The next day
Hermione relaxed into her favorite chair in the parlor with a new glass of wine. A bottle of the same wine was sitting at the ready on the table at the side of her chair.
"Are you sure I can't get some of this," Aaron asked meaning the wine of course. Aaron had taken quite a liking to it.
"You can now have an endless supply since I am your mate and it's my favorite wine," Hermione told him. "And now I can reveal that Beauchamp's is a Wizarding World wine from France like I told you before. I just left out the wizarding part. It is made at a wizarding vineyard that is concealed from ordinary people but where magical folks can tour the vineyards if they want to. They haven't branched out into the Muggle world though they can if they want to and it would certainly improve their profit margins."
"No wonder I couldn't find it in any of the wine shops and believe me, I went looking after I had my first glass," Aaron said looking at the bottle of wine sitting on the table beside Hermione with new respect.
"That's why," Hermione laughed, as Aaron's expression was frustrated, as he remembered not being able to find the wine he'd had at her house.
"I remember you saying you ordered it from a french vineyard, but I figured they would sell it in the wine shops here, but it turned out I was wrong about that," Aaron said laughing himself. "At least now I understand why I couldn't find it. The shopkeepers I asked about it had never heard of it, but then, I'm assuming all of them were Muggles."
"Yes," Hermione agreed. "I won't say there aren't some wizarding folks that don't run shops outside of places like Diagon Alley but the chances of you running into someone like that are astronomical. Even if they were magical they wouldn't have revealed they were and they either would've told you they had never heard of it or said that brand wasn't available outside of France or something similar."
"I still wouldn't have been able to find out if I'd actually travel to France would I?" Aaron asked Hermione shrewdly.
"Likely not," Hermione admitted. "I would say there's a slim chance that they do sell to Muggles over there but it isn't to likely."
"What exactly makes it wizarding wine other than the family that makes it is magical?" Aaron asked.
"Nothing really," Hermione shrugged. "It's just ordinary wine but the process of making it is probably different from the way Muggles do it. For all I know, they add something extra to it that gives it that rich, smooth taste, but since I don't know how they make it I can't tell you. Even if I asked they probably wouldn't tell me, as they wouldn't want me duplicating whatever it is they do."
"It's probably a trade secret," Aaron said knowingly and Hermione nodded.
"Probably," Hermione agreed with a smile.
"It doesn't really matter, so long as I can still have it to drink sometimes. It doesn't matter, where it comes from or you're the only one that can get it. Considering we're mates we'll be together forever since you accepted my proposal and took the fact that I was immortal with amazing calmness. I understand why you did now, while before I knew about the fact that you're witch I was surprised that you were so calm about my revelation."
"I just figured that if magical creatures such as phoenixes can be real why not immortals?" Hermione shrugged.
"So our children then...?" Aaron started to ask.
"Will likely have my magic, but it's not a sure bet or anything," Hermione said knowing what was Aaron was asking.
"Why not," Aaron asked with a eyebrow raised curiously.
"Because you're not also magical," Hermione explained. "As far as I know I'm the first magical in my family but I suspect that both my parents were Squibs, which is how I got the ability. Squibs are simply children from magical families that don't inherit any magical abilities. This happens a lot in pureblood families due to inbreeding. Because of prejudice a lot of times they are put out on the street or left on the doorsteps of somewhere like an orphanage or a hospital.
"The only problem with this is those Squibs eventually grow up not remembering their magical heritage and will get married and have children. Now while the magical ability might not show up again for centuries it is still within the blood of every descendent of that Squib."
"So the ability eventually pops up again, even if it's not for 500 years or more," Aaron said and Hermione nodded.
"Exactly but you really can't tell the pure-bloods anything, as they are very stuck in their ways most of them. There are exceptions however, like the Weasleys and also another friend of mine from school Neville Longbottom. Still, they don't know anything about genetics and even if I tried to explain it they probably wouldn't understand, as they just don't have the standard education that people like me get in primary school."
"Don't magicals go to school?" Aaron inquired.
