"Harry, are you alright? You've barely touched your lasagna. I'm sorry, Tuesdays are always a pasta night here. Hermione neglected to mention you weren't particularly fond…" Danielle Granger shot a look at her daughter from across the table.

"What?" Harry blinked, confused for a moment and then realizing that Hermione's mom had noticed he wasn't eating much. "Oh, um, sorry the food is fine. I mean, it's great. Really great. Sorry, I just...um...Hermione and I went to Gringotts, today, you see and, um, we...that is, I…" Harry trailed off, not really having any clue what to say. In truth, while he certainly had a lot to think about after talking with Ripred about the Potter family and his newly discovered wealth, that wasn't what was weighing on his mind at the moment. He was stuck on a slightly more immediate issue: how do you even begin to ease into a conversation with the parents of the girl that the government has forced you to marry and basically declared to be nothing much more than a high-quality baby-maker? While the Grangers were so far proving to be incredibly kind and hospitable people, from what Harry could tell they were under the misconception that Harry and Hermione were nothing more than friends at a relatively normal, safe school. Hermione, it seemed, had neglected to mention many details about the magical world and their education, including the likes of trolls, basilisks, dementors, Dark Lords, plagues, and corrupt government bodies. While the revelation of all this, especially the newest Ministry policy and its effects, would likely bring forth very heated emotions and reactions from any parent, Harry also knew all too well that Hermione had a ruthless and scary streak (as evidenced by her...reaction…to Ginny) and those genes likely didn't just appear out of nowhere. So Harry was doing his best to avoid bolting out the nearest available exit the moment things turned the slightest bit worrisome.

"Well, fine," Danielle sighed, "but all the same you should be eating more. An empty stomach never helped anybody. And goodness, don't they feed you anything at Hogwarts? You look thin as a rail, Harry!" Hermione rolled her eyes at this and affirmed that yes, yes Hogwarts fed them plenty.

"Give him a break, Dan," said Hermione's father, Emmett Granger, chuckling. "A visit to the any bank can usually leave a person feeling pretty grim. And the goblins at Gringotts looked like they could be even more unpleasant than your typical bankers. I imagine I'd be an even sorrier sight if it was to one of those folks that I had to visit in order to explain why my student loan payments were late."

Hermione shook her head. "It's not like that, Dad. The opposite in fact! Harry's just found out that his family is actually very, very wealthy! He's got multiple properties and lots of investments that likely all need to be looked at or revised. Apparently the family accounts have been frozen for decades, since his grandfather was in charge of the family's finances. Honestly, it's a bit of mess, though in a lot of ways I guess it's a pretty good mess to be in."

Both of the Grangers were shocked into silence for a bit at that. "Oh my," ventured Danielle, breaking the silence, "well then, I guess congratulations to you, Harry. Yes, that's certainly better than the alternative, after all. My husband and I had some very stressful years financially before Hermione was born, what with the student loan payments of two dentists and a practice started from the ground up."

Emmet Granger nodded in agreement. "I'm definitely glad those years are behind us now. If you don't mind us asking, Harry, where did all this wealthy come from? Other than that your parents were killed when you were a baby by some terrorist, Hermione hasn't told us much about your family."

Harry smiled shyly. This, at least, was a safe topic. "To be honest, up until today I really didn't know all that much either. I still have quite a lot to learn, too. From what I've been told by the goblins in charge of the accounts, my family has a long history of inventing some pretty useful items. Combine that with not many Potters feeling the need to lead grandiose lifestyles or quit their jobs, and you end up with a pretty significant nest egg in my family vaults."

"Harry, what you have isn't a nest egg. It's a not-so-small fortune!" Hermione insisted.

"So Harry is like the Bill Gates or Jeff Bezos of the magical community?" her father asked, wide-eyed.

"No, not like that. At least, I don't think so," Hermione conceded. "He certainly isn't near that level of wealth. While the magical community is significantly smaller, to the point where the typical scale of wealth might not be quite as comparable, I'd still say that Harry isn't near that level of fame or public notice. At least because of his financial standing, anyway," Hermione ended with a grin, to which Harry just rolled his eyes in response.

