~~~Spencer and Hermione~~~

"So how's everything going with Reid?" Hotch questioned his niece. "You've been married over four years now."

"Everything's fine, Uncle Aaron," Hermione promised smiling. The two of them were sharing lunch together on one of Hotch's rare free days. Spencer meanwhile was spending time with Morgan and Garcia. The kids of course, were in daycare, but Hermione would be going to retrieve them just as soon as she finished lunch. She had promised to spend most of the day with them. She had twins several months ago, a girl and a boy, which made three boys and two girls. She and Spencer had agreed however, that there would be no more children, so she had immediately placed a contraceptive spell on herself, which could be reversed, but Hermione didn't see it is likely that she ever would. She felt 5 children was plenty, even if her oldest sons had been something of an accident. It didn't mean she loved them any less. She was only sorry that her parents had never had a chance to meet their grandchildren, as Hermione knew they would have adored them no matter how they came about. "He's the sweetest man, extremely intelligent, as you already know, gentle, loving, hardly ever even raises his voice. I'm not saying we haven't had an argument or two, but usually they are pretty mild. He does tend to repeat information I already know, but I know that's just part of who he is, due to the mild form of Asperger's syndrome he has. Well, he also tends to spout off facts to, but still while both those things can be kind of annoying, I put up with them because I love him. Really, if that's his only two faults then I got off lucky. Harold and Hugo adore him, which ought to tell you something. He even adopted them though they're keeping the surname of Granger."

"That's good," Hotch said. "So why are your twins keeping your maiden name?"

"Because I want to prove a point," Hermione explained to her uncle who listened intently. "I'll explain it to you the same way I explained it to Spencer at the time. You know all about the pureblood bigots in England. I have no doubt that a large portion of them consider my grades a fluke. I was top in nearly every class as you know. Me getting better grades than their little darlings, flies in the face that purebloods are better than everyone else, especially those who come from Muggles. I have no doubt that a large portion of them believe that it's a one time thing and that any children I have will not be able to keep up or at least will not be able to suppress their children. I am determined to send Harold and Hugo to Hogwarts, not only because it's my old alma mater, but to prove the point to the pureblood bigots. Because they're both boys they'll keep their names when they eventually marry. Who knows, they might decide to move to England once they are grown, instead of coming back here to America. They could fall in love at Hogwarts, which happens quite a bit."

"So there will be a third generation of Grangers who are very intelligent and do well in their studies," Hotch concluded.

"Something like that yeah. I'm teaching all my children good study habits, but also how to have fun, something I had trouble with when I was a kid," Hermione admitted. "I can't see any grandchildren of mine being stupid, though I suppose it's possible that some of them will be a more average intelligence, depending on who my descendants decide to marry. In the case of Harold and Hugo, while that might be one reason I want them to go to Hogwarts they also want to go with their cousins as you know. I would never force them to go if they didn't want to, since there are plenty of other magical schools, one right here in America."

"So how are those adorable children of yours, besides Harold and Hugo?" Hotch asked with a grin.

"They're fine Uncle Aaron," Hermione chuckled. "They are in daycare right now, though I know Harold and Hugo are a little old for it, but I'll go retrieve them after we finish lunch. I kind of promised to spend the rest of the day with them, and since it won't be long before Harold and Hugo go off to Hogwarts I really don't mind, as I'm going to miss them."

"So I now understand why you want to send them to your old school instead of one here in the states," Hotch asked and Hermione nodded.

"Good I'm glad you do," Hermione said simply. "I can understand them wanting to go with their cousins. While they visit them frequently, I can understand the desire of wanting to go to school with children they already know, especially since they are related. Really, it's just as easy to send them to Hogwarts, as it is to send them to one here and one of the advantages is they can spend at least some of their summers with their grandparents and see their cousins for more than a few hours. Molly and Arthur will be delighted to have them stay for a week or two."

"Yes, I can understand the desire to go to Hogwarts. I'm sure you and Harry and all their family have told them numerous stories," Hotch agreed. "Also, they grew up with their cousins until you moved here, so it's more than understandable, that they would at least want to go to school with them and your headmistress is allowing it."

"Well, technically, they were already down for Hogwarts when they were born, which is another reason I want them to go to my old alma mater. Besides, as I told Spencer some time ago, it wasn't unusual for Hogwarts to accept foreign students. This was before the first war with Voldemort though."

The one where you're friend lost his parents," Hotch said and Hermione nodded sadly.

