Disclaimer: I am most grieved to state that I do not own Harry Potter.

"Ron?" She called through the front door of her childhood home.

"Up here." His answer was muffled. She ascended the familiar oak stairs and was flooded with memories. They had come to straighten up her parents' house before they left for Australia to retrieve her parents. The goal was that they would come home to a clean house. Hermione had been working on new wards and muggle locks for the doors and Ron had been charged with setting overturned furniture back to normal.

She walked down the hallway she had snuck down so many times in her youth and found him standing in her room.

"Hi." She breathed.

"Hi." He answered with a grin. "I found some of your clothes in the back of your closet hidden by a glamour spell." He sent her a questioning look.

"All my relatives were muggles." She explained. "What if one of them stumbled into my room and opened the closet and saw wizard's robes?"

"Fair enough." She packed her remaining clothes into her beaded bag while he looked around the room. He straightened a picture of the three of them, young and laughing with those ridiculous Hogwarts hats on.

"Looks like no one stole your books." He remarked, glancing at the three shelves lining her wall.

"Thank Godric for that." She agreed, and he chuckled. "Luckily anything of value was well-enough hidden, except for all of the clothes I couldn't take with me. But still, enough are left." She shook her bag for emphasis.

He put his arms around her and rested his chin on her shoulder. "Have you ever thought about us getting a place together?" He asked quietly. She hid the shock and excitement on her face by prolonging the hug.

"I have." She said quietly, thrilled he was bringing it up.

"I just mean…this room is very you. And my room is very me." He began.

"How very astute of you." She giggled and he glared at her.

"But I was thinking of how nice it would be to have something that is very ours." She looked at him in adoration, incapable of words. She kissed him lightly.

"I think that would be wonderful." She whispered, gently, tracing his jaw.

"When we come back, before we start our jobs. What do you say about finding a place together? It can be a flat or a house, since we're sort of incredibly rich now. Whatever you want."

"Yes." She whispered. "I love you."

He smiled a soft, private smile. "I love you too."

"Should we get out of here?" He asked.

"Not quite yet. I have to make sure you put everything back properly." He pursed his lips at her and she grinned, realizing what she'd said. "I didn't mean it like that but Mum and Dad like things to be proper and I don't want to upset them any more than they have to be." She turned away from him, refusing to acknowledge those emotions, and swept out of the room to check the rest of the house. There were a couple things slightly out of place that she had to fix, but overall, he'd done a great job. She met him in the kitchen where they joined hands and apparated back to the Burrow just in time for lunch.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley fussed over them, since they were leaving tomorrow morning before any reasonable human would be awake. They would be apparating as close to the airport as they could without attracting suspicion and then taking a cab the rest of the way before boarding the plane.

Since they wouldn't see them off, the Weasleys had arranged a going away party for the two of them. Molly had invited Kingsley, at Hermione's behest since she needed to discuss a couple of things with the Minister of Magic.

Andromeda and Teddy would also be attending. Hermione was not looking forward to that conversation and was glad there would probably be liquor at this party. There seemed to be a lot of parties lately. She figured it was better they were celebrating a lot than wallowing overmuch.

Mrs. Weasley shooed Hermione out of the kitchen when she tried to help so she wandered aimlessly about the house as everyone else prepared for the festivities. She found herself passing Ginny's room on her way to Ron's but she paused at the voices that flowed out of the slightly open door.

"How do I look?" Ron asked Harry. Harry was lying on his stomach on the bed reading the latest edition of theProphet and barely paying attention to Ron. He looked up and Hermione watched his green eyes go wide in astonishment. She sidled closer to the door to get a better look at Ron and felt her own jaw drop.

He was wearing a muggle tuxedo. It was a beautiful deep blue that fit him in all the right places. She found herself thinking that she would like it very much if he wore a tux more often. It made his looks stand out jarringly, so you were forced to recognize how incredibly handsome he had become. The crisp fit accentuated his broad shoulders and she found him absolutely stunning, albeit slightly uncomfortable-looking.

Harry raised his eyebrows at his best mate. "Might I ask why you're wearing muggle finery?" He barely managed to keep the amusement from creeping into his voice.

"Well, I will be meeting Hermione's parents, and she said they liked formality. I know she's packing fancy dresses and I didn't want to look like a…ruffian." Harry chuckled at Ron's words and actions and smiled indulgently and a little too knowingly at him.

Hermione could not contain or explain the great rush of affection she suddenly felt for this man. She found herself marveling at how mature, thoughtful, and sweet he had become over the past year. Well, barring his leaving her and Harry in the woods. She pushed that aside. She had forgiven him for that long ago. She padded quietly away from the door and up the rest of the stairs.

