On returning to London, Harry visited the Ministry and applied for a position in Muggle protection. He gave the names of Arthur Weasley, Professor McGonagall, and two other Hogwarts professors as personal references, and was told that he would be contacted in September for an interview.
Now he settled in to wait a few days before traveling to Melbourne, and was surprised one evening by a knock at the door. When Harry answered, Ron walked in, and in characteristic fashion he skipped the pleasantries and plunged in with, "OK, I've been away for a month. What have I missed?"
The big news, Harry told him, was that Hermione had completed her spell, and that she was in Australia now, with two vials of potion in hand, which she hoped would restore her parents' memories. He also told Ron of Hermione's appointment to the faculty at Hogwarts, and of his own plans to work in Muggle protection.
He then turned to something more personal: "And Ron, I also need to tell you that Ginny and I have broken up." Ron looked at him inquiringly, and Harry continued: "You know that I haven't been good to her, and when I finally came out and apologized for the way I've been, she forgave me, which shows what a great person she is. But we agreed that we should let it go, at least for a while. We didn't say anything definite about the future, but I don't think it's going to happen again. She was always really good to me, and I was just pathetic, for too long. And I think she'll be happier down the road with someone else."
"Are you saying that I don't have to try out any of my latest hexes on you?"
"Well, that's up to you, Ron, but you might want to check with Ginny first."
After a pause, Ron smiled and said, "No need to; I already did. I've been to the Burrow, saw her there, and she told me about it. The important thing is that you admitted that it was all your fault."
"Well, I'm the guy, so it stands to reason ..."
"You know, every once in a while you actually say something sensible."
Harry smiled, but continued along a serious line, "Look, Ron, there's something else I want to tell you, maybe more amusing than anything else, but I'd prefer that you heard it from me. Do you want to get something to eat first?"
"Sure; fish and chips?"
"Yeah, that sounds good. Oh, and as long as we're getting into personal stuff, I think that someone needs to ask what's going on with you and Hermione. Should I have that honor?"
"Do I get to eat first?"
"Yes."
As an Auror, Ron often traveled. Things had settled down a good deal since the defeat of Voldemort, but the general lawlessness that he had encouraged, in the form of snatchers and other sorts of petty criminals preying on the magical and non-magical populations, continued to warrant attention.
Harry and Ron had separate flats in London, not far from each other, so when both were in town they often spent time together. This proximity had contributed to a lifestyle that could fairly be described as a state of extended adolescence. Ginny and Hermione also lived in town, and neither of the young men had felt compelled to commit to anything more than a regular dating relationship, which often took the form of something resembling a double date, but was little more than an ongoing friendship among the four.
But now that Harry and Ginny had separated, Harry could see that Ron and Hermione might not be able to continue as casually as before. Ron might not see that yet, but he would figure it out soon enough. And with Hermione's impending move to Hogwarts, Ron might lose her entirely, through no greater cause than negligence. On the other hand, this state of affairs wasn't entirely Ron's fault. Hermione also seemed to be negligent about their relationship. Harry didn't want to see another relationship collapse from inattention, and he felt that a bit of help from him could make a difference.
Over supper, Harry again mentioned Hermione's appointment at Hogwarts: "So Ron, I'm just saying, as a good old friend of both of yours, that I hope that you and Hermione can figure out what's best for you two, and not stumble into something by accident. I made that mistake, and I'm not proud of it, so I feel like I should say something about the merits of looking ahead. Can you come to Australia with me? I don't really know what I'm supposed to do there, but Hermione will be in Melbourne for the next week or two, and this seems like a good opportunity for the two of you to work things out, one way or another."
"She didn't exactly invite me, did she?"
"She didn't exactly know when you'd be back, did she? Look, don't toss roadblocks at me. I'm not trying to force you into something, I'm just saying that we shouldn't let our lives be determined by chance any more than they have to be. Why not come along with me, and we'll see what happens?"
"And what if she tells me to pack and leave?"
"Then maybe you pack and leave. But isn't that better than drifting to the same conclusion, and not being sure of how it happened?"
"Yeah, I guess so. So when are you leaving?"
"In two days."
