“And would you be Hermione?”
“Ahh, yes, that’s me,” Hermione answered. Her Papa Tango had ended just over a week before, and she’d spent the time since practicing stabilizing her new magic. She’d managed it to about the same degree as she’d been able to stabilize her old magic- but hadn’t tried any other magical effects, since she didn’t know what the Trace would or wouldn’t detect, and get her in trouble for.
So of course, prepared or not, it was time for the magical study with the muggles. She wasn’t sure what to expect from it, but the government was very definitely not playing games with security. She’d had to present her shiny new photo ID- and her wand- to the Sergeant standing guard at the entrance to the building. He’d returned both, of course- and she’d entered, her parents right behind her. The Sergeant had checked their IDs at the same time as hers.
Once she’d entered, she’d then run into a woman in the lobby- who had greeted first her parents, and then herself. She still had her wand out, so she figured that was how the woman knew who she was.
“It’s nice to meet you,” the woman smiled, holding out a hand. “Aurora Lewis, Secretary of Defense. I’m sorry about the security, but we want to be absolutely sure we know who’s in here, and who’s not. The existence of wizardkind is a national secret, after all.”
She blinked, putting her wand away. “... Ahh. Okay.”
Mrs. Lewis smiled. “You shouldn’t need to worry about that here- everyone in this building has been cleared to know. Any thoughts on what to expect?”
“Not sure. I wrote that article after scanning the magic of a bunch of wizards, and common Wizarding knowledge is that muggles don’t have an ounce of magic, sooo…” She shrugged. “Honestly, common wizarding knowledge was that the spells I used to scan said magic were impossible, so who’s to say it isn’t wrong there too?”
She chuckled. “Well, here’s to hoping it’s wrong there too. All this effort would be for nothing if it wasn’t, wouldn’t it?”
She winced. “Yeah, it would. Personally, I expect even muggles have magic, though weak, inactive, or whatever. I mean, there has to be a reason muggleborn witches- like myself- exist, and when I scanned Filch a few days after that study…” She shrugged. “I mean, he’s a squib- a muggle born from wizarding parents- but he’s also an Etrah.”
“Isn’t there a difference between squibs and regular muggles?”
“Yeah… Squibs have a magical awareness, and so can see magically-hidden things like the Leaky Cauldron, and regular muggles don’t. And Filch’s magic did seem weaker than everyone else’s, but not by much- mostly, it was simpler, with fewer connections going out. So, that’s about what I expect to see in muggles- just a little weaker than his, with even fewer- possibly even zero- connections. Fortunately, I don’t need those connections to tell the tribe, I have only to look at the patterns in the magic itself. And stabilizing it the way I do to make my wand float doesn’t mask those patterns- makes them stand out, actually.”
“To make your wand float?”
“Yeah. By stabilizing my magic- I couldn’t think of any better way to say it- I was able to bully my British Aethr magic into behaving like Equestrian Raeth magic, allowing me to levitate my wand freely. I wasn’t very strong with it, but…” She shrugged.
“You say that like it isn’t the case any more,” she observed. “Does that have anything to do with your new hair?”
She blushed, and ran a hand down her hair. “Um, yes, actually. Lyra- an Equestrian Raeth- created this massive spell deep in Hogwarts Castle capable of expanding a British magical core to match an Equestrian magical core, without losing any of the parts that made it a British core. I went through that process over the first three weeks of summer, so my magic is now technically Equestrian Aethr magic- and it’s literally hundreds of times stronger, as well.” She shrugged. “For some reason nobody’s been able to figure out, all the British people that went through that spell- meaning, myself and one other- have ended up far more powerful than any other member of their tribe, whether Equestrian or British.”
“... Alright. Does this mean anything for the study?”
“Yep! Means I won’t tire myself out on the first couple dozen, but will have the reserve depth to make it through the entire study without collapsing. Only reason I was able to do it with the study in Hogwarts was because Twilight, Lyra, and a few other Raeths kept feeding me power.” She shuddered. “Did you know, the biggest difference I could see between Equestrian and British magics was reserve depth?”
She raised an eyebrow. “Is it possible that’s the difference between muggles and wizards as well?”
She blinked. “I… I suppose it is, isn’t it? If… Yeah. If muggles happen to have no reserve… that would significantly hamper magical capability. And… Yeah. Filch’s reserve was small, even by British standards, soo…” She shrugged, and pulled her wand halfway out of its pocket. “We could find out now, if you want.”
