A/N - I was asked in a review about Dean Thomas and his birth certificate.

I had actually thought about that whilst I was writing the previous chapter.

The reason why Dean Thomas has his mother's surname is because his mother was a muggle and didn't have magic. She also didn't know about magic - we know that Dean didn't know if he was a muggleborn or a half-blood, so that supports his mother not knowing about Dean's father's magic - so she would have had Dean in a muggle hospital. His birth certificate would have been a muggle certificate and filled in the same way as any of our birth certificates were filled in.

THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO HAS REVIEWED. I'm sorry I haven't sent a thank you message to you all - real life is a bit crazy! I'll try and get on that soon. :)

Also - this was supposed to have a side pairing of Harry/Luna, until this chapter somehow ended up mentioning Sirius/Luna. I'm not going to put much focus on that pairing though.


Misunderstandings

Thanks to Lizzy for betaing


Bob Yorke at the the portkey office was quick to get the information for the day that Remus and Sirius suspected Hermione to have left the country. Bob tapped the file with his wand and opened it, causing two sheets to slip out from amongst the others and land on the top of the folder as he shut it again.

"These are for your day," Bob said, reaching up to adjust his glasses.

Remus grabbed the top one and looked it over and Sirius took the other. Neither had Hermione's name on them.

"Are you sure this is all?" Sirius asked.

Bob nodded. "Two authorised portkeys."

"What about unauthorized?" Remus asked.

"There were none on that day," Bob told them. "We have records of unauthorised portkeys. We can't stop them being made, but they flag up immediately upon use and the parchment changes colour depending on the outcome of our investigation."

"So the paperwork could be elsewhere?" Remus asked.

"No. A copy would be put into this file," Bob told them. "Every portkey use is in there, unauthorised and authorised. If these aren't what you're looking for, perhaps you have the date wrong?"

"Yeah, maybe she was delayed?" Remus suggested to Sirius. He turned to Bob. "Okay, can we have everything starting from two days before and ending exactly a month later."

"A month and three days," Sirius corrected him. "That's the day we all got back from the mission."

"Good idea," Remus said as Bob turned back to his filing cabinet.

...oOo...

"So she didn't portkey," Sirius said as they left the portkey office. "She must have gone another way."

"Airplane?" Remus suggested.

"Don't those things take hours?"

"To Australia, yes," Remus agreed, frowning. "Broomstick, but that's still a far distance."

Sirius glanced at the door next to them. "Floo?"

"You can't floo all of the way there—" Remus began to argue.

"You can't, but she could have flooed from Dover to Calais as there's a floo route between the two, or from—"

"No," Remus interrupted, shaking his head. "She'd have gone directly there by portkey. If she was floo-hopping, that means she didn't want us to know where she was."

Sirius sighed. "Remus, maybe she doesn't want us to know where she is?"

"I don't care," Remus replied. "I'm going to find her and make sure she's safe… and… and grovel and beg for forgiveness."

"Good man," Sirius said, grinning widely. "But we should still go in. We can get a log of places she went and anyone she called."

"Isn't that invading her privacy?"

"Yes, but we're only doing it because she's missing," Sirius said. "We start from the day she contacted Harry because we know she was in the house that day, until the day we returned."

Remus turned towards the door and opened it. He was quick to walk to the nearest desk where a girl looked up and smiled at the both of them.

"Can I help you?" she asked, her eyes lingering on Sirius.

Sirius shot her his best smile. "Hello love, we're after some information on my floo. We need a record of all the use from the fireplace for the last… eight months."

The girl nodded. "Sure. Here's a request form. I can get that information to you in two weeks—"

"It's an emergency," Remus said.

"Miss…" Sirius glanced at the name written on her desk. "Miss Stainton, I'm Sirius Black." He watched her eyes widen at the mention of his name and tried to deduce whether it was best to flirt for the information or if her work-ethic was more important to her. "I hate to ask since you're clearly busy in here, but it's an emergency that I get that information as soon as possible. Kingsley has me tasked with searching for information and this is vital to my investigation."

