Hermione Granger and The Diary of the Sorceress

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 puzzle for you to solve for me." He began to read.

"The one with the blood and the eyes of the Pharaoh,

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.

A mother dead,

A brother throttled,

All because of those who command serpents.

As surely as I shall yet dispense justice on the Roman Capital,

I shall gain my revenge.

"We know that it was translated from an Egyptian Tablet, circa 100 BC and a few other details. I want you to figure out where is comes from and the story surrounding it. It is extremely important to us, but we cannot disclose the rest to you all just yet."

Three weeks later

Dumbledore sat at his desk sipping at a cup of tea. Work was all he had done for the last ten hours. He had endured the scratches of Fawkes on his shoulder and had attempted to focus on matters of the school instead of the matters that were really concerning him. His day had been very much a reflection of what he had done for the last year. He felt worn to his very soul. The election had taken patience and many appearances by him. But it was all worth it.

Minerva was the new Minister of magic. Her just and understanding policies had won the election by less than 50 individual votes. It left a sense of peace in Albus' mind. Maybe there were enough good people left in this world to defeat the Voldemort. For the first time in a long time, things were beginning to look up. It had been six years since it had all begun and Cedric Diggory had been murdered. Not to say it had all begun six years ago; it really begun thirty or so years ago. Anyways, not to Albus' surprise the Diggorys had very much contributed to Minerva's campaign with money, hard work and moral support.

It was not without sacrifice though. This year Albus had three positions to fill. Minerva of course left her post in light of her more important duties. Not only had she left room for a transfiguration teacher, but also a new head of house for Gryffindor was needed. Professors Flitwick and Sprout had retired last year; they also were both head of house, for Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. Dumbledore still had yet to retire and he was one hundred-and-fifty- Oh dear he could no longer remember.

He moved to take a sip of his tea when he realized it had gotten cold and the biscuits next to his tea had gone dry. Dumbledore removed his spectacles and rubbed his eyes. It was then that he realized the former headmasters on the wall were doing the same. He glanced at his solid oak grandfather clock. It was nearly 2 am. The elderly man rose from his seat and walked to the edge of the room.

"Fawkes, it is far to late for an old man like me. Good night." He fed the bird the remains of his dry biscuit and headed up the stairs to his chamber.

I will sort it all out tomorrow

Somewhere, not very far away, someone was thinking the very same, although they had not fully convinced themselves that that would be the case. Hermione Granger lay tossing and turning in her bed. She had no idea what she wanted to do with her life even still. At twenty-three years old she had been accepted to every major program, in every major wizarding school in the world. She had taken advantage of a few of those opportunities, studying under some of the most respected in their field. She 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 job that really entails charms is being an Auror. Hermione did not want to be an Auror..

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. Harry was of course, still helping Dumbledore and The Order in their quest to bring down Voldemort. But his real joy was playing quidditch for the English national team. He was popular and sought after, but not available. Ginny and he were inseparable. Harry loved her more than life itself; he just didn't know it yet. It was painfully obvious to everyone else. Ginny Weasley became a reporter and a responsible one too. She now holds the job title Rita Skeeter did before her unfortunate demise. All the Weasley boys seemed to be doing very well. Percy had stopped with his thirst to prove himself. He was happy in his job. Being the Magical Ambassador to France was no small thing. Molly and Arthur had voiced how proud they were of him many times in many letters to Hermione. Percy regularly communicated with Hermione. 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. Fred and George Weasley had earned fair wealth by starting their very own company. They manufactured various novelties of the joke variety and much to their former headmaster's dismay; their business was doing quite well. Ron became an Auror, and without a doubt was very good at what he did. His job was dangerous and Hermione felt her heart become heavy every time they had to say goodbye. Such a good friend Hermione had never had. They had dated for a while in seventh year, but it didn't work out. Neville settled down with Pansy Parkinson, and had a set of twins; they are both working for the reversal of accidental magic squad. The irony of Neville working to fix magical blunders made her laugh. Yet Pansy and Neville ceased to surprise her. Draco Malfoy was the one who had the honor of doing so. Draco had never become a death eater. He had become the minister of finance for the magical world, after being denounced by his father. Hermione later found out it was because he refused to become a Death Eater.

A much-needed break from thought approached her window and tapped on the glass. An owl she did not recognize stepped into the room. She 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. Perhaps you can buy yourself something. Thanks again.

Minerva

Hermione dug into the envelope only to find a one-thousand-galleon gift certificate to Rialto. 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 Hermione had expected. Ginny had mentioned being at Rialto's grand opening not more than two weeks ago. She was doing a story on it for the paper. She had been quite taken with the department store. Well at least Hermione had something to do tomorrow. She scribbled a quick note of thanks back to her former teacher and head of house.

The leaned over to her desk and grabbed a box containing bird seen. She opened it and offered it to the owl and after the owl had had its fill it took off out the window again taking Hermione's note of thanks.

The sun rose seemingly late for mid-July at Hogwarts in the morning. Only four professors had remained over the holidays. Remus Lupin and Severus Snape were among them. They both sat quietly at the table eating breakfast at the end of the Ravenclaw table.

"Hah!" Lupin exclaimed looking over the paper. "What a ruddy buffoon!" Lupin moved the paper into Severus' view.

Severus read until he saw what Remus was talking about. He gave a slight scoff of dislike. "I have never liked that man." He began about a Chudley Cannons Quidditch player flying around on the front cover like Fabio. "I am abashed that he was a Slytherin."

"Well I myself am not surprised he came from your house," spoke a female voice from behind Snape. Madam Hooch found herself a spot at the table as a house elf appeared with some kiwi and yogurt for her.

