When she emerged from the fireplace, she was greeted by Professors Flitwick and McGonagall, Madam Pomfrey and Hagrid.

"I'm here." She said redundantly. "What's wrong?"

"For a change? I don't think it is wrong." McGonagall pursed her lips to avoid smiling.

Hagrid swept a cloth off of an odd shaped item. Hermione noticed the item to be a cage, before the contents of the cage caught her attention.

"Hedwig?!" She gasped.

"Hoot!" Came the reply.

"Hedwig?" Hermione asked again. "That's really Hedwig?"

"Hoot!" The sound was quite indignant.

"Sorry, Hedwig." Hermione automatically replied before blinking. "Well that's that. How? How did she survive?"

McGonagall handed over a letter. "This might help." The paper was just that paper, a sheet torn from an exercise book if Hermione was any judge. "It was rolled into a small tube tied onto her leg."

To whomever it concerns

This is a beautiful bird and if it weren't for her well-handled, sweet nature and otherwise excellent condition, the authorities would have been notified about her injuries.

Now that I've said that, let me tell you what I know of her.

She's a magnificent snowy owl, not overly large but well proportioned. Approximately 7-8 years of age, my initial estimate was 4-5, but x-rays prove she's older. And as I said, in otherwise excellent condition and well handled.

She was found just outside Liverpool and brought to me at the Freshfields Animal Rescue Centre just north of the City. I've had fifty years of experience in handling owls and other raptors, but this lady didn't need any of that, she knew I was trying to help her and has been on her best behaviour since her arrival.

As a result, I'm fairly confident she belongs to someone who went to Hogwarts. But I don't have access to their treatments and have done the best I can. I don't think she holds the lack of potions against me, though.

If you feel the need to have an exact breakdown of her injuries and treatments, please contact me at –

John Meadowes

#3 Back O' the Town Lane

Ince, Blundell.

Liverpool.

Ph, 51 255 6735

Look after her and try not to feed her too much bacon, she really likes it but it's not good for her.

JM.

"Oh, my…" Hermione sighed in pleasure. "Hedwig, you beautiful owl, would you like to go straight to Harry or would you like to be a surprise?"

"Hoot?" It was clearly a question and a demanding one at that. She'd tried to find her wizard, but had been unable to locate him, so had come to his preferred nest to wait for him, knowing that one of the nest elders would notify him of her arrival.

"Harry's okay, he's at the Ministry. But…" Hermione wasn't sure how intelligent Hedwig really was, but on the off chance that she was Harry's familiar and understood what he did, Hermione thought it best to explain everything to her. "How about you come with me and we find a couple of mice for you and have a little chat?"

"Hoot!" The owl pecked at the cage door and it opened, Hedwig ruffled her feathers and leapt out, a broad stroke of her wings and Hermione held out an arm for her to land on.

"Excellent, Hedwig. Hagrid? Have you checked Hedwig over, has this John done a good job or is there more treatment still to come?"

"Na, she's good, could always do with a vitalising potion, most owls need 'em after they's bin injured." Hagrid shook his head. "But she's good, all the breaks has healed well. You can find some mice in me storage hut, if you like."

"Thanks, Hagrid. In that case, Hedwig and I need to have a little girl-to-girl chat. If you'll excuse us?" Hermione said to the Professors.

"Of course, Miss Granger." Professor Flitwick beamed at them both. "You sort that out and we'll see you for breakfast. Yes?"

"Of course, Professor." Hermione smiled and left the office, well aware of the portraits and paintings. "Let's go find you some mice and I'll explain, okay?"

"Hoot." Hedwig flipped her wings and jumped to Hermione's shoulder as they walked through the empty corridors of the school.

From the windows of the Headmaster's office, four people watched as a young woman with an owl riding on her shoulder, emerged from under the clock tower and crossed the timber suspension bridge that was in place of the still unrepaired bridge that led to the owlery and down to Hagrid's hut.

"Well…" Professor McGonagall smiled. "It seems that Potter's luck is still going strong."

"Hey, Mione." Harry greeted Hermione as she entered his interview room.

"Hello, Harry. How'd you go with the armourist? Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner, Professor Flitwick sent a Patronus, there was an injured owl that turned up at Hogwarts. And Fawkes gave me some tears a few weeks ago, we weren't sure if they were going to be needed or not."

