Damn! This chapter was a PAIN IN THE BUTT TO WRITE! I just couldn't seem to get into Rowena's head, I swear I rewrote that one part like 20 times! Anyways, I'm Back! I went back and changed a few things on the previous chapters because it didn't fit right, so now Hermione's 5 going on 6 years old. I apologize for how long this took to finish, and I hope you enjoy it!

'Thought'

"Speech"

"Entity Speech"

[Game Text]

(Chaos's hints)

Chapter 9: The Vaults

Well that's a lot of new information to process. I need to find a magical guardian then convince my parents about said guardian. I need to choose two proxies… or can I use only one for both seats? That's a thought for later. Putting that aside, I am in desperate need of information. How does the Wizengamot work? Who's on it? What does my magical guardian actually do? It certainly never came up with me before, so I really don't know. And I still needed to find information on seers. Since I now have the Lefay and Ravenclaw titles I should probably also find information of wizarding high society and culture…

"Please take a seat." The goblin guiding us said, breaking me out of my train of thoughts.

We were in front of what looked like a mining cart with seats in it.

"Why are we getting in a mining cart?" dad asked with confusion evident on his face.

With a small sneer the goblin replied, "the vaults are deep underground, this is how we get there."

"Oh, well thanks." Dad responded as he got in.

"Stupid humans." The goblin muttered under his breath. I probably wasn't supposed to have heard him, but I was the closest to him and I did. 'huh, so there's the cranky goblins I'm used to' I thought 'I was starting to think I may be in a different reality with how… well not polite, but certainly less "I'll bite your head off if you disturb me" sort of feeling they generally give off.'

So, we all climbed into the cart. "We are not liable if you have body parts hanging from the edge of the cart and they get torn off." The goblin said with contempt.

"Wait, whaaaaaaaaaa-' mum started to say before the cart took off like a rollercoaster.

And so, we barreled down the tracks with fast turns and steep dips. Dad and I were screaming with glee, we were having a blast! Mum wasn't doing as great, in fact she was going a bit pale really. By the time we came to a stop, after having gone what I would assume to be miles underground, dad and I had flushed cheeks and bright eyes, and mum was a bit unsteady.

"That was totally wicked!" I exclaimed. The last time I had been on a cart was when we were trying to steal from Bellatrix's vault and I was so stressed about that that I wasn't paying much attention to anything else.

"You okay honey?" dad asked mum, noticing her quite pale complexion.

"Yeah, just… just give me a sec." she replied shakily.

"Follow me" the goblin said as he briskly started to walk away holding the cart lamp. We hurried to catch up. Moments later we were in front of a vault door with the number 2 on it. Like the key and my ring, it had a thorn design engraved in the front.

"Key please." The goblin requested in a bored tone. As I handed over the key he continued. "This vault requires a blood test every time it is opened. Place your hand on this indent." He said indicating said indent as he placed the key in the lock and the indent started to give off a light glimmer.

As soon as I did, I felt a sharp prick and then we heard a click and the door slid open. The goblin with us actually seemed disappointed that noting else happened. I bet there was a bad curse if you weren't the true owner, sneaky little bugger. He handed the key back to me and I quickly withdrew my hand to inspect it. I found a tiny pinprick with a bit of blood on my pointer finger. I wiped it off and, turning to grab my parents' hands, I marched us into the vault.

The vault was a lot barer than I thought it would be. The back wall had a large life size painting of a sleeping woman on it. She was quite beautiful with long slightly curly, midnight black hair, smooth pale skin, and deep rosy-red lips. She was wearing a dark dress that looked like it was from the medieval era, a silvery circlet on her head with a black stone rose on the front, and a similar silvery black stone rose necklace about her neck. She was laying on a mahogany brown chaise lounge that was set in a clearing in a forest with bluebell flames lighting it and giving it an eerie look.

In front of the painting was an obsidian pedestal with a large tome on it. On the left wall was a bunch of empty shelves and a desk with a few bits of loose-leaf parchments scattered on the floor. On the right wall was what looked like open empty chests with a few pieces of moldy cloth lying haphazardly around them. There were a few small blank paintings on the wall. Overall it looked like the vault had been ransacked aside from the tome on the pedestal.

"What happened here, I wonder." Mum queried as she stepped towards the pedestal as I did a turn of the room.

