Unification

Harry took a deep breath and began. "There's one fundamental thing you need to understand." He glanced at each of his friends for their unspoken support. "Magic is real."

Julia stared at the man she thought she knew. Of course he'd have to be too good to be true.

Harry took note of her openmouthed stare. "Here. Let me prove it to you." He nodded to Hermione, who had her wand out.

Hermione focused her wand on a book lying on the couch and intoned, "Wingardium Leviosa". The book began to float.

Julia stared harder, eyes widening. Okay, now I need a stiff drink.

Hermione gently set the book down. By that time, Harry had retrieved his own wand, and began lighting candles. "I know what this looks like, Julia. You're not crazy. We're not crazy. This is real."

Ron Transfigured his glass into a cat, which trotted right up to Julia and began purring.

"Julia, do you believe me?"

"What - wha - who are you?"

Harry gently smiled. "I'm the same guy you've been dating for the past three months. I just have a few abilities that you don't. That's all." He sat down next to Julia and put a reassuring arm around her. "I'm guessing you have a few questions."

She most certainly did. "If witches and wizards are real, then how is it I didn't know this?"

Hermione spoke. "The non-magical world is kept separate and unaware of us. There's actually a whole wing of our government that is completely devoted to taking care of non-magical people - we call them Muggles - who've seen something they shouldn't."

"Taking care of?"

Harry laughed. "No, no, no. Not in a mob sense. She means that the memory of that event is wiped out."

Julia's questions tumbled out one by one, almost on top of each other. She paused several times to make Harry and his friends do more spells, just to prove to herself that she wasn't going bonkers. After all her questions about the wizarding world had been exhausted, she then moved on to her unanswered questions about Harry. The four of them spent hours talking. The sky darkened, the spaghetti sauce burned, and the bottle of wine Hermione had brought sat unopened and lonely. Finally, the questioning came to a close, and both Hermione and Ron hugged Harry and Julia and took their leave. Unencumbered by having to keep up the appearance of Muggle normality, they simply said their goodbyes and then apparated out.

"Um, Julia," Harry said, biting his lip. "Did you mean what you said before?"

"About loving you?"

"Yes."

"Do you still mean it?"

Julia sighed. "Yes, but I've just processed a lot. My whole world has changed in the space of a couple of hours. I need some time to think about it."

"I understand more than you know, Julia. Before Hagrid came to take me to Hogwarts, I knew nothing of wizards or magic. I got thrown in the deep end, and it definitely took some getting used to." Harry looked up at Julia. "Are you leaving?"

Julia shook her head. "No. But I am going to go to bed before I develop a massive headache." Harry showed her to her bedroom. She closed the door and put her favorite sleepshirt on, then laid down on the bed.

She tried her hardest to get to sleep, but sleep wouldn't come. After hours of tossing and turning and having to listen to an internal monologue that was really rather annoying, she sat and thought about how Harry must feel. He's probably scared stiff that I'm going to tell him he's nuts and walk out. And God knows that's just what Harry needs right now - another person leaving him.

Tiptoeing out of her room, she peered around the small house. All the lights were off, and all the doors were closed. Julia quietly made her way to Harry's bedroom door. She put an ear against it and heard nothing, so she very slowly opened the door. Harry was in bed, lying on his back, asleep. She softly made her way to his bed and got in, laying her head on Harry's chest.

Harry briefly opened his eyes and smiled to see Julia there. As he drifted back off to sleep, he put his arm around her.

When Julia awoke, Harry was gone. She was confused as to where he had gone, she sat up, but her questions were very quickly answered. The distinct aroma of something burning was in the air. Julia smiled to herself and headed to the kitchen, where a cursing Harry was trying to manage two smoking pans. She slipped up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Having a little trouble there, Harry?"

Harry sighed. "I was going to bring you breakfast in bed... but no matter how hard I try, I'm just no good at cooking. Sorry, Jules."

She gave Harry a kiss on the cheek. "Can't you use magic?"

"That's the really bad thing. I am!"

Julia laughed and bumped him out of the way. "Hermione told me your cooking was horrible. You get out of the way and clean these pans, and I'll take care of breakfast, okay?" Chuckling, she got to work, and the two of them soon had a simple breakfast of eggs, toast, and fruit.

"Oh, I wanted to know if you wanted to see some things today," Harry said, munching on a buttered piece of toast.

"Like?"

"Like where I went to school, and I was thinking we could maybe go see Diagon Alley."

Julia frowned. "Diagonally? What's diagonal?"

"No. Diagon Alley. It's got a lot of shops for wizards and witches. I thought maybe you'd like to see it."

