Chapter 35: The Trip
As the days crept by, taking them closer to the deadline and the start of the six-month healer intervention window, they chose to celebrate their one-year wedding anniversary quietly, at home. They picked up food from their favorite café where they had their first date and ate it in front of the TV, watching a movie on the sofa.
When the movie was over and the dishes cleared away, Hermione settled in next to Sirius, fingering her Celtic knot necklace. She had been thinking about something since her meeting with the dean of the university the previous month, and she thought now would be the perfect time to bring it up. "Will you take me away somewhere Sirius?"
"Anywhere, love. Where do you want to go?"
"To America. Salem," Hermione laughed at his astonished expression, "What, not what you were hoping?"
"Not exactly. Why Salem?"
Hermione shrugged, "I discussed Salem University with my dean when we met last month. I find it… intriguing. I would really like to tour the campus. As much as I love Craft, it is definitely lacking in some major university amenities. I think it would be fun to see the full experience."
Sirius chuckled, "Leave it to you to pick an academic vacation," she elbowed him in the ribs, "Sure, I'll take you to Salem. When?"
"Two weeks," he looked surprised at that, "I… I really want to be away from here when the twelve months are up. Somewhere else, just the two of us. So we can pretend, just for a little bit, that we're just a normal married couple enjoying a vacation together."
Sirius smiled softly at her, leaning in to kiss her deeply. When he pulled back, he leaned his forehead against hers, "I like the sound of that. I'll make the arrangements."
Hermione was very impressed by the Salem campus. It was clearly a "college town," and everything anyone associated with a university could be found on or very near campus. It was large and sprawling, incorporating both historic buildings and new builds. The history of the place was both horrifying and fascinating, and though the university hadn't been established for centuries after the famous witch trials, the establishment of such a school in such a place was a clear slap in the face of the history of muggle fear and hatred of what they didn't understand.
Hermione made the mistake of taking Sirius with her for a muggle tour of sites important to the witch trials. She had to shush him several times and glared at him more than once when he kept scoffing at the tour guide's narrative.
The poor guide, already clearly uncomfortable with the script he was working with, kept losing his footing every time Sirius made a noise. She was horribly embarrassed, especially since several of the other members of the tour group kept sending glares their way.
When the tour was over, Hermione grabbed Sirius' arm and dragged him quickly away from the crowd. "What is your problem?!"
Sirius scoffed again, "This utter shite these muggles are spewing! It's really no wonder why the statute of secrecy is still in place after thousands of years!"
"You realize these tours don't incorporate current events, right? These things took place over three hundred years ago!"
"I do realize that, thank you. It's all just so ridiculous. Especially since there is no way any of those women were actually witches! As if any true witch would allow herself to be executed by muggles!"
Hermione rolled her eyes at that, "Of course they weren't real witches! But that doesn't make the history any less significant. I'm sorry I even brought you! I should have done the tour myself. That poor tour guide didn't know what to do!"
She stomped away from him but before she made it very far, she felt his arm around her waist as he fell into step beside her, "Don't be mad love. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. I'm just not in the best mood because of what today is."
Hermione was confused by the statement until it dawned on her that it was the last day of the twelve months allotted by the Ministry. She had tried, and apparently succeeded, in putting the situation from her mind on this trip, and she hadn't even realized what the date was.
"I forgive you. But please let's just enjoy our last few days here, ok? Try to forget about what's waiting for us back home?"
"I'll try," Sirius responded after a long pause, and Hermione sighed. He would likely be brooding the rest of the day. She would have to try to make the most of it.
As they spent the week in Salem, an idea began to form in the back of Hermione's mind. Once it bloomed there, she was having a hard time shaking it, though she wasn't sure it was something she could bring up to Sirius. She had a feeling she knew how he would react, and she didn't want to ruin their trip. But when the opportunity presented itself their last day in Massachusetts, Hermione decided to press her luck.
Sirius had suggested visiting Boston their last day, and Hermione was happy to oblige. It was within easy Apparating distance, and other than the unfortunate morning with the muggle tour guide, Sirius had been a great sport about going along with all her whims, most of them having to do with academia, which she knew he despised. So she was glad they could do something he really seemed interested in doing.
Boston was amazing. It was nothing like London. It was a big city, but it had a small-town feel. It was very walkable, and the sites were fascinating. In the late afternoon, they found themselves relaxing on a park bench in Boston Public Gardens, soaking up the sunshine. Sirius was leaning against the back of the bench, face lifted toward the sun, eyes closed, when he commented, "I could get used to this place. It's really quite impressive."
Hermione started at the words and decided there wouldn't be a better opportunity to bring up what she had been considering, "What if… what if we could do that?"
"Do what?" he asked without moving.
"Get used to this place. As in… move here."
His head snapped toward her then, shock written all over his face, "Are you joking?"
"Hardly. I—I…. Please just hear me out. I've been thinking about this all week. What if we did move here? To Salem or Boston if you prefer. I could finish my degree at Salem, and I'm sure you could find work somewhere. We've been struggling since we found out I wasn't going to be able to get pregnant, trying to figure out a way to stay together. To make sure the Ministry doesn't separate us. Well, we could stay together if we move here. The Ministry would have no say in our lives here."
Sirius just stared at her for so long, she started to fidget. When he did start speaking, his voice had a hard edge to it, "But… Our friends. Our family. We can't just leave them behind. Our whole lives are in London. Everyone we love is there."
"I know that," Hermione snapped in response to his tone, then took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down before continuing, "It would be a sacrifice, I'm not saying it wouldn't. But so would staying. If we move, we can stay together. We could still visit London, and our family could visit us here. We could build a new life for ourselves here. Maybe even have kids one day, if it happens for us, or we could look into adoption. But if we stay at home… What is waiting for us? A future where you are married to another woman? Having children with her? Where I'm… Just alone?"
She was crying by the end, and Sirius pulled her into his arms. "Gods, I'm so sick of crying!" she exclaimed.
After she had calmed, Sirius said softly, "I don't want that, either. You know I don't. But uprooting our entire lives… That's not something I had even considered before. And… Teddy. I—I swore I would get it right this time. I don't know if I can just leave that all behind."
"I don't know if I can either. But I think… Everyone would understand. And maybe… Maybe in a few years, the Ministry will decide they have enough new magical blood and repeal all this nonsense and we can go home."
He didn't respond. Minutes stretched on, but Hermione decided to wait him out. When he finally spoke, the words finally lifted the feeling of dread that had been constantly sitting in her stomach for the last few months, "I guess… It all comes down to what's most important. I love my family. I love Teddy. But you… You are my everything. I love you… more than I ever could put into words. If moving here is the only way we're going to be able to stay together, let's do it."
Hermione sent him a watery smile, "Thank you, Sirius. I can't tell you… it means so much to me. I love you too."
"But… not yet. We still have six months before the Ministry separates us. Let's use that time to make our plans."
She snuggled into his side as she nodded her agreement.
A/N: One more chapter to go!