“And would you be Hermione?”
“Ahh, yes, that’s me,” Hermione answered. Her Papa Tango had ended just over a week before, and she’d spent the time since practicing stabilizing her new magic. She’d managed it to about the same degree as she’d been able to stabilize her old magic- but hadn’t tried any other magical effects, since she didn’t know what the Trace would or wouldn’t detect, and get her in trouble for.
So of course, prepared or not, it was time for the magical study with the muggles. She wasn’t sure what to expect from it, but the government was very definitely not playing games with security. She’d had to present her shiny new photo ID- and her wand- to the Sergeant standing guard at the entrance to the building. He’d returned both, of course- and she’d entered, her parents right behind her. The Sergeant had checked their IDs at the same time as hers.
Once she’d entered, she’d then run into a woman in the lobby- who had greeted first her parents, and then herself. She still had her wand out, so she figured that was how the woman knew who she was.
“It’s nice to meet you,” the woman smiled, holding out a hand. “Aurora Lewis, Secretary of Defense. I’m sorry about the security, but we want to be absolutely sure we know who’s in here, and who’s not. The existence of wizardkind is a national secret, after all.”
She blinked, putting her wand away. “... Ahh. Okay.”
Mrs. Lewis smiled. “You shouldn’t need to worry about that here- everyone in this building has been cleared to know. Any thoughts on what to expect?”
“Not sure. I wrote that article after scanning the magic of a bunch of wizards, and common Wizarding knowledge is that muggles don’t have an ounce of magic, sooo…” She shrugged. “Honestly, common wizarding knowledge was that the spells I used to scan said magic were impossible, so who’s to say it isn’t wrong there too?”
She chuckled. “Well, here’s to hoping it’s wrong there too. All this effort would be for nothing if it wasn’t, wouldn’t it?”
She winced. “Yeah, it would. Personally, I expect even muggles have magic, though weak, inactive, or whatever. I mean, there has to be a reason muggleborn witches- like myself- exist, and when I scanned Filch a few days after that study…” She shrugged. “I mean, he’s a squib- a muggle born from wizarding parents- but he’s also an Etrah.”
“Isn’t there a difference between squibs and regular muggles?”
“Yeah… Squibs have a magical awareness, and so can see magically-hidden things like the Leaky Cauldron, and regular muggles don’t. And Filch’s magic did seem weaker than everyone else’s, but not by much- mostly, it was simpler, with fewer connections going out. So, that’s about what I expect to see in muggles- just a little weaker than his, with even fewer- possibly even zero- connections. Fortunately, I don’t need those connections to tell the tribe, I have only to look at the patterns in the magic itself. And stabilizing it the way I do to make my wand float doesn’t mask those patterns- makes them stand out, actually.”
“To make your wand float?”
“Yeah. By stabilizing my magic- I couldn’t think of any better way to say it- I was able to bully my British Aethr magic into behaving like Equestrian Raeth magic, allowing me to levitate my wand freely. I wasn’t very strong with it, but…” She shrugged.
“You say that like it isn’t the case any more,” she observed. “Does that have anything to do with your new hair?”
She blushed, and ran a hand down her hair. “Um, yes, actually. Lyra- an Equestrian Raeth- created this massive spell deep in Hogwarts Castle capable of expanding a British magical core to match an Equestrian magical core, without losing any of the parts that made it a British core. I went through that process over the first three weeks of summer, so my magic is now technically Equestrian Aethr magic- and it’s literally hundreds of times stronger, as well.” She shrugged. “For some reason nobody’s been able to figure out, all the British people that went through that spell- meaning, myself and one other- have ended up far more powerful than any other member of their tribe, whether Equestrian or British.”
“... Alright. Does this mean anything for the study?”
“Yep! Means I won’t tire myself out on the first couple dozen, but will have the reserve depth to make it through the entire study without collapsing. Only reason I was able to do it with the study in Hogwarts was because Twilight, Lyra, and a few other Raeths kept feeding me power.” She shuddered. “Did you know, the biggest difference I could see between Equestrian and British magics was reserve depth?”
She raised an eyebrow. “Is it possible that’s the difference between muggles and wizards as well?”
