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Chapter One - Rest in Peace
Summary: War creates misery, as Hermione has learned in the aftermath of the war against Voldemort, which left Harry and Ron both dead. How will she deal with her grief? Will running away and living as a Muggle really help?
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Author';s Note: Just remember: reviews make the world go round¡­this story is dedicated to my wonderful beta-reader Vikki.
Hermione stood at the edge of the grave, looking down at the casket within. It was a simple wooden casket. Nothing fancy, nothing that would indicate the significance of the one inside. Harry. They had been married for 5 years, ever since she was 23.
She should have known it was too good to last. The war had been raging, sweeping them all up in its path. While they were still at Hogwarts they had begun to see their friends fall, first Cedric, then Hagrid, and finally Ron.
Ron.
Just the thought of him brought a fresh wave of tears to her eyes. It had been at the end of their 7th year, a week before they would finally graduate Hogwarts. They had been down at Hogsmeade in the Three Brooksticks having a celebratory butterbeer with Fred and George, who had founded their joke down the street after they had graduated nearly a year before. The door had burst open, revealing a group of Death Eaters brandishing wands. All of the customers started screaming and trying to all get out of the pub immediately, but the Death Eaters ignored them all, instead walking to the back of the room where the trio was sitting with the twins. Harry had stood up, facing the Death Eaters boldly.
The leader, she now knew that it had been Lucius Malfoy, had drawn his wand and taken aim at Harry. Harry had aimed his wand back at Malfoy, he mouth set in a grim, determined line. Hermione and Ron had watched on in horror, frozen in disbelief. Harry tried to disarm him but had been too slow; Malfoy had already said the Killing Curse. Ron, rather than watch his best friend die, had lunged at Harry, tried to bring him to the floor so he would not be hit.
Ron succeeded, partially. The curse missed Harry, instead hitting Ron in the back. He was dead before he hit the floor.
Her memory of the day ended there; she could vaguely recall being carried back to Hogwarts by someone, she thought it was a Weasley, but she wasn';t sure which one.
The words of Arthur Weasley, Minister of Magic, brought her back to her senses.
"We are gathered here today, on this day, July 3, to lay to rest our best friend, husband, and hero, Harold James Potter, who bravely gave his life in the ongoing fight against darkness," Arthur said, tears running down his face.
Hermione dabbed at her eyes with her handkerchief, weeping softly to herself. On her left was Ginny, her face buried her hands, the tears running through the cracks between her fingers like rainwater. On her right was Lilith, her daughter. She was 5 years old, old enough to know what was happening. She clung to her mother';s robes, crying. There wasn';t a dry eye in the graveyard, or the world, for that matter. The news that Harry Potter had fallen to the Dark forces had spread like wildfire around the wizarding community.
They had been working together with two others, Gabriel Ross and Cho Chang, as a team of Aurors. It had only been a week ago, though it felt like eternity. They had been raiding the house of a notorious Death Eater when they had been ambushed. The information they had been given was faulty; the team had interrupted a meeting of Death Eaters, 50 in all. Hermione was the only one who made it back to HQ alive.
People were beginning to throw dirt onto the coffin, everyone present was adding a handful. There was hundreds of people present; everyone Harry had ever helped and everyone who wished to rid the world of Lord Voldemort and his followers.
Someone was nudging Hermione. It was Arthur; it was her turn to throw in a handful.
She stepped forward to the edge of the pit and looked down, aware that everyone';s eyes were on her. However, instead of bending down to pick up dirt to throw in, she reached into her pocket and pulled out her wand.
Clearing her throat, she began to speak.
