Chapter Two: The Wand
The air in the small room was thick and smothering with the surmounting tension, and Hermione couldn't help but
feel that all eyes were on her. She had not intended to come here. In fact, she had led the youngest Weasley boy
straight to Minerva McGonagall's cottage - the only other person she trusted outside of Hagrid and her own family
within the Hollow - to allow the elder witch to intervene on her behalf.
It was hard enough having to reveal to this elder woman what she had done, or rather, what she was in possession of - that disapproving and admonishing look in her stern eyes - and when it came down to it, Hermione found herself unable to part with her wand. What she had done to obtain it...
She and Ron instead had gone on to the Weasley cottage, the Burrow they had donned it, a narrow, five story makeshift home that stood crooked and leaning, obviously held together by the use of magic alone, while McGonagall herself went to fetch the Healer, Madam Pomfrey.
The whole lot of the red-haired horde was present when they had arrived, grouped nervously about their father and husband as he laid struggling upon his bed in the master bedroom. Thankfully, all the adopted orphans had been sent out to their Aunt Muriel's to allow the house to breath. It was a troubling sight, and his wounds were obviously more severe than Ron had wished to admit.
Now, they all sat about the common room on the ground floor while McGonagall and Mrs Weasley assisted Madam Pomfrey upstairs with the struggling Mr Weasley. The silence was absolute as all awaited for the news - the Weasley children afraid for their father's life, Hermione afraid of what would happen to her after this. The process had taken much longer than Hermione had hoped, it now already late into the afternoon.
She had insisted that none were told why she was here, but of course Ron knew, and she had told McGonagall herself. Madam Pomfrey had to be informed as she was the one who needed to use the wand, and though McGonagall promised not to name her specifically, how else could this mysterious wand have just shown up, and besides McGonagall and Pomfrey, there was only one other non-ginger here to link it too. They may not be the quickest bunch, but they would have to be right dimwits not to be able to put two and two together.
Regardless of what they may have been suspecting, none, thankfully, bothered an attempt to put her on the spot. All of their thoughts were currently upstairs. The eldest, Percy, was too busy pacing the center floor. The two twins, Fred and George, sat huddled together on the sofa. Ginny, the youngest and only daughter, couldn't stop from rubbing at the tears in her eyes. And Ron… every so often Hermione would catch the redhead glancing up at her from his bowed head, the weight of the world set on his face, and it was driving her absolutely bonkers. She wanted nothing more than to just leave… but not without her wand.
"Ahem…" McGonagall came down the stairs from the upper floors, clearing her throat to announce her presence. Everyone jumped from their seats.
"Father..?" Percy, the eldest spoke for his group, that pinch of fear all too evident in his scratchy voice. McGonagall's face was as stern and un-telling as ever.
"Madam Pomfrey…" McGonagall started, her eyes scanning the room until they fell upon the young brunette, "has performed all she can, considering the circumstances. It is still unclear what lasting consequences there will be-" Hermione felt her heart beat spike with this word, consequences… "but she does expect him to recover."
There was a sudden swell of hoot and hollering from the boisterous Weasleys, each and all hugging one another, elated to have the worst behind them. Hermione suddenly found herself being swept up in the arms of a one Ronald Weasley and twirled about the room.
"Thank you so much, Hermione!" Ron's face was beaming, and he was completely ignoring Hermione's attempts to break out of the vicious bear hug he had her in. The others noticed as well and started laughing and giggling at their brother.
"You'll have to forgive him-" one of the twins started.
"He's still a bit wet behind the ears," the other finished with a coy smile.
Hearing this, Ron's face turned beet with embarrassment and he put the harassed Hermione back down on her feet. "Thank you…" he repeated breathlessly.
"Yes," George, or Fred walked up to her. "Don't know what hand you had in all this-"
"-But thank you just the same, Granger," the other finished his sentence, each holding out their hands as an offering. Hermione awkwardly shook each in turn.
"We'll forever be in your debt," Percy came up behind them, offering her his hand as well, and gave a short bow of his head as she took it. None still named the eight hundred pound troll in the room.
The youngest, Ginny, came up to her last, hesitant, looking like she intended to say something, but then just started bawling all over again and crashed into Hermione with another bone crushing bear hug, much like the one Ron had given her. "Thank you... thank you..." It seemed they all knew exactly what hand she had in this.
"Can we come up to see him now?" Percy turned back to McGonagall who was awaiting on the stairs.