She hesitated and Sirius leaned down onto the desk.

"And of course the Minister himself will be notified of your quick and efficient assistance."

She glanced down at the parchment in front of her. "I have to finish this up first, it's due in an hour," she murmured uncertainly.

"Of course. We wouldn't expect you to drop everything. Like I said, we know you're very busy. Me and my friend were going to go and have some brunch. So, if we come back in about… two hours?"

Mary Stainton nodded her head. "Two hours is fine," she said.

"Also, you could hand-deliver them to the Minister at that time," Sirius suggested. "I'm sure he'd want to see who went out of their way to help him."

Mary eagerly nodded and turned back to her work and began to write a little more quickly. The sooner she finished what she was working on, the sooner she could get to the records, though she knew they'd take a while to retrieve. After all, there was a supervisor's job that she was hoping for and perhaps this would give her the edge over the other candidates.

Sirius and Remus left the office, and Mary finished the report in twenty-five minutes and rushed to the records room to get what Sirius Black had requested. She made sure to put them in the hands of the Minister directly.

...oOo...

Sirius Black and Remus Lupin were in a cafe in Diagon Alley, waiting impatiently. Remus had barely sipped at his hot chocolate and the wonderful drink was going cold on the table as he tapped his fingers against his leg impatiently.

"I should have asked Harry about her," Remus finally muttered, his gaze on the table.

"I should have asked too," Sirius said, shrugging. "We've learnt the hard way that we can't change the past, Remus. Hindsight is 20/20."

"But if I had—"

"Harry was getting letters from Hermione. They were short, but there were letters and he even confirmed she had written them. If she was in danger, she'd have somehow told him. She's smart and would have somehow managed to put a hint in the letter. She didn't so I'm convinced she sent those letters when safe. We had no reason to question the letters. Perhaps she was with her parents and catching up on so much, she didn't have time to write?"

"But—"

"Remus, why do you always need to blame yourself? Isn't it time you just accept that sometimes no-one is really in the wrong. Yes, you shouldn't have pushed her away, but the whole letter thing isn't on anyone. We'll find her."

"What if we don't?"

"We will," Sirius assured him. "We do what you said and follow her trail. Once we have this report, we meet everyone she spoke with, and everyone she visited, before she headed to Australia. If I have to, I'll go to Australia and spend the rest of my life walking around as Padfoot trying to catch her scent."

"Hopefully it doesn't come to that," Remus said, snorting at the idea. "If her parents had their minds healed, we should be able to get her information from the hospital and if not, we at least know which hospital and have an idea on what area Hermione would be in. But hopefully the floo reports help."

"Whatever it takes, I'm going to make sure you and Hermione are together again."

"But I—"

"Do I have to hit you again?" Sirius asked, rolling his eyes. "Remus, I don't think there's anyone that deserves a girl like Hermione. She's too good for the lot of us, but anyone else would realise that they've got this amazing chance if Hermione wants to be with them. You… you did the complete opposite of what any other man would do, and you scared her away. You should have made it so she'd never want to leave."

"She wanted marriage and kids," Remus murmured. "Maybe marriage was an option one day, if we lasted… but you know I can't have kids—"

"Nothing proven," Sirius insisted.

"Some children have turned," Remus insisted. "Some have been in agony on the full moon too."

"Some have been like Bill," Sirius replied with a shrug. "Also, you're talking about the one-percent. The majority of children are perfectly fine. There are benefits. Some are more in tune with things going on around them, some have quicker reflexes and some have better eyesight or smell."

"Why risk it?" Remus asked. "What would I do if we stayed together and she eventually got pregnant? A child that turns into a Werewolf too? I couldn't do that to her."

