A/N: Written for the Houses competition. The theme is Family and the prompt was the forgotten child.
Story word count: 1,070-ish
Hermione was sitting in the sunlight outside a cafe in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia when how big this job was going to be. Finding her parents was going to be difficult. They didn't tell any of the friends that knew her where they were going. Stupid privacy laws prevented people telling her where exactly they were, as she "wasn't a family member" until she pulled out her wand. Even then all she got was they flew to Melbourne. Hopefully this private eye could help her find them.
Her phone rang, speaking of the devil.
"Charlie, any news?"
"Hi Hermione, I do have some. Can we meet?" Hermione didn't like the man but he was referred to as the best.
"Sure where?"
"I'll text you."
She strolled up to the cafe he mentioned on Lygon Street . It was a cute little place with a little outdoor seating, which is where Charlie was sitting. A truck rumbled past making her miss his greeting. He had already ordered a coffee for himself. When she sat down a waitress came to take her order to which she just asked for tea.
"What have you got for me?"She asked after her tea was brought out.
"There is a Wendell Wilkins working at a dentists office in Kew. He has only been working there less than a year, so it fits in your time frame." He said nonchalantly. He really didn't know what those words meant to her.
"I need to see if it's him, do you have the address with you?" Hermione said, trying to mask her excitement, if he saw it then he might charge more. Charlie slid a piece of paper to her.
"Address and phone number, in case you want to make an appointment." He said, getting up and leaving her some money for his coffee. After he had left, Hermione began to hope that this man would be her father.
She caught the tram out to Kew and it felt like the tram was taking forever. She tried looking out the window to distract herself. This could not distract her, her mind kept returning to hope. After a year of hardships, all of a sudden this felt so easy. She was hoping that this feeling was only left over from the war and finding them was as easy as this.
She hopped off the tram and walked to the footpath. She was on the corner of the street she needed but she couldn't work out if she needed to go right and cross the road or go left. As it always is when you need directions, there is no one to ask. She went into the nearest shop and sure enough they knew the dentists' office. She followed the directions and walked across the street and there it was.
She stood out front for a little while hoping that the sunlight beaming down on her would give her courage to go in. Then she saw him. Her father. That was all she needed to go in.
"Welcome to Bright Smiles Kew." greeted the perky receptionist.
"I'm Hermione Granger, I'm here for Wendell Wilkins."
"I just need you to fill this out and then when he is ready he will come out and get you." The receptionist said handing Hermione a clipboard with paperwork.
Hermione's hand was shaking as she tried to fill it out. Her father. She had found him. Her thoughts were whirling. She would reverse the spell in the appointment. No, she couldn't, the reaction was unpredictable. It can make them disorientated and could be dangerous. She would have to ask Charlie to get his home address so that she could reverse it. Then she would have her parents back.
While she was waiting she texted Charlie:
It's him. Can you get me his home address?
After her appointment, she walked to the address Charlie gave her. Wendell Wilkins was very impressed with her dental health and her regime. She didn't know if her mum worked or if she would be at home. If her mum was at home then she could get into the house easier. If her father came home and recognised her as his patient earlier in the day then it would be harder.
Then she found it.
She stood out front. It was so different to their house in England. It was a detached house with a pretty little garden in the front with enough room for a car. It had a beautiful porch with a table and chairs, where her mum was sitting enjoying the sunshine.
Hermione called out "Excuse me, but may I use your phone? My car has broken down and my phone is flat."
"Oh, sure, that's not a problem. Come and sit up here on the porch and I'll go and get the cordless."
Monica Wilkins rose and turned her back. In this short time Hermione pulled out her wand and muttered the reverse. The woman blinked and turned back around.
"Hermione?" She asked.
"Yes," Hermione rose and hugged her mum. "I'm so happy to see you."
"What's going on here? Actually where is here?"
Hermione and her mum sat out on the porch talking and drinking tea. Until it became too cold and they moved inside to wait for Hermione's dad to come home. After they went inside, they heard him coming so Hermione hid. Just to avoid Wendell getting confused why a patient of his was in his house.
He came in the door and hugged his wife.
"What's different about you?" he asked.
"I don't know. Maybe its because I had fun cooking up this old recipe." She said walking into the kitchen. He followed her. While he had his back turned, Hermione snuck out of her hiding spot and reversed the spell on him.
"Wha - What?" He said startled. He looked around him, he noticed Hermione. "Hermione!" He gave her a big bear hug and a kiss on the head.
"I can't believe you wiped our memories of you." He then said sternly.
"I had to protect you from Voldemort. If I didn't, you could've ended up dead." She sobbed. It finally became real. This is the end of the battle for her. She had them back and they were safe.