She blinked. “I… I suppose it is, isn’t it? If… Yeah. If muggles happen to have no reserve… that would significantly hamper magical capability. And… Yeah. Filch’s reserve was small, even by British standards, soo…” She shrugged, and pulled her wand halfway out of its pocket. “We could find out now, if you want.”
She chuckled. “Nah, I believe your researchers are waiting for you. Most of them were so eager they showed up a couple hours early.” She gestured towards a door on the side.
She blinked. “Already-? Okay. Um… I guess I’d better go?”
She chuckled. “Have a good study, Ms. Granger.”
Hermione stopped, surveying the room, the moment she entered it. It was a large- very large- room, stuffed full of various researchers sitting on folding chairs and holding notepads and clipboards. Six of them were up by the blackboard, having presumably been discussing between themselves and with the rest on something they’d scrawled all over it.
And as soon as she had entered, the entire room had gone silent, and they’d all looked at her.
“Miss Granger?” one asked- the one with the chalk in his hand.
She nodded, nervously. “I’m not interrupting anything, am I?”
“Oh, no, not at all,” he stated, putting the chalk in its holder. “We were just discussing the known applications of magic while we waited.”
“Sorry I kept you waiting,” she muttered.
“Nah, it’s still early yet,” he smiled, striding over to offer his hand. “I’m Kasper Owen, by the way. So, how did you want to start?”
“Um…” She looked out across the gathered scientists. “How did you want to start?”
He raised an eyebrow. “You’re the one leading the study.”
“Yeah, but-!” She took a deep breath. “Whatever. Um… Shall I just start… running down aisles with my wand, or…?”
He shrugged. “If that’s what you need.”
“Uhh…”
“So, what do you need for your scanning spell?”
She blinked, and shook herself out. “Right. Sorry. Um… Scanning spell. I’ll need… Um, back of the neck. Wrist of the wand arm works too, but not as well.”
“And I doubt very many of us have wand arms,” he chuckled. “Want to start here, or ?”
She shrugged. “Why not? How about…” She cast her eyes around the room. “What do you say to everyone coming around to meet me? Those chairs are mighty close together for me to reach everyone very well.”
“Sounds like a plan,” he stated.
There was a sudden shuffling as all the researchers started standing up.
“So, where would you like to sit, or stand, or…?” Kasper asked.
“Oh, and,” the scientist right behind him in the rapidly forming line asked. “Before we start, would you mind demonstrating the known tribal magics for us? The ones that you can demonstrate, that is.”
She blinked. “Ahh… sure. Um…” She looked around. “Well… the tribal magics that I can demonstrate…” She took a deep breath. “Let’s see. Etrah magic… not a chance. But British Etrah magic is mostly just drawing magic from or channeling it through stone and other earthen materials. Aethr magic should be okay, since I’m an Aethr…” She scowled. “Let’s see. Equestrian Aethr magic… I should be able to demonstrate that, but that would only be by walking on the wall. And I’m not sure that I can do that, no matter how hard I try. British Aethr magic…” She paused again. “... isn’t much different from British Etrah magic. Though, I suppose it’s the most versatile of the British tribal magics.”
Hermione stepped over towards the podium at the head of the room, drew her wand, dropped it on it, and took a deep breath. “The only British Aethr tribal magic we were able to measure was directly connected to the witch or wizard in question’s wand. I… haven’t managed wandless British magic yet, so that’s out- but to an Aethr, if their wand is close enough nearby, that doesn’t matter.” She looked at her wand, resting on the podium, and realized that she was almost automatically stabilizing her magic, even though she shouldn’t need it for this. She didn’t stop herself. “Lumos.” She paused long enough for everyone to see that it had, in fact, lit up. “Nox. And we can also summon it from the same distance.” She held up her hand, and her wand leaped straight into her hand. “If timed right, that summons ability can render the disarming charm rather useless.”