She chuckled. “Nah, I believe your researchers are waiting for you. Most of them were so eager they showed up a couple hours early.” She gestured towards a door on the side.
She blinked. “Already-? Okay. Um… I guess I’d better go?”
She chuckled. “Have a good study, Ms. Granger.”
Hermione stopped, surveying the room, the moment she entered it. It was a large- very large- room, stuffed full of various researchers sitting on folding chairs and holding notepads and clipboards. Six of them were up by the blackboard, having presumably been discussing between themselves and with the rest on something they’d scrawled all over it.
And as soon as she had entered, the entire room had gone silent, and they’d all looked at her.
“Miss Granger?” one asked- the one with the chalk in his hand.
She nodded, nervously. “I’m not interrupting anything, am I?”
“Oh, no, not at all,” he stated, putting the chalk in its holder. “We were just discussing the known applications of magic while we waited.”
“Sorry I kept you waiting,” she muttered.
“Nah, it’s still early yet,” he smiled, striding over to offer his hand. “I’m Kasper Owen, by the way. So, how did you want to start?”
“Um…” She looked out across the gathered scientists. “How did you want to start?”
He raised an eyebrow. “You’re the one leading the study.”
“Yeah, but-!” She took a deep breath. “Whatever. Um… Shall I just start… running down aisles with my wand, or…?”
He shrugged. “If that’s what you need.”
“Uhh…”
“So, what do you need for your scanning spell?”
She blinked, and shook herself out. “Right. Sorry. Um… Scanning spell. I’ll need… Um, back of the neck. Wrist of the wand arm works too, but not as well.”
“And I doubt very many of us have wand arms,” he chuckled. “Want to start here, or ?”
She shrugged. “Why not? How about…” She cast her eyes around the room. “What do you say to everyone coming around to meet me? Those chairs are mighty close together for me to reach everyone very well.”
“Sounds like a plan,” he stated.
There was a sudden shuffling as all the researchers started standing up.
“So, where would you like to sit, or stand, or…?” Kasper asked.
“Oh, and,” the scientist right behind him in the rapidly forming line asked. “Before we start, would you mind demonstrating the known tribal magics for us? The ones that you can demonstrate, that is.”
She blinked. “Ahh… sure. Um…” She looked around. “Well… the tribal magics that I can demonstrate…” She took a deep breath. “Let’s see. Etrah magic… not a chance. But British Etrah magic is mostly just drawing magic from or channeling it through stone and other earthen materials. Aethr magic should be okay, since I’m an Aethr…” She scowled. “Let’s see. Equestrian Aethr magic… I should be able to demonstrate that, but that would only be by walking on the wall. And I’m not sure that I can do that, no matter how hard I try. British Aethr magic…” She paused again. “... isn’t much different from British Etrah magic. Though, I suppose it’s the most versatile of the British tribal magics.”
Hermione stepped over towards the podium at the head of the room, drew her wand, dropped it on it, and took a deep breath. “The only British Aethr tribal magic we were able to measure was directly connected to the witch or wizard in question’s wand. I… haven’t managed wandless British magic yet, so that’s out- but to an Aethr, if their wand is close enough nearby, that doesn’t matter.” She looked at her wand, resting on the podium, and realized that she was almost automatically stabilizing her magic, even though she shouldn’t need it for this. She didn’t stop herself. “Lumos.” She paused long enough for everyone to see that it had, in fact, lit up. “Nox. And we can also summon it from the same distance.” She held up her hand, and her wand leaped straight into her hand. “If timed right, that summons ability can render the disarming charm rather useless.”
She took a deep breath. “Then… I should be able to demonstrate Equestrian Raeth magic as well, despite not being one. Which I can only do because I found a way to bully my magic into behaving like it; I normally wouldn’t be able to come anywhere close.” She dropped her wand back on the pedestal, and took a deep breath, stabilizing her magic in the process. “Sorry, it’s… I haven’t tried this since the term ended, in part because I don’t know what the Trace will or won’t pick up.” Then, she reached out with her magic, and lifted her wand.
As she expected, it was a lot easier to lift than last time. That much was even apparent- rather than a faint icy blue aura, it was a much stronger, more normal-looking icy blue aura that wrapped around it. “There,” she muttered. “Levitation. Probably the most common way the Equestrian Raeths use their magic.” She scowled. “No idea where the color comes from…?” She trailed off as she reached forward to pluck it out of the air with her hand.
Her hand seemed to be surrounded by that aura as well. She looked down- and found that her entire form had been surrounded by it. “What in the world-?” she began- before, with a bright flash of icy blue light, she was gone, leaving her wand to clatter to the floor.
