History of Magic
The ceiling of the Great Hall brought the dove-grey light of a darkening November afternoon into the castle. Hermione was aimlessly patrolling the aisles between the long tables, keeping an eye on the students. It was a quiet day—most students were actually busy with their homework and seemingly too tired to get into mischief. Must be that dreary autumn weather, Hermione mused and suppressed a yawn. She felt exhausted herself, although she hadn’t worked much that day.
‘Oh, hi, Mrs Snape!’
Hermione’s stomach did a curious little flip. Would she ever get used to being addressed as ‘Mrs Snape’?
‘Hello, Miss Flamel.’
The brown-haired girl that Neville liked so much sat next to Alyah Beiond, Alina’s orphaned friend, at the Ravenclaw table. Hermione smiled at the girl. ‘And Miss Beiond.’
‘Miss Flamel, my husband told me about your herbology project. He thought it might be interesting for us to compare notes. I understand that you’re trying to recreate Hildegard of Bingen’s herb-garden here at Hogwarts?’
The girl’s green eyes brightened. ‘Oh, yes. That’s the practical part of my project. I’m also working on an essay that puts the garden and its herbs into its historical and magical context. It’s really fascinating—Hildegard of Bingen was a witch, but she was also an abbess.’
To Hermione’s surprise, Alyah nodded. ‘There were a number of magical women who were accepted by the Church and by the Muggles in the Middle Ages, in spite of the witch-hunts. Muggles call them ‘female mystics’.’
‘That is indeed interesting.’ Hermione sat down across from Anne and Alyah. ‘Why do you know so much about that topic, Alyah? That’s not exactly a subject I’d normally expect a third-year student to be interested in.’ Actually, given the rousing lectures of Professor Binns, Hermione would be surprised to find any student in all of Hogwarts who was actually interested in history, be it magical or Muggle.
Alyah’s answering smile wavered unhappily. ‘Because of my mother, Mrs Snape. She—she was a professor for history of magic at the library of Al-Iskandariya. She was working on a paper about that when she was killed.’
‘I’m so sorry, Alyah,’ Hermione said. ‘You know that you can always come to me if you need help or someone to talk to, yes?’
‘Thank you, Mrs Snape. Everyone has been very kind.’ Alyah’s small, bony face seemed to shrink even more while her dark eyes widened in an effort to hold back tears. ‘I do need help,’ Alyah admitted. ‘I want to finish my mother’s project. I have her notes, but the books I need are not available to students.’
Hermione frowned. She couldn’t remember having seen any history books in the Restricted Section. But while she had always studied diligently for Professor Binns’ classes, she had to admit that her historical research had concentrated on topics of practical relevance or personal involvement, such as the history of Hogwarts or the house-elves. ‘Which books do you need, Alyah? Maybe I can help you?’
The girl’s face lit up instantly. ‘Oh, that would be wonderful! The one thing that I need most of all at the moment is a book on the secret treaties between the wizarding world and the Catholic Church that led up to the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy, and eventually the end of the witch-hunts. I need to establish the frame of refr—reference…uh …concerning time and events that my mother used as the basis for her research.’
‘Secret treaties with the Church? I don’t think Professor Binns ever mentioned something like that.’
‘I think I can explain that,’ Anne said unexpectedly. ‘They are really secret treaties, Mrs Snape. And at least theoretically they are still in effect today. They have never had as much impact here in Britain as on the continent, so most people believe they are just a myth. Like the “Deathly Hallowsâ€, for example.’
Hermione jumped. Anne couldn’t possibly know about the Hallows, could she? That part of Voldemort’s defeat was not widely known. To distract from her uneasiness, she asked, ‘Why the difference between Britain and the continent?’
‘Oh, because of the witches and wizards in the royal family, of course—I mean, if the rulers of a country actually support the development of spells that allow magical folk to survive witch-trials, it’s just not as important to implement those treaties down to the last dot on an i.’
