They've found the Wilkinses. Now to bring back the Grangers...and go back home.


Chapter 8

The Grangers

The four of them waited till the Wilkinses came out of the store, carrying some shopping bags. In this time, Hermione finally explained to Marissa and Bryant that the Wilkinses were actually her parents, and why she and Ron had come looking for them now.

While her parents walked down the street, Hermione began following, with Ron, Marissa and Bryant right behind him. They tried to seem like they were two couples out for a walk, so they talked amongst themselves and laughed, all the while keeping an eye on the older couple in front of them.

Finally, they all turned a corner to see the Wilkinses walking down to a house, and unlocking the door. Hermione and the others kept walking that way too, and then put to work the plan they'd decided upon. Marissa suddenly groaned and fell sideways, and Bryant caught hold of her. Ron and Hermione began exclaiming loudly, trying to get Hermione's parents' attention.

Monica Wilkins looked their way and said something to her husband and came out to meet them where they stood, a few feet away from the house.

"Hello dears. Is she fine? What happened?" she asked, concerned. Hermione looked up at her and her voice was stuck in her throat. She just kept looking at her mother's face in distress as she looked back, with not a shred of recognition on her face. Ron realized he'd have to start the conversation as Hermione was in no state to do so.

"I think the heat's gotten to her. We've been walking for a while" he said, trying to sound worried while Marissa continued making pained moans. Bryant seemed very much worried and looking at all their expressions, Ron could see Mrs. Wilkins reach a decision to help them out.

"Come on in then. I think she needs some water. Get her inside. You kids should know better than roaming around in this weather" she chided gently.

"We didn't think anything bad would come of it" Hermione said, looking at her mother, her eyes welling up. Monica Wilkins tutted and patted Hermione's shoulder. Ron found it ironic when Hermione said that – while Monica had no idea about it, to Ron it sounded like Hermione was talking about a lot more than just the heat…almost like she was practicing whatever she would be saying to her parents soon.

"Oh hush now. She'll be fine. No need to be so worried. It's just dehydration most probably" she told Hermione with a small smile.

At this point, Bryant surprised everyone by bodily picking up Marissa in his arms – her expression briefly flickered as her eyes almost flew open as this hadn't been part of the plan they'd discussed, but she controlled herself – and he asked if they could go in. Everyone filed inside the house, while Monica explained to her husband what had happened.

Ron, who had his arms around Hermione's shoulders, leaned in subtly and whispered to her, "Now Hermione. Do it now. Bryant will take Mr. Granger to the other room. Start with your mother and then come and meet us in the living room." He went ahead and gave in to the impulse to kiss her lightly on the temple. She looked up at him wide-eyed, broken out of her reverie. Then she put on a determined expression and nodded at him. Ron watched her as she walked away towards her mother.

"Monica Wilkins? Can I…uh…get some water please?" Hermione couldn't think of any other way of getting her mother into the kitchen, which seemed a little shielded from the hallway where everyone else was standing.

"Of course dear! Come along." Monica ushered Hermione inside to the kitchen, and Hermione looked back to see that Bryant was already talking to her father and slowly moving towards the living room, while Ron looked at her and gave her an encouraging nod. He could hear her and Monica as they entered the kitchen, heard a glass of water being poured out and then suddenly there was silence. Next, he heard Monica say, "How did you know my name? I haven't told you yet" she asked Hermione, her voice getting sharper as she continued, "Who are you? What do you want?"

Ron moved closer to the kitchen. He saw that as Hermione grasped that her mother was getting scared and was about to call her husband, she raised her wand quickly and a jet of blue light hit her mother's head and engulfed her whole head in a bluish aura as her expression slowly changed from one of fear and indignation to surprise and then shock.

After a few seconds, the light disappeared and Hermione's mother blinked her eyes rapidly a few times and pressed her fingers to her temple. Then she looked up and saw Hermione. A range of emotions passed over her face – happiness, sorrow, anger and finally, again shock.

"Mum? How are you doing? How do you feel?" Hermione slowly took a tentative step towards her mother, her arm outstretched.

"I…I…don't know. I…where are we?" she suddenly looked around and seemed to realise that she didn't recognize where she was standing. Then she continued, "I…am I…why do I remember Monica Wilkins? This is her house. We're in Sydney? What…I don't understand…Hermione…"

Hermione went and engulfed her mother in a hug, and Ron could see her fighting back tears.