"Ever since I was 11, I have been living in this world, fighting the dark forces. I can still remember sitting in the Library at Hogwarts with my two best friends, Ron Weasley and Harry Potter, trying to find out who Nicholas Flamel was. Ever since I was in school I have lost people dear to me. When Cedric Diggory was killed in my 4th year, we were devastated. It was only the beginning. Since that day, it has been a steady stream of losses. Yes, there have been moments of happiness; yes, there have been victories; but at what cost? At the cost of innocent lives we have beaten back the Dark Forces. There were times when I didn';t think I could go on, times when I just wanted to forget this war I was fighting in and live a normal, peaceful life. But I always had Harry and Ron to pull me forward, to remind me just why I was fighting, to give me happiness. They are both dead now; killed in front of me. I have seen both of them hit with the Killing Curse in front of my eyes while I stood by helpless. I cannot afford the cost of victory anymore; everything I have had to live for in this world is dead. As of this day, I resign my post as an Auror. As of this day, I resign my status as a witch."
Snap
Hermione took hold of her wand and broke it in two with a loud snap, sending a shower of red and gold sparks in the air. She threw the two halves of the wand on top of the coffin. Taking her daughter Lilith by the hand, she walked out of the graveyard towards her car, on her way to a new life.
~*~

11 Years Later; New York City
Hermione sat at the kitchen table looking over her reports. She had enrolled in medical school when she and Lilith had moved to America and was currently a heart surgeon at Mt. Sinai Hospital, one of the largest hospitals in New York City, and far across town from the entrance to Kramer Alley, New York's version of Diagon Alley.
"Hey Mom," Lilith burst into the kitchen, she was now 15 years old and attending high school in the city. "Guess what? I got a perfect on my science test!"
Lilith had inherited her mother's intelligence and motivation for hard work, along with her father's eyes and hair. Sometimes when Hermione was particularly depressed, looking in her daughter's eyes made her cry.
Hermione had never told her daughter about anything. Not about magic, not about Hogwarts, not about the war, and especially not about Harry or Ron. The only sign of her previous life visible to Lilith was a small picture on the wall that had been taken in her 6th year at Hogwarts and which was charmed to be still. It was a picture of the three of them; Hermione in the middle, flanked on either side by Harry and Ron who had their arms draped over her. She had told Lilith that they were wearing black robes and pointy hats because it was Halloween.
Lilith never asked about her mother's past; she learned quickly that questions along those lines usually ended with her being grounded and her mother weeping. Hermione cried less and less as time distanced her from that period in her life. Recently, at a reception for her colleagues, when someone asked who her husband was, noticing the wedding band Hermione still wore on her finger, Hermione didn't even get a lump in her throat as she usually did when she thought of Harry.
To be honest, she was relieved that she was able to distance herself from her past somewhat, though at times she felt disloyal when she wished she could just forget everything. That wasn't entirely true; she never would want to forget Harry, with his emerald eyes and ability to make her knees weak with just a few choice words. At times she could still hear him saying 'I love you'.
"Mom, earth to Mom, can you hear me?" Lilith was waving her hands in Hermione's face.
"Oh yes, sorry sweetie, I've had a long day in surgery," Hermione said, walking over to the refrigerator. "What do you want for dinner tonight?"
"Oh I dunno, I think Donna is coming over for supper so can you make something that tastes good perhaps?"
Donna was the name of Lilith's best friend; they were inseparable, like she and Harry and Ron had been. But no, she couldn't let herself think those thoughts now; it had been 11 years for goodness sake and she a dinner to cook.
"Oh, I thought everything I cooked was good," Hermione said, sounding seemingly affronted.
"It is, just some things are gooder than others."
"Better than others, goodness Lilith where did you learn to speak?"
"Sorry, it must be that British accent of yours, getting me all confused with my grammar."
"Hmmm, take off your shoes, I'm not cleaning the floor again."
Lilith dropped a pile of mail on the kitchen table, careful not to go through it. Hermione had never let her daughter go through the mail, in fear that a letter would come for her calling her to Hogwarts or its American equivalent. Even now, though Lilith's 11th birthday had come and gone and a letter was yet to arrive, it was still tradition that Hermione go through the mail. Hermione often wondered why a letter had never arrived for her daughter, but assumed that the Minister of Magic Arthur Weasley, or whoever his successor was, had taken her daughter's name off the list to save Hermione the pain. Either that, or Hogwarts had finally fallen to Voldemort. Hermione preferred to think her first instinct was correct.
