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o.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.o
“Hermione, could you come into the living room for a moment?” Jean Granger called for her daughter.
Hermione had been reading a book in the study, but she set it aside and headed into the living room. It was good to be home after such an eventful year. She counted herself lucky to not have been caught helping an accused mass murder escape the Ministry honestly. This had been a year of growth for her in more ways than one. As she entered the living room, the look on her mother’s face brought her out of her musings. Her eyes caught sight of an ornate wooden box sitting on the coffee table and a little envelope sitting on top.
“What’s all this mum?” She asked, coming and sitting down.
“This belonged to your Great-Grandmother Granger. Your father and grandfather never had any sisters, so this has been waiting for you,” she smiled softly. “Your grandmother gave this to me for safe-keeping when you were born with instructions that it was to be given to you when you were old enough to appreciate it. You’ve grown up so much this last year, that I think it’s time.”
Hermione smiled and sat the letter aside before opening the box. Nested in padded royal blue silk was an antique china tea set. Hermione carefully lifted a delicate tea cup out and examined it. It was bone white, rimmed in gold. Around the scalloped bottom there were intertwined dark blue and gold feathers. She turned it over and saw a house crest on the bottom. There was something familiar about the crest, but she couldn’t immediately place it.
She put the cup back into its designated place, examining the rest of the set. There wasn’t a single chip or crack in any of the pieces, and every single one had that same crest imprinted on the bottom. The only place the crest was prominently featured was on the tea pot itself. Larger it was even more dramatic, the shield outlined in black, filled with royal blue. There was a golden sash with red birds on it, and three golden lion heads on the blue fields, with beautiful blue and gold plumes surrounding it.
“It’s beautiful,” Hermione said softly.
“I know you’ll take very good care of it,” Jean said and leaned over, kissing her daughter’s cheek. “I’ll leave you to read the letter.”
Hermione nodded, watching her mother stand and leave the room. Hermione picked up the letter, frowning a little. It was sealed with dark blue wax, set with the same crest as was on the teapot. Across the front was merely written elegantly ‘Miss Granger’. She frowned and broke the wax seal, pulling out the creamy parchment. Little alarm bells were going off in her head as she unfolded it, the elegant slant of the writing far too refined to have been from a fountain pen.
To Miss Granger,
If you able to read this letter, then the dreams I had while I carried my son have proven true. I prayed endlessly that one day magic would return to my descendants, and in that dream I knew that the first girl born to my son’s son would be a witch. While I was not fully a squib, my magic was such that I never garnered a letter to Hogwarts and was consequently hidden from our world. My parents were not cruel, but they knew the stigma that came with being born without magic, and did not wish for me to grow up that way. I was sent to live in the muggle world, and met my Thomas. Love, I have discovered, is a greater magic than any I could have wished for.
I’m certain it will be a shock to discover that you carry magical blood, likely believing that you are simply Muggle-born. Our family is very old, one of the Ancient & Noble Houses of Britain. We can trace our beginnings back to before the Norman Conquest. My maiden name was Evangeline Theodora Nott. Hidden in the bottom of the tea chest is a little compartment with my mother’s wand, and the locket that she gave me when I turned 16. While I am certain you have your own wand, it is a tradition in our family for the Mother to pass her Family wand on to her daughter, as a secondary one to use for ritual magic. The wand and locket will be sufficient to prove your connection to our house, and I would encourage you to write to your relatives so that they know that Magic has returned to a line they considered lost.
To open the hidden compartment, prick your finger and let a single drop fall onto the middle red bird on the crest that covers the latch. The tea set itself is charmed to be unbreakable, and is also a traditional gift for a young woman in our family.
May your magic be strong, your will indomitable, and your heart true in all endeavours you undertake.
Your Ancestor,
Evangeline Theodora Granger-nee Nott
Hermione’s hands were shaking as she came to the end of the letter. She was related to the Notts? She carefully unpacked the tea set and lifted the padded form out to reveal a silver family crest. There was a sharp point on the tip of the shield and she used it to puncture her finger, dropping blood onto the middle bird. Her eyes widened as the crest glowed and the hidden compartment opened. Inside was a beautifully carved wand and a gold locket. She pulled the locket out and laid it in her palm. The front was etched with three birds, pursued by three lions, intertwined in a never ending chase. The back depicted the Nott family crest. She opened the locket to find Latin script, Frangas non flectes. She smiled softly understanding the meaning. It meant that nothing could sway them once they were set on a course, not even if they were broken down. After a moment’s hesitation she slipped the locket on, letting it settle against her skin.
The wand was incredible, looking more like polished ivory than wood. The handle was adorned with a vine motif, interspersed with tiny flowers. She picked it up and felt a strange warmth run through her. It wasn’t exactly like her own wand, but this felt just as right in its own way. She reluctantly set it back down, but something deep inside her really didn’t want to. Hermione sighed, thinking about the implications of this and how much could change if she did as the letter suggested. She wasn’t sure if she’d reach out to them or not, but it didn’t hurt to keep this piece of her family history. After all, it was a very pretty tea set.
~Fin~