Arch Mage, the Path of Magic Chapter 43

Hey friends and fans, Kairomaru is here with another chapter of Arch Mage, the Path of Magic! Hermione is testing for a Rune Mastery in her Fourth Year! Will she gain the Title of ‘Sorceress’ at just fifteen-years-old?! Harry and Fleur have to continue preparing for the Third Task of the Triwizard Tournament as well. Daphne is still researching and experimenting with her own interpretation of magic, purification spells, and refining the ingredients for the potion spills to make new versions. All of that and there’s still whatever a certain Dark Lord is doing in the shadows.

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So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 43 – Hermione’s Mastery and Daphne’s Research

Hermione looked all around the Ministry of Magic with interest almost as soon as she came out of the Floo in the atrium. The corridor leading into the atrium was lined with fireplaces on both sides. Witches and wizards came and went from the with a flare of green flames one after another.

As Flitwick cleaned the soot from his and Hermione’s robes with a wave of his wand, he smiled at his student. “This is your first time at the Ministry of Magic, correct, Miss Granger?” Flitwick asked with a smile as they headed for the security table to have their wands checked and get their visitor badges.

“Yes, Professor Flitwick.” Hermione confirmed as she turned her head this way and that to try and take in everything. Her gaze came to a stop on the golden statutes in the large fountain in the atrium. “What’s that?”

A group of golden statues, larger than life-size, stood in the middle of the large circular pool. The tallest of the statues was a noble-looking wizard with his wand pointing straight up in the air. Grouped around him were a beautiful witch, a centaur, a goblin, and a house-elf. The last three were all looking adoringly up at the witch and wizard. Glittering jets of water were flying from the ends of the two wands, the point of the centaur's arrow, the tip of the goblin's hat, and each of the house-elf's ears

“The Fountain of Magical Brethren.” Flitwick said with a small grimace as he looked at the golden statues.

Hermione nodded, noticing the obvious ‘upper placement’ of the witch and wizard compared to the other three statues. ‘I don’t think any goblin would ever look at a wizard or witch like that.’ She thought to herself, remembering her experiences in Gringotts with the goblins and their sneers and looks of distrust. She hadn’t met a centaur before, but doubted they’d be so adoring of witches and wizards either. The house elf was the only statue that was even close to accurate to her knowledge. “It’s…large.” Hermione said after a moment while she and Flitwick walked by the fountain.

Flitwick nodded once. “That’s about the only truth to it.” He said with a small chuckle to keep the mood light. There was no reason to make this trip about anything other than Hermione’s Mastery exam.

“Professor Flitwick, good to see you, sir.” The wizard manning the security desk smiled at the Charms Professor.

“Good to see you as well, Mr. Wynn.” Flitwick smiled at his former student; the young man was a well-liked Hufflepuff just five years ago. “Everything going well, I hope?”

Wynn nodded with a grin as he took Flitwick’s wand and placed it on a set of scales enchanted to measure length, core, and ownership. “Can’t complain much. I’m being promoted at the start of next month to security chief, just under the Head of Security.”

Flitwick chuckled and gave Wynn a smile. “Glad to hear it, Mr. Wynn.”

Wynn handed Flitwick is wand back and then gently took Hermione’s from the student, placing it on the enchanted scales for a moment before handing it back to Hermione with a smile. “There you are, young lady.” Wynn nodded to Hermione as he picked up the two visitors’ badges that the set of scales had just produced. “Please put these badges on.” He handed the appropriate badge to each of them and then waved them through once each of them had pinned their badges onto their robes.

Hermione continued to look around, staring up at the multi-story rows of windowed offices looking over the atrium as they walked. “Such a large government center for only a couple thousand witches and wizards.” She mentioned the size of the Ministry in comparison to the actual population of witches and wizards in Britain.

“It is rather excessive, isn’t it?” Flitwick laughed a little at Hermione’s observation of the Ministry. “We’ll need to take the lift up a couple of floors to get to your examination room, Miss Granger.” He told her as they headed for the lifts, managing to get into one before the doors closed.

“It seems rather odd for the atrium to be on the eighth floor, rather than the first floor, doesn’t it?” Hermione asked as they rode the lift upwards.

Flitwick chuckled at Hermione’s question. “It does seem a little odd, I suppose.”

“Level Five, Department of International Magical Co-operation, incorporating the International Magical Trading Standards Body, the International Magical Office of Law, and the International Confederation of Wizards, British Seats.” The voice within the lift spoke as it stopped and the gates opened.

Hermione followed Flitwick out, wondering why her exam would be on this floor. “Professor Flitwick, may I ask why my Mastery exam is held on the floor for International Cooperation?”

“A Mastery is recognized by every member nation of the International Confederation of Wizards. So, most written exams take place on this floor so that the parchment work can be processed more quickly.” Flitwick explained simply for his student as they walked down the corridor together.

A short time later and the two were waved over by an older-looking wizard in official robes that stood in front of a wooden door marked as ‘Examination Room 4’. After confirming that Hermione and Flitwick were there for the Mastery Exam, the older wizard led them inside and Hermione looked around at the almost empty room with only a single desk near the middle.