"Is it alright?" Harry still missed his beautiful Hedwig and he thought a part of him always would.

"Yes, she's fine, just waiting on her owner to collect her." Hermione so wanted to tell Harry that the owl was Hedwig, but after talking with Charlie, between them, they'd realised that Hedwig was definitely Harry's familiar and not just a 'pet', as she understood almost everything that Hermione and Charlie had told her. It had been her choice to wait with the others that were staying in the Nest and she puffed up in pride when told the Nest had been named in her honour.

"Great. And I went good with the armourist, too. I think…" Harry winced as he added the disclaimer.

"What did you get?"

"I got a sword, a dagger and a pair of… the goblins called them ulak knives, but instead of being made with metal, they make them from the fangs of a basilisk that's permanently transmuted into steel using some really old and highly secret alchemy process."

"Ooh, make sure you don't cut yourself on them, then." Hermione grimaced.

"I don't have to worry about that. Something to do with the combination of potion used in the alchemy process and the blood binding means that I'm immune to any venom they might contain and in fact, unless I want them to be venomous, they'll just be steel blades. Apparently, they've been infused with my blood and magic, and my intent when I use them, will determine how poisonous they are." Harry replied.

"Oh, wow. That's handy." Hermione blinked a few times, the pair of fighting daggers and bow that the armourist had given her, weren't anything like that. Her daggers were just simple steel blades and while her bow was bone, it was a dragon's rib, not a basilisk's one.

"Yeah." Harry grinned. "They even gave me the harnesses for them. They're a cross between holsters and a hanging frame, but they use magnets to hold the blades in place, instead of the blade going into a holster's pocket."

"Hmm. Some of the museums that display decorative knives and swords use magnets to hold the blades." Hermione nodded.

"Much the same." Harry agreed. "Are we ready for Thursday? Did Croaker ever find out what time Sirius went in?"

"He did. Five passed two in the morning."

"Wow, we got Sirius out of bed before lunch?" Harry gasped.

"No, Harry, I'm sorry, but no. They hadn't gone to bed yet." Hermine shook her head.

"Oh, well, it was nice to imagine it." Harry laughed. "I'm not sure how McGonagall survived having Siri in Gryffindor for seven years."

"There's days where she's not sure either." Hermione laughed with him.

"But we're ready?" Harry let his laughter die away.

"Yes, we're ready. Your trunk is ready and fully stocked. I haven't given it to you, as Kingsley suggested keeping it out of reach of people like Umbitch." Harry nodded at Hermione's comment. "Same with your clothes. The weapons? Not so important as no-one but you can use them anyway. Two wands in holsters. And the rucksack? It's got a tent, a travel lunch box, which holds five meals, a fine blanket and a mixed first-aid kit. We thought about putting the trunk in with that but decided that if the rucksack was taken from you, you'd lose everything. So, we decided to use an Auror special, the buckle of the belt that you'll be wearing covers a tiny mokeskin pouch, or pocket really, just big enough to hold the trunk."

"Nice." Harry nodded. "What about the clothes?"

"Plain black muggle-style fatigues, they're not quite battle robes, but they are wizard-made and do have charms applied. Temperature control, rip and tear resistant, water repellent and anti-rub. To name a few. The boots are Ironbelly hide, with auto-fit charms. The belt is also Ironbelly with a mokeskin pouch behind the buckle. The coat is Horntail, in the style of a muggle trench like Moody's. Wand holsters, one for each forearm, are Horntail hide and charmed with a dragon-load of anti-muggle charms. The rucksack is Hebridean Black with the same charms. Personally, I suggest that you not wear all your Gringotts weapons, but of course the choice is yours. If you do wear them, add some temporary notice-me-nots."

"I'll only be wearing the dagger and the sword. The armourist made me a harness with a holster for my staff and a scabbard for the sword, it's worn over my clothes and attaches to a belt and straps around each leg, just above the knee and just below my butt. However, Kingsley suggested shrinking the sword and wearing it as a pendant, at least into the Veil."

"That would work, if you needed it instantly, you've got it right there, with no need to open a pouch, pull out a trunk and enlarge it, just to get to a weapon." Hermione nodded.

