SUMMARY: The war is over, but the demons haven't gone yet. After Hermione restores her parents memories, the fresh images and sounds from the Second Wizarding War are still stuck in her head. Hermione needs to process all past events. When all is taken care of, a new demon appears. A brother. A full, pure-blood brother named Aremo Shafiq. Can Hermione defy and overcome her demons? Or are the demons not so bad in the end? Slowburn Dramione.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, because I am not J.K. Rowling. I write for fun. Original characters and plots are mine! Do not copy and claim it as your own. If you want to put this story on another site or translate it, I would be really honoured but please ask me first!


Chapter 1: Restoring the Memories

May 2, 1998 – United Kingdom

When the Battle of Hogwarts was won, Hermione made the difficult decision to go to Australia and bring her parents back home. She had to choose herself this time, even if it meant leaving Hogwarts in ruins. She needed to know if they were okay, if they were safe.

She decided to sleep at the Burrow first, because removing a Memory Charm would require a lot of concentration. The Weasleys welcomed her as they'd always done, but something seemed to be missing. The hole that Fred had left seemed unfillable. Tonks and Lupin were gone too, and Andromeda stayed over at the Burrow to help out and get a helping hand for the care of Teddy Lupin.

Teddy Lupin was a happy baby, as he didn't cry often and kept on changing his eyes and cheeks. His hair stayed Weasley red overall, except when Harry held him; then it turned spiky black.

When Hermione told the Weasleys that she was going to Australia, they were hesitant at first, but they understood the importance of her finding out if her parents were okay. Harry and Ron suggested joining her, but Hermione insisted she went alone. It was her responsibility and no one else's. The real danger was as good as gone, and Harry and Ron were both needed at the Burrow and Hogwarts.

After four long nights sleeping occasionally but only once for 13 hours straight, Hermione left the Burrow on the sixth of May at seven in the morning. While everyone was mourning the loss of so many souls and rebuilding the destroyed wizarding world, she went to Australia. It was eight and a half hours ahead of the United Kingdom there, so she needed to hurry if she wanted to find her parents before it got dark. She took the Portkey which Mr Weasley had prepared for her and disappeared after the tug behind her navel.

The Portkey brought her to Darwin, Australia at 3:30 p.m. local time. She shook the sudden nausea off and checked her belongings, her beaded bag and wand. The first thing she noticed was that the sun was shining and it was very hot compared to the United Kingdom. According to the clock in the town square it was twenty-six degrees centigrade so she decided to change her clothes in a restaurant's loo. The shorts and tank top made her skin look even paler than usual and she realized she hadn't shaved her arms and legs in several days. A laugh bubbled up to her lips and made her feel thankful to be alive to worry about such trivial matters. Four days ago she was fighting for her life, and now she was trying to rebuild her life so she could worry about things such as not having shaved her legs.

Hermione had thought about removing the Memory Charm many times and she felt more jittery and anxious with every step she took towards her parents' home. She decided not to waste any more time and used a Locating Spell to find them. Before she left to hunt and destroy Horcruxes with Harry and Ron, she had placed a special charm on her mother's necklace and her father's ring, because she knew her parents would never take them off. Once the locating spell for her mother's necklace was cast, arrows only witches and wizards could see appeared and pointed her in the right direction. The arrows pointed her east, and while following the arrows Hermione came upon all kinds of stands and shops she would love to explore, so she made a mental note to return another day. As she passed several bookshops and multiple markets, it gave her some time to mentally prepare and especially to calm her nerves.

Undoing a Memory Charm was a difficult and mentally exhausting act, but she had no worries regarding her ability to remove the charm. It was what would happen after she restored her parents' memories that made her nervous.

After walking for about twenty minutes, Hermione arrived in a residential neighbourhood. At the street corner, she saw the name McMinn Street. The arrows on the ground began to fade and she knew she was close. Next, the arrows pointed at a small white house in the middle of the street. Her heart was pounding in her chest and she swallowed hard as she walked over to number thirty-seven, McMinn Street, stopped before the front door and took a deep breath. She swallowed hard because this was it.


Hermione

I swallowed once more and rang the doorbell. I knew I had to control my emotions, but the anticipation was almost unbearable.

"I'm coming!" I heard the unmistakable voice of my mother scream.

My heart was pounding so hard in my chest it actually hurt. Then the door opened.

Mum.

I started to cry uncontrollably and I looked up at my mum. It really was her. I smiled through the stream of tears and felt relief course through me.

"Good heavens. Wendell, get over here," my mum yelled. She stepped outside the front door and put her arms around me.

"My dear, what is the matter? Why are you crying?" she asked me worriedly.

I looked up to her, probably with bloodshot eyes. I couldn't seem to speak, and at that moment my dad appeared in the doorway. Tears were stinging in my eyes even more, now that I saw that both of them were okay. My dad just looked at me with pity written all over his face.

"Say, young lady. Would you like to come in? We'll have a glass of water for you," he said a bit uncomfortably yet still being friendly. My mum smiled kindly and let go of me. I nodded, still unable to speak.

Once inside, they guided me into their living room and handed me a glass of water. They sat down on a couch opposite of my chair and poured themselves a glass of water too.

"What is your name sweetheart?" my mother asked me kindly.

I took a big gulp of water and breathed in, saying, "My name is Hermione Granger."

