Disclaimer: If you want to read J.K. Rowling's work, go buy her books, because I am not her and I own nothing of this story. I can only hope that I become half the writer she is.
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Hermione hopped from one foot to the other, as if dancing on hot coals, as she watched the large black shadow making its way across the distant green grass, coming ever closer to a place that it could not see, but knew was there. To her right, Ron stood quietly, staring at the same blot of darkness she was; he was tense as he watched it approach them. In Hermione's left hand was the same beaded bag that had served them so well in the last year. She clutched it tightly in her fist.
To her left, Harry stood, green eyes trained on the same shadow. His jaw clenched and unclenched, and his brow was furrowed in consternation as he scrutinized it. He knew it was there to take his family from him. His hand was shoved in his cloak pocket, and by his posture, Hermione knew that he had his wand clenched tightly in his fist.
"It ought to be odd," Harry said, in a quite failed attempt to keep his voice relaxed, "With you two gone."
"Yeah," Ron replied, "We've been through a lot together, haven't we?"
"I'd say so, defeating the most powerful dark wizard could probably be called 'a lot'" Hermione said.
Harry nodded. Hermione answered his silence, "We won't be long. Likely, we'll be back before you notice we're gone. We'll send owls."
"I'd best get myself a new owl," Harry replied. The dark shadow split into two more distinct shapes as it approached.
"I'd say you'd probably have your pick of them, with how many people love you," Ron said, "Boy-Who-Won, isn't that what they're calling you now?"
"Couldn't tell you, I don't read The Daily Prophet."
"I'm not surprised. I think it will be a while until I trust the paper again," Hermione said.
The two distinct dark spots morphed as they grew closer, and formed into two figures shrouded in long sweeping black cloaks. Jedrek Blaisly and Cain Hemler drew closer. Neither could see the Burrow; Ron, Harry, and Hermione stood just inside the boundary, unseen by the Aurors, embracing what little time to themselves they had before Ron and Hermione left for Australia.
Harry cleaned his glasses with his shirt and replaced them on his nose, "What are they carrying?"
"Portkey, I would guess. We're due to leave in about two minutes."
That two minutes seemed at that moment to be a prison sentence.
Hermione felt torn between two parts of herself. As desperately as she wanted to go retrieve her parents, she felt as if she was leaving her real family behind, even if it was only for a short while. Guilt riddled her for feeling that way.
"I suppose we'd better step out where they can see us," she said, "They're almost here."
With a collective sigh, the three friends stepped over the line.
The two Aurors were close enough for Ron to notice Cain's grey eyes light up when they landed on Hermione. Ron ground his teeth and willed himself to keep his mouth shut. That didn't stop him from glaring daggers at the man.
Before the Aurors were in earshot, Harry whispered to Ron and Hermione, "Be safe you two. I'd prefer not to come save your arses, again"
"No worries, mate. And as I recall, we did a quite a lot of saving of your scrawny arse."
"Just… just be careful, alright?"
"We will, Harry," Hermione said, "You stay safe, too."
Harry nodded towards the Aurors just a few yards away, "Looks like the shorter one is particularly happy to see you, Hermione."
She turned her gaze back towards the approaching Aurors just before Cain shouted jovially, "Hermione Granger! Harry Potter! What an honor it is to meet you both," he jogged the remaining distance and shook Harry's hand vigorously, "An honor, Mr. Potter."
Harry smiled uncomfortably, "Erm… thanks… look, I've got to go, but nice meeting you…"
"Hemler, Cain Hemler."
"Cain… nice meeting you…" Harry withdrew his hand and looked to the other Auror steadily approaching, "And nice seeing you again Mr. Blaisly."
Jedrek smiled and tipped his tattered pointed hat, "Mr. Potter."
With a nod to Hermione and Ron, Harry hastily walked back into the Burrow.
Unperturbed by Harry's quick exit, Cain turned his gaze back to Hermione and smiled widely, "Hermione Granger, what an absolute pleasure," he took her hand and kissed it. Hermione pulled her hand back quickly, and didn't miss that Cain had yet to even acknowledge Ron- who was turning redder by the second.