By the time Hermione reappeared in a matching flash of bright blue light, there were several soldiers in the room, decked out in some very high-tech gear. She stumbled upon reappearance, and caught herself on the podium. “What-!” she began. “What happened? Where am I…?” She looked around wildly, then deliberately took some deep, calming breaths. “Okay, okay. Back here. I can… But what was that?” She put her hand out for her wand, and it zipped instantly up into her hand, from…
She blinked. “Wait a minute.” It had come from where one of the researchers had been holding it near the door, a good fifteen feet away. “That was… that was further away than that should have worked from. But then…” She scowled, put her hands on both ends, closed her eyes, and muttered a few incantations. There was a few seconds’ pause, then she allowed her spellwork to collapse. “Huh… that’s… strange.”
“What is?” Kasper asked, stepping forward to meet her.
“I…” she began, then took a deep breath. “Since scanning only a dozen people tired me out during the study at the Castle, forcing much more powerful Equestrians to keep feeding me power, I went through a very powerful magical process this last month or so, to increase my reserve depth, among other things. Then…” She scowled. “It’s almost like it’s happened again, but this time instantaneously, and…” She shuddered. “In some kind of alternate realm made up of an infinite plane of clouds.”
“What-!?” Kasper asked. “You- You didn’t fall, did you?”
She shook her head. “No, I didn’t. It felt firm under my feet… and I should be able to walk on clouds anyways, since I’m- magically speaking- part-Equestrian after that process, and Equestrian Aethrs can walk on clouds.” She took a deep breath, and let it out. “But it’s not possible for it to happen again- Lyra’s spellwork included a very specific anti-repeat segment.”
“Maybe you’re just good at finding new ways for magic to work?” someone asked, from behind. Hermione jumped, turned- and stopped herself. That was Aurora Lewis, the Secretary of Defense, who she’d met just outside.
“I-!” she began, then paused, and tilted her head. “I… I mean, maybe,” she muttered. She stowed her wand, then started counting on her fingers. “Well, I designed what I’m told is Britain’s first compound spell, used it to detect a magic facet we didn’t even know existed, taught Sweetie Belle to use magic…”
“Sweetie Belle?”
She nodded. “She was so bad that numerous instructors had tried to teach her before, always to be met with abject failure. I did it successfully, first try.” She grinned. “Then I convinced my Aethr magic to behave like Raeth magic, and…” She tilted her head. “And in doing so, violated three separate laws of magic as the Equestrians knew them, in a field completely unknown to British wizards.” She shrugged. “So… Maybe I AM good at discovering magic stuff. I mean…” She paused, looking down, as a warm feeling seemed to flow through her body.
… Her magic aura had wrapped around her form again.
“Oh boy,” she muttered, and took a deep breath, preparing herself for another quick jaunt in some strange world.
“Uhh,” a few researchers muttered.
She felt herself get lifted a little into the air… and then fall right back down on the floor.
She stumbled a little on the landing, recovered, and looked over herself. The aura was gone.
“... Huh. I wonder what that was…?” She drew her wand, grasped both ends, and muttered her incantations… then let them collapse. “And nothing changed, either.” She shrugged. “Whatever- we’ve got a study to do, right?” She wasn’t about to let strange Equestrian magic get in her way.
Pretty sure I know what Hermione went through, considering what happened in The Gate. For spoiler reasons I won't say anything. But this is a great chapter, Hermione's study is beginning with a very interesting start.
Hello Cutie-Mark for Discovering New Magic. Congratulations Hermione. Also, probably congrats on becoming an Alicorn? Also also, damn you author for tempting me to read the Gate to start knowing what the original plan was ahead of time. I've been trying to not read the old, outdated version of this fic.
10377987
Pretty sure you're right, though for spoiler reasons...
Hahahaha, yeah, no one would have figured the first effect, though I would imagine they all expected (though didn't explain) the second. Admittedly, even if one of the Equestrians had suspected the first one might happen, no one would have figured it'd happen before the second one.
Maybe we ought to keep a count of number of laws of magic Hermione breaks by the end of the fic. That's probably 4 by now, if one considers the order of the two events in this chapter to be a "law of magic."
So there is the asention and cutie mark.
... which happened first
10377990
Original plan? Heh Heh Heh...
In The Gate, the Papa Tango took just 3 days, and was completely invisible (except for CM magic) until 15 minutes before the end.