"Well, I have a couple of weeks off, so maybe I should give it a spin. Now what was that other thing you had to tell me?"
"I was hoping not to get to it right away, but you might as well know. Do you remember somebody who used to call you 'Won Won'?"
Ron collapsed in laughter. "What a year that was! But I've got to admit that in her own bizarre way, Lavender did help me get together with Hermione, so I guess I owe her."
"I'm glad you're feeling charitable about her. Look, Hermione needed to find another person for that spell, and it had to be someone with certain personality traits, one of which was a strong emotional streak, so we thought of ..."
Once again, Ron broke into laughter. "Who, Lavender? Emotional? I thought all that snogging was for the physical exercise!"
"Ron, I may need to try out some of my new hexes on you. Could you please just shut up and listen for a minute?"
"I'm trying to, Harry, but you keep making me laugh."
"Actually, it's kind of sad. As I was saying, Hermione needed someone who had a strong emotional streak and who had experienced tragedy."
Harry then recounted the story of Lavender's injuries, the loss of her parents, and her slow recovery, leaving out some of the more personal matters that had been recounted to him by Parvati and Lavender. He then described the school she had opened, Neville and Luna's association with it, and how Hermione had renewed her relationship with Lavender and Parvati. "So however you remember them from school, Lavender and Parvati are pretty serious people now. They seem to have figured out what's important to them, and they get up each day with real goals in mind, which is more than I can say about myself. And I've been spending some time with them, particularly with Lavender."
Ron was beginning to catch the drift. "And you and Lavender might ... ?"
"No, nothing like that. She's in a really bad state, and I've already caused plenty of unhappiness on a lot of fronts. I'm just saying that I've gotten to know her as a friend, nothing more, and if the Ministry accepts my application, I'm hoping for an assignment that takes me far away."
"Harry, old bean, you sound almost like a gentleman!"
Harry recalled that this is what Parvati had said to him, but he didn't mention it.
They left it at that, and a few days later they were in Melbourne. It seemed best not to surprise Hermione, so Ron settled in at the bar in a small hotel near her home, while Harry continued on. When he arrived at her house, he found it to be a small, wood frame structure on a quiet street. Hermione wasn't home, so he sat on an old sofa on the front porch to wait. It was mid-winter, and there was a chill in the air, but he was dressed warmly, and it was comfortable to sit there quietly.
Harry soon found himself thinking about how one's life proceeds as a seemingly random product of plans and circumstance. Back in London, he'd told Ron that the big changes in one's life shouldn't be determined by chance, if at all possible, but it seemed to him that chance had a way of intervening anyway. He did like spending time with Lavender, but that relationship, whatever it was, had only developed because Hermione had needed help, and Ginny had thought of Lavender, and Harry had felt that he should approach her first, and about six other chance events.
He also considered Lavender's situation. She had known real pain and loss, yet, in time, she had found a way to rise above these things; not by waiting passively to see if things improved, but by setting goals for herself, and taking command. And she'd had the support of her friends. Like her, Harry had experienced pain and loss, but he had floundered, in spite of the support he had received from his friends. Well, if she could pull through, perhaps he could too.
Harry considered these matters for an hour or so, until Hermione arrived. She walked up the front steps, and said, "Hey Harry, come on in; I'll get you something warm to drink."
"What time is it, Hermione? I'm fagged."
"Early afternoon," she replied, and with a flick of her wand he was feeling better. "That's a little spell for long-distance travel, kind of a jet-lag thing," she continued. "You'll still need to sleep it off, but now you'll know night from day."
They walked to the kitchen, and Harry sat at the table, while Hermione busied herself making tea. Harry noticed that she looked a bit nervous, or self-conscious about something, and he figured that she had something to tell him, so he sat quietly and waited for her to speak. He hoped it wasn't bad news about her parents.
Hermione set out a plate with a few biscuits, then served the tea, and seated herself on the other side of the table. She looked at him for a few moments, and Harry could see that that she had something on her mind, perhaps a decision that she had to make. Then, apparently speaking to herself, she said, "Oh, why not give it a try?" and she stood and walked over to Harry.
