Hi, I'm BlueRaith. I've been sort of lurking on this site for a while. I enjoy writing and reading various original works as well as fanfictions. I orginally hadn't planned on ever writing a Harry Potter fanfiction, as I've never really had an inclination to. However, recently, or rather ever since the seventh book came out, I've been craving for a certain kind of HP fic. Specifically, I've been looking for one that depicts Hermione going to find her parents. I realize that there are many fics of this flavor out there, but I've never been able to really... click with any of them. Mostly because I've noticed that her parents tend to either forgive her within five seconds flat, which I find unlikely, or they don't talk properly for some long period of time, which never sat right with me. Not very many fics take the happy medium route. I'm not saying that the others aren't good, or that mine's better (I've read some real gems in this category) however, like I said, they've never really lived up to what I imagined. So, nothing to do about that, but write one myself, right?

I've also been wanting to read some fics in which some of the characters read the books. I've also felt that these have been missing something that I, myself, have always wanted and have been looking for. Really, I've been trying to find a fic like this for some time now. I've only ever found one. What I'm talking about is the sheer lack of attention many people give to Hermione's parents. Oh, you'll see many Reading the Books fics with Harry resurrected parents, (or time travel, or they happen upon them in the library one day...), the teachers, the Weasleys and even the school. Yet, only one (that I've found) has ever addressed the Grangers. I find that a bit disappointing, considering in my opinion they deserve to know what happened to their daughter more than any of the above. After all, the Mauraders+Lily are dead, the teachers do not have as important connections to the main characters and the Weasleys had five family members interacting with Harry throughout many of the books at Hogwarts. The school, well, I just can't understand why they would be farther up in line than the Grangers... Perhaps it's because they would essentially be OCs, or that they're just Muggles but I've always been interested in seeing how they would react to learning just how much their only child had been keeping from them throughout the years. I actually find it amusing, in a dark sort of way, not to mention fascinating... Anyway, I digress. This fic is for anyone else that has ever wanted to read something similar to my cravings.

Fair warning. Well, first of two anyway. This is not a "various characters come back from the dead" fic. No one is coming back. Whoever died in the course of the series or in its backstory, are going to stay that way. While I too enjoy a good "resurrection fic" there are, quite honestly, a great deal of them. This is my attempt to stay original, and try out my hand at depicting just how much the characters that survived have lost. To be upfront, the characters depicted in this prologue are probably going to be it. There are about ten and I really don't want to keep up with anymore. To be frank, I've never liked stories, fics or published, that have had massive and ridiculous lists of characters. (I'm looking at you Star Wars EU...)

Secondly, I'm not British. I'm going to try very hard to keep the characters as themselves, but I can't claim that I'm part of the English culture. I'm from Texas, actually, so I don't even talk like the typical "Yanks" you see on t.v. However, one of my pet peeves in fanfiction is writers depicting characters as different nationalities because they're "from [insert country here] so deal with it." I'm sorry, but Harry and Co. are British. They do not say Mom, they don't say y'all, they don't call cookies, cookies, and all sorts of differences in their dialects. Same goes for the reverse situation... So, I'll try to keep the English legit, but my knowledge of the British English dialect is limited to Harry Potter, t.v. and Tomb Raider so I'm not an expert. Spelling is going to have to be American, because there are some pretty significant differences at times (fetus...) and the differences are a bit numerous... However, if I happen to get something completely wrong, or my dialogue sounds distinctly unBritish or out of date, or whatever you can legitimately think of, drop me a review or message saying such and I'll correct and learn. Now onto the disclaimer and story... :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

Prologue

Wendell and Monica Wilkins had no idea that the life they led was a lie. A lie created by magic, wielded by a daughter they had forgotten completely. They were convinced that their lives' ambition was to move to Australia and build a new dental practice. Neither had any inkling that their supposed "dream" was a carefully created ruse to fool those that aimed to harm them.

It was a balmy day in May that everything changed for the couple. Perhaps, it was a balmy day in May when everything reverted back for them, rather. Their practice was closed for the weekend and both were enjoying a cup of tea on their porch; talking about trivial matters. Neither knew they were being watched.