"I know you're feeling disoriented Mum. Give me a minute and I'll explain everything. Please." Hermione stood back from the hug and then turned around and saw Ron standing there, relieved and yet anxious. He wanted to make sure everything was fine before he relaxed further.

"Mum, this is Ron, my friend from school. He's right here. I'll be back in a minute, okay?" Hermione gestured towards Ron to come over. He went slowly and then smiled warily at Mrs. Granger.

"Hello Mrs. Granger" he looked at the lady and could almost feel the confusion himself. Questions seemed to be building up in her head, and bewilderment was clearly writ upon her face. He wished he could comfort her, and he tried to figure out what he could do. But before that, he looked up at Hermione and told her everything would be fine here, and that she could go.

Ron walked over, took the glass of water Mrs. Granger had earlier poured out for Hermione, and gave it to her. She looked up at him, breaking away her gaze from the distance into which she had been staring with a frown.

"What's happening Ron? I don't know what I'm thinking. Who is this Monica Wilkins and why do I know her? More importantly, I…I seem to have her memories. Not memories of her, but literally her memories. What is happening?" she asked Ron, looking lost.

"Hermione will explain everything Mrs. Granger. She'll be back soon. Please don't worry." Ron didn't know what else to say. It was Hermione's right to explain the situation to her parents as she wished. It wasn't Ron's place to get into this right now.

"Don't worry? How can I not worry?! My mind is bombarding me with information I cannot…should not…possibly have! How is this not worrisome?" she asked him, looking aghast.

"I know it must be very difficult, and I assure you Hermione will explain everything properly to you. I don't mean to give you meaningless platitudes, but please just wait for her to come. She'll…" Ron was cut off as Hermione walked back into the kitchen, looking exhausted but slightly relieved. She smiled briefly at Ron and nodded her head in the affirmative, and then turned to her mother.

"Mum? Let's go sit in the living room, shall we?" Hermione helped her mother up and they both walked out to the living room. Ron followed them out of the kitchen and then found Marissa and Bryant standing in the hall. He stood there with them as Hermione shut the door to the living room.

"That's one tricky piece of magic you know. It's fascinating that she did it so effortlessly!" Bryant looked over at Ron, impressed with Hermione's spellwork.

"She wasn't the smartest witch in our year for nothing" Ron replied with a tired smile. He could hear slightly raised voices coming from behind the closed door, and he pondered how tough it must be for Hermione to get through this conversation. On one hand, he wanted to go in there and hold her hand, but on the other hand, he acknowledged the fact that this was a family matter that needed to be discussed without his presence; though he and Hermione knew everything, her parents didn't, and neither did they know him that well. No…this chat wasn't for him to barge in on.

Marissa's voice suddenly cut through his musings as she asked Bryant in a quiet voice, "Why did you pick me up? That wasn't decided."

Bryant froze, and then keeping his face blank, he said, "Oh I thought that would lend more gravity and credibility to our act. And it worked I think" he shrugged, hoping to appear indifferent.

Marissa narrowed her eyes at him, and Ron was forcibly reminded of Hermione.

"You know I almost broke out of character. I wasn't expecting it at all. I might have bungled it all up!" she exclaimed, trying to keep her voice down.

"But you didn't! It was all fine in the end! I don't get why you're so worked up about it!" Bryant looked at her exasperatedly.

Ron tried to tune out the bickering (and tune out the thought that this sounded so much like the petty arguments he and Hermione usually had) so that he could, maybe, make out what was happening in the living room. There had been a few loud exclamations from Hermione's father and Hermione's pleading voice, after which it had quietened down a bit. Ron wondered how Hermione was holding up.

In the morning, they had been worried about how they would find the Grangers. And Ron realized that that fact had kept Hermione's mind off the impending conversation, which quite frankly Ron felt would be a lot tougher than the process of finding the Grangers ended up being.

Ron hoped Hermione would be able to put across exactly why she had done it all, and not take all the guilt on her head. Frowning, Ron felt that she probably would downplay her farsighted intelligence, and focus more on how she was sorry to have caused her parents so much distress – it would just like her to do that…feel guilty for the negative consequences and completely forget the positives she had been working for. She had told him that he was always holding it together, but he knew how much she held back.

He sighed. They both needed to work on opening up more. It was doing neither of them any good bottling up their thoughts and letting them fester into irrational beliefs, eating away at their minds. Once we're done with this, we're going to work on this, he thought to himself.

