Chapter 33
SATURDAY, APRIL 8th, 1995 - OXFORDSHIRE, ENGLAND.
While Hermione and Harry were at Hogwarts and would eventually meet with Molly Weasley, Hermione's parents were at their home outside Oxford waiting for their family. Robert Granger's parents still lived in Portsmouth which was several hours away even by motorcar. By train, they'd travel to Waterloo Station in London and then have to take the Underground to King's Cross or St. Pancras Station to eventually take a train to Oxford. Time wise, while retired Warrant Officer Michael Granger and his wife Ellen knew it was actually faster just to drive, and as Michael was retired, they spent a couple of days in London before heading north to their son's home and summons. John and Cathy Carter, Rose's parents, only lived about a half an hour away by motorcar. Rose's brother Daniel and his wife Marion were two hours away by car. Robert's sister Anna and her husband Carl lived in London, so they were about an hour away and were bringing their youngest children Amy, aged 10 and Drake aged 8.
The first to arrive at the Granger's was Jake Carter, Rose Granger's nineteen year old nephew. There was no car on the street, and there had been a 'pop' only moments before the doorbell had rung.
"Aunt Rose," Jake Carter said as he received a hug.
"You're the first," Rose Granger said. "Come in and how'd you get here?"
"Um," Jake hesitated, "walked from the station and hitched a ride here and there."
"Well," Rose said, "Mum never said you'd be here. Welcome!"
"Thanks, Aunt Rose," Jake said as he was led inside.
Over the next couple of hours the rest of the family had arrived. While Robert, Rose and Hermione saw most all of them every year, it was never together. The last time the Carters (Rose's family) and Grangers had been together was at Robert and Rose's wedding. Schedules and other commitments, not to mention they were just in-laws, had kept them from fully integrating on a regular basis at all. Present were Robert's parents Michael and Ellen Granger, Rose's parents John and Cathy Carter, Robert's younger sister Anna Dawson, her husband Carl and their two youngest children Amy, age ten and Drake age eight and Rose's older brother Dan, his wife Marion and their oldest son Jake, age nineteen. Everyone had brought and overnight bag of some kind as they had been told they would be spending the evening there. Of course this was not truly possible. While the Granger House was large, they only had six bedrooms which until recently meant four guest bedrooms. Now it was down to three although aside from Robert and Rose, none of the others were yet aware of this.
The whole weekend had been planned in detail by Robert, Rose and their daughter Hermione. The original thinking had been to question Dan Carter and Anna Dawson about their children's boarding school and regardless of the outcome try and explain that magic was real and was the reason why the Grangers now had five month old twins Jason and Jennifer who were actually born on April 1st and how Hermione was now a married mother of two as well. They decided, however, that this situation called for far more than and explanation. A demonstration that magic was very real was necessary lest the relations all believe the Granger family of Oxfordshire had gone round the twist as it were. Jason and Jennifer Granger were already at the South Wing with their big sister Hermione and their older niece and nephew Robert and Lily.
"Well, now that everyone is here," Rose began, "and while there are some important things to explain, I believe we can leave that until after lunch." She led the others into the Dining Room. A sandwich buffet of sorts had been set up with breads and a selection of sliced meats, vegetables and other toppings as well as various side dishes. Tea, milk (for the two younger children) and a selection of fruit juices were also available.
The lunch time conversation avoided magic entirely. Before Rose would not have noticed but now she did. Her brother and sister-in-law spoke about their two daughters and their schooling in vague terms as if they did not want to brag, the same way Rose and Robert talked about Hermione's school. The same was true for Robert's sister Anna and her husband and it was clear the two young Dawson children looked like something was being hidden. Jake, Robert's nephew, spoke of putting off university for an internship as a zoologist in field research overseas, but again avoided details. It was just as the handbook Robert and Rose had received when they were first told Hermione was a witch instructed them to talk about their young magical child and her new school.
"Now that we're all watered and fed," Rose said as the guests were finishing or had finished their desserts, "I think we should get to the point of this visit. A lot has happened in the last week or so and you all need to know the what's, how's and why's of it."
"Is Hermione hurt?" Ellen Granger asked. "Is she in some kind of trouble?"
"No, Mother Granger, she's fine," Rose said, hoping the calming draught that was in the tea and juice was working. "No, but I've just noticed that we've spent plenty of time talking about schools and such and yet, aside from Amy and Drake here, there've been no details. Dan, you've never told us what school Jake attended or which one Emma and Jenna are attending."
"I'm pretty sure I have," Dan protested. "It just didn't come up today."
"And Anna," Robert said, "you've also never told us what school your oldest, Justine is attending."
"I'm sure I have," Anna replied. "I know I've told you it's a really elite boarding school in London. Naturally, because of some of its students the security there is really tight. Then again, you said similar things about Hermione's school, except hers is in Scotland."
"I'm sure we have," Robert agreed.
"And isn't that odd?" Rose added. "All of our kids except these two young ones attending super secret elite schools…"
"We're not allowed to talk about Justine's school at all," the ten year old Amy commented.
"Isn't that strange?" Rose said. "Much as I hate his relatives, there's a young man I know who also attends Hermione's school. He's a wonderful young man but his relations tell everyone he's attending St. Brutus's School for Criminally Insane Boys. Naturally, few ask any questions after that I'm told."
"Does he?" John Carter asked.
"No he doesn't," Rose said, "in part because it does not exist and in part because his relatives have been told not to reveal the real name of the school he does attend, not that they would as they seem to hate him and everything he stands for and such. But while it's only a theory of mine - and Bob's and Hermione's - I think I can guess the name of the school my nieces and nephews are attending: King's College of Magic in London!"
"What?" the two elderly couples asked in confusion.
"How did you know that?" the other two couples seemed to ask in unison.