"Harry, please push your chair back from the table," she said. Harry did so, and Hermione sat on his knee. She looked into his eyes for a moment, smiled nervously, and then embraced him and kissed him passionately. Through all their years together, she had never kissed him like this. Harry decided that the best thing to do was to go along with it; he joined in the embrace, and returned the kiss.
After a minute, Hermione let go of Harry, smiled, and stood up.
"Well," said Harry, "that was rather nice. What was it?"
"Just a little experiment. Do you think we're right for each other?" But before Harry could answer, she continued, "Because I don't. I love you like family, but not in that way ..."
Harry continued her thought: "But people keep telling you that we belong together, and sometimes you ask yourself if they might be right?"
Hermione smiled and nodded, then returned to her seat.
Harry spoke again, "Same here. And let me just say that I really enjoyed that experiment. And as your future biographer, I'm also wondering where you learned to kiss like that, Hermione Jean." They laughed, and Harry continued, "But I agree, I don't see anything like that between us either."
"But maybe you see something like that with Lavender?" Hermione asked tentatively.
Harry sighed, and said, "Well, of course I've gotten to like her, as a friend. But look, you know everything about Ginny and me, from start to finish, so you must be aware of the negative possibilities. And consider the fact that I'd be on the rebound if I wandered over to her place and told her how sad and lonely I am. And I haven't told you everything that I heard from Parvati; she says that there's been a string of guys falling for Lavender, mostly widowed fathers of children at her school. They're all broken up over losing their wives and girlfriends, and they visit the headmistress to talk about their children's problems, and she listens, and tries to comfort them. And after a while, in that sitting room of hers, they start to think that she's exactly what they need."
Now Harry softened his tone a bit, and continued, "And it's easy to see why they fall for her. After all, she's so - you know - what's the word?"
"I don't know, Harry ... Sympathetic? Understanding? Kind?"
Harry looked up, with tears in his eyes, and he replied, "Yes, all of those."
"Those don't sound very bad to me."
"Then why wasn't I able to work it out with Ginny?"
"Oh Harry, you must know that I don't have an answer to that. I've thought about it, since you two broke up, but remember, love is a kind of magic that nobody can control, and anything I might say is just a guess. And I'm not trying to play matchmaker; I don't know if you and Lavender would be good together, I'm just telling you how it looks to me, which is this:
"Yes, Ginny has those qualities too, but she's also quiet and patient, and she tends to wait to see how things will work out. I've known Lavender for as long as I've known you, and one thing about her is that she will always tell you what's on her mind. It was too much, back in school, the constant chatter about clothing and boys and whatever else she was obsessing about. But she's a lot more serious now, and she's moved beyond that stuff.
"And what I'm trying to say, Harry, is that you're kind of the quiet type yourself, like Ginny, and you've been even more that way over the past few years. So maybe you need to be drawn out of your shell a bit, challenged when you need to hear something. If Lavender sees you brooding, she'll ask you why, and maybe give you a stiff kick in the rear when you need one, in a nice way, of course. But relationships aren't built on logic, they're based on things that nobody understands. Gads, just look at me and Ron if you want to see something that makes no sense! So you have to go with your own feelings, but it just seems to me that Lavender would be a good friend for you, and maybe more."
"Well," said Harry, "that all makes sense. I do like talking with her, and I agree, she does help to get things out in the open. But I need to be careful; she has really suffered, and I don't want to add to her pain."
Then, abruptly changing topics, he continued, "OK, I'll think about it, but that's enough about me. I want to know how things are going with you and your parents."
"Pretty well so far. I decided to do what Hogwarts does when Muggle-borns reach age eleven. Just visit and talk to them directly. That's how they originally told me and my parents that I was magical."
"So I stopped by to see them, and I said that I had some strange news for them, something they might find difficult to believe. I did not tell them that I was related to them, just that there is this magical world, that we keep it secret from non-magical people, and that I wanted them to know about it. One shock at a time, right? Fortunately, they already know me, their friendly neighbor with the boyfriend they've never seen, and they were willing to listen to my story. So I showed them some basic magic, I explained to them that we really do use wands, and fly on broomsticks, and now they're pretty much convinced that I'm telling them the truth. Simple things like summoning, and levitation, and transfiguration are very handy in such circumstances. And after they're fully on board with the reality of the magical world, I'll tell them who I am, and about the potions we prepared, and we'll try to bring back their memories."
