A/N: I wrote this in honor of Hermione's birthday, due to a writing challenge from a Harry Potter group. This is my first one shot :) Happy 40th Birthday, Hermione Granger!
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter!
Hermione sat on the sandy white shore of Perth Beach, digging her toes in the sand. Shutting her eyes, she inhaled the scent of salt water as she listened to the endless waves dancing with one another before they met their demise on the shoreline. She listened intently as the seagull's caw, hovering over the beach goers as they waited for a piece of food to fall to the ground. She couldn't help but smile as the sea breeze kissed her cheeks; her hair dancing with the wind.
She had planned this trip to Australia for a couple weeks, anxiously awaiting for the reunion with her parents. She slowly opened her brown eyes, watching her parents as they waded in the turquoise waters, holding hands as they continued to spot a variety of fish swimming around them.
And yet Monica and Wendell Wikins were completely oblivious of the young woman sitting a few feet behind them, let alone the life they had left behind in England. Hermoine had been in Perth for going on three days, simply watching her parents as they succumbed to their new life without her.
She yearned to feel her parent's embrace, but yet she hadn't the heart to relieve them of their fake identities. They looked happy, peaceful in this new world without her. Hermoine's heart shattered into a million pieces as she watched her parents begin a splash fight, her mother's melodic laughter filling her ears as she trodden through the waters before her husband's hands wrapped around her waist, pulling them both into the waters as they fell.
How was she supposed to wake them? Afterall, she had been the one to send them here, to protect them from the world she had come accustomed to for seven years. Could she really ask them to give up the life they've built in Perth? She sighed, knowing full well that she couldn't ask them to do that, not after all they've done for her in her childhood.
She picked herself off the ground, taking one last look at her parents before making her way down the shore. What felt to be a half hour later, she found herself standing on the edge of a dock, staring out into the ocean waters as a dolphin jumped from one spot to the next as the sun began to set. A single tear slid down her cheek, hitting the blue water as it rippled beneath her. She let out a sob, mourning the loss of her parents as she cried for them. Gone were Karen and Roger Granger.. Forever from her life.
Her body began to tremble as she placed her petite hands over her face, unaware of her best friend walking up to her. Her head jolted up as she sensed his presence, throwing her arms around him. He pulled her close to him, feeling her body tremble as her tears stained his navy blue shirt.
"It's going to be alright, 'Mione." He whispered in her ear, rubbing circles in the middle of her back. No words escaped from her as she continued to cry. He tightened his grip on her, placing a small kiss atop her head as he looked out into the golden sunset, wishing with all his might that he could take away her pain.
They stood, embraced in one another's arms for about ten minutes before Hermione's sobs subsided, gently pulling away from him as she collected her composure.
"How did you know I was here?" She asked him softly.
"I have my ways." He told her, a playful smile resting on the corner of his mouth.
"You followed me." It wasn't a question. She should have known he would have followed her here.
"Is it that obvious?"
"Come on Harry, I know you better than you know yourself." She told him, elbowing him in his ribcage.
"Ah, that's quite possible." He laughed before turning his gaze upon her. "Do you want to talk about it?"
She nodded her head before lowering herself on the dock, her legs dangling a couple feet above the water. Harry took a seat next to her before threading her fingers through his as he gave her his full attention.
"I can't bring them back with me." She spoke, her voice full of sorrow.
"What caused you to change your mind?"
"I've watched them for three days. And it didn't hit me until today that them being here, is the best thing for them."
"Why do you say that?" He asked, his head tilted slightly.
"Because, as long as they're here they can be truly happy. Live out their days at the ocean, watch as their dentistry thrives."
"Don't you think they'd want you to be a part of their life? You're their daughter after all."
"Harry, they've spent the last year as Monica and Wendell Wilkins. I created this beautiful life for them, I can't simply take that away."
"I'm sorry." He told her as guilt began to eat at him. If it hadn't been for him, her parents would be back in England with her, not stuck here unknowingly that they have a daughter who loves them more than anything.
Hermione held up a hand to him, her head shaking. "Don't. Don't you dare apologize, Harry Potter. If anyone owes me an apology it's the monster you destroyed four months ago. I had been so afraid of them being hunted down by his Death Eaters, perhaps even killed if they had resided in London. You didn't ask me to send them away, I did that of my own free will."
"And now you've lost them."
"I'll never lose them. I have all I ever need in here and here." She told him as she gestured to her heart and head. "Besides, I can always come here and check on them, make sure they are doing well."
Harry nodded his head. "I'll come with you, hell we could even make it a yearly thing. It would be nice to take a vacation."
"You'd do that for me?" She asked him, her eyes radiating with surprise.
"Of course. You've done more than enough for me over the last seven years, now it's my turn."
"What would I do without you?" She asked, her head leaning on his shoulder as she wrapped an arm around his waist.
"I ask myself the same about you." He told her as he placed a chaste kiss on her forehead, watching as the sun began to fall behind the water. "Happy Birthday, 'Mione."