"And why are you so involved in Harry's finances, Hermione?" Danielle asked, raising one eyebrow at her daughter. Inwardly, Harry gulped. Under the table, Hermione placed a hand on his thigh. No doubt she wanted to comfort and steady him, or possibly hold him back from running away, before she dropped a titanic bombshell on her unsuspecting parents. Unfortunately, unbeknownst to Hermione, her hand had the undesired effect of stirring up some trouble of a different sort within Harry. Clenching his teeth and lamenting that, of course, his second wand had to pop up at the worst possible moment, Harry closed his eyes and found himself wishing that Voldemort or Bellatrix would appear out of nowhere. At least he knew how to deal with shit of that variety. It figured that the one time he needed the snake-eyed bastard that the fucker had to be gone and dead. Stupid Dark Lords. Couldn't live with them. Couldn't live without them. Harry wouldn't have been surprised if some wacko had already coined that phrase to some past Dark Lord. He could definitely see someone like Trelawney spouting out that sort of shit.

"Oh, stop it," Emmett admonished his wife with a wide smile, just as Hermione had opened her mouth to begin explaining the situation to her parents and Harry had closed his eyes in preparation for his certain death. "You know how our Hermione is. Any chance to be involved in any sort of research or organization process is instantly snagged into her devious little grasp. Let me guess," he added, turning to Harry with a grin, "she found out that you needed to go to Gringotts for all this and insisted on tagging along to help research your family and analyze every single little thing about your family's assets. And you agreed, knowing how much work it would save you and how she'd hound you about it anyway regardless."

Harry could only shakily nod, causing Emmett to roar with laughter and Danielle to smile and roll her eyes. Harry could only sigh in relief at the massive bullet that had just been dodged, and he reminded himself to build a temple to Fate or at least write her a nice poem or something. As he was rejoicing the evasion of that rocky situation, Hermione's hand encountered the other rocky situation barely contained within Harry's trousers. Shooting him a look, to which Harry could only shrug and give half-apologetic smile, Hermione rolled her eyes and sighed, though Harry noticed she also was smiling a little bit. Her parents, noticing this interaction and thinking she was annoyed at Harry for giving away her seemingly-nosy involvement with his finances, now laughed even harder.

"Sorry, Hermione. They had to, um, know the truth, right?" Harry said weakly.

"Oh, thank you Harry. We used to be able to have a laugh like this all the time, but Hermione hasn't been providing us with as much material lately. Not that there isn't any material of course, just that she's become better at hiding it from hiding us!" Hermione's mother was laughing just as much as her father now. Harry found it somewhat ironic how much truth there was in Danielle's words, beyond what she even knew.

"Oh, did they, Harry? I'll have to thank you for that." Harry couldn't help but notice Hermione now had a rather mischievous glint in her eyes. Not quite as menacing as the one he'd seen on her with Ginny, but not necessarily any less scary at the moment given where they were. Harry's eyes widened to almost cartoon proportions as Hermione's hand slipped under his waistband and grasped his hardened member.

"Now, now, dear, he certainly didn't mean any harm. And you can't exactly deny who you are," Danielle consoled her daughter as she and her husband finally got over their laughter.

"It's just so nice knowing that the magical world hasn't changed our little girl too drastically," her husband added.

"Oh...yeah...nice," Harry answered, semi-coherently, as Hermione's soft hand stroked up and down along his shaft. It would likely not be a good time to let Hermione's parents know that their once innocent and incredibly conservatively-minded daughter was currently jerking him off under the table, after all. The magical world evidently had changed Hermione drastically in some aspects, apparently. Ah the irony. Granted, Harry wasn't really thinking about the irony of the situation. He was more concerned with the two very intense, very different feelings he was experiencing, one from each head, in fact. The, well, the upper head was currently in full Panic Mode, having noted the surroundings and decided that being given a handjob by your wife while having dinner with her parents, both unaware that the young man seated next to their daughter was in any way more than just her platonic friend, could be justifiably considered an environment of extreme, imminent danger. It was a wonder that "Fight or Flight" was not being initiated. Then again, the signals coming from the lower head, currently deriving great pressure and building up for that sweet release, were certainly interfering.

"Harry? Is everything ok?" Emmett asked, noticing that Harry appeared to be in some sort of pain.

"Oh, um, well," Hermione hesitated, fishing for an answer and knowing Harry wasn't in much of a position to help her out. She didn't even know why she was giving him an "under the table" favor. Honestly, it was terrible idea in a whole lot of different ways. She'd just gotten the urge and couldn't be stopped. "Well, you see, Harry and I might have done this sort of...magical experiment a day ago, and, um..."

"Hermione, what have you done!" her mother exclaimed, beginning to stand up, much to both Hermione and Harry's dismay.

