Watford, Hertfordshire, October 5th, 1999, 17.20 hours

"Betty! Betty!"

"Mum!"

Wand-Leader Hermione watched as the little girl was hugged by the muggle woman. Both were crying. So was the woman's husband, who was embracing both. She felt happy to see the family reunited, ashamed she had let the kidnapping happen, and envious. Her own parents were dead. She also felt a tad uncomfortable in the muggle clothes she was wearing, though Ron had assured her that they fit her cover. Even if she hadn't seen the likes of them in the Cosmopolitan magazines she had read for her research.

It took a while for the Hendersons to calm down enough to address her and invite her inside their house. Hermione didn't mind - she understood their reaction. She just hoped they would be as understanding when she told them what had happened.

"When you called us and said you had news about the kidnapping... we feared the worst," Ben Henderson said. His wife held their daughter, nodding.

Hermione winced. In retrospect, that hadn't been a good way to handle this - she had thought it made keeping magic a secret easier. "I'm sorry. I didn't consider that."

"I'm just happy my girl is safe," Mrs Henderson said.

Her husband nodded. He hesitated. "Did you find out what happened? All we know is that Betty disappeared from our backyard six weeks ago."

"Evil wizards took me!" Betty said. "But good wizards rescued me."

Betty's parents frowned. "Wizards?"

That was addressed as much at her as at the girl, Hermione knew.

Betty nodded. "They had wands, and magic. They messed with my head, but the good wizards fixed it."

"She is correct," Hermione said. She drew her wand. "If I may demonstrate?"

"She's a good witch!" Betty said, smiling.

The Hendersons nodded, staring at her. Hermione transfigured the table into a teddy bear, then animated it. Betty clapped her hands happily, while her parents stared some more.

Hermione sighed. This wouldn't be pretty. "Your daughter is a witch. She can use magic. This is why evil wizards kidnapped her - they wanted to take her from you, and raise her to become an obedient soldier." Mrs Henderson gripped Betty tightly, gasping, and Betty's father set his jaw. Hermione went on: "She wasn't the only victim. This conspiracy has been going on for almost twenty years. More than a dozen children were kidnapped each year."

"But... why didn't anyone notice?" Mr Henderson asked. "So many kidnappings..."

"Magic was used to hide the disappearances. Or frame someone else. Like the parents of the children." That caused another gasp.

"Did they... did they do something to us?"

"They wanted to frame you," Hermione nodded at Mr Henderson, "for her disappearance. Your memories of the kidnapping were wiped and replaced with fake ones. Those were removed during the investigation. At that time, we didn't know the scope of the conspiracy yet, so nothing more was done."

"You knew Betty was kidnapped, but you left her with the criminals?" Mr Henderson sounded both shocked and angry.

Hermione nodded. "I'm sorry for the grief this caused you, but rescuing her and her alone would have warned the criminals. Since the highest levels of the magical government were involved in the kidnappings, you can imagine what would have happened. We had to topple the government before we could arrest the kidnappers." She didn't mention murdering the Minister and his family.

"You said 'we'. Do you mean the magical police?"

"Not exactly. I'm a member of the Wands of Britain - all of us were kidnapped as children, and raised to serve. When we found that out, we arrested the ones responsible."

"You were..." the woman trailed off.

Hermione knew what she was asking. "Yes. I didn't know what had happened to me and my parents until I interrogated the kidnappers myself." She didn't go into details with Betty around. The Hendersons probably already suspected what had happened.

"Now, I'm certain you need time to work through this. We will inform you when the trials start. We'll also send you some brochures about raising a magical child... once we have them." They were currently being translated and adapted from the French versions." She stood up and stared at them. "But I have to inform you that you are not allowed to tell anyone about magic."

"They'd send us to an asylum anyway," Betty's father muttered.

"That's a likely outcome, yes." Hermione nodded and handed them a slip with a phone number. "You can call this number if you have further questions. Good evening."

"Bye Hermione!" Betty waved.

The girl's parents bid her goodbye, still looking shocked.

Hermione apparated away, glad this was over. And aware that there were dozens of children left to be returned to their parents. Dozens of lives and families to be set right. It was a daunting task, doubly so with the current state of the Corps, and the pressure from the Ministry and others.

But the Wands would do it. They took care of their own.

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London, Ministry of Magic, October 13th, 1999, 10.25 hours

Albus Dumbledore wasn't quite happy with his office. Neither the room nor the position. The room was far too big for his preferences, and even after he had replaced most of Lucius's decorations with shelves for books and a variety of devices, still too pompous. But even Albus couldn't go against tradition and reduce the size of the Minister for Magic's office. People would not understand.