She dug through her side of the closet to find a suitable dress for the night. She wanted something pretty and stylish, but not too fancy. She found at one of her favourite dresses near the back and clutched it victoriously, removing it from its hanger. She stepped into the delicate material and pulled it up over her shoulders. It caught slightly on her waist, which surprised her, but she gave it no thought until she had it on her. It was a flowery red and orange pattern that drew in at her breasts and then let out, giving a very pleasing illusion of an hourglass figure. Only it wasn't an illusion.

She had grown alarmingly thin while on the run without proper food or sleep. But almost a month with Molly's cooking had done her well. She ran her hands over her silhouette, marveling at how her body had changed since the war. She was slightly petite, that hadn't changed. And while she was on the slimmer side of fit, her breasts had grown more than she had realized since her sixth year, and her hips had blossomed. She looked in the mirror and saw a woman instead of a girl.

It was a startling observation that she both celebrated and grieved. Even her hair had settled into more of a wave than straight frizz. Gone was the skinny, buck-toothed, frizzy-haired, frumpy little girl. Well. She supposed she was almost nineteen.

A knock on the door interrupted her and she opened it to Ron in much less fancy clothes than he had previously been wearing. She grinned at the sight of him in jeans and a wrinkled black t-shirt. She decided he looked good in anything. He stopped for a moment at the sight of her before shaking his head and smiling.

"Stunning." Was all he said, echoing her thoughts of him from earlier. He then proceeded to pull his shirt over his head with one arm, changing into more party-appropriate clothing himself. She turned back to the mirror and put on a coat of mascara. She looked up to find Ron half-dressed and watching her with interest. She grinned at him in the mirror and he started slightly before returning to the task of dressing himself.

Eventually they were both ready and he offered her his arm to escort her downstairs. She slapped it out of the way and walked down by herself. She left him grinning at the top of the stairs and racing to catch up with her. There was a thud as his shoulder hit the wall and Hermione sniggered as she caught a hold of Fleur's arm and joined her on her way to the living room.

"I love your dress." The French witch told her genuinely.

"Thank you. It's my favourite." She beamed.

"It looks wonderful on you." Hermione opened her mouth to compliment how gorgeous Fleur looked, but could say no more before she was confronted with a distraught Andromeda. Mrs. Tonks thrust Teddy into Fleur's empty arms before hugging Hermione tightly.

"I am so sorry. I don't know what came over me. But to see that necklace…Nymphadora adored that necklace and it did things to my mind that I couldn't escape." Hermione nodded in complete understanding.

"But that is no excuse," Andromeda continued, "for the harsh way I responded to you or Ginny. I am very sorry for the resemblance it gave me to her." Hermione noticed she had not called Bellatrix her sister. "I should have controlled myself better but I didn't and all I can ask is for your forgiveness. Sorry is not enough, but I am deeply sorry for the harm I caused you."

Hermione hugged her. "I forgive you." She murmured. The tension seemed to flow out of Andromeda's body. She gave Hermione a tentative mile. They stood in companionable silence and watched as Ron came up to Fleur and picked the baby out of her arms. He tossed the baby in the air without releasing Teddy from his grip. Teddy was delighted by this and Hermione saw Andromeda smile fondly at them.

"He sure loves you." She said, watching Hermione intently.

"I believe he does." She answered evenly.

"The reprimand he gave Ginny and I was full of it. He was furious at what we had done to you and worried about you, but what intrigued me was the genuine pain underneath at his own recollections." Andromeda said boldly.

"Yes." Hermione whispered. "I wasn't the only one tortured that night." And with that she turned sharply away from the older woman. She couldn't stand to think of that night any longer. She found Charlie and a bottle of firewhiskey in the kitchen. She took it from him and took a swig before giving it back. He smiled at her in amusement and sadness and she wondered at how the human face could convey so much emotion.

Before he could utter a word, she was already back amongst party goers having small and insignificant conversations with lots of people but never staying to have a true conversation. The party was fun enough, but she was getting tired of fake conversation at the start of these parties and even more so of the real and devastating conversations that happened after they had drunk some alcohol.

"Hermione Granger." A deep voice sounded from behind her and she spun to face him in delight.

"Minister." She teased. He pursed his lips at her but his eyes sparkled nearly as much as his earring.

"Just Kingsley. Arthur said you wanted to talk to me?" He inquired warmly.

"Yes. I was wondering if you had any idea where my parents were in Australia? If there was any record or anything that was still active after you helped me hide them? We're leaving tomorrow and I know it's short notice but…"

She trailed off as he held out a manila envelope towards her. "I had a feeling. This is their last known location as of the week after you erased there memories. There's been no news since."