"Certainly," she smiled for the first time, standing back to let the horde pass by. "Miss Granger," McGonagall started, they now the last two in the room, "may have a word with you, please?"
"But…" Hermione stalled, looking back up the stairs to where the rest had just disappeared, her thoughts still on her wand.
"If you're wondering about this..?" McGonagall produced the slender piece of Elm, sanded down smooth, and nearly eleven inches in length.
"If you wouldn't mind…" Hermione stepped hurriedly forward, holding out her hand, anxious to have her wand back.
"Muffliato!" McGonagall abruptly flourished the wand within the air. Hermione flinched back, expecting to be hit by some sudden spell. But… nothing.
"What - what was that?" Hermione asked curiously, looking about the room for a sign of any noticeable changes.
"A muffling charm," McGonagall explained quite simply. "Useful for preventing any eavesdropping when two wish to hold…" McGonagall eyed the younger witch appraisingly, "a more private conversation."
"I see," Hermione drew herself back up from the defensive position she was in, her intrigue now peaked at having seen some true magic performed before her, and with her own wand no less. At least she knew it could work. Without any formal training, she'd barely perfected Wingardium Leviosa on a few light, discarded leaves.
"How - how well did it work..? I mean, he will survive, won't he?" Hermione was just as curious, if not more, to see how well her wand had performed in the hands of a trained witch, as much as she was concerned over the health of Arthur Weasley.
"He will survive," McGonagall stole a deep breath. "The foreign wand was not the most optimal for Madam Pomfrey, but it sufficed."
It was now Hermione's turn to take a deep breath. She had not expected some earth altering results, but between witnessing McGonagall use it now, and Madam Pomfrey upstairs, it was...something.
"I must assume, Miss Granger, as clever as you have proven yourself to be, that I need not warn you how dangerous it is to possess such an item here?" McGonagall crooked a brow.
"You do not," Hermione remarked shortly.
"And while I am pleased that you were gracious enough to help Mr Weasley, I would discourage you from advertising the existence of this item in the future."
"I wasn't advertising it," Hermione declared, back on defense. "He - he just… Ron saw me with it…" Hermione deflated some with her own admission.
"Even more alarming," McGonagall chastised. Hermione began to fidget in place. This was not good, not good at all. Not only had she been caught red handed by a nincompoop like Ronald Weasley with ease, but now his entire family plus two knew of the wand's illegal existence. No, not good at all.
"I do not believe you have anything to fear from the Weasleys or Madam Pomfrey, my dear, but please do be more careful," McGonagall said tenderly for the first time, seeing the young witch's discomfort. Hermione glanced up to her meekly, nodding her head. "Might I ask, how were you able to come into possession of this within the Hollow?" the elder witch asked while hesitantly reaching out to return Hermione's wand.
Hermione was not eager to admit all her secrets, but if there was any she could trust, she knew that she could trust Minverva McGonagall. Almost all of her library was thanks to the elderly witch, and she hadn't had to trade a single thing for them. "I made it," she said puckishly.
McGonagall appeared as if she'd just been stunned. "You made it?!" McGonagall repeated Hermione's own words with disbelief. Filling a bit small, Hermione managed a meager shrug of one of her shoulders. "How on Earth..?"
"Er..." Hermione stumbled. "The - the books... the basics were all there... and I just kinda improvised. I - I didn't know if it would work..."
"Miss Granger..!" McGonagall seemed to be at a loss for words. "Some of the most advanced wizards of the age are present within in the Hollow and no one... I've seen with my own two eyes, with my own hand that it does indeed work... but how?" McGonagall now seemed to be talking to herself. Hermione had never seen this regularly very poised matriarch in such a befuddled state. Again, Hermione could only shrug.
"It - it did take me some time. I've been working on it for the better part of the last year. The wood is elm..."
"And its core?" McGonagall got to the heart of the matter, which was also the key to it all.
"Well, that was the tricky part..." Hermione blushed a bit with humility at McGonagall's amazed expression. "There wasn't a way to get my hands on any Unicorn Hair or a Dragon's Heartstring, and it wasn't likely that a Phoenix's feather was just going to drop out of the sky, but..."
"Yes..?" McGonagall was leaning so far forward that Hermione thought she might trip.
"Well, like you said, it isn't very powerful... but I'd read that ravens do possess some magical qualities..."
