DISCLAIMER: The framework of the world and many of the characters belong to JKR. No $$$ being made.

A/N: I apologize in advance if this chapter isn't entirely what you are used to, but it is leading somewhere…

Sorry if it's shorter than usual…

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

TUESDAY, JULY 25, 2006 - 12 GRIMMAULD PLACE, LONDON, U.K.

Tuesday had been a very different day than the day before. Both Teddy and Daphne had been upset that their new wands were locked away for the time being, but there was not time enough to teach them properly so the adults had put their feet down. Fortunately, there were no temper tantrums, but the two were a bit surly the next morning.

The new family spent Tuesday seeing the real London. They had gone to the Millennium Wheel to begin with a birds eyes view of the heart of the venerable capital. Just as their car was reaching the highest part of their ride, Harry told the children that this was where he formally proposed to Hermione just a few days ago, earning a sigh from the girls, a kiss from Hermione and retching sounds from both of the boys.

While they went to many placed that day, the three that the kids seemed to like the most were the Wheel, the Tower of London and Windsor Castle, which they saw in the afternoon. Of course, none of this was new to Teddy, but he liked playing the knowledgeable big brother role. The Granger Children were pleased that at least the Castle part of their Dad (or soon to be big Brother-in-Law's) story of what his country was like was real. When they were told they were going to see another castle the next day - a magical one, the children were thrilled. Then Harry threw in the kicker: dragons. They were going to see real, live dragons!

They were going to travel by floo powder to the Black Lake Resort outside of Hogsmeade. Harry told them this night that this was a special treat for Rose Granger. Rose had been "in" the magical world for eighteen years now and had never seen the school or village her daughter had attended or written about. Hermione, of course, had left before a lot of the changes occurred in the area. There was no resort and there certainly was no zoo.

Teddy had seen the zoo before and Hogsmeade, but he had never actually been in Hogwarts Castle. He declared the zoo totally brilliant and said that the dragons were the coolest thing there was. Hogsmeade was okay, in his opinion and the castle was amazing, but he had never been inside and they were going to get to do that.

Teddy, of course, was a veteran of Floo travel. Hermione had done it in the past as had Rose on a handful of occasions. The rest of the Grangers had never done it before. There was no floo connection where they lived and no real floo network to speak of. Floo networks, not unlike subways, were mostly in the eastern United States although San Francisco and Santa Fe were said to have small ones. Because the Granger children had never flooed before, each was with an adult along with their overnight bags. Rose had Daphne, Hermione had Little Harry and Harry had Luna. Teddy, of course, was allowed to Floo on his own.

Teddy went first. Grabbing a pinch of floo powder, which looked a lot like ash, he said "BLACK LAKE RESORT" dropped the powder into the magical fireplace and disappeared in a flash of green flames. One by one, the three adults and three children followed.

They stepped out into a huge and opulent lobby. It was almost overwhelming with the wood paneling, the inlaid stone floor, the rich furnishing and what surprised Hermione the most, abstract art. While not unknown overseas, she had never seen it in a magical place in Britain. They were always too literal in their taste for art. Yet here, she could be at any top hotel in the world. She watched as Harry put Luna down and then walked up to the front desk.

"Yes sir?" the House Elf at the front desk said as Harry stepped up. "How may I be of service this fine evening? And I do hope you have a reservation, Sir. Height of the season and we are booked solid."

"Potter," Harry replied.

"Ah yes. Four bedroom balcony suite with views of the Lake, Castle and town, very good Sir. Two night?"

Harry nodded.

"How many keys will you require, Sir?"

"Um - four should do."

"Will your party require assistance with their bags?"

"No, thank you."

"I see you've also reserved a ten person Cart for the morning?"

Harry nodded.

"Going up to the Castle or the Zoo I take it?"

Harry nodded.

"Interested in any of our package deals?"

"Deals?"