“Miss Granger, you’re here to take your Mastery Exam for Ancient Runes.” The older wizard said as he laid out three sheets of parchment on the desk that Hermione sat at, then another small stack of five sheets of parchment, and finally a stack of seven parchments, each separated by a few centimeters. “Ancient Runes is both a study of language, as well as shapes and their ability to affect magic. As you are still a student without even your O.W.L.s, we’ll be having you take specialized versions of both the O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. tests before your Mastery Exam. Even if you are to fail your Mastery, should you pass these O.W.L and N.E.W.T. equivalents, you will be given credit for them.” The older man explained as he placed a quill and inkpot on the desk for Hermione to use, both enchanted to prevent any form of cheating.

“Yes, sir.” Hermione nodded as she realized why she had three small stacks of paper in front of her now.

The older wizard smiled at Hermione and moved to sit in a chair directly in front of the desk that Hermione sat at. “You may begin, Miss Granger.”

Hermione picked up the quill and dipped it into the ink well while flipping over the three pieces of parchment on the left side of the desk and seeing ‘O.W.L. Equivalency Test’ at the top. ‘Alright, I can do this.’ Hermione thought to herself as she briefly glanced up at the examiner, seeing him sitting in the chair with a clipboard in hand, made the older man look very similar to the wizards that were in the storybooks her parents used to read to her at bedtime. ‘Focus, Hermione.’ She looked back down at her test and began answering the first question.

An hour later, Hermione set the third parchment atop the other two she’d already completed.  With a short time to flex her hands and fingers, she picked up her quill again and started on the N.E.W.T. equivalency test. She blinked once as the older wizard came over to pick up her O.W.L equivalency test and return to his seat without saying a word.

It was an hour and a half later that Hermione finished the N.E.W.T. equivalency test. She set her quill down and stretched her arms, then her wrists, then fingers. It was a set of stretches that she’d been shown by her mother, and Hermione enjoyed sharing the knowledge that helped her mother get through her own time at university.

“Do you require a break, Miss Granger?” The wizard examiner asked as he picked up her N.E.W.T. test.

“Just a bathroom break and a bit of water, sir.” Hermione requested politely and was motioned to a door on the other side of the room. With a sigh of relief, Hermione walked over and found a single bathroom and locked the door behind her. Several minutes later she returned to her desk and found a glass of water waiting for her. Hermione downed the glass and set it back down, only for it to vanish a second later. ‘House elf?’ She thought to herself at the vanishing glass before she refocused on her Mastery Exam and flipped over the stack of seven parchments while picking up her quill and dipping it into the ink well again.

Unbeknownst to Hermione, the old wizard examiner had already graded her O.W.L. test and was impressed by her marks. As a scholar himself, he could tell that Hermione was incredibly advanced for her age and her understanding of Ancient Runes was well and truly above what he’d ever expect of a Fourth Year Hogwarts student.

‘Quiet the studious one. Or perhaps a prodigy for the work and understanding that Ancient Runes requires?’ The older wizard pondered as he continued to grade Hermione’s N.E.W.T equivalency test, marking another question as correct after going through Hermione’s answer and her example runic sequence.

“Wooo…” Hermione exhaled softly as she finished her last question on the seventh parchment of the actual Mastery Exam. ‘That was much more difficult than I expected, but I feel confident in my answers.’ She smiled as she briefly looked over all seven pages, going question by question to self-check her work.

“Finished, Miss Granger?” The old wizard examiner asked kindly as he stood before her desk. It had taken the girl almost two and a half hours to finish the test, which wasn’t the shortest time he’d ever seen, but it certainly wasn’t the longest either.

Hermione returned the smile as she handed the test to the man. “Yes, sir. I was just checking over my answers once more.”

The examiner took the parchments and then gave Hermione time for a meal break with Flitwick.

“Feeling confident, Miss Granger?” Flitwick smiled at his student as they headed for the cafeteria to get some food.

“Yes, Professor. I answered all the questions to the best of my ability.” Hermione said as they reached the lifts. “I am hungry though.” She admitted with a little smile as her tummy rumbled. She’d been taking her Mastery Exam for a total of five hours, or close to it, and she hadn’t had anything to eat since breakfast.

An hour later and Hermione returned to the examination room, noticing that there were now three examiners, the same older man from before, as well as a slightly younger woman that appeared to be in her late forties or early fifties, and a man that looked just slightly younger than her, though that could mean that both were pushing into their late seventies, given how wizards and witches aged. Hermione went and sat at the desk when the older witch motioned her to do so.

“Miss Hermione Granger, you’ll be pleased to know that you’ve passed both your O.W.L. equivalency test and your N.E.W.T. equivalency test with Outstanding marks.” The older wizard smiled at Hermione as the younger male examiner levitated two certificates over to Hermione’s desk.

