Magic Multiverse 18 (Patreon)

When Hermione woke up in his arms once again, it was lunchtime, and they were both starving. After his ‘encounter’ with Holly last night, the smartest thing was to suggest a date outside, preventing any accident.

“How about I cook us lunch,” he offered.

Sam was starting to suspect that he might not be a smart man.

She blushed. “I don’t want to intrude on Holly’s day that much, especially after… she’s very shy,” she said, referring to the view they caught her in , where her tight body was on display right after her shower.

Admittedly, that was one of the reasons he dared to spend time in the living room. Any reaction Holly presented, Hermione would blame that accident, giving him little operating range.

“She’s an adult; she can handle it,” he said. “It’s not your fault she was walking around naked in your shared space.”

“I should have knocked—“ she started, but after a kiss to her neck, she began murmuring. “You’re right,” she surrendered after a minute, selling out her friend. He would have been shocked, but considering he managed to convince her to dump the man he planned to marry…

He was able to use the same tactic in her selection of clothing, convincing her that there was no harm in walking around wearing a bathrobe. She gave a bathrobe as well. He didn’t need to ask her why she had male clothes in her closet. He knew was transfigured magically.

But, that was only an assumption. Once again, the Wand Magic theory suggested that it was relatively easy to achieve, but in a vague, general way.

It was an annoying skill to utilize.

Also, he wasn’t that surprised at how easy it had been to convince Hermione to move to the living room and the kitchen. From Holly’s reactions, he suspected that they had a certain degree of rivalry as well as being best friends, which was not exactly uncommon.

And, from some subtle clues from Holly, he would be willing to bet that Hermione’s ex might have been that source; meaning that, this Ron guy had technically fumbled two amazingly sexy and competent girls his way.

Well, Ron’s loss, his gain.

He needed to see their attitude face to face to be sure. Luckily, that was easy to achieve. Once they had arrived in the living room, he checked the fridge. “Wanna help me with cooking?” he teased her.

Hermione blushed but nodded, and they started preparing a simple stir-fry of chicken. “Wow, that’s a lot of food,” Hermione whispered once she saw the amount of chicken he had chopped.

He would have just ignored it, when he saw Holly walking to the living room as well. He decided to give her a little assistance and see if she wanted to banter with Hermione or chose to retreat silently. “I’m cooking some extra in case your roommate wants to eat some as well. That’s the least we can do after embarrassing her.”

“I don’t think she will stay. She can be a little … shy,” she responded. It would have been an innocent statement, but with his hand on her waist, he tickled her slightly, and she came out laughing.

He carefully checked behind them from a small mirror and noticed Holly was offended. For a moment, he thought his little plan had worked, and Holly would respond. Too bad she turned and walked away.

It failed.

A pity, he thought, but he didn’t worry that much.

Instead, he focused his attention on the pan, his focus on the food. He usually didn’t care that much about taste when he cooked for himself, but he didn’t want to feed Hermione an inedible mess.

“You’re not a bad cook,” she said as she watched him. “You said you’re bad.”

“I have like three dishes that I can cook. Eggs, stir-fry chicken, and meatballs with a side of pasta. I needed to feed myself when the team cafeteria is no longer an option. Sports is sixty percent nutrition,” he explained, then followed up with critical protein and carb balances. His explanation was unnecessarily technical…

But, Hermione liked unnecessarily technical explanations. She listened attentively, rewarding him with kisses while they cooked together. “It’s not safe,” she muttered when he hugged her from behind once he turned the heat low and started the waiting process. He didn’t answer, but she played along when he moved to the other side of the kitchen, away from the fire.

He kissed her neck, her bathrobe loosening, creating excellent cleavage for her outfit.

“Wow, that’s not hygienic,” said Holly, standing at the kitchen door, a big smile on her face. Then, her gaze dipped down, checking Hermione’s wide bathrobe. While Hermione was busy panicking, he checked Holly’s outfit. She was wearing shorts and tanktop, old and faded, and presumably, they could be claimed to be clothes she slept in.

However, she hadn’t been wearing those earlier. Apparently, his plan worked better than he had expected.