She took a deep breath. “Then… I should be able to demonstrate Equestrian Raeth magic as well, despite not being one. Which I can only do because I found a way to bully my magic into behaving like it; I normally wouldn’t be able to come anywhere close.” She dropped her wand back on the pedestal, and took a deep breath, stabilizing her magic in the process. “Sorry, it’s… I haven’t tried this since the term ended, in part because I don’t know what the Trace will or won’t pick up.” Then, she reached out with her magic, and lifted her wand.
As she expected, it was a lot easier to lift than last time. That much was even apparent- rather than a faint icy blue aura, it was a much stronger, more normal-looking icy blue aura that wrapped around it. “There,” she muttered. “Levitation. Probably the most common way the Equestrian Raeths use their magic.” She scowled. “No idea where the color comes from…?” She trailed off as she reached forward to pluck it out of the air with her hand.
Her hand seemed to be surrounded by that aura as well. She looked down- and found that her entire form had been surrounded by it. “What in the world-?” she began- before, with a bright flash of icy blue light, she was gone, leaving her wand to clatter to the floor.
By the time Hermione reappeared in a matching flash of bright blue light, there were several soldiers in the room, decked out in some very high-tech gear. She stumbled upon reappearance, and caught herself on the podium. “What-!” she began. “What happened? Where am I…?” She looked around wildly, then deliberately took some deep, calming breaths. “Okay, okay. Back here. I can… But what was that?” She put her hand out for her wand, and it zipped instantly up into her hand, from…
She blinked. “Wait a minute.” It had come from where one of the researchers had been holding it near the door, a good fifteen feet away. “That was… that was further away than that should have worked from. But then…” She scowled, put her hands on both ends, closed her eyes, and muttered a few incantations. There was a few seconds’ pause, then she allowed her spellwork to collapse. “Huh… that’s… strange.”
“What is?” Kasper asked, stepping forward to meet her.
“I…” she began, then took a deep breath. “Since scanning only a dozen people tired me out during the study at the Castle, forcing much more powerful Equestrians to keep feeding me power, I went through a very powerful magical process this last month or so, to increase my reserve depth, among other things. Then…” She scowled. “It’s almost like it’s happened again, but this time instantaneously, and…” She shuddered. “In some kind of alternate realm made up of an infinite plane of clouds.”
“What-!?” Kasper asked. “You- You didn’t fall, did you?”
She shook her head. “No, I didn’t. It felt firm under my feet… and I should be able to walk on clouds anyways, since I’m- magically speaking- part-Equestrian after that process, and Equestrian Aethrs can walk on clouds.” She took a deep breath, and let it out. “But it’s not possible for it to happen again- Lyra’s spellwork included a very specific anti-repeat segment.”
“Maybe you’re just good at finding new ways for magic to work?” someone asked, from behind. Hermione jumped, turned- and stopped herself. That was Aurora Lewis, the Secretary of Defense, who she’d met just outside.
“I-!” she began, then paused, and tilted her head. “I… I mean, maybe,” she muttered. She stowed her wand, then started counting on her fingers. “Well, I designed what I’m told is Britain’s first compound spell, used it to detect a magic facet we didn’t even know existed, taught Sweetie Belle to use magic…”
“Sweetie Belle?”
She nodded. “She was so bad that numerous instructors had tried to teach her before, always to be met with abject failure. I did it successfully, first try.” She grinned. “Then I convinced my Aethr magic to behave like Raeth magic, and…” She tilted her head. “And in doing so, violated three separate laws of magic as the Equestrians knew them, in a field completely unknown to British wizards.” She shrugged. “So… Maybe I AM good at discovering magic stuff. I mean…” She paused, looking down, as a warm feeling seemed to flow through her body.
… Her magic aura had wrapped around her form again.
“Oh boy,” she muttered, and took a deep breath, preparing herself for another quick jaunt in some strange world.
“Uhh,” a few researchers muttered.
She felt herself get lifted a little into the air… and then fall right back down on the floor.
She stumbled a little on the landing, recovered, and looked over herself. The aura was gone.
“... Huh. I wonder what that was…?” She drew her wand, grasped both ends, and muttered her incantations… then let them collapse. “And nothing changed, either.” She shrugged. “Whatever- we’ve got a study to do, right?” She wasn’t about to let strange Equestrian magic get in her way.