"What do you mean magic?" Michael Granger asked. "Are you saying my granddaughter is learning to do a stage show? Pull rabbits out of a hat and all that?"
"Not that kind of magic, Dad," Robert said. "We're talking about the real kind. What Rose is saying is that her Nephew Jake here and her nieces Emma and Jenna are bone fide wizard and witches, as is my niece Justine…"
"This is a joke, right?" John Carter asked.
"It's been a very well kept secret for centuries," Rose said, "but it's no joke. Magic is real and there are real witches and wizards in this world and my bet is there's one for certain at this table and probably two others as well."
"It's true, Granddad," Jake Carter said. "I attended Kings College of Magic as do my younger sisters. I am a wizard. As for zoology, that's sort of true. I am training as a naturalist at a dragon reserve in Romania."
"Wouldn't know Charlie Weasley by any chance?" Robert asked.
"He's my mentor and I'm his assistant," Jake said. "You know him?"
"We know of him," Robert said. "Haven't had the pleasure yet, but we know his Dad real well and his brothers Bill, Fred and George and little sister Ginny and we have met his Mum and his brother Ron."
"Small world," Jake began.
"The magical world is just that," Rose said mostly for the two older couples. "It's estimated there are only about sixty-five thousand witches and wizards in the British Isles."
"How do you know this?" Rose's mother asked.
"Because our daughter Hermione is one of them," Rose said. "She attends Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in Scotland."
"Bloody hell!" Jake said.
"You've heard of this place?" John Carter asked.
"I am a wizard and a British one at that, Granddad! Hogwarts is like Muggle Oxford. It's the oldest school of magic in Britain - very prestigious. Most anyone who's anyone in our magical government went there. How did Hermione get in?"
Rose chuckled. "She's smart, but as a Muggle Born she got in by random selection and nothing else."
"Muggle Born?" Michael Granger asked.
"Magicals call us non-magicals Muggles, Dad," Robert said. "A Muggle Born is a witch or wizard without magical parents of any sort. Many believe they have no magical background at all."
"But that's not the case, it seems," Rose said. "Hermione has magical ancestors on both the Granger and Carter side of the family, although the last one died around five hundred years ago. On the Carter side, through her maternal line which includes you and I, Mum, she's the direct descendant of a very famous witch: Rowena Ravenclaw."
"One of the Founders?" Jake asked. "Ravenclaw is said to be one of the Founders of Hogwarts and by extension, formal magical education throughout Britain!"
Rose nodded.
"And all this time I thought it just happened!" Jake said.
"It might," Rose said, "but Hermione's studying that and so far every Muggle Born line she has managed to trace has a magical ancestor or more if you look back far enough."
"To think, I might be an heir of Ravenclaw!" Jakes said.
"Actually, that line is strictly maternal," Rose said, "it passes from mother to daughter. You are a Ravenclaw descendant, but your cousin Hermione is the Heir."
"Still, wish I'd known that at school! There were some bigoted bastards there who looked down on Muggle Borns."
"I wish I could say your experience was unique, but it's not," Rose said. "There are a fair few of those types at Hogwarts as well. But Hermione's managed to embarrass them year in and year out. She's top of her year overall, you know."
"That and last year she bopped the nastiest of them in the nose and broke it," Robert added proudly.
"Hold on!" Michael Granger said, "you're telling us all of this is real? That our grandkids are a bunch of … well witches and wizards and all that?"
"It was hard for us to accept as well, Dad," Robert said. "It took a pretty profound demonstration by one of Hermione's professors to open our minds to the possibility and even then…"
"She's not allowed to show us what she's learned at home," Rose finished. "They have laws about that, see. They don't want the rest of us to know that either magic or they truly exist. Then again, given our history with them, who can blame them for wanting to be hidden away from the rest of us."
"But aren't they evil?" Cathy Carter asked. "Isn't that why they're hiding?"
"Do you think Jake is evil, Mum? Or Hermione? Or any of your other grandchildren?"
She shook her head.
"Witches and wizards are no more and no less evil than we are, Mum. Magic can do amazing and wonderful things and terrible things as well, but the same can be said for technology. Are we evil 'cause we drive vehicles that can kill people? Many of our tools can also be turned into weapons. Does this make us evil because it's possible? Evil is not about magic, it's about choices. Robert's father fought against Hitler who was both not a wizard and among the most evil of men ever. There have been evil witches and wizards, but like in our own world, they are outnumbered by a lot of good and decent people. Robert and I have been told about the truly evil ones, but we have not met one. We've met a lot of witches and wizards recently and they are all nice, decent, hard working and law abiding people. I might add God fearing, but those raised in their world are not generally 'Christian' as we see it. Then again, considering the witch burnings and such fomented by Christians, who can blame them? But, magic aside, were you to meet one - and of course you have in your grandchildren - you'd never see them as all that different from you really."
"Although Arthur Weasley's a bit of a riot," Robert added. "He's one of their government's so called Muggle Experts and is clueless about us in many ways, but at least he knows he is. Then there's that Xeno Lovegood chap who is certainly eccentric… But I agree with Rose, they are not evil just because they use magic as a tool, for that's all it is in many ways."
"Are you sure you should be saying any of this?" Marion Carter asked. "We were told not to tell about this! I'm sure you were too seeing as you never before mentioned this!"
"The Statute of Secrecy," Jake Carter added.
"The Statute of Secrecy prevents you or Hermione or any other magical from revealing his or her true nature to the rest of us aside from your parents," Rose agreed. "However, I am not a witch and Robert is not a wizard and we are revealing this to our families for a reason! We checked! One of our new magical friends is Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. She assured us that while the laws apply to witches and wizards, they do not apply at all to us Muggles. With few exceptions - usually Murder and Rape and such - we are not subject to their laws and they are not subject to ours."