“Holly, we were just cooking,” Hermione muttered, blushing badly.

“Careful. You might get burned,” Holly responded.

Hermione continued to blush, but her shyness didn’t mean she missed the sarcastic tone in Holly’s voice. “Well, technically, we’re even then,” she added. Maybe, alerted by Holly’s outfit. “It’s not like you to sleep this late.”

Holly shrugged. “Well, I would have woken up earlier, but someone had failed to stay silent last night.”

“Nonsense. I put … a lot of effort into silencing.”

“Then, your … efforts must have malfunctioned,” Holly responded, believing that they were speaking in code.

Hermione froze. “So, I was loud enough that you heard—“

“I heard everything,” Holly said, and then her smirk widened. “Sir.”

Hermione blushed badly, but he immediately hugged her from behind. “Our apologies then, Holly. Luckily for you, our offering is ready. We cooked extra.”

“I’m sure Holly has something else planned,” Hermione interrupted. He couldn’t see her face from their current angle, but she was no doubt trying to warn Holly with her expression.

Unfortunately for her, she also had no idea about the little addition he had made … well, not so little.

“I don’t, actually. I had, but I already missed it because of someone else’s loud cries,” Holly responded. She had a surprisingly mean streak when she wasn’t in the middle of seduction.

Fascinating.

“We’re happy you’re joining us, Holly,” he said, smirking. Holly blushed, while Hermione believed that he was saying that to be nice.

“Fine,” Hermione said, then looked at Holly. “We have enough time for you to change.”

Holly shrugged, but rather than returning to her room, she took a seat on the couch, digging a book. “Sorry about her,” Hermione whispered. “I promise that she’s normally much nicer. She has been weird since … well, for a while.”

He smiled, acting as if he didn’t know Hermione was referring to her broken engagement. “It’s fine. Close friends fight and make up,” he said. He even had a good way to let them make up.

It was a thrilling little plan, though he only dared because he believed his chances of success. He didn’t have many worries on Holly’s side, even though he didn’t know about her. Not after last night, where she had stepped into the situation while being fully aware.

As for Hermione, the only reason he dared was her attitude. She looked prim and proper, but all it took was a poke or two to convince her to try new things.

Then, there was the bigger advantage. He needed to understand the magical world more, and only by getting closer to both of them could it be possible, allowing him to act as if the other had slipped up, making them explain.

It was a way to learn without getting his memories erased … hopefully.

His plan was already paying dividends once they started eating. Holly made a few sarcastic comments about Hermione’s lungs, and Hermione responded by flirting with him more heavily.

He didn’t even need to do anything. Their momentum was already doing all that was required. They spent the lunch needling each other, though most of them flying above his head, as they were referring to a coded manner, probably to hide involvement of magic.

However, he could see that Holly was the victor; her smile smug while Hermione looked frustrated. So, when Holly walked away, he kissed his cheek. “I never understand female friendships,” he teased.

“Well, we’re not usually like this. Today, she’s being a bit…”

“We didn’t let her sleep the whole night. It’s normal for her to be cranky,” he said. “We should have been more careful about the noise.”

“No,” she responded. “She wants a war. Well, she will get it.”

He had to hide his smile from her by kissing her neck. Hermione might be the most stubborn person he had ever met once she made a decision. He would enjoy that war—

He was just getting in the mood when he noticed another owl at the window. “I need to take a quick shower,” he offered her before she noticed it, giving her the chance to take it.

He had a good idea of how it would develop. It went as expected. Hermione entered the shower a minute later, her expression apologetic. “I’m sorry. It’s another emergency,” she said.

“Anything I can do,” he offered.

“Unfortunately, no,” she responded.

“You must have angered someone pretty badly,” he offered.

“Maybe,” she responded, avoiding his gaze, not mentioning the true source of her actions. She was being a naughty girl. “But I don’t know who.”

“Fine, but this time, I want my apologies beforehand,” he said, pulling her to the shower, her bathrobe easy to get rid of.

Forgiving her was easy when her flatmate was ready to help in her absence.

