Master of All He Surveys (Chapter 16)
Title: Master of All He Surveys (Chapter 16, Lessons)
Author: princessteradia
Rating: R Summary: The war was over, Voldemort was dead, and good had triumphed over evil. Only the terrifically naive and the frustratingly obtuse believed that would be the end of things. What comes next?
Disclaimer: I don't own J.K. Rowling's universe, I just like to do really evil things with her characters, on occasion.
Author's Note: This is being written for OWL's House Cup for the dark!fic-themed month of October, and is dedicated to all my fellow Slytherins on OWL. (And yes, I'm still working on it, even though it's now December.)
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Hermione was surprised to find that she got on rather well with Tracey, once they started working together. She wouldn't go so far as to say she liked the other woman, 'like' was far too emotional a word, but by the end of the first afternoon they'd established a rapport, of sorts. In addition to several practical exercises, Tracey provided her with research materials, the contents of which were unlike anything she'd ever seen before. There were formal research documents and official-looking memos as well as several hand-written journals on the nature of magic and magical theory, some of it clearly dated before the founding of Hogwarts and all of it vastly different from the curriculum that was taught at the school.
While Hermione had always prided herself on being fairly well-educated, she was forced to admit that she'd been measuring herself by Hogwarts standards, without exploring much further into the theories behind magical potential itself. Once she began to read through the materials Tracey had brought her, she was shocked to discover how much had been edited out of the school's curriculum, and while she could see the point in restricting early education, she found it rather odd that there were no wizarding universities; it wasn't the first time she'd had that thought, either, and while she hadn't received much in the way of a satisfactory explanation at the time, she'd chalked it up to the fact that there was a war on.
It took her two days to work up the nerve to broach the subject with Tracey; the woman's cool and detached demeanor was still rather intimidating, but Hermione's curiosity had finally gotten the better of her. "Why are there no wizarding universities, to teach this sort of thing?" she asked, during a break for tea.
Tracey sat back and regarded her thoughtfully, and Hermione envied the way she could hide what she was thinking. "You'd think there would be, wouldn't you? Some sort of structured higher learning, beyond the basics offered at schools like Hogwarts. The most common explanation, of course, is that the wizarding population isn't large enough, or wealthy enough, to support such an institution, but I'm sure you're smart enough to know that such explanations don't hold up when looked at too closely."
"I asked Professor McGonagall about it, once," Hermione said, nodding. "Back when she was just a teacher, of course, but she gave me that answer, too. I didn't really have time to think about it, what with the war, but it's always seemed a little strange."
"Ah, but remember that your parents are Muggles," Tracey pointed out. Before Hermione had a chance to bristle at the perceived insult, the other woman was shaking her head and holding up a hand. "Let me finish. You come from a world where such things as universities and colleges are commonplace, so of course it seems strange to you that there's no real equivalent in our world. To someone who's grown up in the wizarding world, in a wizarding household, knowing that there's only the one school to go to for seven years of study, such a thing is simply the way things are."
"You're suggesting that it has to do with the way the education system has been set up?" Hermione asked, after taking a moment to process the words.
"Think about it. The curriculum at Hogwarts has been the same for centuries, with only a few rare exceptions in classes such as Defense. In most cases, when staff has needed replacing, the existing teachers have been able to recommend their replacements, which tends to ensure that the next person to teach any given subject will remain true to the class structure already set down by his or her predecessors. The only time attendance has ever been mandatory was the year Riddle had an iron grip on the Ministry."
"You call him by his given name?" Hermione asked, so shocked she blurted it out, even though she knew it was an interruption.
Tracey handled it graciously. "Theo insists." A faint smile flickered across her face, and Hermione felt an absurd, irrational stab of jealousy at the display of familiarity. "Back to Hogwarts, though, attendance has never been mandatory, save for that single year. Granted, most parents will send their children, and the OWL and NEWT scores necessary for most employers provide quite the incentive, which brings me to another point. Most careers in our world don't require any schooling beyond the basics of what is taught at Hogwarts, and those that do offer additional training on the job. The average witch or wizard, after coming of age, invariably enters the work force; most of them need to, in fact, to support themselves or their families."
Hermione felt the sneer twisting her mouth even before she said, "So, there's no university for wealthy pure-bloods only, then?"
"There've been a few," Tracey replied, shrugging. "They never seem to work. You might have noticed, but we magical folk tend to be a rather fractious bunch. Besides, there aren't very many wealthy pure-bloods left, and those that are can be notoriously difficult at taking directions. The problem with being raised to think one is better than everyone else is that when you have a double handful of children raised that way they end up fighting each other for pride of place sooner or later. Especially in Slytherin, which is where most of us end up. You also have to take into account the fact that no one is ever really encouraged to take a close look at magical theory, not the way you and I are looking at it now, anyway."
"Where did all of this research come from, then?" Hermione felt obliged to ask, waving her hand over the papers and books.
"Old family libraries, some of it. The journals, for instance, have been in Theo's family for years. Most of us have contributed to the research, though. There's a reason that Nott Enterprises has been so successful, although a lot of that is due to Theo himself. It helps that he can see potential."
Hermione stared at her. "He can do what?" Mentally, she was scrambling, trying to recall the page that mentioned something about determining potential.
"You've been through the volume by Nicodemus, yes?" Tracey waited for Hermione to nod before continuing, "He was Theo's grandfather. It was his work that led Theo to discovering what his own gift could do, so essentially it's the reason we're all here. The best and the brightest, gathered together in Theo's little family. Although some of the others will refer to us as pieces in Theo's chess game."
"Which piece are you?" Hermione asked. She couldn't help it, the mention of chess brought to mind the brutal imagery of wizarding chess sets demolishing each other, and she shivered.
"That's a question you'll have to ask Theo," Tracey replied, shrugging. "He's the only one who sees the whole board, and I'm afraid I've never been all that good at chess."
"Neither have I." Hermione smiled at the discovery of one more thing she had in common with the woman. "Ron always said it was because I wasn't willing to make the necessary sacrifices."
"An apt assessment, if somewhat simplistic. Your talents lie in other areas, as do mine, but I suspect you know this already, yes? It's why you chose to use your gifts to assist Potter, why you never tried to take the lead, though you were certainly qualified to do so. Potter's status as Chosen One didn't automatically make him the best candidate to be in charge, and he never would have succeeded if not for your help. Which is why you're here."
Hermione shifted uncomfortably, unnerved by the words; it was as if Tracey had cut through to the heart of who she was, leaving her exposed. "How do you know so much about me? Have you been in my head?"
"There are some things that are quite obvious to the careful observer, without the use of magic, and we've been watching you for quite some time.
It shouldn't have alarmed her, hearing that they'd been watching her; after all, Theo had said as much, the last time she'd seen him. She couldn't quite help the thrill of fear that slid down her spine, though, and she shivered in spite of herself.
Some of her alarm must have shown on her face, because Tracey twitched an eyebrow in response. "It's true that we've watched you, but that's all; we wouldn't force you to be here." Her lips curved in the faintest of smiles that was probably meant to be reassuring as she added, "You've as much free will as any of the rest of us."
Hermione didn't find herself at all reassured by this, however.