for all the money and time she had contributed to the campaign. It was far more than !ermione had e*pected. 2inny had

mentioned being at %ialto.s grand opening not more than two weeks ago. 3he was doing a story on it for the paper. 3he had been 7uite taken with the department store. &ell at least !ermione had something to do tomorrow. 3he scribbled a 7uick note of thanks back to her former teacher and head of house. The leaned over to her desk and grabbed a bo* containing bird seen. 3he opened it and offered it to the owl and after the owl had had its fill it took off out the window again taking !ermione.s note of thanks. The sun rose seemingly late for mid49uly at !ogwarts in the morning. 6nly four professors had remained over the holidays. %emus :upin and 3everus 3nape were among them. They both sat 7uietly at the table eating breakfast at the end of the %avenclaw table. "!ah;" :upin e*claimed looking over the paper. "&hat a ruddy buffoon;" :upin moved the paper into 3everus. view. 3everus read until he saw what %emus was talking about. !e gave a slight scoff of dislike. "I have never liked that man." !e began about a Chudley Cannons <uidditch player flying around on the front cover like ,abio. "I am abashed that he was a 3lytherin." "&ell I myself am not surprised he came from your house," spoke a female voice from behind 3nape. Madam !ooch found herself a spot at the table as a house elf appeared with some kiwi and yogurt for her. 3everus managed the sourest look %emus had seen in all his years alive. "%olonda, you really shouldn.t say things like that, your !ufflepuff conscience may give you difficulty getting to sleep tonight." "&ell all I know is that I have never slept better than I did last night. The bed in "omona.s old room is far more comfortable than the one I have been sleeping in for years. ,or the first time I am glad to take her place. I only feel sorry for the teacher who takes Minerva.s old room." Madam !ooch had $ust received notification yesterday that she was to be head of house for !ufflepuff in the coming year as the replacement for "omona 3prout. :upin sniffed, if was obvious that he was suffering from a cold. !e poured some coffee from the pot on the table and added one teaspoon of sugar. !e liked his coffee black. Cream, he felt, made absolutely no difference in the taste of coffee. "3o, who is to be the new head of house for %avenclaw=" "I am really not certain," she spoke taking a huge bite of her )elgian waffle. #s she finished chewing she had a thoughtful look on her face. "I am afraid that 3ibyll is the only %avenclaw left. 3he seems very uninterested though. 3he thinks the responsibility of it all will cloud her inner4eye." They all looked at one another and chuckled. To their surprise +obby appeared in front of them dressed in a smart looking tu*edo. !e had taken to being more of a butler type than the type of house elf in the kitchen. "The !eadmaster re7uests you meet him in his office immediately." They all swapped looks of confusion and with no further word they worked their way up to the !eadmaster.s office. >pon entering his office they saw nothing that seemed urgent. +umbledore leaned over his desk, "&on.t you have a seat=" They all complied and sat down on the opposite side of his cedar desk. "apers were scattered everywhere and three empty coffee cups were lined up on the right margin of his desk. "I have a matter to discuss with you all, regarding the employment of our new professors. 6f course we need to employ three new staff members." +umbledore tidied his beard and scratched his forehead. ")ut, we have come to a $uncture where we must pick someone

