Sorry to those that decided to follow this one shot. A reader (mildly rudely) pointed out that I kept skipping around on my tenses. While I try to edit it all out before I post I don't always catch everything. It's now basically 3 AM so here's to hoping I did catch everything this time around. Enjoy!
It was Mary Suzanne's first day of primary school and she was terrified. She didn't want to be away from her Mummy, but Mummy said she had to go. So, with a stiff upper lip and her best fancy dress Mary Suzanne stepped into her classroom. She sat down next to a boy who was even smaller than herself and Mary Suzanne was a very small child. "Hi! My name is Mary Suzanne."
The boy turned and looked at her from out of the bottom of his fringe. "Hi."
"What's your name?"
"Harry."
"Hiya Harry! I don't really want to be away from my Mummy, but she said that if I was a big girl and didn't cry then she'd get me an ice-lolly when she picked me up. I'm going to be the biggest girl ever in the history of ever so I can get an ice-lolly. Red is my favorite. What's yours?"
The small boy blinked at her a few times. With a shrug Mary Suzanne turned to the girl with pink ribbons on her other side and tried again. "Hi! My name is Mary Suzanne! I like red ice-lollies the best."
Mary Suzanne really liked school. Everything was perfect about the classes and friends and she had been a very big girl all week. The only not perfect thing about school was that a very large boy from the class next door was really mean to Harry. Every time he saw the small boy he would push him down. Mary Suzanne quickly learned that anyone who was nice to Harry was picked on by the fat boy. His name was Dudley Dursley and he was the biggest kid in the grade. He had lots of mean friends and never played nice with anyone. Mary Suzanne tried being nice to Harry a few times, but she learned that if she wanted to enjoy school, Big Mean Dudley couldn't see her being nice to the small scruffy boy.
Over the next few years Mary Suzanne tried her hardest to be kind to Harry Potter when Dudley Dursley wasn't looking. She would share parts of her lunch with the thin child or let him play with a ball that she had managed to get a hold of. Mostly though, she just ignored him. If you don't draw attention you are more likely to be left alone by the bullies. Sadly, that rule seemed to apply to everyone but Harry, as Dudley and his friends would attack the boy whenever they laid eyes on him.
Mary Suzanne never really liked Dudley Dursley, but then again, no one really liked Dudley and his mean friends. Marry Suzanne was a rather small child in Dudley's year, but she did her best to stay out of his way. It wasn't a difficult thing to do as long as one didn't draw any attention to themselves and was not scruffy little Harry Potter. Even Mary Suzanne was taller than Harry and she was the smallest girl in her class. If Dudley or the other bullies weren't looking Mary Suzanne would slip Harry a cookie, as he was rather skinny and sickly looking.
One afternoon three months before the end of the school year, Mary Suzanne wiggled herself behind the trashcans that Harry often frequented during outside time in an effort to hide from Dudley and the other bullies. "Hello."
He looked at her sideways. "Hi." She passed him her sandwich from lunch hour. "Thanks." He said as he began to scarf it down.
"It's roast beef. I don't really like roast beef, but mummy packed it anyways. I figured you could have it instead since you're so small." Harry nodded his thanks. They sat in silence for a few more minutes until Mary Suzanne wiggled out into the open and dusted herself off. "Bye." She whispered as she skipped off to play with the other girls.
One of the bigger boys in her class tripped her as she made her way to her normal playmates. "You must be Potter's girlfriend." He sneered before storming off. Mary Suzanne brushed herself off and continued on her way like nothing had happened, but she didn't look at Harry for those last few months until summer vacation.
That summer she felt awful about what she did. As far as Mary Suzanne knew, she was Harry's only friend and because some rude boy tripped her on the playground she had ignored him. She vowed to be a better friend to the messy haired child once the school year started back.
That September Mary Suzanne marched into her classroom with two lunch sacks and her kicking shoes on. She may be small, but she was going to kick the first person who tried to bully her or Harry right in the shins. Unluckily, Dudley was in her class. Worryingly, Harry wasn't in school at all. A few weeks after school was back in session, Mary Suzanne heard from the gossip mills that Harry had been sent to St Brutus's Secure Centre for Incurably Criminal Boys, a boarding school for awful kids. Mary Suzanne couldn't believe that the school hadn't taken Dudley instead! As things tend to happen, Mary Suzanne quickly let Harry Potter sink to the back of her mind. By the time she had gotten into Uni, Mary Suzanne hadn't thought of the messy haired child in years.