"Yes sir! You can play with the Giant Squid - he's quite friendly. Dive on the Merepeople Village for a spot of shopping that cannot be done above water. There's sailing on the lake. Acromantula hunting in the Forbidden Forest…"

"Acromantula hunting?"

"All the rage for the avid sportsman, Sir. A Centaur guide leads you to your prey and you kill it and keep the goodies Sir! No limit. Kill as many as you want! They are a right nuisance, Sir. But, the guides won't protect you. Those bloody giant spiders are right nasty. Still, loads of fun I am told - 'less you die of course, Sir."

"Erm, no thanks."

"You keep what you can harvest from your kills, Sir."

"No thanks."

"Right you are, Sir. Should I get a reservation in the dining room for your party, or would room service be acceptable?"

"I think room service will do,"

"Yes Sir! Hear are your keys. Room 1217. Elevators to the left."

"Thank you," Harry said.

"Thank you, Sir!"

WENDESDAY, JULY 26, 2006 - EMAMNDER PITCH, HOLYHEAD, WALES, U.K. - HOME PITCH OF THE HOLYHEAD HARPIES

Ginny Weasley found herself in her Coach's office at 7:00 in the morning on her day off. She had received a letter from the front office demanding her presence. For now, she was alone cooling her heels as it were and she as annoyed as she had planned to use this day to either find Harry or find someone to help her get Harry back. The door opened and three older women entered. Ginny recognized all of them. One was the Head Coach of the Harpies: Ingrid Stenson. The next was her former Captain who had retired to the front office and was now Director of Team Operation: Gwenog Jones. The last one was a disturbing surprise. She was one of the Team owners: Anges Rowle.

She had heard about meetings like this before and knew it was not a good sign for her. This was some sort of disciplinary meeting at best or termination of her contract at worst and she knew it. She could not for the life of her figure out why she was here. While she knew her play was off, she still was the best and most productive Chaser on the English National Team, where she was temporarily assigned for the World Cup and that the team was still in the hunt.

"Good morning Ginny," her Coach said in a calm voice.

"Morning Coach," she replied.

"I bet you're wondering why we are all gathered here today?"

Ginny nodded.

"No doubt you are aware that your performance in World Cup competition has slumped noticeably?"

"I'm just in a slump is all."

"Indeed," Gwenog said in a disbelieving tone.

"We have received several letters from Brian Johnson very recently regarding you, Ginny," her coach continued.

Johnson was the Coach of the English National Team.

"He is understandably concerned," Coach Stenson continued. "His letters state that while he has always had reservations regarding our players, at least in the beginning he was willing to overlook your social life because your performance was top notch. But with your steady decline, he believes some sort of remedial action is necessary. If this was the Tornadoes, you would have at least been demoted to Reserve by now, but player changes on the National Team require approval from their own club."

"You're going to demote me?" Ginny gasped in shock.

"We are going to determine if a less drastic alternative is available," Gwenog said. "Coach Johnson feels you are not taking advantage of your day off like you used to and are supposed to."

"How - how so?"

"The day off is to allow you to rest and recover, Ginny. I know you know that. We expect you to relax, not go gallivanting all over the country like someone on a quest and getting into two or three arguments a day. Until a few weeks ago, you arrived at practice on Thursdays rested, relaxed and eager to play. In recent weeks, you've been exhausted, moody, and somewhat insubordinate in attitude and you play both at practice and on the pitch has declined noticeably. Even the press has picked that up. Mind telling us what you've been up to?"

Ginny shook her head. It really was none of their business.

"You do realize the Harpies are a unique team in the League, don't you?"

Ginny nodded. Of course they were unique. They had never in their history had a male player!

"Do you know why?"

Ginny did not react to this question as she felt it was rhetorical.

"We are unique because we are the only team without a 'Morals' clause in our Player Contracts. There is a reason for this. Since its inception, this Team has hired female player no other team would touch. Not all of our hires fall into that category. At first, you did not. But over half of our players by virtue of their sexual preferences and partners violate the standard Morals clause almost every night. They cannot play for any other team in the League.

