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Chapter Text

COT Chapter 1: First Meeting

Just why? Why did she have to pack a minimal travel bag, with no more than one book no less! Why did she have to change into a 'business appropriate' outfit? Why carry her wand when she couldn't use it anyway and why did she have to somehow do it in a half hour?

The phone call her father had gotten had been odd. She'd kept herself from asking about it because, well her parents often told her 'none of your business' and that was infuriating. She wanted to know! Then her dad had issued orders with no backtalk or questions allowed.

Hermione huffed as she looked in her wardrobe. She was a school girl, she didn't really have any business appropriate outfits. Let's see, that white shirt and if she wore the dark skirt she could pinch a jacket from her mom's closet and that would be as close as she could get.

She made it downstairs no more than a minute late, getting a stern look from her father. On a whim she saluted.

"Reporting as ordered sir!"

She was rewarded by a ghost of a smile before he switched to his serious look. "Don't call me sir, I work for a living. It's sergeant or I guess you can use dad.

Though he didn't talk about it she knew her father had been in the military. Being Hermione she connected the dots immediately. Whatever was going on had to do with his time serving. Add in the travel bag and telling her to bring her wand... this could be very bad.

"Dad? What's going on!"

"No idea kitten. We should be getting some visitors in a few minutes and will find out more. I trust the person who called, but if I say to go upstairs and get your things I want you to grab that travel bag, go out using the fire escape, and meet me at that Indian place we go to. If I don't show up in an hour head to the magical world and hide out there."

"What if I sense something about one of them?" She'd always been sensitive to people and, as she discovered later, to magic. Nothing like aura reading or mage sight that some witches were supposed to have but useful sometimes.

"Use 'daddy' if there's a problem and 'daddy dearest' if it's a run fast kind of problem."

"And Mom?"

"I called her. She's making arrangements at the clinic and is going to go visit your aunt for a while."

This really did not sound good. A patterned knock on the door interrupted her questions.

Her dad headed to the door, waving her to the sitting room. "That knock was an 'all clear' signal. A good sign but keep your guard up."

She heard the door open and there was some conversation she couldn't quite make out. Her dad sounded pretty stern but whatever was said seemed to calm him. Eventually her father escorted two men into the sitting room. She stood while looking at them curiously. They both moved smoothly, not at all awkward or stiff. Like Harry moved when he was doing quidditch or practicing spells. They were probably a bit older than her father, so maybe late forties. She had an immediate positive feeling toward the taller of the two and no real reaction to the shorter man.

Her father gave the introductions. "Captain, Mr. Deerfield, this is my daughter Hermione. Hermione, Captain Murphy, who I served with, and a Mr. Deerfield from the government."

Captain Murphy was the shorter man and shook her hand with a strong grip and a nice smile. Despite his friendly look she could tell he wasn't too happy to be here. Mr Deerfield's shake was gentle and his smile polite and professional. His curiosity was so strong she was almost overwhelmed by it. Perhaps a fellow knowledge seeker and bibliophile.

"Please call me David." Mr. Deerfield said.

"Then I hope you'll use Hermione." She shot her father a mock glare. "And I hope my father does as well rather than one of the embarrassing pet names he tends to use when we have company."

Her father smirked back. Not a good sign. "Well kitten, could you please get the tea things while I get these gentlemen situated?"

She gave him a mock glare and headed for the kitchen. There was a kettle hot, so it didn't take long to put everything together. While she worked she thought about the situation. Hermione trusted her feeling of David Deerfield as both nice and trustworthy, but she also had to trust her father's assessment that this could be a bad situation. It had to involve the wizarding world, there was nothing else about her that was special enough to interest someone from the government. Maybe is wasn't about her?Someone she knew? Harry seemed to be an important person, and Neville and Susan were members of important families. Still, they were tied to magic as well. Maybe Justin? His family was important in the normal world.

The small talk over tea was excruciating. The captain hardly spoke at all, and Mr Deerfield kept stopping what he was saying and giving her curious glances. Finally her father seemed to have had enough.

"Perhaps it's time to find out why you seem to be interested in my underage daughter."

David nodded. "Yes, trust me we wouldn't be focusing on students if we had any other choice. Let me tell a story, then I have a very awkward question to ask. If the answer is yes, then we can discuss it in more detail. If not then I'll leave you with my apologies for wasting your time."

He looked around at each of them waiting for some sign of agreement. When he had it he began.

