Land Down Under
Ron woke to find Hermione asleep on his shoulder. Her mouth was open a bit and she was hugging his left arm. Ron vaguely wondered what time it was. The sleep on the plane during that night hadn't been the most comfortable experience but at least he had Hermione next to him. He had lied awake for hours before he finally went to sleep, his head resting on Hermione's and listening to the little murmurs she would make in her sleep. And even though his legs were still crammed between his seat and the one in front of him, and his arse was numb from sitting for over twelve hours, he would do it all again just to hold her in his arms like he did. Just then, the seatbelt sign had turned on and made a loud beeping sound.
"The seatbelt sign has been turned on," came a woman's voice overhead. "Please fasten all seatbelts. We are beginning our descent."
"Psst," whispered Ron as he lightly shook Hermione's shoulder. "Mione, wake up."
"Hmm?" she mumbled and her eyelids fluttered open. She looked up at Ron through her lashes, meeting his blue eyes.
"We're almost there. And they said something about a seatbelt sign."
Hermione sat straight up, her brown eyes bright with excitement. "Really!" she cried, trying to peer around Ron to see out of the window. But it was too far away to see.
Ron laughed at her. "Relax, love, we will be there soon."
Hermione continued to fidget in her seat as the plane began to descend. Her heart was racing. She was almost there! It was too good to be true. After being away from her parents for so long, Hermione couldn't wait to see them again. Of course, she knew that they wouldn't remember her and she would have to erase the Memory Charm but after that, everything would be back to normal. It was only a matter of finding them.
She gripped Ron's hand tightly, squeezing her eyes as they landed. Up until now, she had been too tired to think of anything, but now she was fully awake, and just as certain about her fear of flying. She was thoroughly relieved that she wasn't near the window seat or she might need an inhaler. Humming to herself, she tried not to think about the fact that she was literally plummeting to the ground. Ron pressed his lips to her temple, trying to soothe her inner turmoil. Hermione held her breath as the plane touched down. It was a smooth as sliding into water. Breathing out, she opened her eyes and, satisfied she hadn't died, released her grip on Ron's hand. She heard him slip a sigh of relief and flex his fingers gingerly. Hermione felt mildly guilty about strangling his hand and kissed it in a way of apologising. Ron smiled.
"Welcome, to Melbourne, Australia. The time is 11:32am and it is currently chilly and overcast with a temperature of 12°C."
"We're here, Ron!" Hermione cried and unbuckled her seatbelt with enthusiasm. "We're finally here!"
They both stood up and stretched their arms and legs. It felt good to finally stand up after hours and hours of sitting down. Hermione looked around the rest of the plane and saw Harry and Ginny in the back corner, doing the same. Harry looked up and caught her staring at him. He smiled at her. All around, people were hurrying out of their seats, stretching and yawning and bumping each other as they tried to collect their carry-on baggage from the overhead lockers. Hermione and Ron decided it would be better to wait out the tide, as it would be less crowded. When more than half the people had left the plane, they met up with Harry and Ginny and exited.
Inside the terminal it was warm and Hermione let out a contented sigh. The airport bustled with people and Hermione found it difficult to walk anywhere without knocking into someone. She held Ron's hand firmly, so that they wouldn't get separated. Together, the four of them made their way through the sea of people to the baggage collection. They picked out their suitcases immediately. No one else would have a Hogwarts suitcase with their initials on it, well, not any Australian Muggles at least. Though some Muggles did look curiously at their trunks.
The air outside was still and icy. Hermione shivered. Even though she had been living in England all her life and she was used to cold weather, she hadn't anticipated it was going to be this cold in Melbourne. Everything she had heard about Australia implied that it was sunny and warm with beautiful beaches. She doubted that there would be anyone at the beaches today. I wish I had packed a sweater in my handbag. She wasn't the only one who was feeling the cold. Looking across from her, she saw Ginny rubbing her hands up and down her arms. She was dressed similar to Hermione, jeans and a tank and ballet flats. Neither of them had thought to bring sweaters. Of course, it's winter here! How could I have been so stupid! Hermione cursed in her head and huddled closer to Ron, who seemed to be a constant source of warmth.
"So now what do we do?" asked Ron. "Stand around and freeze our buttocks off?"
Ignoring Ron's remark, Hermione suggested that they join the queue for taxis to her parent's dentistry. Ron commented on the strangeness of the Muggle world, "Taxi's? Muggles are weird." Hermione suppressed a sigh but had to admit, she, herself, was surprised by the taxis.
The line waiting for the cabs was quite short so they were able to find one quickly. Hermione marvelled at these cabs. They were small, sedan cars, painted either white or yellow, with large black writing; so different to the cabs back in England. Hermione gave the address from the front seat while Harry, Ron and Ginny were crammed in the back. Ron's knees almost reached his chin. Hermione knew he was tempted to use an enchantment to discreetly expand the taxi, but he reluctantly resisted. It took them about half an hour to find the orthodontist surgery but soon enough they arrived. Hermione paid the driver and the four of them got out of the cab and looked around at their destination. The building was relatively small, made of brick, with a glass door and windows. On the door were the words, "Wilkins and Co, Orthodontists."
They stepped closer. Hermione's heart sank. The lights were off and there was a sign hanging from the inside of the door saying 'Closed'. Her head dropped. It was as though all of her dreams had just disappeared like wisps of smoke on a windy day. This surgery was the only link she had to her parents and now she didn't know what to do.
"Wait!" said Harry, as Hermione began to walk away. "We are wizards, aren't we? Since when has a closed door been a problem?"
Hermione looked back at him, not believing what he was suggesting. He had his wand pointed towards the door and uttered "Alohomora" very softly.
"Harry, we can't do that! That's breaking and entering!"
"No, Harry's right!" cried Ginny, catching on. "There might be some information in there that can lead us to your parents!"
Hermione nodded slowly and reluctantly followed the others inside the building. The hallway was dark.
"Lumos," Hermione muttered and the hallway's darkness was illuminated. The walls were painted a brilliant white and there were pictures hanging from the walls, diagrams of men and women smiling, somewhat sickeningly, to showcase their perfect white teeth. They kept walking, until they reached a door labelled, 'Dr. Wendell Wilkins.' Hermione pushed it open.
There was a figure in the room. It was a though he was waiting for them. Hermione could remember this figure all too vividly. Her horrors and nightmares about the War painfully flashed before her eyes. They were wrong: someone was inside. A black cloaked and masked someone. It was a Death Eater. He raised his wand.