"Now, while you are definitely not a lesbian, your own promiscuous behavior over the last several years would violate the standard Morals Clause. Do you know what that means?"

Ginny shook her head.

"Despite your potential Hall of Fame career to date, your off the pitch activities ensures that no other team will hire you if you're let go by us - ever!"

Ginny paled.

"While we do not police the bedrooms where you spend your nights, you like all of our players are watched, Ginny."

Ginny's mouth dropped.

"We are acutely aware of the potential scandals our players social lives might generate and do our best to keep the press at bay. The only way to do that is to know all about your private life so we can conduct damage control when needed. Thus, we know of every man and woman you've had relations with since the day you first put on your uniform. And we also know you have not been resting as required on your days off in recent weeks.

"Are you going to tell us why you have not been getting your rest?"

Ginny shook her head.

"Very well then," Gwenog continued. "If you wish to continue playing professional Quidditch as a career, here are your conditions. You will spend every Wednesday from now until the end of the season relaxing. That means either in your flat or at a Spa. No traveling, no visiting your estranged family. No phone calls, floo calls, or parties. You will rest and sleep. That's it. Your social activities are restricted to two nights a week and Tuesday, Wednesday and the night before any game may not be one of them."

"But…" Ginny began.

"No buts. This is not negotiable. It is a minor inconvenience at worst, Ginny. Far less severe than being demoted or dropped from the National Squad. But lest you misunderstand us, violate these terms and we will consider our personnel roster options."

Ginny knew this meant violate the terms and her Quidditch career would be over. She had a choice now. Lose Harry forever or lose her career forever. She wanted both. She now knew she could not have both. She knew without Quidditch she was nothing. She had always known she would never give up Quidditch, but to lose Harry? She had mapped out her entire professional life and Quidditch was her key, but she had to play for at least ten years for Hall of Fame consideration and she needed that ticket to move into any other related field. By going pro, she had practically given up on any real career outside of the sport. Her best employment options now would be as a shop girl, a job that required little magical skill. She could still go after Harry, she thought. She just had to wait until November when the season ended. Still, this was so unfair! But there was no choice really as she could not afford not to play.

"Do you accept these terms?" Gwenog asked.

Reluctantly, Ginny nodded.

"Good. Now go home and spend the day resting."

Ginny knew she would probably spend the day crying, but had no real choice. She stood and left to fulfill the terms of her agreement and returned to her flat.

WENDESDAY, JULY 26, 2006 - THE BLACK LAKE RESORT, HOGSMEADE, SCOTLAND, U.K.

One of the first thing Hermione noticed upon entering their suite of rooms at the Resort was that it had electricity and non-magical technology just like Grimmauld Place. Had she been paying attention in the Lobby, she might have noticed, but what finally tipped her off were light switches and a large television. Hogsmeade Valley had been magical since the time of the founding of Hogwarts, she knew, and since that time few "Muggle" had ever entered the Valley. The only non-magical means of transport into the valley was on foot or horseback and one had to hike or ride for miles from the nearest "Muggle" town just to reach the valley proper. Even then, there were wards in place that deterred all but the most determined. Because it was all magical, there had never been electricity in the valley before, and now there was? Naturally, she asked Harry about this monumental change from the last time she was here a little over seven years ago.

To Hermione's surprise, the whole story began with Harry's Foundation and the opening of the Severus School. The School opened in the fall of 1999 with "Muggle-born" students ranging from the age of six to nine. Most were younger brothers and sisters of witches and wizards, but there were a few first time families in each of the four years. The Foundation's plans even then called for the use of Hogwarts as the Secondary School for these students as it was the only one that then had adequate space available for what was, in fact, another school. Harry had planned all along for an "orientation" for new families and students prior to the school year, which for his Severus Students would be the summer of 2001. Transportation for the "Muggle" family members was the main problem. While they could technically Floo to Hogsmeade, Harry doubted many would want to and was certain the Ministry would not allow it at the time. Apparition and Portkeys were also out of the question as the former would require perhaps as many as 100 side-along trips and the later was regulated by the Ministry. Early on, Harry had contacted his friends in the Department of Magical Transportation about the possible use of the Hogwarts Express for the orientation and was told the Ministry, which controlled the Express, was not about to release it for that purpose. Just as he had in starting his school, Harry decided to work around the Ministry and its still institutional biases rather than through it.