"Sure, I'm up for that. Oh, and, Harry - do you think your friends could maybe come back over so I can apologize for my behavior yesterday?"

Harry leaned forward and placed his hand over hers. "Love, you don't really have anything to apologize for. Hermione's parents are both Muggles, so she understands what it's like to find out something like this. I definitely understand, seeing as how I was only told when I was eleven. And Ron, well... he may not understand as much as Hermione and I might, but he's a good guy, and he gets it on some level."

"Still, Harry, I'd like to," Julia said, looking down at her lap.

"Alright." Harry stood up and opened a window, and stuck his head out. "Hedwig!" Harry then gathered a pen and a piece of paper, and sat back down at the table. Much to Julia's surprise, a large white owl flew through the window and landed on the table. Harry patted the owl affectionately and fed her something he'd pulled out of his pocket, and then gave her the rolled-up note that he'd just written. "Hedwig, would you see that this gets to Ron? And wait for his answer." The owl nibbled on Harry's ear and then flew away

"Harry, she's beautiful. What did you give her a note for?"

"That's the preferred method of communication between wizards. She'll find Ron no matter where he is, and he'll get the note. Hedwig will bring Ron's response back in a little while."

They finished their breakfast and got dressed, and then headed to the swing on the back porch. Harry put his arm around his girlfriend, and she rested her head on his shoulder and sighed contentedly. They sat like that in silence for a little while, enjoying the serenity and each other's company. Julia finally broke the silence. "My parents are coming in a month."

Harry lifted an eyebrow. "Really."

Julia sighed. "Yep, really. Hopefully they won't stay for long."

"Why is that?"

"Every time my mother and I get around each each other, we fight like cats and dogs. She disapproves of everything I do. Not to mention, they're... how can I say this? ... Well, they're just plain embarrassing. Mom will probably be decked out from head to toe in the American flag, and Dad will want to go see the guards and Buckingham palace just to see the guards and taunt them about how we kicked King George's ass. And then there's what my dad does to anyone he catches kissing me..."

"Uh oh."

"Don't worry, no rifles or anything like that. He'll just pull us both aside and give us The Talk."

Harry frowned. "Which talk is that?"

"You know. The Talk." Silence from Harry. "The birds and the bees."

Harry's hand flew up to his mouth. "Your boyfriends get that from your dad?"

"Sorry to say, yes. I would like you to meet them, but I will completely understand if you don't want to. I won't blame you at all."

"Don't worry about it. I'd love to meet them. Let's see... if I kiss you, I get a talking to... what would happen if I shagged you on the kitchen floor?"

Julia smacked him. "Not gonna happen, wizard boy."

Harry grinned and wiggled his eyebrows. "You know, I do know some useful spells..."

She turned toward him. "You are bad. Just bad."

He playfully pouted. "The least you could do is humor me a little..." He ran a finger along her shoulder.

"Fine, fine. So, Mr. Potter, what exactly can your wand do?" Julia lifted an eyebrow and grinned.

Harry pulled Julia closer. "Oh, I can do lots of things with my wand." He began to kiss Julia's neck gently - just as Hedwig swooped down and dropped a rolled-up piece of parchment expertly between the two of them. Harry looked up, exasperated. "Damned owl." He unrolled the parchment and read it. "Ron's mother is actually making dinner for his whole family tonight, and she told him that we're invited. Hermione's going too. Oh, and Ron and Hermione will meet us at Hogwarts at noon, which is in... forty five minutes. Which gives us plenty of time to be naughty." He moved back towards her neck, and Julia grinned and shoved him off.

"Oh no. If I'm going to do all this, I need a shower." She thought about it for a minute and added, "On second thought - take one with me?"

Roughly forty minutes later, Julia was drying her hair, and Harry was watching her, grinning. He'd dried off and pulled on a pair of jeans and a navy polo shirt. "You know, we've got five minutes to go..."

"Five minutes? Oh God, we're going to be late!" She put the towel down and ran a brush quickly through her hair. "Just give me a second to throw my shoes on, and I'll be good to go."

Harry laughed. "Don't worry, we won't be as late as you think. I'll just apparate to Hogsmeade with you, and we'll take my broom from there."

"I don't think I understood any of that, but okay." She kicked on her shoes, and Harry grabbed an old-looking broom and led her into the living room. He put an arm around her. "Close your eyes." A second later, after a loud 'pop', he told her to open them.

She was shocked to find that they were in a small village that she had never seen before. "What just happened?"

