Chapter 7: The Australian minister
Authors Note: Feeling a bit down right now, no reviews in a while! Please keep reviewing as I really appreciate it. It has taken me a while but I have decided since we have never been told the first names of Mr. & Mrs. Granger, I am naming Hermione's parents Robert and Helena. I just feel that those two names fit. Anyway, here is chapter 7!
Hermione woke up the next morning to have found she had had the best sleep in a long time. She opened her eyes and the blissful sun engulfed the hotel room they were staying in. She remembered the previous night and turned to look at Ron. She could see that their hands were just millimetres away from each other on the pillow between them. His other arm was wrapped around her and she felt this gently, warm feeling of happiness. Hermione brushed her hair out of her face and she could see Ron's blue eyes giving her a loving look and he smiled.
"Morning, did you sleep ok?" He whispered finishing the task of brushing Hermione's soft, bushy hair out of her face.
"The best sleep I have had in quite a while. You?" She replied
"Maybe it was a good thing there is only one bed, because I also had a brilliant sleep." His ears turned slightly red.
She giggled and then Ron leaned over and kissed her passionately. Once they broke the kiss, things started to fly by really quickly.
"I am going for a shower. See you in a minute." Hermione said
They hadn't really unpacked properly since by the time they had reached the hotel. The shelves, wardrobe and other designated areas to place clothing were empty. Ron thought he would save Hermione the trouble and filled half of the area with her clothes and the rest of the space with his. Hermione came out of the shower and felt it as a nice surprise, what he had done.
They went for breakfast downstairs in the hotel restaurant. They were sat outside and could see the picturesque views of the city and the blue ocean. They had just finished a long breakfast when a man walked in who looked incredibly familiar to the man they had met the day before.
"So, we meet again. Hello fellow Brits." Ryan said
"Ryan isn't it? What brings you here?" Ron questioned
"You two bring me here. I assume you were told that upon your first day in Australia you would be met by an Auror?" Ryan replied as if he was reading their minds
"Yes, how do you? Oh, so you are the Auror that we are meeting here. Did you already know this yesterday?" Hermione wondered inquisitively
"No, I have literally just found out this morning, hence the reason I have travelled from Canberra to Sydney to collect you. Are you ready to go?" He asked
Ron turned and looked at Hermione; she picked up her bag and nodded.
"Yes, we are ready to go." Ron confirmed
Half an hour later they found themselves walking through the Australian Ministry of Magic and into the minister's office. The building was exactly like the British Ministry only situated somewhere else. They followed Ryan until they saw a door that had "Michael Johnson, Minister for Magic" on a golden plaque.
Ryan knocked on the door patiently.
"Come in Jones." A quiet voice said calmly
He opened the door and Ron and Hermione walked in. A tall man stood before them, he looked reasonably young – into his early thirties, short, untameable brown hair and a permanent smile spread across his face.
"You must be Ron and Hermione; it is nice to meet you at last." Mr Johnson said
"It is great to meet you two, and thank you for inviting us here." Hermione replied as he shook both of their hands.
"No problem at all, I have heard a lot of great things about you two from Kingsley." He replied
"So, from my understanding of what Kingsley said to me it seems to be that you have wiped your parent's memories and sent them here for their own protection." He continued
Hermione nodded in agreement, neither she nor Ron knew where this conversation was going.
"Can I ask where you are currently staying?" Mr Johnson questioned curiously
"We are staying in a hotel in Sydney." Ron answered
"Well, surprisingly you are in luck. We tracked your parents, sort of like the way we do with wizards and witches under the age of seventeen. If you remember the trace." He wondered
They both nodded in reply. Hermione really hoped by this point that the next few words that came out of his mouth were good ones.
"I know that your parent's memories were wiped so that they are now currently living under the names of Wendell and Monica Wilkins. And via using the trace we have found a Wendell and Monica Wilkins in Sydney." He beamed at them
"Thank you so much Minister." Hermione sighed happily. She hadn't noticed Ron was holding her hand under the table. She turned to him and Ron squeezed her hand for encouragement. He had one of the most loveable smiles spread across his face. She felt that it would be more appropriate if she kissed him once they left the room instead of there and then.
"We do have an address for your parents. We know that they are currently living at 15, Manchester Street. We also know that they have their own dentists and have not changed their profession. We'll give you all the time you need to contact them. I assume you know how to restore their memories?" He continued
"Yes, I just need to reverse the obliviate spell and then stun them." Hermione confirmed
"That is just about it, unless you have any questions." Mr Johnson added. "Well then, good luck finding your parents and I wish you both all the best." He finished and shook their hands once again
"Thank you again, Minister." Ron said
They left the room and Hermione turned to Ron, she smiled and Ron could see her face literally lighting up with happiness. He opened his arms out to her and she flung herself at him and kissed him passionately. Right then, at that moment she didn't care that people were walking past staring or who was watching them. For that moment she knew her life was about to become complete.
