Semper Fidelis

Chapter 17.9

The following morning, Hermione woke up to Madam Pomfrey tending to her wound. The mediwitch was redressing her bandaged side and immediately offered her a potion when she saw Hermione blink awake.

As Hermione drank the bitter liquid, Madam Pomfrey answered her silent question. "Your son dropped by this morning, Ms. Granger," the mediwitch said with a raised eyebrow. "He's in class now but he told me he will be visiting you over lunch."

"Thank you, Madam Pomfrey," Hermione said softly.

The witch eyed her critically and Hermione felt herself shrink under the healer's gaze. Madam Pomfrey opened her mouth only to close it again. Finally, she smiled gently and said, "And welcome back, Ms. Granger. It's good to see you again." Without waiting for Hermione's reply, she turned around and left the bedside leaving the younger witch in deep thought.

Not soon after Madam Pomfrey left her did a knock sound at the door. Hermione told her visitor to come in expecting to see Professor McGonagall or Professor Dumbledore. Instead, one of the men who helped rescue her came into the room.

"Remus," Hermione said in greeting with a shocked but pleased smile. Her previous Defence Against the Dark Arts professor returned her smile and closed the door behind him. He was carrying a stack of books in his hands which he carefully laid on Hermione's bedside table.

"Hermione," Remus said warmly. "How are you doing? Are you feeling better?" He asked, as he sat on the chair next to her bed.

She nodded her head. "The wound still hurts but not as much as before. Madame Pomfrey has been taking great care of me."

"I see that she is," Remus commented, nodding towards Hermione's comfortable perch on the bed as she sat surrounded by pillows. "I'm truly glad that you're recovering well but why I came this morning is to ask you about what happened."

"Of course," Hermione replied with a nod. She wasn't daft; she knew what he came to see her for. He was an Auror after all and she had valuable information that he needed to hear.

"Before we begin, I have something which belongs to you," Remus said. He reached into the inside of his coat and pulled out a slender piece of wood. He held the wand delicately in between his fingers before handing it to her.

"Thank you," Hermione said, wide-eyed. She grasped her wand and clutched it in her palm. It's funny how she felt so much stronger and more secure with it in her hand when she had spent years without even looking at it.

Remus sat back on his chair and looked at the witch on the bed. Momentarily, Remus remembered the last time he had seen Ms. Granger. It was in this very castle, during the feast held at the Great Hall after Voldemort's defeat. He remembered telling Tonks, who was holding onto a squirming Teddy, that it made such a great sight seeing the three friends - Harry, Ron, and Hermione - together and laughing again. Remus had no idea that the very next day he would be searching the whole castle since Hermione Jane Granger had disappeared.

"Hermione," he began softly. "Can you please tell me what happened after you... left eleven years ago?"

Her eyes held his own as she answered. "This may surprise you but... I went to London. I had money with me - I had always been good at saving money - but I had nobody else. I was able to rent a flat and pretended that I was still a student going to a nearby university. The Muggles ignored me for the most part, and I was able to live on my own," she began. "I took the next few months to just clear my head. And after I... I gave birth... I started working at a bookstore. The owner was an old woman named Tessa," here, Hermione smiled, "and she loved taking care of James. She was smart as a whip too. Her bookstore was her retirement dream," Hermione explained, seeing Remus nodding along. "Tessa was a historian and a researcher. I saw so many people go into her bookstore to commission her for work. She noticed I was interested, so she asked me to help out. It started off as just small research projects, but soon I was doing more research work for her than working at the bookstore." Hermione's eyes started to tear up. "She passed away four years later. Heart attack."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Remus said softly.

Hermione gave him a teary smile. "She lived a good life. And she helped me so much with mine. We were like family."

"So you worked as a researcher, then?" The Auror asked, continuing his questions.

Hermione nodded. "She gave my information to her clients and when she passed... they came to me, instead," she answered.

"And what about James?" Remus asked, quietly. He watched as Hermione's eyes brightened and she turned wistful.

"He was a happy child. He made friends so easily. He loved to play football and his computer games, but he loved going to school too. He is the kindest and best person I know," Hermione said about her son. Her voice quivered a little bit when she said, "He... he didn't show any signs of magic until he was 10." 

Remus nodded his head understanding. "How did you get into contact with Demetre Demos?" He asked next.

Hermione told the Auror that Demos contacted her for a project his museum was undertaking. She explained that it wasn't unusual for her to work with museums and libraries, so she had no problem believing the museum director. Besides, he had piqued her interest by telling her what the project was about.

"The origins of mythical objects? That seems like a very difficult task, Ms. Granger," Remus commented, after Hermione told him what Demos asked of her.

"It was, but I thought it interesting and challenging. There's always a beginning somewhere, one just has to look for it," she said.

"Fair enough," Remus replied. "So what happened when you started working for him?"

Hermione described the lucky discovery she made about the exhibit in Toronto. She said that she was going to meet Mr. Demos in person for an update, so she thought it best that she tell him about Toronto during that meeting. Hermione told the Auror what she saw and what she heard during her visit to the museum.

"He never gave any indication that he knew I was a witch, and I never questioned him to be a wizard. But when I saw and heard that conversation inside his office, I knew he was hiding something and he could not be trusted. The wizard who came to see Demos was called Christanti," Hermione told Remus, and watched the man write down the name. "I had to pretend I saw nothing when I met with him. And it was different this time. He was so impatient and so insistent. It seemed that Christanti really shook him up. He kept asking about the caduceus and I... kept quiet about my discovery," Hermione said.

"I flew to Toronto soon after I landed back home in London. I saw the staff that was described in the catalogue and it was... enchanted. I felt its magic the moment I spotted it. I wanted to study it further so I took the staff and transfigured something else to keep its place," she admitted.

Remus' eyebrows rose at her words. "What happened after that? Did you find out what it does? Where is the staff now?"

"I took it back to London, and I studied it. I kept the staff with me all the time... I transfigured it, you see," Hermione explained.

"You've transfigured it?" He repeated the question. "Where is it? Can I see it?"

Hermione held out her wrist and showed Remus the silver chain bracelet she wore. She unclasped the jewelry with her other hand and placed the bracelet on top of her lap. After grabbing her wand, Hermione waved the wood in complicated movements and mumbled a modified Finite charm under her breath.