"Treachery is what happened!" came an angry but familiar silky-smooth voice from behind me. We all jumped and turned to see that the portrait had woken up and was staring at us with a calculating gaze.

"Did the picture just talk?" dad muttered in confusion.

The portraits gaze quickly focused on him. "I can do far more than just talk."

With a start I realized that this was the voice I had heard in my head when the ring judged me. But that would mean that this was… "Lady Morgana?" I asked hesitantly.

Her gaze quickly settled on me and she gave a small brief smile. "Yes my dear, and you must be my new heir." She said.

"How are you moving and talking, did you get trapped in that portrait?" mum asked.

"No, I am an enchanted portrait. The enchantment makes an imprint of the personality and memories of the person from when they are painted and implants it in the portrait's image. There is a secondary spell that can then add the memories of the person to the portrait as the original ages. As your daughter so brightly figured out, I am Morgana Lefay, with all of the memories of her life up until approximately a month before her death." She said smugly.

"Wow, you must know so much history." Mum breathed in wonder.

"What did you mean by treachery?" I asked in a quiet voice.

Morgana's face contorted into a deep frown. "Do you know why the family magics stopped accepting my blood descendants?" We all shook our heads.

"One of my foolish descendants decided that it would be smart to break our Oath. The Oath we promised to the Old Ones to protect and defend the home of the Fae: Avalon. It was our sworn duty to bear the responsibility of guarding the Gateway. And yet one of my foolish descendants broke the Oath. They desired to rule Avalon and so they brought an army and attacked. Of course, they failed the attack, but the consequences were severe. They and their descendants lost the right to bear my name and were stricken with insanity with their powers severely drained." Her sorrowful voice was entrancing as she explained the history of her family.

"They took the name Black and for a while yet the Family Magics stayed with them until, in an attempt to gain their powers back they did the unspeakable. They sacrificed one of their own in the name of power. They became Kinslayers." I could see a barley suppressed rage in her eyes. The complete repulsion and hate at the idea that one of her own would do such a thing.

"Familia Super Omnia: Family Above All, that is the moto of house Lefay and when next they came before me here to read the Grimoire I watched as the Family Magics rejected them and marked them as unworthy." She spoke with deep sadness and anger.

"When they realized what had happened, they ransacked the place in anger and left, never able to return." As she ended her tale she seemed to shake herself back into the present and focused on me again.

With a small smile she finished with, "But you are here now and perhaps you, still pure of sin and greed, perhaps you will be able to fix our family's mistakes and make amends. Come, place your hand on the Grimoire, let the Families Magic bless you with your inheritance."

"It wont cause her to go insane will it?" dad asked in concern.

"No, her branch of the family split off before the betrayal and as such is not beholden to the punishment like the main branch is. This will only benefit her." She said, approval on her face for his caution.

As I walked up to the pedestal I asked, "What is a grimoire exactly?"

"It is the focus for the creation of Family Magic. You see Family Magic was originally just regular magic that over years and years developed a bit of a… flavor of the family that used it. It becomes stronger in particular types of use and gains an almost sentience the older it is. The Grimoire holds the "heart" of the Family Magic and if it is destroyed the Family Magic "dies" and reverts back to its original form of regular magic."

"The Lefay Family Magic is good at Warding, Runes, and most defensive spells. When I was alive I was known as a guardian of magical beings. I fought against the suppression and persecution of magic and its users. I made countless sanctuaries for magical creatures of all kinds to prevent them from being hunted to extinction."

I was stunned. That was so different from what I was expecting. All the stories I read painted her in such a dark light. I would have thought the Family Magic would be for Dark or destructive magic.

I reached forward and placed my hands atop the Grimoire. With a shadowy light, I felt something wash over me in a welcoming caress.

[[You have acquired Lefay Family Magic]

All Defensive magic, Wards, and Runes are twice as effective

You gain +1 Wisdom per year (effective retroactively)

Unlocked latent skill: Metamorphmagus Lvl 1]

. . . I was struck speechless by the window before me. 'HELL YES!' I mentally screamed in joy. This was so awesome. Between being able to shift my form and my already ridiculously high stealth skill I was going to be able to blend in anywhere!

"How do you feel sweetheart?" dad asked, most likely due to my awestruck appearance.

I turned to look at him and couldn't help messing with him a bit. "Tickled pink" I said as I activated my metamorphmagus ability and tried to turn my hair pink.

