I'd like to thank Balthazar23, Antar23, werewolfXZ, damadape, TheNarratingMan, WraithNX01, Vahktang, flixus, Lynix, TripsToTheRescue, fredfred and InquisitorCOC for betareading.

Chapter 33: The Nightmares

Kingston upon Thames, London, Britain, July 18th, 1996

"Hello, Ellen!"

"Hi, Martha." Ellen Granger forced herself to smile at her neighbour. Martha Smith was a friendly woman about ten years older than Ellen. Widowed and chatty, but not one to spread malicious gossip.

"So, how are you doing? Did you hear about the Wilkinsons? They got a new car. A French one!" Martha shook her head. "Carl owned a French car in his youth, and it was terrible!"

"Ah." Ellen nodded. "We've been thinking of buying a new car ourselves."

"If not English, then German. That's what Carl always said." Martha nodded sagely.

Oh. Martha's husband had died in the Gulf War, Ellen remembered. A car accident on the way to the base, but Martha liked to imply he had died more heroically. Still, a touchy subject. "Well, we haven't talked about a model, yet," Ellen said. "But we want a model that's more economical." Not some petrol-guzzling monstrosity.

"Oh, yes. Matthew has a new car - a Volkswagen. I can ask him how it's holding up once he's had it for a few weeks." Martha nodded. "How's Hermione doing? Still visiting her friend?"

"Yes." Ellen winced against her will. Officially, Hermione was visiting a friend. That would make it easy to explain her return. But if she didn't… Ellen shook her head. Hermione would return. Safe and sound. She was a witch. She had magic. She would be fine. She had to be fine. Ellen didn't know what she would do if… if...

"Oh, don't worry! Hermione's at that age - they want to be independent. Spend their holidays with friends instead of their parents. It's just a phase. Matthew was the same, and now he visits every week!" Martha beamed at her.

Ellen forced herself to nod. Martha didn't know that Hermione was missing. Couldn't know - Mr Potter had been firm about that. The Ministry's regulations were strict. "Oh, yes. She should be back soon. But I really need to head in - Gabriel is finishing up at the office, so it's my turn to cook."

"Ah. What are you cooking?" Martha looked eager - she liked sharing recipes.

Normally, Ellen liked sharing recipes as well. But not now. All she wanted was to go home, put some frozen tv dinners in the oven and wish Hermione was back. "Nothing fancy," she said. "Perhaps just some roast beef sandwiches."

"Ah. Then I won't hold you up any longer." If Martha was disappointed, it didn't show on her face. She smiled and nodded at Ellen before turning to walk down the road towards the small shop at the corner.

Ellen promised she'd make it up to Martha. Once Hermione was back.

But when she closed the door behind her after entering their home, she leaned against it and closed her eyes. Hermione had been missing for twelve days now. And the Ministry of Magic hadn't found her. Not for want of trying, either - Hermione had vanished with the son of the Head Auror. The Potters would be doing anything they could to find them. And Mr Dumbledore, as everyone had told Ellen, the greatest wizard alive, was personally involved in the search.

And yet - they hadn't found Hermione. Not with all their magic.

Ellen sniffled. She knew what that meant. Probably. Hermione was… Hermione was…

She wiped tears from her eyes. Breaking down wouldn't help anyone - least of all her little girl. Taking a deep breath, she dropped her handbag on the shelf in the hallway and walked towards the kitchen. She needed a cup of tea right now. Something to calm her down and keep her busy. So she wouldn't think of… so she wouldn't think.

Crookshanks meowed, begging for food. She ignored him - his bowl had been full this morning. She needed tea. But she had barely set the pot on the stove when the doorbell rang. Followed by the sound of someone unlocking the door.

She blinked. Who would ring the doorbell if they had a key? She took a step into the hallway before she found an answer.

"Sorry, Mr Potter, I forgot I had a key… Mum!"

Ellen gasped. Hermione! Her daughter was back. And rushing towards her. "Hermione!"

"Mum!"

Hermione all but tackled her - Ellen stumbled two steps back from the impact. And she was hugging her so strongly, it actually hurt a little.

But Ellen didn't mind. "Hermione!" Her little girl was back. Alive! Safe! "Oh, Hermione!"

"Mum!" Hermione sobbed. "I'm so sorry."

"You're back!" Ellen held her, taking deep, shivering breaths. "Thank God!"

"I'm so sorry."

What was she sorry for? She was back. And that was all that mattered! Blinking and sniffling, Ellen pulled back, gripping Hermione's shoulders to take a closer look at her. She looked fine. Perfectly fine. Her hair was even styled, and her robes impeccable. And she'd gotten a slight tan.

