Unexpected Letter.

Author's note:- This follows on directly from the ending of the main story Deathly Hallows (not the epilogue) when Harry went off to talk alone with Ron and Hermione.

My first fanfic since I was a young child, although a short in its own right, it is also effectively chapter one in the Ginny/Harry story I am writing, strange perhaps as Ginny isn't even mentioned in this chapter.

BETA welcome. (I probably don't need help with Britishisms as I am English.)

"Hermione, I have a letter for you," said Professor McGonagall, as they left the headmaster's study. She handed Hermione a plain envelope, obviously of muggle design.

"Who?"

"If you open it, you'll see," the professor replied in a matter-of-fact tone of voice, then, more softly, "You might want to open it alone."

But Hermione had already ripped open the envelope. "It's from my parents!" she gasped. She looked almost bewildered and the others could see tears filling her eyes.

"Perhaps you'd better sit down," said Professor McGonagall kindly. She led Hermione to one of the chairs and Hermione sat down without even thinking.

The professor turned to the others and said, "Come one. We'll leave Hermione alone."

"No!" said Hermione, rather more forcefully than she'd intended. "It's okay. But I don't understand. This is dated after I changed their memories..."

"Perhaps if you read it?" replied the professor.

"I... I can't," she said tearfully.

"All the things you've faced and you can't read a letter?" asked Ron, incredulously.

Hermione turned to him, looking hurt.

Ron winced. "I'm sorry, I didn't think. Would you... would you like me to read it for you?"

She nodded and held out the letter to him.

"Budge over," he said, and squeezed himself into the chair with her.

Momentarily forgetting that there were others in the room, Hermione snuggled into him and lay her head against him.

"Our dearest Hermione,

We know you won't be expecting to receive this letter, but there are some things we have to say to you.

When that strange letter came that day, all those years ago, and then it was followed by a visit by that odd little man who explained that you were a witch, and would be able to go to a school for wizards and witches, it left us with so many mixed feelings. We knew you were special, although we also knew that every parent thinks that about their child. And of course, we knew that sometimes strange things happened around you. We were so proud to see you in your robes before you boarded that train for the first time, but we were also sad, because we knew that you were now part of a world we would never truly understand and could never really be a part of.

That was also mixed with a little fear. Not only was our little girl (you always hated it when we called you that) going away from us for the first time, but she was going into a world we guessed even then could be dangerous. Part of us wished dearly that you were just another ordinary little girl at school, although we knew you were destined for far more.

We never talked about the nightmares you had for a short time after you came back from your second year, so vivid that we contacted the school to find out more. To our surprise, just after you had returned to school for your third year, we were visited by your headmaster, that wonderful Professor Dumbledore. You'd told us so much about him, but he was so much more than you said and within minutes we trusted him completely.

He told us frankly how you had nearly been killed by that snake creature and did not hide that you would probably be in more danger. He understood in a moment how hard it was for us, to see you go off to school again, not knowing if we would ever see you again. He promised that he would do everything in his power to protect you, and your friends, but that he would also let us know how you were doing. You never knew, but your school reports contained far more than how you were doing in your lessons. He said that we had a right to know and that it would also make it easier for you if we understood at least some of what you were going through.

A few months before he was killed, he paid us a second visit and told us what was happening in your world. Many of the things happening in our world made a lot of sense after he explained. But it made us even more frightened for you. Then he said he had to ask us something.

He said that he didn't have long to live and that your friend Harry would have to kill Voldemort, but he could never do it alone. He said he would tell Harry to tell only two others and he wanted you to be one of those two. It would put you in terrible danger and he would not do it unless we agreed.

He left us for a few hours to decide. It was the hardest decision we ever had to make, to knowingly allow you to face such evil without even the protection of Dumbledore. Of course he had pointed out that if Voldemort won, nobody would be safe, especially those like you, who, he explained, Voldemort calls Mudbloods. But he also warned us that if you did go with Harry Potter, even we might be in great danger.

At first, we wanted to tell him no, the thought of you risking your life when you were so young, it seemed so unfair. We even thought of trying to stop you and take you away from Hogwarts. Dumbledore had promised that he would abide by our decision. But we realised that you have a destiny of your own to fulfill and that you would never be able to forgive us if we forced you to abandon your friends Harry and Ron. We had to let you go.

