Disclaimer: characters are not mine, they are property of the queen, JK Rowling.

I hope you like this story, and as always R+R, with any constructive criticism and also ideas where you think the story should go!

The funeral was as a funeral should be. Ladies wiped their tear filled eyes with lacy handkerchiefs and the men tried to stop them. The small garden was so full that three quarters of the guests were stood up. Everyone who knew Fred Weasley was there, and even people who had never met him. His family and closest friends sat on the front row. Even the Malfoy's had shown up, standing right at the back away from the grieving family.

Then Fred's coffin was lowered into the ground and everyone cried harder than ever. The only person with dry eyes was George, who was clutching his mother's hand so hard she was thinking it might be broken. His face showed no emotion. His thoughts were filled with Fred's laughter and the jokes they had shared. He hadn't only lost his brother; he had lost his best friend and the person who had been by his side since the day they were born. Now he was alone.

Hermione sniffed and wiped her eyes. Ron wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her in tighter. He was trying to make her feel better, but she felt pangs of guilt pulse through her every time she looked up at him. She could see how painful the funeral was for him, and wanted desperately to be the devoted, loving and supportive girlfriend she should be, but since they had returned to the burrow things had been different.

Ron had wanted them to spend most of their time together, but Hermione felt herself feeling like an outsider in the Weasley's house. She felt intrusive, the whole family were obviously devastated by Fred's death, but were still as selfless and generous as before towards herself and Harry. But after the fighting had ceased, Hermione felt an emptiness inside her, and she wondered if Harry felt it too. She, like him, now had no family, and seeing the Weasley's together made her realise that this is what she was missing.

A few hours later and a marquee had been set up in the garden just like when there was a wedding. Fred's favourite band, The Weird Sisters, were stood up on a stage and singing his favourite songs. Everyone who had been invited to the party knew that Fred would want it to be a happy occasion, not something where everyone was sad. So laughter filled the air as Molly and Arthur retold some of Fred and George's finest moments. Their first prank, some of the mischief they had caused over the years, their bravery and of course their unbelievable skills as Beaters on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. All the guests were drinking Butterbeer and Firewhiskey, and now the older guests were becoming merry. Dancing had started and the party was in full swing. Only George didn't join in. He'd dealt with enough condolences for the day, and was sat at a table watching the entertainment. He was even laughing, but only slightly, at Luna Lovegood as she danced in her weird way around the room. She had a dreamy smile on her face and each time she became tired of dancing, she would tell whoever would listen about Nargles and other magical creatures that no one believed in.

Hermione sat down next to him and watched the guests as they danced and sang and toasted to Fred's memory.

"Where's Ron?" George asked her, drinking the Firewhisky that was left in his glass.

"Drowning his sorrows, I should think." Hermione replied softly, smiling at George. He could sense the annoyance in her voice. "How are you?"

"Tired, it's exhausting listening to people tell me how "terribly sorry" they are for my loss." He laughed vaguely, refilling his glass.

Hermione looked at George and smiled slightly. She moved her hand across the table and rested it lightly on his, giving his soft hand a warm squeeze. George smiled back at her, allowing her to squeeze it. It made him feel better, and the ache in his heart didn't feel so bad when Hermione was around. He hadn't yet figured out why. Maybe it was because she was the only person who acted normal around him. Everyone else believed him fragile, and treated him as if he was still a little boy. Everything they said was carefully thought of, so as not to upset him. It was driving him around the bend and he was glad to have someone who just acted as if he was the same old George. Which he was, he was just half of the George he used to be. When Fred died George died a little inside too. It was only natural. George just wanted to be allowed to heal, and he knew the only way he could do that was by going away somewhere. Molly would go mad and tell him no, he knew that already. But he had to go. If he didn't go now he would never be the George he used to be. Too many memories lived in the Burrow, and it hurt him to walk around without his best friend. The bedroom they grew up in was too quiet and he knew that the shop they owned would too. He just had to get away.