In The Gate, Hermione wasn't just PTed during the year, but she also ascended after the first quidditch match- hardly two months in. And she did it for Rainbooming.
In The Gate, both Harry and Silver- the latter of which had just gone through his PT- ascended after a rather dramatic fight with Quirrel in the potion room.
In The Gate, Fluttershy ascended for patting Harry's shoulder.
In The Gate, Hermione's studies never happened, and her talent was instead to find books.
... Yeah, that story may have been a decent reference for some of the earlier chapters, but by now, the plot has diverged too far. You might be able to get extra character info out of it, but again, by now, enough development has happened here that such gains will be small, if any...
Because here? Silver was the only Papa Tango subject during the farewell feast, and she was not an alicorn. And Flutters never ascended. And Hermione did her studies. And the PT takes three weeks instead of three days...
10378017
i think she got her cutie mark after becoming a god-horse
10378017
Well, which one put her on the ascension plane?
10378025
... wow she ascended before discovering her talent
10378026
Yep.
10378022
... Yeah, that's a pretty big divergence. And a much better fic here compared to the original. But it does more or less confirm that Hermione ascended and gained her cutie mark in this chapter like I suspected.
I have a feeling Hermione might have been changed into a Princess
10378026
Yup. I've seen one or two authors put it out there that Celestia and Luna ascended and got their cutie marks at essentially the same time the first time they moved the sun and moon. They were sent to the Aetherial Plane, and then noticed their marks as soon as they got back. But I don't know that I've seen anyone have someone first ascend and THEN figure out their talent.
10378029
That... would be correct.
And the divergence is one of the main reasons this story exists- The Gate was devolving into a series of only loosely related events... such as, Quirrel was caught and captured at least twice, and simply "let go" offscreen each time... Then a changeling appeared, was turned into a pony, and effectively deleted the Basilisk... That's about the point I cancelled the story, if I recall correctly. Made a little nod to Sunset's Isekai/League of Sweetie Belles at the end- which themselves exist in the same universe as Song of the Spheres, I understand.
10378038
I like how the rule follower has a talent for breaking the rules (of magic)
10378038
For me, this is because the ascension is connected to the act, and the CM appearance is connected to an epiphany. For Celly/Luna, moving the Sun/Moon would've triggered ascension... Which they would have understood, and understood to mean they were good at moving the sun/moon- hence, epiphany on the Aetherial Plane, where they don't notice the CM appearing...
Hermione, on the other hoof, had no idea what the ascension was to begin with, and so required an outside push, even after ascension, to realize what her talent was. That didn't stop said talent from being active all along.
10378015
Well, there's the three that her magic emulation breaks...
Then there's the laws of magic that said her scan was impossible...
Then there's the laws of magic that said Sweetie Belle couldn't be taught magic... (Yeah, really)
In the end, technically speaking, she's merely discovering that nopony- or human, apparently- knows what they're talking about when they cite a set of "laws of magic"...
... Yeah. We use the word "magic" to describe that which we don't understand. As such, the phrase "law of magic" is an oxymoron...
10378044
Makes sense to me, and I figured it was basically that. Not a situation that would arise very often.
10378050
True, Limited myself to Equestrian laws there, and hah to the one about Sweetie. And very true, as it is written, it's only impossible until someone does it the first time. I would imagine though that the Equestrians at the least have a more solid definition of magic, maybe to the level that we have one for gravity (so a more solid definition, but still a force that isn't completely understood). Neither of which would prevent them from being wrong.
Did... Dis Hermione just Ascend into an Alicorn before gettign her Cutie Mark?
10378099
Yep.
Love the profile pic, by the way.
10378015
that might be a good idea tbh
Alicorn or cutie mark?
Nice! Hermione going alicorn is one thing, but seeing her involved in R&D with muggles? That is rare and special enough to be really enjoyable.
I'm reminded of some of the stories in the Recommended “Sci-Fi Discovers Harry Potter” fics post on my blog.
(Particularly the two fics in the runners-up section which aren't sci-fi, but have that "attitude of inquiry" enough that I decided to add the runners-up section for such stories. Harry Potter and the Golden Needle by xenocidender, which has Harry engaging in an arithmancy project to discover what makes gold so magically special, and The Perils of Innocence by avidbeader, which has Harry, Hermione, and, later, a third friend growing up at a a live-in facility for children with psychological issues with muggle doctors who are aware of their abilities but don't know what they are.)
Twilight: Congratulations Hermoine. You are the British Alicorn of Magic.
Hermoine: Alicorn?