"Umm, just call me Hermione."
The man's smile brightened. Ron wanted to throttle him with his bare hands.
"Alright… Hermione," her name came off his lips like honey.
She fidgeted uncomfortably, and subconsciously stepped closer to Ron, who draped a possessive arm around her shoulders.
A scowl appeared on Cain's face for a moment, before he remembered himself and smiled again.
"We'd best be going, the Portkey is set to go in fifteen seconds," Jedrek lifted an old lampshade out so they could touch it, "This will take us to your room in the inn we will be staying in. We have a few leads, but as of yet we haven't found-"
The Portkey dragged them out of space before he could finish his sentence.
The room of the inn was simple. Cheap curtains, the same shade of blue as Hermione's mother's curtains, covered the only window in room. There was a small living area, consisting of a small loveseat with thin cushions that were caved in from years of wear. Just a few feet from the living room, was a very small stretch of a kitchen counter, an outdated refrigerator, and an old sink.
There were only three other doors, one to the bedroom, one to the bathroom, and another to the hallway outside.
"It's the best the Ministry can afford right now, I'm afraid," Jedrek set the lampshade on the small dining table they had landed net to, "We can't afford much, these days."
"It's brilliant," Hermione said, looking around the room with a small smile on her face.
Ron glanced at her out of the corner of his eye; he couldn't imagine how he thought a dump like this hotel room could be brilliant, especially after he had seen her house. It had put his own to shame, he thought.
Cain took off his cloak and draped it over the loveseat, he turned to Hermione and smiled again, "'Mione… may I call you that?"
"Well, actually-"
"Great," he said, "We haven't found your parents yet, 'Mione, it turns out-"
"What?" Ron snapped, "You've been here for how many days, and you haven't found them yet?"
Cain scowled, "No, we haven't. Have you? From what I know, you haven't done much of anything, Mr. Weasley," by his tone, he didn't mean just the search for the Grangers.
"Now you listen here, mate," Ron growled, stepping forward aggressively and clenching his fist.
Cain put up a hand to interrupt him, and then turned again to Hermione, "As I was saying, 'Mione, we haven't yet found your parents. We have found where they have been, but they keep moving from place to place some reason that we can't figure out. Every time we find a place that they have been, they move again."
Hermione nodded, pushing away the anger she felt at the way he treated Ron. She thought there would be more than enough time to set the man straight, and she wanted answers, "That makes sense. Their new dream was to move to Australia, and when I altered their memories, I wanted to make sure they kept moving around for at least a few years, unable to decide exactly where to stay. Just in case any Death Eaters thought to follow them."
"You truly are the brightest witch of your age," Cain said reverently, Hermione shifted in discomfort. Cain Hemler didn't seem to notice, and continued on, "However, your brilliance is serving now to be a bit of a challenge. We're on their trail, but we have no way to know how long it will take to actually find them. But, knowing your intelligence, we'll likely find them any day now with your help. From what I've read, you've found your way out of more than one difficult situation, 'Mione."
"Well… yes, I suppose I have…"
"Hermione has more brains than anyone I know," Ron said, glaring at Cain, "She'll likely have them found and their memories restored before you know it."
Cain glared back and gritted his teeth. He stood up straighter, and Ron mimicked him, puffing out his chest, which visibly more muscled as a result from a year on the run and fighting dark wizards. He smugly thought about how Cain had probably been safely in hiding, without offering even the slightest resistance to the Death Eater takeover.
"Yes," he said slowly, "I'm sure she will."
Jedrek put a hand on Cain's shoulder and pulled him back a few steps, putting out his show of bravado as effectively as if he had stunned him, "Hemler," the Auror said, his voice low with warning, "We'd best get back to the search, yeah?"
He smiled at Ron, who let his guard down as well, "Mr. Weasley and Ms. Granger would probably like time to unpack."
