"Ready?"

Hermione squeezed Ron's hand gratefully. It was the first time she had visited her parents' house since the end of the war and she was afraid of what she might see when she entered. Would the Death Eaters have ripped it apart, in search of information? Would they have maimed and destroyed her childhood home?

Taking a deep breath, she pushed open the door.

A thick layer of dust covered the carpet like frost; they left footprints behind them as they walked through the hallway. Although the curtains were open, it was a gloomy day, so the house was dark. Hermione flicked a light switch, but nothing happened; the electricity must have been cut off when nobody had been there to pay the bills.

"Lumos," she muttered, drawing her wand, and Ron followed suit.

Hand shaking slightly, Hermione traced the walls with the light of her wand. So many scenarios had raced through her mind that morning, but this was one that she hadn't considered: everything was exactly as she had left it.

Other than the dust, the living room was pristine. The furniture was in the same neat, orderly configuration as it had been since before Hermione was born. The ornaments sat on the mantlepiece, perfectly aligned as ever. Photos lined the walls – her parents on their wedding day, exotic holiday pictures, and some odd ones that looked like someone was missing. These were the ones that Hermione had erased herself from all those months ago, just when she had erased herself from her parents' memories.

She fell to her knees, tears beginning to stream down her face.

"Hermione!" Ron said, alarmed. "It's okay. Everything's where it should be, right?"

"That's exactly why it isn't okay!" Hermione said shrilly, shaking Ron's hand off her shoulder; she didn't want comforting after what she'd done. "They didn't even come! Everything I did to my parents was for nothing!"

Ron said nothing. All he knew to do was to hold Hermione as she sobbed onto his shoulder. She was hysterical; her sobs mounted in a great crescendo until she had nothing left but shuddering gulps as she tried to restore the oxygen in her body.

"What if something's ha-happened to them when th-they would have been safe here after all?" Hermione said weakly, her grip on Ron's body becoming vice-like.

"Hey," he whispered, stroking her hair; she seemed to like this. "You did the right thing. You always do the right thing."

"But what if – "

"Hermione," Ron said firmly, seeming to decide that it was time for some tough love. He took her by the waist and sat her up so that he could look her right in the eye. "If I could have sent Fred to Australia to be safe, I would have done."

Silence seemed to echo around the room as Hermione processed what Ron had said. "Ron, I'm so sorry," she said, guilt tugging at her insides. Nobody understood better than Ron, having lost a family member in the very war that Hermione had tried to protect her own family from.

"Don't be," Ron insisted, but he didn't look her in the eye; the subject was still raw. "Just believe me. You did what you had to do."

Unusually, Hermione didn't have words to articulate her gratitude, so instead she kissed him warmly. Calm descended on her as their lips melted together – a calm that she could only feel from being with Ron.

"Thank you," she told him when they finally broke apart.

"Don't mention it," Ron said, grinning; their relationship was still in its early stages, and they both still felt giddy from the new intimacy. His expression changed, and his next words were hesitant. "So… what next, then?"

Hermione swallowed. This was the part that she had been nervous about – the part that she had known was coming since the end of the battle, yet she had tried to avoid it for as long as possible. "I go to Australia to find them, I suppose."

"I?" Ron repeated, indignant. "I think you mean we."

"What?"

"I'm coming with you, idiot," Ron said, shaking his head.

Hermione's heart leapt at the thought of company on her quest, particularly Ron's company; it felt that bit less intimidating. But she couldn't ask that of her new boyfriend. "Ron, you know I have no idea where they are," she said cautiously. "It could take months. It'd be like hunting for the Horcruxes all over again."

"It won't," Ron argued, taking Hermione's hand in his. "Because we've got each other now."

His words made Hermione's heart beat in a frenzy. He was right: it would be completely different. There wouldn't be the pain of working out their feelings for each other alongside the worry of the continued destruction caused by Voldemort's reign of terror. It would just be Ron and Hermione, there for each other, united in their purpose. And much as Hermione didn't want to admit it, she didn't think she could do it alone.

"Okay," she said in a small voice, and Ron's grin was infectious.

It was hard to let someone in; it made her vulnerable. But they were stronger together than they were apart, and there was something beautiful about the idea of going to a new country together, a country that was begging to be explored. Besides, she was convinced now: she had done the right thing to protect her parents, and now they were going to be a family again.

A/N: I really wanted to write a Romione while I've still got a bit of time this summer and this little scene popped into my head! I really hope you enjoyed it :) I wrote this quite quickly so apologies for any errors!

Written for the Greek Mythology Challenge on HPFC.