"I don't agree with a lot of Dumbledore's actions, especially now that I'm looking at it from an adult perspective. He did things he had no right to, but that's in the past," Hermione sighed.

"It's just seems like your former headmaster did everything he could to make Harry miserable," Hotch said.

"I don't believe that was really his intent at all," Hermione admitted. "I just think he had so many responsibilities that he didn't have time to look after the details. He didn't really pay attention to Harry until he needed him. One thing, I'll never forgive him for, is never checking up on him when he was staying with his relatives. Family doesn't always get along and this is something that the former headmaster should have known. I know he was trying to get Harry safe, but he didn't bother to investigate, didn't bother the ring the doorbell and discuss it with the Dursleys. He just left a baby on their doorstep and expected them to take him in, to love him as their own. To me, that is just stupid, arrogant and a lot naïve, something that Dumbledore definitely shouldn't have been considering his age when he was finally murdered.

"It tells me that no matter how old the headmaster was when he finally kicked the bucket, that he didn't know dick about human nature. He expected Lily's family to love the boy, and I don't blame them for resenting being left with another mouth to feed, as having another baby in the house would have been a strain on fiances, since they were a young family, whose son was basically the same age. Sure, I blame them for their attitude and taking it out on baby, but it's mostly Dumbledore's fault for not doing a proper investigation. I know very well that things were hectic back then and that there were many Death Eater's still out there that would have loved to get their hands on Harry, but that's no excuse whatsoever."

"Dumbledore was arrogant enough to assume that they would look after him, and love him," Hotch finished.

"Yes, that's what gets me," Hermione admitted. "He was a very intelligent man, so he should have realized that the Dursleys might have resented having another child to look after, especially a magical child, but he basically, deeply believed, that everybody was basically good on the inside, which is also just stupid, as the Death Eaters are proof enough that evil is real. If there's one thing I've learned about the magicals in Britain, is that a lot of them lack logic. They were never taught to think for themselves, and the government positively encourages it, so that they can control them. I doubt very much that Dumbledore even thought about setting up a stipend every month so that having Harry as part of the family wasn't such a strain on finances. I know very well that any money they got for taking care of him might have been used on their own son, but it might've made them resent Harry a little less."

"He probably didn't have control of the Potter fortune," Hotch suggested.

"You're probably right, but I'm sure that James, Harry's father, set up a stipend just in case something happened to him and his mother. It's probably possible though, that he didn't have the authority to authorize one," Hermione considered. "If that's the case it's probably just as well, as I can see Dumbledore using the Potter fortune to run his Order of the Phoenix or for bribes. That it wasn't his to use like that probably never even would have occurred to him. I suppose he could've had partial access instead of full access, enough to authorize that stipend and if that had occurred I think that would've been better."

"You think Dumbledore would've figured that Harry was going to die anyway, so why not spend the Potter fortune fighting the war," Hotch said. "And since he was the last remaining heir that was known about it wouldn't matter that there was no money for him to inherit because Dumbledore assumed he'd be dead."

"Or even transfer the gold to his account," Hermione agreed. "If he had the authority that goblins would not have been able to legally stop him. Now Dumbledore might've been honest and not used the money that wasn't his, but it would have been a hard temptation to resist. I can see it going either way. Dumbledore didn't believe that he would have to face the consequences of his actions and unfortunately, he died before he could, but I have to say that I have no doubt he had to pay some consequences in the afterlife, because I can't see him not paying for what he did one way or another.

"One thing I've noticed from all you've told me about wizarding Britain is that most magicals assume Muggles are stupid and so they probably don't believe they deserve even basic courtesy," Hotch suggested.

"If anyone should know they're not it's Dumbledore," Hermione said. "I think the main problem is that he just assumes he always knows what's right and won't listen to anyone who has a different opinion. I know that the headmistress objected at the time to him being placed there, as she had been watching them for whole day in her Animagus form, which is a cat, a silver tabby. If Dumbledore wouldn't even listen to his most trusted deputy, then he wasn't going to listen to anyone."

Hotch was nodding at this because he had encountered that kind of attitude more than once. Someone so sure they were doing the right thing that they wouldn't listen to anybody if it was contrary to their own ideas.

"I have encountered people like that before," Hotch explained.

"I suppose in your work you would've encountered a lot of people like that," Hermione said.