Cain's nostrils flared as he continued to stare at Ron, his fists clenched and unclenched, "Yes… I suppose we should…"
He turned a final smile to Hermione, though anger was still evident in his eyes, "One of us will always be in the room next door, as protection," his eyes darted to Ron, then back to her, "If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask."
With a last glare at Ron, Cain allowed himself to be lead out of the room by Jedrek.
When the door closed, Hermione sighed, "What did you do to that man, Ron?"
"Huh?"
"Cain! He hates you!" she put her hands on her hips and stared at him with her brow raised, waiting for an answer.
"I didn't do anything!" Ron thought about telling her what Cain had said in the Auror office a few days back, but decided to keep it to himself. He figured that Hermione hexing one of their protectors probably would slow down the search for her parents.
"You haven't hit him before?" she asked, incredulously, "Or hexed him for some reason?"
"No!" he exclaimed through gritted teeth, "You always think the worst of me Hermione, I didn't do anything to the bloke."
Hermione looked as if he had slapped her, "You think that I always think the worst of you?"
Her expression stopped him in his tracks, "Well… no, not all of the time… but you were pretty quick to suspect that I did something…"
"Well can you blame me? The man was acting like you insulted his family! It's reasonable to think you may have done something. That doesn't mean I always think the worst of you."
Shit, I fucked up, again, Ron thought.
"I'm sorry, Hermione. I guess that was a bit messed up for me to say."
She nodded, "It was."
"Forgive me?" he grinned hopefully.
"Stop that Ron!" she exclaimed suddenly, she turned her back to him.
"What? What did I do now?"
"That look!"
"What look?" he asked, bewildered.
She paced a few steps away from him, "I can't stay mad at you, when you give me that look. I can't really think straight at all when you do that."
A wide smile spread across his face, unseen by Hermione, who still had her back to him. She had just told him a failsafe way out of her anger, and better… he could see the tips of her ears turning red.
He stepped up closer to her, "You can't stay mad, when I do that?" he asked innocently.
"No," she replied, unsuspecting as he stepped even closer.
He stayed quiet until he was mere inches from her, with his mouth just by her ear, "You can't think straight, you said?" he asked huskily.
She closed her eyes and nodded, "Not at all."
"So," he said slowly, "when I do this, you probably can't think at all, right?"
"Do wha-… Mmm, Ron," she leaned into him as he kissed just behind her ear.
"How's your thoughts now?" he asked before sucking gently on the skin there. He could hear her breath quickening, and her skin warmed.
"Scrambled," she breathed. She jumped when she felt his hand begin to ghost up and down her side.
"I didn't know you were ticklish," he chuckled.
"Ugh," she groaned, "I was hoping you wouldn't find out. I have a feeling that you'll be using it against me for the rest of my life."
"Your feeling is correct," he whispered. Unable to take it any longer, he spun her around and his mouth collided into hers forcefully. She parted her lips and he dipped his tongue into her mouth, reveling in the moan that escaped her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer to her. Ron thought smugly about how Cain was alone in the room beside theirs, while he was snogging the smartest, most beautiful girl he had ever known in a hotel room that they had to themselves.
Hermione backed up, pulling Ron with her, until she felt her hips hit the back of the loveseat. She gasped when Ron quickly grabbed her waist and lifted her up until she was sitting on the high back of the couch. Their faces were level now, and Hermione found that it was a much more comfortable position to kiss him in. She gripped the back of his robes tightly in her fists, pulling him as close as she could, wanting to feel all of him. Irrationality purred seductively in her ear, and she embraced it.
Ron leaned against her, and twisted his hands in her thick, curly hair, as he was often fond of doing. Hermione continued to surprise him with everything that she did. With every passing second, she seemed to grow wilder, lustier; her tenacity pulled him along with an irresistible force, not that he would want to resist it anyway.
She tugged on his robes again, forcing him to push more of his body than he meant to against her. Hermione felt his erection poking against her inner thigh, and couldn't suppress the whimper that came from her lips.
"Sorry," he mumbled, trying to shift away from her again, "I didn't mean to-"
"Don't be sorry," she replied in a rushed whisper, "I- I like it," her face reddened.