"Mrs Granger?"

Oh. Ellen blushed - she had missed entirely that Hermione hadn't been alone. "Mr Potter! You found her! You saved her!"

"Technically, we found her," the man told her. "But whether or not we saved her is a matter of debate." He smiled.

What? Ellen blinked, then shook her head. "Oh, I'm so sorry - is Harry safe as well?" He had said 'them', hadn't he?

"Oh, yes. He's home already with Lily - we took a detour to avoid the journalists," Mr Potter told her.

"Journalists?" Ellen stared at him, then at Hermione. "Oh. The wizarding journalists."

"Yes, Mum." Hermione took a deep breath and grimaced. "I'm so sorry about that."

This didn't sound good. "What… what happened?" Ellen asked.

"Uh… That's a long story," Hermione Granger said, biting her lower lip.

"Hermione…" Her Mum still looked so worried.

"I'm fine, Mum!" she quickly said. "I'm not hurt - I wasn't hurt. Just a few scrapes. Easily healed."

That didn't seem to calm down Mum either. "Hermione…"

She took a deep breath. "Harry and I accidentally were transported to a magically hidden island off Northwest Africa," she said.

But Mum gasped, putting a hand in front of her mouth. "A Barbary Coast Island?"

Hermione clenched her teeth. She should've remembered that she had told Mum about the differences between muggle and wizarding countries - and the danger those pirates still represented for the wizarding countries in the Mediterranean! "Yes, Mum, but we only found that out later - we didn't meet anyone after we arrived."

Mr Potter cleared his throat behind them. "Perhaps we should sit down for this?"

Mum straightened. "Oh, of course! I'm sorry, I just…"

Mr Potter shook his head. "It's entirely understandable - I reacted the same when we recovered Harry."

Hermione didn't remember the wizard losing his composure, but he had had some forewarning thanks to the Patronus Charms. Mum had had Hermione's return sprung on her out of the blue. That must have been a shock for her, and… "Crookshanks!" Her cat pawed at her legs, meowing pitifully. She knelt down to hug and pet him. "You must have been so worried!"

After about half a minute, she stood with him in her arms, blushing. "Sorry." That had been rude, ignoring the others. But she hadn't seen Crookshanks for nearly two weeks, and he must have been so worried about her, not knowing what had happened.

Mum smiled, then led them to the living room. "Please have a seat."

Mr Potter sat down in the armchair - Dad's armchair. Hermione joined Mum on the couch, wrapping her arm around her waist.

But Mum jumped up. "Oh, my God! I need to call Gabriel!" She rushed to the phone.

Hermione pressed her lips together. Should she ask Mr Potter to go and fetch Dad so he didn't rush through traffic? Or was that presumptuous? Did Mr Potter even know where her parents worked? Well, it wasn't as if Dad was driving, so it should be fine… "I can make us some tea," she said instead.

"Ah…" Mr Potter looked embarrassed.

Hermione heard Mum in the hallway. "Gabriel? Gabriel? Come home! Hermione's back!" And then Mum started to sob again.

Hermione stood, setting Crookshanks down on the floor. "I'll be right back with tea, Mr Potter." She stepped out of the room and into the kitchen, where she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She couldn't lose it. She wouldn't lose it. She had survived for almost two weeks on a pirate island. She could do this!

Her hands still trembled a little when she filled the kettle. And Crookshanks bowl - he must be starving, too.

"Hermione?"

Drat. "I'm in the kitchen, Mum! Making tea!" she yelled.

Mum appeared at the door a moment later. "Hermione!"

"I missed tea," Hermione said, forcing herself to smile. "We only had coconut milk and water."

"Oh, Hermione!" Mum hugged her again.

"I can't stand coconut any more," Hermione said. "At least for a while. But it kept us alive, and it wasn't long enough to suffer malnutrition, and we had some fish, for a while, and I had a spell for the diarrhoea the coconut diet caused, and…" She trailed off and sobbed herself. "Sorry."

"It wasn't your fault," Mum told her.

"But it was," she said. "If I hadn't gone into Knockturn Alley, this wouldn't have happened!"

If she hadn't wanted to find some grimoires to get the upper hand against Harry, her parents wouldn't have spent two weeks worrying themselves to death over her disappearance. If she hadn't fought with Harry, hadn't grabbed the stupid rope, they wouldn't have triggered the Portkey.

"There was no way you could've known about the Portkey," Mr Potter said, startling her.

When had he left the living room? She hadn't noticed him arriving in the kitchen! She had to be more on her guard!

"I shouldn't have been in that store in the first place," Hermione retorted.

