Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter
Rating: for mild adult themes and mentions of death and torture.
A/n: This is a sequel to my oneshot Recognition but it should be understandable without reading Recognition (although one or two references may escape you). The only thing you need to know is that, as you can tell when you read the books, the Grangers really don't see or even appear to speak to her very often. I haven't read the HP books for a while so have been relying on the internet to fill in gaps in my memory. Any canon errors, blame the internet and then tell me (or the other way round if you prefer). Hope you enjoy!
Teacups and Photo Albums
The first visit ends in tears.
If it can be called a visit. After all, she broke into his home.
Diane cries. Callous as it is, he doesn't think she's crying because Hermione is. He thinks it could be any number of other reasons. It could be because she's happy to see Hermione again (doubtful). It could be because she's confused. It could be because their only child has returned to them, with a year full of lies and a stick that can make them do anything. A stick they bought for her.
It could be the headache. As he stares at his wife and the girl, he has memories fighting for attention. Parents' Evening in 1987 wars with a night dancing with his wife. A quiet Christmas at home without their daughter flickers on and off as snowy glaciers and ski trips insist on their rightful place.
"I'm sorry," Hermione says, tears streaming down her face. She looks at his wife. "Mum, I'm-"
"Don't call me that."
It's like a slap: she actually flinches. For a moment, he fears that she's going to fall down the stairs. Instead, she nods.
"I think you should leave, Hermione," he says.
"I ... can I come back? Please D... please, Dr. Granger? I want. No, I need to explain this to you. Please."
His traitor mouth says yes before he can refuse her. She thanks him so profusely that his heart clenches again and it takes all of his willpower to stop himself from hugging her.
"You're welcome," he says as curtly as he can manage although his voice cracks on the last syllable. "Now please could you leave my wife and me? We ... have a lot to discuss."
"Of course, Da- Of course I will. I'll see you ... tomorrow?"
"Yes."
She disappears. Literally.
He starts to cry too.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
The second visit is better: no one cries.
She arrives at midday on the dot. She has pink flowers. The moment he sees them, he wants to send her away because it feels fake: I'm sorry I warped your mind, please have some flowers. But Hermione wouldn't do that. Except ... Hermione would do that.
He really wants to take an ibuprofen but Moni- Diane confiscated them. Said he was worse than their patients were.
(Since yesterday, he's gotten Diane's name wrong twenty-six times. He doesn't feel too bad though because she called him Wendell thirty times.)
(He answered to Wendell every single time. It was Diane who remembered that his name is really Malcolm.)
He invites her into the living room. Diane instantly leaves to make a pot of tea. He talks about the weather (cold. Hermione finds it weird because it's so sunny in England at the moment. He doesn't tell her that it's her fault they're sitting in Australian winter in July but it hangs in the air.). When Diane returns, they sit awkwardly in the living room, sipping their tea. She asks them about Australia. He asks, in a vague way, how England is. How Harry and Ron are. Their comments barely scratch the surface of what they want to discuss but with a topic this big, he doesn't know how to begin.
She leaves after an hour. She accidentally takes the flowers with her.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
The third visit takes place three days later. He spends the morning cleaning because he has a sudden, irrational fear that Hermione is secretly judging them on the mess of their home. It's ridiculous because he's not the one who left the family but that doesn't stop him stressing when he spots some dust in the spare room.
They assume the same positions from the second visit. This time, Diane asks her how school is.
"I, er, didn't go this year."
"So ... what did you do instead?" Diane asks.
"It's ... a long story."
He jumps up. "Who wants tea?" he asks because, suddenly, he doesn't want to know what she spent her year doing. It will be something horrible. He can tell.
Both women look at him (and it feels strange to call Hermione a woman but looking at her, that's exactly what she is) as though he is insane.
"I wouldn't mind another cup," Diane says after a few seconds.
"Same here, Da- Dr. Granger."
He goes into the kitchen, boils the teabags and brings the mugs back out. He hands one to Diane.
"Thanks, Wendell," she says absent-mindedly.
"No problem."
He looks at Hermione's face and realises they've done it again. He groans.
"I'm Malcolm, dear."
Diane blinks. "Oh, yes, of course you are. Force of habit. I'm sorry."
He drinks his tea too quickly and scalds his tongue. Hermione puts hers onto the coaster as though it will explode.