Knock Knock
"I'll get it, it's probably Donna," Lilith ran over to the door to let in her friend.
"Hi Dr. Granger, what are you cooking? Smells good."
"Humph, did you hear that Lilith? Someone here appreciates my cooking."
"Yeah, Yeah, Mom, whatever, we'll be in my room, we need to work on a history project." Lilith and Donna ran off up the stairs.
~*~
An hour later, everyone sat around the dinner table eating and chatting calmly. Calmly, that is, until Donna brought up the taboo topic.
"So, Lilith, my mom is inviting both sets of grandparents over this Saturday for Memorial Day. We're going to have a 'family outing'" Donna said, rolling her eyes, "you are so lucky you only have one set, they're your mom's parents, right?"
"Umm, yeah," Lilith tried motioning to Donna to change the topic, but Donna didn't notice.
"When did your other grandparents die? Did you ever know them?"
Hermione sat up straight in her chair and responded, "Lilith's father's parents died when he was one year old, neither him, nor I, nor Lilith has ever known them. Let's not talk about that now though, happy thoughts people, happy thoughts. So, how's your history project going?"
They continued with this innocent chatter until dinner was finished, when Donna said she had to go home. Lilith showed her to the door and was about to close the door when a cat walked up the path.
"Oh, poor little kitty, I'll give you some milk, come inside."
Hermione was at the sink washing the dishes when Lilith came back inside with the cat.
"Hey look Mom, look who I found outside. Can we keep her? Please?"
Hermione looked up to look at the cat, whom Lilith was waving in front of her face. The cat was a tabby cat, with curiously square markings around its eyes.
Hermione dropped the plate she was cleaning. It shattered on the floor.
"Minerva?" Hermione asked.
The cat nodded.

Chapter Two - Come Home
Summary: War creates misery, as Hermione has learned in the aftermath of the war against Voldemort, which left Harry and Ron both dead. How will she deal with her grief? Will running away and living as a Muggle really help?
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Hermione took a step backward, putting her hand on the countertop for balance.
"Mom, what's the matter? You look like you've seen a ghost," Lilith said, rubbing the tabby between its ears.
"Lilith, put the cat down on the floor, don't touch that cat, you don't know where it's been. It could have fleas."
"Why did you say 'Minerva', Mom? It's a nice name, I suppose we could name the cat that, it seems to like it, I could have sworn it nodded."
"No, we will not be keeping this cat, this cat will be leaving NOW!" Hermione pushed the cat with her foot, trying to move it towards the door.
"Mom, don't kick the cat, that's horrible, it's just a cat, don't hurt it," Lilith said, looking upset and puzzled at her mother's frantic behavior.
"No I'm not," said a familiar voice from where the cat had been.
Standing in Hermione's kitchen was none other than Minerva McGonagall, looking the same as she did all those years ago when she had taught Hermione.
Hermione let out a small scream. "Get out of my house now, Minerva. You are not welcome in my home anymore." Hermione said sharply, opening to door in an attempt to throw Minerva out of her house.
"Mom, mom, what the hell happened, that lady, the cat, who is she, what¡­" Lilith said as she backed away from Minerva, confusion and terror written on her face.
No one answered. Minerva and Hermione were too busy glaring at each other.
"Of all the reactions I thought about when I decided to visit you, my best student ever, I never ever thought I would be met with this level of hostility. Hermione Potter, honestly." Minerva said, looking as if she wanted to follow this statement with points taken off Gryffindor.
"My name is Dr. Hermione Granger. I am a surgeon at Mt. Sinai. I do not ever want to see any of you again in my life, please leave me alone. Whatever you want you aren't going to get it. Just leave and do not ever mention the name Potter to me again."
"Whose Potter? Our last name is Granger." Lilith asked.
"Our last name is Granger, honey. I do not know what this lady is talking about," Hermione responded, still glaring at Minerva.
"Hermione," Minerva said sharply, "honestly, I take it from your untruthful response you haven't told your daughter anything."