"No mom! Don't get up!" Hermione practically shouted. Seeing her parents' expressions and realizing she needed to perhaps backtrack a bit, Hermione tried again. "I mean, this is just a sort of side effect, and while he is stable and in no actual danger, it's best if we don't...um...interfere. His...um...his magic's just...just acting up a bit." Her mother sat back down, but her parents were eyeing Hermione with very concerned looks. The witch was doing her best to keep her shoulder from moving despite the rhythmic motion of her arm. If only her wand wasn't in her coat, she could have tried a Glamour Charm. Thankfully, her parents seemed like they believe her about Harry's...responses...being magical in nature.

"Hermione," her father tried again, a bit calmer but no less serious than her mother, "what did you and Harry do?"

"Well," Hermione started, trying to simultaneously talk while also working her magic on Harry's wand, "I found this sort of...enchantment...in an old, forgotten library that would help make both Harry and myself significantly more powerful. The enchantment wasn't hard at all, though it hasn't been performed in a long time. Basically, it lets our bodies store more magic and also lets magic flow through our bodies much more quickly and efficiently. It worked, but we're still...adjusting. My magic was already pretty efficient, so I just had to get used to having more reserves of magic, which wasn't super difficult. Harry, on the other hand, was already quite powerful beforehand, but his efficiency wasn't the best. His body has to adjust to having a lot of magic that flows a whole lot faster that the body is used to. We think in a few more days or so he'll have adjusted well enough, but he's been having trouble with his spellwork and then there's…"

Danielle nodded. "Hmmm. So right now his body has a heightened susceptibility to spikes in magic? That makes sense, he's very jittery right now, almost as if he's got a lot of caffeine in him. Are you doing ok, Harry? Anything we can help you with?"

"Nope," Harry grunted. "I'm great. Spectacular. Just gotta….let it out...I mean, wait it out."

"Interesting." Emmett agreed. "Does his body then just discharge magic that it can't contain? Would we be able to feel that or no?"

"Well, um, no I hope not...I don't know what kind of...effect that would have on the two of you. Except for the extremely powerful or skilled ones, like Dumbledore, most wizards and witches can't even detect magic. That said, maybe because Harry and I did the enchantment together, I can feel the effects of his...release."

That was the final straw, and like a cannon primed for firing, Harry succumbed to orgasmic bliss, clenching his jaw to keep from uttering any incriminating remarks, though he could help but smack the table with a clenched fist as his dick spasmed in Hermione's grasp and spewed spurts of cum onto the bottom of the table, the rug, and all over Hermione's hand.

"Yup," Hermione muttered. "Definitely felt that. No question," as she tried to subtly wipe her hand on the tablecloth.

"Wow," Harry breathed, blinking a bit, still coming down from that sexual high. "Um, all better, I guess?"

Danielle smiled. "I'm glad, Harry. You had us all pretty worried there."

"Oh, I was pretty worried myself," Harry agreed, still not having totally come to grips with what had just occurred and the potential crisis that had been averted.

"Do you have to watch what you eat with this sort of magical flux?" Emmet asked.

"Um...not really," Harry answered, glancing hesitantly at Hermione. "Diet's pretty independent, for the most part." Then he smiled. "Though I think that things like asparagus and other leafy greens might have a somewhat poor effect, while pineapple in particular leads to more pleasant outcomes."

Hermione blushed a bit. Whatever courage had overcome her was definitely gone now. "We're still...um...experimenting with the effects," she agreed.

"Well, if you're all done eating, I suppose we might as well clear things up," Danielle decided, standing up.

"Oh! Wait! I can help with that!" Hermione practically ran over to the coat rack, grabbed her wand, and muttered "Tergeo!" first at the tablecloth and then the rug, removing any spilled liquids. Seeing her parents' eyes widen at their underage daughter performing magic, Hermione explained, "The Ministry has become much less restrictive regarding magic use, especially in front of those already aware of the existence of magic." She neglected to mention the Ministry was especially less restrictive toward things like "underage" magic performed by emancipated adults, which she and Harry technically were at this point, even if everything wasn't completely documented and sorted out yet. Plus, monitoring things like underage magic as a whole had definitely taken a hit, what with the plague taking out a lot of Ministry officials. Priorities in what to do with a smaller staff had to be made, after all.

