Chapter 8
Ron's Gift to Hermione
Harry was looking for the perfect house for Ginny and him to live in. He knew that Ginny wanted a lot of children and he wanted to get a house to accommodate that, but for now, they stayed at Grimmuland Place.
Harry was dreading going back to work the next day. It would be the first time that he wouldn't see Ginny all day for two weeks. They enjoyed each other's company that night before either of them went back to work. Ginny made a pasta dish that was too Italian for Harry to remember the name. Ginny put it out onto the table and lit two tall, pure white candles.
Harry always loved Mrs. Weasley's cooking, but he had no idea that Ginny could cook. The pasta was delicious and the garlic bread was to die for. It was great for them to spend this time together before they both went back to work.
The next morning, Harry got dressed and kissed his wife before he went off to work. He floo'd directly into his office so he wouldn't have to talk to everybody. When he got into his office, he saw a mountain of papers in his IN box. He wondered what could have possibly happened in the short time that he was away.
Just as he was taking the first paper off the pile, Ron came bursting into the
office. "Oh, good. You're back!" Ron looked as pale as a ghost.
"Ron, what happened? Why do I have so much paperwork?" Harry was concerned.
Ron smiled. "Nothing happened. That's two weeks worth of reports and such."
Harry groaned.
"Anyway, mate." Ron said. "I have the perfect wedding present for Hermione. We're getting married Saturday, next." Ron was frantic. "So, I need to start ASAP."
"What could you possibly have planned?" Harry asked. He was sort of scared.
Ron smiled. "Well, you know how Hermione planned to go get her parents after the war? But we didn't have time? I want to go to Australia and get her parents."
Harry smiled. "That's a great idea, mate. Hermione will really love that."
"How am I supposed to find people who have no idea who they are for real, though? Hermione said they think they are Wendell and Monica Wilkins. But she has no idea where in Australia they are. It's been three years. She misses them so much."
Harry nodded. "I'll tell you what, I'll talk to Kingsley about contacting the Minister of Magic over there. He should be able to help us get a better proximity on them."
Ron's face lit up. "You're the best, mate."
"I know," Harry said. "Now, I have a mountain of paperwork to get through here. Please excuse me, if you don't mind."
Ron left the office with a smile on his face and Harry got to work on the mountain of paperwork that was on his desk.
It seemed as if there was nothing wrong in the world for once. Bellatrix was gone for good and so was Voldemort. Harry was happy to see that there was an update from Neville on his parents. He called Ron and Hermione in around lunchtime so they could read it together.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione,
I wanted to send this to thank you all so much for helping restore my parents. They are doing quite well actually.
Mum wants to get back to the Ministry as soon as she can. Dad is interested in hearing all about the Wizarding War and how you defeated You-Know-Who. He really wants to meet you all.
They are so proud of me for doing all that I did in the war. It's nice to see them "normally" again. I love being able to converse with them and telling them all about my life and my friends. I guess you'll meet them at Ron and Hermione's wedding. They really can't wait for that. They want to see their old friends and meet my friends.
See you all soon! And thanks again!
~Neville
"That's so nice!" Hermione said. "I can't wait to meet his parents. They seem like really nice people."
Harry smiled. "They really do. Can you run down and grab me some lunch? I have a lot to do today and I don't really want to take it home with me. I don't think Ginny will think very fondly of me if I do that."
Hermione nodded. "Anything specific?"
Harry shook his head. "Just tell them to write me an IOU." When Ron and Hermione left, Harry started a letter to both Neville and the Minister of Magic in Australia.
Neville-
We're so glad to hear about your parents! We absolutely cannot wait to meet them at the wedding. If your dad or mum wants to come back to the department, I know the head. I can put a good word in for you.
I'm really busy at the present time because I just got back to work after my honeymoon today. We really did have a lot of fun. See you soon!
Harry Potter- Head of the Aurror Department
Ronald Weasley- Assistant Head of the Aurror Department
Hermione Granger- Magical Law Enforcement Squad.
