Lazy Wizards

Harry looked around at the location he just arrived at. It was, of all things, a museum: The Natural History Museum in London, England.

He shrugged and made his way inside. He strolled around, looking at the Exhibitions and generally enjoying himself.

He was walking though the dinosaur section when he heard a commotion off to the side. A little girl was being embraced by what looked like her mother and another boy was sitting on the ground holding his mouth. The boy's parents looked terrified.

He rushed over and said, "What's going on?"

The boy's mother said, "That girl did something to my little boy!"

He looked and saw the boy's teeth were expanding. Harry quickly cast notice-me-not charms and then cast "Finite" at the boy. His teeth stopped growing.

"What happened?"

The woman holding the little girl said, "The boy said something rude and then … well, this happened."

Harry was curious. "What did he say?"

The little girl, who was crying, piped up, "He said 'Look, one of your ancestors!'" She pointed to the skeleton on display of an Incisivosaurus gauthieri.

Now that he could see the little girl's face, he recognized her.

"Ah! Well, I'm going to fix it, so no worries." He fixed the boy's teeth and cast an obvliviate spell at the boy and his parents. He wove in the idea that the boy had insulted a little girl who pushed him and that the parents were taking him home to give him an appropriate punishment.

He just knew that a Ministry obliviator would make everything seem "okay" but Harry was of the opinion that the boy should be punished for his insensitivity. It was unlikely, from what he saw, that they would spank him. He wasn't the boy's parent and so had no preference for proper punishment.

Just as the small family was leaving (about 2 minutes after Harry had arrived) he heard a pop.

Two wizards stood there in robes looking around. "Idiots," he muttered to himself.

Harry raised his hand, wand clearly visible, and said, "A bit of accidental magic from my squib cousin's daughter. Did a notice-me-not and obliviation. Everything is under control."

The two Ministry workers noticed the man looked very comfortable with a wand. It implied he was well practiced and likely licensed to perform such spells.

To be perfectly correct they should have checked his ID and made sure – but they were as lazy as most wizards and so just accepted it. The two robed wizards nodded and apparated away.

Harry shook his head and repeated his earlier comment: "Idiots."

The little girl, who was no longer crying, and the girl's mother were both staring at him in shock. He gave an easy smile and said, "You'd probably like an explanation?"

The mother nodded and said, "Yes. Especially since you're my cousin?"

Harry smiled sheepishly. "That was so that the Ministry idiots wouldn't do their normal sloppy job. I'll explain everything. Is your husband around? He should hear this as well."

The little girl piped up, "Daddy's in the loo. Mummy and I were looking at dinosaurs."

"Well that's alright." Harry proceeded to drop the notice-me-not charms and suddenly the girl's father appeared.

"What happened?" He saw his little girl had been crying and his adrenalin had just increased.

"Just a boy who likes to insult other children. His parents are taking him home to discipline him." The father looked a bit less tense at that. "But I do have some things to explain to you and your family. Would you mind a sit down somewhere I can do that?"

The mother answered before her husband could ask for more details. "Yes. We should do that. Museum's food place okay or should there be more privacy?"

Harry thought about it. "That should be fine. I can make it more private as needed."

The little girl was extremely interested in the man who had helped them. The father was confused. And the mother was determined. Little things like this had been happening recently and it appeared this man had an explanation.

The four made their way to the area where food could be purchased by visitors. The wife insisted that they pay for the meal. Harry didn't have any money, so he accepted quite easily.

After getting the food, they took the table furthest from the crowd. Harry took his wand and once again set up notice-me-not charms.

The husband said, "What? Is that a magic wand?" He asked it as a joke.

Harry smiled a bit and replied, "Yes. I just set up privacy spells."

The wife interjected before her husband could answer. "You said you have some things to explain. What's your name?"

"My name's Harry." He argued with himself but decided to go the full route. "And this is Hermione. You two are her parents, Dr. Granger and Dr. Granger. I was going to say … Robert and … Miranda? I'm not certain – but your middle name is Jane, the same as little Hermione here."

Both were gobsmacked, even as Hermione was astounded. "Actually, Jane is my first name – Jane Miranda."

"Ah – there are always small differences."

Robert was getting quite annoyed. "How do you know these things?"

Harry smiled and said, "I'll explain, but first: Has your daughter ever had odd things happen around her? Especially when she's upset or angry?"

The couple looked at each other and Jane said, "It has happened."

"Yes. Well, there's a good explanation for it." He paused. "Hermione is a magical child, technically a witch."

Both stared at him, as did Hermione. Robert asked, "Are you a witch too?"

Harry laughed a bit. "A witch is a woman. I'm a wizard."

Jane looked at Hermione, Robert, and then at Harry. "Do you have proof?"

Harry looked around. "Well, I set up notice-me-not charms but if I do anything too flashy, someone might still notice." He thought about it. "I know you two are dentists and might object on principle, but I can do something which will make your daughter's life a bit easier and show you at once. Do I have permission?"

Robert and Jane were cagey but both nodded. He turned to the little girl. "Open your mouth."

Hermione opened her mouth and Harry sent a spell toward her for a few seconds until he cancelled it. He then conjured a mirror and said, "Take a look, Hermione."

Hermione looked to her parents for approval and then snatched the mirror. When she looked at the image in the mirror, she squealed. "They're normal! Perfect and straight! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

The little girl jumped off the table and rushed around the table to throw her arms around Harry. Her teeth had been a source of a lot of teasing.

"You're welcome, Hermione. But thank your parents – they gave me permission."

Hermione let go of Harry and then jumped at her parents and hugged the stuffing out of them – as much as a seven-year old girl could. She kept repeating, "Thank you," to them as she did so.

After hugging them, Hermione sat down again and started asking questions: "Can I learn to do that? Are there books? Where can I get a magic wand? Are there …"

Harry laughed and said, "Whoa!" When Hermione was silent he said, "I'll explain, just be calm."

"Anyway, as you can see: Magic is real. And there are many, many witches and wizards. But their society is hidden. In 1692, a law was passed: The Statute of Secrecy. It was done in answer to a number of people trying to burn magicals at the stake and other persecutions. It also means that the government of the magicals operates almost completely on the idea that they have to keep it secret."

Harry paused. "Remember the two in robes who showed up?"

Jane and Hermione nodded. Robert didn't. "The little boy who insulted Hermione sparked some accidental magic and his teeth started to grow. I fixed it but such incidents aren't too uncommon. So the Ministry for Magic has a squad of wizards who go around and fix these things and, as necessary, modify memories so that magic is protected."

Jane was curious. "So why did you stop them from doing that to us?"

Harry shrugged. "Hermione is going to get an invitation to go to school when she's 11. You're going to learn of this anyway, so I thought you might as well learn now. Besides, there's a lot of things that you can learn about before she gets invited to school. I thought it would be better for that to happen than to wait."

Jane and Robert looked at each other and an unspoken message passed between them. Jane turned back and said, "Yes, that's true. But there's more to it, I think. Why did you really intercede on our behalf?" She watched for a reaction and didn't see it. "On Hermione's behalf." There! There was what she was looking for.

"Who is Hermione Granger to you?"

Harry took a long look at the two and then Hermione. Finally he sighed. "Because, my name is Harry James Potter. I was born on 31 July 1980. When I went to school in 1991, I met one of the best friends I would ever have on the train. Her name was Hermione Granger." He paused and then finished. "I'm not from the future, but from another dimension."