In the summer of 2000, the Foundation purchased a modern, Muggle passenger train from the same company that supplied passenger rolling stock to National Rail. The train was "stock" and ran on electricity from overhead power lines. It was delivered to a site the Foundation purchased and Weasley Industries was contracted to consider various magical modifications. The contract specified that the train had to be able to run "the Muggle way," but should also have the ability to run magically and should, in all other respects, have the enchantments that the Hogwarts Express had. Needless to say, George Weasley and his rapidly grown staff of employees jumped at the thought of creating such a hybrid.

Harry had thought it ludicrous that all students had to go to London just to get to Hogwarts and knew that if his system spread beyond London, parents would complain. After all, why should a family from Edinburgh, which was on the route the Hogwarts Express ran, have to travel all the way to London just to send their kid a couple of hundred miles at most? While Weasley Industries revamped their new toy, the Foundation built ten "Platform 9 ¾" like stations between London and Hogsmeade along the same line used by the Hogwarts Express.

At about the same time as he bought the train, Harry realized he had to do something about lodging. Between the Hogs Head and Three Broomsticks, the closest things to a hotel in Hogsmeade, there were maybe fifty rooms and none of them were suitable for Muggles. Between his American wizard friends as well as several Muggle-born ex-pats who returned following the War, he began to see real potential in the valley. To his surprise, most of the valley was owned by the Potter Estate. While it was not costing him a knut to hold the land, it was also not making a knut and Harry was beginning to hate profitless properties. He saw the potential of a resort hotel - at least in the summer months. He knew it would cost a bloody fortune, especially as it was to cater to Muggles with magical children, and they would expect all the amenities, but he saw long term potential and, oddly enough, so did his Goblin financial advisors at Gringotts bank. Short term, he was going to lose a fortune on this. But the long term upside was interesting.

Thus, he built the hotel and a power plant to provided electricity. It was located in a cave out of sight. The generator was driven by a steam turbine. The "boiler" was fired by magic so there would be no impact to the local environment from the operation - as the valley was the potential draw. The hotel opened the day before the first Orientation in 2001. The London to Hogsmeade train arrived on time at Hogsmeade terminal with thirty-four families aboard. They were the first guest of the huge resort. What surprised Harry was that more than a handful saw the same potential in the valley as he did - at least for the magical world and those like them who lived on its edges as it were.

The open weekend policy for Severus Students in the fall of 2001 brought visitors back and when the first snows fell in November of that year, more ideas were hatched. In the summer of 2002, the first non-magical family moved to Hogsmeade. While Harry saw potential for summer recreation with the lake and the valley, this family saw winter potential, particularly since there was now electricity. Since that Summer, Hogsmeade Valley transformed from a sleepy village into the vacation destination of Magical Britain. That first Muggle family had money and built a ski resort in the mountains nearby, with the Black Lake Hotel as the lodgings. While old magical families could care less, the newer ones flocked in as soon as it opened in November 2002 as it turned out to be the best skiing in all of Britain.

New shops sprang up in Hogsmeade as the number of visitors escalated. The Foundation set architecture rules so as not to change the appearance of the village and a non-competition ordinance was enacted to protect the existing businesses. Still, the long term residents complained for a while. But when they began to see the money they were really making from the influx of visitors, the complaints stopped. Hagrid's zoo, the first and only of its kind in the world had begun drawing an international crowd. Since 2002, the permanent population of Hogsmeade and more than tripled and High Street in Hogsmeade was second only to Diagon Alley for shopping in Magical Britain. With the exception of a Wandmaker, a student for Hogwarts could purchase all of their supplies here. Oddly, the fact that many did had made no noticeable dent in Diagon Alley's business.