Alyah nodded. ‘That’s why there’s so much more material about all of that in the library of Al-Iskandariya, too. They didn’t have to fear the Church. The magical traditions in the Arabic countries are completely different, especially in the Middle Ages.’
At that moment two boys at the Gryffindor table leapt up, drawing their wands and shouting insults at each other. Hermione sighed. ‘I’m sorry, I have to go. Miss Flamel, Miss Beiond—good luck with your projects. And Miss Beiond? Please prepare a list of the books you need for your next Potions study group. I’ll do what I can to help you.’
oooOooo
‘I feel really silly about this,’ Hermione admitted. ‘There’s this voice inside my head that keeps mumbling something that sounds suspiciously like “Secret treaties? Why wasn’t I informed?â€â€™
Severus’ eyes glittered, and the corners of his mouth twitched. ‘The resident Know-It-All asserts herself?’
She smiled. ‘Definitely. But seriously, if those treaties are still in effect, why are they not part of the Hogwarts curriculum?’
‘Precisely for that reason,’ Severus replied, his voice suddenly very serious. ‘While I agree with you that it may help Miss Beiond cope with the loss of her family, this is not an endeavour that any student may undertake without supervision. You need to consult Minerva, Binns, and Irma concerning the conditions that must be met for Miss Beiond to continue with this project.’ A slight smile tugged at his mouth. ‘However, I dare say that you will find it rewarding to explore an area of magical knowledge that has so far escaped your attention.’
“Binder. Someone who can banish and bind demons, zombies, and spectres easier than others.”
Why am i not surprised that he is some kind of exorcist of the magical underworld?
“My personal theory is that it is shaped by centuries of mythology and shared beliefs.”
How do you do it? Really, how do things in your “worlds” make perfect sense?
*hypnotized*
“For a moment she felt a stinging stab of jealousy deep in her chest because she was not the first. Followed quickly by a pang of pain at the knowledge that—while she had not been the first he had ever loved—she was the first to truly love him.”
That’s beautiful.
“obviously Charmed Manolo Blahnik stilettos.” and that made me laugh, ehe
Mona?? Don’t tell me! Did i miss something ? Da Vinci? *huh*
And something Severus didn’t know! Did he at least know that “the art of painting wizarding portraits was actually a kind of Necromantic magic?”
Intriguing,indeed!
I wonder where Alina will fit in all this!
So sad, a portrait to fade away, because there is no one left to remember them!
And what is happening with Hermione’s magic? hmmm
What could mess with her magic like that? *hmm*
Now that really surprised me!
Someone…we-know-who…is draining peoples magic through the tattoo?
Muggle-borns and half-bloods will lose their magic?
EVIL!
That’s even worse than what the Dark Lord did.
But how did we-know-who manage to move around the Other World ?
No, not alone, she is not alone, there is someone else doing all this with her.
And the Veil…
I must make another list…
I knew these tattoos were bad news. So, someone is siphoning magic off the muggle-witches/wizards through the tattoos. Presumably so that person has more magic at his/her disposal. An evil trick and even worse plan. So, what to do against it? First they have to find out who is doing that. And Alina better find the rest of the bells soon. I think they will need every one of them.
Yes, of course the tattoos were a really, really bad idea. *grins*
Finally! I’ve been antsy since Madam Pomfrey mentioned the unusually high need for pepper-up, etc, confirming my theory. I really needed somebody to put two and two together. Whew!
On another note, poor Alina when she discovers her head of house is proficient in Latin – the man creates his own spells among other things.
And about those Jarveys — it was the resurrection stone Ron and Lois saw them playing with wasn’t it? and that’s why nine Jarveys were killed that one night? and there’s a connection between their propensity for chattering insults and the Colin inferius isn’t there?
Hah! I knew those tattoos were siphoning energy back when Harry was feeling tired more than ten chapters ago! Finally someone else knows!!!
Also, I love your name for the library in the Middle East. I’ve always been devastated by the idea of all that knowledge being lost, and I love the idea that someone can still benefit from the books and scrolls at Alexandria!