"If it wasn't for the fact that no one is calling you a nutter," Michael Granger said, "I'd say so myself! You're telling me this stuff is real? Next you'll say Merlin really existed!"
"Actually, he did, Dad," Robert said. "But I can understand your point of view. It does sound somewhat fantastical and we didn't accept this just by being told."
"He's right," Anna added. "Neither did we at first. It took a rather convincing demonstration."
"Did your's turn into a cat?" Robert asked.
"No. Your's did?"
Robert nodded. "Kind of hard to argue with that really. But we understand your reluctance to believe. Even with a demonstration, there are people who don't want to believe it at all or, even worse, all but disown their child for being who they are. They are born magical, Dad. There's no other way to become a witch or wizard. If you're born that way you are one and if not you can't be one."
"This is still hard to believe," Michael Granger said.
"Which is what necessitated a demonstration for us," Robert said, "even though we suspected something was up. We knew for ages Hermione had special abilities we could not understand. Things would happen without any logical explanation. She always had her favorite toy or book, even if we put them away. We now know it was what they call 'accidental magic' although untrained or uncontrolled might be a better description. Still, it was a lot to take in and without proof - other than Hermione's abilities - we would not have believed it either."
"So with that in mind," Rose began. "Winky?"
Two elves entered. One was in a blue dress. The other was in a flowered shirt and shorts. Both were barefoot.
"What are those?" John Carter asked.
"Who are they is more appropriate," Rose said. "This is Winky. She's an elf as is her companion here, although I've never met him before."
"I be a Black elf," the companion said in a Caribbean accent. His skin was almost that color. "Being born on St. Vincent in the Windward Isles, I was. Be an Elf of House Black but there not being enough work for me back home so when Lord Black invites some of us to move here, I accepts. There be plenty of work here for a good Elf. But I do miss my warm and sunny home. Lord Black has said he shall spend time there now and again and I can go with him and enjoy the warm and sun! I be called Morgan, after a buccaneer I be told, Sir."
"What did you do back at your home?" Rose asked.
"Aside from general duties, I was apprenticed as a chef specializing in Caribbean cuisines. But there being no guests… Mostly I went fishing or going through the rain forest looking for fruits and plantains and such."
"Elves?" John Carter asked. "They're real?"
"As are dragons and many other beings and beasties we thought were just myths," Jake Carter said. "I did mention I work on a dragon preserve. Impressive creatures, dragons. Scary in many ways and very smart. I won't say they are not dangerous. They are, the females especially. But if they know you and know you're not a threat, they can be somewhat docile at times. Still I'd never recommend approaching a mother with her clutch. With the nesting ones we keep a safe distance and observe and make sure they have plenty to eat, lest they fly off and hunt - which can be a problem."
"This is still unbelievable," Michael Granger said.
"Hence the Elves," Rose replied. "We can't show you magic here - can't bring magic to you, as it were. While Jake here is a fully qualified Wizard it seems, he's not allowed to do magic in a Muggle home except in dire need to save himself or others or if he has a permit from the magical government. So instead we will take you somewhere where you can see real magic."
"Where?"
"Where Hermione is waiting for us," Rose said. "Now Mum and Dad? Mr. and Mrs. Granger? I'd like you each to take one of these elves by the hand."
"Why?" Michael asked.
"You'll see," Rose smiled.
Reluctantly or skeptically, the two older couples complied and a second later they disappeared from the Granger home.
For the older two couples, they did not disappear. One moment they were standing in the Oxfordshire Dinning Room and the very next moment they were somewhere else entirely. It was a large, almost vast room with chandeliers and fireplaces and floor to ceiling arched windows on two sides with chairs, tables and couches arranged into several sitting areas. It was elegant, and probably much larger than the ground floor of the entire Granger home.
"Bloody hell!" Michael Granger said as the two elves disappeared again. "Where the blood hell are we?"
"A palace?" Cathy Carter surmised. "Not Buckingham, it's not fancy enough, but still…"
"That was so cool!" a high pitched voice said. The older couples turned and saw that the voice belonged to Drake Dawson, eight years old. "I think I love magic!"
"Way better then a Portkey," Jake Carter added. "And Apparition."
The Dawsons and younger Carters arrived moments later by Elf and they were soon followed by Robert and Rose Granger.
"Only way to travel," Robert said. "Then again, I've only done it north and south. Might be an issue east to west and such. Jet lag or in this case Elf lag, you see?"
"Where are we?" John Carter asked.
"You be in the South Wing of Hogwarts," and elf voice said. The group turned and saw an oddly dressed elf before them. He wore an orange sock on one foot and a pink one on the other with what looked like lederhosen and a Rolling Stones tee shirt. "I be Dobby, Head Potter Elf of the Wing and I welcome you. I have room keys for your stay. You are all on the Sixth Floor as we be renovating parts of the Fifth right now. And Mr. and Mrs. Grangy, Lady Hermione be waiting for you all in the West Salon."
"Thank you Dobby," Rose said collecting the keys and passing them out. Dobby bowed and popped away.
"Odd little elf," Jake said.
"Until recently, he's had a hard life," Rose replied. "We all like him though. He's totally wonderful in ways, once you get past his fashion sense."
"THIS WAY, RONNIKINS!" a voice boomed. The group turned and saw two red haired young men escorting a third at wand point into the Salon.
"Bill?" Robert Granger asked.
"Charlie?" Jake Carter asked as well.
"Robert, sorry 'bout this," Bill said. "This is our alleged little brother Ron."
"A term we use loosely," Charlie added.
"The family was invited here for a meeting," Bill said. "While we can't make our brother Percy attend given he's of age and is free to refuse such a summons, this little jerk has no such excuse, yet he skived off to Hogsmeade."
Ron mumbled something.