"There is nothing to tell."
Minerva sighed. "This is going to be harder than I though, why don't we all have a seat and I'll explain why I came."
"No, there will be no sitting down, no explanations, you will just be leaving," Hermione was nearly shouting, "NOW!"
"What is going on? Who are you? Mom, what haven't you told me?" Lilith said, curiosity winning over her fear of this strange cat-woman.
"Has anyone every told you that you have your father's eyes?" Minerva said, turning to Lilith, "and his hair too, though I see you take more care in combing it than he did."
"Minerva, I will ask one last time, please get out of my house," Hermione moved over to the phone, "if you do not leave now I am calling the police and you can do whatever explaining you want to them."
"Hermione Potter, or Granger, whatever you are calling yourself, put down that phone and sit down at the table," Minerva said, pulling out a seat, "you will listen to what I have to say or you will be in severe trouble with the Ministry."
Hermione let out a soft sob, "Please Minerva, I'm begging you, just leave me and my daughter alone."
"I will be doing nothing of the sort, now sit down before I summon some less caring people to help me," a slight grin appeared on her face, "perhaps you would like Severus to help me explain why I came."
Hermione sat down at the table.
"Lilith, leave us alone and go to your room, do not listen in on our conversation."
"No, Hermione, your daughter needs to hear this too. She cannot live her life in ignorance of what her past is. I cannot believe that you have not told her about Harry."
"Who's Harry?" Lilith asked as she sat down at the table across from her mother who had her head cradled in her hands.
"That's your dad'd name; he was my husband," Hermione said, tears beginning to form in her eyes. Minerva waved her hand, summoning a red silk handkerchief, and handed it to Hermione.
"Is he the one in the photograph in the living room? Next to you and that red haired boy? You know the photo I'm talking about, Mom. The one with you three in those ridiculous robes and hats all dressed up for Halloween."
"I know what photograph you're talking about sweetie, and yes that's him."
"Why haven't you told me about this before?"
"That is a very long, complicated and depressing story. One you do not and will not be hearing tonight."
Minerva cleared her throat. "Sorry to interrupt, but I'd like to explain why I came."
"My apologies, do continue," Hermione said, sounding not very sorry at all.
"Thank you," Minerva said, not put out by the hostility in Hermione's voice, "I'll start at the beginning. After you left our world, Hermione, the fight continued, albeit less successfully than before. Harry's death and your speech at the funeral disheartened many of us. We changed battle tactics. Instead of making many strikes, we planned carefully for a large showdown. We were planning for 8 years. After 8 years, we attacked. The battle that followed was successful; Voldemort was killed. Since then we have been rebuilding our society, beginning with tracking down all remaining Dark Arts practitioners. The Malfoys were all murdered along with scores of others and Knockturn Alley was closed. Finally, we feel that our world is safe enough to re-open the schools, many of which were closed down during the war or turned into safe-houses. Hogwarts itself was turned into the HQ for the Aurors and Enforcers about 7 years ago. Now we are reopening it, but we need staff. Many of our teachers are too old now to teach. Dumbledore has died; I am the new Headmistress. Remus Lupin has agreed to return to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts; Severus Snape will remain the Potions master; Sirius Black will be teaching Transfiguration; Fleur will be teaching Divination, and Neville Longbottom will be teaching Herbology, but will still have many open spots to fill. This is what I have come here to ask you about. Will you accept the position of Charms teacher and Head of Gryffindor House?"
Hermione rubbed her hands over her face, sighing. "I don't suppose you came all this way to accept the simple, out-right refusal that I really want to give to you."
Minerva shook her head.
"Then give me time to think about it."
"Take all the time you need, don't worry, the school is not due to open until September."
Hermione stood up from the table and walked down the hall towards her bedroom.
"Okay, what the hell is going on? Would someone care to explain this to me?" Lilith demanded of Minerva.