"Oh goodness, I don't have time for this!" Mary Suzanne whispered to herself as she tried to make her way through the crowd. She thought that other plant enthusiasts would get out of the way of a small woman carrying a large plant but nope. The crowd stood in front of her unmoving and uncaring as each of them looked at the plant they wanted to buy or just stopped to admire a display. An older woman stepped back and directly into Mary Suzanne's way. She would have fallen and splattered her new Peace Lily right on the ground when someone caught her. It happened so fast that it almost felt like magic.
"You alright? You almost took a rough tumble right there." She looked up at the tall broad-shouldered man who had a hold of her pot. His blonde hair fell into his eyes slightly and his whole face radiated concern.
Mary Suzanne had to remember how to breathe. "Oh, thank you so much! I'm so sorry that I fell into you. I can be rather klutzy."
He let out a chuckle as he righted her and adjusted his grip on the plant. "You fell because someone walked into you. That's not being a klutz. I once met a woman who could trip over air. You're perfectly fine."
"Well that you again. If you'd just hand me my Peace Lily I can be on my way." The man blinked and looked down at the pot still in his hands. He gave a little laugh and passed the plant back over. He stroked the white petals with such a gentleness that it made Mary Suzanne wonder what his hands would feel like brushing against her cheek. Said cheeks went a little pink at that thought and she squeaked one last thank you before turning around and walking back to her car. She was done trying to carry this thing around the event.
"Wait!" She stopped, half turning back around. He looked like he wasn't sure that he had actually called out to her at all. He took a deep breath before saying, "I was wondering if you would like to get tea sometime?"
Mary Suzanne broke out into a large grin. "Sure!" She walked the three steps back to him and set her Peace Lily in between them in order to pull out her mobile. "You can just give me your number and we'll set up a date later. I really should put this up before it gets smashed."
The man blinked a few times as he stared at the phone in her hand. "Oh, well, actually." He looked sheepish. "I don't actually have one of those."
"You don't have a mobile?" She blinked. That's odd. "Oh. Well I guess we could just meet up at the teahouse on Baker Avenue then? It's right around the corner from my flat and hopefully not too far from yours either."
He smiled to himself. "No, it's not too far from me." They both nodded. "Oh! By the way, my name is Neville, Neville Longbottom."
She laughed. "Oh goodness, look at me! Making a date without knowing your name! How forward of me." With another giggle she held out her hand and said with a smile, "The name is Mary Suzanne James. It's nice to meet you Neville Longbottom. Does tomorrow at two work?"
Neville grinned and took her hand, kissing the back of it like a man from a romance novel. "Tomorrow at two is perfect."
Mary Suzanne couldn't wait for two to roll around. She had cleaned her flat and even gone as far as dusting, her least favorite chore, in an effort to pass the morning. Once two o'clock crept closer, she threw everything out of her closet trying to find the perfect outfit for this date. "Now Mary Suzanne, you don't need to go all out. It's just tea. He saw you running around the garden expo all sweaty and in your comfy overalls yesterday. Whatever you wear will be fine." She said to herself as she tossed outfit after outfit aside. She finally settled on a simple white button up, some jeans, and cute flats. She ran some gel through her hair and slapped some green lipstick on her lips.
She quickly walked over to the teahouse and got seated near the front window. She was ten minutes early. She took out her phone and texted her friend Elizabeth to let her know that she had arrived before Neville. Telling Elizabeth about her date had been an interesting experience.
"He doesn't have a mobile? Who doesn't have a mobile phone in this day and age? He has to be in some sort of cult or something that doesn't allow him to have one. Why else would a man in his twenties not have a mobile? How does he get in touch with his friends? Through email? Through letters? What year is this?" She flipped her long red over her shoulder and scoffed. "You're going to get murdered by some blonde cultist because he has nice shoulders and didn't let you fall on your arse. I refuse to water your 900 plants after you get cut up into little pieces and tossed in the Thames."
"Elizabeth! He's not a cultist! Maybe he just doesn't have many friends and never needed a mobile before!"
