"Why don't you have any books about the boy who lived?" Hermione asks at Flourish and Blott's bookstore a few weeks later when she's at Diagon Alley with her parents to pick up her first year's books for her new school.

"Because they're absolute trash." The woman behind the counter says firmly. "The boy who lived rubbish was made up of whole cloth by people trying to make a buck. The books claim it was his mother's love and sacrifice that saved Harry, but why's he the one who stopped the war, not her? Yes, all parents love their children. . .most of the time." Sandra chuckles and nods. "But she wasn't killed in front of him, he was asleep at his godmothers with young Neville and their sisters when the attack happened."

"Harry's got sisters?" That wasn't in the boy who lived books.

"Three older and six younger." A woman says coming up behind them. "Sorry to interrupt, I'm Alice Longbottom, Harry's mum. Professor McGonagall suggested we talk. Oh Sarah, are the boys graphic novels in? I already went into London to pick up their comics."

"Yes, I put them aside when the boxes came in." She gets behind the counter. "And are you sure you're not having twins?"

"I'm going to beat my husband if I am." She says fondly, a hand on her pregnant stomach. The woman chuckles as she brings out a box that's rung up and put in the weightless no bottom bag. After Hermione's purchased her books and they're shunk and put in a weightless bag they head off to eat.

"Okay, what's the wizarding bank?"

"Gringotts of course, Mum and Dad opened me an account when we found out I was magickal."

"And where is it?"

Hermione points down the street. "In Diagon Alley of course."

"And what happens if something happens and the bank is taken out. . ."

Hermione stops to think a moment. "There's other branches, right?"

Alice shakes her head. "And they don't keep records except there. So the bank collapses, what happens?"

"A depression because without money you can't buy or sell anything." Sandra asks. "You can't pay your employees, so there's mass unemployment."

"What's our government?"

"The Ministry, which is . . .

"the only government building we have. St. Mungos is our only hospital. Flourish and Blotts is the only store that sells schoolbooks. So what happens if the the Alley or those two buildings are taken out?"

"The government's gone, your banking system is gone, wizarding shops are gone, Hogwarts and the other schools might not have been touched but there's no schoolbooks, there's no other medical help. . . Your way of life is over."

"Which is what the non-magical government was trying to do, none of the other countries have the problems we have. That's because they don't seclude themselves like the Europeans do." Alice starts making a list. "Here's the names of some books I know are available on microfiche at the London Library, the boys used them for papers."

"Are all the magickal children home-schooled before they come to Hogwarts?"

"The more traditional families. The more progressive ones send the kids off to get them out from underfeet for a few hours. I don't know how Molly Weasley manages with her brood, she home-schooled them all while still taking care of her family. She's got six boys and a girl who's starting Hogwarts next year. There will be four at Hogwarts this year."

"Do you have a job Lady Longbottom?"

"Yes, I'm actually the Headmistress of Hogwarts and if it wasn't for. . ." She looks down at her stomach in disgust. Sandra chuckles, she's done the same thing during her pregnancies. "I'd be teaching the history classes in a few weeks. Frank's the head of the Magical Law Enforcement, he took over when Amelia Bones became Minister of Magic."

"Do you have a university degree?"

"Yes, I have a dual degree in political science and history from the magical track at Cambridge, I'm finishing my doctorate there this year, first the war then the children delayed my education a little."

"Can I ask how you became headmistress? You don't look old enough?"

"Oh I'm not, I was just the only one foolish enough to be out of the room when the job came up and the others shoved it on me because they didn't want it. It could have been somebody like our former divination teacher, my first duty as headmistress was to fire her because she was a lush and didn't have any real talents for the job. Since you either have the gift or you don't, the class was useless and I got rid of it. My second job was to get rid of our former potions teacher and bring in somebody who didn't make me feel like I needed a bath after I'd been in the same room with him. The former Minister didn't like the changes I was making and tried to get me removed from the position."

"Why?" Hermione asks.

"Because he wouldn't be able to keep the population under his thumb if they learned more than he wanted. Now the Manor is a mixture of magick and non-magick, we have televisions, radio, and gas heat and stoves. Most wizarding homes don't have electricity, they have the wizarding wireless but that's not electrical, and they have a hand-wringer washing machine." Sandra shudders. "Our kids grew up with television, movies at the theater. . .it's a big culture shock, that's one of the reasons we introduced new classes, one for kids from non-magickal families about the wizarding world and one for magickal kids about the non-magical world."

"That makes perfect sense, from what I've seen it's like two different cultures." Alexander says.

"Why don't most wizarding homes have electricity?"

"Because magic put out by the moving pictures interferes with it, the Americans figured out how to work around it years ago but the European community can't be bothered for the most part."

"Is that the reason for the no electronics rule at Hogwarts?"

"Yes, they don't work there. For the students who have cell phones to contact home, they'd have to walk past Hogwarts wards to get a signal. Something else the Americans fixed years ago."

"Mum, can we head into London to get my comics?" Harry asks, coming over and wrapping an arm around Alice's shoulders.

"I already got them for you." She ruffles his hair. "Where's the others?"

"Neville's at Flourish and Blotts's looking at the new herbology book and Dad took Draco to St. Mungo's. The girls are cooing at all the 'Isn't that cute' clothes in the store windows and James is looking at the new quidditch brooms with Uncle Remus. Can I have a couple galleons for ice cream?"

"No, you'll spoil your appetite for lunch." Alice says automatically.

"Muuuuuuummmmmmmm, that will be ages." Sandra chuckles and Hermione's golden view of the boy who lived is tarnished just a little.

"We're heading home in an hour for lunch, you can last that long. Did you stop to the emporium and menagerie for supplies?"

"Yep, I picked up cat food, owl treats, litter, and stuff for Neville's toad. Some of it's going to be at home until we leave and over Christmas break and the rest is going in our trunks for Hogwarts. I checked with the store to see how much we'd need until Christmas break, then got half again as much in case we run out before then."

"You can call home for more, you know. Even if I won't be there this year. Yes, I know. You're heartbroken that your mother's not going to be at school this year." Alice snorts and Harry gives her an innocent look.

"Mrow?"

"What's that noise?" Alice asks in the tone of a mother who's had her children bring home all sorts of wildlife.

"Pfft."

"Harry James Potter Longbottom." Alice says slowly. Harry holds up a pet carrier with a orange furball inside. "He came right to me Mum."

"You already have Hedwig." The snowy owl had also come right to him.

"Yes, but some of the others have more than one pet." He takes the kitten out and holds him out to his mother. "He's part kneazle and part . . ."

"Something that looks like he ran into a parked car?" A male voice says as a tall figure comes over with a boy. "No Alice, we didn't buy anything, we just looked."

"Thank you Remus." Alice looks at Harry. "Do you have enough food and supplies for him?"

"Yes Mum, I made sure after he came to me."

"You've got to take care of him, that means cleaning his litter box."

"Dad's picking up one that cleans itself."

Alice looks up at the sky. "Of course he is."