"Not until Hogwarts for most of them not unless the families live in the Muggle world, which is usually only Muggle-borns or half-bloods. They are taught their lessons at home, usually by a parent or at least a caregiver, usually the mother."
"The magical world is so different from everything I've ever known," Aaron shook his head. "I will admit that I've known children who were home taught back when I was born, but it's still a weird concept me. How is it that you don't have somebody showing up at your door wondering why your children aren't in school?"
"Because most magicals, bar ones like me are not registered with the appropriate governmental department," Hermione said with a twitch of her lips to show she was suppressing a smile. "They basically don't exist to the Muggle government. Most magical families at least here in England live in isolation usually out in the country. Wherever they live they are warded to where a Muggle can walk on by and see nothing there or in some cases, it looks like an abandoned house or building as the case may be. Muggles can't see children flying on brooms, playing Quidditch for example, but so long as they were remain within the wards the Muggles never know they're there.
"Quidditch?" Aaron asked.
"Wizarding sport," Hermione explained. "It's played on broomsticks. Both Ron and Harry were mad about it when they should've been studying. Ron could talk Quidditch strategy for hours, even if no one was interested, but couldn't get a feather to float with his wand. Part of his problem though, was that Ron's wand was second hand and had belong to another member of the family, which means that it didn't chose him, so I suppose, it wasn't all his fault that he couldn't get his feather to float. The Weasleys simply couldn't afford new wands for all seven children, as they can be expensive, so had to use old family wands from former members that had already passed away. Ron and Harry were on the Quidditch team. Harry was on it from his first year and technically, first years aren't allowed their own broomsticks.
"An allowance was made for him because it turned out he was a fantastic Seeker and they didn't have one, as the student in that position had graduated. Gryffindor wouldn't have been able to play without a Seeker. Before you ask Gryffindor is a school house and also the house I was in when I went to Hogwarts."
"I have so much learn," Aaron said sipping on his third glass of wine. He knew he should stop but he couldn't seem to help himself as it was addictive. Thankfully immortals couldn't get intoxicated or get hungover from drinking too much alcohol, which he had always appreciated.
"Yes, you do, but you'll get there. Now about that tale I've been promising to tell you for several days if we get started now then we should finish before it gets to late," Hermione said looking at the clock on the wall of the parlor. "Don't interrupt with questions or I'll never get through it and I really don't want to tell it more than once."
"Alright, I'll save my questions," Aaron promised.
"Good, thank you," Hermione said gratefully and then begin to tell Aaron all about her Hogwarts years and about the war. She talked about meeting Harry and Ron on the train and also Neville Longbottom. She talked about how she had no friends before, because she was really bossy and pushy back in those days. Making friends was one of the main reasons she had wanted to try Hogwarts when her invitation to attend had shown up along with Professor McGonagall who explained to her parents that the offer to study magic was very real. She explained how McGonagall had changed their kitchen table into an elephant who had trumpeted once before the professor had changed the table back into what it was.
She had realized quickly however, that children were the same everywhere and could be just as mean and cruel as regular school children. She spoke of how she had believed that problem was that her magic simply made her so different that regular children shunned her and it turned out that was only part of the reason.
She told how she had been attacked by a troll when she was in a girls bathroom crying because of Ron Weasley's cruel words and how Harry had charged into the bathroom dragging a reluctant Ron Weasley along. She remembered how Harry had jumped on the troll's back and stuck his wand up its nose and how she managed to levitate it's club conking it on the head to knock it out, with a spell she had just learned in class.
Aaron noticed that as Hermione talked and the years of school progressed the magical world went from light, like making friends to much darker aspects of that world. Hermione talked how she discovered that things she had believed were fantasy were real like dragons, phoenixes, goblins and centaurs. She talked about the headmaster's manipulations and how he had placed Harry with his mother sister where he had been abused. Her mentioned how Dumbledore had done nothing about it no matter how many time Harry had told him about the abuse.
Finally, she reached the end of her tale several hours later.
Aaron sat there for a few minutes simply absorbing Hermione's tale. Hermione poured him another glass of wine without him have to ask.
Aaron picked it up and gulped it down instead of sipping it and then finally spoke for the first time in hours.
