Epilogue

George had, of course, been furious. He’d taken charge of his three employees—who, by that time, no longer appeared freakishly tall, tanned, or gorgeous, as the Parrotjuice Potion had worn off overnight, leaving them a short, dumpy, middle-aged wizard, witch, and elf—and sent them to work as testers in the Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes Potions Division.

He’d walked through the ship with Hermione and Severus, nodding as they pointed out each instance where their charms had been used or adapted without their consent.

“Well, I can’t say that this isn’t serious, Severus. Hermione,” he’d said at the end of the tour. “It’s hard to believe that three relatively low-level employees were able to put together such a scheme. I’ll make sure you’re compensated, of course.”

He’d extended his hand, intending to leave them to disembark and return to London while he had a word with his captain.

“Not so fast,” said Hermione in a hard voice. “We can’t believe it either. Oh, the three of them are responsible for the criminal acts. Absolutely. But you, George Weasley, are responsible for adapting most of the charms installed throughout this ship and failing to pay the proper licensing fees. Nobody else could have done it. Nobody else is clever enough.”

George had quailed under their combined glares. Eventually, he’d confessed all. A subsidiary of WWW had purchased licenses to most of the charms, misrepresenting the use to which they’d be put. The licensing fees paid had been far lower than they should have been, given George’s income from the charms’ use.

An agreement was quickly worked out. Negotiations were always speedy when Hermione began dictating terms in the insufferably bossy voice Severus remembered so well from her student days. George apparently remembered it, too, as he capitulated far too quickly. Most men foolishly tried to hold out longer.

Under the agreement, Severus and Hermione would each receive one-third shares in WWW and its subsidiaries; George would remain in charge of day-to-day operations. Severus and Hermione, in turn, granted George a one-sixth share in Charming Potions, on the condition that they all participate in Research and Development for both companies.

Hermione would be responsible for Corporate Ethics for both companies. George immediately began to call her Jiminy Cricket. She responded by calling him Vincent. Neither had the courage to address Severus as Cyrano, but they both thought it.

~oOo~

From that point, everyone got along fine. The new partnership settled into a busy—and lucrative—routine. Hermione revamped the academic programming for Wizarding Waves, while George created a Love Boat theme, capitalising on the adaptations Izzy had made to the Customised Couples Programming. Instead of using the Psykreader Charm, though, they asked couples to provide answers to a questionnaire, written on Veritapaper. The results were as accurate as what Brad, Brianna, and Izzy had obtained, but far less intrusive. Wizarding Waves soon obtained a second ship, and each served both markets, alternating weeks with each programme so as to avoid Charms Fatigue.

The interactive component of Customised Couples Programming had been done away with altogether, although truth be told, Severus and Hermione had rather enjoyed the voyeuristic interplay and were working together on a private project to charm a mirror to function in a similar fashion. They’d been unsuccessful, thus far, but continued with enthusiastic experimentation.

~oOo~

Several years after their adventure with Wizarding Waves, Hermione returned home loaded down with Christmas gifts she’d bought at Diagon Alley. After stowing them in her closet, she went hunting for her lover, who the wards told her was alone somewhere in the house. Potions workroom? No. Charms workroom? Not there, either.

She moved up the steps to the attic where she’d once had her bedroom. Since she’d moved downstairs with Severus, he and George had been using that space in their attempt to reproduce the charms which had been used to create Hogwarts’ Room of Requirement. If they managed it, they planned to market The Playroom to high-end resorts.

They’d been getting closer, finally making a breakthrough in the Secret Desire Charm last week. As had been the case with the illegal and dangerous cocktail of charms they’d encountered on their cruise, The Playroom would read the shared desires of a couple and would supply a setting for those desires. Unlike the cruise, the setting would come from a prefabricated list, designed to prevent harm to the participants. Each participant had to at least be aware of and not feel negatively about the desire. And, if either partner had a change of heart, the program’s safeguards would set in and the scenario would end.

Cautiously, she pushed open the door and stepped through. For an instant, she saw an empty attic, her beloved standing waiting for her beside a dormer window, dressed in his customary jeans and black shirt. Seconds later, the room changed. The walls were made of stone, one covered with shelves containing jars of potion ingredients, each more grotesque than the last. Severus stood in teaching robes behind a massive desk. She could feel her own clothing changing, morphing into her old school uniform, now too small for her more mature figure.

The Potions Master spoke.

“You’re late, Miss Granger.”

She stepped forward into the room, closing the door behind her.

Detention.

Life was very good, indeed.