"A raven's feather?" McGonagall asked surprised, her eyes looking off into an invisible distance as if contemplating such a possibility. Hermione had never read of one of their feathers actually being used for a core, and this solidified that indeed they hadn't, but no matter, her wand had still worked. Better than nothing.
"Excuse me, Minerva, Miss Granger, are you there?" a tendered voice echoed down the stairs, one that had been recently tempered by a great deal of stress and tears. Both McGonagall and Hermione looked to the approaching Molly Weasley heading down the stairs.
"Desino Muffliato - with a swish and a flick," McGonagall mimicked the movement with her empty hand in the air to demonstrate to Hermione. "That will undo the Muffling Charm I cast."
Hermione nodded, looking to her wand as if wondering if she could really perform such a feat. Lost in these thoughts, she did not notice McGonagall watching her with the keenest of interests.
"Desino Muffliato," Hermione performed it flawlessly, though she was unsure as nothing seemed to change. When she happened to glance at McGonagall, that gleaming look in her eyes and that hint of a smile on her usually most taut lips let her know that she had indeed done it.
"Oh, I'm sorry, am I interrupting?" Mrs Weasley stopped abruptly at the bottom of the stairs, seeing the look between the two.
"Not at all, Molly. How is Arthur?"
"Much better, thank you. Madam Pomfrey has promised to see what she can do in the way of potions, but..." her eyes suddenly turned to the youngest of the two. "Oh, you blessed child!" she broke away just as her two youngest had, rushing Hermione to take her in what was apparently a common Weasley bear hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" the older witch sobbed into Hermione's hair, smothering the girl close into her oversized bosom.
"It was nothing, honestly, I didn't even do anything..." Hermione mumbled as she tried to pull herself away.
"You gracious thing! If there's anything I can ever do for you, we will never be able to repay our thanks!" Mrs Weasley was flooding Hermione with her tears.
"Really, it was nothing. The vegetables Ron'd given me..."
"Oh, there will be plenty more where that came from!" Mrs Weasley promised, straightening herself back up while wiping away the joyous tears in her eyes.
"No, that is more than I'd dare ask for," she said, the price of food worth its weight in Galleons, and Hermione did not forget the large number of their house. Mr Weasley may pull through this, but it would still be a time before he got back to work, and Hermione knew all too well how hard it was to feed just the four of her own family.
"Miss Granger," McGonagall interrupted. "Isn't your little sister's birthday today?"
"Er... yes, why?" Hermione looked to her, but the sudden brightening of Mrs Weasley's face told her that something more had been said, without actually having been said.
. . . .
Hermione felt so light that she practically skipped home. Never could she remember in all her short years having felt such pure joy. It was late now, after dark, and she knew that her mother was no doubt worrying herself into a fit, but it would all be worth it.
"Hermione!" her mum did indeed jump up from her seat with that wear of stress hung across her face. "Where have you-"
"Hermione!" her little adopted sister thankfully interrupted all though as she slammed into her, hugging her in such a way that reminded Hermione familiarly of the Weasleys.
"I was about to send your father out..." was lost in the rambunctious greeting of little Lizzy's. Her dad, in his usual way, washed that look he'd been sharing with her mum into a warm smile, welcoming her home, as if to say, 'I hadn't doubted you for a minute.'
"Hey, you little munchkin!" Hermione tousled her sister's hair. "Give me one sec, okay?" Hermione raised her brows, giving her two watching parents a look as if to admit she had a coming surprise.
Without giving in to Lizzy's unhappy, scrunched face of a protest, Hermione skirted past her, leaving them all a bit bewildered by her strange behavior as she slipped into her room and closed the door behind.
Hermione acted fast, sure that Lizzy or her mum wouldn't give her too long until they had to butt their noses in. She whipped open her satchel, slowing only to carefully take out the small square object wrapped in a napkin, setting it gently on her bed. It was followed by a bulging burlap sack that looked conspicuously like the one Ron had given her earlier, filled with all the fresh vegetables, but was now at least ten times smaller.
Abandoning the sack and satchel beneath her bed, she retrieved an eleven inch, slender piece of elm from beneath the cuff off her blouse, removed the napkin wrapping, and turned her attention solely to the object that remained.
Flourishing the wand as Mrs Weasley had shown her, "Engorgio!" she cast with a certain zeal. The little cupcake atop her bed shivered beneath the magic, before ballooning out into its original sized birthday cake. Wingardium Leviosa, Muffliato and its Desino, Reducio and now Engorgio. All simple spells by any measure, but it was something. She was learning.