I do not own Harry Potter, the Wizarding World, or any canon characters.
Extended Family
Chapter 89 – Magical Comparisons
Takes place some time before Chapter 144 of Family.
"What're you reading?" Katie asked. "You've been pretty nose-deep in that book the last few nights when you had free time. Is it mastery stuff?"
"No it's a fiction book," Harry said. He showed her the cover.
"The Lord of the Rings: the Two Towers. Oh, Dad's read that," she said, recognizing the title. "I've been meaning to read it myself. How is it?"
"It's pretty good," Harry said. "Kinda dry in parts. I liked the Hobbit more but apparently that one was more for kids compared to this so not sure what that says about me."
Katie smiled lovingly. "Oh wait, was that what you were reading to Dally lately?" She laughed when he nodded. "I was wondering why she and the others were talking about hobbits and other things the other day."
"She thinks they stole the invisibility ring from my cloak," Harry grinned.
"Makes sense to me. Is that why you made honey cake too?"
"Yeah, bit of a guess on my part but I found a recipe for pound cake and did a little honey on it. Tasted good to me."
"Me too." She squeezed beside him in the chair. "This one looks way bigger."
"Yeah, it's a trilogy. This is the second one."
"Oooh, may I start reading the first one?"
"You'll have to wait for Hedwig to finish it."
"Hedwig's reading it?" Katie looked over at the roost. "I was wondering when the book stand was added to it. Been meaning to ask you."
"I charmed it to flip pages when she stomps a foot," Harry said. He flushed at Katie's look. "What?"
"You're adorable and you spoil her so much," she cooed and kissed him.
"I spoil everyone," Harry smiled.
"Yeah you do," Katie smiled as she snuggled into his side.
-0-
"What's wrong Hermione?" Harry asked, concerned.
Hermione dabbed at her eyes. "Oh these are tears of happiness. I'm just so happy to see all of you reading together like this." She had popped over to visit and found not only Harry reading, but Katie and Dahlia reading too. The three of them sat together and were engrossed in their own books. She blinked. "Hedwig is reading too?"
Hedwig looked up and narrowed her eyes at Hermione, holding one wing in front of her beak in an unmistakable shushing gesture.
"Sorry!" Hermione whispered while the others snorted and giggled. Hermione walked closer to take a look at the book in Hedwig's stand and her surprise grew. She looked at the books the other Potters had and she smiled widely. "You all are reading Tolkien?!"
"Well you did lend me the Hobbit," Harry said. "Something about appealing to our familiarity with magic. I liked it, so did Dally, so I continued on with Lord of the Rings."
"I started reading it after I saw how he was enjoying it," Katie said.
"Where did you get your copy of the other ones?" Hermione asked.
"I went to a Muggle bookstore."
"You went to a Muggle bookstore without me?!" Hermione huffed when Harry handed a coin over to Katie. "Really?"
"I knew you'd be insulted," Katie grinned.
"I'm not insulted, I'm just saying I would have wanted to go with you to a Muggle bookstore," Hermione sniffed. Her frown dissolved when Dahlia climbed into her lap. "Aww, you're reading my copy of the Hobbit!"
"It's better than the other one," Dahlia said. "It has more words in it."
"I got her a children's version and it's apparently quite watered down," Harry smiled.
"And the pictures don't even move!" Dahlia complained.
"Poor thing," Hermione said and kissed the crown of her head. "I'm so proud of you for seeing the difference between the two and liking the more complicated one."
"She actually got upset at how Smaug was depicted," Katie snorted. "Had me Floo Charlie who also got upset. Apparently the drawing of Smaug isn't a real dragon, or a proper one anyways."
"In their defense, they don't know about proper dragons," Hermione said. "How are you two finding the Lord of the Rings?"
"I like it, definitely drier and a lot more wordy than the Hobbit," Katie said. "Good imagery though and I like the adventure."
"I like the hobbits," Harry chuckled, "they know what's important."
"I still can't decide if Gandalf or Saruman are good wizards or not," Katie said. "They don't do a lot of magic, at least our magic. It's fairly easy to cast a Locking Charm but then again, having to keep it locked while something like a giant bash against it would be exhausting."