He loved this girl, he knew that now. But even if he had to wait years before he could tell her that, it would all be worth it if they could just work on becoming each other's confidantes…or at least Ron would become hers. She needed someone to be there, and he would be that someone. He didn't really expect anything in return right now. He was happy knowing she was happy.

Wow, he sounded like some old person. Ronald Weasley you're growing up finally, you idiot. Maybe now you'll do better by her and stop being such a child. Prove to her that your emotional range goes farther than just a teaspoon

ooOoo

It was a while before Hermione and her parents came out. Ron spent most of that time biting his nails and/or pacing up and down the cramped hallway, while Marissa and Bryant seemed to have decided to give each other the silent treatment and were currently sitting on opposite ends of the same hallway in huffy silence. Finally, they all looked up as the living room door opened.

Hermione came out, and Ron quickly deduced that while she looked exhausted and red-eyed, she had a genuine smile on her face and finally looked at peace since after the Battle. Her parents, both still looking a bit disoriented, also had similar expressions of relief on their faces, though it was mixed with a bit of…sadness? They caught sight of Ron, who had been in the middle of his pacing, and Mrs. Granger walked towards him and pulled him down in a hug. He looked at Hermione, gobsmacked, who looked at the two of them with a gentle face.

"Thank you for taking care of her…thank you" Ron heard Mrs. Granger whisper in his ear.

"She took a lot more care of me than I took of her" he mumbled back to her as he patted her back awkwardly.

She released him at that and smiled at him, saying, "It's good to see you after so long. You've grown so much, I wouldn't have recognized you had you walked past me on the street!"

"He outgrows his pyajamas every few months I guess. Mrs. Weasley isn't pleased" Hermione chipped in with a soft twinkle in her eye as Ron felt his face grow warm and knew he was blushing. Why did he have to blush so easily?! Ugh.

He was saved from further friendly teasing by Mr. Granger who came forward and shook his hand warmly and simply said, "Good to see you again my boy. And thank you."

"I didn't really do much. That was Harry…he's not here right now." Ron wondered what Hermione had told her parents that they felt like they had to thank him.

"Oh no. We know who you are. And you did plenty. Don't underestimate yourself dear" Mrs. Granger tutted at him mildly, and he could do no more than nod once.

Hermione sensed his shyness and rescued him by beginning to introduce Marissa and Bryant to her parents (and Ron heaved a sigh of relief as the spotlight went off of him).

"Mum, Dad…meet Marissa Williams and Bryant Keith. They work with the Ministry of Magic here in Australia, and helped us find you guys…well, the Wilkinses actually. Marissa, Bryant…my parents, the Grangers."

Marissa came forward immediately and told them exactly how happy she was to meet them, and how proud they must be of Hermione. They both nodded and shared amused glances as she revealed how much of a fan she was of "the Trio". Bryant stood next to her and nodded in agreement with her words, though remaining silent himself.

While their conversation was going on, Hermione ushered Ron to a side and said, "Mum and Dad want to get back home soon. They still have a lot of the memories as Wendell and Monica Wilkins, so they feel it would be better if they wrap up stuff here before they move back. They said it would feel wrong to suddenly abandon all the relationships they've formed here. So they'll tell everyone that they're moving back to Britain, and then leave." She sighed once and then said, "I know they're fine, but I wonder if this will have long-lasting consequences."

Ron sighed impatiently, sensing the fresh wave of guilt Hermione was trying to get under.

"I need you to take this a step at a time Mione. Your parents will be fine. We'll make sure of that…for now, just enjoy being with them again. Help them understand themselves better. But don't keep worrying – it won't do you or them any good right now."

Hermione looked like she wanted to argue, but then just frowned and grumbled, "Not worrying on purpose."

"I know that. I don't blame you. But you need to know this – you did brilliantly well. Savour that. We can iron out the creases later." Ron held her shoulders and looked at her, eyebrows raised.

She looked back at him, blinked, and smiled. "Now you know why my parents think…know…you're special – you're the only one who can surprise me out of my thoughts."

Ron flushed, and rolled his eyes. "As if there was ever any doubt about that!" he smiled back, even as he tried to act offended.

ooOoo

Once everyone had been treated to some lemonade (Mr. Granger's special mix) and cookies (Mrs. Granger's signature recipe, which apparently Monica Wilkins had used as well), Marissa and Bryant got up to leave the Grangers and Ron, promising to meet them again tomorrow to discuss the next plan of action.