"Got him under a few - perfectly legal mind you - spells to keep his filthy gob shut and to come along whether he wanted to or not."
"In addition to his other transgressions, and they are voluminous Bill tells me," Charlie said, "he's just proven to us he has the foulest mouth in the family. Mum's going to have fun with you Ronnikins. I'm surprised to see you here Jake. I thought you were with your family."
"I am, most of them anyway. Family meeting it seems," Jake replied.
"See that, Ron! Even Muggle Borns are better mannered than you are! Then again, knowing your dinner manners that's no surprise."
Charlie and Bill were then introduced to the rest of Hermione's family.
"Rose and I have heard a lot about you, Charlie," Robert said. "Bill, Fred, George and Ginny all told us. Said you were the second best Seeker Gryffindor ever had."
"I never said that," Bill protested weakly. "I never saw Harry play for real!"
"I'm just glad we managed to win the Cup last year," Charlie said. "We last won it my first year as Captain. After that, we had too few experienced players to make a decent run at it. My last year as a player, the only decent ones we had were myself and Ollie Wood as Keeper. That didn't help much seeing as the opposing Beaters targeted us mercilessly and usually succeeded in putting one or both of us in Hospital given our own Beaters were so weak. It's the reason I left the team after Sixth Year. I really didn't want another day in that Wing. Pity though as it seems my brothers Fred and George are really good and that was their first season. If I had played that final season, we might have had a chance given that our only real weakness was at Seeker that year."
"I really would like to see a game sometime," Robert said. "Heard so much about it. Of course, to a Muggle making a game where the Seeker is almost always decisive seems odd for a team sport, but…" he shrugged.
"Cricket," Charlie said. "I've seen a test once. Might be fun to play, but it's drop dead boring to watch after an hour or so. Quidditch is fun to watch - usually."
"I'm will to concede the point," Robert chuckled, "pending watching my first game."
Ron tried to make a move to the door. It was only a step or two…
"Petrificus Totalis!" Bill said and the boy suddenly went stiff and fell backwards onto the floor. "Wingardium Leviosa," he added and the stiff body now floated about three feet in the air. He looked at the other Muggles in Hermione's family. "Those don't hurt. He won't even have a bruise."
"Although once Mum's done with him, he might be a little deaf for a few days," Charlie added with a chuckle.
"Is she going to do magic on him?" Cathy Carter asked.
"Oh no!" Bill said. "Using magic as punishment is generally frowned upon. But my Mum can yell like no one's business and it is loud and she can keep it up a long time if she wants to. In addition to trying to slip out of a family meeting, Dad has probably told Mum about little Ronnie's marks in school."
The floating body actually seemed to pale.
"Fred and George may only have managed three OWLs apiece, but at least they were all Outstandings. Ron here will be lucky to get any passing marks the way he's going."
"OWLs?" Michael Granger asked.
"Ordinary Wizarding Leven Exams," Robert said. "It's like the O Levels we took - or whatever they're calling them now - and just as important. You need OWLs to move on to NEWTs, which are similar to A Levels, although they don't really have a formal University. They have Masteries and Apprenticeships that rely on the right number of NEWTs in the right courses."
"I had mine in several courses," Jake said. "For my job with dragons, I needed at least and Outstanding - top marks - in Care of Magical Creatures and Defense Against the Dark Arts, which teaches dueling and stuff, and Exceeds in Charms and Transfiguration at the very least."
"The fact is he had more than just that, which made him a very strong candidate," Charlie said.
"Little Ronnie here told us not moments ago he does not care 'cause you don't need OWLs to play Quidditch professionally."
"The git fails to realize that first, you can't play Quidditch all your life so you need a back up plan and second, you can't play professionally if you don't have at least three or four years on a school team and play at a level well above average," Charlie said. "Even then it's a long shot. And this git has yet to try out! He claims the team was filled! Rubbish! They're try-outs for most if not all positions every year! Even when I was Captain, I had Seeker tryouts just in case there was a younger player who was better than I was. He claims his broom is the problem, forgetting that few people are allowed to try out on their personal brooms. It takes that out of the equation. When I was Captain, I could care less what kind of broom you owned 'cause you tried out on school brooms and I know for a fact that at least five of the players on last year's team were using the same make and model of broom Ron was and three of them were Muggle Borns who had never sat a broom before their First Year! The git's just lazy!"
"And if he doesn't get un-lazy, he'll be lucky if he gets a job emptying the rubbish bins in Diagon Alley," Bill added. "I've worked hard to get where I am with my job at the Bank. Charlie worked hard to get where he is. Our brother Percy works hard at his job with our government and worked hard to get there to begin with. Fred and George are geniuses at what they do and they worked hard to get there as well and I'm sure their planned business or businesses with be a success - they're still in school," he added for the rest of Hermione's family. "And our younger sister works hard as well. This one," he said indicating Ron, "does not. Goodness knows why." He looked away from Robert and at the rest of Hermione's family. "Sorry for laying all this on you all, but I consider Robert and Rose good friends."
"It's okay - Bill is it?" Ellen Granger said. "It's been educational. A few of us only learned about magic recently. It's nice to know that being a wizard does not mean your life is all that different than ours, except in the means of some things and certain details that don't really matter. Makes it easier to accept our grandchildren are what you are."
"Thank you," Bill said. "Well, don't want to keep you. Bob? You going to be here this weekend?"
Robert nodded.
"Darts later?"
"Shouldn't have said that," Robert said. "My Dad and Father-in-Law love it and are quite vicious at it."
"Getting beaten only encourages one to try harder," Bill said. "After supper then?"
"Darts?" Michael Granger asked.
"Yes Dad," Robert said, "and you and John will probably own the boards." As he said that, the Weasleys moved off.
"Hermione's waiting for us. Follow me," Rose then said.