"Maybe I should go," she says.
"But I've just made you a cup of tea," he says because it's what he always says to guests to entice them to stay longer. Her face twitches.
"I know but ... still."
Diane hands her her coat. They watch her leave.
"Well, that could have gone better," he remarks.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
By the fourth visit, they have rehearsed saying each other's names until he's blue in the face.
She's quiet and anxious.
They talk about the weather again.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
On the fifth visit, he decides enough is enough. He's been Malcolm Granger for a week. It's been very confusing for his patients because he sometimes forgets to answer to Dr. Wilkins.
As soon as they sit down, with their tea, he says, "Tell us the long story."
"The long story?"
"Why didn't you go to school this year?" Why did you alter our memories and expect us to forgive you for it?
She looks startled. Nevertheless, that resolute look crawls onto her faces and he blinks because he recognises it from tough homework questions when she was young.
She starts to speak. Quietly, at first, with lots of uming and ering but then with confidence and passion. It's a strange tale. A mad regime, wanting to kill every muggle and muggleborn. One boy who can save the world. Hermione, his faithful friend, travelling the corners of Britain as they search for the objects that will destroy this maniac. Bitter arguments. Being captured and ... hurt. An escape on dragon back. One final battle.
The clock chimes five. Hermione was right. It was a long story.
"So you altered our memories to protect us?" Diane asks. Her hands grip the sides of her chair; her knuckles are white.
"Yes. I'm so sorry but I didn't want them to find you and torture you."
"Hermione," he says slowly, "why didn't you ask us first?"
Her mouth opens and closes in a manner remnant of a dying fish.
"I'm sorry," she whispers.
The awkward silence fills the room. He takes a sip from his cup and makes a face. He hates cold tea.
"You ... you do believe me, right?" she asks.
"I don't know what to believe," he mutters and then sighs. "Yes. I do."
"But it doesn't change anything, does it?"
"No."
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
The sixth visit is anticlimactic. Now they don't know what to say because they know what happened.
For a change, he makes everyone coffee.
He hates coffee.
He drinks three mugs anyway.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
On the seventh visit, she asks them how Australia is. Whenever they try to turn the conversation back to her, she asks another question. At first, he thinks she's trying to be polite but her questions become more detailed. What was the exact colouring of the cat they took in four months ago? Who told him he couldn't do a proper barbecue to save his life before slapping his back and passing him a beer? What painting did Diane spurn? Where was she? How hot was it?
Her eyes gleam when they answer each question. He begins to throw in more details.
At the end of the visit, he suggests that she call him Malcolm. She smiles, her straight teeth flashing, as she agrees.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
She brings the flowers back for the eighth visit. Not the same flowers, of course. These are blue. Diane's favourite colour is purple and his is yellow. He wonders if she remembers that.
She tells them that Ron Weasley is her boyfriend. She obviously expects some kind of lecture but he looks at her blankly.
"I know that."
"Oh." She struggles to think of a response. "How?"
Diane laughs. "Your letters home in sixth year weren't that subtle, you know. And we had that conversation."
She blushes. "We weren't dating then."
"Oh. Well, you should have been."
And then, because Hermione blushing is cute, he says, "I hope you're being safe. Remember, if in doubt, you should-"
"Malcolm!" Hermione squeaks, her face now very red. He laughs. Diane hits him lightly on the arm but she's laughing as well. After a couple of seconds, Hermione smiles.
The moment feels so wonderful that he wishes he could take a photograph. But he can't. Instead, Diane asks her how long they've been dating. The conversation turns back to polite interest. She forgets to leave the flowers again.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
They go for a walk on the ninth visit. That's a mistake. His neighbours want to know who the young woman with them is.
"This is Hermione. Our, er ... niece."
"She looks just like you!"
"Ha ha my, er, brother – twins, you know."
Malcolm and Diane are uncomfortable lying to their friends. Hermione notices. When they reach Diane's favourite cafe, she looks around.
"You know," she says slowly, "I feel tired."
He should tell her to stay but, instead, he nods. She walks away. He spends the rest of the night wishing he had spoken.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
The tenth, eleventh and twelfth visits are all similar. They take place in the house and are filled with small conversation wherein the three of them pick apart each other's lives.
At the end of the twelfth visit, Diane presents her with a card and a wrapped present. She looks stunned.
