Fifteen Years Later
Hermione Granger sat typing away at her desk. She had a rather lengthy budget report she had to hand in late next week, and despite it only being Wednesday, she wanted to have it done as soon as possible. If she could finish this now, she could relax on the weekend and not worry about work. Not that it would stop her. She usually came to
Her life was as normal and quiet as possible. She had managed to become the head research librarian at a university in Australia. She had worked hard over the past ten years to move up the ranks after graduating from university. Being in charge gave her a great sense of accomplishment, and she loved being able to run things the way she liked. She was young, but had earned the respect that she felt was so important for her team. She felt at home being in a library every day and it was one of the only places that really made her feel like she belonged.
Her small but comfortable office was blistering hot. The air-conditioning was broken at the moment, and the weather was unseasonably hot. Hermione's sleek hair was pulled back into a ponytail in hopes of keeping her cool, but thus far, nothing was doing the trick.
Her very conservative skirt and blouse were sticking to her body. Cursing the caretakers for not fixing the AC yet, she recommitted to her work. As her fingers flew across the keyboard, it didn't take long for Hermione's mind to stray from what she was typing and moved to concentrate on how hot she was.
She was just putting some finishing touches on a bar graph she was creating when there was a knock on the door. "Come in!" she shouted without even looking up from her computer.
"I'm heading out now Hannah," a young twenty something grad student named Maria said, peeking her head through the door.
Hermione smiled at her and looked up at the clock. 5:36. Her official work day had ended almost 2 hours ago. Sometimes she just got so wrapped up in work, she lost all track of time.
"Oh is it that late already! I'm glad that you stopped in. Have a good night!"
The grad student nodded and left the door cracked a bit. Hermione tried to get back into her report, but the open door seemed to be telling her she needed to go home. She sighed and pushed her laptop away from her, sinking back into her chair. She saved her work and gathered all of her belongings before locking up her office and collecting the mail that had piled up for her over the day. Shed have to deal with it in the morning. She marched through the rows of books, breathing in the smell of the old, dusty tomes. She really loved her job, and sometimes would rather spend all her time at work than go home.
As the thought crossed her mind, Hermione felt guilty for thinking such thoughts. She loved her family, and she never regretted spending time with them, but there was just something about the library that made her feel disconnected from reality.
Nearly fifteen years had passed since she had left England for good. The moment she left Hogwarts, she boarded a plane and went to find her parents in Australia. Once she arrived, she had no trouble locating them. She returned their memories, and while helping them pack up to move back to London, Hermione had decided to stay in Australia and finish out her parents lease.
She had enjoyed living on her own and discovering new things about herself. She made some new friends, and she loved to go sit on the beach late at night when no one else was around. The only thing that had interrupted her peaceful vacation was the constant reminder of what she had left behind.
The owls constantly bombarded her during her time away, and she had tried everything she could to make them go away. All she had wanted to do was forget about the horrors of the war and be left in peace. She had no plan to move back, and the attempts from so many people to convince her otherwise were always rejected. She had been horrified by all the attempts by journalists, politicians and "fans" to bring her home and get her to do all kinds of publicity. She had been send hundreds of gifts and been praised for everything she had been done. She couldn't escape the letters, and had sent back everyone of the letters, unanswered. All she had done was help stop a crazed man from taking over the world. She had watched too many people suffer and die for her to take so much credit and get paraded around and showered with gifts. Now that the war was over, she just wanted to move on, and not have that constant reminder. It made her appreciate how uncomfortable Harry had been with his fame.
It had been a no brainer for her at that point that she was done with magic and everything that came with it. All the joy had been sucked out of anything associated with magic. She had done so little magic since leaving England, it had almost been too easy to slip back into a life as a muggle.
The letters from her magical family had been the hardest to ignore. Some told her they were disappointed that she fled, others just wanted her back. She just wanted some time to grieve everything she had lost, including herself. She still had nightmares, even all those years later, and being away from all of those memories had seemed to make her pain a little easier. Had she stayed, everything she had gained over all those years at Hogwarts would have disappeared anyways. Her friendship with Ron and Harry had been broken, and there was no chance they would have recovered what they had once had. The war had changed them, and she wasn't sure if it was for the better. Hagrid had written to her many times telling her about Harry and Ron, and what they were doing and how much they needed her. It was no longer her problem to make sure they were where they needed to be and doing what they needed. They could manage for themselves, and she was not going to step in to save them from themselves. She could barely keep herself together.
Time had moved quickly after she had broken contact with the wizarding world. Locking away her wand had been one of the hardest things for her to do. She knew though, that if she didn't live a muggle life, than her old life would catch up to her, and she would have to face it. It was just easier to hide. Plus the magic she had done while in Australia had been weak, and she wondered if all the stress of her life had affected her magic.
