Christmas Cards and a Headmistress

AN: Thanks to my Beta, Septentrion for her wonderful work.

Hermione and Tracey didn't have any success with their research until Christmas day.

The two girls had already spent most of their holiday in their classroom or in the library researching. Frustratingly, the library had yielded little to no success.

Every time Hermione felt that she had finally found some accurate information on telepathy, the book would end up referencing Occlumency or Legilimency. The girls had hit a stale-mate two days ago and agreed they couldn't find anything new for their research in the Hogwarts Library.

It was on Christmas morning when the girls received a few items that helped them to make some real progress in their research. With Seely's help, they spent Christmas Eve together in their classroom. They woke up to find the usual collection of gifts at their feet.

Among her own gifts, Hermione received from her mom, as promised, a number of Muggle books about the theory of telepathy. Tracey received a Christmas card.

As was common among pureblood families, Daphne Greengrass's mother was distant cousins with Tracey's mother, so Daphne could send her cousin a Christmas card without raising suspicion. It was through the card that Hermione and Tracey were able to learn about what their friends were experiencing during their holiday.

They could all communicate with each other.

Daphne told them that on leaving Hogwarts, they had only lost contact with two people; Hermione and Tracey. Every other girl could hear each other as clearly as if they were in the same room. For the holidays, the members of their little club had scattered across the United Kingdom, but that hadn't limited their gift one bit.

Hermione's mouth dropped open when Tracey read Daphne's card out loud.

'Hermione! The wards! Didn't you tell us that Hogwarts has all kind of special wards on it to keep it safe? Something in the wards must restrict our gift!'

Both girls, after realizing they had stopped speaking out loud, smiled at each other. Hermione had assumed their gift was limited to the girls being within a specific proximity of each other. Upon learning this new information from the card, her mind went into overdrive thinking of the possibilities. Even after school was out this summer, they would be able to remain in close contact with each other.

Hermione didn't know when they would complete the spell of Morgaine's blessing. She didn't know how long it would be until the final confrontation between Voldemort and Harry, but she knew that she and her new friends would be there. This gift would help them get there.

'Okay, so it works in and out of Hogwarts, but the wards prevent it from getting through,' she said, looking at Tracey.

'Whatever wards are doing this, they must work like a really strong Occlumency wall. Remember when you put your walls up that first morning? Your thoughts were muffled for the rest of us; we could just barely hear you. The Hogwarts wards are probably just a stronger version of that,' Tracey mused as she absently twirled a strand of hair around her finger.

Hermione's mind was going through everything she had learned about Occlumency.

'The wards... Snape told Harry that the wards would keep Legilimency out. But it didn't work with Harry because of the scar.'

Tracey looked at her, confused.

'Snape... ?'

Hermione continued on in her thought process before Tracey could ask her about Snape and what he said to Harry.

There is something significant about... maybe in the new books my mum sent. No. Not enough... I need to check...''

'Tracey!' Hermione was almost shouting in her excitement as her mind whirred through so many thoughts that Tracey was having a hard time keeping up with her leaps in logic. She flinched as Hermione's voice outside of her head surprised her.

'We need to research the wards around Hogwarts... No, we need to research everything we can about wards. That's going to be the key to learning how to control this. You research wards. Meanwhile, I need to research scars.'

'Scars? Hermione, what do you mean?'

'Scars: magical scars to be exact. Like Harry's lightning scar, its significance. It's how Voldemort got through.'

'WHAT!' Tracey asked in a high pitched voice. 'What are you talking about Hermione?'

Hermione took a deep breath and made herself calm down. She quickly explained to Tracey what had happened the previous year when Harry had seen the snake and when Voldemort had made Harry see Sirius.

Tracey's eyes had widened while Hermione told her tale. Voldemort had projected an image in Harry's head. It wasn't too dissimilar to what the girls had done when they had fooled Snape and Dumbledore.

But Voldemort had done it through the seemingly impenetrable wards of Hogwarts.

Tracey sat stunned and silent as Hermione began to gather up her books on telepathy. The Gryffindor witch was in full research mode. She muttered to herself as she organized her thoughts. I need to head back to the library and...

'Misses must hurry!'

Hermione's thoughts were interrupted by a voice, high pitched and panicky.

Seely had popped into the room and was holding both of her ears as she shifted her weight nervously.

'Seely? What's the matter?' Tracey asked, leaning forward in concern for the little elf.

'Misses must hurry. They is being late!'