"What's this for?"
Diane laughs. "It's your birthday in three weeks but you'll be in Hogwarts. We wanted to give this to you now."
She gapes. "You remembered?"
"Hermione, it took me six hours to give birth to you. I'm not going to forget it that easily."
"The hand she crushed isn't going to forget it either," he adds. He's glad they decided to do this. The look on her face is perfect.
"Can I ... can I open it?"
"Please."
She undoes the wrapping. A famous muggle book is inside.
"We know you have magic books but..."
"It's perfect. Thank you so much."
She hugs them. After a moment, he returns the hug.
"Can I write to you?" she asks. "When I'm at Hogwarts?"
"Yes."
She smiles again. Malcolm almost feels as though they are a family again.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
In between the twelfth and thirteenth visit, Malcolm celebrates his birthday. He gets a strange book off Hermione, addressed to him and Diane. It contains photos of the Grangers and photos of Hermione at Hogwarts.
Inside, in neat handwriting, the words: More memories to return to you.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
She brings a holly wreath on the thirteenth visit. It isn't made to withstand heat but he obediently nails it to the door. It falls off again.
She doesn't stay for long – she promised to see Ron's family. She just wanted to see them again.
"Where are you staying?" Diane asks.
"Well, Harry owns a house in London. I've been staying there."
He's surprised to realise that he's relieved that she hasn't moved in with this Ronald Weasley boy.
"How are you getting here then?"
"Apparition." She coughs. "Malcolm. Diane. I was wondering... Christmas."
"Yes?"
"Er ... I know you've probably made plans but I wondered if I could." She blushes. "Never mind."
"Hermione, would you like to spend Christmas with us?" he asks.
She smiles. "I'd love to."
He can't stop himself from asking, "Why not with Ron? Although I suppose we're twelve hours ahead so are you planning to go to both?"
He's always had a talent for making things awkward.
She coughs again, her cheeks turning crimson. "No. I've spent most of my Christmases since I was eleven with Ron. And Harry." She looks down. "I wanted to fix that too."
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
They meet Ron Weasley on the fourteenth visit. He suspects he's been told to be on his best behaviour because Ron in real life is nothing like Ron of the stories. He's quiet and polite. He tells them about his job as a type of magical police officer, with Harry Potter, with the air of someone at a job interview. He brings flowers as well.
When Hermione goes to the toilet, he looks around edgily.
"You know," he says, "she cried loads at the beginning of our adventure together. Not because we were in danger but because of what she'd done to you."
"That's family business," Malcolm says firmly.
"Yeah, I know." He looks around awkwardly. "But ... did she tell you she got tortured? They wanted to kill Harry but it was Hermione they went after 'cos you're her parents. And she was still proud to be your daughter." He pauses. "That came out wrong."
"Then what did you mean?"
He shrugs although it's helpless rather than uncaring. "She wanted to find you straight away. She was a hero: everyone wanted to talk to her. And all she wanted was to come out here and switch your memories back. She really loves you."
Hermione returns from the toilet. Malcolm quickly changes the subject.
At the end of the visit, Ron also forgets to leave the flowers.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
The fifteenth visit is Christmas. Hermione finds a sunny Christmas strange but Malcolm and Diane are used to it from the previous year.
It's a lovely day. Hermione arrives early in the morning and they swap presents. To Diane, Hermione gives a beautiful dress. To Malcolm, she gives an expensive watch. To Hermione, they give more books.
They go for a walk together and then have a traditional Christmas lunch. Malcolm introduces Hermione to Australian TV.
Once again, the moment feels perfect. And this time, he manages to get a photo.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
He has a horrendous headache on the sixteenth visit. Ibuprofen has had almost no effect. He spends most of the visit in a bad mood.
Hermione offers to cure his headache. When he refuses, she points out that it will be instant.
"No," he snaps. "What is it with you and magic? Can't you be normal for once?"
He regrets his words the moment he sees her face fall. Diane shoots him a look that promises trouble later. Hermione makes her excuses ten minutes later.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
At the beginning of the seventeenth visit, Diane stands up.
"I'll go make the tea then," she says. "I've decided to go for loose leaves today rather than bags. I've never done it before." Then, in a somewhat savage tone of voice, "It might take me a while."
He ruefully watches her stalk out. Diane has many wonderful qualities but subtlety is not generally one of them. Then he looks back at Hermione.