[Metamorphmagus Check: 1/1 Check passed]

With a giant grin on my face I watched as his eyes nearly popped out of his head. I fell over clutching my stomach as I laughed so hard I couldn't breathe. "You're… Face!" I gasped between laughs.

I heard them start to chuckle along with me, as I slowly calmed down.

"That's not permanent is it young lady?" mum asked with a stern voice, amusement evident in her eyes.

"No, mum" I said as I turned it back to my regular color with a grin.

[Metamorphmagus has increased Lvl 1 lvl 2]

"It has been so long since one of ours has been blessed with metamorphmagism, you truly are lucky little one." Morgana said with a gentle smile.

"Meta-what's-it?" dad asked

"Your daughter is a metamorphmagi, which means she can change her own appearance at will. Some can only do simple things like change their coloring or hair length, but others can give themselves completely new forms and change genders. I believe the closest thing to explain it would be "shapeshifter"." She explained

"Oh." Dad said a little stunned. "And that's not common?"

"No, very few have the ability." She replied.

"Little one, please bring one of my portraits with you when you leave. I would much appreciate being able to leave this vault, and I am sure I can be of assistance in teaching you about magic and the Old Ways." She waved her hand at one of the small 5"x 5" blank paintings and it floated off the wall and towards me. I held out my hands and caught it gently.

"How would taking that picture help you leave?" mum asked

"Like this." She simply replied as she turned and walked out of the frame, only to reappear in the small picture.

Mum just blinked a few times before just deciding to just go with it. "Well there's not much else to do in here I guess. Should we go to the next vault?" She asked.

"Next vault?" Morgana asked curiously.

"Yeah, Hermione just found out that she is the heir of not only your family, but also a woman named Rowena Ravenclaw and some guy name Hector Dagworth-Granger. We were just coming to see what was in all the vaults before we go explore the alley." Dad explained.

With that we turned and exited the vault. "We would like to go to the next vault please." Dad informed the goblin who was waiting in the cart.

Mum nervously got back in already dreading the ride. "Can we please go slower this time?"

"One speed only." Was the goblin's gruff reply.

Once we were all in the cart (mum had taken morgana's picture to hold onto for me) the cart shot off again. This time we were mostly rising. We still went quite a ways but a few minutes later we stopped before a second vault.

"Key please" the goblin ordered with his hand outstretched towards us. I handed him the key and he unlocked the vault. As it slid open, a greenish mist flowed out. He handed the key back and went to wait in the cart.

This vault had quite a bit more in it then the last one. There were piles of Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts on the floor in neat piles. Along the left wall were shelves with what looked like seeds and plant samples, while on the right wall was what looked like eggs of many types. I assumed they must have been under a stasis or preservation charm. Otherwise by now they would have either hatched or rotted with how long this vault had most likely been closed.

There was also a grimoire on a pedestal against the back wall. This grimoire was much smaller and looked much newer then the one in the Lefay vault. Without much ado I walked up and touched the grimoire. There was a rather dull green light that briefly covered me.

[[You have acquired Dagwoth-Granger Family Magic]

All Potions are twice as effective

You gain +1 Luck per year (effective retroactively)]

'…Why luck?' I wondered? How would luck have any pertinence to potion making? Most of it has to be careful study and preparation, right? You don't just throw ingredients into a potion and hope it does something!

'… but then again sometimes you do just get lucky and something does something unexpected…. Okay I guess it would make a little sense but still! You shouldn't hope luck will get you places. Studying and preparing are much more effective!'

As the light died down and I came back to myself to see my parents watching me with curiosity.

"What?" I asked.

"Oh nothing, we were just wondering of you can do something else extraordinary now. I mean last time you became a shapeshifter. What's next, you gonna turn into an animal?" he asked with a chuckle.

"Well no, not yet. That's a very complex spell to attempt and it can go very badly if you don't have an excellent control over your magic. The transfiguration teacher at Hogwarts is one of the few people I am aware of who can do so. She can turn into a tabby cat." I said with a grin.

"…You know what? I don't even know why I'm even surprised anymore." He said with a chuckle as he shook his head. He turned and started wandering around the vault looking at the random items.