'Late for what, Seely?'

They is eating feasts in the Great Hall! The professors are wondering where misses be! They has sent Dobby to your dormitories!'

Hermione slapped the palm of her hand against her forehead. It was Christmas day. Of course Dumbledore would expect them to be in the Great Hall for Christmas dinner.

'Bullocks! We forgot!'

'We need to hurry,' Tracey said as she slipped on her shoes. 'I'll go first and you follow.'

Hermione nodded as she held out one of her new books.

'I'll say I got caught up in reading my new Christmas present.'

********

Severus drummed his fingers on the table impatiently for a few minutes before turning to the older man sitting at his right.

'Headmaster, perhaps we could send someone to go find Miss Granger and Miss Davis.'

The entire staff and the few students who had stayed for the holidays sat around the large round table waiting to begin their Christmas dinner.

'Oh Severus, please don't worry. I have asked Dobby to locate our missing students,' Dumbledore said cheerfully as he smiled at the other occupants at the table.

'It won't be too much longer; I am sure the girls are on their way... Ah, see, this is Miss Davis. Good day, my dear. Happy Christmas.'

Miss Davis was breathing heavily, indicating that she had run to the Great Hall.

'I'm so sorry, Headmaster! I lost track of the time and didn't realize how late it had become!'

'Oh no, don't worry, child. Severus is just eager to begin the festivities!'

Snape scowled at the headmaster.

'I simply do not feel like we should allow our students to display such bad manners as to make the rest of us wait. Miss Davis, were you not with Miss Granger?'

Hermione walked in just as he finished saying this and smiled sheepishly at the group.

'I'm terribly sorry I am late. I was given a new book for Christmas and I started reading and well... I got caught up.' She held up the book as she spoke. She sent another sheepish smile at Snape to show she had heard his comment about manners. His scowl became more pronounced as he looked back and forth between Hermione and Tracey.

Hermione looked at the table, and she understood why Tracey was sending her a mental smirk. The only available chair was right next to Professor Snape. Apparently none of the other students had been brave enough to sit so close to him. Hermione ignored Snape's scowl and took her seat.

'Excellent! Now everyone, happy Christmas, and tuck in!' Dumbledore said cheerfully as he picked up his fork. A feast had just appeared on the table, consisting of every good thing Hermione could possibly think of for Christmas dinner.

'I'm glad Seely came and told us. I didn't realize how hungry I was!' Hermione thought, glancing at Tracey as she took a large bite.

Hermione coughed a couple times, trying to cover up her urge to giggle at Tracey's comment.

Hermione looked up in time to catch a smug smile flash on Tracey's face.

In order to avoid looking at Tracey and erupting into laughter, Hermione turned to her dinner companion.

'Er. Happy Christmas, Professor. Have you had a nice day?'

'No different than any other day, Miss Granger. The only exception being that the headmaster insisted on gifting me with yet another pair of lurid wool socks. I must have an entire drawer full of his "Christmas gifts."'

This time Hermione did let out a gasping laugh. Tracey looked up at her in confusion, but she just shook her head.

She couldn't believe it. Was Professor Snape actually joking with her?

She turned back to smile at him once her laughter had died.

His face was once again blank as he returned to his meal.

Hermione scowled in confusion. They had almost carried on a civil conversation. What was his problem now?

*********

It seems that Miss Granger has befriended yet another member of my house.

Snape scowled as he finished the last of his dinner. Miss Granger and Miss Davis were lying. His life depended on his being observant of all that went on around him. The two witches kept looking at each other throughout the meal. They were discreet, and he wouldn't have noticed if he hadn't been looking for it. He had thought it too much of a coincidence that they had both lost track of the time this afternoon, and so he had been watching them closely.

When he told Miss Granger about the socks Dumbledore purchased for him, both girls had automatically shared a look. There was something going on there.

Considering the way Miss Granger was acting in regards to her friendship with the Parkinson girl, he wouldn't be at all surprised to find that she and Miss Davis were now forming a bond.

Severus picked up a cup of tea and took a sip. He tried not to grimace as he closed his eyes against the bitter taste of the hot beverage, thinking longingly of the hot chocolate that the house elves would have ready for him in his chambers. Tilting his head down, he peeked through his hair and covertly watched the young Gryffindor witch daintily eat her pudding. He would have to talk to her soon about becoming his assistant. He wanted it all squared away before the rest of the students returned from their holiday breaks. Once she was working with him, he would have to speak with her one more time about the new friends she was making.