"Hermione," he says, "about last time. I'm sorry. I had a headache and I ... I wasn't thinking properly."
She nods. "Diane told you to say that, didn't she?"
"Yes," he admits. He sighs. "I am sorry. I shouldn't have said that. But ... when I saw the wand, I panicked."
"Because of what I did."
"Yes. Look, I still don't know whether you're really my daughter or whether you've tampered with my mind to make me think you're my daughter. The thought that you could do anythingto me scares me." He swallows. "That's the truth."
She is completely still. "I see," she says eventually. It's hard to tell how she actually feels. Her hand unconsciously traces her left arm. "Why would I do that?"
"I don't know why you'd want to make me think you're my daughter. But I don't know why you'd think we'd be OK with you manipulating our memories without permission either. So ... I don't know. And it scares me."
She focuses on her fingertips, tracing the same pattern over and over. He searches for something to say.
"We're thinking of moving back to England."
She looks at him with his eyes; it unnerves him. "Because the neighbours think you're called Wendell Wilkins?"
He fights the oncoming blush. "Partly," he admits – his neighbours and work colleagues have been asking after his memory due to his habit of calling his wife Diane. His expression softens. "But we thought you shouldn't have to travel back and forth all the time. And there's a nice place in Kent we've had our eye on. Close to London so easy to visit you once you've left school. We're going to ask Uncle John to have a look and tell us what he thinks."
Her eyes widen. "Really?"
He shrugs. "Australia's nice but we miss home. And it would be nice to visit you every so often."
"Even though you're scared of me."
"I'd like not to be."
She pauses. "How close are you to that?"
"I get less scared every day."
They sit in silence for a few seconds. "Malcolm ... what did you say to Ron?"
"Huh?"
"He's scared of you for some reason."
"Nothing," he says. "Ron did all the talking. I rather like him. You're lucky to have him, you know."
"I know."
At this moment, Diane walks in with the tea. He takes a sip. She really did brew it from tealeaves and it's over boiled. He spots Hermione wince before covering up with an expression of polite enjoyment.
They only have hot chocolate left (from an Australian acquaintance who didn't know them particularly well) so he makes three mugs of that, even though it's entirely inappropriate for the sunny weather. No one refers to the tealeaves again.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Diane celebrates her birthday between the seventeenth and eighteenth visit. Hermione sends another photo album, with pictures from her current year at Hogwarts.
This time, she's written, New memories I want you to have.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Hermione is the first guest to their new home in Kent, on the eighteenth visit. She says she likes it but there is an odd gleam in her eyes. It takes him a while to work out what it is: she misses their old house. That house is long gone – half destroyed by Death Eaters, apparently. They received compensation from the Ministry of Magic, after some persuasion from Hermione, but neither he nor Diane felt they could rebuild it.
She brings roses to break in the new house but he grabs them by the thorns, drops them and accidentally steps on them. He apologises a lot but he gets the impression that she isn't convinced that it was an accident.
He decides to unveil their surprise for her. She had written, in letters, about holidays they had been on in the past. She has recently finished Hogwarts and is due to begin work in the legal department of the Ministry of Magic; she's nostalgic for the past. So he and Diane have arranged a camping weekend in the New Forest.
She hugs them and says she can't wait. But when she leaves, he looks at Diane.
"That sounded familiar, didn't it?" Diane asks him.
He nods. Her false, optimistic tone, from times of bullying and hiding bad things, is back.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
They have the nineteenth visit in the New Forest. Hermione tries to enjoy herself: he can tell. But she's jumpy and nervous. The area is beautiful and the weather, for once, wonderful, but it hurts that she's trying so hard.
He doesn't realise what's wrong until the second night. He has a hint on the first night: he gets up to use the toilet and, on his way back to his and Diane's tent, he hears moans from Hermione's tent. After a moment's hesitation, he puts his head in and sees her tossing and turning in the grip of what sounds like a horrific nightmare. He gently reaches out to wake her up: she flinches at his touch and has her wand out and aimed at him before he can speak.
"Hermione," he says carefully, terror pounding through his heart, "it's Malcolm. You were having a nightmare."
She apologises. He leaves. They don't refer to the incident at all the next day.
On the second and final night, he stays up and then walks to her tent. This time, he listens. It's not just moans – she's speaking. About a vault. About how she didn't break in. About how it hurts.