"I apologize for the vagueness of some of what I'm saying as the details are covered by the official secrets act. Shortly before King George's death a palace official, an important historical post, was vacated. Oddly, after the office holder disappeared all signs of the person and even the office disappeared. Documents, quarters, official offices, even the memories of many people were simply gone. The only reason we know that there was ever such a person or position was the memory of the Queen, the Queen Mother, and a few of the older staff.

"Now the reason for the position still existed in a small way. The Prime Minister was receiving regular if infrequent reports on the situation. Later on, while those reports to the prime minister continued, the PM's memory of those reports became very minimal. He knew they happened and a few minor issues but could remember no details."

"We did discover some people who were involved, but for some reason they were unable to tell us anything. Not unwilling but actually unable. They knew the information and seemed willing to disclose it yet could not communicate it in any way. We did get a few hints from them and think that if we can find someone involved in this situation that has not yet completed their education they may not suffer from an inability to discuss it."

"After some research we discovered a pattern. Those who were involved disappeared from the normal school system at eleven and then reappeared at eighteen."

"So we looked for an older student who disappeared from normal educational institutions and who had a parent in the government or military. Her majesty recognized your name Mr. Granger and we decided to approach you and your daughter first."

Well that was an interesting story. Hermione though. She didn't know what this position was but the rest was definitely tied to the magical world. The memory loss was a memory spell of some kind and the documents and such could have been hidden with a ward or even a strong notice-me-not. And just why did the queen recognize her father's name?

David looked at Captain Murphy. "Captain, if you stick around after this point you're going to be stuck with it. You're authorized to know more if you decide to stay but if you want to go back to your civilian life you'd best leave now."

Her father raised his eyebrow at the captain. "Yes, they brought me in just to talk to you. The bastards actually reactivated my commission when I said I didn't want to bother you."

"One of the joys of being an effete officer rather than a working grunt." Her father said.

"I'm afraid I'm out of this now. I'd rather wonder about what's happening while back in my cushy office job than find out and be stuck back in the military. Sorry Dan, I owe you so if it turns out you need me give me a call and I'll let them pull me into this mess. You good with that?"

"All good Captain. I'll buy you a beer some day and tell you what I can."

Her father escorted the captain to the door and came back and sat next to Hermione on the couch.

"Just to satisfy my curiosity how much of that conversation was code words?" David asked her father.

"Some of it."

"Well, if you and the captain get together when this is all over perhaps I can join you. I'll even buy the beer."

David Deerfield sighed and looked at Hermione before continuing. "Now for the hard part. I need to ask you if you're involved in this situation without actually saying what it is. If you are you have to tell me yes without knowing that I have permission to know about it."

There was a moment of silence. Before David could try to form his question Hermione took out her wand and held it up. "Does this make things easier?"

The man relaxed. "Yes, quite a bit. Thank you." He paused a moment then asked. "Can you do magic with that?"

"Yes and no." Hermione answered. "I am able to but cannot here and now due to a restriction on students. And that's as much as I'm willing to say without some proof you should know more."

The man produced nothing short of a royal writ authorizing him to be told any and all information related to the wizarding world.

***

Dan Granger, dentist, ex-sergeant, and bemused father looked in on the pair from the kitchen. They were surrounded by books and were deep in a discussion of something, runes he thought, while writing in spiral notebooks Dan had supplied when they started scribbling on napkins. It was obvious they were alike when it came to curiosity and learning. He knew from snatches of conversation that it wasn't all about magic. His daughter was learning quite a bit about working for the government and David's personal life.

However, this was getting to be a bit much. It was time to shut it down for the day. They could complete their mutual debriefing later. He cleared his throat to try to get their attention. It partially worked as David noticed and looked up while Hermione continued to write in her notebook.

"Mr. Granger! Come here and see this, I think your daughter is about to do something amazing."

"Might as well call me Dan. I have a feeling we'll be seeing each other again."

David laughed. "Quite likely. Please call me David. Now watch your daughter, this should be interesting."

Hermione picked up a pencil, which was odd as she preferred a biro or fountain pen, and with a look of concentration used it to draw faintly glowing lines in the air. Afterwards she slumped back.

"Darn. Didn't work."

"But the lines were visible." David said. "Maybe the shape wasn't quite right, try again."

Hermione nodded and after consulting her notebook tried again. This time the glowing lines brightened and then disappeared in a bright flash of light.

"It worked!" Hermione sounded surprised.

"Excellent!" David told her.

"What just happened?" Dan asked.

Hermione started lecturing. "We were going over some basic magic theory and David had some thoughts. This was a test of one of his critiques on standard manifestation limits. That was the rune version of a light spell mediated by the graphite core of the pencil."