To the Minister of Magic in Australia,
Hello sir. My name is Harry Potter. I work along side Ronald Weasley (my assistant head) and Hermione Granger (part of our Magical Law Enforcement Squad). I am the head of the Aurror Department at the Ministry of Magic here in London, England. I do believe that you know our Minister, Kingsley Shakelbolt. If I could just ask of you to read my letter, it would be greatly appreciated.
I have a huge favor to ask of you. My two best friends, Ron and Hermione, are getting married and the groom-to-be wants to give his bride the best wedding present he possibly can. He would like to have his fiancée's parent's to be there for the wedding. I'm not even sure if this is possible or not because they are getting married one week from Saturday.
I don't know how much you know of the war we faced, seeing how a lot of it stayed here in England. But I'm sure that you have heard of Voldemort. Here is what I ask of you:
When we were at war with Voldemort this second time, one of my best friends, Hermione, modified her parent's memories so they would be safe from Voldemort. They are two muggles who think they are called Wendell and Monica Wilkins. They are really called Robert and Jean Granger. They were dentists but I do believe they think they are school teachers, but I am not fully positive on that. The only thing that we know of their location is that they are in Australia.
I know that they are very brilliant people because I grew up close friends with their daughter. I don't know how much of their 'past life' they remember or if Hermione's spell was that strong.
I know this is somewhat short notice, as they are getting married a week from this Saturday, but they are my best friends and I want to help them in any way that I can.
I have just gotten back from my own wedding and honeymoon, otherwise I would have contacted you sooner.
If you know any possible way of us finding them before the wedding, please let me know. If you do know how we can locate them, I will probably send the groom because it would be meaningful to him. I must warn you in advance though, he is a bit of a hot head. Of course, if we cannot locate them before the wedding, I will look for them while the two are away on their honeymoon.
Please send your answer and/or information as soon as possible so we can make plans over here. We usually need two to three days of planning before we leave on a 'mission' like this.
If this search would cost you money, we are willing to pay for what is needed. Also, please let me know how many people you would need from over here to help complete this. We have over ten available aurrors at all times, unless of course we are at war; which we are not.
Thank you for taking time to read my letter and also, thank you in advance for all of your help.
Most Sincerely,
Mr. Harry James Potter- Head of the Aurror Department; Ministry of Magic, London
Harry thought his letters sounded professional. He called for an owl and attached the two letters to it's leg.
Just then, Ron walked into the office. "Have you thought about my wedding gift for Hermione?"
"Yea," Harry said. "I just sent an owl off to the Minister over there in Australia. He should be writing back anytime soon. I gave him the date and everything."
A smile crept onto Ron's face. "Thanks, mate. This means a lot to me and it will be awesome to surprise Hermione with this."
It took about a week but, eventually, there was only a single piece of parchment in Harry's IN box. The Minister in Australia's reply. Harry eagerly ripped open the envelope.
Dear Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley,
We have located the people who think of themselves as Wendell and Monica Wilkins. As long as you send someone to retrieve them and preform the counter-curse on them, we will let you bring them back to your homeland.
Thank you for contacting us,
Sincerely,
Mr, Aurthor M. Klien, Minister of Magic, Australia
When Ron came into work that morning, Harry handed him the Minister's reply. A grin spread across his face. "He's actually going to let me go get them? For real?"
Harry nodded. "For real. I think we should start planning today. We need to get this done so that we can get them back in time for the wedding. Don't you have off starting on Thursday? We need to go tomorrow."
Ron nodded. "Okay, let's get to it. Are you going to come with me tomorrow? Or shall I go by myself?"
Harry shrugged. "I'm not sure. Let's plan everything first. Then we'll talk."
Harry and Ron spent most of the day planning. After Harry had finished his paperwork for the day, they went into one of the smaller conference rooms to plan. Ron was the first to voice his idea.
"I've been thinking about this for a while and I think I have everything worked out." He pulled out a piece of parchment and Harry saw his untidy scrawl all over it. "I think," Ron continued. "That we should apparate there. It will be easier and faster than flying or taking a Portkey. Then, once there, we talk to the minister so we can get their locations. Once we know their locations, we go there and preform the counter-charm on them. Then, we come back, using a Portkey of course, and then we have them stay at the Leaky Cauldron until the wedding."
Harry nodded his approval. "That's a great idea, Ron. But I think they should stay at our house until the wedding."
