"What do you want for dinner?" Aaron asked Hermione.
It was several weeks after they had visited Diagon Alley and they had fallen into a routine. Hermione was spending all her time planning her wedding while Aaron just sat across from her perhaps reading the paper or a book that was in the house.
Aaron realized that he was quite content and much happier then he had been in a very long time. He was happy so long as he was in Hermione's presence and had quickly gotten used to her muttering as she tried to make decisions about her wedding.
"Is that time already?" Hermione said looking at the clock that was on the mantle. "Yeah, I guess it is."
Hermione sounded surprised at how fast the time had just flown. Hermione stomach suddenly growled let her know it was hungry.
"Do you want to go out to dinner or order in?" Aaron asked her. "I'm OK either way. We could probably use the fresh air however, as we've been stuck inside for days."
"Go out to dinner," Hermione decided.
"So where do you want to go," Aaron said pleased with the decision.
"It doesn't really matter," Hermione said. "We could go to one of the restaurants that I used to frequent with my parents, somewhere really nice if you like. Anywhere, so long as I can get a full meal and not just a burger or a sandwich."
"Fine with me," Aaron agreed. "Why don't you go get ready and I'll go change my shirt and use the loo."
Hermione looked reluctant to pull herself away from wedding planning, but went to use the loo first and then get into something semi-nice.
"So I've been thinking," Aaron told her once they were both in his car this time instead of hers. His was a rental, but he could certainly afford to keep it as long as he wanted to."
"About what?" Hermione asked.
"About how I should probably buy a car and return the rental for one thing," Aaron explained. "I know I can take the bus or the tube to wherever I want to go but we are going to be live in a Muggle house, so I probably need a vehicle. Also, I need to get a visa and a bunch of other documentation for living in this country."
"Some of that is going to have to be forged," Hermione said not seeming upset at the revelation. "Immortals don't exist to governments all over the world so you can't exactly get the proper documentation legally."
"It's what I've always had to do ever since so much documentation became required," Aaron agreed. "Do you know anybody that can get me the proper documentation for living in this country? We'll even have to forge medical records because nobody will ever believe I've never been sick a day in my life."
"That's true, even if it's just for doctor check ups and other minor things. I have to make sure we have documents that say you've had your immunizations. All of it can be forged with magic," Hermione said. "Well, not the passports, but things like birth certificates, health certificates and immunization certificates can certainly be forged. We can forge everything we'll need for you to get the rest of the documentation through the mail. That way you're in the appropriate records. So long as you cause no trouble they're not gonna check whether you saw a doctor in order to get the appropriate health and immunization records."
"I've been dealing with this kind of thing for centuries and it's always such a pain in the butt," Aaron said. "But if you can forge some of the documents with magic that cuts out the middleman, which will make things easier."
"It'll still be a long process either way," Hermione said. "You should be granted citizenship once we marry so that's one hurdle out of the way."
"Once I'm a resident of the country I should be able to get a work visa," Aaron added.
"That's for later," Hermione said. "I already have a certificate with all the classes I took at Hogwarts. They all have different names like potions is chemistry just for example."
"I'm looking forward to our wedding but until then let's go out to dinner and enjoy ourselves."
Hermione stomach gave a loud growl so she just nodded.
~~~Aaron and Hermione~~~
"So only the Killing Curse is green," Aaron said.
"Yes that's right," Hermione agreed. "If you ever see a green curse heading your way duck behind something solid like marble, the thicker the better. The only thing that can stop a Killing Curse from impacting on any part of a body is a physical object as magical shields won't stand up to them. A Killing Curse has about five times more power behind it then a regular spell, which means it cuts right through a regular Shield Charm like butter."
"Do you think the Killing Curse would kill me permanently dead?" Aaron asked.
"Probably not, but you also don't know for sure, as you didn't even know that magic was real until I told you," Hermione admitted.
"I doubt it would kill me or any immortal permanently because so long as we still have our heads then it is unlikely to be permanent. Well, I suppose if we had our hearts removed we would be permanently dead as well, but other than that, death is likely only going to be temporary. Still, it doesn't hurt to be cautious, since I don't know for sure whether I would be permanently dead if I got hit with a Killing Curse," Aaron explained.
Aaron had asked Hermione about spells that could kill an immortal, not necessarily permanently and Hermione had given him a whole list and most of them sounded horrible but survivable. An Entrail-Expelling Curse really?
Hermione had then explained it had been invented by a Healer in the late 1600s to clear out any foreign blockages in the body.
"I'm sure I'll discover other such curses as every country has its own unique spells," Hermione said.