“Thank you, sir.” Hermione smiled as she looked at the certificates in front of her, Both acknowledging her accomplishment in the study of Ancient Runes. ‘An O+!’ Hermione was ecstatic to see the marks on both the O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. tests. That was the highest grade one could get and she felt a little proud that she’d managed both so early in her education at Hogwarts.

“A Mastery, however, is a different accomplishment altogether, Miss Granger.” The younger of the two wizard examiners said with a small smile.

The witch examiner nodded, her slightly wrinkled face creasing just a little more, making her prominent laugh lines deepen as she smiled at Hermione. “One must be able to do more than just answer questions on a test to earn a Mastery. For the second half of your Mastery Exam, you’ll need to demonstrate applicable skill in the field of Ancient Runes.”

The first examiner walked over to Hermione with a small stack of blank parchments. “As you were recommended for this early Mastery Exam by both Professor Bathsheba Babbling and Professor Filius Flitwick, two well-respected educators, for creating what you dubbed a ‘Spell Scroll’, we’d like you to allow us to observe the process of your creation. Should you be able to successfully create Spell Scrolls for each of the spells that we three choose, you will earn your Mastery in Ancient Runes.”

“Yes, sirs, and ma’am.” Hermione accepted as the blank parchments were placed on the desk before her. “Which spells am I to make Spell Scrolls for?”

Each of the three examiners placed a half sheet of parchment on the desk with three spells each. They then moved to watch her process, the witch standing over her right shoulder, the first examiner standing behind her left shoulder, while the younger wizard examiner stood at the side of the desk. It was quite a bit of pressure, something that made Hermione swallow once as she steadied her nerves.

‘You can do this, Hermione!’ Hermione thought to herself, remembering all of the encouragement that she’d been given by Harry, Fleur, Daphne, Tracy, Luna, and Astoria, she picked up her quill and dipped it into the ink well before looking at the first spell on the parchment that the first examiner had placed on the desk. ‘Hmm, the first spell is the Levitation Charm, but the second is the Banishing Charm, and the third is a charm that I’ve never heard of…Nebulus? It makes a thick fog that can cover a large area according to the description.’ Looking over the parchments from the other two examiners, it didn’t take Hermione long to realize that while the first two spells of each parchment were taught in the seven years of Hogwarts education, the third spell on each parchment was for a charm that wasn’t taught at the school. It was a clear challenge to her ability to write out an unknown spell in runic sequence and make it work for her Spell Scrolls.

Without doubting herself, Hermione began to write out the appropriate runic sequence for the Levitation Charm onto the first parchment. A minute later and she rolled up the parchment into simple ‘scroll’ and sealed it shut with a tap of her wand. She began writing the next spell out in runic sequence without even looking at any of the three examiners.

What Hermione didn’t see as she focused on the practical exam for her Mastery was the looks the three examiners were sharing with each other. All three understood the runic sequences that Hermione had written, describing the parameters of a basic Levitation Charm, but the extra runes that the girl had used as part of her sequence didn’t relate to the charm at all, but seemed to be instructions. Nothing had happened when Hermione had finished writing, nor when she rolled up the parchment. It was baffling all three of them that these parchments could do what both Flitwick and Babbling said they could, but there was no way that both educators would put their reputations on the line for a student that hadn’t proven that they could do what they said they could.

It had only taken Hermione a few minutes to write up the first three spells on each parchment. A bit longer for the second spells, at closer to eight minutes. Then each of the final spells, the ones not taught at Hogwarts and wouldn’t be known by any student unless they scoured the vast library for them specifically, or were taught directly by someone else, took almost ten minutes each for Hermione to write out and then roll into simple ‘scrolls’.

“I’m finished.” Hermione said as she tapped the final Spell Scroll with her wand to seal it. Nine scrolls now sat neatly on the desk, ordered by their completion time.

The first examiner picked up the first scroll, the one with the Levitation Charm inscribed within, and walked over to the chair he’d been sitting in earlier. With a flick of his wrist he unfurled the Spell Scroll facing the chair and a half-second later the piece of furniture floated upwards until it hung in two meters in the air. It slowly descended almost fifteen seconds later and then gently rested on its legs again.

“It works.” The older wizard said, almost seeming surprised by the success, even as the used scroll burned up into ashes.

The witch examiner took the scroll containing the first spell from her list and cast a spell from her wand. “Orchideous!” A bouquet of flowers was conjured into the air and the witch unfurled the Spell Scroll in her hand with a swift flick of her hand.

Fwoosh

Flames leapt from the Spell Scroll and burned the flowers black before they fell to the ground.

“Fascinating!” The witch examiner said excitedly as she waved her wand and vanished the burnt flowers along with the ashes that remained of the used up Spell Scroll.

“Let me try.” The younger wizard examiner had a smile on his face now as he picked up the scroll containing the first spell on his list. “Sir, if you could assist me?” He asked the older wizard as he held both the Spell Scroll and his own wand at the ready.

“Of course.” The older man chuckled as he pointed his wand at the younger man. “Flipendo!” He said simply and the blue sparks shot straight at the other examiner.