"It's rather fun to compare real life to literary fictional life here and there," Hermione said. "I did that myself actually when I went back to read them after having been at Hogwarts a few years. Same with other books that are about magic and witches and wizards."
"I want to be Dahlia the Green," Dahlia said.
"Oh I like that," Hermione laughed.
"Ooh, I'll be Katie the Red," Katie smiled.
"McGonaMum the Tartan," Harry chuckled. "I need to remember to call her that next time she gets extra Scottish at me."
"What does that mean?" Hermione said, half-scandalized.
"When she gets really annoyed at me she starts throwing Scottish words and phrases at me," Harry said and Katie and Hermione laughed.
"Didn't you really cheese her off by giving her a bottle of American whiskey?" Katie asked.
"Oh yeah, she got very upset at that," Harry mused.
"Are there lots of books about magic and witches and wizards?" Katie asked.
"So many. It's popular among those that don't think it's real for obvious reasons." Hermione sighed dolefully. "If only someone who knew what to look for was with you at a Muggle bookstore…"
"Okay, I can catch a hint," Harry mock-groaned. "We'll go tomorrow after you finish work and I finish practice."
"Ooh, maybe we can do a book club sort of thing," Hermione said enthusiastically. "See who wants to read with us and we can chat about it after."
"Normally I wouldn't find that fun but I'm comfortably surprised that I'm enjoying reading for fun," Katie said. "I'd be happy to do that." She smiled lovingly at Dahlia reading in Hermione's lap. "When I was her age, books didn't interest me really. I liked running around outside and playing Quidditch and flying when I got older."
"She has ulterior motives for liking reading sometimes," Harry smiled.
"That means I'm sneaky in a good way," Dahlia said proudly.
"Yeah you are," Harry praised. "She likes to sit on our laps and snuggle when we read to her."
"As good a reason as any," Hermione smiled and cuddled her close. "So how did Hedwig get into reading?"
"She was napping on my head one day but I guess she got interested in reading with me. She started nipping me to read faster or slower depending on the chapter so I made a reading stand for her so she can go at her own pace."
"That's incredible. She really likes reading then?"
"Oh yeah. I mean there are times where she doesn't feel like it but she reads when she wants. She's pretty opinionated too. I remember her being really disdainful when the Fellowship couldn't handle the cold-"
"Hey! Spoilers!" Katie cried and smacked Harry on the shoulder.
-0-
"'The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe'," Harry read, "we have lots of those at school."
"How droll of you," Hermione sighed, rolling her eyes. "But you're not wrong. Also, fun fact, the author of that series was good friends with the author of the Hobbit."
"Really? That's neat." Harry put the book in the basket. "'Howl's Moving Castle'. Imagine if Hogwarts could move about."
"That would be really fun to think about, not to mention worry about the logistics of everything and breaking the statute of secrecy," Hermione snorted. She groaned as she pulled a book out of the basket. "Did my father tell you to get this?"
"Yes, he said it's really entertaining," Harry said, bemused. "I assume you don't think so?"
"It's awful," Hermione sighed. "It's all action and no subtlety. So you probably would like it." She sniffed as she put The Dresden Files: Stormfront back into the basket.
"And apparently the main character's name is Harry too," Harry smiled. "Another Harry that's a wizard too? I definitely have to check it out."
"It could be worse I suppose," she sighed again. "He could have suggested Doctor Strange."
"Your mum suggested that actually. Said it's with the graphic novels."
"Comic books! I'm going to have a talk with my mother about comic books!" Hermione seethed.
"I like pictures," Harry sniffed.
"They don't move," Hermione retorted.
"I suppose I'll just have to use my imagination," he said loftily. He looked towards a side of the book store.
"Yes, we can go look at the cook books," Hermione smiled.
"Don't think you aren't benefiting too," he laughed as he walked towards them eagerly.
-0-
"Goodness, you've been busy," Alicia said admiringly. She looked around the living room at all the paintings and drawings.
"I've been inspired," Luna smiled. She blinked as she took another look. "I didn't realize how much though until now to be fair."
Alicia admired a painting of a hill covered in ruins, a partially obscured moon shining down on things in shadows and dark cloaks, surrounding a sword on fire. "This is incredible. What is it?"
"Weathertop, also called Amon Sul, a watch tower along the road."
"Is that a real place?"