"Great. So, your defense is that he's a shut in and he'll lock you in his basement because he has no people skills. Way to defend the guy."
"ELIZABETH! He's an attractive guy who was helpful and asked me out! It's been ages since I've had a date! Besides, we're just going for tea. Nothing's going to happen."
Elizabeth gave Mary Suzanne a deadpan look. "You basically swooned when you told me that he kissed the back of your hand."
"Because it was romantic! It was so old fashioned and amazing." Mary Suzanne placed her hand over her heart. "It seemed so natural, like he does it all the time. He didn't even seem to think about it. You know how most guys have to think before they pull a move like that! He just let it happen. It was so romantic!" It took a bit more convincing but after a while Elizabeth finally calmed down, but she did make Mary Suzanne promise to text her updates of how things were going or risk her crashing the date.
Mary Suzanne was pulled from her musing by the sound of a car backfiring. She looked down at her phone and realized that she had been day dreaming for five minutes. She looked at the door just in time to see Neville walk in. He looked even better than yesterday. He had obviously taken the effort to dress up for their tea date and his face lit up when he laid eyes on her. She stood up and they hugged. "I'm sorry. Have you been waiting long?"
"No, no! I just walked in myself!" They sat down, and the waitress seemed to materialize out of thin air to take their order. Neville ordered a pot of jasmine tea for the table and cucumber sandwiches for the both of them. After they got the food and had nibbled on things for a few minutes she turned to Neville and asked. "So where did you go to school?"
Neville kind of blinked for a moment. "It was a boarding school up in Scotland. I didn't go to Uni."
"Oh wow. That's so interesting! What's boarding school like?"
Neville chuckled as if sharing a joke with himself. "Each year was an adventure all on its own." He smiled at Mary Suzanne. "What was your schooling like?"
She shrugged. "Well I didn't go to a fancy boarding school up north. Just a normal school about an hour from here. Bullies, hot lunch, homework, the whole nine yards."
Neville laughed. "Well that's something that doesn't change in any school. My school had this awful bully in my grade. Little blonde ponce who thought he was so cool just because his dad was on the board." He shook his head. "Slightly less of a prat now that we've graduated."
"You're still in touch with the people you went to school with that bullied you? I don't even keep up with most of my friends from school and you see your schoolyard bully on a regular basis?"
"Oh well," Neville looked down at the table, "our families run in the same circles. So, while I don't seek him out I do see him at balls and the like."
"Balls? Like a gala?" Mary Suzanne looked around the teahouse. "I knew boarding school kids were rich but that's a class all on its own!" She leaned in and jokingly whispered. "Would your parents be horrified that you were dating a commoner?" Neville winced, and Mary Suzanne wished she could shove the words back in her mouth. His parents were obviously a sensitive topic. "I am so sorry, I didn't know any better."
Neville let out a stilted laugh. "It's fine. You couldn't have known. I've been raised by my grandmother since I was a baby."
Mary Suzanne poured herself the last of the pot. There was an awkward silence for a few minutes and just when she thought the date had been a complete flop all because of her, Neville turned to her and asked her about the Peace Lily she had bought yesterday. They nattered on through another pot of tea before Neville awkwardly paid for the meal.
They held hands as they walked back to her flat. "I had a really great time. Though I am sorry for how heavy things got."
He smiled down at her. "It's fine, you couldn't have known." He squeezed her hand. "I had a really great time too. Maybe we can see each other sometime during the week?"
Her heart gave a flutter. "I'd love that." They stopped at the door. "Would you like to come in? We could sit down and plan our next date since you don't have a mobile."
"While I would love to, it wouldn't be proper. And as to me not having a mobile, a friend of mine is going to be taking me to get one tomorrow if you wanted to write your number down for me." Mary Suzanne smiled at the term 'proper' and dashed inside to scribble her number for him. Slightly out of breath she handed him the slip. "I look forward to hearing from you tomorrow then." She stood on her tip toes and tugged on his shoulders so that she could reach his lips. Blushing, she backed into her flat. "Goodbye."
Shutting the door behind herself Mary Suzanne whipped out her phone and called Elizabeth. She picked up on the first ring. "Sooooo, how was it?" Mary Suzanne could feel her friend's vivacious expression through the mobile.
