Since the adults saw how much the children liked the beach, they took them to English beaches every weekend after returning. The children found these beaches much less fun. The water was colder even when the sun was shining, although it was mostly obscured by clouds. They didn't quite mind the rain that caught them while in the water. Weren't they wet already?
Yet these beaches were not quite fun for them. Whenever they could, they also used their magical form of moving to reach that nudist beach, enjoy warmer water and lots of sunshine without needing to later care to remove sand and salt from swimsuits. The showers at the beach seemed good enough for them, and they could dry themselves with magic.
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Discover moreBook Beach ResortsPlan Your FamilyFind Family LawyerFind Study AidsLearn a LanguageYet Harry was tired from using 'our own way of apparition' or similar word constructs. He wanted a name. "How can we call our special way of magically moving from place to place? It's not apparition, as we already know, and not like house elf 'popping', as we found when checking the wards, or like the goblin way, for that matter. I'd like to have a name for it."
The other children gave it a thought. Harry had already considered calling it 'shifting' but didn't feel like it fitted.
Dudley had an idea. "I once tried to do it slowly. It wasn't really slow, you know, but I still noticed that it was slightly like the transition between scenes on the television. It looked like one place was disappearing from view and then the other appeared, maybe even overlapping a bit, like fading between scenes. We could call it 'fading' if you like."
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Harry looked at Hermione, and they both nodded. "Then we'll call it 'fading'. We fade from one place to another."
Hermione had another subject nagging at her. "I need to fade home now. We've spent much longer at the beach than I thought we would."
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She waved her hand at her clothes, and they immediately clothed her, just the way she'd been when arriving in Harry's room. She then said, "Goodbye," and faded away.
–..–
While the adults were no longer surprised at the children visiting each other at random, the fact that they retained their tan long after the parents lost it attracted Jean's attention. She went with Hermione to her room after dinner and closed the door.
"Is there anything you'd like to tell me?"
Hermione looked at her with confusion. "What do you mean?"
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Discover moreWatch Sci-Fi FilmsBrowse ClothingclothingClothingbeachesJean pointed at Hermione's well-tanned shoulders and arms. "How come you're still so well tanned while we've almost lost any tan gained during our summer vacation?"
Hermione smiled when she understood her mother's meaning. "Oh, that's simple. We keep visiting that nudist beach whenever we have the time. It won't be for much longer, though. Southern Spain is also getting cooler as winter approaches, you know."
It was Jean's turn to feel confused. "Do you mean that you go to Spain and back as many times as you like?"
Hermione shrugged. "Sure! It's not different from visiting the Dursleys. I normally go to Harry's room, where Dudley joins us. We leave our clothes there and fade to that beach, at a hidden spot between the rocks. We can't stay for long there, since the sun sets earlier and it turns cooler even before it sets."
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Jean felt a need to sit down and took her place on Hermione's bed. "So, you get naked with the two boys and visit the beach. Don't you need a towel, at least?"
Discover morePrep for TestsHire BabysittersExplore Bath DecorFan fiction booksWriting software"Oh, no. We shower on the beach and use our magic to dry ourselves. It's faster and better than towels, you know."
Jean felt a need to make Hermione more prudent. She pointed at the chair, silently urging Hermione to sit. She started talking as soon as her daughter sat down. "Hermione, I thought we had some time before we had this talk, but the way you stay naked with the boys makes this more urgent."
"But why? We've been naked together many times. We even changed into each other's form many times."
Jean felt a bit lost. "What do you mean by that, dear?"
Hermione smiled and stood up. She waved her hand at her body, removing all her clothes, which fell into a heap on her bed. She then concentrated for a moment and turned almost at once into Harry. "You see? I can study their bodies, and they can study mine whenever we like. Why should I be bothered by that?" She also sounded like Harry.
Discover moreCreative writing coursesOnline writing communityFan fiction merchandiseAuthor collaboration toolsShop Kids' BooksIt took Jean a moment to come to her senses. "You can become each other? How long can you keep this form?"
Hermione shrugged. "I'm not sure. We stayed almost a full day that way during our holiday. We didn't try it for longer than that." Her expression turned mischievous. "I can also turn into you. Want to see?"
Hermione didn't wait for a reply. Her body, which was currently like Harry's, started changing, gaining some height and becoming feminine. Within seconds, a naked Jean was standing in front of Jean.
"I can also change into Dad or even any of the Dursleys." Her expression showed that she didn't like their forms much.
Jean took a few deep breaths to calm down and put her mind back on track. "It only makes our talk more urgent, so it seems, although some of it we can skip. You already know well enough how both male and female bodies look and act."
Discover moreRead Sci-Fi BooksBooksbookRead BestsellersWatch Sci-Fi FilmsHermione nodded, not quite liking the direction the conversation was taking. She also returned to her natural form and waved her clothes back on, making her mother gasp again at the casual use of magic.