&&&

Hermione left an hour later. Unfortunately, while Holly had been brave enough to play with him while Hermione was around, the moment Hermione left, she had muttered something about going shopping, and retreated.

Maybe Hermione hadn’t been exaggerating when she said Holly was shy.

She was. She was also impressive.

Still, regardless of the mechanics, it didn’t change the fact that she was too shy to stay back. Somehow, she was brave enough to do it while Hermione was sleeping in the other room, but the moment they were alone, she ran away.

“A pity,” he said, but he also didn’t miss one important fact.

He had an excellent opportunity to understand how the magical world worked. Holly’s door was closed, but Hermione had left hers open, inevitably.

He searched around. He was sure that he would discover a magical storage, because there was no way Hermione would live without a lot of reference books.

He found it easily. It was an ancient-looking chest under her bed, but it was locked. He didn’t try to jam it open, but instead explored her room. He knew that it was rude, but with the possibility of memory erasing on the table, rudeness was the better option.

In a smaller box that kept the sentimental memories, he found an old letter, sent a decade ago, written on a weird, thick paper. It was a letter that invited Hermione to a magical school with a weird name.

Hogwarts. School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

The letter wasn’t exactly useful, but luckily, it had a small guide. One targeting ‘Muggleborn’ students, which was a word that sounded icky to his ears. But then, the letter was also calling Hermione a witch without irony.

He would have assumed an insult.

Magicals had a strange sense of naming.

He was glad that Hermione didn’t have a habit of throwing things away. Naming sense aside, the guide had been simple but clear, describing the parents how they could visit a pub called Leaky Cauldron, ask for help, as well as some instructions on how they could exchange money using a special fund and recommended source for school stuff.

It was not long, and admittedly, it was not clear, probably requiring an actual guide. Also, there was a mention of some kind of artifact that would help them find the Leaky Cauldron, but he still tried to check it.

He could check it from a distance, at least.

Finding the pub had been easy, but approaching it had been more complicated. As he approached it, he started to remember that he had more important things to focus on. He needed shop, he hadn’t gone to the gym, he needed to make a call… A hundred little other stuff.

He recognized it. It was similar to the spell Holly had used on him while she had been questioning him at the bar, though that spell forced him to tell the truth while this one made him extremely distracted.

Stepping in was risky, but he still decided to enter, because he had the perfect excuse.

He would act as if his younger brother had just gone to Hogwarts. Hopefully, it would be enough.

The pub was dim and warm, and considerably larger than its narrow entrance; its dimensions must have been magically expanded. It was interesting, but he found himself looking at the people filling the place.

Every single one of them was wearing robes. Thick, flowy, mostly blue and black robes.

Sam hid his shock. If he acted surprised, he risked being noticed. He needed to embrace the fact that he knew about the magical world because of his younger brother.

Luckily, the wizards and witches that filled the pub seemed far more relaxed than the agents of the Watcher Council. “Hello,” he said as he approached the bartender, who looked nice enough. “Can you help me?”

“Of course,” the bartender said, slightly alarmed by his clothes.

Sam decided to prove his credentials immediately. “My little brother has just gone to Hogwarts a few weeks ago. I want to send him a gift, but I don’t know how.” It was a simple story that solved all his problems.

The bartender relaxed, his attitude showing that he had heard the story a hundred times. "Right, happens every year. New blood or squib line?"

“Squib is where you have a magical family but you can’t use magic, right?” he said. It was actually not a wild guess, because once he heard it, Wand Theory Skill provided an instinctual push, but not full knowledge.

“Yeah.”

“Then, squib,” Sam said. “I remember my grandfather having a wand and transforming stuff, but my parents didn’t have it, nor do I.”

“Sometimes it skips a generation,” the bartender said, but his tone turned kinder. Though, it was a condescending kindness, reminding him of the way people talked when he had to stay in a wheelchair for three months after his catastrophic injury.

But then, to them, lacking magic must be an even bigger disability.

“We live with the hand we’re dealt with,” he replied, trying to sound kind, but coming across as patronizing. “Give me a minute, and I’ll open the entrance, so you can get into Diagon Alley.”