"Thank you, Hermione!" her mother exclaimed. "It would have taken me much longer to get those stains out!" Turning to a wide-eyed Harry, Danielle explained, "My husband seems to have the innate ability to spill the most troublesome things. Every Tuesday night there's marinara or some other sauce in at least one place or another."

Emmett just smiled and shrugged. "I can't have steady hands everywhere, and if I had to choose, I'd much rather spill or miss at the dinner table than the operating table."

"You could try having steady hands in both cases," his wife gently teased, and Harry sensed this was a common discussion topic in the Granger household.

Emmett shrugged again as he got up and kissed Danielle on the cheek. "We can't all be perfect."

"Speaking of perfect," Danielle added, "Emmett, you should show Hermione the work we've done in her room and the study upstairs! Honey, your father put in all new carpet to replace that dreadfully thin stuff we had before, and he even repainted the hallway and moved your beast of a wardrobe!"

As Harry and Hermione got up, with Hermione going over toward her father and Harry about to follow her, Danielle added, "Harry, would you be a dear and help me with these dishes? I have a bit of trouble reaching the top shelf that the pan goes on. Don't worry, the rooms aren't that impressive if you didn't know the sorry state they were in before, so you won't miss much."

Harry shot Hermione a what do I do? look, to which she replied with a you'll be fine look of her own that did nothing to comfort Harry before she and her father were gone up the stairs, leaving Harry alone with his mother-in-law, not that she knew it.

Acting on years of experience at Privet Drive, Harry walked over and began to help Hermione's mum with cleaning the dishes in the sink. In a short time, he and Danielle had developed a good rhythm, with neither getting in the other's way. As Harry was drying one of the last dishes, Danielle, so nonchalantly Harry might have missed it, remarked, "You know, Harry, my husband and I aren't complete fools. We know what happened."

They'd been caught. Of course they had. They hadn't exactly been subtle about it. Harry almost dropped the plate on the floor, managing to catch it at the last possible second, and placed it on the counter, though it still made a loud clattering sound as he set it down that clearly showed how off-guard Hermione's mother had caught him. "W-what? I...I don't"

"Oh, don't worry, Harry. We're of course not angry with you. Nor Hermione, to be honest. We've had a feeling this would happen for a long time. Ever since her first letter from Hogwarts." Danielle mused.

Extremely confused with how well Danielle seemed to be taking the fact that her daughter had just given a handjob underneath the dinner table to someone they'd never actually met before, Harry stammered, "Um, Mrs. Granger, I don't know...that is, I...what are you…"

Danielle sighed. "Harry, call me Danielle. Or mum, if you prefer. I certainly don't mind, and it will be true enough soon anyway."

Seeing Harry's still extremely confused and now also very panicked look, Danielle sighed and continued.

"Harry, you know Hermione. From what I understand, the two of you have been close since all the way back to your first year. Tell me something: is Hermione the kind of person that, when faced with a mystery or with the unknown, she's likely to shy away from the truth or accept her ignorance and move on? Especially if others assure her that it's probably better off if she remain ignorant, or that she shouldn't meddle with such things?"

Harry blinked, unsure where this was going, but slightly soothed by the woman's still calm demeanor. Perhaps he wasn't going to die here after all. "Well, no. Not at all, actually. Hermione's one of the most driven people I've ever met when faced with any sort of intellectual challenge. She'd go through an entire library if she thought it could help her learn one important or relevant fact." For Hermione, that wasn't really much of an exaggeration. Harry was pretty sure that, in cases like the Nicholas Flamel or the Chamber of Secrets Monster mysteries, Hermione had nearly done so.

Danielle nodded, her eyes a bit unfocused as she stared out the kitchen window. "She is, isn't she?" She paused, then turned to Harry and sighed, putting the dishrag she'd been holding onto the counter and drying her hands off. "I'm sorry. I'm being awfully vague, aren't I? An old woman's musings, I suppose. Tell me this, Harry. Knowing what you do about Hermione, where do you think she got such traits from? Her intelligence, her almost-obsessive-at-times drive to understand the unknown, answer a nagging question, or step up to an intellectual challenge?"

Harry paused, putting together what Danielle had said, and then his eyes widened as understanding dawned on him. "Oh," was about all he could muster.