It was rare that a student openly defied him like this. No matter what he told her, she continued to ignore him and maintain her friendship with Miss Parkinson. It seemed now that Miss Davis was another new friendship of hers that he would have to question.

Severus frowned at this. How much did Miss Davis know? Her family members were not supporters of the Dark Lord. In fact, they had brilliantly managed to remain neutral and keep themselves under the radar of the Dark Lord.

Was she working with Pansy to complete Voldemort's assignment, or was she just as much a pawn in this as Hermione?

Taking another sip of his tea, Severus resisted the urge to groan in frustration. It seemed he would have to keep an eye on Miss Davis in addition to Draco, Miss Parkinson and Miss Granger. How many more students was he going to be watching this year?

Snape looked around the table; most of the group had finished their dinner and were engaged in idle conversation. He sighed with relief. He could now leave without reproach from Dumbledore; he had been here long enough. With one more glance around the table, he quietly stood and left.

*********

Tracey had started making a list on Boxing Day. Three days later and the list was still growing. She sighed as she pulled out a quill and continued her list on yet another piece of parchment. After reading a few different volumes of Hogwarts: a History, Tracey had decided to start listing off each ward mentioned. It seemed that each headmaster had layered on more and more wards to the ones already in use. Hogwarts had to be the most heavily warded building in the whole United Kingdom. Tracey sighed to herself. There are too many of them. How will we ever know which ones are blocking our gift?

'Don't forget, once the other girls are back, we can all do the research.' Hermione's voice sounded in her head. Tracey looked over at the other girl to see her smiling at her.

'Don't worry Tracey, we will figure it out.'

Before Tracey could answer, she was interrupted by Seely.

'The headmaster is wanting miss to come now,' came the squeaky voice as Seely popped into the room.

'The headmaster? Who does he want, Seely?' Hermione asked.

'He is wanting you miss. He asks Dobby to find you and bring you to his office.'

'Oh. Er, Seely, do you know what he wants? Did he look mad or anything?'

'Seely not see him, miss. Seely hears Dobby say it. Dobby is to tell miss that the headmaster eats Nestle bars.'

'Oh, that must be his password.' Hermione looked over at Tracey. 'I guess I had better go see Professor Dumbledore.'

*********

It was only after turning down a lemon drop that Hermione noticed Professor Snape sitting in the darkened corner of Dumbledore's office.

'Oh, er... hello, Professor,' she said, feeling nervous. Was this about her friendship with Pansy?

'Miss Granger,' was all he said by way of a greeting.

Hermione? Tracey's voice sounded nervous in her head.

What's going on? Snape is there with you?

'Ah, Miss Granger. I trust you are enjoying your holidays so far?' Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling as he sat behind his desk and regarded the witch.

'Er, yes sir.'

'Very good, very good. Miss Granger, Severus and I asked you here because we have a proposition for you.' Hermione thought she heard a faint snort coming from Snape's corner, but when she looked over to him, his face was blank.

'Now, as you probably know, Severus is responsible for creating all of the medicinal potions for Madame Pomfrey.'

'But I thought that...' Hermione didn't finish her sentence as she thought about what Dumbledore said.

'Yes, Miss Granger?'

'Sir, I thought that Professor Slughorn would be responsible for that. He is the Potions Professor.'

Now she was sure she heard a snort from Snape.

'Well, yes, usually this is part of the Potions Professors duties, but Professor Slughorn is rather busy and Severus has been kind enough to offer his services.'

Dumbledore sent a twinkling smile towards Professor Snape before turning his gaze back on Hermione.

Hermione stayed quiet. No doubt Professor Slughorn was too busy with his 'Slug Club' to be bothered with potions making. She felt like imitating Professor Snape with a snort of her own.

'Yes, Severus is very generous, but he is rather busy, with his... other line of work.'

Dumbledore's voice had lowered an octave and his eyes narrowed a bit as his conversation became serious. 'We had hoped that you might be a kind of an assistant to him this next semester. You could help him complete some of the simpler potions.'

'Oh. Well... Of course I would be willing to help, Headmaster.'

'But, are you sure I am the right person for the job? I mean, I've never even received a perfect score on any of my potions homework. I believe that Draco Malfoy is quite good at potions.'

Professor Snape scowled in her direction when she said this. His eyes bore into her as he spoke in a sharp voice. 'Miss Granger, I find it hard to believe that you of all people would turn down a chance to prove just what a know-it-all you are. One would think you would be grateful for a chance to improve your skills in potions.'