I thought of the theory and I knew it had to happen now. I took my wand from my bag and pointed it between them. I closed my eyes and concentrated on the spell. In the background I could hear my father ask what was happening, but I didn't let him distract me. I thought of restoring their memories, breaking the lock in their brains and letting their minds become theirs again. I spoke the spell loud and clear.

A strange feeling rushed through me as if a disturbance was being eliminated. I felt peaceful. When I thought back to the theory and what I had read about this charm, there was only one conclusion I could draw; peaceful meant successful. It worked! I looked around the room and restored my own image in what used to be our family photos. Then I looked at my parents, seeing everything was slowly coming back to them. After waiting for the longest twenty seconds of my life, I could see the present had returned to them.

"Hermione? What are we doing in this strange house? Where are we?" my mum asked me while looking around uneasily and standing up.

I turned to my dad to see if he recognized me as well. He followed my mothers' example and stood up too.

"Dad?" I asked, hardly able to control my emotions.

"Yes, Mione? Why are we here? Is it safe here?" my dad asked me, looking around as well.

I ran towards them and hugged them. I pulled them so close that my arms hurt. Tears started to flow again and I let them.

They were safe.

They were safe.

"Oh, sweetie. What is the matter? Why are you crying? And why are we here?" My mum comforted me even though she clearly still felt weird about being in a strange house. I released the both of them and picked up my fallen wand from the ground.

"Mum and Dad, I have to tell you a long story and I would appreciate it if you wouldn't interrupt me, because it's going to be very hard for me to tell it. We are in Darwin, Australia at the moment and more importantly, we are safe. But before I begin I must contact the Burrow to assure them you are safe here. Please, give me a minute."

My mum sighed in relief while my father looked around the room some more. I then sent my otter to the Burrow with a message stating I would be staying here with my parents, so if they needed me, they should send me a Patronus with a message. After completing this task, I set wards to protect our home from unwanted guests.

In the meantime, my parents sat down and looked around uncomfortably again.

"Mione, what has happened and why are all these photos of the three of us in this strange house?"

"I am going to tell you everything. What is the last thing you remember?" I asked them while sitting down in the same chair I sat in five minutes ago.

"You are going to join Harry and Ron to destroy the Horcruxes from You-Know-Who. Didn't we have this conversation like five minutes ago in our own house?" my dad asked me with a confused expression.

Before I had time to answer, my mother gave me a penetrating look.

"You've changed," she said with a dark voice.

I sighed, this was going to be hard.

"I am going to explain everything now. Please don't be mad or freak out. Because I can't handle that at this moment. Please," I begged them.

"Okay," my parents said at the same time.

"It is currently the sixth of May, 1998. I modified your memories last summer to protect you. I gave you the names Wendell and Monica Wilkins and you moved to Australia because that was one of your dreams. I erased myself, and anything concerning the wizarding world, from your memories. I had told you way too much and Voldemort would have tortured and killed you, if you had stayed in the United Kingdom. Harry, Ron and I had to destroy the …-"

"WHAT?! You changed our memories? Mione, why did you do it? Why didn't you let us migrate to Australia and let us keep our memories instead of erasing them?" my Dad screams angrily.

"Daddy, please don't yell. I can't…-" I unwillingly started to tremble and I couldn't stop it anymore.

The screaming reminded me of the Battle of Hogwarts. Fred, who was killed along with Remus, Tonks, Professor Snape and Lavender. Mrs Weasley who looked like a ghost after the loss of her son, Fred. I put my hands over my ears to prevent the screams from getting louder. The sounds of the explosions, screams of pain and the palpable fear, the faces of people who were about to die... Half blown off limbs flying past me, Dobby dying as I watched unable to help him, and Luna's face bloodied and swollen. The screaming and the sounds are not fading away and I thought I was going crazy.

When I felt two pairs of arms wrap around me to hold me, I realized that the only one screaming here was me. I opened my eyes and looked into my parents' completely and utterly shocked faces. Then I noticed I was rocking in my chair and there were no tears left.

"I am so sorry, sweetheart," my father whispered. Obviously, worried sick and deeply concerned, he pressed his lips slowly against my forehead and stroked my back gently. My mum looked towards the kitchen and stood up to walk into it so she could switch on the water boiler for a pot of tea. She took care of it and came right back to sit beside my father on the floor. I took my wand and pointed at the water boiler to silence the sound as I tried to breathe calmly. My father's hypnotizing hand on my back helped me calm down and I try to smile at him and mum.

"Hermione," my mother whispered, not wanting to startle me by speaking normally.

"We are very worried about you. Do you think you could contact Ron or Harry to come here? I think that is the best option for now because we don't know where we are exactly or what has happened to you. And you are not feeling well."

I nodded vaguely and shivered. With every last piece of energy I had left, I sent my Patronus to the Burrow with the address of my parents' house. Now it was time for Harry and Ron to save me.


Hi everyone!

Because of the lovely review I got on my one-shot (Wrong), I was inspired to write something else. If no one likes this story I'll make sure not to post new chapter, seeing as I don't really know what people like to read (I write for myself mainly). Please let me know. If you don't, not a problem :P.

This chapter is edited by the lovely Ms. Lana who is officially my beta! Yay! *hearteyes* All credit to her making this story way and way better already! Edited version published online at October 1st 2016.

Xxxx Aimee Dara Lyon