When you left us that last summer to go to stay with Ron's family, we wondered if we would ever see you alive again. It was so hard to say nothing, but apart from all the danger, the look in your eye when you mentioned Ron made it impossible for us to stop you. As we write this letter we have to wonder if you've realised yet that you are in love with that boy. I hope he deserves you, if anyone could deserve our beautiful and wonderful girl.

Before Dumbledore left us that last time, we told him frankly, that both you and he had told us so much. What if this Voldemort comes for us to get to you? He replied that he was sure you would think of something to protect us. As he looked at us, both of us knew what you would do. You would want to hide us and to stop us hurting, you'd want us to forget you.

We begged him to stop you. It was bad enough knowing you might die, but to be forced to forget that you ever existed, to never have had the privilege of knowing you, it was more than we could bear.

He asked us if we would trust him and what could we say? We had already trusted him with the most precious thing in our lives, you. He gave us something to drink from a silver cup which filled itself in front of us. Then he touched each of our foreheads and said something we couldn't understand.

He promised us that any charm you might make to make us forget you would not work, but that for your sake, we should pretend that it had. He also promised that those memories of you and of everything you and he had told us would be locked forever, unable to be shared, so long as the danger persisted. He did warn us though, that if Voldemort did find us, he might kill us to try to get at those memories. Somehow the thought that we might share your danger was comforting.

When we let you walk down the road that last time, going to see Ron and his family, I wonder if you knew that we were more proud of you at that moment than at any other time in your life. We knew that even if you returned, you would never be the same.

In case he does find us, we've sent this letter to somebody who Dumbledore said could be trusted to be given to you when and if the danger is past. We want you to know not just how much we love you, but how very proud we are of our only and completely unforgettable daughter.

With all our love

Your Mum and Dad.

Harry had seen Hermione cry before when Ron had left them, but then she had tried to hide her tears. Now she just clung to a slightly bewildered-looking Ron as she wept.

"I have to go to them," she said, finally, getting up.

"Of course," said Professor McGonagall, throwing some powder into the fireplace and speaking into it. "Kingsley?"

When she'd finished speaking with the new temporary Minister, she turned and said to Hermione, "The International floo station is overloaded, so the Minister said to floo directly to his office and he will send you on your way himself."

Hermione turned to Ron. "I'll be as quick as I can."

"I'm coming with you," he answered.

"You need to be with your family," she answered sadly.

"Hermione. Darling," he began. That word and the warmth with which he said it made her open her eyes wider as she looked at him. "When I ran out on you both, I spent all that time wondering if I'd ever see you again, ever be able to tell you how sorry..."

"It's okay," she interrupted.

"Let me finish," he said firmly. "And every morning, when I woke up with you, my first thought was, would that be the last day I'd be with you. Would we both still be alive by the time we went to bed again. And I hoped that if one of us was killed, that it would be me because I couldn't bear to be separated from you ever again. I... I love you Hermione, and you'd better get used to the fact that I'm not letting you get away from me."

Harry thought for a moment that if the twins were here they'd be asking Ron who he was and what had he done with their brother. Thinking of Fred and George brought a pain so he almost fell. Luckily, none of the others noticed.

Professor McGonagall broke the silence. "That's settled then. I'll tell your parents, Mr. Weasley. They will understand. Oh, and Hermione, your parents are welcome to come back here with you. They have played their part in this war and need to know that they will always be part of our world. But it might be easier on your parents if you all come back by aeroplane and give them time to get used to having you again."

"Aeroplane?" asked Ron, puzzled.

"If you'd taken Muggle Studies as I recommended, Mr. Weasley, you'd know. But I'm sure that Hermione will explain." She handed them both some powder. "Say Minister's office. The wards will let you through to there."

Harry watched his two best friends disappear without a word to him and smiled. "It's really over, isn't it?" He felt a sudden chill for a moment.

Professor McGonagall just smiled sadly and said nothing.

With a nod to Professor McGonagall, Harry put the invisibility cloak back on and walked back downstairs.