Hermione Granger was certain that this ranked high on her list of most difficult experiences. She was never really afraid of dying or getting injured herself. She certainly avoided it if possible, but her most painful experiences were mostly made up of fear of these things happening to Ron or Harry. However, this situation was nothing like those. She didn't have to fear death or injury for a long time yet, perhaps never again.

Rather, this had more to do with her heart. How could she look her parents in the eye after what she did to them? She did it out of love and concern for their safety, but would they understand that? Somehow, Hermione doubted it.

They were her parents, she really didn't think they would understand the concept her keeping them safe rather than the other way around as it should be in their minds. Hopefully she could convince them of what she had to do, of what was necessary. That she had to do this so that she could focus her all on helping Harry defeat the greatest Dark wizard in history….

She doubted that they would get much comfort from that.

Hermione decided that nothing would ever get done if she just stood there and stared at them. So, without further ado she walked down the driveway and ascended the steps to her parent's porch.

Monica Wilkins was surprised to see a young girl walking towards them.

"Hello, what can we do for you?"

Hermione could hardly bear to look into her mother's smiling face that was empty of any recognition. She often heard that she was the brightest witch in her year, but this was the first time she felt no pride in that fact.

"Quite a bit, actually," she said, with her voice shaking.

She pulled out her wand and the Wilkins had no idea what to make of that. A young girl pointing a stick at them? Perhaps she was mad.

Before either could address their concerns, Hermione began the process to reversing their memories. She was quite scared of this part. While it was relatively simple to wipe someone's memories, it was very complicated to restore them. One wrong wave of her wand and she could have them thinking all sorts of false things. She could accidently alter their accounts of history, not to mention their personal memories….

Monica and Wendell's faces were blank and slack while their forgotten daughter waved her wand and muttered various charms under her breath. If they were conscious at the moment, they may have found this amusing. Or disconcerting.

It was after several long minutes, which felt like an eternity to Hermione, that she finally finished with her parents memories. They didn't stir immediately and at first, she was frightened that she had gotten something wrong….

Her mother finally stirred.

"Hermione?" she asked shakily as her father's eyes widened.

Hermione's own eyes filled with long suppressed tears.

"I'm sorry," she choked and launched herself into her mother's arms.

While Mrs. Granger wrapped her arms around her daughter, she found that she was getting angry. The last thing she remembered as Mrs. Dr. Granger was Hermione attempting to explain through tears that they were in horrible danger and whipping her wand out. She realized that her own child had made them forget themselves. Forget her.

"Hermione, what— what did you do?" Mr. Granger struggled to ask.

"I'm s-sorry," Hermione repeated, "It was the only way to ensure that they didn't come after you. Y-you remember what I told you?"

"Death Eaters," Mrs. Granger whispered, "But, Hermione, you never properly explained! What did they want with us? With you? Why did you do this?" she demanded.

"I had to help Harry. He had to stop Voldemort and I had to help him," she answered desperately.

She was aware that this was going badly. Hopefully she could calm her parents down enough for them to consider her plan….

"For heaven's sake, why?" her mother cried.

Hermione opened her mouth to attempt to explain, but thought better of it. They would never understand this way. How much could she really explain to them through mere words? It seemed to her that the only way she could truly explain everything to her parents is if they came with her. Then she could start her plan.

"I can't explain," she finally said, "Not like this," she said before either of her parents could respond, "If you came with me to the Bur— the Weasley's then I can try in a different way."

Her parents looked disbelieving.

"Mum, Dad, I know you think I did something horrid. Perhaps I did, but you have to trust me. This may be the only way. I—I don't want you to be angry with me forever," she choked.

Mr. and Mrs. Granger exchanged looks. They were angry, maybe even furious. However, they didn't truly wish to be angry with their daughter for long either. Both could tell just how miserable she seemed at the moment. They had seen Hermione upset before, but this seemed to be a bit more. She seemed sincere and as they looked at her, they realized that perhaps they should at least try to do as she said.

Mr. Granger sighed wearily.

"What do you have in mind?"

Hermione seemed like she could scarcely believe what her father said. She expected them to fight her a bit longer.