capable of supporting those in %avenclaw with understanding, hopefully an e*4%avenclaw. I have owled for days and looked through all the applications, but nobody seems right. #ny suggestions we do need a new !ead of !ouse=" They all had very thoughtful looks on their face. Madam !ooch finally spoke up. "&hat about Cornelia Clearwater= !er children are all grown up by now. 3he is a !erbology master. 3he has done e*tensive work in the field. "erhaps if she took a 7uick refresher course on the curriculum she would be e7uipped to teach= #s a matter of fact she and my mother had been talking and she was even looking at a position in pharma4magic at 3t. Mungos. "erhaps we can persuade her otherwise." +umbledore looked as if he was embarrassed he had not thought of it. "I will owl her at once. !er husband and I have been great friends for years. 3he is without a doubt more than trustworthy." :upin looked up at #lbus. !e appeared to have a suggestion. "3irius would make an e*cellent transfiguration teacher." 3irius )lack had recently been clear of all charges and had been en$oying his family.s company in the north for the last few years. !arry and he had a family at last. 3nape did not look to hold the same grudge against 3irius any longer, but nevertheless he had something to say about it, "+o you think it would be wise #lbus= I know 3irius is no longer running from the law, but that often makes no difference to the parents of our students." # knowing look came over the elderly man. "I have, of course taken that into account. I have already owled 3irius about this idea. !e has said that he is willing to try it out for part of the year. !e will only be teaching the si*th and seventh years, I will take care of the others. !e is rather talented with transfiguration, I see no reason why he should not become part of the staff on a trial basis." That seemed to please everyone. "#nd #lbus, for charms=" in7uired 3everus. #lbus paused. "!ow old would you say one would need to be to teach the students of our school=" he pointed the 7uestion directly at 3everus. "I would have no ob$ection to anyone of any age, as you know I begun to teach here at age twenty4eight. I only care about 7ualifications. &ho did you have in mind=" :upin smiled. !e knew precisely what was coming. "!ermione 2ranger." 3nape.s face twisted at once. !e couldn.t help but comment, "&hat makes you think she is 7ualified= #lthough I said age doesn.t matter, she is hardly commanding enough to control a class." "0o I suppose she may not be, but she does have fourth grade graduate studies in all the core sub$ects." 3nape.s eyes grew cold. "9ust because you.ve shopped at a store, does not mean you can run one. The same goes with learning and teaching." +umbledore seemed unfa ed by his comments. "It is necessary to have her here not only for charms, but also to be the head of house for the 2ryffindors." 3everus looked from :upin back over to +umbledore, "&hy has %emus not been given that responsibility=" :upin looked pointedly at 3everus. "&e both know I am not capable of being there for the students at all times. They need someone who is able4bodied enough at all times to help them." !ermione thought her eyes must have been deceiving her. %ialto was five stories high and

with a floor area of two of her old school gymnasiums. 3he $ust stood there gaping. !ow would she ever leave there with a sickle to her name= 3he went inside and was ama ed at what she saw. There was a house elf waiting to greet her. "!i there Miss 2ranger, I will be your clerk for your visit, my name is !ill." !ermione was beyond ama ed. 3he very much liked this store. 0ever had she imagined her fourth year 3.".'.&. pro$ect would go so far. #t least she hoped he was getting paid, otherwise she would certainly not be coming back. "!ello, my name is4" she stopped when she remembered he already knew her name. 3he smiled at him. "&hat would you suggest I look at first=" "&ell we have some lovely #merican Muggle perfumes, most of the ladies are immediately taken with them." !ill immediately snapped his fingers and they were at the perfume counter. !ermione blinked in disbelief. )efore too long !ermione was shopping like a professional. 3he had a bag full of %alph :auren perfume, a bag full of make4up and a trunk full of books. 3he had been in the same dressing room for hours trying on some of the most beautiful robes she had ever seen in her life. The one she was wearing at that moment took her breath away. It was made of blue satin and had a hand painted waterfall from the length on the knee and down. It greatly resembled a ?imono. !ill re4entered the changing room with more robes. "I hope Miss 2ranger finds these as lovely as the one she has on." !ermione could hardly begin to believe what she was seeing. The ne*t one she tried on was such a delicate pink you could barely tell it was pink at all. It had a simple incantation written in :atin down the sleeve in white. They were all very near the same style as the blue one. #fter !ermione had been breath taken by one after another, she finally got up the courage to ask a price. "I was informed by #lbus +umbledore that Miss !ermione not worry about the price of anything she ac7uires from the store. 3o long as considers his invitation to teach charms at !ogwarts in the coming term."