The younger wizard snapped open the Spell Scroll and a visible Protego appeared between him and the incoming Flipendo. The Knockback Jinx splashed against the Protego without disrupting the Shield Charm at all. Ten seconds passed before the Protego faded away.

“It works!” The younger wizard laughed, acting like a man half his age. He vanished the ashes of the Spell Scroll from the floor with a flick of his wand.

Hermione could only smile as the examiners acted much younger than their actual ages from their excitement as they each picked up their second Spell Scrolls and began to test them one after another. It was only when each of the three examiners picked up their final Spell Scrolls that Hermione felt a little nervousness. These were the spells that she had no previous knowledge of and had worked out the runic sequences from the descriptions of the spells alone.

“Let’s see…” The older wizard opened the Spell Scroll and a thick mist poured forth from it, winding and swirling through the air quickly before the entire room was filled up.

Hermione could soon barely see a handful of centimeters in front of herself through the thick fog. But she could hear the three examiners talking to each other in hushed whispers as they judged the spell produced by the Spell Scroll. The thick fog slowly thinned out a minute later and all three examiners nodded to each other, giving Hermione some hope that she’d properly conveyed the Nebulus Charm into a runic sequence.

The witch examiner picked up her third Spell Scroll and both of the wizard examiners waved their wands to conjure up a massive slab of granite that was the size of a rather large shed. The mass of stone took up almost a third of the room by itself and the witch unfurled the Spell Scroll, facing the huge slab of granite. All three examiners watched as tiny cracks appeared all over the stone, spreading more and more as tiny pebbles and flakes of granite fell to the floor.

Hermione, having written the spell out in runic sequence form, knew what it was supposed to do and smiled a bit as the granite continued to fall apart. Within a minute the entire slab of granite was nothing more than coarse sand on the floor as the Spell Scroll burned up entirely, falling to ashes to join the coarse sand.

“Very good.” The witch examiner smiled at Hermione and gave the girl a nod of approval.

The coarse sand was vanished a moment later and the younger wizard examiner held up his final Spell Scroll with a little, excited smile.

“I went with something a bit complex, so let’s see how you did!” The man smiled at Hermione before snapping open the Spell Scroll.

A second after the Spell Scroll was open, the floor swirled as if it was liquid and rose upwards. With a sound like the grinding of stones, a small foundation was made, followed by walls, and then a sloped roof. As the Spell Scroll burned up, the new small building solidified fully.

The younger wizard examiner almost trotted over to the small ‘house’ that had been transfigured and took hold of the stone doorknob. Twisting the knob the older man smiled as the stone made a slight grinding sound, indicating a non-perfect Transfiguration, but the door swung open easily. Stepping into the small building of stone, the examiner looked around for any other imperfections but didn’t see anything that stood out. Placing his hand on the stone walls, most of them were smooth but there was occasional rough patches as he moved his hand, showing the imperfections of the Transfiguration spell as cast through the Spell Scroll.

“How is it?” The older wizard examiner asked from the doorway, briefly running his hand along the doorframe.

“The doorknob working is already impressive.” The witch examiner chuckled as she twisted the doorknob a few times, finding it actually working, even if a little rough.

The younger wizard examiner smiled at them. “Still, there’s no doubt in my mind that she didn’t know this specific spell and she still managed to write out a runic sequence that got this close to the original.”

All three examiners checked over the transfigured structure, inside and out, before conversing with each other. After a few minutes to go over Hermione’s written scores and the effectiveness of her Spell Scrolls that they’d watched her create from scratch, they three all came to a unanimous decision.

“Miss Hermione Granger,” The first examiner addressed Hermione with a small smile while the other two examiners undid the transfiguration of the stone building. “With your passing scores on your O.W.L., N.E.W.T., and your Mastery written tests, plus the proof of the effectiveness of your creation of Spell Scrolls, we are happy to award you with a Mastery in Ancient Runes.”

Hermione couldn’t stop herself from beaming brightly at the old wizard. “Thank you very much, sir!” She nearly bowed to the man as her excitement bubbled over, the sense of accomplishment greater than anything she’d experienced before.

Flitwick looked up from the plush chair that he’d conjured for himself while he waited for Hermione to finish her Mastery exam when he heard the wooden door open. Seeing Hermione step out with a beaming smile filled with accomplishment and two certifications in her left hand while a framed certificate stating her Mastery of Ancient Runes was held in her right hand brought great pride and joy to Flitwick at his student’s accomplishment.

“I see you’ve earned your Mastery, Miss Granger. Congratulations.” Flitwick smiled at Hermione while applauding for her.

“Yes, thank you, Professor!” Hermione beamed at Flitwick happily.

Flitwick chuckled at Hermione’s excitement, but could understand it. She’d done something that most of her peers wouldn’t be able to at their age. “The Symbol of Mastery looks good on you, Miss Granger.”