"Is there some place I could send a Floo message from here?" Ron asked Bryant as they moved outside the house.

"You could use the one at the office if you want. I don't think anyone should have a problem with that."

Ron hesitated and then said haltingly, "I, uh, don't know whether, uh, how comfortable everyone would be with that. As in…" He sighed. "I just don't feel like having to meet too many people right now" he admitted, looking down, wondering how stuck-up that sounded. But he really wasn't in the frame of mind to go meet a bunch of new people, everyone asking about the Battle, Harry…his family.

Bryant seemed to get it. "I get that. No need to feel awkward about it. Don't worry; the fireplace is in a separate room and it's rarely used. Nobody needs to know you're there."

"That sounds good. Thank you" Ron said gratefully.

"You want to come along right now? It isn't too late. We'd apparate there and then I'll bring you back once you're done."

Ron agreed. He went and told Hermione, asking her if she had any specific messages for the Burrow, and then Bryant (and an overjoyed Marissa) took him away in side-along apparition to the Australian office of the Ministry of Magic.

ooOoo

Ron had to admit – he wouldn't mind working here. The office was small and everyone seemed busy at work as Ron looked through the half-hazy, half-clear glass he passed by. But what delighted Ron were the small "Nosh Stations" as Marissa described them, which were placed at strategic locations, and while Ron couldn't make out everything that was on those tables, he could tell it was quite a variety.

Then again, he'd probably never get any work done if there was that much food around all the time.

"We got over it after a month or so. You realize there actually is a limit to how much junk you can eat." Marissa said with a sigh.

Ron highly doubted that statement would hold true for him. Thinking of these things, he reached a wooden door, and Bryant took him inside. There was an ancient looking fireplace and a few squashy armchairs around it. The setup reminded Ron, with a pang, of the Gryffindor common room.

"Take as much time as you need. We'll be right outside when you're done." Bryant explained, as he closed the door behind him.

Ron turned to the fireplace, got a bit of Floo powder from a bowl on top of the mantel, and threw it into the flames already dancing in the grate. He stuck his head into fire as it turned green, and suppressing the urge to cough, clearly said, "The Burrow".

Once his head stopped spinning, he opened his eyes (which he had shut to stop feeling nauseous) and saw an empty room. He looked around in confusion and called out, "Hello? Anyone there? Come to the fireplace!"

He heard hurried footsteps and saw Ginny come into the room, her alarmed expression relaxing a bit as she saw Ron's head in the flames. Then, she looked worried

"What happened? Is everything alright? Is Hermione fine?"

"Yes! It's all fine. Calm down. That's why I'm here…I wanted to tell you guys everything went well. We found Hermione's parents and she restored their memories." Ron smiled at Ginny, and then gauged the tension in her shoulders.

"Ginny…what's up? Why're you so tense? What happened?"

"…George is missing" Ginny said, scrunching her eyes shut.

Ron felt a cold dread filling his gut. "Missing?" he said sharply. "What do you mean? Missing from where? Where did he go?"

"He'd gone to the shop, but he hasn't come back yet. Harry and I didn't go today because he said he'd be out for some business meetings. And now…it's all my fault" a few tears escaped her shining eyes.

"Ginny. It's not your fault. Stop thinking that. Just…" Ron stopped talking as he heard some loud voices from some distance away. Ginny's head turned towards the noise too, her face looking attentive.

"I think they found him. I've got to go. I'll tell everyone you were here. Don't worry…everything will be fine here. I've got to go" Ginny got up and spoke quickly, and turned to leave. She turned back and opened her mouth once, closed it and then again opened it and said, "Come back as soon as you can, yeah?" She looked like the young girl Ron always felt protective over. He nodded back, trying to keep his face as comforting as he could.

"I'll be there Gin. Soon."

She nodded back at him, schooling her expression to look less scared, turned and went away.

Ron kept staring at the spot for a few moments, and then wrenched his head back. He closed his eyes against the spinning again, and then once he felt his sore knees on the rug again, he opened his eyes.

He didn't know much about what was happening, but he kept seeing Ginny's face as she said 'Come back as soon as you can, yeah?'

He shut his eyes and rubbed his hand over his face, suddenly feeling a lot more exhausted. Everything seemed to be happening all together. George had gone missing? What happened? Did someone capture him? Did he just not come back home? Why would he do that? How was Mum doing? And Ginny…she was blaming herself for everything. Knowing Harry, he too would be taking the onus on his head, of not being with George.

