Room 308, Sunday morning

[smartestone]

Hermione woke up slowly, though she realized the bed did seem smaller than she was used to. She opened her eyes, sitting up to see what the problem was, and was surprised to see the ginger cat sleeping at the foot of the bed. "Crookshanks?" she said, frowning. He hadn't been alive for yearsShe looked around the room, blinking as she took in the now

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[the_merriest]

Rikku hated sleeping alone, but oh, last-minute business trips. At least they had already arranged a sitter for the kids.

No kids for a whole weekend. She might very well sleep in.

She stretched, taking in her setting, and noticed the other figure in the room. "Hermione?" she asked with a laugh. Well, if she was in 308, as she seemed to be ...

... then that would be Crookshanks, and this ball of fur nibbling on her toes must be Pete. Or a convincing replica; Pete had been dead a fair number of years, and even if he wasn't, he certainly wouldn't be the sprightly kitten she saw now.

She laughed again. "The Fandom experience, it seems ... ?"

[smartestone]

"Very Fandom," Hermione answered, scratching between Crookshanks' ears. And yet this didn't seem too odd to her. She looked over and said, "You look really good."

[the_merriest]

"Thank you," Rikku laughed. "I think waking up without a four-year-old bouncing on my stomach agrees with me. And you, too, my gosh, your hair."

She grinned. "There, I sound sixteen again. How do you think we've got our cats back?"

[smartestone]

"Fandom," she said by way of explanation. "So you have children?"

[the_merriest]

"I wonder if I can abduct him when we leave again," she mused. "I've missed my dim kitty. And yes, two, and I owe my father rather a lot for not strangling me at age six if I was half the handful they are. What about you?"

[smartestone]

"Two. They're both growing up far too fast, but I haven't seemed to be able to stop it," Hermione said with a wry smile. "I'm sure there's a spell for that somewhere."

[the_merriest]

"I would settle for a spell to freeze them in place for a few hours so I could get a good night's sleep," Rikku laughed. "I half-expect to find the sitter hogtied and the city in flames."

[smartestone]

"I can't imagine where they get that from," she said dryly.

[the_merriest]

"I tried blaming their father," she grinned. "He seemed to take it as a compliment. So did yours end up bookish or completely the opposite?"

[smartestone]

"They do well for themselves," Hermione said. "I make sure of it. They know how to study, and that's half the battle right there. I'm sure they'll be Gryffindors, though."

[the_merriest]

"That's what you are, right?" Rikku grinned. "Mine are already Al Bhed, so I know they're gonna be trouble."