"Mmm hmmm," Danielle replied, looking off into the distance again. "Harry, my husband and I have maintained a Daily Prophet subscription since Hermione left for Hogwarts for the first time. It was a bit tricky arranging for delivery, of course, as Muggles aren't usually allowed on the mailing list, but we were able to set things up with Professor McGonagall. While I'm sure you and Hermione are much more proficient in your understandings of magic and the magical world, having learned and experienced it firsthand, my husband and I are certainly not ignorant of the world you're immersed in. We've gotten access to quite a few books about magic and the magical community, and our subscription lets us stay pretty up-to-date with current affairs, as does our occasional correspondence with Professor McGonagall. You didn't think Hermione could actually get into a tussle with a troll, or be petrified for months, without us hearing about it, did you?"

Harry saw Danielle's eyes glisten with tears. "Harry, I can't even describe to you the feeling of anguish felt as a parent when you learn that your only daughter is basically in a coma, that she's stable and there's a cure coming but delayed, but you can't even visit her." Danielle shook her head. "If my husband and I were set on staying informed of the magical world before, this just strengthened our resolve. We weren't going to just stand by powerless."

"I...I'm sorry." Harry stammered, fear gone and now feeling weighed down by guilt. He hadn't even thought about how Hermione's parents would feel about being kept out of the loop.

Danielle shook her head. "Harry, as I said, no one's mad at you or Hermione. When our little girl left on that train years ago, Emmett and I knew that she was stuck between two worlds and could end up leading two separate lives. From what we've found, most Muggleborns drift apart from their parents quite quickly, which thankfully hasn't been the case for us."

"But Hermione loves you!" Harry all but shouted, then remembered that Hermione was still upstairs and tried to quiet himself.

Danielle nodded. "Of course she does. In a way, we're like her sanctuary. The place where she can still be our little girl. Where there aren't trolls, or Death Eaters and blood supremacists, or politicians trying to use her for their own ends. Here she can just be Hermione Granger, and all that matters is that mum and dad love her and want what's best for her."

"I...I don't really know what to say. I'm sorry," Harry muttered, looking at his feat.

Danielle smiled warmly at Harry. "Hermione hasn't told me or her father much of anything about your living arrangements, Harry, in I assume an effort to protect your privacy. But from what happened to your parents, and what I'll call a mother's intuition in some matters, I get the sense that your home life before Hogwarts wasn't the best. Let me tell you, family is tricky even in the best of times and the simplest of situations, and this here is far from that. We know that you and Hermione have been placed in a very difficult situation, at no fault of your own. But Harry, I want you to know that my husband and I couldn't be happier that Hermione is with you. It's obvious from just a glance that you care very deeply for each other, and I think you're one of the few that can help keep her grounded and help her to be the best she can be. Hermione's growing up, and she can't be our little girl forever. With your wedding coming up, she'll have to make the decision of whether she can bring us into her world or if she'll push us away."

Much to Harry's surprise, Danielle pulled him into a tight hug. "Harry, we don't want you to try and force Hermione into anything. All we ask is that you help her see that she doesn't have to leave us behind as she embraces the magical world. She doesn't have to be living in two different worlds, or to choose one over the other."

Unable to say anything, Harry just nodded. He couldn't explain why, but it felt so good to be in the embrace of the older woman. Not in the way that being held by Hermione felt like. Definitely not. Nope. Uh uh. Gross. No more of that. Ew... But if felt comforting. Gentle. Caring. A lot like how it felt when Mrs. Weasley hugged him. Harry liked it a lot, and couldn't help but hope that this wouldn't be the last hug he'd receive from Hermione's mother.

Eventually, they separated. "Thank you, Harry. For all that you've done for my daughter, and for all I know that you'll do for her in the future. I'm sorry to lay all that on you. I probably gave you quite a fright, with all that, didn't I?"

Harry smiled, scratching his head. "I may have been just a little bit terrified, yeah."

Danielle laughed. "Well, hopefully you're a bit less fearful now. Not too much, though," she added with a mock glare. "Why don't you go up and join Hermione and her father? I've no doubt he's boring her now with some epic tale of how he moved that stupid wardrobe. Why we kept that blasted thing I'll never know. Also, if we can help in anyway to ease the problems you're having because of your magic, please let us know. As I said, we're not as experienced with magical theory as you or Hermione, but we have plenty of medical knowledge in general. Maybe something there might help if things continue or get worse."

Harry laughed and nodded, and he also thanked his lucky stars that the Grangers didn't know everything. As he began to walk away, he turned back once more. "Mrs. Granger?...I mean… Danielle?" Harry asked, correcting himself after she gave him a look.

"Yes, Harry?"