As I looked back towards the entrance I noticed a hook by the entrance with what looked like a small mokeskin bag hanging from it. I walked over to it with a grin. I love my inventory and all, but this will give me an excuse for pulling things out of seemingly nowhere. I can place my inventory over the bag so that it will look like it comes out of the bag.

I picked it up and wandered over to the money. I started pushing money into the bag.

"What are you doing honey? That little bag won't carry very much." Mum said skeptically.

I grinned at her as I just kept pilling more and more coins into the bag. After I had placed at least a few hundred Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts in the bag I wandered over to her and placed the bag in your hand. She looked at it in surprise as it was considerably lighter than it should be.

"The last owner was very smart. They bought a mokeskin goblin-wallet. It should be charmed to be feather-light and have expansion and anti-theft charms on it. They cost a pretty penny but are rather invaluable and tend to last for seemingly forever." I told her happily.

"That's convenient." Dad said as he walked over to mum and curiously reached into the bag and watched in awe as his hand and arm seemed to disappear as he reached deeper and deeper. "How do you get stuff back out again?" he asked.

"You have to think about what you want, and it will move the item to the top of the bag." I replied.

"Huh." Dad grunted in surprise as he obviously felt the money move to his hand. When he withdrew from the bag one of the galleons was in between his fingers. He looked at it curiously for a moment and then put it back in the bag.

"Why do you suppose all these eggs are here?" mum asked curiously as she wandered over to the shelf.

"A lot of potions require specific animal parts and I bet this was an attempt to make sure the species doesn't go extinct. Some of the creatures are extremely difficult to procure and/or very, very expensive. I would assume it is the same for the plants. This vault probably has enough samples to make a potion ingredient farm. If you can find good gardeners and animal caretakers, it can be a ridiculously lucrative business." Morgana spoke up from the frame in mum's arms.

With a last look around the place we walked back out, mum still had the mokeskin pouch which she placed in her purse for later when we go to explore the alley.

Once again, the moment we settled in the cart, we were off, this time we seemed to mostly be going horizontally. A few minutes later we were before my third and final vault and the goblin was asking for the key. When the vault was opened a rush of air came out that smelt like the best place in the world, the library.

I eagerly dragged my parents into the vault and squealed in joy at what I saw. This vault had much more in it then the last one. Most of the walls were completely covered in book shelves filled to the brim with books and scrolls and parchments of all sorts.

Against the left wall was also two large chests. Above one chest (which had what looked like a mokeskin bag hanging on it) was a blackboard with the number 1000 on it. after watching it the number went up to 1001 then a moment later went back to 1000. I made a mental note to ask someone about that later.

The right wall was also covered in shelving, but these shelves held row upon row of glass vials with clear wispy liquid in them. In the middle of the room was another pedestal with a large tome on it. However, next to it was a pensieve. Next to the pensieve was a small side table with a single vial on it and a heavily aged letter with my name scrawled across the front in a neat feminine cursive script.

"Now that's kind of creepy." dad said when he noticed the letter.

"Well, might as well see what it says." I said with a shrug. I walked over to the letter and picked it up. As I turned it over I noticed on the other side in the same handwriting as my name was the words, "Do not open until after bonding with the family magic."

"Well I guess the letter will have to wait for a second." I said as I showed the writing to my parents.

I put the letter back down and walked up to the grimoire. Like with the Lefay grimoire, I felt a wave of something wash over me in a welcoming caress only this one was accompanied by a soft blue light instead of a shadowy grey one.

[[You have acquired Ravenclaw Family Magic]

All Charms are twice as effective, +20 to Arithmancy skill

You gain +1 Intelligence per year (effective retroactively)

You have unlocked your Inner Eye: +20 to Divination skill]

This one wasn't as amazing as the Lefay Magic bonus but still good, and really any little bit helps.

With a giggle I turned to pick up the letter again. As I opened the letter I got a paper cut and a bit of blood fell on the parchment. There was a dull pulse from the letter and I was concerned for a moment, but when nothing happened I calmed down and finished opening the letter.

Dear Miss Granger,

I am sure you are wondering how a letter came to be in the Ravenclaw vault with your name on it. My name is Rowena Ravenclaw and I have Seen you in my visions of the future, child. I know by the time you read this missive approximately a thousand years will have past and the last of my descendants will have perished. With this in mind I have willed the Family Magics to pass unto you all the wealth of House Ravenclaw.