What followed was a discussion about hormones, puberty and urges, followed by a thorough discussion of contraceptives and how to use each kind safely. Hermione listened attentively, as usual, but didn't ask any questions until her mother finished.
She then noted, "I think the contraceptives will not be useful. I know there are magical contraceptives that I may find easier and safer to use. I'll check for some books about that."
Jean sighed. "Are you sure, dear? With how powerful you and your friends are, I'm not sure magical means can suffice."
Hermione frowned. "What do you mean, Mum? I thought they would work better if I were more powerful."
Jean tried to explain, not quite confident either. "Don't magical means rely on your magic and your partner's? And your magic may react to your deepest wishes, not merely what you think you want. If you wish to give one a child, even unconsciously, that may negate the contraceptive magic. The same may hold true if a powerful mate wishes that. Muggle contraceptives, especially the pill, are not prone to such effects."
Hermione gave it some thought and then shrugged. "I suppose the books may explain it. I also trust you to ensure my safety even before I reach the age of danger. It's a bit too early for me to think about that, I'm sure, and the boys would not have noticed I'm different had we not stripped to change forms. They're almost a year younger, you know, and boys mature a bit later than girls, so you told me."
Jean could finally smile. "Sure, dear. I'll take you to my doctor as soon as I see signs of you reaching puberty. With two boys as your closest friends, things may happen much earlier than any of us would like."
Hermione smiled back. She knew her mother loved her and cared for her. She couldn't fault her, even if it was sometimes uncomfortable.
–..–
Dudley caught a virus at the end of September and needed to stay in bed for a few days. He felt so bad that his mother had to help him take a bath. He was too weak to stand in the shower. She then saw his full-body tan. She refrained from asking him due to his condition, but once she helped him back to bed, she called Harry to talk.
"I saw Dudley is still tanned very nicely, although Vernon and I have already lost our tan. Are you tanned too?"
Harry shrugged. "Sure. We visit that beach together."
Petunia frowned. "Which beach?"
Harry smiled and explained. "The nudist beach in Spain. We liked it there very much during our holiday. We didn't like the British beaches much, you know, and it was already too cold to visit them. We then decided to visit that beach, and we kept visiting it almost every day."
Petunia looked incredulous. "You go to Spain and back each day?"
Harry shrugged. "It's not more difficult than visiting Hermione. She comes to my room, and so does Dudley, and then we fade there."
Seeing her confusion, he explained, "We called our way of magical movement 'fading'. We found nothing about it in any book, and I wanted to give it a name. Dudley suggested it."
"Isn't it dangerous? Can't somebody see you appearing there?"
"No. We found a secluded place between the rocks. Even if somebody is there, we can say we fell from a higher rock."
Petunia tried to understand. She hadn't noticed any wet swimsuits or other clothing. "Where do you keep your clothes while there?"
Harry smiled. "Oh, we leave them here. We don't need any clothes there, and we don't want them to get wet or sandy."
"Don't you take a towel, at least?"
Harry looked confused. "What do we need one for? We shower on the beach and dry ourselves magically before we return. It's much easier for us."
Petunia sighed. She was sure that even Lily would have found this frustrating, although she would have been very proud of Harry and Dudley as well as Hermione, as she felt. "Just make sure to stay safe, please."
Harry nodded seriously. "We all will."
–..–
Nobody was surprised that Hermione faded to Diagon Alley and bought some books about healing as soon as she found out about Dudley. A day later, when she faded into Harry's room, she already had some suggestions.
"We should first ascertain it's not a magical malady. They need a healer to handle them, and some complex potions we can't yet brew. Then, if it's a normal virus, we can urge his magic to heal him, after we urge ours to protect us, of course. We should do that before even going close to him."
Harry needed some more explanations. As smart as he was, it couldn't replace the knowledge that Hermione was gaining from her books. Hermione, as always, was quite eager to share her knowledge and her understanding.
They first urged their magic to protect them against whatever Dudley was suffering. They then donned doctor's masks, goggles, and rubber gloves. Well protected, they went to Dudley's room.
Dudley was still suffering from extreme weakness and a high fever. The two cast a few diagnostics spells, modified to work wandlessly and silently. They found out it was a simple non-magical virus. While there's little modern medicine can do against viral diseases, magic can work quite well.
Harry and Hermione directed their magic to weaken the virus and strengthen Dudley's body, urging his magic to further complement their effort. They didn't expect an immediate change and didn't see any. They only hoped there would be a significant change for the better by the next morning. Dudley felt too weak to even thank them. He could barely smile his thanks.
It all changed in the morning. Dudley's fever disappeared, and he felt much better than the previous day, although not quite well yet. His other symptoms were also receding.
By noon, it became clear that Dudley was on his way to full recovery. He got his appetite back, and that would ensure he'd gain his strength soon too.
That afternoon, when Hermione faded in for a visit, Dudley was almost back to normal. He still kept his distance, mainly for the other's safety, but was already lively and in a good mood. Another day of rest was sure to restore him to normal.
All three children felt content.