"That's for later," Aaron said. "I don't think we need to worry about that for a number of years."
"Likely not," Hermione said she and Aaron cuddled on the couch. Aaron asked many questions, as he was very curious about everything involved in the Wizarding World and Hermione answered. Hermione was a fount of knowledge about many subjects and Aaron found Hermione's mind fascinating. She was so intelligent and she knew how to use it unlike so many people. She knew how to think and could see solutions that others missed because they didn't know how to think logically.
"Also, there's the Imperius Curse," Hermione continued. "Goes along with the Killing Curse and is considered an Unforgivable and anyone caught using it on another is sent to straight to Azkaban.
"What's the Imperius Curse?" Aaron asked.
"It's a curse that put you under someone else's control. I've heard it's almost like being hypnotized. A voice will give you instructions and it's never been used for a good cause. A person who is under the curse will kill their entire family without realizing what they're doing, because they've been ordered to do so by the curser. Very few people have a strong enough will to fight it off and when the curse is finally removed it usually leaves devastation in its wake. You could be ordered to steal something valuable for example and you'd be forced to obey. It was one of the Death Eaters and Voldemort's favorite spells to use on someone."
"That does sound nasty though, not as bad as the Killing Curse because at least you can survive it," Aaron said. "Can you fight off the Imperius?"
"I can't actually, as we had it tested on us in class in 4th year," said Hermione. "I did exactly what our instructor, who was the fake Moody I told you about, told me to do. I even did a cartwheel and I've never been able to do that before, as I am not exactly the most athletic. Harry is the only one that could fight it off and he did it several times during the war."
"He must have a strong will to break the curse," Aaron said.
"He does, Harry is very strong mentally and emotionally, as he never would have survived all he did if he wasn't, he just would have gone quietly insane, after everything he's been through. He's probably the most stubborn person I've ever known. From what he's told me, not only did he have to put up with being beaten up by the two male Dursleys he also had to be put up with a lot of drudgery."
"That is so sad," Aaron said shaking his head. "I know you only brushed on what his life was like with the Dursleys before, because you had a long story to tell so didn't have time to tell me indepth what Harry had gone through."
"The last Unforgivable is the Cruciatus Curse," Hermione continued. "It is a curse that sends incredible pain down your nerves and makes them feel like they are on fire and also like they have been dipped in acid at the same time. You can be driven insane after just a few minutes of being under it. Harry has been put under it several times by Voldemort himself as well as others. He's the one that described exactly what it felt like, so it's no wonder that most people go insane if they're under it for more than 10 minutes."
"Ouch! That would be excruciatingly painful," Aaron winced in sympathy, as he imagined his nerve endings being on fire. He might be immortal, but that didn't mean he couldn't feel pain and being in that amount of pain seemed unreal but he knew it was possible. Luckily, being in that amount of pain at one time he never happened to him and hopefully, it never would.
"There is a famous Auror couple who were put under this curse for over half an hour and they have been resident of St. Mungo's permanent spell damage ward for over 20 years, having lost their minds. Alice and Frank were two of the best Aurors on the force at the time and they left behind their son Neville. Neville grew up with his grandmother Augusta Longbottom. Do you now understand what damage the Cruciatus Curse can do and why it is classified as an Unforgivable?"
"I do," Aaron agreed. "All three spell are horrible and just goes to show you that magicals are no different from those without it if they're willing to use such horrible curses on other people. Even the Imperius Curse is horrible in its own way, even if it's not as bad as the other two."
"Absolutely true," Hermione agreed.
"I already knew there was a darker side of the Wizarding World from what you have told me. I know their is a dark side to most things, but still it amazes me that people can be so cruel. I've seen a lot in my centuries but humans are always coming up with new ways to hurt each other and magicals aren't any different in that regard. I would think that humans would've learned by now how to get along with each other, but I know that's just not human nature."
"Yes, it is," Hermione agreed. "I like to believe the best in everyone but I know some people either don't want to or can't change. Just look at Severus Snape, who is the man that taught potions at Hogwarts all because James Potter and his friends pulled a lot of mean spirited pranks on him."
"So he was nasty to the students," Aaron said.
"To everyone, bar Slytherin, because that's the house he was in, as a student and the one he was head of. He was particularly horrible to Harry and Neville because of who their parents were. He joined Voldemort, but supposedly repented when he realized that the prophecy that was made in 1980 would involve Lily, his childhood friend's son. He didn't care if James or Harry died, just Lily. He'd been in love with Lily ever since they were children and met. They both grew up in the same neighborhood by the name of Spinner's End. The fact that Lily eventually chose James over him made him bitter, I think. Snape is still in love with her to this day, even though she's been dead for well over 20 years."