"They shouldn't have left a Portkey on the shelves," Mr Potter said. "It was just a question of time until it would have transported someone else away by accident. Rest assured, they won't be doing it again."

"Good," Hermione said before pressing her lips together.

The kettle's signal went off before anyone could say anything else, and despite Hermione's attempts, Mum insisted on preparing tea herself, sending her and Mr Potter back to the living room.

Mum probably needed some time to recover her composure.

Hermione sighed as she sat down on the couch again - without Crookshanks, who was still eating.

"It's normal that you need some time to readjust," Mr Potter told her.

She bit her lower lip to avoid telling him that she was fine. He wouldn't believe her, anyway. Instead, she nodded.

"I felt the same after the war. Suddenly, things were different. We no longer had to fear for our lives and the lives of our friends every day." Mr Potter smiled, though he wasn't looking at her. "It's hard to go back to a normal life from one day to the other, after fighting for so long. But you can do it, trust me."

Hermione was about to nod when she heard her mum gasp. "Fighting?"

Oh, no! That wasn't how she had wanted this to go. Not at all.

Hermione turned and forced herself to smile at Mum. "About the fighting…" She sighed. "Can we wait for Dad? I would rather not go through this twice."

"Oh, of course, Hermione! I'm sorry!"

And Mum was hugging her again.

Godric's Hollow, Devon, Britain, July 18th, 1996

Harry Potter had his wand trained on the fireplace in the living room as soon as the flames turned green.

"Harry!"

Oh, Mum was frowning at him.

He lowered his wand. Right. Not just anyone could use their Floo connection. And Mum had sent a Patronus Messenger to inform Rose that they were back, so this would be...

A figure stepped out of the fireplace. "Harry!" Rose yelled, then rushed towards him.

Harry managed not to raise his wand out of reflex before she tackled him in a hug.

"Harry! You're back! I thought… I feared…" And she started sobbing.

Rose must have been very worried, Harry realised - she was hugging him for all that she was worth. Of course, she would've been worried - anyone would've been worried, so it wasn't a surprise. And it was all his fault. If he hadn't followed Hermione into Knockturn Alley, if he hadn't tried to make her leave...

"I'm back," he told her, patting her on the back.

Then flames turned green again, and Harry twisted, putting himself between the fireplace and Rose and raising his wand once more.

Ron stepped into the living room. "Mate!"

"Ron!" Right. The Weasleys had been babysitting Rose while Mum and Dad had come for Harry. Of course, Ron would've heard. He lowered his wand again.

Rose released him, sniffling a little and wiping her eyes. "Sorry for running off," she said to Ron.

"We understand," Ron told her. "Mum's not angry. And neither is Ginny. Oh, hi!" he greeted Mum as she entered the room carrying a tray of scones and tea.

"Hi, Ron," Mum replied, putting the tray down. "James is with the Grangers. We'll eat when he returns."

"So... what happened? Is Granger alright?" Ron asked.

"Yes," Harry said at once. "We're both fine. We got stranded on a pirate island off the African Coast."

Rose gasped. "The Barbary Coast?"

"Well… a bit more to the south," Harry said. "Geographically, it wasn't part of the Barbary Coast." That was what Hermione had said, at least. "But the pirates were from the Barbary Coast."

"Pirates?" Ron stared at him. "Actual pirates? I heard about the Portkey, but… I didn't think they were still pirates around."

"There were," Mum said. "We fought them."

"After Hermione and I had already left the island," Harry was quick to point out. "And we saved the girl they had kidnapped."

"What?" "What?"

Rose turned to look at Mum. Ron did the same.

Mum nodded. "We found them in the middle of the ocean."

"Near the island," Harry corrected her. "We were on our way to Africa."

"Were you swimming?" Rose asked.

"No," Harry told her. It was a stupid question, but Rose hadn't been there and didn't know it. "We had brooms and a boat. Taken from the pirates."

"You what?" Ron was staring at him. Like Rose.

"They were hunting us, and we needed them to escape - the whole island was warded," Harry explained.

"You and Granger fought pirates? And stole their brooms and boat?" Ron still didn't sound as if he believed it.

"How?" Rose asked.

"It's a long story," Harry said.

"And a rather unnerving one," Mum added.

Harry frowned at her. "Hermione and I are fine," he said. "We weren't really hurt."

"You almost died. Several times," Mum spat.

Rose and Ron gasped again. Harry's sister even started sniffling once more.

"And we had to fix his foot when we found them," Mum went on. She pressed her lips together, Harry noticed, before she smiled. "But they're fine."

"Yes," he said.