Hermione barely stopped herself from preening as she let Flitwick look at the badge pinned to the front of her robes. The Symbol of Mastery was identical to both of Harry’s, made of what appeared to be gold, silver, and potentially even platinum. The gold body of the badge had the seal of the International Confederation of Wizards on it in the background. Around the symbol, along the edge of the badge, were intricate lines of silver to decorate it. Inlaid within the gold was what looked to be platinum, spelling out Hermione’s name and the title ‘Ancient Runes Master’ beneath it.

“Please stop by the Minister’s office before you leave, Miss Granger.” The eldest wizard examiner smiled at the teenager. “It is his responsibility to present you with your new formal Title of Sorceress for earning your Mastery.”

“Yes, sir!” Hermione nodded as she was given smiles from the three examiners and she almost bounced in place when they bowed respectfully to her for becoming the youngest Ancient Runes Master in Magical Britain’s history.

Flitwick chuckled as he led Hermione towards the lifts again. The way the Fourth Year student was practically vibrating in excitement was understandable, but also a little humorous. “Come along, Miss Granger. We need to head up to the first floor to get to the Minister’s office.”

Hermione smiled, a skip in her step as she followed after her Head of House. “I can’t wait to show my parents!” She said excitedly, hoping that Dumbledore and McGonagall would let her parents visit Hogwarts or Hogsmeade so that they could share in her accomplishment.

-Hogwarts ~ Late Afternoon-

Hermione walked into the practice room that Harry had made for himself and his friends and, as she knew would be the case, all of her closest friends were waiting for her.

“Hermione!” Harry, Luna, and Astoria all called out brightly at the same time as soon as the door opened.

Seeing Hermione with two certificates in her left hand and a framed certificate in her right hand, along with the Symbol of Mastery pinned to the front of her robes, everyone broke out into a loud cheer. She was nearly engulfed by her friends and couldn’t help but beam at all of them as she enjoyed the group hug.

“I knew you’d succeed, Hermione.” Harry smiled brightly.

“There was never any doubt.” Fleur said with a beautiful smile as she kissed Hermione’s cheeks.

“Your badge is so cool!” Astoria complimented as she looked at Hermione’s new Symbol of Mastery.

Luna squeezed Hermione tightly around the middle. “You did amazing, Hermione!”

Tracy looked at the framed Mastery Certification with a bright grin. “Great work, Hermione! I think this makes you the youngest Runes Master ever, right?”

“She is, I checked.” Daphne said with a smile as she gave Hermione a warm hug as well. “Unless Harry steals it before his next birthday.” She shot a playfully grin at Harry.

“I’m focused on getting my Potions Mastery this summer, actually.” Harry said factually, his tone struggling to remain serious and not turn to laughter. “The only person I plan to steal a record from is Snape!”

That got snickers from Tracy and Astoria as Hermione was let go so that she could sit down and let everyone see her certificates and her Symbol of Mastery up close.

“Wait… You earned your O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s for Ancient Runes today too?!” Tracy said as she looked at the two certificates that Hermione had been holding in her left hand. “So, are you going to keep going to that class? It seems like a waste of time now, doesn’t it?”

Hermione looked at Tracy with a small shrug. “I’m not sure yet. But I’ll keep attending class for the rest of year, at least.” She had time to decide how to focus her education after this year.

“Let’s celebrate!” Harry declared, levitating all of them with a bright grin on his face.

“Yay!” Luna and Astoria cheered at the same time.

Fleur laughed beautifully as she was floated along by Harry. “It sounds like a lovely plan, mon chéri.” She reached over and pulled Hermione into her side with a bright smile. “Shall I congratulate you specially~” Fleur asked with a breathy whisper into Hermione’s ear.

“F-Fleur!” Hermione squeaked cutely at the playful teasing from the beautiful girl that made her feel similar things to Harry.

Harry floated everyone up to Ravenclaw Tower with a grin, the entire common room bursting into applause and cheers when they saw Hermione’s Mastery Certification and her Symbol of Mastery.

-Two Days Later ~ Daphne’s Research Room-

“Extract the Boom Berry juice and purify it…” Daphne said softly as she pointed her wand at the juice in the glass vessel. The juice became clearer, only maintaining its natural color, as all impurities were removed. “Then add the refined juice to the mixture…” She poured the purified juice into the cauldron as it simmered. “Now the magical components of the Moly should be extracted from the actual plant to refine and strengthen their effect.” Daphne consulted the Herbology book that she had open at the edge of the table, looking through the diagram of the Moly plant and seeing all of its parts drawn out and labeled. “Technically all of the plant can be used… But the flowers and the roots hold the most potent effects…” She read and nodded, having gotten used to further research into Herbology, Magical Creatures, and other fields as she worked.

Removing the white flowers from the black stems of the Moly plant, Daphne separated each petal gently and then turned the stem around so that she could cut off the roots. She set aside the black stem and leaves for later, planning to use them in further research for other healing potions, salves, creams, or syrups. There was a lot to learn about the Healing Arts and the various forms of medicine that existed, and Daphne was thrilled to learn and discover it all.