"How did you know all that stuff about the wedding, and even our pairing? The wedding especially hasn't even been announced, and while our pairing isn't exactly secret at Hogwarts, it's not advertised in the paper either."

Danielle smiled, and Harry was reminding of Hermione's more devious expressions. "Well, as I said, after the incident in your second year, Emmett and I weren't going to just stand by powerless. A favor here and there usually goes unnoticed. You'd be surprised at how many wizards and witches, even prominent ones, prefer the muggle methods of dental hygiene. Apparently potions and spells in the field can be quite nasty and prone to some very disturbing side effects." With a smile, she turned back to the kitchen, and Harry thanked Merlin, Fate, and all his lucky stars once again that the Grangers (including a certain Granger-turned-Potter) appeared to be with him and not against him. What a dark day that would be.

"And I swear, honey, I'm not moving that wardrobe of yours ever again. That thing must've weighed about a ton, and it won't even drag on the carpet! I think I busted up the whole bottom trying move it even this much! Don't worry, though, there's about fifty more nails holding it together than before."

"It's great, Dad. Really, it looks fine, even with the extra nails. And now I can finally open my door all the way!"

"Well, I can't say anything about how it looks compared to what it did before, but the room certainly looks great the way it is now!" Harry commented, slightly startling both Hermione and her father.

Emmett laughed. "Thank you, Harry! I'm just glad the two of you can see it now when it looks nice and not when it was just a big, dusty mess! Hope you weren't too bored washing dishes, but I'm sure Danielle appreciated the help." The man gave Harry a subtle look at that, which confirmed to Harry that Hermione's father was just as much in the loop as her mother was.

Harry nodded. "Yeah, I'm happy to help out, Mr. Granger."

He gave a wide smile at that, understanding what Harry was saying. "Oh, call me Emmett, Harry. Now, did my wife mention anything about dessert?" he asked with a twinkle in his eye. Seeing Harry's surprise, he added, "You didn't think that just because we're dentists that we can't enjoy dessert, did you? Anyway, I know we've got some ice cream in the basement freezer. I'll go see about that."

As soon as he was gone, Hermione walked over to the bed, plopped down and sighed.

"What?" Harry asked, though he had a feeling he knew where this was going.

"It's just...so hard, being back here when mum and dad don't know about...almost everything." Hermione sighed again and put her head in her hands. "It's my fault. Completely my fault. Back in First Year, I just couldn't bear to tell them all about the troll, and Malfoy, and all that. The troll was taken care of, Malfoy was a prat but bullies are nothing new, and I just didn't want to make them worry about me. And then Second Year happened, and again, once I was awake you had killed the basilisk and everything was back to normal and I couldn't bear to tell them all that had happened. What would it do, other than just making things harder for them?"

"Hermione…"

"And the same thing with Third Year, and Fourth Year, and this year too now! I haven't told them hardly anything that's really gone on! And now we're going to be married and I'll have to explain why and they'll see that I've been lying to them all these years."

"Hermione…" Harry tried again, but she looked up at him with tears in her eyes.

"What if they hate me, Harry? Will they even see me as their own daughter anymore? I'm not the little 11-year-old girl that left on the Hogwarts Express."

"Hermione!" Harry pulled his wife into a tight hug, and she gripped onto him as if she were holding on for dear life. "You were right when you told me your parents were wonderful, kind people. And of course they'll see you as their daughter. They always will."

Harry pulled back a little bit to look Hermione in the eyes. "Hermione, you know I didn't grow up in what most would consider a very loving family, but I know that part of being a family means never giving up on each other, even when we make mistakes. You made a mistake, Hermione. In a way, you tried to protect your parents by not telling them everything. Almost everybody's guilty of that in some way or another. Should Dumbledore have been more open with me about Voldemort, my relation to him, and all that he could be capable of, or should he have told me all about how my godfather was in prison for betraying my parents, all when I was only eleven years old? Maybe. Maybe not. He was trying to protect me, and when we try to protect people, we tend to make mistakes or we take away their choices in the matter. A lot of times it's both."

"I suppose you have a point…" Hermione conceded, looking at the floor. "I just...I don't know where to even begin."

"In a way, we're living in two completely different worlds," said Harry. "The muggle world and the magical one. I at least have the benefit, if you can call it that, of not really having anything I care about all too much in the muggle world. If someone told me I had to sever all my ties with the muggle world, I know I wouldn't shed one tear. But you're different, Hermione. You've got a family that loves you here. Just because you're choosing to live in the magical world doesn't mean you have to shut out the muggle one. You can have both in your life, if you let it happen."