"Instead you break her heart and make her run away. Good call," Sirius snapped. He shook his head as Remus opened his mouth to speak. "I get it, Moony. You didn't want to tie her down. Me and… well, I've gone out to dinner a few times with Harry's friend, Luna. Harry actually set us up on the dinner, so he's not thinking age difference is a problem, he wants us to be happy. My point is that I've spent all this time in Azkaban and we all know that I have bad days when I lock myself in my room and can't bear the world… I know a girl like Luna is out of my league. I can charm them and I can flirt, but until Luna, that's all I could do. Now I've found a girl who shines so brightly, I forget about the darkness when I'm around her, and there is no way I'm pushing her away, not in the slightest. I don't want her to see a mess of a man who has a drinking problem so I'm not going to be that man. I'm going to show her what's good about me and why she should stay with me."

"You and Luna?" Remus asked, his eyes widening in shock.

"That's all you have to say?" Sirius asked, raising his eyebrows. "My point is that I've met a beautiful girl. Yes, she's only eighteen, but I enjoy her company and I'm determined to not screw it up because I know I'm happy with her and I'm certain that I can make her happy too. As for you: you chose to push Hermione away because you thought she'd be happier with someone else, but she's nineteen now. At nineteen, James and Lily were getting married and talking about kids. At nineteen, we were fighting Death Eaters. Hermione has already fought in a war. She's not a little kid who doesn't know what she wants, she's a grown woman with more grasp on her life and what she wants, than some people who have are older than us! By pushing her away, you've been selfish. You've not been thinking about Hermione, not really. Because if you had, you'd have taken her feelings for you into consideration and you'd have focused on what Hermione wants and not your own feelings."

"I did what was best," Remus stated firmly, though he could see how right Sirius was. If he admitted Sirius was right, he'd be admitting how much he screwed up, though he really did and he knew it.

"Moony, Luna may dump me tomorrow, or we might last three years before she does," Sirius replied. "We may even last ten, but I know to be prepared for that day. Until that day comes, I'm going to be happy that Luna's even given me a chance. I'm going to enjoy the time with her until she ends it, instead of ending it now and making us both miserable. Maybe Hermione would have ended it at some point, maybe not. But you've taken the choice away from her whether to be with you or not. You could have been happy for as long as Hermione wanted to be with you."

"She still does," Remus admitted softly. "She left a candle… as long as she loves me, the flame will burn. The flame hasn't flickered once."

Sirius grinned. "See, here I thought it was wild wolfy sex you were having. Didn't realise you were in love. Now, love is something bigger. That candle wouldn't light if she didn't truly love you. So you are going to find her and get down on your knees and beg her forgiveness."

"Sirius—"

"No," Sirius replied firmly. "I expect to see you happy and what's happiness without a massive amount of begging and grovelling at the feet of the woman you love until she forgives you for fucking up."

"Well, you'd be the expert in that," Remus mumbled.

"Of course I am!" Sirius exclaimed happily, slapping Remus on the back.

The pair were interrupted from their conversation as Kingsley's patronus approached.

"The report has arrived," came his deep, booming voice.

Sirius and Remus got up from the seat and quickly left the cafe, heading back towards the Leaky Cauldron where they flooed back to the Ministry.

...oOo...

Kingsley was reading the report as the pair walked in. A quill dripping neon-yellow ink was floating next to him.

He reached for it and marked off several lines.

"You had her leaving date correct," Kingsley said. "The last floo calls were made that day."

"Okay, so is there anything there?" Remus asked, taking a seat on the other side of the desk.

"There is," Kingsley said. "Hunter Morgan and his business address. He's an Australian Private Investigator but he lives and works in England. I suspect Hermione chose him because of his knowledge of Australia. Also, Diamantina Bell."

"Diamantina?" Sirius said, snorting. "What kind of name is that?"

"That's the name of a river in Queensland," Remus pointed out. "Which isn't unusual."

"You are right. She's a pureblood and her family have a similar tradition to yours with names," Kingsley said. "I'll be in touch with her and get back to you all at the meeting this evening. Sirius, go and visit Hunter Morgan and find out what he knows about Hermione. Remus, take this letter and go down to the apparition squad. Have them investigate whether there was any apparition within half a mile of Grimmauld Place. They may take a while as apparition is not monitored, but they can compile the information. Stress that it's important."