This time, he's prepared for the pointed wand. He simply says, "Come outside and sit with me for a bit."
She complies. They walk to the edge of the campsite and sit on a bench, facing the trees. The campsite is quiet.
"You hate it here."
It isn't a question. Hermione turns to him. "No, I really-"
"Hate it here." He pauses, thinking of stories told by her to him. "You were camping, weren't you? On your ... adventure last year."
"Yes but this is different."
He looks at her. Not for the first time in her visits, he marvels that he made someone like her. Probably.
"No, it isn't. You were camping in a forest when you were captured, weren't you? Forest of Dean. Your mum and I had some sense – that's why we didn't go there."
"I thought Diane wouldn't have wanted you on the adventure playground," she says in an attempt at derailing humour.
"You said you were caught and hurt. Ron told us you were tortured. You both brushed it off so I didn't think as much of it as I should have." He looks at her sternly. "Hermione, if you want, we can pack up and go home now. I don't want you to be somewhere that reminds you of ... that."
"It's fine."
"Really. Being tortured is fine." She hesitates. He puts his arm around her shoulders because it feels like the right thing to do. "Hermione, it's alright. You can tell me the truth." He smiles faintly. "I want to be worried. No more secrets?"
She tells him everything, from the moment she was caught to Shell Cottage. It sounds horrific but he does not flinch or comment. Finally, she stops. Her shoulders shake. He doesn't know what to say. Anything he says will surely demean her story.
"I've never told anyone that before."
"Not even Ron?"
She smiles. In the torch light, he can see a tear streak on her cheek. "He was upset that he couldn't save me. I couldn't..."
"Harry?"
"No. He goes through so much. To be honest it was..." She coughs. "It was the sort of thing I wanted to talk to my family about."
"And now you have." He pauses. He's always been terrible at situations like this – this is for Diane, really. "Do you feel better?"
"A bit."
They sit in silence for a while longer. She nestles into his shoulder. Eventually, he points up.
"Look. I can see Orion."
She knows all sorts of Astronomy but she says, "And there's the Plough."
"I always thought it was the Big Bear's Saucepan."
"OK. Big Bear's Saucepan it is."
They spend the rest of the night sitting on that bench, looking at constellations. In the waking hours of the day, he notices that she is less jumpy. Her hands still trace her left arm.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
A minute after Diane slips out, during the twentieth visit, to get some sugar-free sweets from the kitchen, Hermione turns to Malcolm and asks, "Should I still call you Diane and Malcolm?"
He thinks of everything he doesn't know about her and everything he feels about her.
"That's a good question," he replies. Diane returns with the sweets and asks what they were discussing. Neither of them speaks.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
On the twenty-first visit. Diane and Malcolm visit Hermione in London. She takes them on a brief tour of Diagon Alley – they haven't been there since she was thirteen – and then they return to Muggle London. Diane is leading the way to Borough Market for lunch when a male voice says, "Hermione?"
She turns and waves. Malcolm turns as well. A young man with jet-black hair and green eyes stands there. He doesn't even look at the man's forehead: he's seen enough pictures to know that this is Hermione's housemate and best friend, Harry Potter.
"Diane, Malcolm, meet Harry."
"We've met," Malcolm says at the same time Harry does. They grin at each other and Malcolm decides he likes the younger man.
Harry sticks his hand out anyway. "Harry. I live with Hermione."
He takes it. "Malcolm."
Diane does likewise. "Diane."
"What are you doing here, Harry?" Hermione asks.
"I wanted a break," he says. He doesn't explain further. Diane invites him to join them in their food hunt. They talk to Harry about what he does – he didn't go back to school but he's begun training as some kind of magical policeman. Malcolm is intrigued by the fact that if he didn't already know Harry's back-story, he would have thought him a quiet, young man who is nothing remarkable.
Just like Ron's visit, there is a moment where Hermione disappears to use the toilet. Harry regards Diane and Malcolm evenly.
"How are you doing?" he asks. "Hermione told me about what happened."
This man's ability to talk about major things in shallow words is outstanding.
"We're getting there."
Harry nods and doesn't ask further. Diane engages him in conversation about life in London to take the edge off the awkwardness that has settled over them.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Thirty minutes into the twenty-second visit, there's a knock at the door. He goes to answer it and is faced with a man and a woman dressed in outlandish clothes.
