"Merlin's beard! There's a book trying to eat my books!" shouted Hermione from the early the next morning.

"Damn, I forgot about The Wee Beastie!" said Tom, launching out of bed and throwing on some clothes. Meredith groaned a bit, then pulled the covers up and over her head.

The Wee Beastie, otherwise known as The Monster Book of Monsters, had taken to prowling around the house in search of books about magic. So far as they could gather, it liked to gorge on them and then bask in the sun doing nothing. This would have been fine if not for the fact that it always seemed sickly afterwards. As such, books about magic were a sometimes treat.

When Tom got to their room, Rosalina was up on her bed, staring at Hermione as she tried to pull her books free from The Wee Beastie, which was looking less and less book-like the more it fought her.

While it had been book-shaped when they first got it, the more it ate the less bookish it became. At times, it looked like some manner of horned salamander, while other times it reminded them of a spider. They'd certainly had less pest problems.

"No! Bad Beastie, let go, that's a very bad Beastie!" said Tom, moving over to grab the Wee Beastie, which was looking salamanderish at the moment.

It let go almost as soon as he had his hands on it, returning to book-shape, and he got a sense of smugness and guilt as he held it in his arms.

"How is it?" asked Tom, holding the Wee Beastie tight.

"It's a bit chewed on, but it didn't do any damage," said Hermione, looking over the book that the Wee Beastie had decided to snack upon.

"What is it?" asked Rosalina, sitting cross-legged on her bed and staring at the Wee Beastie.

"It's a book about monsters. We try to keep it on a healthy diet of philosophy books but it likes to be naughty and get into magic books whenever it thinks it can get away with it, don't you?" said Tom, glaring down at the book, which now felt very sorry indeed.

"It eats them? How does it eat them? Where do they go?" asked Rosalina, leaning out over the edge of her bed and staring at the Wee Beastie.

"Can you still read it?" asked Hermione, who seemed less on edge now that she had a chance to look at something new.

"We can read some of it. We're not quite sure where the books go, although we think that it incorporates some of them into itself. It certainly has bits that weren't there when we first bought it, but they're a little harder to read. We were thinking of feeding it a grammar book or two at some point to see if that helps clear things up." said Tom.

"Can I … um … can I hold it?" asked Hermione, setting her book behind her on her bed.

"If you're careful. Despite appearances, the Wee Beastie is very delicate. Beastie, be nice," said Tom as he handed the Wee Beastie over to Hermione, who held it like she might hold a cat.

The Wee Beastie seemed to scuttle about in her arms for a moment, then relaxed and returned more fully to book form, allowing her to open and read it. Rosalina was over in Hermione's bed in a flash as they both took a look at the Wee Beastie.

Just then, there was a sudden knock at the door.

"Now who could that be," said Tom, and he sauntered over to the front door, only to find that there was no one there.

"Huh." Tom looked up and down the street, then closed the door once again.

"Maybe Rachel forgot the girls were back?" said Meredith, scratching at her hair. She had emerged from their bedroom at least, wearing her pjs and a robe.

"Probably," said Tom, and he retreated to the kitchen to start making breakfast.

The girls came out a little time later, the Wee Beastie in hand. It wasn't purring exactly, but it seemed to be trying at it very hard.

Breakfast was interesting enough, when the time came. The girls were overjoyed to talk about their time at school, and they each seemed to have far different experience than the other. The most surprising was the Rosalina's time at school seemed practically mundane compared to the shenanigans that Hermione got into.

Trolls, late night escapades, three headed dogs, all sorts of things that she'd decided not to write home about. ("I don't know how close they watch the mail, and I didn't want to get us in trouble, see," said Hermione as she put more food onto her plate.)

Rosalina, meanwhile, had made friends with the caretaker, was learning to fly, and had started a tabletop gaming group. Hogwarts, it would seem, had mellowed her out a bit. ("Oh, and I got a letter from, um, one of the divine. We're not supposed to invoke their names. Wizarding thing, apparently," said Rosalina, giving Hermione a little glare.)