Twilight: Yes. I am SICK of using these silly words. Alicorns, Unicorns, Pegasi, Earth Ponies. That is what Equestrians are. There are also Zebras and Dragons and Gryphons and Yaks and Hippogryphs and Changelings and Minotaurs and Kirin and Buffalo and even more.
*Hermoine faints from info overload*
10378189
Alicorn and Cutie Mark, in that order.
10378272
Good one.
... Though by this point, Hermione is actually "in the know" as per the Equestrian secret. After all, she shares it too, ever since her PT finished...
10378272
Don't forget bugbears, hydra, sirens, seaponies, hippogryphs, etc..
Sorry, had to get random.
10378189
That looked like both, first one then the other.
10378044
That's basically my view on how this thing works too... and is the only way I've heard to explain how Flurry could've happened (surviving a miscarriage somehow).
10378485
... I suppose that's one way to look at it. Considering Flurry is the only known pony to qualify as "foal of an alicorn", there's a lot of debate. Perhaps it has something to do with magic densities throughout the pregnancy, that an alicorn would have sufficient of to result in the "ascension" of the foal?
Though, this approach does suggest that an Alicorn father would not have alicorn foals, only an Alicorn mother. Which would seem unfair...
I often ignore Flurry, or just label her an exception.
There is a thing that brothers me: they are saying Equestrian or British. Equestria is the single country based on the three known pony tribes and the British ignores all the other human tribes like America, France, Slavic, Japanese. (There's about a dozen major schools of magic across the planet)
Sunset: She just became an Equestrian less than a week, and she already ascended? That does not sound fair.
Luna: We welcome you to the Hogwarts' Princesses Club.
Twilight: We have Princesses Club?
Lyra: Crap. Sorry, Hermione, I forgot to teach you how to block Harmony.
Rarity: Darling, you must let me design your coronation dress.
10378328
Some of those are just magical animals (banished to Tartarus) another (seaponies, hippogriffs)belongs to different countries. Thanks to Starsswirl sirens are unwelcome in Equestria and banished to the human world on sight.
Flurry is incredibly easy to explain: someone wanted to market a new toy and didn't care about the story.
So: we have Overpowered Alicorn for being overpowered (using a different family of magic after being turned into an equestrian), and cutie mark for magically discovering that she can discover magical things
10378610
They're using those terms, because the other option is to say "Human Aethr" and "... Uh, what's the race of the Equestrians called again? Oh right, it's still an Equestrian National Secret."
Thus, even though they might not come from Britain or Equestria, the local nation to the portal is being used to label the entire world... Yes, it's not entirely fair, but it's better than calling the Equestrian world "The Special Region" or the like. Note that those terms are only ever coming up in conversation, or otherwise in a character's stream of thought...
10378624
Hermione: Will you guys leave me alone already? I'm not a princess, and no amount of magic is going to change that! Without making my parents a king and queen, at least...
10378744
Yes.
... This is why I tend to ignore her, or otherwise flag her as an exception.
10378518
Flurry is a pegacorn. They look like alicorns, but they are just Pegasus + Unicorn. No Earth Pony strength & longevity in the mix.
They are extremely rare, as unicorns & pegasi do not often mate.
There are pegasi and unicorns in the family trees of Earth ponies, so a pegasus or a unicorn born from an Earth pony is rare, but possible.
10378050
In our list of impossible things she's already done, we both forgot that Hermione did better on Lyra's teaching test than was supposed to be possible. Not exactly a law of magic, but it probably meant that she thought things through in ways that Lyra didn't/couldn't, and very possibly was an example of her talent at work.
W O W! Hermione Jean Granger, did you just ascend in the middle of a government building?! Young lady, we've talked about you breaking the rules of reality before!
If Hermione is the Alicorn of English Magick, is her cutie mark going to be a wreath of ivy or something? According to Jonathan Strange, ivy has long been a symbol of English magicians.
10378518
I just assume Flurry is just an early sign that Shining Armor is going to become an alicorn as well. That makes for more interesting stories anyways.
10379112
Lisa Simpson, in this household, we obey the second law of thermodynamics!
I'm wondering if that PT spell can be used to un-Muggle people. At the side effect of revealing a great number of secrets, but that's somewhat moot if giving people magic anyway...
Yes, I did notice what happened this chapter. I wonder who's going to comment on the butt-tattoos (and the other new features)?
10431529
Hermione's Cutie Marks will likely be on her shoulders.
So... alicornified, then cutie marked, in the space of a few minutes? Discord’s grin must look like the Grand Canyon right now...