With a giggle Mary Suzanne recounted her tea date with Neville. "He was really sweet about the world's most giant blunder on my part! I can't believe that I made a joke about his parents!"
Elizabeth's eyes rolled so hard Mary Suzanne could practically feel it. "There's no way you could have known that. Though I would like to bring up a point you totally glossed over." There was a dramatic pause. "APPARENTLY HE'S LOADED! Or at least his family is! I don't know how you managed to land yourself a lord or whatever! Taking about balls, I bet he's got a title."
"He seemed embarrassed about it. Maybe he's got a brother that the title goes to. Maybe he just didn't want me to be after him for his money and just accidentally let it slip. Besides, it was after I found out about his money that I made the world's most obnoxious blunder! So basically, that information is cursed." Elizabeth went to speak up, but Mary Suzanne cut her off. "No, Lizzie. I'm just going to ignore his money and try to get to know him. The lasts thing I need is to chase off a perfect man just because he thinks I'm after him for his money instead of his body." The pair broke out into giggles.
"Well at least you know where he got those old-fashioned manners from! All those people from old money hold themselves like that." The conversation quickly wrapped up and Mary Suzanne went on with the rest of her day.
As Mary Suzanne was getting ready for bed she got a text from an unfamiliar number.
(Unknown) hello this is neville i hope you are well
She smiled and tapped out a quick message.
Hey Neville! I see your friend finally helped you get a mobile! How do you like it?
There was a few minutes of silence before he responded. Mary Suzanne had thought she had done something to make him upset.
(Neville) texting is hard and I dont like it but ill get used to it
Mary Suzanne laughed and quickly called Neville's phone. It rang a few times before Neville finally picked up. The other line was silent. "Hey Neville! I figured I would call since you wanted to chat, and you haven't gotten the hang of texting just yet."
"Hello? Can you hear me?" Was not shouted at her, but it was close. Mary Suzanne jerked the phone away from her ear with a wince.
"Neville there's no need to shout." She said with a laugh. "It's like you've never used a phone before! I can hear you just fine if you talk normally."
"Oh, I'm sorry then. I'm not very used to technology like this yet. I am trying to get better though. My boarding school was… old-fashioned, to say the least. I wasn't around technology much while I was growing up."
"It's fine! If I can teach my parents how to use the phone I can teach you as well. It's no problem at all." She pressed her phone between her ear and her shoulder as she digs through her drawers from pajamas. "So how was your phone buying experience? Who did you go with?"
She could hear the sound of rustling fabric and tried very hard not to picture Neville as he got changed. "My friend Hermione took me. Just much better at mu-technology than I am. Than most of the people I went to school with actually."
"Bit of a technophile, is she? I've got a cousin like that. Always knows what's what about the latest gadget." The pair chatted long into the night and Mary Suzanne laid snuggled in her bed as they talk until she was about to nod straight off. "I'd love to keep talking but it's late and I've got to get up bright and early tomorrow for work. So, I'll talk to you later and we can plan out next date then?"
"I look forward to it." The warmth in his voice made Mary Suzanne's heart sing when she clicked the End Call button on her mobile.
Neville and Mary Suzanne had been dating for six months and it had been almost picture perfect. Occasionally his boarding school quirks would come through and he would struggle with things that basically only her grandparents had a difficult time figuring out, but she just smiled and helped him figure it out. They were falling madly in love and Elizabeth had even met him and not threatened to kill him.
They were sitting in her flat, they always met in her flat, cuddling on the couch and channel surfing. Turning to her, Neville said, "So my friend Hermione wanted to meet you. I know that you haven't met any of my friends and that's because they can be… much… in almost any situation, but Hermione is amazing, and I think you'd really like her." Neville wrinkled his nose and grinned down at her. "You won't even have to hurt your neck looking up at her."
Mary Suzanne laughed and lightly hit him in the chest. "I can't help it if you are a freak of nature in height, Nev."
"You're just super short Mary Sue." Neville ran his fingers through his hair, ruffling it. "I hope this goes well. Hermione was my very first friend at boarding school, I met her on the train in fact. My Great Uncle had given me a toad named Trevor as a reward for getting into the school and I had lost him a few minutes after getting on the train. I went around asking if anyone had seen him and Hermione was the only one who cared enough to help me look."