"You are the most courageous woman I have ever known. You stood by your friend's side through everything instead of running away. You could have easily have asked your parents to take you out of school perhaps leave England entirely. If you had told your parents any of the details I suspect they would have withdrawn you from Hogwarts in a heartbeat in order to protect you. It is what any loving parent would do if their child was in danger despite their protests."
"You're absolutely right," Hermione said looking tired and drained from finally telling her story but feeling incredibly lighter. "If I had told them any of this you are correct about their reaction. I know I kept a lot from them but that was more for their safety. Also, just so you know, there is a law that you have to attend some magical school at least through your fifth year, which is when you take your O. . That stands for Ordinary Wizarding Levels. If I hadn't completed at least my 5 year then the Ministry Obliviators would have shown up to take mine and my parents memories of the magical world and also bound my magic."
"They can do that?" Aaron blinked in astonishment. "They can take your magic and make you forget you ever had it."
"Yes, they can and that would've left me vulnerable to Voldemort's Death Eaters and other forces that believed in his philosophy. I can just see someone like Dolores Umbridge taking great delight in taunting Harry with the fact that I no longer remembered him or the magical world. I wouldn't have put it past Voldemort or his Death Eaters particularly the Malfoys to come after the Grangers and we would be unaware of the danger and totally defenseless against magic they wielded.
"Voldemort would've done anything to hurt Harry and my death would certainly have devastated him leaving him an easy target to kill. I couldn't let that happen, as I was the brains of the golden trio as we were called at Hogwarts and I couldn't see Ron having the ability to help Harry like he needed. It's not like Ron and Harry were unintelligent, they just didn't know how to use that intelligence. I also, knew how to think logically something sadly lacking in my best friends at the time. To be fair, however, logic isn't exactly an encouraged trait in the magical world here in Britain. Most magicals, bar very few seem to lack any logical thought processes.
"Back to Ron though. I will say, that he had his good points, as for one thing, he was an excellent strategist, especially considering his age. He beat the pants off most anyone at what is known as Wizard's Chess and could see at least five moves ahead, which of course made him good at strategy. Still, things would have likely gone to hell in a handbasket if my parents had pulled me out of school.
"We may very well have lost the war if I wasn't there, though that's not a sure thing. Harry's luck would have run out eventually, as he had escaped Voldemort four times by the time things really heated up. No one besides Lily and James Potter had ever done so. Fate or destiny whatever you want to call it, eventually caught up with them and Harry lost his parents because of it."
"So you were essential to the war ending," Aaron said feeling very proud to have such courageous woman as his mate.
"I guess I was," Hermione admitted modestly. "At the time, all I knew was that Harry needed me. I was determined to be there for my best friend and the brother I never had by blood."
"I understand why you two are so close now and I can't wait to meet him in person," Aaron said.
"He certainly can't wait to meet you," Hermione told him with a half smile. "I'm warning you however, that he doesn't want pity for what happened to him due to Dumbledore. He doesn't like to talk about himself, as so many people pity him if they can get past the fact that he's the Boy Who Lived, and later vanquisher of the Dark Lord. How he hates those monikers that the Wizarding World has thrust upon him.
"One of the reasons he fell in love with Daphne Greengrass is she saw him just as Harry from the first moment. She never saw him as the Boy Who Lived or the vanquisher of Voldemort. She thought he was brave to continue to get out in the world considering all he had been through. That he was still willing to help people, when so many people just wanted to use his fame for their own ends was a miracle in her opinion. Daphne is one of the very few other than me who saw Harry as himself."
"Not Ron?" Aaron asked and Hermione shook her head.
"Not at first," Hermione admitted. "He didn't want to be friends with a boy called Harry, he wanted to be friends with the Boy Who Lived. The Boy Who Lived is just a moniker that has been thrust up on him by the gullible wizarding public due mostly to the Daily Prophet, our newspaper. There were even story books written about his supposed adventures as well. Ron Weasley was well aware that he would be in the same year as the famous Harry Potter and was determined to attach himself to him. He was determined to hang onto Harry's coattails to reflect in a bit of Harry's glory. Eventually that changed to where they really were friends, even if Ron is a lazy sod. As for me, I'm actually closer to Fred and George now then Ron Weasley.
