It had taken her two days of searching to locate her parents, even after using the Locater Charm. It was another two days before she gathered the courage to talk to them. Lifting the curse was easy enough. It was what came after- the crying and the emotional toll of reuniting- that exhausted Hermione. Jean and William Granger were shocked to learn about the War and quite angry at their daughter for taking away their right to make their own decisions. However, after much shouting, they had both forgiven her, simply glad that they were a family again. After a long conversation, her parents decided to stay in Australia a little longer to wrap up their practice and liquidate their assets before flying back to the UK. They asked Hermione to stay with them till then. It was a tough decision, but she decided to agree. She had truly missed them. She wrote a letter to Harry and Ron, explaining her decision, but knew very well that Ron wouldn't be happy with her. She felt guilty that she wouldn't be there for him, but she had felt quite like an outsider around the Weasleys. The loss they suffered was irreparable and she knew they needed time and space to cope with it.

The city of Cairns, where her parents had settled, was a beautiful tropical paradise and she soon put the War behind her. She swam in the seas and saw the Barrier Reef, trekked in the forests of Daintree, discovered magical beings that she had no idea existed (shocking!), learnt the most ancient forms of magic from the aboriginal witches and wizards and lazed around reading up on the modern magical history of Australia. She had regularly visited the nearby wizarding village and had truly come to appreciate the anonymity that she had there. She had even picked up tennis again, well enough to give a decent competition to her father. She could've stayed there forever, simply forget about the terrible things that had happened and yet to happen still, but she knew better. By the end of the July, the most cathartic vacation of her life was over. She was almost dreading going back to the UK, but took heart knowing she wouldn't be alone. She was closer to her parents than ever before. Ron hadn't replied to her letter, but Harry had scribbled a paragraph wishing her the best. He also told her that their Auror Training had commenced in the beginning of June. She sincerely hoped that it would keep Ron busy enough to not dwell on the sadness that permeated the magical community there.

The day of Harry's birthday, she set up a portkey for Grimmauld Place, London. Her parents were still unnerved around her magic, so they initially insisted that she take a flight back with them.

'I don't understand why you simply can't wait a day and travel with us! Your friend's birthday would still come next year!' proclaimed her mother.

'I want to be there for him! I know he has the Weasleys but they are still recovering from their own losses, mum. I want to surprise him.'

Her parents shared a look before asking the question she knew was long coming. 'Are you and Harry together?'

Letting out an exasperated sigh, she said, 'No! We're best friends, is all. I'm actually dating Ron at the moment.'

Her mother raised her brows in mild surprise. 'I didn't know you fancied him. He was a sweet boy…' she conceded.

'We've all been through a lot...I'm not sure if he's going to remain sweet for much longer.' He never did reply to her letter. She furrowed her brows at the thought before looking up. Her father was edging closer to the door, surreptitiously trying to leave the room, clearly uncomfortable with the topic. She rolled her eyes. 'I'll go ahead and make sure the house has been set up. I know you don't trust Uncle Harvey to tie his shoelaces together.' While her uncle was a brilliant Professor of Medicine at King's College, he was quite a forgetful man.

It was late in the evening by the time she was finally done with the packing. She could barely swallow any food at supper due to the nerves she was starting to get. If her parents noticed her discomfort, they chose not to comment on it. She hardly slept that night. Twisting and turning at the thought of facing Ron. She felt guilty, knowing she had the time of her life here in Australia while her boyfriend was suffering and training to fight the battles to come. She felt her eyes well up with tears at the thought of Fred. She felt a pang, knowing Ron was desperate for a closure he may never get. She finally closed her eyes and drifted into a fitful sleep.