"She sounds awesome. I'd love to meet her!"
That next Saturday Neville and Mary Suzanne met Hermione at a park. They watched her as she pushed a little blonde girl on the swings. Neville approached first. "Hey Mione! Hey Tori!" The small child giggled and leapt from the swing. She ran over to Neville and gave him a hug before running off after a boy with blue hair. Hermione let out a huff and stuck her hand out. "I'm Hermione Weasley. That little blonde menace was Victoire Weasley. My niece. The blue headed scoundrel that she's taking off after is Teddy Lupin. I take them to the park once a week."
"Mary Suzanne James." She shook Hermine hand. "It seems to me that you've got a right little circus going on."
Hermione laughed. "Sometimes it feels that way, but they're great kids and they need to be socialized while they're young. It's good for them."
Mary Suzanne nodded. "I was an only child as well and my parents always shoved me in one play group or another until I hit primary as well." The trio sat down on a nearby bench. "So, you went to the Scottish boarding school as well? What was Neville like when he was younger?"
"He was always looking for Trevor. That toad couldn't stay found for longer than a minute. You were just as likely to never be able to find Neville as well because he was pacing the castle looking for the slippery thing."
"Neville told me how you two met! Apparently that toad was good for friendships if nothing else." They all laughed. "So, Neville won't tell me hardly any fun boarding school tales. I bet you've got the juicy ones. What sort of mischief did he get himself into?"
Hermione burst out laughing. "You're asking about to wrong kid. Neville was a good kid in school. Kept his head down and tried not to blow up the Chemistry classroom. So, unless a story about an explosion almost every practical lesson there isn't much to say. Now Harry and Ron on the other hand. Constantly in trouble."
Neville snorted. "Talking as if you weren't involved in every one of those stories right next to them. I can't count the number of house points you lot lost for Gryffindor! It's a wonder we ever won the cup at all!"
Mary Suzanne watched as the two of them fell into what seemed to be a familiar banter that only comes from knowing each other since childhood. She didn't understand half of what they were talking about and the speed at which names flew past her left her dizzy, but it was easy to see that they were close, and Hermione seemed at ease around her. "Oh goodness! Look at us nattering on and completely ignoring you! I'm so sorry. We don't get the chance to reminisce much about school. It's nice."
"It's fine Hermione, I enjoy just sitting here listening to the two of you." At that there was a shriek and Victoire ran over to the adults.
"Teddy fell off the monkey bars and he's clutching his arm!" The girl wrapped her arms around her middle. "I'm scared."
The three adults were up and ran over quick as a flash. They found a little boy with shockingly white hair lying on the ground with his right arm clutched to his chest. Hermione quickly kneeled down and started shushing him and checking him over. Neville steered both Victoire and Mary Suzanne away from the accident.
"This is going to sound crazy but wasn't his hair blue earlier? I noticed it was an odd color and I'm almost certain it was blue, but it was white just now… How odd."
The sound of balloons popping almost covered up Neville's awkward laugh, "You must be mistaken."
Hermione walked over carrying Teddy, who's hair was still white, in her arms. "Sorry to cut the visit short but I need to take him to Mungo's. He broke his arm." Neville nodded and Victoire followed behind Hermione away from the playground. Mary Suzanne looked up and spotted two people in strange robes waving sticks at the other families in the park that had seen Teddy fall off the monkey bars. One of them walked up to them and pointed the stick in her face.
"Hey!" Mary Suzanne jumped back. "The bloody hell do you think you're doing? You're gonna stab my eye out with that."
"Ma'am this is routine, please just stand still for a moment. Longbottom I would appreciate it if you would control your muggle girlfriend thank you."
Neville sighed and grabbed Mary Suzanne's arm. "Honestly Goldstien, do you have to? I was planning on telling her soon. This is the perfect situation."
"You know the rules. Spouses only. I don't make them. I just enforce them." The next thing Mary Suzanne knew she was sitting on the bench and Neville was talking.
"I am so sorry that your meeting with Hermione was ruined. That's just what happens when you're with kids. Accidents and drama all the time."