They followed Rose and Robert into a long and wide corridor lined with art on the walls and chandeliers overhead and entered a large doorway, the first such doorway on the left hand side. It was a large sitting room with arched, floor to ceiling windows, a large fireplace on one wall and a pair of doors leading outside. There were chairs and couches and tables throughout making it look like a parlor or sitting room, although in either case it was a very large one. It could easily seat over twenty people, but there was only one person in the room when they entered. To those who remembered her from the prior summer, she looked like Hermione, but she also looked much older - at least a couple of years older than she had been. She came up and hugged Robert and Rose and each of the others in turn.
"You're looking … um … very … um … very grown up," Hermione's Grandmother Ellen Granger said.
"I'll take that as a compliment," Hermione replied with a smile. "Thank you."
"I … I don't know how I meant it. You look like you've really grown up since the summer."
"In a way, I have," Hermione smiled. "Please, have a seat everyone. There's quite a bit to explain."
"This is a wand," Hermione said as they all were seated. "For a non-magical, it's just a fancy stick of wood and if sturdy enough might be useful in digging a small hole in the ground. For a magical, such as myself, this is the ultimate Swiss Army Knife. Non-magicals have always relied upon their wits and their technology to survive, magicals while also relying upon their wits, rely on magic and this is the most useful tool we have. Aside from the paintings and pictures you see on the walls, everything in this room, including the room itself was created with magic and mostly with wands such as this. Since we rely upon magic, we don't study the physical world as you would. What technology you encounter in our world was either adopted long after it was common in yours or is a magical knock off and is used only because there it not a magical equivalent that is as efficient. That's not to say there's never been a cross-over so to speak. The science of Chemistry arose from the Art of Alchemy which was magical in origin. Pharmaceuticals arose from a Muggle form of Potion making, which again had magical roots. In some areas, we are probably more advanced in ways then the non-magicals; in many others we are not and in some, we are and we are not."
"Such as?" Michael asked.
"Travel, for one. You all were brought here from Oxfordshire, a distance of over four hundred miles in a blink of an eye. You were all brought here by an elf who could only take two of you at a time. I can apparate, which means I don't need an Elf, but I can't do it nearly as far or as often in a day as they can and it's even harder to bring someone with me at my maximum range for myself. We can move great distances fairly quickly, but not efficiently. For example, England hosted the equivalent of your World Cup last summer. There were over a hundred thousand people from all over who attended. Even with our more rapid means of transit, it took us almost two weeks to move everyone in and out of the area.
"Another example is this wand. As I said, it's our universal tool which also means it's our primary weapon if we know how to use it as such. But it only has an effective range of about thirty meters for combat spells, beyond that it is both very inaccurate and the spell power dissipates to near ineffectiveness. In theory, I can raise a shield that can stop a bullet, but not a hail of them. Even then, I have to know or suspect that bullet is coming. But inside of thirty meters, in theory I have the advantage if I'm not horribly outnumbered and maintain the initiative. My point is magic is neither better nor worse than technology and it does not make a person good or evil.
"One area where magic is clearly well in advance of technology is Time or more specifically, Time Manipulation…" Hermione then gave a talk about the various forms of Time Manipulation including Time Compression.
"Is that why you look older?" Ellen Granger asked. "You used a form of Time Compression?"
Hermione nodded. "March 8th for you was a month ago," Hermione said. "For me it was closer to twenty-nine months ago. Legally, in both our worlds I'm still fifteen. The Muggle World does not know about this magic and the Magical World does not allow you to use it to cheat any age laws. But physically, mentally, magically and by count of days since my birth I am seventeen and will turn eighteen on June 21st."
"Is there a reason you aged yourself anyway?"
"There is. But first, you must also understand Mum and Dad were here last weekend and underwent Time Compression as well. What for the rest of you was only about two days was 451 days for them or so. Winky?"
Winky walked in pushing a stroller with two babies in it.
"There you are!" Rose gushed and got up and took the babies from the stroller. "Did you miss your Mummy?"
"What?" several voices asked.
"I'd like to introduce you to my younger brother and sister: Jason and Jennifer," Hermione said. "They were born here a week ago today, but due to Time Compression they will be a year old on October 25th."
"I thought you couldn't have any more children, what with your miscarriages and all," Rose's Mum said.
"I was told those might be stress related," Rose said. "Apparently, they were."
"She had fifteen months with nothing better to do than be a Mum," Hermione said. "The same was true for my father. For that fifteen months, all that mattered was family. I felt as though I was losing them because of my being a witch and I didn't want that. That was an issue, but the real issue was we no longer had the time to be a family together. I'd like to think bringing them here cured that. I feel closer to them than ever before, and we were close before, and I am proud to be a big sister, even if I am almost old enough to be their Mum," Hermione added with a smirk getting a snort from her own parents. The next several minutes were spent passing the babies about to their Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles and two of the three cousins. Drake Dawson, the eight year old, wanted little to do with the babies.
Now comes the hard part, Hermione thought to herself. "As you can probably guess, I did not use Time Compression just to spend time with my parents and allow them the time to have my brother and sister. That was an added bonus! To understand the real why, you need to understand a little more about magical society. There are about sixty-five thousand magicals in the British Isles. About a third of us are Muggle Borns. We are very spread out. Hogsmeade village here is the only all magical community with no non-magical neighbors in the country and its population is about 400. About 500 or so live in Diagon Alley in London which is our largest shopping district. Dublin, Glasgow, Edinburgh and a few other cities have small magical enclaves and there are a few towns with a hundred or so, but for the most part we're spread out.
"We also tend to live a long time. Assuming I die of old age, I'll probably be well over a hundred when I pass. Our Headmaster here is almost 130. When he took his OWLs - do you know what they are?"
The group nodded.
