A New Beginning

Chapter 2: Preparation

"The best preparation for tomorrow is doing your best today."

H. Jackson Brown Jr., P.S. I Love You

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. May 2nd, 1970.

In a whirl of purple dust, ancient magic filled the classroom to each of its corners. Two girls appeared out of thin air. They soon disappeared through the Mirror passage that would lead to the back between Zonko's Joke shop and the Owler Office. After the two mystery girls have gone, not long after, several Hogwarts professors arrived. Unfortunately, they were a tad too late. When they came into the classroom, all that was left was the ancient magic that filled the room. As the other professors began casting detective spells, Headmaster Dumbledore stood in the middle of the room with a contemplated look on his face.

"It seems that everything is fine here, Albus. If someone has been here, all they left is an overwhelmed magic aura." Professor McGonagall said, a wary expression on her face.

"Curious, very curious. All will reveal when the time is right, it seems."

Professor McGonagall seemed to put out about it but remained silent.

Derwent Manor

Hermione has to force herself from gaping because of the manor in front of her. It was not like she has seen many Pureblood houses before to compare, only Grimmauld Place and Malfoy Manor, but both were not necessarily pleasant. However, Derwent Manor was different. It is moderate on manor standard, with white brick walls, plenty of trees and bushes of flowers around. In all, it gave off a much brighter atmosphere than Malfoy's and Grimmauld.

"Welcome to Derwent Manor, Hermione!" Elisabeth announced softly.

She then strolled nearer to the white gate, and it was now that Hermione realized there is a ward just outside the gate. Elisabeth used her wand and tapped gently on the invisible wall, and not long after, a small middle-aged woman walked out of the house. The excitement in Elisabeth's eyes was as clear as day, but she reigned them in as the women got closer.

"Do we know you dears?" The woman asked wearily. She spotted the same heart-shaped face and the bright brown eyes as Elisabeth. The way she held herself reminded Hermione unpalatably of Narcissa Malfoy, but those laugh lines on her face gave away her personality. It helped Hermione calmed down. Elisabeth said 'not yet' with an amused smile and managed a surprised gasp from the woman by pulling out her Fate Turner.

"Let have this conversation inside." The woman said, gaining back her normal posture.

As they walked inside, Hermione took time to observe the surrounding area, while Elisabeth kept glancing at the woman in front of her with a smile. There was a greenhouse in the far-left corner, surrounded by several trees, a small lake not far away from it. On Hermione's right, there were several bushes of flowers, with a swing in the center. The peaceful aura from the place brought a small smile to Hermione's face, helped to calm her down after the draining day. They soon arrived inside, and immediately, a tiny house elf popped in. She was wearing a blue pillowcase with two little bows on each side of her ears.

"Is there anything Zinky can help Mistress?" The house-elf squeaked. Hermione stared wide-eyed at the house-elf itself, contemplating its difference from Dobby and Kreacher.

"Please prepare some tea in the study room for us, Zinky." The woman said with a kind smile. Then the next thing Hermione knew, they were being led to a big oak door. She found herself unconsciously touched her wand, which did not escape Elisabeth notices, but fortunately, she didn't say anything of it.