"Yes, I have," Hotch agreed soberly. "People tend to get hurt at least indirectly from people like that, as they don't listen to anybody's opinions, except their own. Dumbledore's not the only person in the world that is extremely intelligent and arrogant with it. I'm sure there are other people like that in the wizarding world too."

"Probably," Hermione admitted pensively. "Actually, a lot of people are arrogant, especially those that are very intelligent. The problem is that they don't have an ounce of logic and they aren't half as intelligent as Dumbledore or as knowledgeable. Thank God, Spencer, isn't like that or I would never be able to put up with him. I suppose it doesn't matter anymore, but it's a good thing that Dumbledore's dead. If I ever have a visit the castle, because of my sons or something he better stay out of my way or I'll burn whatever portrait he's in and that wouldn't be fair to the person that painting belonged to. What he did was inhumane not that he cared or at least he didn't pay attention."

"You said he had too many responsibilities," Hotch said.

"He did," Hermione admitted. "Still..."

"He took liberties," Hotch said Hermione nodded.

"Everybody trusted him, because he hid a lot of his actions and even if they had caught him doing something blatantly illegal, well, they didn't think about the illegality of it. No one was going to report Dumbledore and be listened to, not without proof. It's at least partially because of his defeat of another Dark Wizard called Gellert Grindelwald back in 1945. Tom Riddle came right on top of him, as he was already in school at the time. Grindelwald was at least partially responsible for World War II "

"So what about your other children?" Hotch asked with a raised eyebrow, changing the subject. "Will they be going to Hogwarts."

"Yes," Hermione answered simply. "Though I'm not sure if the twins have magic yet they might take after Spencer. Leia however..."

"Is already showing her abilities," Hotch said quietly.

"Yes, I caught her at it," Hermione admitted. "Of course, I was watching out for it, because I know magical children often do magic without their parents noticing. They don't pay attention. Usually though, if only one parent is magical then it's quite possible that only some of the children will inherit the gift. Since I had fraternal twins it's quite possible one of them will inherit my magic while the other one does not."

"Does that actually happen?" Hotch winced. "Where one twin gets the ability and the other one doesn't?"

"Its been known to," Hermione said soberly. "Of course, if they are identical and one has magic then other one's going to have it as well, which is not true in the case of your niece and nephew."

"That must be hard on the families it happens to," Hotch said.

"I would think so, though I've never actually encountered a family it's happened to. I just know it's been known to happen, particularly in families where only one parent is magical and also in families like mine where both parents are supposed Muggles, but where one at least turns out to be a Squib.

Hotch knew what that word meant, as Hermione had told him a lot about the wizarding world, over the few years they'd known each other. Mostly the British one of course, since that was where she had grown-up. It was apparently different here in America much fairer, more equal. The British wizarding world was very traditional and stuck far in the past by at least a couple hundred years and the one here was also more modern then other places. This didn't surprise Hotch at all really, as the British, magical or not were well-known for being very traditional.

Every country had its own traditions.

"So how could you leave them at daycare when magic my burst out it anytime?"

"Because it's run by witches," Hermione smirked. "As you know they are much more modern here then they are in the country I was born. I don't have any magical friends close enough in this country to leave my children with and it would be rude to leave all five with the same person, though Harold and Hugo don't really need much looking after, since they are nearly ten."

"So this was the perfect solution then," Hotch said bemused.

"Exactly," Hermione agreed. "The daycare I left them at has an excellent reputation and they don't mind children with one non-magic parent, since there are a lot those here. The people that work there will know how to deal with any displays of accidental magic, which is usually harmless like summoning a milk bottle. To them a magical child is a magical child and frankly that's the way it should be, but to often isn't."

Hotch had to agree.

"Perhaps we can arrange something where we can spend sometime together," Hotch suggested.

"I'm sure they'll be thrilled," Hermione smiled.

She knew that all of her children, well, except perhaps for her youngest twins adored their Uncle Aaron, so spending some time with him was likely to lead to excitement.

The two continued to talk quietly, as they ate their lunch and for once they were not interrupted by the sound of Hotch's phone, which was a relief. While Hermione adored spending time with her uncle she understood that he had a strong sense of duty, just as she did. This basically, meant that he had very little free time, where he was not at least on call. They had been interrupted more than once when they had just been trying to enjoy a meal and get caught up on all the news. Sometimes Spencer even joined them in the sessions, just not today.