"It's alright, we're in Hogsmeade now. But we have to get to Hogwarts." He laid his broom on the ground, extended a hand over it, and said "up". The broom jumped up into the air on its own and hovered beneath his hand. Julia's eyes widened. Harry swung a leg over the broom and grinned at her. "Come on, Jules. Just get on behind me and hang on!"

Julia did the same, gripping Harry tightly from behind. Harry kicked off, and they zoomed up into the air. She had shut her eyes tightly, but she opened them cautiously one by one. The wind was tearing through her hair, and they were zipping through the air above a large lake. In front of them wasn't a rambling, huge castle, as Harry had described before; instead, she saw an old, moldy ruin. As Harry landed, she could see a sign saying "DANGER, DO NOT ENTER, UNSAFE".

Harry walked up to it, smiling, as if there was no problem at all.

"Um, Harry?" Julia said, trotting after him. "When did your school get destroyed?"

"Destroyed? What do you mean?"

She motioned toward the ruins she saw. "All I see here is a bunch of moldy old stone blocks."

Harry smacked his own forehead. "Of course that's all you see!" He pulled out his wand, pointed it at Julia, and muttered something Latin-sounding under his breath.

To her surprise, she looked back toward the ruins, which weren't ruins anymore. She was looking at a humongous, sprawling castle.

"Welcome to Hogwarts, Julia," said Harry, as he led her through a huge set of double doors. He grasped her hand and took her into the Great Hall, which was buzzing with students.

Professor McGonagall saw Harry enter and hurried toward him. "Harry!" she exclaimed, enveloping him in a hug. "It's so good to see you."

"Professor McGonagall, this is my girlfriend, Julia. Julia, Professor McGonagall."

The Professor smiled at her. "Minerva, please. It's lovely to meet you, my dear." She turned to Harry. "And may I ask what the occasion for this visit is?"

"Well, I figured I'd come and show Julia where I went to school... and then trip Snape on the stairs a couple of times for old time's sake."

Julia was busy taking in the humongous room when a pearlescent, semi-transparent man floated up to her. "Good afternoon, my lady. Sir Nicholas de Mimsy Porpington, otherwise known as Nearly Headless Nick. How do you do?"

She turned white and began poking Harry firmly in the shoulder. "Harry, there's - I mean, uh, is that - what is that??"

Harry just laughed. "Oh, that's Nearly Headless Nick. He's a ghost. He's friendly, I promise."

McGonagall's expression went from happy to grim. She grabbed Harry by the arm and pulled him away from Julia. "Mr. Potter, what are you doing? That girl has never seen a ghost before. Have you brought a Muggle here?"

"Yes, she's a Muggle, but I love her, and I trust her, and it's going to be fine."

The expression on Minerva McGonagall's face remained severe. "Harry, just because you're an Auror doesn't mean you can break any rule that you want to break. The Minister of Magic will have your head for this."

Harry gave her a mischievous grin. "Good thing the guy likes me, then, isn't it?" He glanced over to where Nearly Headless Nick was explaining his nickname in great detail, and Julia was laughing. "See? She's going to be fine. She adjusts to things quite easily. You should stop worrying." He rejoined Julia just in time to watch Nearly Headless Nick flop his head over his shoulder and gross out Julia and half the students.

Hermione came bounding down the main stairs and hugged Harry. "Well, hello, Professor Granger," he said, hugging her back.

"You're a professor here?" Julia said, surprised.

Smiling, Hermione nodded. "They hired me right out of university. I'm the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher here. Professor McGonagall used to be the head of Gryffindor, but when she was made the new Headmaster, I took it over."

So, how's the professorship going, Hermione?" Harry asked.

"Great, especially considering there aren't any more Weasleys coming through."

"I heard that, Professor." Ron was behind them, grinning. "And if you think the Weasleys are that bad, why are you eating dinner with us tonight, hmm?"

"Because I adore your mother and her cooking, that's why."

Harry laughed. "Come on, you two. Let's show Julia around."

They had a great time. Julia was introduced to Hagrid, who she took a liking to immediately, and to Professor Snape, who she disliked immediately. One of the more enjoyable parts of touring Hogwarts was when Harry pulled the rug out from beneath Snape just as a group of fourth years were crossing the hall. He fell and cursed, and the fourth years busted into laughter. Snape stood up and hissed, "Potter, I know that was you!" while Harry just smiled and shrugged.

Many hugs (and, on Harry's part, autographs) were given out, and then it was time to leave. Ron, Harry, Hermione and Julia stood in the Great Hall, and Harry put his arm around her. She once again felt that now-familiar feeling of disorientation, and in the blink of an eye, she was standing in front of an old house that appeared as if it would fall over at any moment.

Ron grinned. "Welcome to the Burrow!"