The original train line was now running daily from Hogsmeade to London with a northbound train from London to Hogsmeade. The original line ran through Aberdeen, Edinburgh, York, Oxford and six other stops to London. It was now called the "East Line." A year or so ago, the "West Line" began service. Again, that train ran daily from London to Hogsmeade Station, but it traveled through Glasgow, Liverpool, Birmingham, Manchester and other stops.

With the influx of Muggles and magical tourists, transport within the valley became a problem rapidly. There still were no roads into the valley for cars. Enter again, Weasley Industries who acquired and adapted several London buses for public transit. The buses ran on ambient magic and as the valley was one of the most magical in Europe, there was more than an abundance of energy to power the fleet. Every major point in the valley, including Hogwarts itself was now on the bus routes.

Tradition was not ignored or abandoned. The thestral carriages still brought upper years to Hogwarts on September first. The First Years still traveled by boat to the School and the Hogwarts Express still ran. But for the students, Hogsmeade was a much more interesting and entertaining town. It had a cinema and everything! And none of them complained when it was deemed necessary to more than double the seating capacity of the Hogwarts Quidditch stands.

The resort was now near full all year round and there was demand for more rooms. There were two golf courses in the valley now that had become quite popular along with all the other tourist draws. Plans were already moving forward to build another hotel to accommodate demand. Hogsmeade was now fully electrified and this extended to Hogwarts Castle, at least with regard to the dormitories for the Severus students and the Non-Magical Studies classrooms.

Harry had literally sunk tens of millions of Galleons into this venture and never expected a return on his investment. It was all for what he considered his students and their families. He was stunned at what happened. He got the ball rolling before he left for two years in Atlanta and when he came back, finally, his account managers were excited even for Goblins. As he had a small piece in every new business by virtue of being the "landlord" and a major piece in the hotel, his money pit was proving to be a cash cow. No, he had not yet made up his full investment. But he would real soon. The Goblins were predicting that the valley would soon become his major source of profit as it was already his major source of income and that was saying a lot. And, of course, profit for Harry was profit for the Goblins and that was a good thing as well as he could continue his "get around the Ministry" tactics when needed without any complaints from Gringotts.

Hermione openly wondered how the wizarding world could accept such radical changes to a place that had not changed at all in hundreds of years. Her memory of British magicals was of a culture locked in the past and fearful if not terrified of any change, for better or worse. Harry simply observed that it is amazing what people will accept in a booming economy and Hogsmeade was just such an economy. Having a business in Hogsmeade these days practically allowed you to mint your own Galleons.

_____________________________________________________________

The new family ate breakfast in their suite just as they had dinner. This was the peak of the summer season in Hogsmeade and while many of the guests probably had no idea who Hermione was, there were probably a few who did. Harry knew that this new Hogsmeade was far more popular with the non-magicals and first generation magicals then the Purebloods. Still, he wanted this to be as quiet as possible. This was a time he wanted with his new family and did not want to be mobbed with fans or well wishers. He certainly did not want that attention heaped upon Daphne or his children. Teddy hated it even if he was used to it and had suffered through it for as long as he could remember. The others? Harry knew they would have to deal with it too, but wanted to ease them into the life as far as he could.

The one thing about the valley Harry had not gotten around to telling Hermione about the night before were the Karts. As much as Harry would have loved to be able to drive his Aston Martin about the valley, he happened to agree with the "Old Timers" that bringing the internal combustion engine into the valley was not a good idea. Still, there were now a number of non-magical residents in the valley, not to mention first generation magicals. Add the tourists and there was a need for personal transportation that non-magicals could use. The bus line was fine, but it did not go everywhere.