"Supposedly," Aaron asked with a raised eyebrow at Hermione's choice of word.
"I tried to give him the benefit of the doubt through most of my Hogwarts school career, even though he was nasty to me simply because I raised my hand in class and answered the questions that the other students couldn't. He called me a know it-all and also insufferable, which were the kindest things he ever said to me. I know he was worse to me, because I was friends with Harry so I had to put up with a lot of insults and Slytherin's trying to sabotage Gryffindor's potions by throwing something in it that caused it to explode in the victims faces."
"Most children aren't that mature," Aaron suggested.
"No, they definitely aren't, but there was a famous rivalry between Slytherins and Gryffindors that has been going on ever since Salazar Slytherin and Godric Gryffindor parted ways. This was due to a difference of opinion as to whether to allow Muggle-born to attend the school back when Hogwarts was first built over 1000 years ago. That rivalry has accelerated over the centuries and Dumbledore only encouraged it instead of stamping down on it like he should have considering it just high spirits."
"Well, it's obvious Muggle-borns were allowed to attend," Aaron said.
"While that's true, we are often treated as lesser beings, one step up from a Squib, simply because we don't have generations of magical users on both sides of our family. Many fail to realize it's the inbreeding is what causes many pure-blood families to have mental defects and also have more Squibs in their family lines. A lot of pure-blood families only have one child per generation, except for ones like the Weasleys."
"There's nothing you can do, as that's on them so why worry about it? I'm assuming they wouldn't listen to you if you tried to tell them what the problem with them having children is," Aaron said
"You're right they wouldn't," Hermione agreed with a grimace. "They would never accept that the Muggles have been researching the subject for many years. To them Muggles are worthless and should be treated no better than the slaves or even eradicated completely.
"Luckily, those views are considered very extreme for most pure-bloods. A lot of pure-blood believe that Muggle-borns should be evicted from the Wizarding World and their magic bound. They have a strong belief that if anybody is going to reveal that magic exists to Muggles the Muggle-borns will, because they basically straddle two worlds. I won't say their fears don't have some basis in fact, but joining Voldemort and killing them off is not the way nor is binding their magic making them forget the Wizarding World even exists."
"There has to be some middle ground where both factions can remain neutral," Aaron said.
"If there is trying to get both factions to meet on that middle ground would be like herding cats. Cats don't do anything they absolutely don't want to do. I know this from experience," Hermione said grimacing.
"Yes I remember you saying you had a pet that was half-Kneazle and half cat that died at an attack on the Burrow."
"I miss Crookshanks sometimes," Hermione said. "He was very intelligent, but then Kneazles are. He knew Scabbers wasn't really a rat, it was actually a wizard in Animagus form. It's why Crooks kept attacking Ron's pet. Ron objected loudly saying that Crookshanks should be banned, but the thing is cats are allowed as pets in the school but rat's aren't. Toads, cats and owls are the allowed pets."
"So technically Ron was breaking school rules," Aaron said his lips curling, as he thought of one Ron Weasley. Hermione was very right Ron was very immature "Why does that not surprise me, as he seems like the type."
"The Weasleys couldn't afford a pet and to be fair Scabbers was passed down to Ron from his older brother Percy so Percy broke the rules first. How the elder Weasleys never realized that Scabbers wasn't a regular rat is beyond me. Normal rats only live up to like four years and Pettigrew had been staying with the family since shortly after the defeat of Voldemort which would've made it well over a decade."
"I can see what you mean about most magicals not being able to think logically, as it should've been obvious that Scabbers was not a real rat after a few years. Your right, that normal rats don't live more than 4 or 5 years at the outside."
"Exactly," Hermione agreed. "To be fair though, the Weasleys had no reason to be suspicious. What is obvious to you and me probably wouldn't be obvious to most people. Mostly because they don't know how to think. It also helps to have a suspicious and curious nature, which most people just don't."
"From what I was told Percy found Pettigrew shortly after it had been announced that the Potters had been killed out in the garden. Percy was just a young child then and had no way of knowing that the rat was an Animagus. Pettigrew played his cards well and likely picked the Weasleys because he was bound to know that there were many young children in the family. Children are known for collecting odd pets like rats and toads."
"I see what you mean," Aaron said thoughtfully. "You're right a lot of children are known for collecting odd pets if they have parents that allow it. Some people consider rats filthy and disease carriers, though so I would say that Pettigrew just got lucky the Arthur and Molly let their son keep him as a pet."
The two talked for a long time before heading to bed.
~~~Aaron and Hermione~~~