But this?
This was terrifying.
Harry continued speaking in that calm, reassuring tone.
“Once I’m inside your mind, I’ll be able to test your defenses and help strengthen them.”
“Are you sure about this?” Everything Harry had taught her suggested that letting someone else into your mind was an incredibly bad idea.
“You have my word that I won’t make any changes without your explicit permission. I may see memories you’d rather keep private, but actively testing your defenses is the only reliable way to know they’re working properly.”
She fidgeted on the hard floor.
There were memories she definitely didn’t want Harry seeing.
In the past few months, she had grown closer to him than to anyone else in her life—except her parents.
The thought of losing him terrified her.
“We can put it off, but that would mean delaying other parts of your education.”
“No. I’m okay. It’s just…”
“You’re nervous about me seeing certain things.”
She nodded and bit her lower lip.
“Hermione,” he said gently, “I will never think less of you for anything I might see. You are far too remarkable a person for that.”
She smiled.
She knew he didn’t really mean it.
She might be smarter than most of her peers, but she was far too plain in every other way to be remarkable.
Still, it felt good to hear him say it.
“Thank you, Harry.”
“…”
“Okay. Do it.”
Harry raised his wand and pointed it at her forehead.
“Legilimens.”
Hermione stood inside the trunk Harry had given her for her birthday, staring in awe.
It was incredible—like having an entire second room hidden inside her bedroom.
Bookshelves lined the walls, packed with hundreds of volumes from the mysterious magical world.
It was the most extraordinary gift anyone had ever given her, and she couldn’t help wondering just how wealthy Harry must be to afford something like this.
Harry had told her that learning the culture of the world she was about to enter was the most important—and most difficult—part of her education.
The books now in her possession covered everything from legal practices and politics to history, adventure, and even romance.
Like the trunk itself, every book had been enchanted with Notice-Me-Not and illusion charms.
To anyone else, they would appear as ordinary Muggle books.
Magic was truly astonishing.
Harry had given her one clear instruction: over the next twelve months, he expected her to read every single book in the trunk.
At the end of those twelve months, he had a test prepared for her.
When she had asked for details, Harry had simply smiled and said that if she prepared properly, she would be fine.
Well, no one could ever say that Hermione Granger was unprepared for a test.
With her Occlumency firmly in place, she pulled the first book from the top shelf—The History of the International Statute of Secrecy—flopped into the comfortable armchair in the corner, and began to read.
≤○≥
Hermione was visibly agitated.
“I don’t see how anyone can stand it,” she said.
Harry sat in the armchair opposite her in the trunk, sipping orange juice while casually practicing wandless magic—the show-off.
“You know, it wasn’t that long ago that the non-magical world operated in much the same way.”
“I know that, but these family magics seem specifically designed to prevent any kind of change.”
“Well, when Merlin created them, stability was everyone’s top priority. Remember, this was shortly after the Romans left Britain. The English kingdoms were still forming. War was everywhere, and magicals were seen as valuable strategic assets by any king who could secure their loyalty. The family magics imposed structure on magical families, ensuring they would work together for the benefit of magical society as a whole.”
She shifted uncomfortably.
“So now we’re just… stuck with it?”
“Pretty much.”
“And it can’t be changed?”
“All the known rituals for altering the family magics were destroyed centuries ago. There may be hidden copies somewhere, but if they exist, we don’t know about them—and the people who do certainly have no interest in changing the status quo.”
“What about the rune stones? The family magics are ward-based, aren’t they?”
“In theory, yes. You could theoretically reprogram them by directly altering the stones. But good luck finding them. No one has ever succeeded. Many have tried.”
She sighed and slammed the book she had just finished shut.
“Well, that sucks.”
“Yep.”
Hermione stood and walked over to one of the bookshelves.
The latest pile of completed books was starting to teeter dangerously again.
Stacks had merged into chaotic mounds that occasionally collapsed into book rubble.
She would need to reshelve them soon.
She pulled out another volume—Fashion and Clothing of the Magical World—and sighed.
She already got enough of that nonsense from the girls at school.
She flopped sideways across the armchair and began to read.
≤○≥
Hermione’s face burned crimson.
She peered at Harry over the top of the romance novel she had been reading—A Muggleborn and a Lady.
She had just discovered that her best friend and teacher was one of those all-powerful lords she had been ranting about for the past six weeks.
“You’re Lord Slytherin?”
“I am.”
“Eep,” she squeaked.
≤○≥
Hermione slammed the final book shut.
She had finished.