"One of his examiners was Professor Griselda Marchbanks, who administered my OWLs last week. She's pushing 160 and is still in fairly good shape although she does complain a lot about being so old. I can't say I'll live that long, but it is possible. But long life does not change all biology. I will not be able to have a child any longer than a non-magical woman statistically. Historically, however, magicals have enjoyed a very low infant mortality rate. That means small families are the norm. Three children is considered a large family in this culture. The Weasleys have seven children…"
"We met three of them," Michael Granger noted.
"… and they are the largest family in magical Britain today," Hermione continued. "You combine long life with small families and you have an old population as compared to the non-Magical world which has always meant a conservative one. Add to it the distance that has separated the two worlds and the magicals missed out on the Renaissance and the Enlightenment and other things. We have no philosophers that I have found. What art we have you'd consider mediocre. We have no great poets or novelists or painters by non-magical standards. No great symphonies either. We're probably too few and too spread out to excel that way. New ideas come almost entirely from Muggle Borns at first, although we Muggle Borns are considered flaming liberals even if on the Muggle side we'd be considered very conservative. In the Muggle World, I'd be considered conservative in many of my views. In this one, I am an outspoken, left wing rabble-rouser.
"But this Wing and Time Compression was not about spending time with my parents or allowing them to have another child - or as it turns out twins. It wasn't even about my being a magical radical really. This Wing exists because my best friend was in trouble and we needed a way to sort it out. There were several of us who came up with this, all of us convinced that there was something very wrong and our friend was at the heart of it, not by his desire or design. I'm sure Jake has heard of my best friend. His name is Harry Potter."
"The-Boy-Who-Lived?" Jake asked.
"He really hates that name," Hermione nodded. "It took a lot of us months to figure out what was going on and that led to this."
"Who is the Harry Potter?" Michael Granger asked.
Hermione began with the "popular" story of Harry Potter. When she finished she added, "but very little of that is the truth or even close to it. Harry Potter is famous and he is in this Tri-wizard tournament, but none of this is by his desire or design. All of the events in his life were the result of the machinations of two men: Albus Dumbledore and Tom Marvolo Riddle, the later being known by a host of silly monikers but most notably as Lord Voldemort."
She then began the true story of Harry Potter which actually began with Dumbledore and Voldemort. She left out any mention of Horcurxes as they had not been known when the decisions regarding the Wing had been made. She mentioned the Prophecy only in passing, leaving out the specific language and possible interpretations, focusing only on the interpretations made by Dumbledore and Voldemort. She did talk about Sirius Black in some depth as he was known as an escaped mass murderer and terrorist in the Muggle World. Robert noted that it was Sirius Black who they first met when they all arrive here earlier in the day. Hermione then covered all the events following October 31st, 1981 including Harry's life at the Dursleys, the irregularities in his introduction to magic and Hogwarts and his adventures up through the Second Task.
"As you can see, his has not been an ordinary life and it's not by his design," Hermione said. "When his name came out of the Goblet of Fire, I knew it was not his idea. When I heard he had no choice but to compete, that's where all this really began. It made no sense to me. He didn't want to at all and he was only fourteen at the time. In the Muggle World, he would need his parents' or guardian's permission! We learned that Albus Dumbledore was Harry's Guardian had had been since the morning after the attack on his parents. We also learned Dumbledore should not have been!"
"Obviously," Cathy Carter said. "He was clearly unfit to be one seeing as his ward was abused and he did nothing!"
"Actually, that was later," Hermione said. "I meant even under magical law, he could not have even become Harry's Guardian. Albus is not related to Harry, at least not closely enough to have a claim over him. There were many other magicals who were related or who could have proven a claim. Harry's magical grandfather was still alive. Sirius Black was not only Harry's Godfather, but also a second cousin once removed I believe on Sirius's mother's side and a third cousin on Sirius's father's side. Andy Tonks was also Harry's second cousin. The Weasley family were third cousins and had paperwork indicating they had been designated as potential guardians. There was a pre-existing relationship with the Abbotts that gave them a superior claim. Finally, the Longbottoms are also cousins along the paternal Potter Line, second cousins I believe. The only way for Dumbledore to have a claim on Harry was if he had no family left at all and if there was no one who could show that they had been designated by Harry's parents as guardians or if any and all who had superior claims were disqualified or refused to assume the responsibility.
"Sirius Black was conveniently unavailable having been incarcerated without trial or even investigation. The Longbottoms and Abbots had suffered heavily in the war and never filed a claim over Harry. Andy Tonks did, but was told her affiliation as a member of House Black - one which Harry was a member of as well - had to be taken into consideration and as many members had either been Death Eaters or their fellow travelers, she knew she had no chance. Only the Weasley's were insistent and then Dumbledore bribed them to withdraw their claim to Harry."
"How?"
"The equivalent of about 50,000 quid up front, significant tuition reductions for Hogwarts going forward and a seemingly unbreakable marriage contract between their youngest child and only daughter and Harry, one which was to be executed and consummated by any magical means necessary not later than the end of July next year, well before Harry turned seventeen and could break it on his own."
"That's barbaric!" Cathy Carter said.
"And rare," Hermione agreed. "Hasn't been a contract like that in well over a hundred years but, unfortunately, it is legal. Legally and socially, the magical world is centuries behind the rest of humanity. That kind of contract was generally used when the contracting parties were convinced that without it, there would be no future male heir for a seated House. Most often this occurred where the bridegroom in question was suspected or known to be homosexual or where there was reason to believe for one reason or another he would not have long to live. Everything that has happened suggested Dumbledore was acting under the belief that Harry would not live a long life and that contract was to ensure the continuation of House Potter and, by extension, Dumbledore's ability to move things towards what he believed had to happen.