"I just wish that I could see some of the magic that you've been doing," said Tom, winking at Meredith.

"I'd like to talk to Miss Felicity in person again, now that I know you're dating her," said Rosalina, and Hermione nodded along with her.

"I feel like both of those things could be arranged once we finish breakfast," said Meredith, smiling at the lot of them.

Hermione and Rosalina squealed and ate much faster, practically racing to their room once breakfast was done and put up.

Tom and Meredith, meanwhile, took their time. They went to their bedroom and, after some discussion, decided to put on their 'going-out-with-wizards' clothes, which were rather unlike what they would wear when just going out into town. Which meant that when the girls had finished dressing to go to Diagon Alley, they did more than stare at their parents.

"Mum, dad you look like wizarding folks!" said Hermione, looking them up and down, her mouth agape.

"Is that because we're going to Diagon Alley? Did Miss Felicity get you those?" asked Rosalina, bouncing on her heels.

"Sort of, but there's another reason that we thought we'd wear them out today," said Tom, strutting to their fireplace and flicking it on. The gas fire had felt like a chancy buy at first, but it was far easier than needing to light a pile of wood each time, or buying a magical firestarter every time they went to Diagon Alley. It wasn't that they weren't cheap up front, but over time the automatic starter just felt easier.

"You want to show off the fireplace?" said Hermione, staring at it.

"I like the gas fire. It's very modern!" said Rosalina, smiling at them.

"It's not the gas fire so much as what comes with it," said Meredith, taking a little powder from a pot on the mantle and throwing it onto fire. The fire changed colors immediately, going from a bright orange to a brilliant green.

"What's that?" said Rosalina, staring into the green flames.

"It's floo powder. I read about it in the library. Mum, you know that flood powder has to be used on a connected fireplace, right? We can't just throw it in and expect it to work," said Hermione, looking from the fire, to the pot, and then back to her parents.

"Good thing we're connected then," said Meredith, stepping into flames. "Diagon Alley!"

And just like that, the flames wrapped around her and she vanished.

"Wait, what? Dad, what did she do? Muggles can't be connected, it's impossible!" said Hermione, a big grin spreading across her face. "Are we connected?"

"Connected as can be, so far as I'm aware. Now, do you know how it works?" said Tom, looking at each girl.

Rosalina shook her head no, but Hermione had already launched into an explanation.

"You throw the powder into the fire, step in, say where you want to go, and then you're taken there! Or at least, you're taken there if it's connected to the Floo Network," said Hermione, everything tumbling off her tongue all at once.

"Then why don't you show us," said Tom, taking the little pot off the mantle and holding it out to Hermione.

She took a small handful, threw it into the fire, and just like that she'd been whisked away.

"Your turn, Rosalina," said Tom, smiling down at his daughter.

She looked to the fire, to the pot, then back to Tom.

"Are you sure it's safe?" asked Rosalina, biting her lip.

"Confident. Tell you what, how about we go together?" said Tom, taking a bit of powder and casting it into the fire, and Rosalina nodded.

"Now when we step in, we both say the words at the same time, ok?" said Tom as he stepped into the fire. Rosalina nodded and stepped in after. It was a bit cramped, but not impossibly so.

"Diagon Alley!" they said together, and they were off.

Tom and Rosalina immediately knew why this wasn't done normally. They normally went on their own, after Meredith, because that's how it was done (MumMeredith should go first). They saw bits of Rosalina's time at school, meeting someone (Argus Filch, dad) and having a nice time. They saw times at the Werewolf's Howl (Rosalina, don't peek there, its too much for you just yet), and meeting (Miss) Felicity, growing fond of her (Is she going to move in? You seem close / Not now) and saw games at school (You're running a game? That's marvelous!).

After what felt like ages, they were thrown out from the firepit in Diagon Alley.

"Dad, you went together! The books I read said that's really dangerous!" said Hermone, rushing over to Rosalina once she'd landed.