George realised he was ignoring Hermione, but when he looked, he saw she had left and was making her way over to Ron. All his brothers and his sister were grieving too, but now they all had someone to comfort them. Bill had Fleur, Charlie had a girl he had brought home from Romania, Ron had Hermione, and Ginny had Harry. If Fred had been around he wouldn't have minded, but even Fred had been with someone. Angelina Johnson. George's eyes moved over to where she was stood, still with tears in her eyes. A sigh escaped his lips and he knew she was hurting as much as he was. She had discovered a ring among the possessions Fred had left at her house, and hadn't spoken a word to anyone since. George saw her look over and gave her a comforting smile, and she responded in kind. Then he made his way inside the house, and up to his lonely room.

It was the day after the funeral that Hermione made her decision. She had woken up to the sound of Molly shouting for everyone to come down for breakfast. Just from them few words she realised how much she missed her own mother and father. Having breakfast with them, going on days out or visiting the library with them. They may have been boring parents, but Hermione had loved them with all her heart. She still did. Knowing they were out in Australia having fun without her broke her heart. Now they didn't even know she existed. The pair didn't know they had a teenage daughter. So Hermione wanted to go over to Australia and perform a memory charm on her parents. To make them remember everything. She knew finding them would be a hard task, with Australia being a large country. But she could do it. She was a witch, after all.

Unfortunately making this decision turned out to be the easy part; breaking the news to everyone would be difficult. Hermione knew once she had explained herself to both Mr and Mrs Weasley, and Harry and Ginny that they would understand and try to support her decision. But it was not the thought of telling them that worried her. Ron would not be pleased. He had become more and more clingy towards Hermione over the past few weeks, which was understandable; he was going through a lot. But Hermione felt distanced from him, and knew that until she had her parents back, she would not be able to fully commit to Ron, no matter how much she loved him. Of course this made her feel terrible and cruel, his brother had just died. But she couldn't stay here feeling like this, she needed to get away and start rebuilding her life.

That morning the Weasley's sat around the dining table in silence. The only sound was little Teddy gurgling as Ginny fed him from the small bowl in front of him. She went to clear her throat again, gearing up to tell the family. Finally, she plucked up the courage and began to speak, but quickly. Luckily the family knew her well enough to still be able to hear everything she was saying.

"I've…made a decision about something very important to me. I want to go to Australia and find my parents. All of you know that I performed a charm on them so they thought they didn't have me, and that their lifelong dream was to visit Australia. Now the war is over, and the danger is relatively gone, I want to go find them and restore their memory. Since I've been here I've realised how much I don't fit in. I love all of you so much, but I need my own parents with me. To sort out my life before I come back here. I'm not Hermione right now, just someone who looks like her."

The Weasley's all just looked at her for a moment, shocked by the sudden outburst at the breakfast table.

"I want to leave as soon as possible, I've been reading up on memory charms and from what I've read it takes a while before the victim actually begins to remember." Hermione looked for said quietly when nobody had said anything.

"On your own?" Mrs Weasley looked alarmed, she thought of Hermione as her own daughter and the thought of her, an 18 year old, going all the way to Australia on her own, did not bode well.

"Well… yes." Hermione replied.

"I think it's a brilliant idea." Harry smiled at her, reaching across the table and squeezing her hand for a moment. Hermione smiled back at him, she knew he'd understand. Apprehensively she looked over at Ron, who wore an expression close to complete bewilderment.

Eventually he cleared his throat to speak and everyone round the table turned to look at him, all except George.

"Alone?" He asked, staring into his porridge.

Hermione hesitated. "Yes, Ron. You need to stay here with your family, and I need to go and find mine. I'll be back before you know it-" She was interrupted.

"Hermione, if you think I'm letting you go all the way to Australia on your own, you're madder than I thought." Ron shook his head, laughing nervously but clenching his fists.

At this point Hermione stood up from the table, on the verge of tears.

"I don't need you to letmego anywhere, Ronald. Thank you so much for your support!" She shouted at him, before turning and marching out of the room.

Thanks for reading!