Mary Suzanne shook her head, feeling slightly dazed. "Yes, poor Teddy. You know, I broke my ankle once when I was young. I tripped in the garden. I hope the poor child feels better soon."
Neville sighed and took her by the arm. They walked in silence back to her flat. Neville kissed her goodbye and Mary Suzanne puttered around her flat cleaning and thinking about the poor little boy.
Mary Suzanne and Neville had been dating for over a year when Neville got down on one knee in the middle of her flat after they had polished off take out. She couldn't shout yes fast enough. She kissed him with all the love in her heart and was grinning ear to ear. He then sat her down on the couch and made her think she had engaged herself to a madman.
"Mary Suzanne, I have something I need to tell you and I need you to promise me that you won't interrupt me until I'm done." She slowly nodded her head yes. "I'm a wizard." He held up a hand. "You promised Mary Sue." After taking a deep breath he continued. "Everyone in my family can do magic for as far back as we can track. You know how my family has money? Well being a Longbottom comes with a title as well. I'm a Lord of a Noble and Most Ancient House." He took a stick out of his trouser pocket and waved it at the takeout box, it turned into a frog and then back. Mary Suzanne sat with her mouth open and shock plain across her face. Neville looked down at his hands. "You can speak now."
"WHAT THE FUCK!" She jumped to her feet and began pacing the floor. "You're an actual Honest to God wizard! Pointy hat and everything!" She turned around. "OH MY GOD HERMIONE IS A WIZARD! SHE TAKES CARE OF CHILDREN! I HAVE TO WARN THEIR PARENTS!"
Neville stood and tried to put a comforting hand on her shoulder. She flinched away from him. The look on his face almost made her comfort him but she was too confused right now. "I know this is a lot to take in, and if I hadn't been breaking dozens of laws I would have told you sooner." Neville sighed. "My laws are very clear on who we are allowed to tell. You had to agree to be my wife."
"Your laws?"
Neville nodded. "Wizards have laws, some are similar to the Muggle ones but most center around keeping magic a secret from Muggles. That's what we call people who can't do magic."
Mary Suzanne sat quietly for a moment. "What if I give you the ring back?"
Neville looked like he had been slapped. "I'd have to alert the authorities. They'd wipe your memory of ever being told about magic. Then they'd twist them to make you think we broke up."
"That's awful! I'd never allow someone to do that to me!"
"It's already been done." Neville physically shied away from the look of betrayal on her face. "The day we went to meet up with Hermione for the first time."
Mary Suzanne spoke haltingly. "Teddy fell off the monkey bars are sprained his arm. Didn't he?"
"Teddy is magic as well. He can change his hair color at will. When he gets hurt really bad it goes white. A squad came to fix the memories of every Muggle who saw it happen."
Mary Suzanne blinked. "Neville. Teddy hair didn't change colors."
"That's what the Obliviators made you think." Neville looked ashamed. "Please don't hate me. I love you."
She shook her head. "I'm sorry, this is a lot. I need a few days to think it over."
Neville nodded, but turned around once he got to the front door. "You can't tell anyone about this. Not even Elizabeth. They'll find out. They always do. Her memory will be wiped and maybe yours as well. Things could get bad." He placed his hand on the doorknob. "I'll be waiting to hear from you."
Mary Suzanne had been sitting in her flat for the last 20 hours since Neville left, staring at the wall and thinking. Her entire world had just been tossed on it's side and she didn't know what to think. On one hand: Neville lied to her for their entire relationship! On the other: magic was real! It was confusing and dragging her mind to either extreme in a way that she was not used to.
She jumped when there was a quiet knock on her door. Mary Suzanne carefully stood from the couch and crept to the door, peering out the peephole. Brown bushy hair was filling the view. She carefully unlatched the door and cracked it open. "What do you want?"
"Mary Suzanne! I know this is crazy for you but-"
"What do you know? You've always been magic."
Hermione sighed. "If you'd let me in we could have this conversation where we are less likely to be overheard. I promise I can answer all your questions." With a feeling of trepidation, Mary Suzanne let the other woman inside. "Now to our first point. I did not always know I was a witch. Unlike Neville, both of my parents are Muggles like you. They are dentists who were very confused on why I was able to get to things that I shouldn't and why if I didn't want them to leave the house, the keys were impossible to find." Hermione grinned wryly. "When Professor McGonigal came to my door the summer I turned 11 we were all grateful for an explanation for all the craziness that seemed to happen around me."