She woke up early the next day, on the day of her scheduled portkey and Harry's Birthday. She felt terrible. She decided she needed a shower. She stepped into her bathroom and closed the door. She jumped when she caught her own reflection in the full length mirror. Her eyes were swollen from the lack of sleep and her hair was more untamed than ever. She looked worse than Moaning Myrtle. Shuddering at the thought, she shed her clothes and chose to go for a long shower. Once that was over, a second look in the mirror had her sigh in relief. Her hair was long and reached her lower back when wet. She waved her wand and they fell in cinnamon and chestnut frizz-free curls. They had acquired a lighter hue in the sun. She hadn't had a chance to get it trimmed in over a year. Her skin glowed because of the shower and the light golden tan she had acquired in Cairns. She was definitely more athletic now, her legs long and her body toned and stronger than it had been whilst she was on the run. She looked a far cry from the pale scrawny girl she had been just a few months ago. Feeling much better, she dressed in a white cotton t-shirt and blue denims, and proceeded to braid her hair. It was 7 AM and she had barely an hour before the scheduled time of her portkey. She grabbed a cup of tea and light breakfast, shrunk her luggage and stuffed it in her beaded bag with the undetectable extension charm. She kissed her parents goodbye and took a deep breath. The portkey was a small empty perfume bottle that Ron had given her for Christmas in their fifth year at Hogwarts. She had been pleasantly surprised and positively giddy at receiving it, since it was a decidedly feminine one. She closed her fingers around it and counted down the seconds before she felt the pull around her navel.

She landed gracelessly with a thump, in the foyer of Grimmauld Place. Gathering herself, she straightened and looked around. It was still the night before the 31st here. Just as she wondered if Harry was around, she heard hurried steps and was greeted with a sight of Harry looking bedraggled, with his wand out.

'Hermione!' he exclaimed, with eyes wide. She was immediately enveloped in a warm embrace and she felt her nerves melt away. She returned his embrace before realising he was shirtless.

'Harry! Put a shirt on!'

She felt him laugh deeply before letting her go. He waved his wand and the lit the whole place up. His glasses were slightly askew and he grinned at her before taking in her appearance appreciatively. 'You look great! I was hoping a vacation would do you good. I'd been trying to get Ron to visit you for a few days, you know. He could do with some time off as well.'

She simply smiled at that and focused on Harry. His lithe seeker build had packed on a few muscles. He looked much healthier as well, no doubt partly due to Auror training. His hair however, was a nostalgic mess. And he had a shadow of a beard across his jawline, making him look older than he really was.

'Oh, Harry, that's alright. I'm glad you're looking better too. The result of all your Auror training I suppose.' she raised an eyebrow.

'That and Kreacher's cooking', he said, leading her back towards the kitchen. 'Can I get you anything? Tea, maybe? I'm sure you have a lot to tell.'

She was about to shake her head and decline when she acquiesced. She supposed they were in for a long conversation. 'Sure. Chamomile. Where's Ron? Is he staying at the Burrow?'

'Yes, he is. Everyone at the Burrow is doing much better now. Mrs Weasley's started fussing over everyone again. Back with a vengeance too. Insists on a big lunch every Sunday. Ginny's starting to get annoyed. You'll find her here most evenings. Though she goes back home for the night. You just missed her.' He grinned.

She felt another wave of relief pass over her. She sat down on the table as Harry busied himself with a pot of water. She couldn't stop smiling at the homely picture that he made. She hadn't realised how much she truly missed him. The past year of practically living together had made her feel his absence quite acutely. Gone was the moody angsty teenager. He was all smiles and twinkling eyes. As he lay down a cup of steaming tea in front of her, she started her tale. She had been talking for nearly two hours, before she noticed the large wall clock strike midnight. She squealed and hugged Harry again.

'Happy Birthday! Oh, I got you something.'

She rummaged through her bag before summoning a square box. She opened it and took out a silver chain. But a second look at the chain made Harry realise its sheen was pearly. In fact it was not a silver chain at all, but made of tiny pearl-like beads. She held it out in front Harry who looked absolutely befuddled.

'Err. Hermione. I think that would suit Ginny more than me.'

Hermione chuckled before shaking her head and proceeded to clasp it around Harry's neck, while he looked on warily. 'Girls don't have exclusive rights over neck pieces!'