Ron thought about that for a minute. "That would be good, Harry. But, Hermione and I are always at your house. If we come over last minute, there would be nowhere to hide them."
Harry had to agree with that one. "Okay then. What about the day of the wedding. How will they get there? How will you surprise Hermione?"
Ron's cheeks turned a little red in embarrassment. "I was thinking about that too. Maybe, my best man could go get them. Then, we'll give them a seat in the front row. My dad has agreed to walk her down the aisle so, when she sees them for the first time, it will be an absolute shock."
"You really have thought about everything, haven't you?" Harry asked him.
Ron nodded.
"Okay, now, I think you should be able to retrieve them on your own. I don't really want to leave Ginny at the moment. But, if you really want me to go with you, I will."
Ron thought about this for a moment. "I sort of want you to come, Harry. It will be like my bachelor party!"
Harry burst out laughing at this. "Okay, we could do that. I'll talk to Ginny tonight and I'll talk to Hermione at lunch. Don't you say a word to her about it because you'll wind up telling her."
Ron shrugged. "You know me so well. What time should we leave tomorrow?"
Harry pulled out a piece of parchment that showed available apparation times. The earliest was at quarter to seven. "There's an apparation slot open at quarter to seven tomorrow. We can leave then so we're back at a suitable time."
Ron hesitated, but agreed with Harry. "Okay, I think I can manage to be here by then."
"Good." Harry said. "Let me go reserve our slots and then I'll go talk to Hermione."
Harry made his way down to the atrium. It had been three years that he worked here, and he still got stared at as he walked down the hallway. It was mostly from people he didn't see on a daily basis or newer workers. Harry had grown used to it though. Suddenly, a familiar face came into his view.
"Hyia, Harry." Harry realized it was Dennis Creevey. A fellow Griffindor. He must be fresh out of school, he looked about seventeen. "Hi, Dennis. I'd love to stay and chat but I'm rather busy at the moment. Maybe some other time."
Dennis smiled. "I hope there will be a lot of other times. I passed my N.E.W.T.S. and I'm eligible to become an auror. I start training in just a few hours.:
Harry smiled at Dennis. "That's great! I really must be going. I'll talk to you soon."
Harry heard Dennis call after him, "Bye, Harry."
Harry was chuckling to himself as he continued his way to the security desk. It never ceased to amaze him that the same guard worked there as when he was fifteen and had to come in for his misuse of underage magic hearing. Today though, he was rather busy.
When Harry got up to the desk, the guard said, "Present your... oh! What can I do for you, Mr. Potter."
"Hey there, Charlie. I just need to reserve an apparation slot for Ron and I tomorrow morning. I saw that the six forty-five slot was open. Can we take that one?"
Charlie looked down at a piece of parchment. "I can do that, Mr. Potter. Just let me write you a ticket and I'll let you be on your way."
Harry smiled at him. "Thanks, Charlie."
Charlie nodded. He handed Harry a ticket that said, "Mr. Ronald Weasley and Mr. Harry Potter to apparate at 6:45am on Wednesday morning."
Harry told Charlie to have a great day and made his way back upstairs to the Magical-Law Enforcement sector of the Ministry. Once there, he found Hermione. He led her to the same conference room that he and Ron had recently planned in.
"What's wrong, Harry?" Hermione asked him.
"Oh, nothing's wrong." Harry told her in return. "I just wanted to talk to you about my and Ron's latest mission. It's short, only one day. But we do have to do it tomorrow."
She raised her eyebrows. "Tomorrow? As in, two days before my wedding, tomorrow?"
Harry nodded, afraid at what one of his best friends was going to do to him. "It's a one day thing. We'll be back by midnight. I promise."
Hermione glared at him. "And why couldn't Ron tell me this?"
There it was, the question that was going to make or break him. He was careful to avoid her big, brown eyes. "Because he couldn't afford for you to be angry with him two days before your big day. When I go home, I have to tell Ginny. I should be the one whose scared."
Hermione laughed. Ginny had inherited a fiery temper that came with red hair and pale skin. "Yea, Harry. I'll come over tonight to make sure that you're still alive." They both laughed.
"I've gotta get back to work." Harry told her. "I'll talk to you later."