Enter again Weasley Industries. In 2004, they introduced to the valley the Kart. George had gotten the idea from the golf carts that had been purchased for the first of the new golf courses. The Kart was another magical - non-magical hybrid. It was the "car" for the valley. It had a battery powered engine augmented by a Magical Induction Drive system. With a top speed of 40 kph, it was not exactly fast. Then again, there were few places where one could drive that fast. Most residents owned one now and several were for rent for visitors. Brightly colored, it came in three models that sat either up to six, nine or twelve. It could run for up to twelve hours without stopping in dry conditions and eight in snow as it had a snow feature that allowed it to skim or hover, thus sparing the local authorities the need to plow the gravel roads in the Valley. Harry had rented a three bench, nine passenger Kart for their visit.

The family piled into his Kart and headed off on a drive through the valley. The Kart was amazingly quiet. Harry deliberately drove to the far end of High Street Hogsmeade en route to his first stop of the day. The town had really grown, Hermione thought as they slowly progressed up the street as throngs of people milled about. There were stores that sold everything from souvenirs, to ski supplied to clothing. There was a large McMillian's and a Piccadilly's outlet along with more shops and restaurants then Hermione thought possible. Harry was not kidding. Aside from a wandmaker, there was more shopping here than in Diagon Alley. As they slowly reached the far end, she started to see the Hogsmeade she remembered. There was the Three Broomsticks, Hogshead Tavern, Madam Puddifoots, Dervish & Bangs, Honeydukes and others. The only thing that had really changed was Zonko's was now Weasley Wizarding Weases. But it was still a joke shop that catered to the students of Hogwarts.

What amazed Hermione was how the new Hogsmeade seemed to blend in with the old. Harry explained that this was on purpose. There was a strict building and architecture code in place that ensured that the village retained it's original character, one Harry fully supported.

"Toys!" Little Harry cried out.

Hermione looked and saw there was indeed a large toy store just past Honeydukes.

"Mom? Please? Please? Please? Please? Can we go there?"

"You behave," Harry began, "and we'll stop in before supper."

"Yay!"

"We have Hogwarts and the Zoo first," Harry concluded. As if on cue, they passed the last of the buildings and Hogwarts Castle came into full view.

Rose Granger had heard of this place for years. Hermione told her all she could about it and what it looked like going so far as to show her pictures. Nothing Rose had seen before matched the reality. It really was the most impressive castle she had ever seen.

"How can I see this?" she gasped. Rose knew that there were protections that were supposed to make her see a ruin or something.

"You're with us, Mum," Hermione said. "A non-magical can see it if she is with a magical."

"It's amazing!"

Hermione nodded. She was surprised that she felt a little weepy. This was where she had fallen in love with her Harry, so of course a few tears were necessary. Harry turned off the main road and was now headed for the gate. The gate was wide open. Years ago it would have been closed.

"Gate's open?" Hermione asked.

"The Castle, and the Grounds are open to the public during the summer Hols," Harry said. "After all, it is famous and the new Zoo and Botanical Gardens are here…"

"Gardens?"

"Neville's doing. He still uses the old greenhouses for classes, but he has built the largest magical botanical gardens in the world. I only wish…"

"What Harry?"

"Well, I wish it wasn't the summer Hols in a way. Neville and Luna are off on Safari. Fair bet they come back with more plants and creatures for this place, but I really hoped they could be at our wedding."

Hermione could only nod in agreement. Years ago, they had been good friends and she did miss them.

"Oh well," Harry said as he turned the Kart off the path and down a hill towards…

"Hagird's hut?" Hermione asked.

"Yep," Harry replied. "He's probably at the Zoo on the other side of the forest. He's there all the time. Love's his beasties he does but…

"Kids?"

"Yes Daddy," Luna piped up.

"You're Mummy tell you about our friend Hagid?"

"Yep!" Little Harry replied. "Is he really ten feet tall?"

