The knowledge that she was about to face the great duke and duchess of the realm, the powerful royal figures whose stories she had read in history books at her village school, caught up with Hermione abruptly, and she fought to remain steady as she followed Dobby inside the room with her head bowed respectfully. She, Hermione Granger, was about to meet the Duke and Duchess of Slytherin! She was about to meet royalty!