"They might be pranksters, but they also treat Harry normally. They feel like they owe him, because he was the one that initially gave them the start up capital for their joke shop Weasley Wizard Wheezes. It was their dream since before they even entered Hogwarts and the elder Weasleys simply couldn't afford to help them. Molly didn't exactly approve of what they decided to do after school, just so just so you know."
"So what did she think they should do with their lives?" Aaron asked with laughter in his eyes.
"She felt they should join the Ministry like their father," Hermione said smiling shaking her head. "To be truthful, she felt like that for Bill and Charlie the two oldest as well, but they went their own way. Only Percy wanted to join the Ministry after graduation."
"The Ministry doesn't sound like a good idea to me as he told me they're corrupt," Aaron suggested and Hermione nodded.
"They are, very much so, though things have improved a lot since the end of the war. If I had decided to join some department of the Ministry my advancement wouldn't have been very fast no matter how capable, if I advanced at all. There is still a lot of prejudice at the Ministry of Magic, though it's a lot better than it used to be."
"I don't understand how Mrs. Weasley could think joining the Ministry would be a good idea for any of her sons," Aaron said shaking his head.
"Because she's a pure-blood and that's how she was raised think. Mrs. Weasley has never been out into the Muggle world as far as I know and in fact, she rarely leaves the Burrow, except to do the shopping," Hermione explained and Aaron nodded in understanding.
"I love Mrs. Weasley I do, but she can be a tad to assertive trying to force her children into career she chose instead of letting them go their own way. She's loud, can be obnoxious and always treated Harry and me like members of her own brood.
"Harry seemed to appreciate it when he was younger, since he lost his parents when he was only a little over a year old, but I had a perfectly good set of parents thank you and I didn't need to be mothered.
"Despite her faults she loves all seven of her children and loves Harry like her own son so I can forgive her for a lot of things because of that. She's just a bit obnoxious and can also be a bit of a bully, but has a good heart underneath it all. The fact that she's a great cook is only one of her many positive attributes."
"That little cake I had was really good so I agree that she's a great cook," Aaron said. "I would love to try some more of her food."
"You'll get the chance, as I'm sure we'll be invited to the Burrow for a meal once I tell the Weasleys about you," Hermione explained.
"That's the name of their home and it's located in Devon in the countryside outside a little town known as Ottery St. Catchpole," Hermione added when she saw Aaron was about to ask.
"Well, I see you anticipated me," Aaron said with a twitch of his lips to show he was amused.
"I'm good at that," Hermione shrugged. "We'll use Wizarding methods for travel, which we can talk about later as it's late and I'm ready for bed."
"We can talk more later," Aaron agreed seeing how tired Hermione was. Telling him of her adventures had exhausted her so he could be patient to learn more.
"I'll show myself out just make sure you lock up behind me," Aaron said.
"You're welcome to stay the night as we are engaged after all," Hermione offered.
"I'll be happy to," Aaron said grinning. "I don't have any clothes for tomorrow though."
"No need to worry about that I'll show you a little magic in the morning," Hermione said.
"OK then," Aaron agreed getting up and scooping Hermione into his arms and heading for the stairs. "I love you more than anything in the world Hermione and I can't wait to make love to you. Not tonight though, we're both exhausted."
"Yeah, we are," Hermione agreed as she kissed Aaron on the lips softly once they had entered the master bedroom that Hermione directed him too. "I usually just sleep in my old bed, but it's only a double and this is a king."
"What about clean sheets though," Aaron asked when Hermione took out her wand and muttered some words so the covers would turn down without anyone touching them and then added, "Scourify" pointing it at the already turned down bed.
Aaron watched in amazement as the bed unmade itself and all the dust disappeared and the sheets became sparkling clean
"Now that's certainly a useful spell," Aaron grinned before putting Hermione into the bed on one side and then climbing in himself.
~~~Aaron and Hermione~~~