"So what's my job supposed to be?"
"I thought that having 'the boyfriend' with me would make it more real, help them to connect things. The memories that we retrieved that night at Hogwarts are the key to all of this, but Professor McGonagall thinks it will help if they're connected to tangible things that my parents can see after I administer the potions. Remember, they've met you, and I've told them a lot about you through the years. So if they see you, just as those memories are returning, it might help them to knit things together."
"But I'm not the boyfriend, Hermione. I think we just agreed on that." And with a smile, he added, "Or do we need to run that little experiment again?"
Hermione laughed, and continued, "It's just to ease them in, and I didn't know how Ron would feel about playing the role."
"You could ask him. He's sitting in a hotel bar a couple of blocks from here."
"He came here with you?"
"Yes. He showed up at my place just after I returned from Hogwarts, and he had some time off, so I told him what we'd been up to, and asked him to come with me."
"And what did you have to say to persuade him to come, Harry?"
"Wrong question, Hermione! He's here, and he wants to help. Would you like to see him, and ask him to do this?"
"You're right, I shouldn't be looking for problems. Well, I can't be sure about this until I talk with him, and I guess I should do that. Do you want to come along?"
"No, I like the idea of you walking into the place alone. It's that little hotel down the road. And he's probably had a few beers by now, on top of the time-lag, so you might want to hit him with that spell that you used on me. Take your time, and if you guys want to go out and do something, don't worry about me. Go and get reacquainted, and I'll be here when you get back."
"Bye, Harry!"
Harry read for a while, then dozed off on a sofa in the front room. He awakened three hours later to the sound of Ron's and Hermione's shoes clumping up the wooden steps of the porch, and he was rubbing his eyes as they entered, arm in arm, and smiling.
Hermione spoke first: "Hey Harry, we took a walk in the gardens by the river, and I showed Ron around the Wizarding district near Bourke Street. Are you hungry?"
"Actually, no," said Harry, stifling a smirk. "I've been eating crackers and Vegemite all afternoon, and I'm stuffed."
"Don't mock, Harry, it's good for you! And isn't Lavender a vegetarian? I'm sure that she'd approve!"
"What has she got to do with it?"
"Nothing at all, if you're still the fool you always have been," said Hermione.
Harry groaned, and Ron laughed, adding, "It sounds to me like Hermione is pushing you right into Lavender's arms. Quite the opposite of her attitude back in school, wouldn't you say?"
Hermione was quick to change the subject: "OK, so you actually are hungry, right? Well, there's really good food in this town!" And they headed off to eat.
After supper they returned to Hermione's place, and she prepared some herb tea. Soon they were sitting comfortably in the front room. Ron and Hermione appeared to be intimate and happy together, and Harry figured that he'd done all he could, or should, to help get them to this point. The rest was up to them. By way of indirect inquiry, he said, "Well, I guess I'll head home tomorrow, if everything is under control here."
"I think so," said Hermione. "And is everything good with you?"
"Actually, yes," he replied. "The last few weeks have been very instructive. I'll be making some changes, all for the good, so don't worry about me. Frankly, I'm tired of having people worrying about me. Or more to the point, I'm tired of behaving in a way that causes people to worry."
"Have people been worrying about you?" asked Ron, with a grin.
Hermione poked him in the side with her elbow, rolled her eyes, and said, "Always the most sensitive person in the room!" They all smiled, and Hermione continued: "And seriously, Harry, what do you think of Lavender?"
Harry shrugged and said, "Seriously? She's had a really bad time of it, ever since the battle. Of course I'm impressed by the way she's pulled through. But you know what I've been like for the past few years. I didn't make Ginny very happy, so would you really expect anything different with Lavender?"
"There's no way to tell. But if you feel like seeing her, you know, just to talk, don't be shy. She did tell us to stay in touch."
"Well, I'll think about it," he replied. And rising, he continued, "But right now, I'm going to hit the sack."