~*~

Hermione sat on the floor of her bedroom, half hidden inside her closet. In front of her was a large black trunk. On the top of it was stenciled a gold dragon above the words "Hermione J. Granger Potter". Thinking about those words brought a fresh wave of tears to Hermione's eyes; she could still remember Ron and Ginny 'fixing' the name on her trunk after they had discovered her and Harry in the broom shed celebrating Gryffindor's victory over Slytherin. She almost smiled as she remembered the looks on their faces when they had opened the door to the broom shed and found her and Harry lying on top of the pile of extra robes making out.
She opened the lid of the trunk and lifted out the hat resting on the top of the pile of books and robes. The hat was black, pointy on the top, circling the brim of the hat was a red silk sash, upon which was pinned a silver Head Girl badge, tarnished with age and dusty with neglect. Putting the hat in her lap, Hermione looked at the next object in her trunk and a lump rose in her throat.
She lifted out the maroon robes and held them to her face. On the back of them, painted in gold lettering, was printed the name 'Potter' above a large 'C'. They were Harry's old Quidditch robes; breathing deeply, Hermione could still smell Harry's sweat on them, but that might have just been her imagination. Burying her face in the heavy material, Hermione started to weep. The memories overpowered her; she had not opened the trunk since the day of his funeral, the memories she had tried so long to suppress flooded back into her memory. Harry, grabbing the Snitch after a long game; Harry, Ron, and her, sneaking around Hogwarts in the dark under the protector of the Invisibility Cloak; Harry, kissing her in the back of the greenhouse.
She had been sitting in her bedroom for about on hour, going through the trunk and thinking about Minerva's offer when she heard the door to her room open quietly.
"I explained everything to your daughter, Hermione," Minerva said, coming to sit on the bed behind Hermione. "I must admit, I thought she would at least know she was a witch." Disapproval of Hermione's decision to conceal the truth from Lilith was blatantly apparent in her voice.
Seeing Hermione's tearstained face and realizing that Hermione had been looking through her old school trunk, Minerva's tone softened. "We were worried about you, Hermione," Minerva said, putting her hands on Hermione's shoulders, "even Severus was concerned, as difficult as that might be to believe."
"Wh, wh, why?" Hermione asked. "I was living a fine life, if not the happiest one. Harry's dead, Minerva, what do I have to return for?"
"Everything, everything you ever fought for, everything Harry died for."
"No, you don't get it, Minerva! Everything I fought for died with Harry, including most of me." Hermione put Harry's robes back into her trunk. "You don't know how hard it was for me to go on, to keep living after his death. Every day I battled with the idea of suicide, every day I was alive was a victory. Every moment I lived I wondered what I was living for, and you know what? I never found out. I have been living the past 11 years hoping I could move on and forget the past; I never could, but I found I could live with it. I haven't contemplated suicide in nearly 3 years, Minerva, and now you come back, asking me to return? Why, Minerva, why? I haven't done magic in 11 years, surely there must be someone better qualified for the job."
Minerva sighed into her hands.
"Yes Hermione, you're right, there are better people qualified for the job; many people have applied, and yet I still came to offer it to you. Do you know why? Because you are the best student I have ever had, hands down. No one at Hogwarts could bear to think of you living as a Muggle, wasting your talents, and wasting your life. Yes, Harry is dead, but living as a Muggle isn't going to make that pain go away. Yes, you will mourn for Harry for the rest of your life; you two were in love, more than anyone two people I have ever seen in my life. But don't you want to make your memories of the wizarding world end happily, don't you want to be able to die knowing you have not been living in denial?"
Hermione sat down on the top of her school trunk and rubbed her eyes to clear her vision. They sat together in silence for nearly an hour. After an hour of silence Hermione stood up and opened her trunk. She bent down and took out her school hat, putting it on her head.
She turned to Minerva. "I'll accept the job, but only if you agree to call me Professor Potter, seeing as that is still my legal name, though I chose not to use it in everyday life"
Minerva turned to her best student, smiling broadly. Grasping her in a bone-crushing hug she said, "Welcome home, Hermione, welcome home."

