Luna's offer there at the end wrecked me, man. I was just going along, yeah, sure, 20 years under a death sentence could change Hermione that much, OK, got it, moving on... and then got to that part. Damn.
Great story. Wildly different take on things than I've seen before. I like the hints early on of ancient things gone since before the time of man. I've had thoughts along those lines myself, of the familiars of ancient Neandertal shamans going into hibernation after the early human wizards wiped out the older race due to faster breeding or some such thing.
It's nice to see that even after all the fanfics I've read, I can still find something new.