Harry Potter 1. Chapter 1

Changes

Chapter 1: The Letter

Hermione sat on her bed, deep in thought. The letter in her hands was something she had never expected, but it contained an opportunity too good to pass up. Still, her mind was full of hesitations, what ifs – she was afraid of the repercussions that answering would bring. She folded the letter, and, placing it on her bedside table, decided to try to get some sleep and deal with everything in the morning.

After a restless night she woke up and went to the kitchen for breakfast, pondering what to do next. She knew that she would have to respond to the letter, and the sooner the better, but she was worried and couldn't help postponing it.

After a quick shower, Hermione sat down to write her reply. After a while, she crumpled the parchment and threw it away, as if it had offended her deeply. A couple of hours, several discarded parchments and a broken quill later, she was at last satisfied with her answer. It was a yes, consequences be damned, because there was no way she could let an opportunity as good as this one pass right under her nose. She sent the reply with her little owl, Lira, and went to work with a better mood than she had in ages. She knew the step she had taken this morning could be dangerous, but lately her life had been so dull that almost any change was welcome. Her current work at the Ministry was, for lack of better expression, like being stuck in a hole. It was bureaucratic and repetitive. Her possibilities of change were near to nothing because despite being a war hero, she lacked the connections that having a magical family brings to a person. Harry, well, he was "the Chosen One", and Ron had practically all his family there, but Hermione only could show her own abilities, and she refused to let her fame open some of the closed doors, or to call favours, so, as it was said earlier, she was completely stuck.

After a long day at work, she arrived home and had just begun to prepare her dinner when a peck at her window startled her. It was the answer, and it simply said:

_Welcome to our team, Miss Granger. _

_We are sure that you won't be disappointed with your new job. We have already made arrangements with your former employer so that you can start tomorrow._

_Enclosed with this letter you will find a Portkey that will lead you to your new workplace next week at eigth o'clock. _

_Looking forward to meeting you,_

_Andreas Laurent Sr._

_Chief of the Researching and Recruitment Team _

_London Curse Breakers Ltd._

A week later, Hermione's life was anything but dull. She had told her friends about her change of work, but without going into detail. This had them in an uproar about what kind of job it was, if it was legal (Hermione snorted at the idea), or if it was dangerous… As expected, Harry had been the most reasonable, after a bit of discussion. Seeing that his best friend was determined about her secrecy, he let it go more or less, only making her promise that she would eventually tell him. Ginny was insanely curious, and Ron, well, Ron was another story altogether.

He was livid about not knowing every little detail. It seemed that since dating her after the war, he believed that he had some kind of right to know everything about her life, even if Hermione was a private person and was not ready to share information about her new job yet. After much yelling and a very unpleasant evening, Hermione Disapparated to her flat, warding it against visitors and swearing that she wouldn't give up her privacy until she was good and ready. Seated in the windowsill of her living room, her favourite place in her flat to read, or simply to think, she still could recall some of the words that Ron had thrown to her:

"How can you, Hermione, after all this time, keep something as important as this from us?! We are your friends, almost your family, and you are betraying our confidence with your reserve!!!"

"Ron, you are overreacting and you know it-"

"Overreacting!! I'm worried about your safety!!"

"Shall I remind you that I'm a more than capable witch, Ronald Bilius Weasley" was her answer, almost a hiss, she was so furious. They keep arguing for a bit before she left The Burrow to go home.

Still, she received a very graphic Howler from Ron the next day with her morning post, and a very concerned letter from Molly Weasley, which made her even more sure that she had made the right decision– what would her friends have thought if they knew that she was now working for Draco Malfoy?

Her first week at work ran very well. She was given the task of working with an ancient wooden box, which wasn't even classified because before her arrival none of the staff had been able to touch it. But when they presented it to her, she could manipulate it without trouble, and was trying to figure out its magical properties. For now, the only effect that it had was a low thrumming on the pads of her fingers and a sensation of peace with the world. It was a very strange item. The box was very old and it was small. It had delicate vegetable carvings on the lid, but it they changed from day to day, so you could see the flowers blossoming, and Hermione was sure that with enough time, she could see some of the plants dying and another growing. The report that arrived with it stated that it was at least from the late eighth century, and it had belonged to an ancient pureblood family-the Lancasters- whose line had been extinguished at least two centuries ago. After five days working with the box without any tangible result, Hermione decided to get more information about them in order to better understand the kind of magic she was dealing with. So far, all she could tell was that it was ancient and very powerful, but she was puzzled because in all her years she had never seen a magical object so strange and so mysterious. It was as if the box was waiting for something to happen before it allowed her to open it, and Hermione had been unable to make it happen.