"Thank you, Kingsley. For everything." He had been the official she had gone to for help in hiding her parents. Mad-eye had been disapproving and hadn't had the clearance to help her so she had approached Kingsley and he had not judged her.

"You are very welcome." He said reassuringly and then disappeared into the crowd.

Eventually, she ended up on the Weasley's loveseat next to Ron. At some point during his conversation with Bill and Percy she took off her shoes and curled into him. He was warm and he smelled of spices and pretty soon she found herself drifting into sleep. She woke only slightly as he carried her up the stairs in the dark, jostled lightly by his steps.

Even with her early start to bed, her alarm blared much too early. Ron groaned in protest and rolled over. She prodded him with her finger and he growled at her. Her eyebrows shot up but she couldn't deny that the sound had been a little bit attractive.

"Ron." She urged him. "We have to get up." He mumbled something crossly in response and she grinned, swinging her feet out of bed and putting on the clothes she had laid out yesterday evening. She washed her face and brushed her teeth as he dragged himself out of bed. He had pulled on one sock by the time she had wrestled her hair, gotten dressed, and was making sure they hadn't forgotten to pack anything. She grinned indulgently at him and threw him his shirt. He caught it grumpily but made no comment as he finished getting ready. They snuck down the stairs amid many snores. Hermione giggled and Ron smiled slightly when they passed George's door where the sounds were loudest.

They made a simple breakfast of cereal and walked out the front door before apparating to the designated area near the airport. They reappeared on grey pavement and Hermione took Ron's hand as they sauntered to the cab that would take them to the airport. The ride was uneventful. They were an hour and a half early to the airport, or right on time as Hermione saw it, and Ron slumped into a hard metal chair and fell asleep almost instantly. Hermione sighed and took a seat next to him, taking in the sights of all of the different people coming and going. She woke him just before they had to board.

She went on the plane in front of him and cursed herself for not getting him some muggle sleeping pills so he wouldn't freak out on the flight. She could feel the anxiety seeping off of him as they took their seats.

"I brought brooms just in case, but I can easily slow the plane before it hits the ground if we do crash, Statute of Secrecy be damned." He nodded and relaxed a little. His hand gripped hers painfully as they took off, but he relaxed once they levelled out in the air.

"This is kind of fun." He informed her conspiratorially. She rolled her eyes and grinned.

They ended up watching movies and sleeping their way there, but after too many hours in the air they touched down. Hermione shook Ron awake.

"Get up. We're here." He blinked owlishly and shook his head quickly, running a hand through his hair.

It was a good few hours before they reached their hotel, what with more security, a bathroom break, difficult directions and three different cab drivers. Hermione considered simply apparating to the hotel using only its name as guidance. At that precise moment, Ron's scar caught her eye and she shivered at the memory of splinching him. No, definitely not a good idea.

Finally, exhausted and moody, they arrived at their hotel. It looked less like a hotel and more like a palace. It was absolutely stunning and filled with plush carpets and expensive cream-coloured walls that were adorned with pictures and decorations. Like Ron had said a while ago, they were embarrassingly rich now.

A good many purebloods had been stripped of their wealth, and the public had decided it would all be melded together and then distributed to charities and the heroes of the war. None of said heroes had enjoyed accepting the funds, but they were forced into it by the public, the press, and many high-ranking officials. Harry had been most vocal about it but had been bullied into accepting the money by none other than the Minister of Magic himself. He gave half of it to Andromeda for Teddy who had also received a substantial amount from Remus and Tonks. Harry had given Sirius' posthumous portion to charity.

She dragged their suitcase into the lift and Ron watched in fascination as she hit the button labelled sixteen. His eyes widened in astonishment as they were jolted upwards and he flattened himself against the wall in anticipation.

"It only goes up." She said, trying desperately not to laugh at him. "Or down. But definitely not sideways or vigorously like the one at the Ministry." She heard a ding as they reached their floor and she dragged him out of it.

"I can't decide if I like ours better or worse." He mused and she chuckled.

There was a gorgeous view of the ocean. She set down their bags in an orderly fashion as Ron checked out the bathroom. He emerged and threw himself suddenly onto the bed.

"Sleep." He declared, burrowing under the covers.

Hermione snorted. "We slept a ton on the plane."

"It's dark outside." His voice was muffled by blankets. "That means bedtime."

She giggled, but accepted his logic. "Alright." She replied, getting into pajamas and joining him under the covers. It took very little time at all for her to fall asleep considering all the rest they had gotten on the plane. Jetlag, she mused to herself. She thought about her parents before she fell asleep. She was wrought with emotions at the thought of being confronted with them, but her brain was too tired to torment her too much. The search would begin tomorrow and they would probably forgive her. Right?