"But…" Rose shook her head. "What did you do? How did you survive?"

"Yeah, Mate - how did you survive?"

"We ate coconuts and fish. And we hid from the pirates and the wyvern," Harry replied.

"The wyvern?" "What wyvern?"

He sighed. Best tell the whole story, then. "Alright! We were dropped by the Portkey on a beach, and we had no idea where we were. So, we gathered coconuts and prepared a shelter. But soon, we noticed that there was a large wyvern on the island…"

Kingston upon Thames, London, Britain, July 18th, 1996

Dad arrived breathlessly - he must have run the whole distance from the tube, Hermione Granger knew.

"Hermione!"

"Dad!"

More hugging followed.

"You're back! You're safe!"

"Yes," she assured him. "Harry and I are both back - and we're not hurt." Not any more.

"Yes. They were treated and healed," Mr Potter said.

Hermione pressed her lips together. Arguing that she healed them before wouldn't help with calming down her parents. "It wasn't much," she said. "Mostly scrapes. And Harry's broken foot."

"But you were fighting," Mum retorted.

"Fighting?" Dad asked, releasing her and gaping at her.

"Yes. We were stranded on a pirate island and we had to fight their pet wyvern and the pirates themselves. And we escaped after killing their wyvern and sinking their ship. And after freeing the little girl they had kidnapped," Hermione said. And she was fine.

Her parents exchanged a glance. Then Mum spoke: "I think I need to hear the whole story."

Dad nodded.

Hermione bit her lower lip. There was no way out of this. "Alright." She looked at Mr Potter. "You've already heard the story, and I'm sure that you want to return home to Harry."

But Mr Potter shook his head. "I'm sure your parents have more questions, and as the Head Auror and involved in the rescue mission from the start, I am perfectly placed to answer them."

Hermione didn't frown. She really didn't want to keep Mr Potter from Harry. And she could answer any questions her parents had perfectly fine. But he was the Head Auror. "Alright. But… could we eat something first? Sandwiches? Anything but coconut?"

"Oh, of course!" Mum all but jumped up. "I'll fix us some sandwiches."

"Or we could order out," Dad said. "How does pizza sound? Or Chinese?"

Both sounded wonderful. Hermione smiled. "Pizza, please." Their usual pizza place was a little faster than their favourite Chinese restaurant. And she would probably be able to handle pizza more easily than Chinese after her coconut diet.

"I'll call!"

"...and then we were found by the Patronus Messenger, a spell which led the rescue party towards us. They led us back to the island, which they had secured already from the pirates, and we travelled by ship to Gibraltar, where we used the special Floo Network to return to London," Hermione Granger finished her story, absentmindedly petting Crookshanks, who had returned to her lap.

Once more, her parents glanced at each other. They had sat through her tale mostly in silence, and not just because they had been eating pizza for half the time, though their expressions…

"That was a rather… clinical description," Dad remarked.

"Yes." Mum nodded. "Almost detached."

Hermione bit her lower lip. She had aimed for succinct and factual, focused on the relevant points. There was no need to go into irrelevant details. And this wasn't the time to discuss the… changes in her and Harry's relationship. Certainly not with Mr Potter present!

"Hermione," Mum went on. "What you lived through… This was a traumatising experience."

"It was harrowing," Hermione agreed. "But it's over. We're safe. And we weren't really hurt."

"You were very lucky," Mr Potter said. "And even if you come through a fight unscathed, and without having killed someone, it's still an experience you can't just… shrug off."

"I'm not shrugging it off," Hermione protested. "But I'm not going to break down and cry myself to sleep, either."

"Of course not," Mum said. But she was looking at Dad.

"I'm really not," Hermione insisted.

"We know," Dad told her. He looked at Mr Potter. "So, the people responsible for this have been arrested?"

"Yes. The pirates didn't resist after they realised Dumbledore was with us," Mr Potter replied. "And they will be tried. Both the pirates and those responsible for the Portkey having been left on a shelf so irresponsibly."

Hermione winced. And the pirates would be executed.

"Good." Dad nodded. As did Mum.

"And Miss de Ciel has been returned to her family," Mr Potter went on.

"The poor girl!" Mum exclaimed.

The poor girl we saved, Hermione added to herself. "Yes. Things worked out quite well," she said out loud to remind her parents of that fact.

She was getting really tired of the way her parents glanced at each other.

"Can we talk to you later? When we've had time to, ah, think about this for a little while?" her parents asked Mr Potter.

When she wasn't present, in other words. Hermione frowned.

"Of course. I should return now," Mr Potter said, standing up.

"Oh, of course. We're sorry we've kept you from your son for so long," Mum apologised.