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Chapter 3 - Of Red Hair and Reunions
Hermione and Lilith sat on the plane, awaiting takeoff. It was mid August; they were heading to England; Hermione, to return to the life she had long denied; Lilith, to enter a new world she had never known existed. Minerva and Hermione had explained everything to her, the magic, the wars, the fight against darkness, and Harry and Ron. Her mother had told her everything about her husband and her best friend, showing her the photo album Harry had of Lily and James and the photo album that Hermione had been given at her wedding by Remus Lupin and Sirius Black.
The album was a heavy white book with a large red heart on the front that flashed the phrases "Harry and Hermione" and "Together Forever". Frequently, while going through the photos which catalogued Hermione and Harry's life from the first year of Hogwarts until their marriage, Hermione had to pause to regain her composure.
For Lilith, the album had seemed foreign. Everything in it, from the moving pictures, to the castle, to the black haired boy with the scar on his forehead, was unfamiliar. She was scared, scared to enter the wizarding world, which had brought her mother so much pain and anguish.
"Please buckle your seatbelts, we will be taking off momentarily," the flight attendant's voice rang throughout the cabin.
The plane shuddered to life and began rolling down the runway, taking Hermione and Lilith to a foreign world, more foreign than any of the Muggles on the plane could imagine.
~*~
As the plane flew through the sky, Hermione thought about how she would return to the magical community. Overblown entrances, Daily Prophet headlines were definitely not the way to go. She, personally, merely wanted to appear in the front of the classrooms and let the children write their parents home about it. Minerva ruled this option out, reminding Hermione of the speed with which rumors spread at Hogwarts, and about the frequent inaccuracies in all of them.
Hermione decided that she would find a balance between these two extremes. After she and Lilith had settled into their temporary apartment in Hogsmeade where they would be living while Hogwarts was fixed up, she would send a letter to Arthur Weasley, inviting his entire family over for dinner. She doubted that they would accept the invitation, and she fully expected that Molly would show up at her door the minute she received the letter, dragging both her and Lilith to The Burrow.
"Mom," Lilith nudged her shoulder, "the pilot said we are getting ready to land soon."
"Good, I'm getting a little sore from all this sitting," Hermione said, grinning at her daughter.
"Umm, where did you say we were staying tonight? Some magical inn or something?"
"The Leaky Cauldron, it's a restaurant and inn in Diagon Alley, the magical area of London.
"Oh, I thought it was called Hogseed or something."
"No, we are just staying in London for a day or two so we can buy some supplies, like wands and robes, and then we should be moving into a small apartment in Hogsmeade, the only wizarding town in Britain. It's near Hogwarts."
"I see, what did you say we needed to buy?"
"Wands and robes, as well as books. Actually, I still have most of my books, Minerva added them to the Library at Hogwarts, but she is going to give them back to me."
"Robes?"
"Yes, wizards and witches wear robes. You will look incredibly out of place in jeans, darling, robes are actually quite fashionable."
"Like the robes you were wearing the photo album. Those dorky things? They look like something I would wear on Halloween."
"Well, you're going to have to wear them now, you haven't really got a choice."
Lilith sighed. She hoped the culture shock did not kill her.
~*~

It was dark by the time the taxicab dropped them off at the corner of the block where the Leaky Cauldron was located. Holding onto Lilith with one hand and dragging her suitcase behind her with her other, Hermione started walking down the block.
Seeing the Leaky Cauldron in front of her, Hermione stopped, holding Lilith back as well. Up until this point, she hadn¡¯t really realized the full impact of what she was doing. Talking about magic and Hogwarts and Harry with Minerva and Lilith had been one thing, but actually entering the Leaky Cauldron meant no turning back. She would have to face all her old friends and enemies. She would have to talk to Remus, Sirius, Arthur, Molly, Charlie, Bill, Percy, Fred & George, Ginny, and everyone else. She would have to explain why she left for 11 years, leaving people to wonder if she were even still alive. Minerva had told her that the Weasley family knew she was alive, but did not know where she was or what she was doing with her life. Sirius and Remus, she had said, knew she was coming back to teach, as they would be teachers at Hogwarts themselves, but Hermione was nervous, terrified even, to see them again.