“Liquefacio.” Daphne pointed her wand at the white flower petals sitting in a short glass vessel. The spell took effect and the white petals softened and then liquified into a milky-white liquid. “Now to purify it further...” She pointed her wand at the milky liquid and focused on her interpretation of magic. “Benevolence...” The magic, not even really a spell, touched the liquified Moly flower petals and the volume of the liquid noticeably dropped about a millimeter within the vessel while also going from a milky white to a lighter white that was almost transparent. “Add the refined Moly flower extract to the cauldron...” Daphne poured the liquid into the cauldron before turning her attention to the Moly roots.

The roots weren’t liquified like the petals had been. Instead the roots were thinly diced and then mashed into a semi-thick paste to prepare them for being added to the simmering cauldron. Daphne pointed her wand at the paste and focused on her purification spell, amplifying the benevolence of her spell to remove all the impurities that she could from the mashed Moly root. The black paste seemed to shrink down a little, barely enough to notice with the naked eye, and the paste thickened a bit more. With a smile at the results, Daphne added the paste into the simmering cauldron and then tapped the self-stirring rod with her wand, setting it to stir the cauldron one-hundred-twenty-eight times at a set speed.

“Alright, now that the stirring is taken care of, I have some time to work on spells.” Daphne said while she took careful notes into her journal for potion pill research, making sure to thoroughly outline the process and everything that she’d done to each ingredient before adding them to the cauldron. “Research is only valuable when you document everything and can reproduce all of your results.” Setting down her quill, Daphne stood up from her chair and stretched her arms over her head. Taking her wand in hand again, she moved over to a second large table on one side of the old room that she’d taken over for herself.

On the second large table were various books, several of them opened to specific pages showing spells, while others had anatomical diagrams of various species. Daphne’s current test subject was a dead rat, something that could be found around Hogwarts easily enough with all of the pet cats of the students. While healing magic didn’t work on the dead, Daphne could practice the malevolence aspect of her interpretation of magic on the dead rat. She wouldn’t use living things for such tests until she was certain that she could fix whatever injuries that she caused.

“Ossifragus.” Daphne cast the Bone-Breaking Curse while focusing on the malevolence of the spell, amplifying its effects. The rib bone of the dead rat didn’t break like a fracture, as the curse usually did, instead the bone fragmented to the point of becoming powder. “Bone reduced to powder...” Daphne wrote into her other research journal, recording her new finding. Setting the quill down, Daphne pointed her wand at the dead rat again. “Capio Eam.” She cast the Removal Charm; a charm used in the Healing Arts to safely and painlessly remove foreign objects from within the body. However, focusing on malevolence, Daphne suddenly had one of the dead rat’s vertebrae hovering at the tip of her wand without the skin or muscles of the body being damaged in any way. She set the removed vertebrae on a metal dish and then put down her wand to write down her results. “When malevolence is applied to the Removal Charm, non-foreign objects can be targeted and removed, including bones.” She set the quill down and looked at the vertebrae on the metal dish for a long moment.

“I wonder...” Picking up her wand, Daphne pointed it at the tiny bone and levitated it over to the dead rat, setting it right where it had come from on top of the fur. “Benevolence... Benevolence...” Daphne focused as she thought about the Removal Charm and then on how to reverse what she’d done to the dead rat. “Tibi Reddo.” She guessed at a proper incantation and the vertebrae vanished from atop the dead rat’s fur. “It’s back...” Daphne noticed that the vertebrae had returned to its place and quickly cast a simple Diagnostic Charm to check the positioning and condition of the single vertebrae. “It’s in the right place, and it’s aligned properly too...” Daphne quickly put her wand down and started writing her new finding, and the new spell she’d come up with, into her research journal. A new discovery like this was unexpected, but Daphne couldn’t wait to show it to Harry and her friends.

Even without professional instruction, Daphne Greengrass had a talent for the Healing Arts. With a deeper understanding of how she interpreted magic and directly applying that understanding to what she was learning, she was far outpacing any previous student of the Healing Arts.

When talent was paired with hard work, it always resulted in far greater results than any mere talent alone could hope to produce.

-Hogwarts Grounds-

Harry was floating high in the air, looking over the Ministry of Magic workers apparently planting a large number of small hedges on the Quidditch Pitch. From his aerial view it was quite obvious what the hedges were being planted to make. “A maze, huh?” The paths between the various rows of hedges all connected, yet many of them were nothing more than dead ends. Eyeing the various paths, Harry mapped out the size of the maze and then tried to find the correct path through it. “The Third Task wouldn’t be something so simple, would it?” He pondered and activated his Mage Sight spell, only to grin widely at what he saw. “The hedges are magical.” With a chuckle, he now knew it was pointless to try and map out the maze right now. The hedges would assuredly move and change the path over time as they grew, and would probably do so faster and even more often once the hedges had grown larger. “And then there’s someone being a little sneak...” His Mage Sight spell saw the figure under the Disillusionment Charm and with a chuckle he used his Flight spell to move through the air swiftly and then lower himself behind the figure without a sound.

