Harry Potter: How I Met Your Mother
A Meeting of Mothers

DISCLAIMER: The World of Harry Potter was created by JK Rowling and is the property of JK Rowling, Wizarding World, and Warner Brothers. I do not own them. I retain rights to my original characters.

This story was written for my amusement and ego gratification, not for profit. I seek no financial compensation for this work of fiction.

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-(((O-O)))-

I continued working at your GrandDa Uther's store for the rest of the summer, although Father cut back my hours as the start of term approached. But my shorter hours did not mean more leisure time: while Da did grant me more time away from the store, he and Mum made it known that he expected me to use it productively. I was expected to prepare for my Fifth Year, to begin reviewing what I'd learned over the years for my OWL exams next Spring, and to prepare your uncle Titus for his first year of school.

Not that I became a swot. Da did allow me to visit my friends and I made use of that opportunity: using the Floo to visit their homes, visiting parks, both Wizarding and Muggle, eating out, or just being out and about, although I didn't have that many opportunities. Da liked to quote one of his Muggle forebears' favorite sayings: idle hands are the Devil's playground.

As the start of term drew even closer, Da and Mum began to prepare to pack us off for another year at Hogwarts. Yes, I said us. This would not only be my fifth fear at Hogwarts but it would also be your Uncle Titus' first. We did not do our shopping all at one go: in fact, we made several trips to Diagon Alley. For the most part, Da was content to leave much of the shopping in Mum's capable hands, although he did want to be with Titus when he bought his first wand.

Our first excursions were to buy uniforms. Titus needed a complete set, and I'd had another growth spurt and would have to replace my under-uniform. We first stopped at Gringotts's, then walked over to Madam Malkin's for measuring and fitting. One of the commonalities I've learned that exist between wizarding stores and their Muggle counterparts is that if you want well-fitting clothing, don't expect to buy it off the rack: you need to give the tailors time to do their magic. This was particularly true at Madam Malkin's in mid-August when a new rush of kids descends upon her premises to be kitted out for school.

We did make other stops; we both needed apothecary supplies, Titus needed his own cauldron. We both needed parchment, quills, and ink. Mum surprised me by informing us that we would not be buying Titus' telescope from the dealer in the Alley. "Muggles make perfectly good telescopes and they sell for much less," she said.

We did stop at Flourish and Blotts' to buy books. We had yet to get a list of required texts for that year, but both Mum and I decided to get Titus a leg up on his mates and buy him a couple of books about Hogwarts and other things a Firstie should know. As we waited to be rung up, I was a little disappointed not to see your Mum there. If there was any place in Diagon Alley where I'd be certain to encounter her, it would be there.

Shopping wasn't really hard work, but after spending a morning making purchases for Titus and me, Mum decided to reward herself and us by stopping at Fortescue's for ice cream. And speak of the Devil, who should be there but your Mum and her Mum.

"Miss Granger, Mrs. Granger, we meet again," I said with a smile and a couple of nods.

Your Mum's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Woodbine," she said.

"Good to see you, too, " I said. "Did you have a pleasant summer?"

"Tristan, could you perform introductions?" said my Mum.

"Mum, this is Hermione Granger, a prospective Second Year, and her Mum, who I met while Da had me learning the Muggle bus system earlier this summer," I said. "Hermione, Mrs. Granger, this is my mother Cora Woodbine and my younger brother Titus. Titus will be a first-year when school starts again."

Mrs. Granger smiled, extended her hand and said "I'm Jean Granger. How do you do?"

My mother was not unfamiliar with Muggles and knew their ways. She took it and shook it.

"Pleasure," she said.

"So is this going to be your one-and-only trip to Diagon or are you planning a return visit before school starts?" asked my Mum.

"We'll make a return trip to pick up Hermione's new uniform," said my Mum. "Hermione had a growth spurt and her old uniform is no longer fits."

"I know about that one," my Mum replied. "Tristan outgrew his uniform several times and we kept having to buy new clothes. It was maddening. I'm hoping he's finally reached adult size. I'm hoping that I won't have the same problem with Titus. I've kept Tristan's old things and if he follows his brother into Slytherin, he'll be able to wear Tristan's seconds."

A look of understandable irritation flashed across your Uncle Titus' face. He wanted to wear his own clothes.

"Titus, Hermione here knows the Boy-Who-Lived," I said.

"Really?" said Titus. "You know Harry Potter? What's he like?" He looked awed.

"He's a boy," your Mum said shortly.

"Is he really six feet tall?" said Titus. "Did he really do all those things he did in the stories?"

"No," said your Mum . She suppressed a giggle.

"Speaking of the Boy-Who-Lived, how is he doing?" I asked. "I expect that he's been out of touch, living with his Muggle relatives."

"I hadn't heard from him for the first part of the summer," your Mum replied. "I did hear of him a few days ago. He's staying with the Weasleys."

As you know, the Weasleys had been solidly Gryffindor for years, but despite the house rivalries and what I thought were some of the Twins' mean-spirited pranks, even then, I knew that they were fundamentally good people.

"You hadn't heard from your friend since the start of the summer?" said my Mum, pausing her conversation with Grandma Jean. "Are his relatives treating him right?"

"I don't know," your Mum replied.

My Mum pursed her lips in disapproval. "I knew his parents," she said. "I went to school with both of them. I didn't like his father very much, but his Mum and I took some of the same classes."

Your Mum's mouth fell open. It wasn't until later that I realized how limited her perspective of Wizarding Britain must have been back then. She'd been raised outside of the Wizarding World and her only view had been through the lens of Gryffindor Tower.

"Really?" said Grandma Jean.

"She was a very hard-working, extremely talented young woman," my Mum said. "She died far too young. She should still be alive."

Conversation came to a standstill.

"Granger, Titus, I hope you hit it off," I said, trying to revive it.

Both your uncle and your Mum gave me strange looks.

"Woodbine, I'm nearly thirteen and your brother is only eleven," said your Mum.

"Never too early to start thinking about it," I replied jocularly. "I like to think that this is the first meeting of Mr. and Mrs. Titus Woodbine."

My joke fell flat. Both your Mum and your Uncle Titus gave me disapproving looks. My Mum shook her head in disapproval. Grandma Jean looked at her wrist-watch and sighed. "Hermione, we'll have to go soon if we want to catch our train," she said.

"Mrs. Woodbine, this has been a pleasure," she said, turning to my Mum.

"Please, call me Cora," said My "I hadn't known that some of your forebears were also Harrows. I'd love to talk to your Aunt Caroline and compare notes. I wouldn't be surprised if we are related."

"Titus, it was good to meet you," said Grandma Jean. "Good luck this year."

"Thank you, Ma'am," said Titus. I think that your uncle was surprised to see that he might have actually met some of his more distant Muggle relatives.

The Grangers went back to the Leaky Cauldron while we left for the Floo. Titus was upset with me.

"Tris, that wasn't funny," he said. "I'm not interested in having a girlfriend and I don't want to marry Granger. And didn't you say her parents were dentists?"

"It was all in good fun," I said, ignoring my younger brother's glare. "Besides, you're a shoo-in for Slytherin and the twain will never meet."

It wasn't until much later that I learned how wrong I was.

Author's notes:

To state the obvious, this isn't the day when Harry, Hermione, and the Weasleys went shopping at Diagon Alley and saw Gilderoy Lockhart for the first time. I am pre-supposing that both the Grangers and the Woodbines made a visit earlier in the month.