"So he had an idea for a neat trick and you gave it a try." Dan translated.

Hermione glared at him but David laughed. "Pretty much, though I still think you could do it with just your finger, or your nose for that matter."

Hermione shrugged. "Maybe, it could be that I'm just conditioned from using a wand. Or it could be that you were wrong about the source of the focus. The important point is I can do some minimal magic without using my wand. No wand, no nasty letters about breaking the rules."

Dan smiled. One of her daughter's biggest frustrations was at least partially fixed. "That's great kitten, but it's getting late. David, do you want to stay for dinner?"

David looked at his watch and groaned. "Sorry, I have a personal meeting this evening. In fact I'm going to be late if I don't move it."

"Hermione, talk to your parents about what we discussed and let me know what you decide."

"Of course, and" Hermione smirked at David. "Good luck with your blind date."

David groaned, waved at Hermione and let Dan escort him to the door.

He went back to the living room and watched his daughter start to tidy up the mess of books and papers. "What do you need to talk to us about, or should we wait until your mother gets back home?"

"Basically I've been offered a job for the summer. Technically as a research intern at an office of MI5, but mostly I'd be digging through old books and documents at the palace."

"Palace. As in Buckingham, where the queen lives?"

"She's often there, yes, though I doubt I'll see her. Speaking of which I was wondering why the queen would recognize your name, have you met her?"

Dan groaned. "Just once, well twice technically, she made an offer that I was forced to turn down."

"Interesting. You'll have to tell me all about it." Hermione's eyes were bright with curiosity.

"Or not." Dan said in a flat voice. "It's not important and not something that you need to know about. If you happen to meet the queen, and she happens to tell you, I'll be glad to give you my side of the story."

"All right, I won't bug you. About the job?" Hermione asked.

"I'll check with your mother but I'm okay with it. It'll be good to have some experience in the real world in case you decide the whole magic thing isn't going to work out."

Hermione grinned. "Yes!"

Chapter Text

COT Chapter 1: Internship

(Mon July 1)

The building was surprisingly boring. Except for the security in the lobby and the crest behind the reception desk it could have been the offices of any large business. When they entered she hung back as her father had told her. Repeatedly. She tried to listen to the exchange, she really did. There were so many distractions here though! The guards were dressed smartly and one of them was quite attractive. The doors looked normal except for the black box mounted on the wall next to them. Everyone had a badge around their neck and they were suspiciously thick. Probably more than just identification...

"Hermione!"

Oops, that's what she got for not paying attention. "Sorry, I was distracted."

Her father looked irritated but resigned. The woman behind the desk grinned at her.

"Come here and get your badge." Her father sounded cross. "Someone is coming to meet you and escort you to David. They don't seem to want me to join you though."

The woman behind the desk spoke up. "Sorry again Mr. Granger. Don't worry though we hardly ever lose our interns, though they do sometimes get lost in the maze of hallways for a few days. If she doesn't make it home just give us a call and we'll send out a search party."

Her dad snorted at that and his irritation dropped off.

Just then a short older man with a nasty scar across one cheek entered the lobby from the door. He nodded at the guards and walked up to her father and offered his hand.

"Sarge, good to see you."

"Josh? Good lord I thought we'd lost you..." he glanced over at his daughter. "Umm...that time. It's damn good to see you."

"We can catch up later. I do security and will be shadowing the young lady."

Her father frowned but he was a lot more relaxed now. "Protecting her or protecting from her?"

"Yes." was the only answer he got.

Her father put his hand on her shoulder. "Hermione, this is Joshua, just Joshua, don't ask about his last name. Josh, this is my daughter Hermione. Now Hermione, behave and listen to Joshua. If he tells you to do something just do it, don't ask questions. And Josh, good luck. I suspect you'll earn your princely salary today. Working with teenage girls should come with hazard pay."

Hermione gave her father a glare and stepped up to Joshua with her hand out. Although his grip was gentle she could feel strength and roughness in his hand. This man was strength and determination with just a hint of the amused observer. He felt a bit like Professor Snape but without the darkness that ran through the Slytherin.

"What now?" Hermione asked.

"Director's office. Deerfield will meet us there."

Well that sounded more than a bit ominous.

* * *

The director, Hermione decided, was one tough lady. She made Professor McGonagall seem laid back. She was someone Hermione could respect but never fully trust. Hermione was glad David was there and didn't seem intimidated by the woman.

"So you can actually do magic?" The director was understandably skeptical.