“Labyrinthe?” Fleur questioned as she stood in the stands of the Quidditch Pitch and watched the Ministry employees working to plant a hedge maze. “Surely, that’s not the Third Task?”

“That’s what I said.” Harry spoke up from behind the invisible Fleur.

“Kyah!” Fleur yelped as she jumped forward and spun around in shock, barely stopping herself from conjuring Veela Fire to defend herself as she realized that it was her boyfriend. “Harry?!” She hissed at him, swatting at his chest while she was still invisible before she grabbed his hand and dragged him out of sight of the Ministry workers.

Harry smiled once Fleur dropped her Disillusionment Charm. “Good afternoon, Fleur!”

Fleur pouted at Harry for startling her. “Must you, mon chéri?”

“Occasionally.” Harry nodded with a grin. “So, they’re planting magical hedges for this maze. What do you think they’ll fill it with?”

“That is the most likely option.” Fleur playfully rolled her beautiful blue eyes at Harry. “A simple maze, even of magical hedges, wouldn’t be a challenge for even a moderately skilled witch or wizard.” She considered what could be put in said maze for a moment. “Enchantments, hostile terrain, magical creatures… Probably all of them?” Fleur reasoned as she looked at Harry again.

Harry nodded in agreement at Fleur’s suggested obstacles. “That seems the most likely.” With a smile, Harry turned and began to walk away. “Well, I have a friend that’s quite the Herbology prodigy to ask about these magical hedges. I’ll see you soon, Fleur.” He said as he tossed a wave over his shoulder to his girlfriend.

Fleur followed behind him and wrapped her arms around Harry from behind. “You wouldn’t be trying to hide such information from me, right, mon chéri?” She whispered into Harry’s ear teasingly.

“Perhaps.” Harry grinned over his shoulder at Fleur. “You’re currently in the lead for the Tournament, after all.”

“Only because Karkaroff is a biased judge.” Fleur reminded Harry of the points that he’d been cheated out of.

Harry chuckled at Fleur’s words, enjoying that even though the two of them were competing against each other, his girlfriend despised that the competition wasn’t fair. “True enough. But I’m sure that you’d still be at least second place…”

Fleur playfully flicked Harry’s cheek as she let go of him. “I’m sure I would still be in first place.” She walked towards the greenhouses with asway in her hips that Harry’s eyes locked on almost immediately. “I’ll go ask Neville myself.” She knew Harry’s friends, and the only Herbology prodigy that Harry talked about was Neville Longbottom.

“Not if I talk to him first!” Harry flew into the air and past Fleur with a laugh. “I’ll make sure he knows not to tell you anything!”

“You get back here, Harry!” Fleur whipped her wand out and Harry found himself snagged by a spell and dragged backwards, while Fleur now jogged forward. “Just wait there!” She laughed beautifully at getting to engage in a bit of horseplay with her boyfriend.

Harry easily dispelled the spell on him and flew after Fleur with bright laughter.

-Voldemort’s Safehouse-

Peter Pettigrew had always feared the Dark Lord. His terror and cowardice in the face of Voldemort and his magical power had even led him to betray his oldest friends. But never in his life did he suspect that he could become MORE terrified of the man. However, he’d been proven wrong.

The safehouse held a strange air to it now. One filled with a soft chill, that wasn’t so much cold, but was as if a tiny breeze would pass over the skin from time to time. It was a sense of ‘unnaturalness’ that lightly needled at those that entered. The cause of the feeling was obvious to any of the Death Eaters that Voldemort had allowed to know his location and brought here to renew their loyalty to him.

The dead walked here.

Lucius Malfoy had nearly drawn his wand when he’d first been brought here and seen Wilkes, Mulciber Senior, Evan Rosier, and Jasper Rosier. All four Death Eaters had died in the days of Voldemort’s first rise to power, so to see them walking around as if they were alive had terrified Lucius. When he’d kneeled before Voldemort once again, the Head of the Malfoy family couldn’t help but tremble as faint specters moved about the room where Voldemort had set up his ‘throne’. Not quite ghosts or poltergeists, but malevolent spiritual beings that plagued the living whenever they appeared and required specialized spells to exorcise them. The Dark Lord had certainly not used such thigs back in the Seventies. Lucis Malfoy had practically fled from the place once Voldemort had allowed him to leave.

“Wormtail.” Voldemort spoke and Peter nearly threw himself to the floor in prostration.

“Y-Yes, m-my lord?” Peter managed to stutter out.

Voldemort’s red eyes gazed down at the sniveling man without care. “You will go with the Rosier’s to Little Hangleton. The cemetery there will contain two graves that you are to exhume and bring me the bones from.” A single piece of folded parchment landed in front of Peter’s prostrated form. “Find them and return with what I’ve ordered. Should anyone see you three...” He turned his red eyes to the two undead Rosiers. “...kill them and bring me the corpse.”

“Yes, my lord.” Both of the Rosiers said without hesitation.

Peter took the folded-up parchment into his hands without looking up from the floor. “Y-Yes, my lord.” He backed out of the room, nearly on his hands and knees still, and only when the door closed did he even think to stand up.