"I hope I've made it clear that for my friend Harry's sake and possibly for all of ours, Dumbledore has to be removed as Harry's Guardian and it has to occur as soon as possible, before he can force Harry into that marriage."
The adults nodded.
"The good news was that while Ginny Weasley would not have minded being Harry's wife if that was what was meant to be, she was furious to learn it would be forced upon them and wanted nothing to do with it. This allowed us to think of ways to end the Guardianship but we had to end that contract as well. We knew we could not hope to succeed in a legal challenge despite our evidence. As Head of the Wizengamot, Dumbledore controls the Courts and the agenda. The challenge would never see the light of day and certainly not until it was too late and Harry and Ginny were married against their wills. We could seek Dumbledore's removal, but that probably would have failed as well. As Dumbledore is convinced he's right, we doubt he'd give it up voluntarily or grant any request for emancipation. But there was a way. It's an obscure law that really has had little use given the invention of a certain potion about two hundred years ago. An underage witch or wizard can marry without any adult consent if … if the bride and bridegroom are expecting a child and choose to marry for that reason."
"I don't think I like where this is going," Cathy Carter began.
"It was decided that Ginny would marry her boyfriend Neville Longbottom - you may recall from earlier he's the other boy that Prophecy might have been about. Their marriage would almost end that contract with my best friend, but to end it he had to marry too. This presented both another problem and an opportunity to keep Dumbledore out of controlling our lives…"
She then explained Line Continuation Contracts and the concept of Plural marriages. "Again, these have not been used in over a hundred years or more, but the laws remain and are ancient."
"What are you saying, child?" Ellen Granger asked.
Hermione waived her wand and nothing seemed to happen at first. Then, a tall young man with glasses entered. He was well dressed and seemed very confident of himself and was pushing a stroller with two babies in it. He walked over to Hermione, all but ignoring all the others except Robert and Rose and then kissed Hermione. "Afternoon, Love," he said.
"Everyone, this is my Husband: Lord Harry James Potter, Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter, Heir of Gryffindor." The stunned silence allowed her to continue. "Legally, he's fourteen years old, but he will turn seventeen on July 25th, although we're going to celebrate that on his real birthday which is July 31st. We completed the requirements for an 'underage' marriage contract March 29th and were married in a civil ceremony at Gringotts March 30th. Our wedding was a week ago, April 1st, but we will celebrate our second wedding Anniversary on January 14th. And these two are our children: Robert James Potter and Lily Rose Potter, born April 1st as well and they will turn one year old on September 2nd."
Amy Dawson giggled. "They're older than their Aunt and Uncle!"
"And my best friend and wife, Lady Hermione Jane Granger Potter," Harry said. "She's also the Heir of Ravenclaw."
"Bloody Hell! Two Founders Heirs?" Jake said.
"In House Potter," Hermione replied. "The new Heir of Slytherin is Neville Longbottom - Harry's cousin. His wife by Line Continuation is Lady Susan Amelia Bones, whose our age and is Heir of Hufflepuff."
"All four heirs? What does that mean?"
Hermione shrugged. "For Susan and me there's vaults at Gringotts. The four of us combined have a handful of votes on the Wizengamot, although we cannot exercise them in person until we are legally twenty-one, and we own Hogwarts Castle and most of the surrounding lands. Aside from that, not much at all. As landowners we can keep Dumbledore out of our hair, but we don't truly own the school so we couldn't sack him if we wanted to…"
A blonde young woman entered also pushing a stroller with a single baby in it.
"This is Lady Hannah Marie Abbot, Regent of the Ancient and Noble House of Abbott. She's Harry's wife by line continuation. Her real marriage and wedding dates are the same as mine as is her son Charlie's real birthday and that applies to the others you will meet as well. She and Harry will celebrate their second wedding anniversary on January 16th. Hannah was born November 3rd of '79 but will turn eighteen on August 5th. Charlie here will turn one on September on my real birthday, September 19th."
"You met her mother," Robert said. "She's now the wife of Sirius Black and they were heading out for a picnic."
"Newlyweds," Hannah chuckled. "Not that I mind. They make each other happy and that's all that matters in the end."
"Does Harry make you happy?" Amy Dawson asked.
"Oh yes," Hannah gushed. "He works very hard at it for all of us. As unusual as our situation is, he is a wonderful husband and father! Boy-Who-Lived? Bah! What a load of rubbish! Greatest-Husband-of-All-Time and Father-of-All-Time! Those are better and more accurate titles."
Harry blushed. "I can't spend enough time with any of them, honestly," Harry said. "So I do my best to make sure what time we do have together is … well, is special."
"Can't ask for a better Son-In-Law than that!" Robert burst out. "I just have one wife and now three children to dote upon as it were. He's got nine and eleven! And he makes it look easy!"
"It's not," Harry began.
"No, Harry, it isn't. But from the moment we came into this it was obvious you were working hard at it. You're fortune made us not fear for Hermione's financial well being. But being a billionaire alone doesn't make you a good husband and father. What we've seen as to how hard you work at being just that with Hermione, little Robert and Lily and all the others …"
"Billionaire?" Michael Granger asked.
"He is that," Robert said. "But it's not money that has meaning for him at all."