And, as he understood all too well, in the current times, preserving ultimately harmless traditions was of utmost importance since it reassured the pureblood population that they would not be subjected to the kind of discrimination they themselves had visited upon others for so long.

If the situation had been different, Albus wouldn't have become Minister for Magic. He did not seek the office, he never had, and he disliked politics, even though he was quite adept at playing the game. He'd rather teach young wizards and witches than guide a country, but needs must. And compared to the sacrifice many of his friends had made, this was nothing.

A knock at the door interrupted his thoughts. A second later, Miss Greengrass peeked inside. "Sir? Your 10.30 appointment has arrived."

"Thank you Daphne. Please send him in." He smiled. That he had kept the former Minister's secretary was another reassurance for the purebloods, showing that having been fooled by Lucius would not be held against them. Even if the young witch was not quite as skilled as Albus would have liked. But she came from an Old Family, which had been close to the Malfoys. That her younger sister was a close friend of Miss Lovegood didn't hurt, of course.

"Good morning, Albus!" Horace entered with a beaming smile, though Albus saw that he was not quite at ease as he acted.

"Good morning, Horace. Please have a seat." He summoned a tray from the corner.

The Headmaster of Hogwarts placed his corpulent frame on one of the soft seats present for visitors, and availed himself of some tea and scones. "My favourite tea!" He made an appreciative noise. "Let me congratulate you once more on your election, Albus."

"Thank you, Horace." The Headmaster was delighted, Albus knew, since that meant his own position at Hogwarts was secure.

They chatted a bit about old acquaintances and shared anecdotes, until Albus addressed the reasons for this meeting: "Now, you have heard about Lucius's crimes against the families of the muggleborns."

"Of course! Shocking and disgusting!" Horace sounded sincere - he wasn't a bigot, Albus knew, just a snob.

"Indeed. And with this foul practice ended, there are changes ahead for Hogwarts, and the Wands of Britain." Albus took a sip from his own cup. "The current system, where muggleborns are schooled separately from the other students, cannot be continued."

Horace nodded. "Of course. I'm already preparing for the merge."

"This leaves the Corps with a recruitment problem though. As you are aware, their standards are quite high, and most Aurors candidates would not meet them." Albus hid his smile when he noticed Horace twitch at the indirect criticism of his school. "Fortunately, they have found a solution."

"Oh?"

Albus nodded. "They will create an Academy of sorts, to train recruits after they graduate from Hogwarts. Open for everyone, of course - provided they meet the standards."

"That sounds like a good idea, but..." Horace frowned. "You're poaching my teachers, aren't you?"

Albus smiled. "Just the current instructors for the Wands." He didn't mention that a few of the British exiles Horace had been courting to come teach at Hogwarts might pick the Academy instead. Filius Flitwick had been particularly enthusiastic about teaching not just Advanced Charms, but Duelling as well.

"Good." Horace was smiling again. "When will this new Academy be ready?"

"Next Summer." Albus nodded at the surprised expression. "You know how quickly the Wands can act, if needed."

"Of course."

"Which brings me to another thing. In order to prepare the prospective students for this Academy, a few elective courses are needed to be offered at Hogwarts. Fortunately, instructors are already available."

"I see." Horace slowly nodded. "Aren't you concerned about the potential trouble you could cause if you teach students to fight like that?"

Apparently, Horace had internalised Lucius's policies to some degree. Dumbledore shook his head. "No. If anything, the past, both distant and recent, has shown us that not teaching students how to fight will spell more trouble, since it means a Dark Lord will not need quite as many trained followers to threaten the country. And you know that many purebloods are being taught some duelling already. And darker things."

Horace grudgingly nodded. "The prefects will have their work cut out for them then, with the young Wands not around anymore."

Albus shrugged. "You will be able to pick more capable prefects as well, now that you are no longer limited to purebloods."

"Point." Horace leaned back. "And how have you settled in as Minister?"

Albus grimaced. "It's been as bad as I have always feared. Herding teachers and students was never that demanding. Nor as frustrating." Even though Albus knew that many purebloods thought he was the only one standing between them and the muggleborns avenging years of discrimination, and therefore were quite supportive of him. And it did help that Lucius spent twenty years turning Britain into an easily led country. Not to mention that Lucius and Tom could, both conveniently and truthfully, be blamed for much of the troubles Britain had suffered and was facing still.

Horace chuckled. "The perils of politics. I'll stick to the infighting in the teacher's lounge."