“Who are we retrieving this time?” Evan Rosier asked, sounding just like he had in life to Peter’s ears.

Jasper Rosier looked at Peter pointedly. “Well? Hurry up!”

“Y-Yes...” Peter shakily unfolded the parchment and read off the two names written on it. “M-Marvolo Gaunt and Tom R-Riddle.”

Jasper nodded once. “Gaunt is an old family, died out in squalor because they were too arrogant about their blood relation to Slytherin.” He notably had nothing to say against Voldemort’s seeming desire to raise the unknown man from the dead.

“Never heard of a Riddle family though.” Evan said as he followed after Peter while the man headed for the door. “Did we have a Death Eater by that name?” He asked, almost rhetorically given that his will was merely an extension of Voldemort’s and he couldn’t have any negative thoughts or opinions about his master.

It was not Peter’s place to question the Dark Lord...and he was far too much of a coward to ever do so. And both of the Rosiers were incapable of questioning the one that had made them rise from their graves. So, the three headed for Little Hangleton without words, Peter only grimacing when the two undead used their eerie bone wands to perform magic, as it felt like his own magic was being pulled on whenever he was too close while they were casting.

Inside of the safehouse, Voldemort didn’t smile, but he felt a sense of anticipation. “I’ve had enough practice now. Soon it will be time for my own ritual, and I can finally cast off this failing flesh.” He spoke in a soft hiss while slowly flexing his right hand into a fist, seeing it twitch and move so sluggishly only made Voldemort wish to toss aside the body that he’d stolen for himself. “I will make for myself an undying body, free from weakness and age.”

The ancient and worn tomes within the ‘study’ of the safehouse were all opened to multiple versions of necromantic rituals that Voldemort had researched until he’d found the one that he decided was best. He’d decided that nothing but power mattered for him this time around. Any that did not kneel and submit to him would simply be erased. He would not suffer fools nor allow cowards and traitors to hide under his banner while strong, only to abandon him when weak. His undead Death Eaters would ensure that he had absolute loyalty, and those that had betrayed him before...well, they’d find out that the Cruciatus Curse and even death was far from the worst that Lord Voldemort could do to them now.

“Barty.” Voldemort spoke and one of the specters vanished.

A moment later and there was a knock upon the door.

“My lord, you called for me?” Barty asked as he opened the door and bowed his head.

“Yes, Barty.” Voldemort said as the specter that had disappeared returned to float through the air of the room with the others. “I think it’s time for you to fetch another of our cowardly members that forsook me to save their own skin.”

Barty kneeled before Voldemort in acceptance. “As you command, my lord. Who shall I drag before you to answer for their betrayal?” He asked like the sycophant that he was.

Voldemort would’ve chuckled in amusement at one of his most loyal Death Eaters if his rage wasn’t starting to boil within him. “Bring me Avery.”

“It will be done.” Barty said coldly, his eyes filling with anger at one of the many that had claimed to be under the Imperius Curse to save himself from Azkaban.

“Good, you may go. I’ll have two more Death Eaters raised when you return.” Voldemort said as he stood up from his throne-like chair. “The Fowlers died in my service and will rise to continue serving me again.”

Barty said nothing, but did remember the husband and wife Death Eaters that had died near the end of his Lord’s first rise to power. It would be good to have both back in the ranks once more. He bowed and backed out of the room, closing the door behind him. He had his own task to complete now, and he was certain that the Dark Lord wouldn’t care if Avery was brought in a bit roughed up.

-End Chapter-

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Hermione earned her Mastery in Ancient Runes! Woohoo!

With it she also gains the Title of Sorceress! And at only fifteen-years-old too!

Her Spell Scrolls make sense to the other Rune Masters when they see them written, but none of them can figure out exactly how the items work, since they’re just ink and parchment. Lacking Hermione’s interpretation and insight into magic, they can’t recreate any Spell Scrolls, even after watching them being made from scratch.

Daphne’s research is bearing fruit as well! Our future Healer is not only working on improving the potion pills—as well as making new types—but is also practicing with her interpretation of magic being malevolence and benevolence, leading to her creating a spell by both applying her interpretation as well as reversing an already existing spell!

Harry will be so proud of her! Kek!

Speaking of Harry, he and Fleur sneak an early peak at what the Ministry is doing for the Third Task! A maze would be too easy, but a maze made of magical hedges and filled with all sorts of spells, enchantments, curses, and creatures could certainly prove interesting! Time to ask Neville about the properties of magical hedge species! Heh!

Voldemort is still skulking in the shadows as he grows his undead forces, raising more Death Eaters from the grave to serve hi once again. Now that he’s had practice with the dark necromantic arts, he’s ready to collect materials for his OWN ritual, the first being the bones of both his father and maternal grandfather. What horrors is the Dark Lord about to unleash upon the world when he makes himself known?

The Third Task is approaching, and with it a confrontation many years in the making.

What will be the result?

Keep reading to find out!

Until I get your reviews, later!