The first thing she did was create a new identity. She became Hannah Graham, headed off to university, and ran headfirst into her new life, without looking back. While she was studying English literature, she met Todd Nixon, an athletic, business major. They had really hit it off, and their romance had grown in a whirlwind. After only a few months together, they were married. It hadn't been long after they were married that Hermione had given birth to their daughter Cara. They were a happy family, and Hermione had really carved out a good life for herself. Her family was safe and comfortable. She was satisfied with where she had ended up.
Her life had been a blur after leaving England, and as she slid into her car to drive home, she couldn't believe how impulsive she had been. Sometimes she regretted the quick decisions she had made. But that was only when she thought of what could have been. These days, she barely thought of those she had left behind.
She hated lying to her family about who she really was, but she knew that she could never tell them. The lies would likely destroy her family. Todd knew that something had driven her out of England, but Hermione refused to speak about it. Some secrets were better left alone.
She drove to her tiny ranch style home, deep in thought over a new shipment of books coming to the library, pushing aside all thoughts of her previous life. Everything was fine just the way it was. They were happy, she reminded herself, nothing could break that up.
She pulled into her driveway and threw the car into park. All her previous reminiscing had depressed her a bit, so she plastered a smile on her face and hauled herself out of the car. She unlocked her front door and was hit with the pleasant aroma of spaghetti. Her mouth watered at the smell, knowing that Todd's famous sauce was awaiting her.
"I'm home!" she called from the hallway as she kicked off her heels.
"In the kitchen!" came the reply. "Dinner's almost ready."
She padded into the kitchen to find Todd with his back to her, stirring one of the many pots on the stove, and Cara absorbed in a book on Ancient Rome.
A love of books wasn't the only thing Cara had inherited from Hermione. A month shy of eleven, she was almost the spitting image of her mother. Her hair was bushy, but a few shades lighter in colour than her mother's, inheriting some of her father's blond hair. Her eyes were more hazel than Hermione's and her teeth were a normal size. That was one small blessing Hermione was pleased with. She had only liked her smile after magic had cured it. Sometimes it unnerved Hermione how much her and her daughter looked alike, even though she felt Cara was more attractive than she had been at that age.
Her husband turned to her, smiling at Hermione. She had married what she had always imagined a surfer might look like. Todd had shaggy blond hair, ocean blue eyes and a tan she envied. She sometimes wondered how the popular rugby player had ever come to marry the bookworm.
"How was work? I thought you would be home a long time ago."
Hermione sat down at the table and put her feet up on a spare chair. "I was going over the budget stuff. It's due next week."
Todd nodded knowingly, well aware of anything business related. He was rising up at his accounting firm rather quickly and taking on more and more responsibilities. There were some long days involved, but he always made time for his family.
"Well a good supper and some fantastic news might cheer you up," he grinned at her. She plopped down on a seat at the kitchen table, putting her feet on the chair in front of her. Todd plated up some food for her at the oven.
She raised an eyebrow at him as he set a plate of pasta and a glass of wine in front of her. "Good news hmmm? Last time you said that, we were the proud owners of a pot-bellied pig."
Cara laughed. "I liked Chuckles. I still think we should have kept him."
Hermione just shook her head at her daughter. There was no chance she would live with a pig again.
She dug into her pasta as Todd sat down. She savoured the delicious flavours, waiting for the big news.
"So? What's the news?"
"I got promoted today. Junior Vice-President. They're going to triple my salary."
Hermione let out a small screech, jumping from her chair and rushing over to give him a hug.
"That's fantastic!" she said as she sat back down. "When does it happen?"
Todd seemed to squirm in his seat a little, as he glanced at his daughter, who had a look of apprehension on her face.
"Well….ummm…it starts in two weeks….andwehavetomove…." he said quietly. He glanced at his wife who was looking rather shocked. Cara looked as if she was waiting for her mother to blow up.
"What! We have to move? Where? I have a job you know!"
Todd looked at her sheepishly. "I know. And I told them that, but they said I couldn't advance here at the rate that I am…so I said yes. I'll be making enough that you don't have to work…"
She was infuriated at her husband for making this decision without her. Surely he could have waited to ask her what she thought. "You're avoiding my question. Where do they want you to go?"
Todd hesitated, breathing in a huge sigh. "London."
Hermione stiffened. Her pulse quickened. She couldn't go back. No way, no how. She had sworn to never go back, and now she was faced with this. Todd had always wanted this opportunity, but she didn't want to leave the safety of her new life.
"Hannah, I really want to do this. I know you left something bad behind in London, but if we go, I can give you and Cara the life I know you deserve. Whatever happened there, I'm sure you can face it. We can do it together."
The pleading look he was giving her almost broke her heart. She hated this. She sat in silence for a long time. She couldn't be selfish. London was a big city, and she wouldn't have to set foot into the magical world while there. She knew what she had to do to avoid. And enough time had passed, maybe no one would recognize her. She was many years older. She may never even see another magical person. Maybe she could go home. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. There were a lot of maybes, but she knew deep down, while trying to deny it, that this could only mean disaster.
She grabbed her wine glass and drained it before saying, "When do we leave?"