"Exactly." Harry nodded as well. "The other thing he suggested is to take a dreamless sleep potion about mid-afternoon and to try and sleep until about midnight. Have a light 'breakfast' and a shower before getting dressed in what I'll be wearing into the Veil. Mr Malfoy was through just before lunch, to tell me that I'm allowed to have two people in addition to those that advised me during the trial."

"Really?"

"Yeah. So… if you're seeing Ron tomorrow evening… and he's… you know…?"

"Not being a jealous prat, like normal?" Hermione twisted her lips.

"Yeah, that. If he's not... I'd like him to come. Him and Hagrid." Harry said.

"Hagrid?"

"When you all came to Surrey to get me, he said that 'he'd brought me to Surrey, it only seemed right that he'd be the one to take me away from it'. Right?"

"Right." Hermione nodded.

"Well, I was thinking about that and I realised that Hagrid was the one to introduce me to the wizarding world and he should be here to see me leave it." Harry's voice hitched before he got it back under control.

"Oh, Harry…" Hermione closed her eyes at the strength in his voice. "He'd like that very much."

"I'm going to do the training memories tonight, Robards said he and healer Lincoln are going to stay with me while I absorb them, just to make sure that nothing goes wrong." Harry assured her.

"They know what they're doing." She nodded. Kingsley was staying with the refugees tonight for the same reason.

"That's what Kingsley said." Harry gave her a small smile.

"You'll be fine. But if you've got that coming tonight, I should leave you to it." She hugged him and moved towards the door.

"Thanks, Mione."

The collection of daybeds filled the Nest's town pavilion and Hermione was amused that she could almost pick which one belonged to whom.

The twins' beds were covered in thick fluffy blankets that had beaters' bats knocking bludgers about, all over them. Then there were the quidditch queens' beds, their blankets almost matched the twins' but instead of beaters' bats and bludgers, there were quaffles darting through the folds and the cushions were slinky velvet in all different shades of purple for Angelina, pink for Katie and red for Alicia. Colin and Dennis had Gryffindor blankets that matched, but Colin had red with a gold lion and Dennis had gold with a red lion. Lavender's were as girly as Hermione expected them to be, fluffy velvet cushions and a patchwork quilt in different shades of her namesake. Parvati and Padma, like Dennis and Colin, had the same colours but in opposition to each other.

And so it went on, each person's bed clearly identifiable by their covers. The only ones that she was unsure about were Neville, Euan and Natalie, all three had simple blankets in warm browns and cool greens.

As each person entered the pavilion, Kingsley ordered them to their beds before mounting the little platform and addressing them all.

"First of all, I want to say… how proud I am to have known and trained you all. I have three memory phials for each of you, different things for different people. But the first memory is the same for everyone. Occlumency lessons. This will teach you how to sort and store your memories, how to access older memories and how to stop outsiders from gaining access to your mind. On a side note, those that study occlumency and keep working at it, are the most likely to be able to throw off the imperius curse. The second memory is from Gringotts and I have no idea what each contains, beyond the general understanding that it is a training memory specific to the weapons that Gringotts gifted to you. The third memory is that of a trainee Auror that has just completed the Gauntlet." He paused while they whispered. "Not everyone is getting all of these memories, just yet. The first and second, yes, of course. But the third memory I don't want anyone under seventeen absorbing them, that means Luna is the youngest receiving a third memory tonight. I will be leaving them here, Miss Sissy will retain them in the hospital until the younger residents reach the appropriate age. And of course, Teddy won't be getting any, until he's ten. Headley, you might be eight, physically, but you still retain the memories of having been older, so Miss Sissy feels that you'll cope quite well and that occlumency will actually help you as far as studying is concerned."

Hermione stepped up beside Kingsley. "Kingsley is also leaving a selection of memories for us, one of which will teach us how to create our own training memories. Amongst other things." Hermione was going to be one of four to receive four phials, she'd also be getting the memory of how to convert a standard memory into a training memory, as would Bill, Remus and Snape.

"If anyone doesn't want to do this now, just speak up, the memories will be stored in the hospital until you're ready." Kingsley offered, but was answered by a round of no's. "Alright, Miss Sissy and Hermione will bring the first phial to each of you. I'd like you to take it and lay back, some people find absorbing these types of memories easier than others, it has nothing to do with intelligence, rather how your mind works. The second phials will be handed out once Miss Sissy believes that you're passed the point of having complications. The same for those receiving a third or fourth phial." He waited while the two women moved between the beds, handing each person a phial of glistening silver memories. "To absorb…" He began to explain to them how to introduce the memories into their minds.