Mary Suzanne was confused. "The way Neville was talking I thought you had to have a magical family? All of his are."
"No, not at all. He didn't do a very good job of getting his point across. Well, I was given a speech as my introduction to the magical world, so I feel qualified to help you with yours."
Mary Suzanne grimaced. "I don't know if I want to join the magical world. Can't I just stay in my, what did you call it? My Muggle world."
Hermione gave a sad smile. "If you are willing to lose what you have with Neville then yes. I've seen the two of you together though and you look very much in love. I understand that this can be confusing, but I promise that the magical world is an amazing place that you'll love." With a mischievous grin Hermione whispered. "Now I know that Neville would want to be the one to show you this, but how about I take you to Diagon Alley? It's a wizarding town and I think that if you can see magic being used casually you will change your mind about it."
Mary Suzanne perked up. "That does sound exciting. Maybe we can take Neville with us? I still haven't made my decision about whether or not I want to join this different world, but if I see it I want to see it with Neville."
Hermione grinned knowingly. "I figured you say that." She pulled out her wand. "Now don't freak out, I'm going to cast a Patronus to see if Neville would like to join us. It's a little like texting, but it required a lot of concentration." Hermione waved her wand and said an incantation that Mary Suzanne didn't quite catch because she was too busy watching this little blue otter shoot from the tip of the wand. Hermione murmured a message to it and it nodded before it swam out the window. Moments later a blue bear came lumbering through the wall and it took all of Mary Suzanne's willpower not to scream.
Out of the bear's mouth came Neville's voice. "Give me a minute to get ready Mione and I'll pop over. Tell Mary Sue I love her." Mary Suzanne's heart swelled, and she barely had time to turn to Hermione to ask her to reply when there was the sound of a car backfiring and Neville was in her living room.
"I'm sorry Neville." Mary Suzanne cried as she ran to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. She leaned back. "Now let's go see this magic world of yours."
Neville wrapped his arms securely around her and made a face. "This isn't going to feel pleasant but I'm going to ask you to hold to me as tightly as possible."
Mary Suzanne looked confused but pressed herself to him tightly and closed her eyes. Then she was murdered. Her body felt like it had been crushed to death and pulled apart. When she stopped moving she pulled back and proceeded to vomit on the ground. "What. The. Hell. Was. That?"
Hermione piped up from next to them. "That is called Apparition. It's basically teleportation. It can be confusing and nauseating at first, but you get used to it."
"Ugh, I don't ever want to have to. You get places quickly, but at what cost?" Neville chuckled quietly beside her and she placed her hand in his. "Alright, so where's this magic village?" She looked around. "Why are we in some dirty back alley?"
Neville puffed up and brandished his wand. "If you would step right this way you can watch me open the secret entrance to Diagon." He tapped the bricks in what seemed to be a random order, but when he finished the bricks tapped, tilted, and slid until they formed an archway. Mary Suzanne's mouth dropped open as she was pulled through. The small arch had opened up to what could only be explained as magical city. There were wizards running around in robes and actual pointy hats and owls flying about overhead. It was as beautiful as it was overwhelming.
Hermione began pointing out different buildings in full teacher mode. "Wizards don't use notebook paper, they use parchment and quills and that's where they buy them. Over there you'll see the menagerie where you can find domesticated magical species and the tools to care for them." They stopped in front of a large marble building. "This is Gringotts Bank. It's where all of our money is stored." Neville tugged her along. "We won't stop in there just yet. The Goblins don't like people just stopping by without a purpose."
"This is amazing. I love everything!"
Neville laughed. "Well you're going to love this next place ever more. It's run by the older brothers of a friend. They can be a bit crazy but if we only stop in one store you'll want it to be Weasley's Wizard Wheezes."
Hermione shot Neville a look. "Are you sure?"
Mary Suzanne tugged on her ear. "What type of store is it?"
Neville waved the hand that wasn't holding hers dismissively. "It's a joke shop."
She brightened. "Oh, I love joke shops! My parents used to take me to one every year for my birthday. Let me get whatever I wanted."