After a long day at the Ministry of Magic searching for records about the Lancaster family (which had required a special pass) she had more questions that answers. The Lancasters had disappeared two centuries ago, but the records didn't state the date of death of the last member. It was as if they had simply vanished, and Hermione was determined to discover the reason. She checked other extinguished pureblood families' records, and in every case there was a certificate with the date of the death of the last member, so what had happened with the last Lancaster? It was a challenge for her mind, and after so long stuck in a boring job, she felt delighted at doing something interesting and fulfilling. Her life seemed to have changed for the better, and the first week of her new job was proving to be interesting to say the least.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter two: Dreams, sensations and some weird explanations

On Saturday morning, Hermione awoke with a start, bathed in a layer of sweat, panting and reaching for her wand, she cast a quick lumos. Yes, she was at home. Letting out a long breath, she allowed herself to remember the dream that had awoke her in such a dishevelled state.

She began to remember, she was in a long road, surrounded by large trees that formed a canopy above her head, obscuring the moon, so there was no light to guide her. But she seemed to know where she was going, and soon she reached a large manor, surrounded by a garden that had been neglected many years before. She put her hands on the enormous railing, and it opened itself. As soon as she entered, some strange things began to happen: as she walked along the path the trees seemed to glow softly, a delicate humming coming from the grounds reached her ears and all the sudden, it seemed as if a very competent gardener had manicured the grounds and let them perfect as she advanced. Reaching the doors and placing her left hand against them, she felt same humming that she had felt with the Lancaster's box, and immediately she felt at home.

The sensation was so strong that she didn't even blink when she realised that she was recognizing as hers a place where she hadn't been before. It was strange, because it was a very string sensation of being welcomed, so she entered and walked a steady path, reaching her room, which she founded without trouble, and seated herself at the vanity, fingering the same box that she had been working with, and it was hers. She opened it without trouble, and caressed delicately the parchment and other items that were in the box: some jewels, and an old quill made of phoenix, and a delicate mirror with some words that were carving themselves as she watched it: "Welcome home, Hermione".

It was then when the weirdness of the situation hit her like a ton of bricks, and she woke up with a start.

The same morning, showered and with a mug of coffee, Hermione tried to make sense of her strange dream. It was as if she had been there physically because when she woke up she had leaves in her hair and grass on her slippers. She had put a preserving charm on them, and was going to bring there to work to analyse them. Was it possible that she had been there or there was an easier explanation, as if she had conjured them on her sleep because she desired so much to unravel the mystery that she had come with such a weird dream.

She wished it was the situation, but deep in her heart, she knew there was more. The main reason was the locket that she was fingering slowly between her fingers, a locket that had appeared at her bedside table this morning, neatly placed near her wand. It was a delicate item, but Hermione, having had very bad experiences with them, had cast quickly several revealing spells and the most strong detector of dark magic that she could remember, finding none on it. With utmost care and her heart beating wildly in her chest, she opened it and almost fainted there. The locket contained a photograph of herself, older than now, about 30 years old, with a soft smile and a baby with blond hair and a happy expression on her sleeping face. On the opposite side, a couple smiled at her before looking at each other and touching their foreheads.

Shocked beyond belief, Hermione recognized herself and… It was impossible, there was no way she was going to be in less than a decade with Draco Malfoy, in such an intimate gesture and having his baby. Pacing now her living room, she left herself fall on the couch exhausted, frightened and in denial. There was no way, it couldn't be true, and yet, it was having a strange effect on her as if some of the mysteries she was trying so hard to discover were inevitably chained to him, and is if the locket, came from nowhere, was a very important clue of the path she would have to walk to resolve the puzzle that was the box, or as she thought about it now, her box, something that only allowed her to touch, but was expecting her to remember. She was almost sure that as soon as she unravelled the mystery of her dream, the box will allow her to open it, and every question about this weird situation will be resolved.

And what if her dream was clued, something she would need to investigate to learn more about the elusive Lancasters, and there was the answer to her current case at work. She had never believed in Divination, but she had never brig something solid from her dreams before, so tangible as grass, leaves and to find the locket had been the last nail to the coffin. Now Hermione wasn't sure of what was plausible and what was only a figment of her tired mind, so she decided that her next step will be investigate the properties form the Lancasters. If they owned the manor of her dreams, well, at least she would have something tangible and real to work with.

Reaching this somehow final conclusion, and with a troubled expression, Hermione allowed herself to fall sleep, praying for a dream and at the same time for a dreamless sleep, still clutching tightly the offending locket in her hands. Her cat, Crookshanks, came back from a successful chase of mice, curling itself against her mistress, and with a low purr, fell asleep with her, as if guarding her against her own dreams.