Severus managed the sourest look Remus had seen in all his years alive. "Rolonda, you really shouldn't say things like that, your Hufflepuff conscience may give you difficulty getting to sleep tonight."

"Well all I know is that I have never slept better than I did last night. The bed in Pomona's old room is far more comfortable than the one I have been sleeping in for years. For the first time I am glad to take her place. I only feel sorry for the teacher who takes Minerva's old room." Madam Hooch had just received notification yesterday that she was to be head of house for Hufflepuff in the coming year as the replacement for Pomona Sprout.

Lupin sniffed, if was obvious that he was suffering from a cold. He poured some coffee from the pot on the table and added one teaspoon of sugar. He liked his coffee black. Cream, he felt, made absolutely no difference in the taste of coffee. "So, who is to be the new head of house for Ravenclaw?"

"I am really not certain," she spoke taking a huge bite of her Belgian waffle. As she finished chewing she had a thoughtful look on her face. "I am afraid that Sibyll is the only Ravenclaw left. She seems very uninterested though. She thinks the responsibility of it all will cloud her inner-eye."

They all looked at one another and chuckled.

To their surprise Dobby appeared in front of them dressed in a smart looking tuxedo. He had taken to being more of a butler type than the type of house elf in the kitchen. "The Headmaster requests 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 Headmaster's office.

Upon entering his office they saw nothing that seemed urgent.

Dumbledore leaned over his desk, "Won't you have a seat?"

They all complied and sat down on the opposite side of his cedar desk. Papers 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. Of course we need to employ three new staff members." Dumbledore tidied his beard and scratched his forehead. "But, we have come to a juncture where we must pick someone capable of supporting those in Ravenclaw with understanding, hopefully an ex-Ravenclaw. I have owled for days and looked through all the applications, but nobody seems right. Any suggestions we do need a new Head of House?"

They all had very thoughtful looks on their face. Madam Hooch finally spoke up. "What about Cornelia Clearwater? Her children are all grown up by now. She is a Herbology master. She has done extensive work in the field. Perhaps if she took a quick refresher course on the curriculum she would be equipped to teach? As a matter of fact she and my mother had been talking and she was even looking at a position in pharma-magic at St. Mungos. Perhaps we can persuade her otherwise."

Dumbledore looked as if he was embarrassed he had not thought of it. "I will owl her at once. Her husband and I have been great friends for years. She is without a doubt more than trustworthy."

Lupin looked up at Albus. He appeared to have a suggestion. "Sirius would make an excellent transfiguration teacher." Sirius Black had recently been clear of all charges and had been enjoying his family's company in the north for the last few years. Harry and he had a family at last.

Snape did not look to hold the same grudge against Sirius any longer, but nevertheless he had something to say about it, "Do you think it would be wise Albus? I know Sirius is no longer running from the law, but that often makes no difference to the parents of our students."

A knowing look came over the elderly man. "I have, of course taken that into account. I have already owled Sirius about this idea. He has said that he is willing to try it out for part of the year. He will only be teaching the sixth and seventh years, I will take care of the others. He 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.

"And Albus, for charms?" inquired Severus.

Albus paused. "How old would you say one would need to be to teach the students of our school?" he pointed the question directly at Severus.

"I would have no objection to anyone of any age, as you know I begun to teach here at age twenty-eight. I only care about qualifications. Who did you have in mind?"

Lupin smiled. He knew precisely what was coming.

"Hermione Granger."

Snape's face twisted at once. He couldn't help but comment, "What makes you think she is qualified? Although I said age doesn't matter, she is hardly commanding enough to control a class."

"No I suppose she may not be, but she does have fourth grade graduate studies in all the core subjects."

Snape's eyes grew cold. "Just because you've shopped at a store, does not mean you can run one. The same goes with learning and teaching."

Dumbledore seemed unfazed by his comments. "It is necessary to have her here not only for charms, but also to be the head of house for the Gryffindors."

Severus looked from Lupin back over to Dumbledore, "Why has Remus not been given that responsibility?"

Lupin looked pointedly at Severus. "We both know I am not capable of being there for the students at all times. They need someone who is able-bodied enough at all times to help them."

Hermione thought her eyes must have been deceiving her. Rialto was five stories high and with a floor area of two of her old school gymnasiums. She just stood there gaping. How would she ever leave there with a sickle to her name? She went inside and was amazed at what she saw. There was a house elf waiting to greet her.

"Hi there Miss Granger, I will be your clerk for your visit, my name is Hill."

Hermione was beyond amazed. She very much liked this store. Never had she imagined her fourth year S.P.E.W. project would go so far. At least she hoped he was getting paid, otherwise she would certainly not be coming back.

"Hello, my name is-" she stopped when she remembered he already knew her name. She smiled at him. "What would you suggest I look at first?"

"Well we have some lovely American Muggle perfumes, most of the ladies are immediately taken with them." Hill immediately snapped his fingers and they were at the perfume counter. Hermione blinked in disbelief.

Before too long Hermione was shopping like a professional. She had a bag full of Ralph Lauren perfume, a bag full of make-up and a trunk full of books. She 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 Kimono.

Hill re-entered the changing room with more robes. "I hope Miss Granger finds these as lovely as the one she has on."

Hermione could hardly begin to believe what she was seeing. The next 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 Latin down the sleeve in white. They were all very near the same style as the blue one.

After Hermione had been breath taken by one after another, she finally got up the courage to ask a price.

"I was informed by Albus Dumbledore that Miss Hermione not worry about the price of anything she acquires from the store. So long as considers his invitation to teach charms at Hogwarts in the coming term."