"Wouldn't I be better of going with Sirius to see Hunter—"

Kingsley shook his head. "He's a pureblood and might be more willing to help Sirius than you," he said. "Sorry, Remus, I know you care about Hermione, but prejudice still runs through some people's blood and right now we have to do what we can to convince people to give us the information on Hermione."

"I understand," Remus agreed. "I'll let you know what I find out."

...oOo...

The meeting was a disappointment. No-one had any information and Kingsley was waiting to hear back from the Australian Ministry regarding any hospital records for the Granger family, and from Hermione's contact there, who was out sick.

Hunter's secretary was a frazzled woman practically drowning in paperwork who admitted that Hunter liked to disappear on jobs and not check in for months on end without filling in any paperwork until he returned. She had no knowledge of where he was until he contacted her. She did however send a owl with a message for him.

Remus had nothing to report either.

"Sirius, tomorrow, can you get your friend from the floo office to get a report on Hunter's floo since a week before Hermione left. Harry, I've heard news on Death Eater activity. Ron's injured so you take Neville with you. Stay behind after the meeting and I'll brief you."

"But Hermione…"

"The Auror's priority is the Death Eaters that are still at large. The rest of the Order will search for Hermione," Kingsley insisted. He looked around the room. "Any other suggestions on how to proceed?"

There was no answer and everyone left except Kingsley, Neville and Harry.

...oOo...

Hermione huffed as she pushed the heavy pram up the street to the bus stop. She missed flooing places, but couldn't with her children. Instead, she had to push a double pram around the place, her arms aching already.

She arrived at the bus stop and sat down on the bench, hoping the children wouldn't wake up anytime soon. Shopping was easier without dragging the pair of them out, and she estimated three hours before she'd need to feed them again. If she was quick, she could get her shopping and get home in two and a half hours.

Thankfully the bus pulled up two minutes later. Hermione headed to the front and asked the driver if she could get on the back doors, knowing it was easier to get the pram on that way.

The doors were opened and Hermione put her weight on the back of the pram, lifting the front onto the bus. She quickly stepped up and pushed the pram into the buggy space, before pushing her foot on the brake. She glanced around briefly before walking to the front of the bus and paying.

When she returned, a woman in the seat next to the pram space moved and Hermione thanked her, dropping down tiredly into the seat and placing a hand on the pram. She stared at the doors until she could see the shops.

She stood up, took the brakes off the pram and joined the crowd who were getting off the bus.

...oOo...

"Sorry," Hermione said, quickly pulling the pram back to avoid hitting someone in the legs as she tried to manoeuvre the pram around the corner of the shop. She grabbed the milk and put it in the basket balanced on her arm and continued walking, wondering why she hadn't ordered her shopping on the computer.

Oh yes. She thought she had been cooped up indoors too much and had clearly forgotten how hard shopping had been the previous week. The children had woken up fifteen minutes after she got to the shops and couldn't be calmed. They had stopped the second Hermione had walked through her front door after rushing home, giving up on the idea of buying anything at all.

So far they had stayed asleep.

Hermione headed to the till, carefully pushing the pram through the narrow space between the two counters. She stopped, waiting for someone to move their trolley before continuing.

"Bag?" the woman asked, clearly bored.

"Yes, please," Hermione replied, accepting the offered bag and shoving the milk and few other bits she had picked up into it and hanging it onto the handle of the pram. She handed over a ten-pound note and only glanced at the change before shoving it into her pocket and leaving.

It wasn't until she reached the pharmacy did the children decide to remind her that they were there. They both began screaming in unison making Hermione jump. She didn't look around, knowing that people would be either pitying her or looking at her snidely, noticing that her finger had no ring on it. The judgemental looks had upset her the previous trip out and she was certain her hormones were still in overdrive. There would be no looking at people and letting them upset her.

She rushed around the pram and dropped down to her knees, whilst pulling a toy from on top of the pram to hang down. Thankfully the twins' eyes focused on the toys in fascination and Hermione sighed in relief. She stood up again and walked to the handles of the pram.

She didn't notice the man watching her.


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