~~~Spencer and Hermione~~~

"So how's married life," Morgan asked Spencer.

"Married life is just fine Morgan," Spencer promised. "I never imagined I could be so happy."

"You deserve to be," Garcia told him. "Hermione, does to of course, but especially you."

Garcia knew more about Hermione's past then most anybody else, except for her uncle. The two had talked a lot while the team was gone. The rest of the team didn't even know about magic and that was probably for the best as much as Garcia would've liked to have told them. That two of the team knew was a relief actually, but she was sorry that she couldn't tell the others, particularly Morgan. She could she knew, but she wasn't sure how they would accept it. She was actually surprised that Spencer had accepted it so well, since he was so scientific and logically minded, though she knew a practical demonstration had helped. Also, the fact, that Spencer had loved Hermione had also helped a lot, truly loved her, not just lusted after her.

That Spencer had accepted Hermione's magic warmed her old heart.

"So any more children in your future?" Garcia asked.

"No, both of us think five is plenty," Spencer said shaking his head negatively. "It's not about the money either."

"Two of those aren't yours though," Morgan's said. "At least not biologically."

"It doesn't matter they're still my sons, even if they don't share my DNA," Spencer said. "They're father has absolutely no interest in playing a part in their lives."

"That is so sad," Garcia said frowning.

"Yes, it is, but just because their father doesn't really pay attention to them doesn't mean they don't have a loving family back in England. Their grandparents adore them according to Hermione anyway and they spent plenty of time with their cousins. The father had a large family five older brothers and one younger sister."

"Wow! That's a lot," Morgan said blinking in astonishment. He only had two sisters growing up so having seven children was pretty amazing to him, especially since because most families nowadays weren't more than three children. Of course, he knew that large families existed, just that it wasn't very common.

"Yeah, that is pretty big for this century," Spencer admitted with a smile. "I met them all at the wedding and I'm sure you met some of them too."

"I probably did," Morgan admitted.

"They all had red hair," Spencer said.

"Oh, yeah, the Weasleys," Morgan said looking thoughtful. "So one of them is the father of your wife's twins then."

"Yes, the youngest boy, the one that's Hermione's age. Ron is his name," Spencer said. "Unlike the rest of the family, he did not impress me. The rest of the family seems very nice and happy in their careers, very accomplished. Ron though strikes me as lazy and from what Hermione has told me, well, she wasn't very complementary."