"Malcolm Granger?" the man asks.
"Yes?"
"I'm Joey Tavish and this is my assistant Robin Collins. We're from the Daily Prophet."
"I'm not interested in fortune telling, thanks."
The man laughs in a booming voice. "It's a newspaper. We wanted to ask you some questions about your daughter, Hermione. Can we come in?"
He's so surprised that he says, "No." After a moment, he closes the door. His wife and Hermione ask him who it was and he explains. Hermione looks troubled.
"They'll keep at it, you know. I wonder how they found you."
"This happens a lot to you?" Diane asks.
She nods. "Mainly to Harry because he's the 'Boy Who Lived' and the person who killed Voldemort. But Ron and I get some of it as well." She pauses. "The Daily Prophet can be really nasty if you annoy them."
Malcolm thinks this over. "Will they curse me?"
"They can't. It's illegal. And with what happened so recently..."
"So the worst they'll do is publicise my horrible nature in a newspaper I don't read, to people I never see?" He shrugs. "I'll survive. Besides, it'd blow over eventually."
Hermione begins to giggle. "Malcolm," she says through her laughter, "we are so clearly related."
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
He misses the twenty-third visit because he's ill with a fever. Hermione offers to heal him but he says he'd prefer to heal naturally. He tries to say it as neutrally as he can but hurt flashes through Hermione's eyes. Diane doesn't tell him off later. He has a feeling that she, too, would have refused the magical healing.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Malcolm's still weak when the twenty-fourth visit rolls around but he forces himself to see Hermione. She tells him not to strain himself but he insists.
Hermione tells them about her new job. It's difficult, with long hours and demanding people who care little about her hero status. She loves it. He isn't surprised by that but he is surprised that she wanted to be a lawyer. He's always secretly hoped she would be a dentist. Then again, the magical world doesn't have dentists.
At the end of the visit, she looks at him with concern. He tries to grin but coughs instead. Without warning, she flings herself at him and hugs him.
"What was that about?" he asks when she has left.
Diane looks at him with amused scorn. "Honestly, Malcolm, you can be so thick sometimes."
"What? What did I do?"
"She's worried about you. You look like you're at death's door."
"So?"
"So did you listen to a single thing our daughter's told you about her past? Like people she knows dying?"
He blushes. "It's hard, you know. That year that's missing from our lives."
"But we wouldn't have known about it anyway. That isn't the point: she told us. Be a bit more sensitive, please?"
He wants to tell her about the New Forest nightmares but instead he apologises, although he isn't sure what for. It seems to placate her.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
He's better by the twenty-fifth visit. When Hermione calls him Malcolm, he stares at her. For some reason, he expected "Dad".
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Hermione has a small party for her twentieth birthday. It becomes the twenty-sixth visit. It's in Grimmauld Place – though Hermione has previously confessed to them that she is thinking of moving out to her own place – and it takes them a while to get over the shock of a house suddenly appearing.
There are a surprising amount of people. Not only Ron and Harry but Ron's parents (Arthur is as fascinated by them now as he was seven years ago), Ron's sister/Harry's girlfriend, two of Ron's brothers, a boy called Neville, a girl called Luna and one or two other people.
They try to talk to Hermione's friends Luna is simply strange; it's hard to find common ground with anyone else. They make small talk with Harry and attempt to talk to Ron in a way that shows they really aren't assessing him (well, Malcolm is but Ron should consider himself lucky that he hasn't questioned Hermione's sleeping arrangements. That's open-minded). Malcolm tires of answering Arthur Weasley's questions and, although he likes Molly Weasley, he has the feeling she disapproves of the way he's handled the familial relationship with Hermione (honestly, does the entire Wizarding world know about that? His laughing off the Daily Prophet seems more ridiculous now that he's standing in the magical world).
Hermione draws him to one side after an hour and a half.
"You hate it here, don't you?"
"No, I-"
"Hate it here. You can tell me the truth."
He raises one eyebrow. "No more secrets?"
They maintain eye contact for a few seconds more before laughing. He admits that he feels uncomfortable but says that he doesn't want to miss her birthday. Unspoken is the fact that it's the first birthday he's been able to celebrate with her since she turned eleven.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Hermione becomes snowed under at work and the twenty-seventh visit doesn't happen for a month. When they see her, she looks exhausted. She asks for coffee and only smiles weakly when Diane jokes that she's throwing a spanner in their whole routine.
