Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of this work of fiction, and no profit, monetary or otherwise, is being made through the writing of this.
A/N: Originally written for the LAS challenge on livejournal. The challenge was: blood relations. Though, I think it goes without saying, given the nature of this fic, I will say that this is AU for both fandoms. This was originally written during season one of Hawaii Five-0. I'm being loose with regard to Harry Potter canon (not following it) as this won't go past Hermione's summer with the Edwards. This does feature the death of minor characters from the Harry Potter fandom.
Hermione Granger stood and stretched the kinks out of her back. It had been a long flight, and she wished that she could have traveled by magical means instead, but Dumbledore and other members of the Order had insisted that she use Muggle venues of transportation. It would be safer than using magical channels, they'd assured her.
Spending nineteen hours in what essentially amounted to little more, in Hermione's mind, than a metal tube hurtling through the air at high velocity had left her feeling more than a little stiff and groggy. She was physically, mentally and emotionally exhausted. Sighing, she reached for the bag she'd placed in the overhead compartment and smiled her thanks when the man in front of her pulled it down for her.
That, and the purse she'd carried onto the plane contained every last one of her remaining possessions. The bag itself was small, but it held a great deal thanks to magic. Mrs. Weasley had helped her shrink the books that she'd wanted to take with her, and had offered to store the ones which Hermione didn't mind leaving behind until school resumed in the fall. Clothes, writing materials, various bric-a-bracs, and family albums had also been shrunk to fit the small bag.
She choked back a sob as she took the bag from the kind man. It wouldn't be prudent for her to have an emotional meltdown in the crowded aisle of an airplane as the passengers were disembarking. She took several deep breaths to quell the almost overwhelming sense of sorrow that threatened to envelop her and followed the line of people through the plane, stumbling a little as she exited the aircraft.
In spite of the long trip, she hadn't managed to get much sleep. Her mind had been too preoccupied and filled with terrible visions inspired by her overactive imagination. She, like her best friend, Harry Potter, was now an orphan because of Lord Voldemort.
There had been a raid on families of Muggle-born witches and wizards. If she hadn't been visiting the Weasleys at the time, she too would have been killed. What little Remus Lupin had told her about her parents' deaths only served to fuel her determination to aid Harry with whatever he needed to vanquish the megalomaniac once and for all.
She blinked back tears as she walked toward the baggage claim area where she was to meet an aunt she had met once, when she was two. Her mum hadn't spoken of her younger sister very often, but Hermione got the sense that, in spite of their differences in age and personality, she loved her very much.
Still, she felt a little nervous. She hadn't seen her Aunt Rachel in almost over twelve years and knew that this had to be coming as quite a shock to her. What if she didn't want her? From their brief conversation on the phone two days ago, Hermione had learned that she had an eight-year-old cousin, Grace. Would her aunt want to take on the task of caring for an orphaned teen as well?
Rachel nervously paced the airport terminal, having arrived an hour before her niece's flight was due. Grace was still at school; Danny would be picking their daughter up that afternoon anyway, but she would have liked to have her along with her as she waited.
She had only met little Hermione once, when she was a toddler, and worried that she wouldn't recognize the young teenager. But, as she scanned the faces of the arrivals from London, her heart caught in her throat.
Hesitating for only a second, she rushed up to a young, teenage girl, who, aside from an unruly mane of curly hair, was the spitting image of Jean. For a moment, she was filled with a sense of dread which she quickly brushed aside. She took a deep breath and silently held her arms open, ushering her young niece into a warm embrace.
"Hermione dear, I am so sorry," Rachel said softly, hugging Hermione to herself, squeezing tightly as the girl let out a single, quiet sob. "I loved your Mum, and promised her that if anything happened to her, I would take care of you."
"Thank you," the quietly spoken words came out muffled and Rachel pulled back slightly, brushing away her niece's tears with her thumb.
"How about if I get you home now," Rachel suggested, smiling when Hermione mutely nodded. "I'm sure that you must be exhausted after that long flight."
"Yes ma'am," Hermione answered politely, suddenly shier than she'd felt since hanging out with Ron and Harry at Hogwarts.
The boys, in spite of her remonstrations to the contrary, had been a good influence on her and she'd miss having regular communication with them over the summer months. She could call Harry, if her aunt allowed her to do so, but contacting Ron would be out of the question as his family didn't own a phone and they'd all been forbidden to use owls or other wizarding means of communication. It was simply too dangerous. Voldemort, though, would not be tapping phone lines, the arrogant wizard thought far too little of Muggle technology to view it as a viable threat.
"Please, none of that. Call me Aunt Rachel," Rachel insisted. She reached for Hermione's bag and gave it an insistent tug when the girl refused to release it. "Let me help," she offered gently.
Hermione nodded. Biting her bottom lip, she followed her aunt out of the airport and to the waiting car. The aromatic scent of Plumeria wafted over her as she walked, dousing some of her anxiety as peace stole over her. Her aunt brushed a loose strand of hair from her face, a gesture which reminded Hermione of her mother, and seeking comfort so like that of her own mother's, she leaned into the touch.