The two old wizards chatted some more, until it was time for Albus's 11.30 appointment. Albert Selwyn from the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office had been a font of information about Lucius's plots. Information that was proving very helpful in ensuring the cooperation of a number of influential people with the new regime. At least until the elections for the new Wizengamot. Switching from inheriting to electing the majority of the members had been a very controversial decision, one Albus had been certain wouldn't have passed without using Lucius's secrets for blackmail.

He sighed. Needs must, indeed.

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London, Diagon Alley, October 14th, 1999, 12.01 hours

Wand-Leader Hermione - still without a team to lead - folded the Daily Prophet she had been reading and dropped it on the table in the café she was sitting in. The newspaper was trying its best to suck up to the new Minister, which meant it was barely more than a propaganda piece. A loyal one, to be sure, but a propaganda piece nonetheless. The only thing that didn't read as if it came straight out of the Ministry was the article speculating about the Lovegoods. Speculating in a way just this side of slander.

"Hermione!"

Speaking of Lovegoods... There was Luna, waving wildly as she skipped towards Hermione.

"Hello," the muggleborn witch greeted her enthusiastic friend.

"How are you doing?" Luna asked, sitting down after hugging her, but before Hermione could answer, the blonde pouted. "Were you reading that rag?"

"There wasn't anything else," Hermione defended herself.

Luna sniffed. "They're just jealous of our scoops! It's pathetic how they are trying to flatter Dumbledore! Independent journalism would never stoop that low!" She shook her head, causing her long hair to whip around. "And they have the gall to accuse us of opportunism!"

"That can't be helped without revealing just what exactly happened to the Malfoys," Hermione said. When Luna perked up, she quickly added: "And you promised not to reveal that!"

Luna pouted once more. "It would show them all just how principled the Lovegoods are!"

"It would also endanger the still fragile peace in Britain. There are already dozens of conspiracy theories around." Hermione placed her hand on Luna's. "This will pass. Trust me, in a few months, no one will accuse you of being a turncoat."

"Truly?" Luna looked at her with wide open eyes.

"Trust me." Hermione hoped she wouldn't be proved wrong. The Lovegoods were known to have been friends of the former Minister, and unlike other families, they were not rich enough to make others overlook that easily. On the other hand, Dumbledore was very fond of them.

"Thank you!" Luna beamed at her. "How are things in the Corps?"

"You know that we're still stretched thin. I've been kept busy contacting the surviving families of the Wands, and informing them of the fate of their children." Hermione sighed - meeting Colin's brother and grandparents had been a very emotional scene. And Dean's mother...

This time it was Luna who patted her hand to console her. "That'll be over soon, won't it?"

Hermione nodded. She wondered what new task she would then be assigned. Sarah had pulled her out of the Investigative Branch for special duties, which meant she could be ordered to do anything. Or almost anything. She didn't think she would be assigned to clear the names of those people who had been framed by the Obliviators and subsequently imprisoned by the muggle authorities; that was a job for the muggle liaison.

"What's Ron doing?" Luna asked, looking around.

"Helping Harry and Sirius move," the muggleborn witch answered. She couldn't help feeling jealous - all of Ron's closest friends and his family had survived the war while she had lost Dean and Colin. And then she felt guilty about feeling jealous.

"Oh! I almost forgot that the will of Orion Black has been read. So, Sirius inherited all?" Luna was already pulling out her notepad.

Hermione sighed. "I'm not privy to the details of the will. But Sirius did inherit the ancestral home of the Black family. And the Tonkses were reinstated in the family as well."

"Oh! Does that mean Orion Black was a sleeper agent for Dumbledore? Or... maybe Andromeda hadn't been cast out from the family at all, that was just a cover? Or... that hadn't been Orion Black at all, but Nymphadora Tonks impersonating him!"

Hermione smiled weakly - she just knew the next issue of The Quibbler would create another conspiracy theory or two.

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London, October 23rd, 1999, 19.04 hours

"Relax. We're just five minutes late."

Ron Weasley grinned when he saw Hermione scowl at him. His girlfriend was very fond of being punctual. Even when it came to dinner invitations from close friends.

"You were not quite that relaxed when we visited your family," the witch spat.

"Sirius is not like mum. Very much not like her."

"But Sarah could be there!" Hermione said. "I can't be late when she's waiting!"

That was a fair point, but Ron was far from conceding. "If she is still with Sirius, then she has to have relaxed a bit. Or she'd have dumped him weeks ago."

It didn't seem to do much to calm down his girlfriend, so he took her arm. "Shall we?"

A second later, the two appeared in the hidden apparition spot inside the garden of No. 12, Grimmauld Place.

