“For the most part, yes; I've had a better education than most people get but all the basics are pretty well known in most countries. A planar rift is somewhere it's possible for creatures to pass from one plane to another without a Plane Shift spell. The one with the barrier is called the Worldwound and it goes to the Abyss, which is full of demons, so my country's army and some other countries’ armies and various adventurers are working to contain it and keep the demons away from everyone else.”

"What are demons?"

“Creatures of pure Chaos and Evil–did Ron and Harry explain alignments to you?--made from the souls of dead Chaotic Evil mortals.”

“They did, but I don't think I understand them yet. Does everyone agree on which things are Good and which things are Evil? Can people find out which one they are? Does everyone turn into something else when they die? Are the Evil afterlives horrible?”

“The gods agree, but it's complicated enough that mortals don't always. Most of it's common sense, though, just follow the laws and don't hurt anyone and try to help people who need it and you'll end up somewhere decent.

All the afterlives transform people eventually, but in the Good ones and Axis–that’s Lawful Neutral–it’s more like growing up and learning new things.

And the Evil afterlives are horrible, but the Good afterlives are working on conquering them. It'll take centuries, maybe millennia, but the plan is for everyone who possibly can to be okay eventually.”

“That's–good, I think. Probably better than everyone just being dead forever.”

Hermione focuses on her food for a minute, not saying what she's thinking. 

"Is there a way to talk to people in the afterlives?"

“Not easily, but there's a spell for scrying people, including dead ones, and a spell that lets me send someone a short message and get a short reply.”

"Um."

"Hm?"

“Doyouthinkyoucouldsendamessagetomyparents.”

“I can certainly try, tomorrow, and I expect to succeed. It doesn't always work across planes but it does more often than not.” She's tempted to Sending Marshall as well, but the bit in the letter about returning to the same time she left is giving her pause. If she does a Sending tomorrow, and then goes back to before Marshall receives it, then she could tell Marshall what he said before he thinks to say it, and then what if he said something else? The whole business seems questionable in a way that letting Harry tell his parents he misses them doesn't.

“So if magic is public knowledge where you're from, someone should tell you about the Statute of Secrecy.”

“Yes, that definitely sounds like something I should know about.”

Hermione's face lights up at the chance to explain something. "Muggles--that's people who don't have any magic--aren't allowed to know magic exists. Most wizards live in hidden towns that muggles can't get to, or in hidden houses in muggle cities, or way out in the country where there's nobody around to notice anything."

"Why's it a secret? What would happen if everyone knew?"

"Some people say the muggles would be afraid of the wizards and kill them--there have been killings, before, when a bunch of muggles started thinking there might be magic and killed anyone they suspected, whether they were really magic or not. Some say they'd want wizards to help solve all their problems. Some say that if it weren't for the Statute evil wizards would be able to conquer everyone with an army of mind-controlled muggles."

"I suppose solving everyone's problems would be harder if those other things happened, yes. And it's not crazy--Golarion does have countries that make some kinds of magic illegal and kill anyone they find doing it, and Evil necromancers have tried to conquer places with mind-controlled armies. But magic is so useful we're still better off for having it public. Oh, but you've only got sorcerers, right, not the kinds anyone can learn? That would change the cost-benefit a lot, if you end up with the same number of magic users either way."

"Yeah, it'd be different if everyone could learn. There's magic for finding muggleborns--witch or wizard kids born to muggle parents--and they get told about magic before they do anything that can't be explained away as a weird coincidence."

"If I'm recalling Riddle's monologue correctly he had some objections to that system, which leaves me somewhat favourably inclined to it."

"Yeah. Some people think muggleborns are worse. At magic, or at being part of wizarding society or something."

"It's a bunch of bunk, though. My family's been all wizards for ages and Hermione's doing better than me in everything."

Nod nod. "On Golarion some people get stronger more quickly than others, but as far as I know it's all about how clever or wise or splendid you are and how many opportunities you have to get into fights."

"Opportunities to get into fights?"

"Yes? That's how you get stronger, is by facing dangerous challenges at the limits of your abilities and overcoming them. It's not always literally fights but it mostly is."