"How long have you been working for?" she asks Hermione.
"It's a busy period. Usually until ten or eleven in the evening. Not much worse than that."
"That's inhumane!"
Hermione shakes her head. "It's fine."
"Are you sure this is what you want to do?"
"Yes."
Diane blinks. "OK then. If you're sure. But if you want to do something else, we can always help you."
"Thanks, Mu- Thanks."
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Hermione moves to a small flat. Malcolm and Diane visit her for the twenty-eighth visit. It's nice enough, he thinks, for one person. He wonders where Ron will stay and whether Ron will move in.
He catches Diane's eye when Hermione shows them her bedroom and internally recoils in horror. Next thing you know, he'll ask her when she plans to marry and have children.
Since they're visiting Hermione, she makes them tea. She promises that there's nothing unusual in it but it has a different flavour to muggle tea. When he asks about it, she says she had never noticed it. He begins to wonder whether he's now paranoid about the magical world.
He's amused to note that despite her stocks of biscuits, she has bought some sugar-free sweets, just for them. He tells her she didn't have to. She laughs.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Hermione comes to visit for his birthday in November. It's a pleasant twenty-ninth visit. She gives him another photo album. This time, it's photos he's sent her but now moving. He can see the worry in her eyes that she's handed him something from her world.
He sees photos of them from when she was young – Malcolm holds Hermione as she totters on skis, Diane tries to untangle her from tent ropes – and photos of Diane and Malcolm on their own during her years at Hogwarts. Then there are photos from the past sixteen months. Malcolm carving turkey. Hermione impatiently explaining something to Diane. Their trip to the New Forest (and Hermione looks as jumpy here as she did there). Her birthday, their tour of London, the housewarming. Under every photo, Hermione has painstakingly written where the photo was, when the photo was and what the participants were doing at the time.
It is his life made magical.
"It's wonderful," he says, stunned by the amount of effort that has gone into this. "Thank you."
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Something has changed. He notices it on the thirtieth and thirty-first visits but can't voice it. It might be the way they slip so comfortably into routine. It might be the fact that they can talk about nothing for over an hour and it doesn't feel awkward. Maybe it's the little things Hermione does that remind him of Diane and himself as well as the things she does and says that makes him suddenly feel proud. As though he wants to go to strangers, point at her, and say, "That's my daughter."
It's funny. Hermione restored his memories last July but she couldn't restore feelings like that.
Something she has worked on makes it into the Daily Prophet and she brings it with her on the thirtieth visit. It's in the photo album for the thirty-first visit (it would have been on the wall but as Diane pointed out, most of their friends aren't used to moving pictures). He hasn't had a record of her achievements to put on a wall since she was thirteen.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
The thirty-second visit is an accident. He is woken by the telephone on Christmas day.
"Hello?" he yawns.
"HELLO. IS. THIS. MALCOLM. GRANGER?"
In the background he hears, "Ron, speak quieter. He'll be able to – look, give me the phone, I know how to use it."
"Hello?" he asks again.
"Hi, Dr. Granger, it's Harry Potter."
"Hi, Harry." He blinks. It's six in the morning. "Er, merry Christmas."
"Thanks. Nothing to worry about but, er, have you seen Hermione?"
His heart clenches. "No. She was supposed to visit us tomorrow. Why? Isn't she with Ron?"
Harry coughs. "Er ... she was supposed to be, yeah. She, er, never turned up. We knocked on her door but I don't think she's there. And she wrote your number down ages ago so I thought we should phone. Sorry if we woke you up," he adds belatedly.
In the background, he hears a girl tell Ron to calm down.
"That's fine. I want to be woken up for this," he says automatically. "We'll see if we can get hold of her."
"Thank you." Harry hangs up. Malcolm stares as the phone for a moment before shouting up to Diane.
They try her phone number first but there's no response. He leaves a voicemail. Then they try to think about where she could be if she isn't at her flat. They turn places down almost as quickly as they suggest them. Neither of them voices the possibility that she has been hurt or even killed.
His eyes flick to the photo albums.
"Our old house is about an hour's drive," he says slowly.
Diane's eyes light up. "You think she's there?"