"In the sense that it's real to the characters." Luna held up a book. "I've been reading this and the scene was so vivid in my head, I wanted to see if I could do it justice."
"I've seen that book lately; Katie and Harry have been reading that series. Hermione's mentioned it as well," Alicia said. "I usually don't read Muggle literature but if all of you are reading it, it must be worth reading."
"I'm enjoying it. It meanders a bit and I don't understand everything but I like the imagery and as you can see," she gestured around to the paintings, "it's inspiring."
"And you have buyers already," Alicia noticed. She saw the tiny marks Luna made on the corners of her paintings when they had someone buy them.
"Oh yes. I was showcasing some to a client and they noticed them. Got very excited, even recognized them without me explaining them. Word got around and some enjoy the same familiarity while others like the fantastical nature of it. I make sure to notate the book and the author on the piece. It's not right for me to profit unfairly from them."
"Very nice. May I borrow the book when you are finished with it?"
"Oh I'm reading the next one so you may take that one with you. I believe we might be meeting for a book club sort of thing about it too."
"I'll be sure to read it before then," Alicia smiled.
-0-
"Thanks for making them the cloaks, Luna," Angelina smiled. "The bunnies look adorable."
"Of course! They wanted colored cloaks like the dwarves from the Hobbit. It was easy enough to get the child-sized cloak patterns and make fun ones for them." Luna smiled as they ran around in them. "I decided against making them invisible for the moment. Don't want them to cause too much trouble unnoticed."
"They didn't want them to though," Alicia said, rolling her eyes. "Said it was unauthentic if it wasn't due to a ring."
"Despite you actually having a real invisibility cloak and that they exist," Oliver chuckled.
Harry laughed. "And I have mine securely put away. No need to repeat certain things."
Alicia, Oliver, Angelina, Luna, Hermione, Daphne, Tracy, and Percy had congregated at the Potter home for their book club meeting. They all had finished the first two books of the Lord of the Rings while others have made progress on others.
"So does anyone else think Dumbledore when they read about Gandalf?" Tracy asked.
"Only the beard," Alicia said. "I don't think Dumbledore would ever wear anything that's plain grey."
"They both seem powerful," Daphne mused. "However, I don't think their magic is on par with ours."
"They don't seem to use magic much," Hermione agreed. "They get more out of magic items which are still rather rare."
"Yeah, like when Gandalf made the fireworks out of pinecones, it seemed to be hard for him. Which I'm a bit biased considering I have boxes of magical fireworks at home," Angelina chuckled. "All of which go off with a poke of a wand or with a bit of water. I had to stop Hailey from reenacting that scene."
"I'll admit, I was a bit disappointed when I learned magicals in the UK don't use staves or staffs that much anymore," Hermione said. "Quite the blow to my imagination when I entered school."
"Too large to use while upkeeping the statute," Daphne said. "All the old families still have one or two ancestral ones. I believe they are good for raw power but for deft and nuance, they are lacking. Which makes sense."
"Imagine all the staff comparing contests," Tracy said, waggling her eyebrows. "Comparisons of length and girth." She squealed when Daphne pinched her.
"It is how you use it," Luna said serenely, "or so I am told." Her smile grew at the coughs and snorts from the others.
"Here's the real question, where do you think Gandalf would be sorted?" Katie asked.
"Hufflepuff," Percy said. "He clearly cares for others and is loyal to his friends. Works hard and without acknowledgement."
"He's a bit rude though," Tracy said.
"You clearly didn't spend enough time with Zacharias if you do not think Hufflepuffs can't be rude," Hermione sniffed.
"There's a reason for that," Tracy laughed. "He tried to hit on me once, after I started dating Daphne."
"He did?!" Daphne looked thunderous.
"Yep," Tracy said. "I told him that if he came within ten feet of me again I'd turn his twig and berries into literal twig and berries and feed them to bowtruckles."
"Oh that's why he always looked down between you two," Harry exclaimed while the others laughed. "He was counting out the distance."
"What a terrible thing to do to bowtruckles," Luna said angrily.
"I mean, I wouldn't actually do it to them."
"I think Gandalf would be a Slytherin," Daphne said, mollified by Tracy's response in her story. "Worked behind the scenes, knew things and was not prone to oversharing, putting people in places that they needed to be."