But Harry didn't go back to work. Harry went to the break room. Hidden is his robes, he had a list of all of the people that had died in the war against Voldemort. Kingsley had given him the job of setting up a memorial service for them all. He couldn't believe that three years had passed already.
Harry sat in the break room going over the list of names. Certain names jumped out at him like Nymphadora Tonks-Lupin, Remus Lupin and Fred Weasley. A lot of names though, were not familiar to Harry. After some names, there was a little astric (*). Upon closer examination, there was one next to a lot of names. More than half. Harry racked his brains at what it could be. When he got to the end of the list there was a key. It said:
*-Muggle; deceased
**-Order of the Phoenix; deceased
***-Professor/Student of Hogwarts; deceased
Tears suddenly gathered in Harry's eyes. Suddenly, the door opened and Ginny appeared. "I came to bring you lunch." she told him. "What's wrong?" The tears had spilled over.
Harry wiped the tears away and showed Ginny the list. "Kingsley wants me to organize a memorial service for everybody. I'm not quite sure on how to do that, but we'll see. I'm sure I'll think of something."
Ginny smiled. "Harry, I love you so much. I ran into Ron on the way up here. He told me that you two are going to Australia for the day tomorrow." Harry looked sheepish. "It's okay. As long as you promise to bring me back a souvenir!"
Harry burst out laughing. "Of course I'll bring you back a souvenir! Maybe one of those T-Shirts that says, 'My husband went to Australia and all he brought back was this lousy T-Shirt'."
Now it was Ginny's turn to laugh. "And that is one of the many reasons that I love you. You have a great sense of humor."
Harry smiled and got up to give his wife a kiss. "I promise that I will be home before midnight tomorrow. You don't have to wait up for me unless you want to. I will be safe. We're just going to pick up Hermione's parents. And we're going with their Ministry. I promise you, I will be fine. I mean, we will be fine."
Ginny stretched up on her toes to give her husband a kiss. "I love you." She told him. "Forever and always."
"And I love you too." Harry told her. "Forever and always."
They shared one last kiss before Ginny had to leave for Quidditch practice.
Once Ginny left, Harry continued to read over the list of names. There was extra space at the bottom, so Harry added a note to remind himself to mention Snape's name. Once he learned about what Snape had done for him and Dumbledore, he couldn't not mention him.
The rest of the day went by in a haze. Ron had said that everything was in place for the trip and Hermione said that she was going to take off earlier than usual because she wasn't feeling the greatest. Harry continued to work on the memorial. Harry was glad to leave work that day.
Hermione took off from work early that day. She wasn't really feeling the greatest. On her way home, she picked up a box at a muggle drug store. It wasn't anything special, it just held the key to her future.
Once home, Hermione shut herself in the little bathroom off the master bedroom. She and Ron were ready to move in together as soon as they got back from their honeymoon.
It was the longest three minutes of her life. As soon as the three minutes were up, she took the thin plastic stick into the bedroom and sat down at the edge. She stared at the pregnancy test in her hand. It indicated a positive pregnancy.
She was in so much shock that she didn't even hear Ron come in. "Hermione?" he asked her timidly. "What's wrong, love?"
Hermione didn't say anything. She just handed him the test. Ron's eyes widened. "Does this mean what I think it means?" he asked her.
Hermione just nodded. She was in too much of a shock to say anything.
"Do you know what this means?" Ron asked her. "We're going to have a baby!" Ron said without letting her answer his question. He suddenly saw the fear in her eyes. "Hermione? What's wrong?"
All of a sudden, she started to cry. "I-I j-just wish th-that my-my m-m-mom was he-here."
Ron wrapped his arms around her. "Shh, shh." he said, trying to soothe her. "Don't worry about that. We... we can talk to my mom if you need to. I promise, I won't let anything happen to you."
Hermione looked up at her fiancée. "Ron, you know that I love your mom. It's just, I miss my mom so much. I was going to go to Australia after the war and all, but there just wasn't enough time. I went back to Hogwarts and then I was accepted at the Ministry of Magic."
Ron looked down at his soon-to-be wife. "I know, love. Everything will be okay. I promise." and with that, he kissed the top of her head.