"All I ever wanted was a real family," Harry said. "As long as I can remember, that's what I wanted." Harry chucked. "I wanted friends as well. I used to sit in a closet and hope someone, anyone would take me away from my Aunt and Uncle and let me be a part of a real family. Guess I now have that in spades and all the money in the world means nothing. I never wanted money or fame, just a family who loved me and would let me love them. I find now I'm quite wealthy, but all that means is I can do right by my family today and going forward. They will not have to suffer from my lack of a job or future job choices. My wealth means I can support them always. But … but that is not why I agreed to this. I agreed to it not knowing about the money. I wanted a family! I wanted friends! It began when I first came here. My first friend in my life was probably Hagrid. Ron Weasely was second and through him I met his family and saw what a real family could be like. But my best friend, the one who was always, always there for me even if I didn't want her to be was and is Hermione. And then all this happened. I am now surrounded by friends and family, up to my ears in it! Of my other wives, they have always been there for me too, even if I didn't know it. Hannah here … I knew her and knew she believed me when no one else did, but she was in another House and I … until all this I never tried to become her friend. I am now and she's my friend now. As with Hermione and even as quick as it may seem, we became friends first, fell in love second and married third. The more I think about it, the more I'm convinced that for any marriage to have a hope of working, you should marry someone who is also your friend. Hermione?"
Hermione nodded and waved her wand again. A tall, brown haired young woman practically ran in carrying a baby followed by two adults and a younger boy.
"Lady Katie Anna Bell Potter," Hermione said. "She was Harry's friend before all this. They started on the Gryffindor Quidditch team the same year even though she's a year ahead and stood together against the teasing of their older teammates. These are her parents, John and Elizabeth - who are not magical - and her younger brother David who is technically a Second Year here at Hogwarts. Katie is legally fifteen and will turn eighteen this week on April 13th. The baby is their son Michael who'll be one year old on September 22nd. Harry and Katie's second wedding anniversary will be on January 18th."
"Lady Luna Celeste Lovegood Potter," Hermione continued as another young woman entered. "She's a Ravenclaw and a year behind Harry. Legally she's fourteen but will celebrate her seventeenth birthday June 23rd. She's what we call a Pureblood, meaning she has at least three generations of magical ancestors. Her Mum died a few years back and her Dad can't be here today as he's a newspaper man and working on the next issue of The Quibbler. With her is their daughter Delilah, who'll turn one year old on September 24th. Their wedding anniversary is January 20th."
And so the introductions continued. Luna was followed by Padma and her daughters Parvati and Pattie and her Mum and Padma's little brother Pasha. Padma's twin sister Parvati was out in Hogsmeade with her best friend Lavender and her two Longbottom daughters. But Sira was there. Padma's father was in India dealing with "issues." Marcia who was Harry's Witch of the Day was next with their daughter Julie and her parents and younger sister Sarah and it was pointed out that the elder Robbins were Muggles as well. Rosie and her son James followed along with her parents. Daphne arrived with her son David, her parents and her younger sister Astoria who made it a point to say she was disappointed she couldn't be a wife of Harry's as well. Last, but not least was Gabrielle, her daughter Michelle and her mother. Her older sister was upstairs in the Weasley family meeting and her father was busy with the French Ministry.
Sometime later two of Hermione's grandparents were alone in their room each wondering what had happened. "Well?" Ellen Granger asked.
"Bloody hell!" Michael Granger said. "I tried to scare the shit out of him, but how can you do that to a young lad who's seen more action than you have? He snuffed a man when he was only eleven! Self defense, perfectly justified, but still! I had our Son-In-Law Carl all but cowering in terror when he first met us! This Harry lad? Best I could do was beat him at darts!"
"He loves our granddaughter more than anything," Ellen said.
"Aye," Michael replied, "that he does. If it weren't for this Plural Marriage thing, I'd say Hermione's done quite well. That being said, maybe she has anyway. You can tell a lot about a lad at darts. He's competitive as hell, but knows his limitations and is willing to seek advice when needed. I can't help but like the lad."
"While you were off doing manly things, Michael, I was talking with the ladies. Do you want my opinion?"
"Can I say no?"
"He's a good lad and … well you can see it. All else aside he makes Hermione happy. The others too, but … I've never seen Hermione truly blossom the way she has now! If this is what it took to bring her out, than I am glad and proud of her!"
"You do realize this makes us Great-Grandparents?"
"And Grandparents again," Ellen replied. "So what?"
Michael sighed, "Aye, so what. Now we can spoil the lot of them rotten!"
For Ron Weasley, this had become the worst day of his life. His mother's tirade set a new Weasley family level. But always before his father had been there to take the edge off. Arthur Weasley seldom ever yelled at his kids and did not do so this time, but for Ron he wished his father had. His Mum could go off and inflict horrifying restrictions and yet his dad almost always took the edge off. Not this time.
"One," Arthur Weasley said, "your table manners are atrocious! You will hence forth dine at a separate table from all others and eat what is served and no more! And you will use a knife and fork! There will be no additional helpings and if you sneak food…
"Two! You must achieve at least an Acceptable in all your classes by the end of this year - NO EXEPTIONS! You are allowed to ask for help, but if I even hear a rumor that you have someone doing you're work for you…
"Three! To keep you focused, your broom, owl, chess set, and anything not school related have been confiscated! By the way, that includes all your Quidditch stuff and your mail order stuff as well! Professor McGonagall has ordered your House Prefect to see that you spend all of your 'free time' in studies!
"Four! Until such time as I and your mother agree, forget about ever playing Quidditch again or ever having a Hogsmeade Weekend!"
"If you fail to meet our reasonable demands, your summer will be spent entirely under close tutors! Even if you do, you get nothing back until you finish your summer assignments! This is non-negotiable! You have embarrassed my House! I don't know what you're problem is Ronald! But if you don't get your act together, your wand will be snapped and you'll spend your life sweeping floors!"
"THIS IS SO UNFAIR!" Ron shot back! "HARRY DOESN"T…"
SMACK!
His father, who had never laid a hand in anger on any of his children had just back handed him.
"Harry has seven OWLs already," Molly said. "How many do you have? You're not Harry! At this rate you never can be! At this rate you can never be Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred, George or Ginny!"
"Percy's a prat," Ron began.
SMACK!
"Perhaps," Molly said. "But he has a decent job and right now you can't hope to have one. This decision is FINAL!"