"Why be friends with him then?" Garcia asked.

"Well, I think it goes back to her childhood where she never had friends before she went to a private school. Coed of course. She was just too intelligent, much like me, that most kids didn't want anything to do with her. Both her and her brother Harry were friendships starved by the time they went to this private school. If they'd had any real friends before then I doubt they would have had anything to do with Ron Weasley."

"That makes sense," Morgan said. "A lot of intelligent people don't have any friends growing up and if their parents don't go out of their way to find activities where they can make some..."

"That wasn't Hermione's problem really, as her parents loved her and worried about her. It might not have even occurred to them to try to find try some clubs or something."

"Or they might not have had the time if they both worked," Garcia mentioned.

"They did, they were dentists, owned their own practice," Spencer said. "They also lived in Crawley, which is just a small town really. It's not like London where there would've been plenty of activities for all types."

"So they probably didn't have any clubs or anything, for someone as intelligent as Hermione," Morgan concluded.

"So it doesn't matter if your parents love you or not, not in a situation like that anyway. I don't see them moving to somewhere bigger when their life was in Crawley."

"And she was only child to just like I was, so she didn't even have a sibling she could spend time with," Spencer added.

"Man, that must've been rough," Morgan said.

"You can see why going to a private school meant so much to her," Spencer said.

"How can Harry be her brother then if she was an only child?" Morgan frowned.

"Well, as Hotch told you they grew close at school. I believe you commented at the time that friendships like that tend to turn into relationships."

"And both were orphans," Morgan finished. "Yes, I remember that conversation now though how you learned about it considering you weren't paying attention, because you and Hermione were talking very intently.

"I know how to multitask Morgan," Spencer told him dryly. "You and her were sitting near enough that I just happened overhear you."

"Oh," Morgan said blushing a little in embarrassment.

"Its okay, you were right that a lot of platonic friendships do turning to something more, especially when you've been friends for such a long time."

"Yeah, I remember Hotch mentioning how Harry always had his eye on Ginny Weasley, the younger sister of her twins father."

"I think it's pretty amazing that is only one girl in seven children," Garcia said

"Boys apparently run pretty heavily in the Weasley family," Spencer said. "It has been known to happen where couple has all girls or all boys, though I admit they usually don't have more than three or four children. I can tell you the reason they had seven was both of the parents really wanted a girl, so when they had one they finally didn't have anymore."

"I for one can understand that," Morgan said, "I can definitely understand them wanting a girl when all they have the boys back to back."

"Exactly," Spencer agreed.

"I kind of feel sorry for Ginny though, being the only girl with six brothers," Garcia said. "Imagine what it was like when she started dating."
"I hadn't thought of that, but I can see them be very overprotective of their only sister," Morgan said. "I'm certainly overprotective of mine, so I understand that mindset very well."
"They approve of Harry though, because they knew him. He often visited them in the summer," Spencer said. "If it had been anybody else they might have given him a hard time. Molly and Arthur practically adopted him as one of their sons since he was an orphan. He made friends with Ron at school, and then with his twin brothers who were a couple of years older."

"So he was invited over during the summer," Morgan realized.

"Exactly," Spencer agreed.

The three of them continued to talk sometime as they enjoyed their own lunch, but finally Morgan put a hand on Spencer shoulder in a friendly manner.

"I'm glad you're so happy now. As my baby girl said earlier if anybody deserves to be you. I know you had a rather tough childhood."

"Thank you Morgan," Spencer said appreciatively. "I never imagined I'd meet anyone that I could fall in love with or at least no one that would accept me for who I am. I'm only sorry that she can't meet my mother, as I know she'd be happy for me and would love to meet her grandchildren."

"Yeah I'm sorry about that too," Garcia said sadly. "She should know that you're happy."

"It's just not possible, not unless we went up there every week," Spencer said shaking his head looking rather melancholy. We all have regrets and I'm well aware of it."