The vial that comes with this letter contains a memory of mine for you, to watch it just pour it into the pensieve next to the grimoire and put your face in the basin. NOTE: DO NOT SWALLOW THE LIQUID.

For Wit Beyond Measure Is Mans Greatest Treasure

Rowena Ravenclaw

"What does it say sweetheart?" dad asked? I handed the letter to him wordlessly and picked up the vial and walked over to the pensieve as he read it.

"What is that?" mum asked as she wandered over to me while I poured the vial into the pensieve.

"That is a pensieve, a memory viewing device. And the liquid is a memory that one can remove from themselves to show others." Morgana said from her portrait in mum's arms. "Regretfully I can't use it so if you do you will need to leave me behind."

"How does it work?" mum asked.

"the runes carved along the edges allow the magic to work, so to use it you merely need to place your face in the basin and it lets you experience a memory like you were there." Morgana explained

"Just don't drink the liquid. The letter implies that that would be bad." I replied. "So, wanna try it?"

"Okay..." Mum said as she set down Morgana's portrait on the side table and walked up next to me with interest.

"Dad?" I inquired as I looked at him.

"Sure!" he said with a grin as he put down the letter and came over by us. I grinned at him then turned back to the basin.

"Just copy me!" I exclaimed as I leaned face first into the bowl and felt myself being dragged into the memory. I landed in what must have been a circular office or study of some sort. There were a few windows that indicated we seemed to be in a tower and almost every available bit of wall was covered in shelves with hundreds, if not thousands, of books on them. There was a medium sized fire place as well, but besides that? Books. Many, many wonderful books. In the center of the room was a large desk with an elegant blue chair behind it and a woman who I assume was Lady Ravenclaw sitting in it.

She had a more stern elegance to her then Morgana, but she as well was a beauty. She had long raven black hair, but unlike morgana's which had a curliness to it, Rowena's was ramrod straight. She also seemed a bit older then Morgana's Portrait, which the few grey hairs on her head attested to. She had piercing storm-grey eyes, pale skin, and a sharp nose. Her lips were thin but fit her face well, overall her countenance reminded me strongly of Professor McGonagall, and it suited her perfectly.

"Welcome, young Hermione." Rowena said.

"I have Seen visions of the of the future of the wizarding world, watched as it became corrupt and incompetent. And I watched with horror how so much knowledge would be lost to the sands of time. I know that you too have been blessed by the Greater Entities and they have set you on the path to help this world be put back on the right path. I know your path will be a difficult one filled with the uncertainty of the choices that you will face.

To aid you on your quests I leave to you Calcifer, my familiar's chick. He will be in a cage in the vault under Stasis and the oblivioni traditæ ward. You should now be able to see it when you leave the pensieve. Merely open the cage to release the spells. I hope he serves you well.

However, before you leave I would ask but one thing of you. Within the walls of the the vault you will find a collection of tomes written by myself and my descendants on a wide range of topics. You will also find vials of memories of historical events and old magics that have been forgotten to the passing of time. I implore you, help this knowledge come back to the world and always keep learning! We of the house of Ravenclaw have taken it upon ourselves to be the lore keepers of history. To record events and discoveries as they truly happened for future generations. Please, use the knowledge collected in those tomes and memories to rid the world of its ignorance and stupidity!" she pled.

I do not ask this of you lightly, I know you have no reason to do this for me, but I know this knowledge will help you in your endeavors. I can but hope that you will choose to do so." Rowena finished speaking and we were thrown out of the pensieve.

For a moment I just stood there expecting a quest to pop up, strangely enough one didn't. When I finallylooked up I saw a large birdcage with what looked like a raven the size of Fawkes on the other side of the pedestal. The raven appeared to be asleep.

I promptly walked over to the cage and opened it. I felt the moment the ward fell and watched in amusement when my parents jumped.

"Sweetheart step back it might be dangerous!" Mum said as she pulled me back from the cage. We heard a rustling sound.

When we turned back to the cage, we saw Calcifer start to stir. And then he opened his eyes to peer at me. All three of them.

So what did you think? I'm really excited to get into the next part I'm gonna be introducing some more cannon characters. Can you guess who? Cookie to anyone who guesses right! Until next time! ^_^

Hermione's Stats

Strength: 10

Agility: 15

Endurance: 13

Intelligence: 22

Wisdom: 26

Charisma: 17

Luck: 25