Subject: #3: The Star Called Mione G.
Author:
Posted on: 2018-08-06 11:26:00 UTC
Hermione Granger's secret hobby turns serious when Dumbledore decides to use her as a pawn, a distraction and a weapon in his game of warfare. The famous starlet called Mione G might change the course of the war in many surprising ways.
"Ah, Miss Granger!"
Hermione jumped as the Headmaster's voice echoed through the draughty room. "Professor Dumbledore! I can explain."
"I'm sure you can." Dumbledore strolled into the round chamber, showing no sign of weariness at the long climb he had just made. "Where would you like to start?"
"Er." Hermione pushed a tangle of hair back from her face. "I'm very sorry-"
Dumbledore pulled out a scroll and allowed it to unroll; the end dragged on the floor. "I have a whole list of people who will be quite put out with you," he said amiably. "Professor Sinistra is wondering where her best telescope has gone... Madam Pince is looking for several missing sixth-year Astronomy texts... Mister Filch is convinced there's a student sneaking into the Astronomy Tower... and poor Minerva is bound to be upset that you're using her Time-Turner for unauthorised purposes."
Hermione cringed at each name. "I know, Professor," she said, "but I really needed to... well..."
"The stars are endlessly fascinating, aren't they?" The Headmaster crossed the empty classroom and peeked into the telescope. "You've enhanced the magnificiation quite considerably, haven't you?"
"I needed to be able to see," Hermione muttered. "Hence the-"
"Hence the advanced textbooks, indeed." Dumbledore glanced out of the window, then back through the telescope. "I'm reasonably certain, however, that even the N.E.W.T.s don't cover astrology of extra-solar planets."
"It's not..." Hermione squirmed, then sighed. "It's not astrology," she admitted. "It's... science."
"Oh?" Dumbledore stepped back and studied the third-year thoughtfully. "Ah, yes; I'd quite forgotten you were Muggleborn." He tapped the telescope gently. "So the planets of α Mione are of particular scienteric interest, are they?"
"Scientific," Hermione corrected, then slapped a hand to her mouth in dismay. "Er, sorry, Professor. And no, not them in particular, but..." She took a deep breath, and the words tumbled out. "Muggle scientists discovered extrasolar planets for the first time last year, but they've still only seen a few, and only indirectly, and only around really energetic stars called pulsars, and I thought that with magic I might be able to see better and find out more about them, and... and it turns out α Mione has a dozen different planets, so the seventh one would be called α Mione G, and I liked the... name... Professor."
Dumbledore gave her a long, serious look. Then, abruptly, he straightened up and beamed. "Marvellous!" he proclaimed. "This sort of thing is why we should be encouraging Muggleborn students, you understand; the way you think is simply remarkable. Using magic to enhance science - quite wonderful." He chuckled, and then just as suddenly was serious again. "But you must return all the things you borrowed right away."
"Yes, Professor," Hermione said, stooping to gather up the books. "Sorry, Professor."
"No harm done, Miss Granger." Dumbledore peered through the telescope again, then tugged thoughtfully on his beard. "In fact... you may just have given me an idea."
Hermione looked at him warily. "Professor?"
"Yes, indeed." Dumbledore chuckled again. "Extra-solar astrology - I should have thought of it myself." He slapped a hand onto Hermione's shoulder, causing the books to jump from her hands. "Miss Granger, how would you like to be my secret weapon?"
"Er." Hermione stopped in the act of picking up a thick textbook. "In what sense?"
"The only sense that matters," Dumbledore assured her: "Wizard's chess! Minerva and I have been renovating the board used to protect the Stone, and it's about ready to be used; a horoscope from your α Mione G might be just the thing to tilt the odds in my favour." His eyes twinkled as he regarded the student. "You'd have to play as a pawn, of course - we couldn't have you standing out too much - but I think you and your starlet could change the course of the game in many surprising ways..."
Set during the first half of Hermione's third year. The planets of PSR B1257+12 (aka Lich) were discovered early in 1992, the first extrasolar planets confirmed to exist; following the convention of the time, they were numbered from A in order of their distance from the star.
So far as I know, there is no actual star named α Mione, but if there was it would be the brightest star in a constellation called Mione. I'm pretty sure extrasolar astrology isn't taught at Hogwarts, and that Dumbledore has never met a scientor.
Hopefully I've got them both somewhere close to in character; it's been a long time. :)
hS