"Yes, though I can do very little without my wand. Since I'm a student, using a wand while not at school will automatically be detected and I'll be cited and possibly investigated by the magical version of the police."

"Convenient you can't show me anything."

David stepped forward and handed her a pencil. "Try the trick we did yesterday."

Hermione nodded. The light rune hadn't been very impressive, so how about a shrinking rune? For just a moment she was tempted to shrink the woman's jacket. "Is the blue biro on your blotter important to you?"

The woman shook her head.

Hermione drew the glyph slowly to make sure she got it right and pushed as much magic as she could while concentrating on the biro. The rune was much brighter than last night and the pencil started to heat up. As happened earlier the glowing lines in the air vanished with a flash and the biro was suddenly about half its original length. She had been aiming for smaller than that.

The director wasn't looking at the shrunk down writing instrument though, she was staring at Hermione. She glanced back and David was doing the same.

"Umm, is something wrong?"

David shook his head. "The rune was quite impressive as was the way your hair waved around while you were drawing it."

Oh drat. That hadn't happened to her since her first week of classes. Now her hair would be a pain to get to behave.

The director had stopped staring at her and picked up the shrunk biro. She carefully clicked the button a few times and tried writing a bit with it. "Is this permanent?"

Hermione thought for a moment. If the rune was etched and powered it would probably last longer than the cheap plastic it was made of. However, "I'm sorry but I'm not certain. What I did was experimental and we don't really know much about it yet. I'd guess it's temporary but I can't say if it'll last a minute or a month."

"Interesting." The directory said, staring at the object. "And possibly very useful. However, that's not what you're here for." The woman carefully put the tiny biro to the side.

"While technically an intern with us you will actually be working with agent Deerfield at the palace. The primary goal is to discover what you can about the position of Royal Wizard. A secondary goal is to provide information about the magic world to those authorized for such information. For now that is limited to myself, agent Deerfield and his team, the PM, Queen and anyone we officially designate. This includes Joshua, but you are not to discuss any of these matters with him unless it directly relates to security."

Hermione just nodded.

"Deerfield, get her to sign the contract and impress on her the gravity of the official secrets act."

David took her arm and directed her out of the office. As they were leaving the director spoke again "Ms. Granger, when you next see your father please tell him I'm sorry I doubted him."

Did everyone but her know a secret about her father?

* * *

After signing the paperwork and a boring lecture about the official secrets act by a bespectacled clerk and a less boring one by David they moved to a small conference room.

"Ready for work or would you rather take a break?"

Finally she could ask questions! "I want to know what's going on. Royal wizard? How are we going to find anything at the palace to help? How did your date go?"

David laughed. "From last to first, my date was an interesting ancient history geek but there was no spark between us. We agreed to hang out and talk about history now and then. We don't know what we might find at the palace yet and I need to ask you some more questions about that. And yes, it seems there was a royal wizard at Buckingham until well into this century."

They spent the rest of the morning talking about ways that the position might have been hidden using magic or more ordinary means. They put together a list of things to check at the palace including the archives, searching for the office or quarters used by the post and talking to some of the older retainers who remembered the last royal wizard. David said they could ask to see the queen as well, though she would have been quite young when the post was actually filled. The queen mother was a better choice for information.

"What about sources in the magical world?" Hermione asked.

David shook his head. "Not unless you can check them without letting anyone there know. Someone or some group in the magical world is hiding information from people on our side of things who have a right to know. It sounds like they're using spells on the PM and possibly other officials and that's a crime. There's no telling what they would do if they found out you were giving us information. For now secrecy is paramount."

"How about a bookstore, maybe a visit to a used book store in the magical world by a known bibliophile"?

"I don't know Hermione. We can't give you security in the magical world, though I'm tempted by the amount of background information that could give us."

"My father could go along, he's ex-military."

David thought about it. "That could work. Let me bring it up with Joshua and the chief and get their input."

Thinking about going into the magical world now that Voldemort's return was known brought up a lot more immediate information she should be giving the muggle government. "Ah, David, I should probably give you a rundown on recent events in the magical world. There are things happening that are affecting you on this side."

"Can it wait? We're due at the palace after lunch."

"Maybe?"

David sighed. "Okay, give me the short version. Five minutes or less."

So she gave him the very short version. The wizarding war that ended fifteen years ago, the uncertainty of you-know-who's demise, the death eaters and what they did and the rebirth and official outing of Voldemort a few weeks earlier.

"Well crap." David said. "Look, you go down to lunch with Joshua, he'll be waiting outside the door. I'll give the director a heads up and meet you in the commissary."