After a minute or so of silence, with Harry just holding Hermione, she finally let go and looked at him with a determined look in her eye. "You're right, Harry. It was stupid of me to think we could just waltz in here and announce our marriage just like that, and it was stupid of me to think that I could try to keep my parents both in my life and completely outside of it at the same time." She sighed. "I know this is something that I have to do myself, but I'd really appreciate having you there with me, if nothing more than as a shoulder to lean on. I'm just sorry for bringing you into this whole mess I've created for my family."

Harry smiled and stood up, extending his hand to Hermione. "Oh come on. They're my family too now, you know, whether they know it or not."

After a very long discussion in the living room, filled with lots of tears, hugs, ice cream that Harry had to admit was delicious and definitely improved the entire affair, and even some laughter, Hermione, with Harry's help, confessed to her parents the truth about what had been going on since First Year: the troll, the Stone, Voldemort, the Chamber of Secrets, Sirius, Voldemort's brief return and the subsequent plague, and the Ministry. Hermione was extremely surprised to find her parents to be very calm and accepting of everything. She couldn't figure out why they were so nonchalant. That is, until the tables turned and they were telling her the truth.

"I can't believe how stupid I've been!" Hermione nearly screamed as her parents smiled. "You've really known all this time? How could I have been so blind! How did I not see what was literally right in front of me! I even saw McGonagall's letters to you at one point! And now I know for sure that the man asking about an appointment that one day was a wizard! Arrrgghhh!"

Emmett grinned at Harry. "Watch out. She's going to be pouting about this for weeks, for sure."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Yeah, thanks."

Danielle grinned at her daughter. "I've always told you, sweetie, of the dangers of assuming you're the smartest person in the room or in thinking you're the only one in the know about something. We tend to miss a lot when that happens."

"It's just...aahhh! Of COURSE you and dad would be interested in the magical world! Of COURSE you'd do research on your own and not use me as your only source of information! I'm such an idiot!"

Harry grinned. "I mean, everyone's a bit of an idiot at eleven. Even smartest witches of their generations." He just shrugged when Hermione glared at him.

After a bit more talking and letting Hermione settle down a bit, Harry and Hermione decided that they should probably be heading back to Hogwarts. They did have classes the next day, after all. Harry assured the Grangers that he had a few leads on how to logistically account for both magical and non-magical guests at a wedding and that he'd write to them once he had a more concrete plan rather than just ideas. Walking out the door after hugging the Grangers goodbye one more time, Harry called for Dobby and with a *CRACK* they were back in their quarters, even as Harry was still thinking how nice family hugs were.

Almost immediately, the couple was ready to go to sleep. It had been a very long day, and very stressful both intellectually and emotionally. As they both lay in bed, exhausted mentally and physically, Harry shifted a bit to look at Hermione.

"Hermione? Are you still awake?"

"Well," she grumbled, "regardless of what I was before, I'm awake now. What is it?"

"I was just curious why...that is, I was wondering...not that the gesture didn't feel good, but what in the name of Merlin's dangly left testicle made you decide to jerk me off under the dinner table next to your parents?! I mean, in a way it's pretty kinky and exhibitionist and stuff, and I definitely don't have a problem with exploring ways to shake things up every now and then, but that was...something else entirely. If we'd been caught...honestly I have no clue how we didn't get caught. Before you went and got your wand from out of your coat pocket, I was almost sure you'd cast a Glamour or something!"

Hermione frowned. "Honestly, I don't know what came over me. I was just feeling really...excitable-"

"You mean horny?"

"Fine, yes, I was feeling horny, and just sort of thinking 'consequences be damned, it just sounds so exciting to jerk Harry off under the table!' I wasn't really thinking at all of what could happen if things went wrong."

Harry nodded. "I guess it's just that, if I hadn't known we were eating with our parents, I might have thought someone slipped some sort of lust potion or something into your food or drink."

Hermione frowned even more deeply now, clearly thinking hard on what Harry had just brought up. "No, you're right," she concluded, "It couldn't have been a potion." That didn't seem to satisfy her, though, and five minutes later Hermione was getting out of bed.

"Hermione?" Harry called out, trying not to simply gaze at Hermione's wonderful, bouncing ass. He tried, at least.

"I just want to check something," Hermione called out. "I'll be back in a minute."