"This is a wizarding joke shop. They're a little more intense than Muggle ones."
They had stopped in front of the loudest store Mary Suzanne had ever seen or heard. It was a gaudy orange and purple with fireworks and a large red headed statue that tipped his hat at every passerby. She was practically vibrating with glee as she whispered, "I want to go in."
Neville chuckled. "I figured you would." They stepped through the doors and it was even more hectic on the inside, if that was even possible. Things were flying around, children were yelling, and each floor seemed to be more stuffed than the last. "I think you'd like to check out the Pigmy Puffs. They're pets. Very cute ones at that." Neville dragged her over to a quieter section of the store that had cages lining the walls. Inside were what could only be described as living cotton candy. Mary Suzanne cooed as she picked one up. "Oh, hello there little one. Aren't you just the cutest?" She pet it for a few minutes, falling more and more in love, before she set it down with a sigh. "We should go look at something else before I try and buy one." Hermione lead Mary Suzanne over to a section called "Wonder Witch" and showed her the different hair tonics and love potions they had for sale.
Mary Suzanne looked up suddenly. She wasn't sure why, but something had drawn her attention away from the rainbow dye prank shampoos. Her eyes were drawn to a vaguely familiar head of black hair when Hermione suddenly shouts, "Harry!" and the head turned around.
Mary Suzanne's mouth falls open. "Harry Potter?"
Hermione turns to look at her. "What did you just say?"
"That can't be Harry Potter can it? There's no way. I can't know that many magical people!"
By this point Harry had joined the pair. "Hey Mione!" He turned to Mary Suzanne. "I'm sorry, have we met? You look familiar."
She burst out laughing. "It's no wonder you don't recognize me! I've cut all my hair off! I can't believe the scrawny little kid from primary is a wizard!"
Harry went slack jawed. "Mary Suzanne James? But you're a Muggle! What are you doing here?"
Neville chose this moment to walk up, small cage in his hand. "Oh Mary Sue, I see you've met the wizarding world's most exalted savoir."
She whipped her head around. "Wait, you're famous?"
Hermione chuckled quietly. "Oh, very much so. They call him The Boy Who Lived. Never mind that he's 23 and not a boy any longer. You might call him something of a Wizard Jesus."
"I FED WIZARD JESUS IN PRIMARY SCHOOL?!"
Multiple heads turned to look at the small group. Harry ducked his head and grabbed a random arm. It happened to be Mary Suzanne's. "Grimmauld." He said as he began tugging her to the entrance of the store. The group left the crazy building and almost as soon as they reached the end of the bustling village, Harry turned and Mary Suzanne was whisked away from the dingey back alley and to the front steps of an equally dingey townhome. Harry hustled inside, and she followed her old friend into the decrepit house.
Inside was a complete surprise. The walls were a bright cream and the floors a shiny wood. The place looked as different as something could from what you expect. There was a car backfiring outside and then Hermione and Neville walked inside as well. "So. Can I have some sort of explanation for what just happened?" She demanded, still feeling green about the gills from teleportation.
"I'm not quite sure actually." Neville said as he walked further in and took a seat on a comfy looking red couch.
Harry spoke up. "I obviously wasn't tutored like you Nev. Most Muggle raised aren't unless you are very well off. I went to a Muggle school for my pre-Hogwarts education. Mary Suzanne here was friendly with me. It's about as odd as taking a stroll through Hogwarts and running into your gran." Harry shrugged. "Theoretically possible but you never expect it to happen."
"I'm still a little hung up on the fact that the kid who used to get the stuffing beat out of him on the daily is some kind of wizard savior? When could he have done that? You weren't alive during the last war in England."
The magicals in the room exchanged a look before sitting Mary Suzanne down and telling her a story. "So, you remember how I told you each year in Hogwarts was an adventure all on its own? Well in my first year…"
After what seemed like hours of talking, Mary Suzanne had grown pale. "Is it safe now?" She whispered quietly, tugging on her ear.
Neville hugged her tightly. "Of course it is! I love you too much to risk bringing you into that kind of situation! Voldemort is honestly and truly gone." Neville leaned back slightly. "I take this to mean that you still want to marry me?"
"Of course! I love you and while this is a lot to take in I will indeed marry you."