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Chapter 1: Memories
Hermione had finished her 5th year and was looking forward to spending some time with her magical family at the Burrow. She had modified her parent's memories at Easter and moved them to Australia. It was a necessary decision that she had to do to protect them. The increased level of Death Eater attacks on Muggles, her association with Harry Potter and the fall of the Ministry to the control of the Death Eaters had led to her decision to take the drastic action. She had talked to her father about the situation and he agreed that it was necessary that as her parents they went into hiding. It had been a difficult conversation to have as she had tried to shield her family from the true level of conflict in the magical world since her first year at Hogwarts. She knew that her father could handle the knowledge that there was a war and she was in the front line from his own experience in the Falklands but her mother was the one who had to be protected. Helene Granger had not coped well as a military wife during the Falklands and when there was an opportunity for Richard Granger to retire out of the services, post the cessation of hostilities in the Falklands she demanded that he take the option and go. Hermione only knew about her father's military service from his adamant attendance to Remembrance Day services and she had learnt from a young age that you did not mention the military round her mother. The summer before she went to Hogwarts her mother went on a business trip for a couple of days and Hermione approached her father to ask him about his military service and her mother's reaction to the military. It was then that Hermione learnt about his role in the SAS and loss of 21 of his colleagues in a Helicopter crash. Apparently it was the loss of some of his friends that tipped her mother's hate of the military wife's life over the edge.
Hermione's father was a practical man and he worked with her during the Easter break to settle the family affairs so that they could be in hiding while continuing care for her. Richard Granger had also been realistic about the worst-case scenario and prepared her in a number of ways including providing information and training if she had to go on the run as a Muggle. Hermione had a number of trust funds both Magical and Muggle. The family had consulted a specialist inter-world lawyer to help with the creation of the legal emancipation papers for Hermione so that she would not have to go into care in the Muggle world.
With the help of the lawyer Richard Granger arranged a Magical power of attorney naming Remus Lupin as her Magical Guardian until she was 21. It was with great sadness that Hermione adjusted her parent's memories at the end of the Easter Holidays before seeing them off on a plane to Australia.
It had been a hectic year and the OWL exams had been exhausting. She had thrown herself into her studies after Easter as she could not stop thinking about her parents. She used the work to distract herself while preparing for her OWLs but now that the exams were over her brain was screaming at her for a break. She knew she had to face her actions but she also needed to find some balance she could not keep working flat out or she would keel over.
Additionally she had some trouble for the first time with a teacher, Umbridge, the ministry stooge put into Hogwarts to tout the bull shit about Dumbledore and Harry being liars and unhinged. The woman was an absolute delusional bitch and Hermione was sure that incident in the Forbidden Forest had made her a lifelong enemy.
She was disappointed that she had created an enemy who had such power to hurt her and her friends but she had to support Harry when he thought Sirius was hurt at the Ministry like Arthur Weasley. The woman was a bigot and Hermione felt slightly guilty for her pleasure about Umbridge's fear when the centaurs rescued her and Harry.
She was worried about Harry as he was taking the death of Sirius hard. Hopefully this summer she was going to get some balance before the next skirmish or battle of the war. Life was getting harder, darker and more hazardous after the death of Sirius Black in the Hall of Mysteries.