Sam nodded. “Appreciate it, but I want to ask whether I can use the normal currency. My parents are traveling, so I can’t ask them.”

“Ah, you need real money. You can’t use Muggle money. There’s a fund for Muggleborn families, but you can exchange there only once a year, and you need the help of the guide sent by Hogwarts.”

He nodded. “I remember seeing some weird silver coins similar to that hack at home,” he said, pointing to a few that were on the counter.

“They are sickles. Thirteen of them makes a galleon, and a sickle is seventeen knut,” he said, followed by a brief explanation of the financial stuff, where he could buy books so he could send them as ‘gifts’ as well as some other stuff.

The time of his arrival helped; the bartender, Tom, had nothing urgent and was kind enough to give him several minutes of his time. His tone was still patronizing, but it was easy to ignore.

He even managed to get his hands on a discarded newspaper. It even had actual moving pictures. He was able to read it while Tom checked with the occasional customer, which deepened his understanding of the magical world.

Though, a brief read of the stories was enough to show an insular world, even worse than he had assumed.

He had assumed that most wizards and witches would have been like Hermione and Holly, living in cities, occasionally traveling for their magical tasks.

Apparently, they had a whole world to themselves. They had their own celebrities, their sports, their businesses. And, most importantly, a brief read showed that on the news, there was nothing about the ‘Muggle’ world. Not even a short anecdote.

He folded the paper, as Tom was kind enough to let him have it; which was another thing that surprised him. He expected them to be more careful. Apparently, the ability to casually erase minds as a safety net made them careless.

It was good enough for the first incursion, he decided. He wasn’t ready to step through to the other side of the bar and arrive at Diagon Alley. He walked toward Tom, who was at the corner, but just as he was about to talk with him, his gaze was caught by the pictures on the wall.

Many pictures, every single of them posed by Tom, no doubt showing decades of visits. Famous customers, he guessed, though one of them surprised him. It was Tom, with three people, two of whom he recognized. Holly and Hermione, and between them stood a tall redhead and Tom the bartender.

“Who are they?” he asked.

“Oh, they are saviors of our world. There had been a … let’s just say that they saved a lot of lives,” Tom said, clearly not wanting to talk about the situation.

“They must be famous,” he said instead.

“Oh, yeah. The one on the right is Holly Potter, the-Girl-who-Lived. She has defeated the Dark Lord twice, once as a baby. The one on the left is Hermione, a wicked smart witch. And, the one at the center is Ron Weasley, our rising star in Auror department. He singlehandedly organized the resistance,” he introduced them proudly.

Also, the man who had just lost his engagement to Sam’s … attention.

“Resistance?”

“Well, against You-Know-Who of course.”

Sam wanted to push, but something he read in Tom’s gaze suggested that he wouldn’t be detailing that. Instead, he asked a few questions about the three, or the Golden Trio as Tom proudly called them. Tom was happier to chat about them, probably because it was celebrity gossip.

He hadn’t realized that Hermione and Holly were magical celebrities. How interesting.

Though, as the stories continued, he also noticed that all the stories about Holly and Hermione were about before the war, and only Ron had more recent stories.

He didn’t stay for long, not wanting to outgrow his welcome. He had already learned far more than he expected; the most important being that he wouldn’t lose his memories the moment he asked Hermione or Holly a question about magic.

Or reveal his occasional moonlighting as a vampire hunter, because he asked Tom a question about them, and he dismissed them essentially as pests. Vampires probably didn’t dare to target wizards and witches. At least not commonly.

However, his biggest gain was to decide his approach toward Hermione and Holly, in personal basis. He needed to be more open and honest with his feelings with them. He didn’t expect their naivety coming from essentially being child soldiers, which was the case even if half of Tom had told was true.

Still, he had time to decide on that. Hermione would be away for a week or two before she could get some extra time, and he suspected Holly wouldn’t be around for a while.

He would have to decide that after his America trip.

Maybe he should fly a day early. Los Angeles shouldn’t be too complicated.