While it was more like ten minutes, Hermione did eventually come storming back into the room, and she threw something onto the bed. "Look at this!"

"Whoa."

"Harry, you're not looking at it, you're just staring at my chest." True enough, Harry was paying much more attention to the fact that Hermione's extremely hard nipples were currently straining against the incredibly thin T-shirt that she was wearing as a pajama top. Hermione sighed loudly and sat down on the bed next to Harry, picking up and holding out what looked to be a button.

"Ok, this looks like just a button, Hermione." said Harry.

She nodded. "That's all it appears to be, but if I do this," pointing her wand at the button, Hermione cast a spell and the button glowed with a strong blue light, "we can see that it's certainly not a regular button. This was on my robes, but I'm sure it wasn't on them when I bought them, and I think the house elves who do our laundry would have noticed it, so it hasn't been on them for more than a day or so."

Harry's eyes widened. "So that button…"

Hermione nodded. "I'm not sure of the exact charms on it, or exactly how it was made, as I've never heard of being able to buy or create something like this, but from looking at it and using a variety of diagnostic spells, I think I can safely say that this is the cause of my...unusual behavior at dinner."

"Hermione this is serious! If someone is trying to control us, we need to figure out what's going on right away!" Harry exclaimed, clearly panicked.

"No, it's certainly not nearly powerful enough to truly control anyone," Hermione remarked as she continued to look at the button. "My best guess is that it's some combination of a compulsion charm and something that would induce lust, and I think it's got some sort of Glamour built in as well, both for the wearer and people nearby. This isn't some dangerous magical artifact, just something relatively simple but created using a pretty unorthodox or unknown method."

"Like what we might find in one of those kinky libraries or storerooms?" Harry asked.

Hermione's eyes narrowed, and she nodded. "I hadn't thought of that, but that would definitely make sense. Either the button itself could have been in one, or notes on how to make it were."

Harry shook his head, trying to make his tired brain think. "So you think this is Ron and Ginny pranking us? Is there something we can do to counter it, if they try it again?"

"I don't think it's Ron and Ginny," Hermione answered. "It's not really their style at all. And this would have had to be physically planted on my robes. The only time in the past day or two that we've been close to either of them was meeting Ron in the corridor, and we were watching him the whole time. Unless Ginny got extremely skilled with Silencing and Disillusionment charms, or she somehow procured an Invisibility Cloak, I don't think they would have been able to plant this. As for countering it, I'll definitely try, though it could be hard since I'm not familiar with the spellwork actually used to create it or to influence the person it's in contact with. Might be easier to just ward off…" Hermione trailed off and shook her head. "I can't think right now. We can look into it tomorrow, but right now I just need to sleep."

Harry nodded in agreement, and Hermione crawled back into bed to snuggle up against Harry. Soon thoughts of the day drifted away as the two fell asleep in each other's arms.

In another part of the castle, a girl with dirty blonde hair lay back in her bed, her legs spread and her knickers hooked around one ankle as she furiously rubbed her fingers against her throbbing clit. Just thinking about watching Harry and Hermione going at it was still enough to get her gloriously wet, and the thought of the two of them secretly fucking while other people were around was enough to make her quiver with pleasure. Luna moaned loudly as she imagined Harry's balls loudly slapping against Hermione's body as he thrust in and out of her dripping pussy, and the thought of Harry's thick, veiny cock splashing stream after stream of cum onto Hermione's innocent little face, left Luna screaming in pleasure as she came to a climax.

After a few moments, panting heavily, Luna checked to make sure that the Silencing Charms she had placed on her curtains were still intact. Not that she really cared if the other girls heard her pleasuring herself, but Luna found that they tended to be cranky the next day if her orgasmic bliss hindered their sleep. With a dreamy smile on her face, Luna sat back and couldn't help but think that things were going far better than she had hoped. Soon she might even be ready for the next step in her plan! With that, the Lovegood girl too drifted off into the dreamworld.

Wow, yes, I am still alive, all evidence to the contrary. Things got a bit more dramatic than I initially intended with this chapter, but I liked how it turned out and hopefully you all do too. If not, that's nice. Good for you. Anyway, yeah, thanks for reading and for keeping up with me. I know patience isn't fun. Also, I'm way too proud of myself for switching things up from the overdone method of "Dan and Emma Granger," so feel free to compliment me on that. Or you if you have any other suggestions, advice, feedback, etc, don't hesitate to leave a review or PM me. Thanks again!