"You'll come with—? Yes… alright, well I would like to wait to get to the Weasley's so that I can properly explain to everyone. You see, Ron's parents want to know everything too," for the first time, Hermione was feeling hopeful that everything might become right between her and her parents. She knew it would take some time, but if they were willing to give her a chance, then everything would be that much easier.

Mr. and Mrs. Granger weren't eager to wait long for, what they viewed as, a long and overdue explanation, but they figured that so long as they would get it, then that's all that really mattered.

"And you have the plane tickets, then?" Mrs. Granger asked.

Hermione looked decidedly uncomfortable.

"Well, if that's how you want to get there, I suppose I could buy some. But, it would be faster and easier with magic if we did Side-Along Apparition."

"So, this will be faster?" Mr. Granger asked, unsure. After all, magic seemed to be the root of their problems at the moment.

"Yes, but it would be very uncomfortable for you. Nothing painful," she added hastily, once she saw the faces her parents made, "Think of… well… being squeezed through a rather narrow space. It may make you a bit nauseous, too."

"Like riding an airplane?" Mrs. Granger, who disliked flying in the small contraptions, asked.

"No, not really," Hermione answered honestly, "But, it would be faster and I've done it loads of times. Enough to be perfectly safe," she tried to reassure them. While she wouldn't begrudge her parents if they ultimately decided to travel through Muggle means, she was eager to get to the Burrow as soon as possible. That way, they could begin to put this whole ordeal behind them and she could see Harry and Ron that much sooner.

Her parents seemed to debate silently with themselves as they decided on what to do. They honestly had very little idea of what magic could actually do. If they were completely honest with themselves, they were a bit afraid of it. However, if Hermione said it was faster…. Both were also eager to see what their daughter had in mind. In the end, the thought of their daughter was what got them to finally agree. Despite what she had done to them, Mr. and Mrs. Granger knew that Hermione had desired to keep their best interests at heart if they put aside all their anger. However, it was a bit difficult to do that at the moment….

"Fine, how does it work?" her mother finally asked for the both of them.

Hermione beamed.

"It's actually quite simple. Just grab hold of my arm, yes, like that," she said as she pulled her wand out again.

"Now, I'm about to turn in place," she informed them, "Be very careful to keep hold of my arm throughout the entire time. If not, then you may accidently splinch yourself."

"Splinch?" Mr. Granger asked in alarm, "I thought you said this was safe? That doesn't sound safe at all."

"It is safe, so long as you do as I say," Hermione said calmly. It would do no good for them to learn what splinching actually meant at the moment. Better if it were after they'd already done it….

"Are we ready?" she asked her parents.

Both nodded uneasily.

Without further ado, Hermione turned on the spot and the Grangers disappeared with a loud crack. Hermione very familiar with Apparition and had no problems. Mr. and Mrs. Granger would have disagreed strongly with her. They felt that Hermione's previous description did not do it justice as they felt they were being crushed rather than squeezed….

However, before they could become too uncomfortable, they suddenly found themselves before a large, rickety house that seemed to be held together by magic. Neither had a good chance to look at it, though because they were a bit busy being sick.

"I'm sorry," Hermione said as she winced in sympathy.

"Y-you didn't say it would be quite that bad, dear," her mother said shakily as she wiped her mouth.

"I tried to give an accurate description, Mum, but you'll never know until you go through it yourself."

"Never again," Mr. Granger vowed.

Suddenly, the door opened, and Mrs. Weasley stepped out.

"Oh, good, you're here. We've just finished with dinner, but if you're hungry, I've saved you all some."

Hermione glanced at her green tinged parents.

"Perhaps later, Mrs. Weasley. Can you tell the others we're here?"

"Already done, dear. We're all waiting in the sitting room."

"Can you go with Mrs. Weasley? I've got some things to collect."

Mr. and Mrs. Granger nodded. It took them a moment, but they remembered that Hermione had nothing but good things to say about the woman. The same could be said about the other Weasley's already in the sitting room. They recognized Mr. Weasley from his constant questions about their "Muggle" lives. Ron Weasley, they had seen before and Ginny Weasley from their daughter's letters.