A couple of hours later, Hermione awoke refreshed and with a crazy idea rounding her. What if she tried to apparate there? So she took her wand and tried it. For her astonishment, it worked, and she found herself at the manor of her dreams, in a worse state, but as real as her home and with the sign "On sale" near the railing.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: The veil lifts: Lancaster Manor

After a couple of minutes frozen on shock, Hermione began to move, heading quickly to the house. She took on her surroundings, so similar and yet so different from her dream. She was puzzled by the sign "On sale", but when she touched it, it dissolved on the air and the gates opened themselves with a loud crack. She was going to pass through them when a voice stopped her dead in her tracks.

"Granger, what the hell are you doing here?"

Hermione recognized the voice immediately, it belonged to her long time nemesis and now her boss, Draco Malfoy. She turned slowly and there he was, strangely dishevelled, his robes, usually perfect, on disarray, his hair hanging on his eyes. She answered:

"Malfoy?"

"Yes Granger, as bright as ever! What are you doing? And how on Merlin's name did you open the damn gates?"

"That's none of your business, it's Saturday, it's my spare time and I can be where ever I wish, Malfoy. What are you doing here?"

Her eyes were reduced to slits, she was so angry at being found here, and by Malfoy of all the people!

"Not that I have to explain myself to you, Granger, but I want to purchase this place and I have been unable to enter the property. But you arrived, waltzed to the bloody sign, made it disappear and the gates welcomed you. I have been trying to enter for weeks I tried even to break in, to no avail, so, , could you please explain yourself?"

Hermione was so stunned to hear him say "please" that she answered the truth:

"I dreamed about it, and it seemed so real… I tried to Apparate to the place I've dreamed of, and here I am…"

"What!!!" He barked "Are you mad, woman? You could have Apparated in a hell hole, or Merlin knows where. You are mental!!!"

"Shut up, Malfoy, I'm here and I'm a more than capable witch I can handle myself. Now, are you coming or not?"

And without waiting for an answer she walked resolutely on the grounds of what she suspected was the Lancaster's ancestral home. She wondered if she would find there some answers about the box, or about her dream.

Draco Malfoy went with her, deep in thought, asking himself how she had been able to open the gates. Usually, ancestral pureblood manors like this one had wards, some of them strong enough to last even after the end of the family, protecting the lands against unwelcome visitors or enemies of the family, and he had thought that this was the reason he wasn't able to enter, remembering the old quarrel between his great great uncle Cygnus Malfoy and the Lancasters. But why she could? She was not a pureblood, yet she had open the gates. Why?

The loud noise and the cringes of the old main doors startled Draco out of his reverie and he saw the old doors, with delicate carvings of vegetables, which seemed, despite being covered almost entirely in dust, alive. They saw how the doors opened after Hermione put her hands on it, and they could see the big parlour with old Persian rugs, a beautiful chandelier and a couple of huge portraits of a man and a woman, facing each other. That was the first sigh they had of the manor. A very loud crack surprised them, and an ancient house elf appeared in front of the couple.

"Miss has come!" it squeaked happily "We are going to be right again, Miss has come"

"What?" asked a stunned Hermione "What are you talking about?"

The old elf answered

"I is happy because I has been expecting Miss for a long time. After the bad wizard went out, I was told to wait for the miss who could help my Master, I was showed a picture and here is the miss of the picture! Miss has come and we are going to be all right again!"

Hermione looked at Draco, who seemed as shocked as herself and then back to the little creature, and asked gently:

"How long have you been waiting?"

"Two hundred of years, miss" squeaked the little creature.

"Oh my god"

Whispered Hermione, remembering that this was the date of the last Lancaster, which has disappeared without trace, and promptly fainted. Draco, still in shock, reacted automatically catching her petite frame in his arms. The elf seemed worried seeing her like this and said:

"Follow me, Sir"

And quickly trotted upstairs with Draco and Hermione, still unconscious, trailing behind him. Unknown to them, both portraits had been watching the exchange, eyeing the young couple with interest, and upon hearing them, looked at each other, their eyes full of hope of being freed from the frozen charm that was upon the Lancaster property and his sole heir since two hundred of years ago.

Once on the bedroom, Draco put Hermione on the bed and took on their surroundings. He was startled awake from his contemplation of the strange room, which seemed to be in a time past long time ago, by the voice of the house elf:

"Is she all right? She is the only hope of the Lancaster family, without her we are lost and I am very scared, what if it was my fault!" It almost screamed in a very high pitched voice.

Draco quickly took his wand and pointing it at Hermione, whispered:

"Ennervate"

Hermione opened her eyes and almost fainted again: she was on a bed, a huge four poster queen sized bed, with beautiful hangings made of delicate lace and white silk. The mattress was soft under her body, the light that came from the window had a dream like quality on it, and it was like her dream. With the same vanity, the walls covered with delicate paintings and silver lace curtains moved by a light breeze. It was as if the time had been frozen and had not passed since a long time. But this time, she was awake and there was a confused Malfoy and a hopeful elf watching her.


End file.