"Maybe. It's the only idea I've had that I can't reject immediately."
They go because they need to do something. When they're halfway there, he wonders why neither of them has suggested the police yet. Maybe because Ron and Harry are supposed to be the police. It's a good thing, either way, because he's fairly sure he's breaking at least seven traffic laws.
They arrive within forty minutes. The street is quiet. Their house has been partially rebuilt by a faceless building company. He wonders who is going to live there.
Hermione is not there.
He doesn't know why he thought she would be. It's not as though she can go in.
"Where to now?" he asks.
Diane checks her watch. Half past seven. She taps her fingers as she thinks and then stops.
"What time does the library open again?"
Of course, the library isn't open – it's Christmas day – but they go anyway. They find Hermione sitting in the cafe next door.
"Oh, thank God!" Diane cries. She sweeps Hermione up in a hug before the woman can ask why the Grangers are there. Malcolm joins in.
"Honey, what's going on?" he asks when they've released her. "Ron says you didn't show up last night."
She's pale and trembling. He buys tea from the cafe owner, who looks less than impressed that people are using his cafe even though he's the one who opened shop on Christmas, and hands it to her. She sips it.
"It's..."
"Do not say nothing."
"It's ... I think..." She looks at Diane. "I think I might be pregnant."
He has the sudden urge to kill Ronald Weasley.
She looks at her tea. "I ... I couldn't face him. I can't tell him. He doesn't want children yet. I don't want children yet. I wanted to wait until we were married."
Diane nods. "You're sure you're pregnant?"
He wants to scream at her. How can she be so calm?
Hermione continues to look at her tea. "I missed taking the potion and ... I'm late. I really want chicken. My dreams are vivid. I..."
"OK," Diane says, "but have you taken a test?"
Hermione stares at her. "No, I..."
"Well, before you start rearranging your life, I think you should do that first. There must be a chemist open around here somewhere."
It takes an hour of driving but they finally find a shop that is both open and sells pregnancy tests, in a service station. He waits anxiously for the women to come out of the toilet. It's only five minutes but it feels like five years.
When they come out, he stops himself from demanding an answer. But he can see from the expression on their faces what the outcome was.
"Negative," Hermione says. "I'm not pregnant."
He tries not to look too relieved. "Well," he says mildly, "in that case, you can pay for breakfast. Since you woke us up. I've been eyeing up Burger King." Actually, the smell has made him feel sick. After a few seconds, he smiles to show he's joking. She laughs slightly hysterically.
"We should get you back to London. Ron and Harry probably think we're all dead by now," Diane says.
Hermione nods. "I probably shouldn't have just left. But I needed to think and that seemed like ... I could always think at home."
"You're normally so logical," Malcolm comments.
"I couldn't think straight." She smiles wryly. "I think the magical world has been a bad influence on me."
When they reach the car, he pauses. "You can apparate, can't you? You could go straight to Ron."
She shakes her head. "I need to think of what to say to him."
She meekly climbs into the back of the car. As he drives (at the designated speed limit), he finds himself thinking about his non-existent grandchild.
"I was wondering," he says aloud, "if you had been pregnant, what." He coughs but decides to plough on. "What would your child have called us?"
After a few seconds, Hermione says quietly. "I hoped Grandma and Granddad."
He glances at Diane who smiles at him. He has her blessing. He hopes Hermione and Ron can communicate as well without words as he and Diane.
"It would be weird if our grandchild called us Grandma and Granddad but you called us Diane and Malcolm."
"I ... thought so too."
They don't speak for the rest of the journey. When they drop her off at Ron's place, they look at each other.
"Thank you for coming to find me," she says. "I'm sorry I worried you. And everyone. Over nothing."
"That's fine, Hermione. We're glad you're safe." Diane looks at the door. "I suppose we'll see you tomorrow then."
"Yes. Definitely."
She walks to the door. She pauses and looks back at Malcolm.
"Can I ask you a question ... Dad?"
His mouth is dry and his voice cracks as he gets out, "Fire away."
"When I gave you your memories back, you said you didn't know who I am. Do you ... do you know who I am now?"
He thinks back over the past seventeen months and then the years before that. He thinks of photo albums. He thinks of flowers that never made it to a vase. He thinks of countless cups of tea.
"Not entirely," he says. "But I think I know enough."
Fin