"So what does Hermione regret," Garcia asked.

"That her parents couldn't see her get married," Spencer answered immediately. "That her father couldn't walk down the aisle. I know Hotch was willing and that he is distantly related to her, but it wasn't the same for her and I can certainly understand that. From all I've heard about her parents I know that they were very close, much closer than most parents are to their children. Unfortunately, they died when she was 18, a stupid accident."

"Yes, I knew about that as some my Hermione told me and yes, it's very sad," Garcia said. "She misses them every day."

"I miss my father every day too," Morgan said, "so I understand that feeling very well. He was a good man if I ever have a son I'm going to name him after my father."

"That's why we named our son Daniel, as it's after her father and why we named the girl Emma after her mother. It's Hermione's way of honoring them. As for your comment Morgan, it's far past time for you to settle down," Spencer told him. "You're far older than I am after all. You need to stop playing the field. I thought I had far less chance of ever settling down then you did and look at me I'm the first married other than Hotch of course, though I know his marriage broke up. Hermione however, understands the job far better than Haley ever did and so our marriage is not going to break up like Hotch's did.

"Hermione pays attention when I tell her about the cases I can and makes very shrewd observations. She helps me a lot to think in a different way. We understand each other in a way that is very rare in couples who have been married 30 years, but then, I know it's because we're both intelligent, observant and also patient with each others schedule. We listen to each other, truly listen and just don't tune the other out. That right there, is what makes a successful marriage and also we never go to bed angry, not that we get angry at each other very much, though it does happen occasionally."

Morgan said nothing but Garcia looked pensive and a little sad, an expression she wiped away immediately.

"Well, it sounds like you have it all worked out," Garcia said with forced cheerfulness. "I think you're right, you and Hermione will never get divorced, because you'll never let things get to the stage where you lose your common ground and that's a very good thing."

"Hermione's also very understanding about my job and that it's important to me, something I can't say about Haley. To me Haley was selfish, she wanted Hotch to have a 9-to-5 job and while I understand that, switching jobs would've made Hotch miserable. She also to me seemed suspicious of every female that was on the team and seemed to believe that her husband was cheating on her with a least one of them, so I have no doubt that's partly what broke up their marriage."

"I noticed the same things myself," Morgan admitted, "and I'm sure the others have to. I have to admit that kind of marriage rarely works out, though I'm sure Hotch wishes it had."

"That's in the past and there's really nothing we can do about it. It's none of our business anyway, as much as I'd like to help," Garcia said.

Both men nodded, because they knew Garcia was right.

Spencer looked at his friend and knew that Morgan loved Garcia, but he doubted his friend would ever admit it and there was no point in trying to force him to see her as anything but a friend. He knew how stubborn Morgan could be or himself for that matter.

This was something that Morgan was going to have to realize on his own, just like he had realized his feelings for Hotch's niece, with the teams encouragement of course, which he had resented at the time, but now realized it had been a good thing. Spencer knew himself well enough to know that he never would have asked Hermione out on that first date without that encouragement from his friends, so he was grateful, even if he had resented it at first.

Finally, the three of them broke apart Spencer to head back home, as he was sure his wife was home by now. He had never imagined himself thinking that, imagined that he'd ever get married have to be completely happy, but he was and that's the way it should be. It wouldn't be long before Harold and Hugo started Hogwarts. He would miss them while they were gone, but understood it was a talent that needed to be trained, so they didn't keep having bursts of accidental magic every time they had an emotional outburst. He also understood why Hermione wanted them to keep the name of Granger, and thought she had a good idea of proving to the bigots that it hadn't been just a fluke she was top of every class, even if it took generations. Still, for the first time ever since he had joined the team and made friends life wasn't only good it was great, which was something he had never expected. It was also a feeling he would treasure for the rest of his life, as he remember perfectly well how lonely he had been, even after he met the team. Now, he had a family and he would always treasure them. This was the way life should always be.