"Not an unfair assessment." Alicia smiled. "What about Saruman?"
"He is a caricature of a Slytherin," Daphne sniffed. "Evil for the sake of and rather obvious about it. Not to mention exceedingly arrogant."
"Oh so Malfoy then," Angelina said and they all dissolved into more laughter.
"What about the White Witch then?" Alicia asked. "She's pretty abundantly evil."
"And she killed a lion," Oliver said. "Hadley was really upset when we got to that part."
"I'd argue she was a very powerful witch," Luna said. "She made the land into winter for many years. And could turn people into stone."
"Which is pretty evil," Katie said.
"Daphne didn't like her," Tracy smiled.
"Too evil?" Alicia asked.
"Too close to home." Tracy squirmed away when Daphne tried to pinch her again. "People used to call her the Ice Queen at school."
"Tracy!" Daphne hissed, cheeks bright pink.
"Why'd they call you that?" Oliver asked while the others laughed.
"I was…unsocial my first few years," Daphne mumbled.
"I was the only person she really talked to," Tracy said proudly. "And that's because we grew up together essentially." She shrieked when Daphne shoved her off the couch and onto the floor.
"Oh no! What happened?" Dahlia asked, concerned.
"Auntie Daffy tried to kill me," Tracy gasped dramatically. "Save me!"
"You are terrible!" Daphne said indignantly while Tracy soaked in the attention of the three small girls.
"You better watch her," Tracy warned them, "she might be like the White Witch and try to get your daddy because he's a lion!"
"Auntie Daffy would never!" Dahlia cried.
"Thank you, Dally," Daphne said gratefully. "Protect me from Auntie Taffy!"
The others watched fondly as the three small girls belabored a flailing Tracy with pillows. "Did anyone read the Dresden book?" Hermione asked.
"Tracy enjoyed it," Daphne said, smiling as Tracy got her comeuppance. "Quippy lines and action are up her alley."
"No, you too?!" Angelina gasped when Percy raised his hand.
"It's refreshingly direct," Percy said with a faint smile. "Dresden is clever enough yet bullheaded." He snorted. "It's actually somewhat familiar in a familial way."
"I like the idea of a magical private investigator," Harry said. "Sort of like an Auror. I had a fedora made for Dora. She loves it. Besides, I can think of plenty of situations where a fire spell would help."
"Same," Percy smiled.
"Boys," Katie huffed. She smiled when Percy and Harry high-fived.
"Huh, if the professors could see us now," Angelina said a while later. "Willingly reading books."
"The difference is that these books are more interesting than textbooks," Tracy said.
"Debatable," Hermione and Daphne said together and looked at each other with surprise.
"I'm almost done with the Return of the King," Luna said. "What should we read after? I like our book club thing. It's fun."
Harry grinned. "I have an idea. When I took Luna and Daphne to the Muggle bookstore for more copies of the books, guess what I found."
Hermione shrieked when she recognized the cover of the book Harry pulled out of a bag. She launched herself at him and tackled him, sending them both over the couch.
"Oh! Is that the romance novel you mentioned before?" Luna asked eagerly while the others howled with laughter.
"Bunnies! The Dark Lady Granger is attacking! Protect him!" Katie gasped, bent double with laughter.
"The Dark Lady Granger?!" Hermione shouted, incensed.
"Aaaaaahhhhh!" Dahlia, Hailey, and Hadley went charging around the couch, their pillows held high. They attacked Hermione with them, thwapping her with enthusiasm
"Keep her pinned!" Harry encouraged as he scrambled away. "Only with your pillows and cuddling can she be cured!"
"I'll get you for this!" Hermione squawked. She curled around the book to keep the others from it, leaving her defenseless and at the mercy of the bunnies pillowing her.
"Your book club is far more entertaining than the ones I was a part of at Hogwarts," Percy smiled.
-0-0-0-
poka - I'm glad I could help you smile. Being a dragon tamer must be intense.
Ghostwriter - Absolutely. She would not tolerate any disrespect, dragon or no.
Arnie1701 - That would be interesting.
odonnellzoo99 - She might only go to the preserve to get some glaring and presence practice in. I thought that was a nice mental image too, of the bunnies chasing Arthur about.
alix33 - Poor Charlie. I might revisit teacup dragons another time.