"Oh! Hello," Mr. Weasley said cheerfully as he stood to shake the Grangers' hands, "How have you been?"

"I'm sure they've been better, Dad," Ginny said dryly.

"Ah, right…. Well, do you mind explaining airplanes to me, Mr. Granger?" he asked in an attempt to cover his slip.

Mr. Granger smiled bemusedly. In a way, it was almost like things were getting back to normal. Nearly every time Hermione dragged them to Diagon Alley, barring the last few years, he could count on Mr. Weasley to ask never ending questions about their society and technology. It was almost ironic that someone with magic would want to spend so much time learning about those without.

Unfortunately for Mr. Granger, he did not know much about the inner workings of an airplane…. However, Hermione turned up then and saved him the trouble. He recognized Harry Potter coming down the stairs with her.

"I've got them," she told the room. In her arms were seven books.

"Er- Hermione, what are those?" Ron asked in confusion.

"What we've been waiting for," she told him.

"Ah, no offense, Hermione, but I don't know what books are supposed to do for us. That's sort of your thing."

"Well, Ronald, if you would give me a chance to explain, then I could tell you," she snapped irritably.

Mr. Granger raised an eyebrow at his daughter's behavior. She had a temper, he knew, but it seemed this Ronald could bring it out quicker than usual. He wasn't sure what to think about that.

"I've been doing a bit of research on pensieves and memories. Apparently, the pensieve is the easiest way to review a memory, but not the only way."

"Really?" Ron asked in surprise.

"What's a pensieve?" Mrs. Granger asked.

"A small, stone basin that one can deposit memories to view later," Hermione answered.

Mrs. Granger, frowned. She still didn't understand, but decided to allow her daughter to continue.

"There are ways to make memories take a physical form, such as a book. It's a much more detailed account when you do it this way. However, it is extremely difficult magic to attempt this. I had Harry extract the same memory for me over and over again, before I got it right."

"So, what you're saying is that you've taken memories from… Harry? And put it in book form?" Ginny asked.

"Well, mostly. It seems like I've gotten unexpected results when I completed everything. There are some parts in these books where they're not even in Harry's point of view at all and I have no idea where they've come from," Hermione said irritably.

"Magic," Ron supplied.

"Even most magic comes with some explanation… I know I've gotten something wrong…."

"Hey, I'm sure it's come out all right. You're brilliant, Hermione, and maybe these books have come out better for it," Ron said supportively.

Mr. Granger was sure now that Ronald was at the very least interested in his daughter. He could remember when Hermione would complain that he would antagonize her to no end. Perhaps he should have a talk with the young man soon. Set up some expectations….

"Well, we should start regardless," Mrs. Weasley declared, "Wait, where's George and Percy?"

"Trying to get George out of his room still, I expect," Ginny said.

Mrs. Weasley gave a weary sigh before she went up the stairs to collect her sons. Everyone had tried their hand at getting George to leave his room since Fred had died and the battle had ended. While they fully expected him to grieve, they were all concerned for him when he would refuse get out and take care of himself. No one expected him to get over Fred soon, if at all. However, they didn't want George to join him.

Awkwardly, everyone in the sitting room could hear a muffled argument from the floors above. No one knew what to say, and for their part, the Grangers were very confused. They knew a family spat when they saw one and decided it would not be prudent, or polite, to ask about the matter, though. Finally, after several minutes, it seemed like Mrs. Weasley won the argument upstairs and was practically dragging George downstairs with Percy bringing up the rear.

Mr. Weasley, Ron and Ginny all greeted George with pained smiles. He looked very unkempt and ruffled, as well as haggard and underweight. It appeared that he had not left his bed for several days. Mr. and Mrs. Granger looked to Hermione, but she shook her head urgently as she silently begged for them not to comment. Her parents understood her message.

"Well, I'll go make George a sandwich and then we can get to it," Mrs. Weasley said with false cheer as she bustled out of the room. However, George did not acknowledge her offer of food once she returned. He seemed to be very interested in the wall in front of him.

"All right," Mr. Weasley said after an awkward silence, "Who wants to start first?"

"I suppose I'll start, as I'm already holding them," Hermione answered.