How I Met Your Mother (Harry Potter)
An Encounter With A Dentist
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, its characters or its settings. They belong to JK Rowling, Warner Brothers, and Wizarding World. I do lay claim to my original characters.
This story has nothing to do with the How I Met Your Mother television series.
How I Met Your Mother (Harry Potter)— How I Met Your Mother (Harry Potter)— How I Met Your Mother (Harry Potter)
When we arrived at King's Cross Station, your mother and I returned to hearth and home: mine in the Wizarding world, hers in the Muggle world. I suppose I missed a chance to meet her parents, but I was far more interested in reuniting with my family and perhaps saying hello to Mr. and Mrs. Sanscouer. My Mum and Dad were there on the platform to greet us, as was your Uncle Titus. All of them were glad to see me again. After we exchanged greetings and hugs, we picked up my luggage and made for the floos, Titus gawking not only at the Hogwarts Express but also at the older boys and girls who would be his schoolmates come September. A short time later, we were home again.
We had a late dinner to celebrate my return from school. Mum and Dad told me some of the family gossip. As you know, we have cousins on both sides: Grandma Cora's cousins and Grand Da Uther's. Alexandria and Herbert had gotten engaged and Marylin was getting married. We'd be going to parties later on in the summer. Marylin's wedding was surprisingly close: I was told that she wanted hers on the Summer Solstice but was foiled by the Hogwarts school calendar. Instead, she and Alfred would hold it on the 27th.
"Thank the Gods she changed the dates!" said Mum. "It would have been impossible for the girls to prepare if she'd held it earlier, even if Dumbledore had let you out sooner!"
Well, parties were to be expected. I also knew that I'd be working in the shop. Despite the fact that I was still underage, my Dad wanted me to familiarize myself with how the family business was run and I'd have to spend time working there later that summer. August was the height of the tourist season and Dad wanted me in the store to help him deal with foreign customers.
But that was later on. Mum and Dad traditionally took our own holiday: ten days or so at a tourist hotel along the Mediterranean, usually in July, We'd been doing it before I could walk. It was one of Dad's splurges, and one I enjoyed. We usually left about a week after I got back from Hogwarts. We'd probably have to delay our departure for another week of so because of Marylin's wedding, but we'd still be going.
"So I'll be working at the shop this summer?" I said.
"You will," Dad replied. "Unless you've got some sort of internship lined up with the Ministry."
"No such luck," I said.
"Before I put you to work, I do have an assignment for you," Dad continued.
"What sort of assignment?" I said.
"I want you to familiarize yourself with Muggle transport," said Dad. "I think it's ridiculus that you lot know so little about how Muggles get about. It's a useful life skill and you're at an age to learn it.
"I could already see some point to learning about Muggle transport. While there was room enough for apparition in Wizarding areas, spaces for apparition could be badly-placed and public fireplaces could be few and far between. "Do you want me to learn how to drive an automobile?" I asked hopefully.
"No, you'll be learning to use Muggle public transport," said Dad. "You'll be using trains, busses and trams, where the latter exist. Nanette will help you learn the basics."
I frowned. The idea of roaming Muggle Britain was thrilling but I already knew that the trouble with Muggle transport was that it could be so time-consuming. "I'm told that some trips can take all day," I said.
"I think Nanette can help you plan and implement some short-range trips," said Dad. "We can pick destinations that have public fireplaces nearby. If it's too late in the day, you can Floo home instead of making a round trip."
I realized that this would be my first extensive excursion into the Muggle world without any adults looking over my shoulder.
"Wicked," I said
-XXX—OOO—XXX—
Nanette and I set about making our first Muggle trip on Monday. We'd start by Flooing to Diagon Alley, changing some Wizarding money into Muggle currency at Gringotts, then stepping out the door of the Leaky Cauldron onto Charing Cross Road. We took several bus routes and I quickly learned about bus fares, day passes, how to transfer from one bus line to another, and how to use the Underground. Late in the afternoon we took a commuter train out of Paddington Station, a route I'd never been on, and rode to an outlying suburban station. By that time I was getting tired.
"We'll never make it home in time for supper," I said.
"We wouldn't," said Nanette, "not if we were staying with Muggle transport. There's a public Floo nearby and we'll be heading back from there."
"Why didn't you tell me before?" I said.
"Because you needed the experience," Nanette replied, not a trace of pity in her voice.
Looking back, I did. I may use Apparation and the Floo for most of my travel these days, but I still work at the family business and our family does have the occasional Muggle or Squib customer.
-XXX—OOO—XXX—
Nanette made me practice again the following day. This time she made me Floo to Northampton and work my way south to Luton. It took several bus rides to work our way southeast. We paused at a bus stop near a Sainsbury's, then went inside to buy something to eat. To my surprise I ran into your mother: she was shopping there with her mother.
I was the one who saw her first.
"Granger!" I said with astonishment. Two heads whipped around to stare at me, your mother's and Grandma Jean's. It was the first time I met her and I could see the family resemblance: Mrs. Granger was taller than her daughter, a bit plainer, her hair as curly but less blonde than her daughter's.
"Woodbine!" said the younger Granger. "What are you doing here?"
"Shopping," I replied, feeling abashed. "Nanette and I are shopping for snacks. My Dad decided that I needed to learn about Muggle transport."
Your Mum looked at me skeptically.
"Hello, I'm Nanette Lofton," said Nanette. "I do work for Tristan's Dad. He wats Tristan to learn how to use Muggle transport. We're making our way from Northampton to Luton, then we'll Floo our way home."
"Did you do this on purpose?" said your Mum.
"I admit that I knew that you lived in the area," I said, "but I didn't think it likely that I'd run into you or that we'd be in the same shop at the same time."
Your mother frowned at me while her mother saw my expression and grinned. "It's all right, Sweetheart," she said. "I think he's harmless."
"Still, there's something I want to find out about you lot," she continued. "Open your mouth."
"What?" I said.
"Open your mouth as wide as it will go and keep it open," said Mrs. Granger. She opened her purse and put on a pair of latex gloves. She then extracted a small pen-light
"First chance I ever got to look at a wizard's teeth," she said. "I didn't want to pass up this opportunity."
"My Mum's a dentist," said your Mother.
I backed up a couple of steps in alarm. I'd heard about dentists. They liked to drill holes in people's teeth.
Author's note: I do apologize for the long, long delay. I had a lot of real-life things interfering.