Look what has happened, Hermione thought to herself, I'm afraid to face my old friends. 11 years ago I would have trusted any of them with my life, and now I'm too afraid to even face them. What has happened to me?
But in her heart she knew what happened. Time. Time changed everything, there could be no changing what she had did, not that she fully regretted living as a Muggle all that time; the distance she had put between herself and magic had helped her rebuild her life, had helped her be able to live without constantly being reminded of Harry.
Here goes nothing.
Hermione and Lilith stepped inside the Leaky Cauldron. It was the same as Hermione remembered it, the tables and the bar were the same as they were all those years ago when she had first come here, on a trip to buy school supplies.
Life comes full circle, they always say, guess they're right, whoever they are.
Hermione walked up to the witch at the counter, praying she wouldn't be recognized. Even though her appearance had changed in the 11 years, her hair was shorter and her face was decidedly older and more wrinkled, she prayed that no one would notice her.
"One room for two nights please," Hermione said. "I'm sorry, but I haven't got a chance to change my money yet, just in from the U.S., do you accept American money?"
"No, but don't worry, you can pay tomorrow morning when you get a chance to go to Gringotts," the witch said, handing Hermione a key.
"Thank you so much. How much will the room cost?"
"Just 15 Galleons."
Hermione and Lilith picked up their suitcases and headed towards the staircase, Hermione keeping her head down. Reaching the top of the landing, Hermione headed down the hall, trying to find their room. It was the one at the end of the hallway; Hermione opened the door and went inside.
Lilith turned to the wall, feeling for a light switch and finding none.
"Hey Mom, where's the light?"
"Oh, right, there isn't one."
"WHAT!! No electricity, I thought this was London, for goodness sake."
"No, it's Diagon Alley, there is no electricity or telephones here."
"But, but, where does the light come from? Does everyone just go to sleep when the sun sets?"
"Don't be condescending, darling, just because there's no electricity doesn't mean wizards are backward rustics. We are actually quite advanced, much more so than Muggles in certain respects. There just aren't any electronics."
"Fine, fine, sorry, wizards might be more advanced than Muggles, but it's still dark in this room and I can't find my pajamas in the dark."
Hermione felt her way over to the desk in the room and opened the drawer, pulling out a candle. She handed it to Lilith.
"Just put that in the holder on that nightstand, honey, that ought to do it."
"One candle, that's it? I'll barely be able to read by its light, and where are the matches, how am I supposed to light it?"
"You aren't, just put it in the holder and you'll see," Hermione grinned, recalling her first experience with the lighting system at the Leaky Caldron.
Lilith put the candle in its holder and the room suddenly lit up.
"What the.." Lilith stared at the candle.
"It's a simple combination of charms, a Room-Lighting and a Matchless Igniting charm. They were put on the holder and the candle so that guests who were staying here wouldn't have to go by the light of their wands at night."
"Right, simple, of course. Sorry for being rude, I've got a lot to learn about this magic stuff, I guess."
"Don't fret about it honey. I managed to do it quite fine, but no more chatter, it's time to sleep. You had a long day today, and tomorrow will be even longer."
Lilith walked over to the mirror to take out her contact lenses; she had also inherited her father's vision along with her eyes.
"Lovely eyes you've got there, deary."
Lilith jumped back a few feet, "Who said that? Mom?"
"No, it was me" said the mirror, sounding like what one would imagine a grandmother to sound like.
"Oh, of course, talking mirrors. Why didn't I guess?" Lilith said sarcastically. "What's next, talking pictures? They already move."
Hermione had come out of the bathroom just in time to catch Lilith's last comment.
"Of course portraits talk, wait until we get to Hogwarts and I'll introduce you to the Fat Lady and her friend Violet. Maybe Sir Cadogan will even be there, but I think someone has probably thrown him into the lake by this time," Hermione said, lying down in bed and putting out the candle.
Lilith just sighed.
~*~