"But, why?" asked Dean.
"Simple," Hermione walked over to the nearest wizard in the assembly who was talking to the wizard next to him. The others followed her. "You try and tell me what he's saying."
Dean leaned towards the man, then leaned back. "Sounds like gibberish to me."
"Exactly. Every hundred odd years, they make a new copy and translate the important bits for the next hundred years."
Sophie grinned. "Genius!"
They walked back over to Elizabeth.
Kevin motioned to the arena-like environment. "So, what's going on then? What is this?"
"This, is the Wizengamot in which Merlin, still acting as the first Grand Warlock, unveiled his masterwork to the assembly - the Albion Family Magics."
Kevin perked up. "I've heard of that guy before! Merlin was supposed to be right powerful, wasn't he?"
Sophie spun her head around, scanning the crowd. "Yeah, I knew about him even before I learned I was a witch. So, which one is he?"
Hermione pointed to the large, empty chair in the centre of the benches. "He's not here yet."
"Oh."
They didn't have long to wait though. Soon, a tall man with a long, flowing beard, carrying a long staff, strolled into the clearing and faced the assembled wizards. The hubbub died, and the man began to speak.
As he did, memory Elizabeth spoke too, reading from a pre-prepared parchment, and occasionally checking the parchment of the witch next to her, presumably to make sure she was in the right place.
Hermione and the others all leaned into the older Greengrass to catch the words, watched as Merlin finished up his speech, and then watched with horrified fascination, as the pre-Hogwarts Wizengamot erupted into full-on, caustic meltdown.
Some time later, they all emerged from the pensieve.
Sophie took quick, deep breaths and clutched her chest. "That was intense!"
"Well, don't get comfy." Hermione indicated the shelf, still full of bottles. "We've got plenty more for today."
They then watched the Wizengamot session announcing the founding of Hogwarts, which had been greeted with a combination of amazement that four families were willing to give away their family's private collections of magic. And distrust over whether the founders had ulterior motives for their children.
They watched the Wizengamot session discussing the foundation of the International Statute of Secrecy, and another discussing the curbing of a Light Lord so invasive and uncompromising as to necessitate the founding of a dedicated wizarding combat force, the aurors. And yet another, this one on the Gringotts banking treaty, which gave the goblins a world-wide monopoly on wizarding banking. In total, they watched eight memories, each starting and finishing with a heart pounding bungee dive and yank. By the time they ended for the day, Hermione felt like Miss fucking Frizzle from the Magic School Bus.
"So, Hermione," started Sophie, who was trying and failing to walk in a straight line. "Same time next week?"
Hermione held the now empty shelf next to the pensieve for support. "Yeah, sure, next week. Yes."
...
Draco Malfoy walked into the confused Slytherin common room and stopped dead. Everything had changed. Nothing was where it should be. Before, his throne had been on the left side of the right-left divide, with the walking space a straight line from common room door to the descending staircases. Now, the walking space curved in an arc, leaving the right side of the room with far more floor space than the left.
He looked around, annoyed, trying to find his throne.
There! Someone had set up a second pathway at a right-angle from the middle of the main path, cutting the now bigger, right-side of the room in two. This new path lead straight to a chair and collection of sofas of similar size to his own, but clearly more expensive.
His own chair sat to the left of this new and obviously dominant position in the familiar diamond shape with his own familiar sofas. Greengrass's chair and sofa court mirrored his own, but sitting on the new throne's right side.
He scowled and marched through the confused throng of milling students, grabbed his chair and tried to move it. He might as well have tried to move the castle.
He drew his wand and cast a finite. That also didn't work.
He looked towards the new dominate throne, eyed the many carved wooden snakes curling their way around it, and observed the way their eyes seemed to follow him, even without moving.
He cast his gaze around the many watching students, all curious as to what he was going to do next.
Draco Malfoy scowled and descended into his chair with as much dignity as he could muster.
A few minutes later, Greengrass, now much closer than she had been before, sat down in her sofa court and turned to him, a slight smile playing around her lips. "Cosy like this isn't it?"
He feigned disinterest. "I'm surprised your lord didn't just put your chair there." He motioned to the new snake throne. "Apparently, he doesn't feel you could handle it."
Greengrass's mildly amused expression didn't change. "I am an instrument of my lord's will. I will handle all and only what he wills me to handle."
Malfoy turned away and felt a shiver go down his spine. That had felt far too much like certain statements made about a certain individual he'd seen in his father's private pensieve lessons.
...
Want to read ahead. Then Join my Pa*treon for the mass release of 60+ chapters that has happened.
Even Free members can enjoy 2+ advanced chapters FOR FREE.
Link: p*atreon.com/Divine_Quill (Remove the *)
Join Right Now