He didn't look convinced. She sat down again and proceeded to tell him the story behind it. 'It's made out of the scales of an Antipodean Opaleye. I crafted it myself. I couldn't believe my luck when I came across the scaled while on a trip to Goldsborough Valley, just south of Cairns. Its unnatural reflection caught my eye. There were a handful of scales there in the stream and I was able to identify the dragon scales immediately. Their population is quite low you see, but there must have been one nesting in that area. They shed their scales every few years. The fire-breathing Opaleye is known for its fire resistant body. Unsurprisingly, its scales are imbued with very strong fire resistant magic. Basically, wearing this would make you immune to fire hazards!'

Harry's mouth was half open in shock, before he caught himself and exclaimed, 'Hermione! This must be priceless! I think you should keep it!'

'Oh Harry! I already made myself some really gorgeous earrings out of the scales, see!' she retrieved a set of oval earrings from the same box. They gave off a mother of pearl sheen.

'Wow! These are unbelievable. Thanks.' he blushed.

'Do not take these as an open invitation to jump into burning buildings to save kittens, Harry!' she admonished.

He chuckled and they fell into an easy silence.

'So tell me about you. How has Auror training been treating you? Is Ron doing okay?' she added with some trepidation.

'It's wonderful actually. I'm training under Robards right now. He's the Head Auror. We start our field training from the first week of September. Ron's looking forward to that, he's been quite annoyed with the simulation training.'

'Isn't it a bit too soon? I mean, I know you fought Voldemort, but a lot of his followers are still out there. And you don't have blood magic to protect yourself from them.'

Harry sighed before nodding, 'Dolohov, Yaxley, the Carrows and even Macnair. They slipped under our net right after the final battle, but we're quite sure they aren't in the UK at the moment. We've got some intelligence from Romanian and Bulgarian ministries regarding some illegal deals and possible sightings, nothing more. They're scattered and don't pose much of a threat. But this is the best time to smoke them out of their holes. We'll probably have to go for quite a few recon missions to other countries as part of our training.'

They looked at each other. She knew he meant to say that she won't get much time with Ron after all. She bit her lip before nodding. Harry then went into a details of their training and rebuilding efforts at Hogwarts. He even told her what some of the other DA members were up to. Neville was going back to Hogwarts along with Dean to complete their 7th year. Hannah Abbott's family had inherited the Leaky Cauldron after Tom's death. She was often seen helping her father out. Before she knew it, it was nearly 3 AM. 'Will you look at the time! Please don't stay awake on my account Harry.'

'Relax, it's a Saturday tomorrow.'

'Well, that may be so, but I still think you should sleep. I'll take a sleeping draught to get my sleep cycle on track again.' she argued.

Harry shrugged and got up. He left the dishes near the sink for Kreacher to clean. He saw her disapproving stare when he turned back towards her and said sheepishly, 'He insists, alright?'

Shaking her head, she waved her wand and the dishes proceeded to get cleaned magically.

'I'm staying the night, but I'll leave early tomorrow for my parent's house. I need to set everything up, before they arrive. Though Uncle Harvey did say he had this side of things taken care of. I'll see you in the evening. Send a few owls and we'll make a night of it. Don't tell Ron I'm back, yet.' She felt herself tear up, as she finally asked, 'Is he mad at me, for abandoning him?'

Harry looked at her with irritation evident in his eyes. 'How can you say that? He knows he couldn't possibly make you choose between him and your parents. You obliviated them for Merlin's sake. They needed you to be there with them. And you needed them.'

'That's the thing Harry, I'm not sure if I should have stayed back after making things right.'

'Stop right there. He is fine. He's doing very well actually. He's thrown himself into Auror training and he has the support of his family. He hasn't exactly been pining after you, so stop feeling guilty. Your pity is the last thing he needs right now.'

She felt chastised, but her anger bubbled over his words. 'I don't pity him. I care about him. But you're right. I can't approach him with such feelings. I'll sleep over it.'

He nodded and turned to leave. 'I'm glad you're back. He did miss you.'