Harry’s postgrad year

Harry lay on her back, soaking up the sunshine. She could see Hogwarts in the distance. Her new friends, Ginny and Hermione, approached. As planned, the three walked to the edge of the lake, where scattered schoolmates were enjoying an unusually warm Saturday afternoon in September.

Hermione opened her cooler and offered the other girls plastic cups for their soda. “Ready to do some sunbathing?”

Harry looked around. She hadn’t brought a swim suit, and the place was packed with other kids. Sunbathing?

After pouring the soda, Hermione pulled out small umbrellas, the type that sometimes top off exotic rum drinks in theme-styled bars. Ginny didn’t appear surprised, but Harry was confused.

Hermione held up a little umbrella, aimed her wand, and said firmly, “Protectus dermatonubilius!”

Harry felt a surge of static electricity, heard a hum, and then had the sense she was inside a translucent teepee. Maybe 8 feet across, with a cone that stretched as much as 20 feet in the air. Inside, the other 2 girls were cleanly visible, but the outside world had become hazy. The breeze and sunshine seemed unaffected, and Harry watched as a butterfly flitted through what seemed to be a softly undulating wall that protected them from the outside. On the other hand, an errant frisbee was angling directly at them, but a gust of wind seemed to blow it off course so that it fell harmlessly to one side. The pursuer of the frisbee—who Harry knew to be one of the nicer Slytherins—seemed to redirect himself around their perimeter.

Harry looked at Hermione. “Bloody hell! I’ve never even heard of such a thing. What do you call it?”

Hermione grinned. “I like to call it Modesty Magic. It allows normal girls to get some sunshine without boys ogling their tits.”

Harry watched as Hermione and Ginny pulled off their shirts.