"Where should we go?" Ron said once they had broken the kiss.
"We could go and look around Sydney, maybe stop and get a drink somewhere; it is entirely up to you." Hermione replied she was still slightly bouncing up and down on the spot unable to control herself in this moment of happiness.
Ron grabbed Hermione's hand and they disapparated. When they arrived back in the muggle part of Sydney, the boiling sun hit then and engulfed them in the sunlight. Considering it was only June it was hotter than both Ron and Hermione had ever felt before. They looked around the many shops in Sydney and then found the nearest coffee shop.
Once they had sat down and paid, they began to eat, drink and talk.
"When should we contact them?" Ron asked curiously
"Maybe tomorrow, as soon as possible." Hermione answered, taking a sip from her cup of coffee.
They talked for a little longer and then decided it was getting a little late to be out in the sun. They weren't as well prepared to come to Australia as they should have been. People were walking around in shorts, sunglasses and hats. Ron and Hermione were both wearing jeans and shirts. Both of them were now regretting not adding cooler clothes to their suitcases.
"Wow, I am tired." Ron said trying to stifle a yawn
"It has been a long day; perhaps we should call a taxi to get us back to the hotel." Hermione smiled
A week before they had left England Hermione had bought a muggle mobile phone. Mr. Weasley had been fascinated by the technology. Ron thought it was some dark magic item but Hermione assured him it wasn't.
Hermione looked through a muggle newspaper for a phone number for a taxi. Once she found an advert, Hermione dialled the number on it.
Then, somebody answered the phone.
"Hello, Wilkins Dentistry how can I help you?" It was the voice of a woman on the other end of the phone. The voice was extremely familiar and she knew she had heard it somewhere before.
Then she realised who exactly she was speaking to.
It was her Mum. It was Monica Wilkins.
"I, I erm." Hermione said almost speechless
"Hello, Hello? Are you still there?" Monica Wilkins questioned.
Hermione ended the call and put the phone down. She suddenly paled. That was her Mum. That was the person who had missed out on a year of her life along with her Dad. Her jaw dropped and she was unable to speak.
Ron looked concerned.
"Hermione? Are you alright?" Ron asked reaching for her hand and looked deep into her eyes.
"That was them, that was my Mum. I accidentally dialled the wrong number and it was my Mum on the other end of the phone." Hermione said still speechless
Ron stood up from his seat. Walked over to Hermione and offered her one of his hands. She stood up as well and then he gave her a hug. Once they had broken the hug and both sat down a single tear fell down her cheek.
"We truly have found them." Hermione said smiling
"Yeah, we have." Ron returned the smile
"I am going to call that taxi now, and I am not going to make any mistakes with the number." She beamed
Once Hermione had called the taxi everything went quickly. The taxi came within the next five minutes and it took them only about half an hour to get back to the hotel. The driver was a squib and so since he knew about them he decided to give them discount on the price of the journey.
Hermione paid the driver and once they had eaten dinner in the hotel restaurant the sun was setting and they decided to go up to their hotel room. They sat and watched muggle TV for a couple of hours and then got ready to go to sleep.
They lay there in silence for a couple of minutes with only a small bedside lamp giving them light.
Then Ron broke the silence.
"I can't believe it has only taken two days to find out where your parents are." Ron said
"I know. It was the strangest conversation I have ever had with either one of my parents. I am really glad we found them. Ron, I am really thankful that you came with me here, I couldn't have done all this on my own." Hermione replied, turning on her side to face him.
"You are welcome, besides I don't think I can survive a few weeks without you after what happened on the Horcrux hunt. I also just wanted to know that you were safe." Ron smiled
"I have decided, tomorrow let's find them and restore their memories." Hermione sighed
"That is great; I have never met your parents before. My parents did, but I didn't. I was too glad to see you and Harry that day." Ron said
"Don't worry, they're good people. They will like you a great deal." Hermione reassured him
"You must have inherited the kindness gene from them then." Ron giggled
Hermione laughed and brushed her hair out of her face.
"Night Ron." Hermione said
"Night Hermione." Ron replied
He kissed her on the lips and then they both closed their eyes.
"I love you Ron." Hermione sighed
"I love you too Hermione." He said, kissing her again.
Hermione couldn't wait for the next day and to see her parents again. She knew that her life would be once again filled with happiness. Hermione also knew that her life with Ron was just beginning.
A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. As you can see we are getting nearer to meeting Wendell and Monica Wilkins and in the next chapter Ron and Hermione will. I have just yesterday posted another story called forgive and forget so please read that because it would really be appreciated. Hope you like the story up to now and PLEASE REVIEW!