'Yes, sir. I am grateful that you thought of me.'

Hermione tried to look properly grateful. It was true that she would normally jump at the chance to help with potions.

'Excellent! I knew you would be willing to help us out! Now,what say you, Severus? Two or three times a week?'

'Hermione, I've been looking through your new Muggle Books, and I found this one called Telepathic Theory and its Physical Host.'

Snape was still speaking, and Hermione tried to keep an attentive look on her face.

Hermione's eyes flew up to the row of portraits on Dumbledore's wall. There she was; Dilys Derwent, celebrated former headmistress of Hogwarts. The witch had silver ringlets, one of which she idly twirled in her finger as she listened to Professor Snape speak.

'Is that clear, Miss Granger?'

'Er. Yes, sir, quite clear.'

'If that is all, Headmaster, I need to be going. Miss Granger, I will see you in a week.' After shooting one more look in her direction, Professor Snape stood and stalked out of the room.

'Miss Granger, before you go, I have something for Harry. Could you see that he gets it once he has returned from The Burrow?'

'Yes, of course, sir.'

'A moment then, Miss Granger.' The headmaster stood and went through a door behind his desk that must have led to his personal quarters. Hermione quickly stood and moved to the portrait wall.

'Headmistress, I need to speak with you privately. Is there another portrait in the school that I could meet you at?'

'What? My dear, this is quite unorthodox!' The silver haired witch exclaimed.

'Its quite important Headmistress, and I need to speak with you in private,' Hermione insisted. She glanced at the other portraits whose subjects were all looking at her with interest.

'Er... it's a woman thing,' she said in explanation to the other portraits before looking back at the headmistress with an appealing look on her face.

'Very well, dear. The old infirmary was located in the west wing of the fourth floor. My portrait still hangs there.'

Hermione smiled in relief as she quickly returned to her seat. 'Oh, thank you. I will go there tonight.'

A moment later, Dumbledore returned to the office with a rolled-up scroll in his hands.

'Please deliver this to Harry when he has returned, my dear. I am sure you know all about our little lessons.'

'Yes, sir. Thank you,' she said as she stood to leave.

**

After leaving Dumbledore's office, Hermione went straight to their classroom to find Tracey waiting for her.

'Did you hear it all?'

Tracey nodded. 'Yes, I did. It was like you repeated everything in your head as you processed the information and I was able to hear everything you did.'

Hermione smiled. 'So, we know a little bit more about the capabilities of our gift; we can eavesdrop on each other. Did you happen to hear what Professor Snape said when you were telling me about Headmistress Derwent?'

'No, I could only hear what you processed. You weren't listening to him, so I didn't hear it.'

'Oh, well I suspect the headmistress heard it. I think he was telling me when we were to meet.'

'I can't believe you will be helping him with potions. I don't think he has ever had an assistant or an apprentice or anything like that.'

'I think he suspects something and wants to keep an eye on me.'

'Because of Pansy?'

'Yes. Remember when I told you how he had warned me away from Pansy?'

Tracey nodded. 'So, you think he wants to make sure you won't be sucked into her scheming and used by Voldemort?'

'Something like that, although, he didn't look too happy about the idea. Maybe Professor Dumbledore wants Snape to watch me.'

'Do you think Snape tells the headmaster everything?'

'I think so. I wonder if we should tell Snape that Pansy is on the side of the light now... What do you think?'

'I think we need to talk to everyone else and then decide. Maybe for now you can just test the waters a bit while you are helping him.'

Hermione nodded. 'Well, I can't do anything until the other girls return. For now, we should continue our research.'

Tracey held out a book to Hermione.

'This is the book written by M. Derwent; you will probably want to look it over before we meet with the headmistress' portrait tonight.'

**

They hadn't been specific about what time that night they would be meeting the portrait, so the girls waited until after dinner before sneaking up to the fourth floor. When they arrived, Dilys Derwent was reading a book in the dusty portrait that used to hang in the infirmary. For some unknown reason, when they had moved the infirmary to a new location in the castle, they hadn't moved the portrait as well.

As the two witches approached her, Dilys looked up and smiled.

'Hello, hello, girls. I had forgotten that this portrait was painted to include some of my favorite books! I haven't read this one in years.' She held up a copy of Jane Austen's Emma to show the girls.

