Disclaimer: I own nothing, but my thoughts of AU and OC, the rest all belong to J K Rowling. This story just left me sleepless. Thus, with red eyes burning, I am penning it down, or better typing it down. My mind lives in the Harry Potter fanfiction world though my body is still thankfully anchored in the monotonous reality of existence. My themes, plotline, and storyline may, therefore, get indirectly influenced by many of the brilliant fanfiction writers on this site. And I humbly bow to such creative genius who give me much needed literary pleasures to see through the toils of mundane life.

Baby's Breath- A flower that survived the war

Prologue

Hermione is taking one of the toughest decisions in her life. She is about to erase the memory of her parents. She has revised the spell and she has reread the counter effects. Still, she can't help but feel the pang of guilt and the sheer sense of loneliness. Her parents will no longer be her parents. They will have no recollection of her. She will erase away her presence from their lives. She will not be inside those simple unmoving photographs that chronicled her childhood and essayed her first eleven years.

She looks about the room. Her room. Perfect for a girl, who had been her parents' princess. A lone tear rushes down her cheek. Her mom calls. She forces back the whimper and manages not to choke on her words. "Coming Mom."

Her parents are sitting in the living room, tucked within each other's arms. Watching their favorite late-night show. She creeps into the room. Pushing the door ajar, a little more with the left hand. Her right hand is shaking in tension. Her wand held in a tight grip. She slowly lifts it up. Her wand aimed at the back of her parents' heads. She whispers to them for the last time, "I love you."

Watery eyes spark alive with iron resolve. A trait all Hogwarts occupants have learned to attach with a certain, know-it-all, bushy head muggle witch. A student who would certainly claim to be the brightest witch of the age if the war ends and she can miraculously survive it.

An intricate wand movement and an accurately pronounced False Memory spell, made the Once Grangers, Now Wilkins, doze off in a time-bound comatose state. They will wake up in a few hours. Get dressed. Grab their packed luggage neatly assembled in the hallway, and call a taxi to take them to the Heathrow Airport. Their air tickets are booked. On-way flight to Sydney, Australia. They are going to start afresh in a new city, in a new continent.

Rubbing her cheeks furiously now, not wanting to cry much, just yet. Hermione turns to give the house another precursory look. Makes sure, there is nothing left for the Voldemort's dogs to sniff around and jeopardize her plans to keep her parents safe.

A soft chime in the living room, makes her stop on her tracks and she turns around, alert and ready. The sound is coming from above the fireplace. Over the mantle, there hangs an idyllic countryside scenery, she has marveled at while growing up. The painting has tilted down at one side, and a rectangular glow emitting from the exposed portion of the wall.

For precautionary measures, she casts jinxes, hexes and curses detecting spell. With white flagged sparks glowing in every case, she runs her finger over the glowing light. Something pushes out to meet her hand, but before she manages to pull her hand back, an old scroll of parchment rolls out into her hand.

Above the scroll, a beautiful calligraphic handwriting catches her attention and her curiosity piqued.

It reads:

"To my gorgeous daughter Minerva,
My Baby's Breath- Mother loves you forever, Lilac Evenson."

The girl barely, an adult drops the parchment on the floor. She looks back at her dozing parents in dismay. But she cannot waste any time. She haphazardly gathers the fallen scroll. A lone tear falls over the old calligraphic script. And in moments the paper soaks it in. The scroll glows with a blue-white light and the letters rearrange themselves. She gasps.

It now reads:

"To my gorgeous daughter Hermione
My Baby's Breath- Mother loves you forever, Lily Evans."