I need to get back home. There's too much I don't know. It's going to drive me crazy…

…but Hermione.

Ron sighed loudly, his face scrunching up, teeth gritted. Could he leave Hermione here and just go back? Hadn't he promised her he would help her though everything?

But the main job is done. She has her parents back now. She could go back with them. And I need to go right now. I need to…

He needed to talk to Hermione.

ooOoo

Ron couldn't have faced a more frustrating morning. Never before had he been so torn between his priorities. But having talked with Hermione, he accepted that his family was definitely the higher priority right now. Hermione would be fine with her parents, and they would anyway be back very soon (her parents had already begun spreading the news of their move, and had been very swift about it).

They had talked at length about the Floo conversation yesterday night, and Hermione had been just as worried as Ron to hear about George, and Ginny's state of mind. She agreed when Ron expressed his hunch that Harry would be in the same state.

They had finally decided, Hermione's confidence and encouragement making up for Ron's uncertainty, that he needed to be with his family now. She insisted that she and her parents would be just fine, and they would take a flight back as soon as everything was settled here.

Ron was partly relieved that Hermione had seemed so sure of herself and she had rolled her eyes when he was distressing over whether she'd need any help and he wouldn't be here.

Now, he was leaving (Hermione had made sure he had everything packed and ready), and while his mind was still in turmoil, he was extremely impressed by how strong Hermione was being. Not that she usually wasn't…she always was, if he was being truthful…but now that she had successfully gotten her parents back, the usual confidence was back. It reminded Ron why he was so in awe of her – a confident Hermione was a sight to behold.

But he was still slightly worried. He'd taken to repeating to himself, she'll be fine. She'll be fine. She'll be just fine.

"Ron you're worrying about me again" Hermione's voice cut through his ruminations, startling him. He saw her smiling at him as she shook her head in fond exasperation. He loved that look on her face. Always had.

"Maybe."

"Well, don't. I'll be perfectly alright." Hermione looked at him briefly and then hugged him. Ron dropped his bag on the ground as he returned the hug tightly…he really didn't want to let go. Hermione seemed to sense this, and held onto him for a while longer.

"You'll miss your Portkey now." she finally said in a small voice, releasing him. He stepped back as well. After much deliberation and discussion with Marissa and Bryant, they had decided that Ron could safely take a Portkey back home; they specifically checked the Portkey and even contacted Kingsley Shacklebolt to confirm. Once he gave his approval, Ron's Portkey was fixed for this morning.

"Yeah. I'll be off. Um. See you soon?" he asked her, hesitantly.

"Soon" she confirmed, before handing over the empty tube of toothpaste that was his Portkey.

"Alright. Bye. Take care of yourself."

"You too. And let me know how George is doing. Call me on this house number." It would easy staying in touch, seeing that the Wilkinses had a telephone. As long as Ron could get hold of a phone, they could talk everyday if they wanted to.

More like, every hour. I need to buy a phone. And find out how to get it functioning. This was as far as he had thought when the toothpaste tube began glowing a soft blue, and Ron was barely able to hurriedly say, "Bye!" before he felt that familiar tug near his navel, and he lost sight of Hermione and the streets of Sydney.

He landed awkwardly in front of the Burrow and steadied himself. Looking up at the crooked house, he felt a surge of warmth and some anxiety – he didn't know everything would be, but he was determined to try and make it all better. And he was happy to be home.

"Home is where the heart is…" he muttered to himself.

But then he wished that it didn't have to feel like half his heart had been left behind in one dusty street in Australia.


End Notes:

I posted another chapter so soon. I'm impressed by my own efficiency. (Let's not talk about how this was already half-written, okay?)

Alright, some points of discussion -

a) I know that both of Hermione's parents are dentists so their prefixes would be 'Dr.', but for the sake of differentiating between her mother and father, I used 'Mr.' and 'Mrs.'. It's irking me too, but I don't know how else to write it; constantly writing 'Hermione's mother' and 'Hermione's father' whenever I need to refer to them seemed tedious and bulky. Any comments on that?

b) I don't know where I was going with the Marissa-Bryant arc. But I just decided to let it be and not overload the story. I want to focus on the main characters, and that's how I'll try and keep it...OFCs and OMCs will just be for continuity's and plausibility's sake.

c) Writing from Ron's perspective was fun! His would be an interesting head to be in.

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