"It doesn't look as bad as you said," Hermione remarked.

"Now it doesn't," Ron said, eyeing the lawn. "You should have seen it before a dozen Curse-Breakers went over the house. Curses and traps everywhere." The snakes in the garden had been particularly vicious, until Harry had talked to them. After getting bribed with with rats the snakes had been moved to a more suitable area. Fortunately, Ginny had put her foot down when Harry had wanted to keep them.

The Repair Charms had worked wonders on the facade too. The door was opened as they approached, and a beaming Sirius stood there. "You're late!" he said, instead of a greeting.

"Told you!" Hermione whispered.

"But don't worry, Sarah's not here yet either!" Sirius grinned.

Hermione visibly relaxed, which made their host's grin grow wider. "Come in, come in! Don't worry - but for the attic and the cellar, the house is now safe."

"Can Kreacher take the cloaks?"

Ron looked down at the house elf standing there, dressed in a white towel, and handed his jacket over. Hermione did likewise, after a brief hesitation. Ron knew that she still wasn't that used to muggle fashion. Her dress was close enough to a robe at least, or so she had told him a few times. The little elf disappeared with both garments through one of the small doors elves used to get around. The house elves' passages had been the only untrapped areas, Bill had told Ron.

"Come to the living room, Harry and Ginny are there!"

"Are you moving in for good?" Hermione asked as Sirius led them through the house.

"It was a stipulation in the will," the older wizard answered. "It's no big deal though - with the Vanishing Cabinet, the villa in Argelès-sur-Mer is like an extension to this house. The twins are working on charms that will transmit sound as well, so we can hear the doorbells in both locations."

"Smooth solution," Ron agreed. On the other hand, Floo travel would work as well, if not across borders. Legally, at least. "Just test if Fred and George didn't install some trap 'just in case'."

Sirius nodded. "Ah... there were some proposals, yes." He seemed to be a bit evasive though.

They arrived in the living room, and Harry and Ginny jumped up from the couch to greet them.

"Did you tell them already?" Harry asked.

"Of course not!" Sirius sounded affronted. "We've been talking about housing."

"Tell us what?"

"Harry's signed on with Puddlemere United!" Ginny piped up, smiling from ear to ear. "They're the best British Quidditch team!" With a grin she added: "Not as good as the Aigles, of course."

"We'll see about that once the next training season starts and we're looking for sparring matches," Harry retorted.

"Congrats, mate!" Ron smiled and clapped Harry on the back. Hermione's congratulations were less physical, but just as earnest.

"Speaking of jobs, have you decided what you're doing?" Ginny asked. "Mum's been commenting about opportunities at the Ministry. You know how she is..."

Ron cleared his throat. "Well... it's not yet official, but... I'll probably be working for the Ministry." He glanced at Hermione, and smiled as she took his hand.

"Oh! Mum will be very happy! About your work, and your relationship!" Ginny didn't quite squeal, but she came close.

Ron smiled, though he thought mum wouldn't be quite as happy if she knew what kind of position at the Ministry he was planning to apply for.

A gong sounded, interrupting the talk.

"That's Sarah!" Sirius exclaimed, and stood up. "I'll get her!"

"He's got it bad," Ron said as soon as the wizard had ran out of the room. "Is he serious about her?"

Harry shrugged. "He's happy, that's all I know."

Ron nodded, wrapping his arm around Hermione. Being happy was good enough, in his opinion.

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Stevenage, Hertfordshire, October 30th, 1999, 15.02 hours

Wand-Leader Hermione took another deep breath, standing in front of the gate leading to a small but well-tended house. She could do this. She had to do this. She had done this dozens of times, for others. She bit her lower lip. She could do this. She was a Wand.

Ron, standing next to her, didn't say anything, just wrapped his arm around her shoulders. She closed her eyes, took another deep breath, then straightened up and pushed the gate open. "Let's go!"

She didn't falter on the way to the door, though she almost gasped when she read the name on the door, and it took her a second to ring the doorbell.

"Coming!" she heard, faintly, from inside.

The seconds until the door was opened were some of the longest in her life. What would they say? What would they do? Would they curse her, or welcome her? Her parents had been killed because of her, after all.

The door opened, and she was looking at an old woman with familiar if grey hair. Hermione swallowed. "Mrs Granger?"

"Yes, dear?" The woman looked a bit distracted.

"My name is Hermione. I'm here to talk to you about your son and his wife. My parents."

The woman - her grandmother - gasped, and grabbed the frame of the door to steady herself. "H... Hermione?"

She nodded.

Then the tears started to flow.

THE END