"'Bout that. Anyway this is his house."

"It's so small," Daphne said. "I mean if he's that big…"

"He likes it," Harry said. "Now, he's not home. He's at the Zoo and we'll see him later and maybe his brother too."

"Grawp?" Hermione asked.

"What's that?" Rose added.

"Hagrid's half-brother is named Grawp," Harry said.

"What kind of name is that?" Daphne asked.

"A giant's name."

"Giants?"

"Yep! Grawp is a giant. Twice as tall as Hagrid. He works at the zoo too. Fair few giants work there now."

"A fair few?" Hermione asked.

"Beyond the zoo is a village of them. About sixty families all told."

"Sixty? Harry! Are you kidding? You remember them! They're dangerous!"

"To quote Hagrid: they're misunderstood," Harry replied. "Their race had been oppressed for so long…"

"Harry?"

"Wizards made them what they were, Hermione. They were a peaceful if large sized race until we made them into dumb, violent brutes. We took their language, denied them access to knowledge and forced them off their lands. By nature, they are herdsmen. They tend to animals. Sheep and cattle mainly, but they were denied their rights by us and grew to resent us and all humans.

"I had a long talk with Grawp not long after the War, and yes he can talk quite well now. Oddly, he's probably easier to understand than Hagrid these days. I learned a lot about what his people were once like and why they became what they were. If you were denied the right to learn, how would you respond? Over generations, they came to hate us. But Grawp realized that there were some of us who might see things differently. I offered him land and he then went off in search of a wife and came back with a load of giants who just want to live as they once did. Every giant is taught about how we oppressed them, but here they have their pastures and a few like Grawp work at the Zoo with the more dangerous creatures.

"Believe me, while most non-magicals and such accept them easily, it's always amusing watching the Purebloods at the Zoo when they first encounter one of the caretakers," Harry chuckled. "Odd thing though…"

"What?" Hermione asked.

"Seems the children love the giants."

"Really? I would have thought…"

"That blood thirsty nonsense was fiction in many ways," Harry said. "A History of Magic, was the worst lie foisted upon us and Binns the poorest excuse of a professor."

"So he's not here any more?"

"Nope. Banished into the next adventure five years ago."

"And who teaches that course now?"

"Professor Diggle."

"Not …?"

"The same. I am told the students love that course now."

"Pity," Hermione said.

"Why's that?"

"You always caught up on your sleep in History."

Harry could not help but laugh at that for it was most certainly true. Five minutes into the next lecture on Goblin Wars and he had always found himself asleep.

They were now driving up a hill on the far side of the Castle. As they crested a ridge, a huge, gleaming glass building Hermione had never seen before was before them and it seemed several people were either entering or leaving.

"What is that?" Hermione asked.

"Neville's Botanical Garden," Harry replied. "I think he copped the design of the old Crystal Palace in London. Houses over 3,000 different varieties of magical plans, 500 he discovered on his expeditions with Luna."

"My word!"

"Ah," Harry then said, "here we are."

Their vehicle pulled into what could only be described as a Kart park and Hermione saw it was not far from the main entrance to the Castle proper.

"This place is so amazing," Rose said. "Can we go inside?"

"That was my plan," Harry replied. "What do you think, Love?" he asked Hermione.

"I…"

"I was thinking we can show them our tower, the library, some of the classrooms, the Great Hall, Trophy Room… And I have to show them the Hospital Wing."

"Why?" Hermione asked.

"Aside from the fact that there's now a plaque above the bed I spent all that time in?"

"You're kidding!"

"And I do believe Madam Pomphrey is around."

"Oh," Hermione replied. She did want to see the Healer in a way, given her condition.

"This is after all where we became…"

"Sounds wonderful."

"Oh, and by the way, the Headmistress is expecting us."

"She is?"

"Her office first," Harry replied.

"Is it still?"

"Professor McGonagall, yes."

"Oh my!"