Hermione sighed, it was going to be a long night. Thank god for her time turner, at least Kingsley would be able to get some rest before his shift at the Ministry.

Morning came, well before anyone was really ready for it. Today was Harry's last day in the wizarding world. Today was their last day in the wizarding world.

There had been many quiet conversations about the people they'd leave behind. It was sad that very few of those would be missed. Oh, yes, they were loved, but they wouldn't necessarily be missed.

The Weasleys were just one example of that. Lavender's family were another. Her mother had been approached by Professor McGonagall and the woman had the gall to say that Lavender had thrown away her life for nothing, she'd been beautiful and vivacious and now she was a monster and her father was instigating the process to disinherit her. Oliver's father was a little better, but not much, his comment of Oliver walking away from Puddlemere to defend Hogwarts would be the end of his quidditch career, had the refugees shaking their heads. But it was Katie's family that were the worst. Within seconds of hearing that she been attacked, not even waiting to hear if she'd been turned, her father and grandfather had disowned her, cutting her completely adrift.

Upon hearing this, Harry had sent them a scathing howler and offered Katie and anyone else that wanted it, a position in his family. It had taken an entire day to hash out the details, but Katie and Euan joined the Black family, while Oliver, Colin and Dennis joined Headley as members of the Potter family. Hermione and Luna became Weasleys when Bill brought them into his family. Padma and Parvati joined the Malfoy family. Remus gained the other two quidditch girls and Seamus. Snape was the surprise, he became family to Natalie, Lavender and Justin. Neville had happily welcomed Dean and Lee into his family, knowing that his parents would understand the reasoning behind it, when told.

Breakfast was provided by the house elves under Kreacher's direction. When they left, he was going to take over as the head elf for Hogwarts, as the last elf to hold that position had literally given his all for the school. After breakfast, those capable apparated those not capable to the flat that Oliver had been renting in Bristol. They had one last day to buy up anything that interested them, although Hermione had warned them to stay clear of electronics, she'd said that boardgames and books were fine. Jewellery was another thing on the list of purchases, the higher the quality, the better the purchase. Watches, but only if they were mechanical or automatic.

Hermione planned to use the time turner and cover a massive amount of ground, that day. She wanted to speak to most of the shopkeepers in Technic Alley and a few in Hogsmeade, now that she knew how to separate a training memory from its originator, she was hoping that some of the artisans would share their memories with her, making sure that they knew these memories would be going through the veil with Harry and happy to make an oath to that effect. Then she wanted to hit all the big yarn stores and the magical fabric shops in every major magical shopping district in the UK, she'd never get the chance again. Plus, there was one last chance to visit her parents. They'd never remember her, obliviates on muggles were permanent according to Croaker, not something Hermione had known. But thanks to Harry claiming the Peverell pensieve… and hadn't McGonagall been angry about Dumbledore claiming it was his… and emptying it of all the memories that Dumbledore had dumped into it, and Colin's obsession with anything photographic, they were now able to take photos from a pensieve projected image.

Upon hearing of her plans, Draco had sighed and after a sidelong look at his mother, had volunteered to accompany Hermione on her expedition, making sure to wear his glamour ring. It wouldn't do to have his father spot him.

Late afternoon saw Hermione and Draco sitting at the clearing near the shack, again. Draco was placing phials in a storage cabinet reading the information on each tag to Hermione, who was recording that information in a ledger, as they went. When they finished, the pair sat in companionable silence for a few minutes before Draco's stomach growled. Breakfast was twelve hours earlier by the clock but for them, about nineteen had passed with the aid of the time turner.

"Well, that's the memories and all your fabric and wool. What's next?" Draco asked.

"There's only one thing left before the veiling and that's Ron."

"Urgh… You're on your own for that one." Draco still had no fondness for the young Weasley, and he was praying that the redhead wouldn't ask to join them. He wasn't sure he could cope with that.

"Yes. I've got to do this alone." Hermione smiled at him and stood. "Let's get this into the hospital, so I can get this meeting over with."