"Bloody hell," he groaned, never in his life had he imagined Hermione Granger saying that to him. Well… he had actually imagined it many… many… many times, but he had never believed it would actually ever happen. In all his imaginings, however, he had always said something far more smooth and sexy than what he said next; "What… what do you want to do?"
He wanted to slam his head into the wall. Wasn't he supposed to just know? He didn't know, though. He had no idea.
Hermione bit her lip and looked into his eyes, her own eyes filled with desire. Ron welled with pride when he thought that he had given her that look, "I want-"
There was a knock on the door. Sharp, loud, and Ron knew that he was going to have to kill whoever was on the other side.
Reluctantly, Ron pulled away from Hermione, grumbling as he went. He threw the door open and nearly pounced on the man standing there.
Cain Hemler stood with his arms crossed and a self-satisfied smile plastered on his face.
Ron decided that out of all of the things Cain had done, this was the most unforgivable.
"I forgot my cloak," he said. He walked through the door without any further hesitation, and retrieved his cloak off of the loveseat.
"Hello, 'Mione," Ron was sure that he was using that ridiculous name just to spite him. He must have seen how much it annoyed Ron.
"Hello, Cain," Hermione said in an attempt to be pleasant. Her breathing began to slow back to normal, but her face was blazing red.
Cain gazed at her for quite a few moments longer than necessary before striding haughtily back to the door, "I hope you have a good night, 'Mione," he stressed her name to make sure that it was abundantly clear that he did not wish Ron a good night in the slightest, then closed the door after one last lingering look at Hermione.
"I do wish he would stop calling me that," Hermione said after jumping down off the couch, "it's ridiculous. It sounds like what you call me when you have a mouth full of food."
"Then I'll be sure not to say your name anymore when my mouth is full," Ron replied while standing awkwardly by the door, "It's bloody awful sounding."
"Now if only I could get you to stop talking when your mouth is full all of the time. Baby steps, I suppose," she said.
They stood in silence for a moment, each trying to conjure back the magic that had been there just before Cain had knocked, and both knowing that it was gone, at least for the night.
"It's getting late," Hermione said, disappointment in her voice.
"Yeah…" Ron replied, "I'll… uhm… expand the couch and take it for the night. You take the bed."
She considered him for a moment, her dark brown eyes not revealing the thoughts he knew were rushing through her mind, then said, "Alright. Your things are in the beaded bag. I'll get my sleeping things out and… go to bed."
He nodded, "Alright… goodnight then."
She pulled her sleeping garments and tooth brush out of the bag, "Goodnight," she disappeared into the bedroom.
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Author's note: Yes, I did it. I knocked on the fanfiction given nickname, "'Mione"; honestly, I hate the nickname and any other nickname for Hermione. I have not found one that doesn't sound absolutely ridiculous. So, I decided it would be the most perfectly annoying name for Cain to use.
Also, I received a review to which I am not able to personally reply, so I'll say it here: The review stated that Hermione barely talked to George over the years, and that it is odd and intrusive that she wants to all of a sudden help him. I do believe the Hermione did have a good relationship with both George and Fred. Over many years she often went over to the Weasley household, and she also was in the same house with him, and was best friends with his younger brother. She had a kind of brother-sister relationship with George and Fred, because she was constantly harping on them for their practical jokes. Yet she knew and recognized that they performed splendid magic. How she could do all of this, live in the same house with them often, and 'barely talk to them' doesn't make any sense to me. And Hermione, if she knew something was wrong, is definitely the person that will do anything to help. She proved this when she tried to help the House Elves, all of whom didn't want her help. I hope I don't sound like I'm ranting, because the review didn't anger me in the slightest. I just wanted to make sure that I was clear, in case anyone else may be having the same questions. I really do appreciate every review, because I see it all as a way to grow in my writing.
On that note, jesrod82 has helped point out a few grammar mistakes that I have had, and I am really grateful for the help. I don't like to make mistakes, and wish to seem intelligent and competent in my writing, so if any of you happen to see any mistakes, please do point them out. I will fix whatever I miss.