"Yes, I figured that one," said Tom as Meredith helped him to his feet.

"Dad, do you really have a wand?" asked Rosalina after she recovered herself.

"What‽" screamed Hermione, staring at Tom. "But dad, that's impossible! You'd need to go to Ollivander's, and he'd never sell you a wand!"

"Or beat a wizard in combat, which I did. Decked him. We're friends still," said Tom, puffing up a bit at this.

It did not seem to mollify Hermione, but she didn't say any more.

"Who'd you beat?" asked Rosalina, leaning in towards Tom and grinning.

"Hallo!" said a familiar voice, and Tom looked up to see Ashton Plotz striding towards them. "Finally made it down, I see. You ready for your guests? Dumbledore already told me."

"As ready as can be, I think. Girls?" said Meredith, turning to Hermione and Rosalina, who both nodded after looking back and forth between Ashton and their parents.

"Splendid! It'll be about an hour, but they should be here before you go for lunch, and I think that Dumbledore's plan was to have the Hogwarts house elves move their things to your home while you're down here, if you don't mind," said Ashton, looking from Meredith to Tom.

"That's … fine? I suppose?" said Meredith, glancing at Tom, who shrugged and nodded as well.

Ashton grinned and vanished, leaving behind Sara and James, who were holding what looked like a not insubstantial supply of groceries.

"How do you know Professor Plotz?" asked Hermione, eyes wide.

"I thought that professors didn't leave Hogwarts. Mr Filch certainly doesn't sound like he leaves," said Roaslina. After a moment, she turned to Hermione.

"What're house elves?"

To Tom and Meredith's surprise, Hermione shrugged.

"I don't know. None of the books I've read have mentioned them," said Hermione, scowling. That there was information that was not in a book but was known wasn't a state she liked to be in, Tom and Meredith knew from experience.

"They are," began James, then he turned to Sara.

"They are complex," finished Sara, her eyes narrowing. She set her groceries down and in moments she'd charged towards the four Grangers, then was leaping over them and they heard a sort of strangled gasp behind them.

They turned to see Sara gripping Thistledown by the neck, holding him well off the ground. This was impressive, considering that she was shorter than he was.

"Leave, Thistledown," said Sara, her voice filled with a rage that they'd never heard.

"I was going to volunteer them the information, I swear it by sun and moon! A friendly gesture, nothing more!" said Thistledown, his voice throttled and gasping.

"Swear by your name," said Sara, her voice still on edge.

"I swear by my name, my true name, I swear it!" said Thistledown

"And your sight, your true sight, swear by that as well," she said, holding him a little higher aloft and squeezing ever so slightly.

"I swear! I swear by my true sight! Thrice sworn, thrice bound, I swear it!" said Thistledown, his voice rising in pitch, and with that she dropped him and made a grand sweeping gesture to the girls.

"Speak, then."

He rubbed at his throat for a moment, stuck his tongue out at Sara, then smiled at the girls. It was a sharp smile that put Tom into mind of small, yippy dogs.

"House elves are a sort of brownie, bound into eternal servitude by blood and contract. They are cheerful enough in their chains when well treated, but when maltreated they can turn rather nasty," said Thistledown, looking very pleased with himself.

Hermione's eyes grew wide.

"You mean they're slaves?" she said, her chest puffing.

"That is not quite the wrong word, but it is also not quite the right one, although I leave the task of seeking that word to you. They are bound, to house and hearth, until such time as their servitude ends. And now you know. May your curiosity be sated, little one," and Thistledown gave Hermione a deep bow. Then he vanished, fading into steam until only a smile remained, and then that faded as well.

"Curiouser and curiouser," said Rosalina, frowning at where he'd been.

Hermione said nothing.

Author Note: Merry Christmas, one and all! I'm going to try to have all the Christmas Break scenes done by Christmas. Wish me luck!

Many thanks to user "Reading In Moonlight" for spurning me off my butt towards finishing this chapter.