'Now, my dear, what was it you needed to speak to me about? You made the other portraits in the headmaster's office very curious.'

Hermione held up her own book for the portrait to see.

'Headmistress, we were wondering if this book was written by a relative of yours. It's really important to a... personal project we are working on.'

The former headmistress began to laugh.

'Oh, my! I had forgotten all about that! It was written by my husband, Maximillian Derwent. He made it a hobby of his to write for the Muggles... Oh, and please, feel free to call me Dilys.'

Hermione beamed up at the portrait. 'Dilys, this is my friend Tracey Davis. She and I are working together on researching telepathy.'

'Hello my dear. I see that you are from Slytherin house. It is nice to see a Gryffindor and a Slytherin getting along. It happens so rarely. Why, I remember when I was headmistress; those two houses certainly caused a lot of trouble!'

Hermione and Tracey both smiled at this.

'The two houses are still great rivals. We are kind of special case,' Tracey said.

'Yes, well it is very nice to see. I was a Hufflepuff myself and hated to see such animosity between both houses. My, well I could prattle on all night if you let me. What is it you wanted to ask me about my husband's book?'

'Well, I am interested in what I read in chapter eight, about physically manipulating telepathy. Did your husband have any experience with telepathic powers? What is he basing his theory on? I don't really understand what he means when he says you can physically manipulate your powers. Is it like using a wand to focus your energy?'

Tracey started to laugh softly as Hermione asked her questions in rapid succession.

'It's no wonder Professor Snape calls you a know-it-all. You can't stop asking questions, can you?'

Dilys laughed at this. 'Oh, you're the know-it-all! I overheard Severus talking to Albus about the 'know it all Gryffindor.' We wondered who it was he was speaking of. Now I have a face to put with the title.'

Before Hermione could respond, Dilys held up her hand to stop her.

'Never mind about that. Let me see if I can answer your questions.' The portrait absently twirled a strand of silver hair around her finger as she thought.

'My husband did experience some telepathy. His was a result of a potion gone awry. He was working in his lab with his apprentice, and they were both doused with the potion when the cauldron exploded. They were never able to duplicate the results of that potion, but from then on, they had a telepathic connection.'

'Were they able to control their connection?' Hermione asked eagerly. 'What was the connection like? Did they hear each other's thoughts?'

'When it first became apparent that they had this connection, my husband did complain about their inability to control it. It seemed that they had no control over when they would hear each other's thoughts. They spent a few months testing their powers. They would try different ways of communicating with each other. They would go far distances from each other and see if the connection was still strong, and they tried different ways of blocking each other from their minds.' Dilys chuckled softly. 'It was quite an ordeal for a while there, and my husband became obsessed with discovering as much as he could about his power.'

'So, they did discover a way to control it, didn't they?' Tracey asked.

'Oh yes, they did. You asked about physically manipulating the powers of telepathy? Well, that is essentially what they did. They worked out a method where when one wanted to contact the other, he would press his fingers to his right temple. When they wanted to block each other, they would press their fingers to their left temple.'

Hermione felt a stab of disappointment. That was not going to work for them. She was certain it wouldn't be anything that easy.

'Now, understand girls, I don't think it was their temples that gave them the control. I think it simply meant that with a physical action, they were able to focus enough to retain control over it. It is similar to using your wand to perform a charm. Any charm can be performed without a wand if you have enough concentration and focus.'

The room was silent as Hermione and Tracey thought over what Dilys had told them. Hermione's voice sounded overly loud when she did finally break the silence.

'So, they discussed it and agreed to use the action of pressing their temples as a way to control it?'

'Yes, they wanted something that was easy to do but unusual enough to help them focus their power.'

'Dilys, I think you answered all of our questions. Can we meet with you again sometime if we have more?'

'Certainly. It was so nice talking with you both, I usually only get to converse with Dumbledore and the other headmasters. They can be such a tiresome lot after so many years. If you need me, just drop by Dumbledore's office and give me a significant look. I will then meet you back here.'

'Wonderful! Thank you so much. I can't tell you how much this has helped us with our research.'

Hermione and Tracey waved goodbye once more before heading back to their classroom.

'Somehow I am not at all surprised that you are genuinely feeling excitement as you think about research. I think it will be good when the other girls get back. You will then have a whole new crop of people who will be forced to submit to your color-coded research schedules!'

********

AN: Sorry about the wait on this chapter. Unfortunately, I am currently trying to work full time and be in school. Please say you will forgive me and review.