"Oh, no." Mr Potter shook his head. "It's fine - we've already talked on the ship."

Briefly, Hermione knew - Harry had slept for most of the trip - as had she. But pointing that out wouldn't help anyone. So Hermione nodded. "Thank you again, Mr Potter. I'll probably come to visit tomorrow." Why was everyone staring at her again? "Harry invited me, and Mrs Potter agreed," she explained.

"Right." Mr Potter nodded once more. "Lily mentioned that."

It would be good to see Harry again. Hermione was getting tired of being treated like a… like someone about to have a nervous breakdown. She was fine. As was Harry.

Suddenly, she gasped. "Oh! I need to tell Lavender that I'm back!" She blinked. "But I don't have an owl!" She looked at Mr Potter. "Ah, could you…"

He smiled. "Of course. You can give me the letter, and I'll have it delivered."

"Thank you!" She beamed at him, then started for her room. "It'll be just a few minutes!" Just enough to let Lavender know that she was back and fine. She could tell her more once they met.

Her eyes widened as she reached her room. Lavender would expect to visit her tomorrow. When Hermione wanted to visit Harry.

This would be… Hermione bit her lower lip.

This would be a little tricky. Her best friend deserved to hear about this from her. But she really wanted - needed - to talk to Harry.

She frowned while she quickly jotted down a note for Lavender.

Things were much more complicated than they had been on the island.

For a moment, she almost wished they hadn't left.

Godric's Hollow, Devon, Britain, July 18th, 1996

"...and then, Mum and Dad's Patronuses found us," Harry Potter said as he grabbed another piece of cake. "We - Hermione, Céline and I - flew back to the island with them and took a ship to Gibraltar. The others had already captured the pirates." Mostly thanks to Dumbledore.

"Wow!" Ron shook his head. "That's… incredible!"

"You almost died!" Rose shook her head as well, but apparently, she didn't share Ron's sentiments.

"Yes," Mum said.

"It all turned out well," Harry protested. Why couldn't they see that? "Besides, we had no choice - we didn't know how long it would take for you to find us. And the wyvern was hunting us!" He was getting a little sick of telling his story and defending his and Hermione's choices.

"But you could've died!" Rose repeated herself.

"But we didn't!" Harry looked at Ron. His best friend could support him there.

"That's true," Ron said loyally. "But it was very dangerous, wasn't it?"

"Yes, but that wasn't our fault. We didn't know there was a Portkey! And we didn't attack the pirates or the wyvern - they attacked us first!"

"And you killed the wyvern!" Ron added.

"After it almost ate you!" Rose said, shaking her head again.

"It all worked out," Harry said. "We did the best we could!"

"But you could've died. Both of you!"

"Rose," Mum said. "Please calm down."

"Mum!"

As his little sister hugged Mum, Harry pressed his lips together. He glanced at Ron. His friend shifted in his seat and wasn't looking at Rose and Mum either. "Can we go to my room, Mum?" Harry asked.

Mum looked at him. "Of course, Harry." She hesitated a moment, as if she wanted to say something else, then nodded. "Call if you need something."

"Thanks, Mum!" Harry all but jumped up. "Come on, Ron!"

He really didn't want to see Rose crying.

They went upstairs to Harry's room. He took a deep breath as he closed the door. "You know, I really missed that."

Ron looked at him. "What?"

Harry gestured. "My room. My bed. We slept on our robes stuffed with dried grass. And in shelters we had dug into the ground. Or in a cave." He sat down on his bed, patting the sheets. "I really missed this. Almost as much as I missed the food." And his family.

"Well, you're back now." Ron sat down on Harry's chair, turned so it wasn't facing the desk but the bed. "And you can still enjoy the summer."

Harry nodded. It hadn't even been two weeks. "It felt longer, you know," he said.

"I can imagine," Ron said. "We were all so worried for you."

Harry clenched his teeth. He hadn't known about the Portkey. "Sorry."

"It wasn't your fault," Ron told him. "And, well, you're a hero!"

Harry snorted. He didn't feel very heroic. "We did what we had to," he said. "We didn't do it to be heroes. If we had been able to leave the island without fighting anyone, we would have done so. We tried, you know - we spied on the village, trying to find a way to get out. But then we found Céline, and..." He shrugged. "We also knew we couldn't let them catch us."

"Damn pirates," Ron agreed. "Fleur has a lot of stories about them attacking her family."

"Well, those pirates won't attack anyone any more," Harry said, then clenched his teeth. That wasn't his fault - they had kidnapped Céline. And the others.

Ron nodded. "Good."

"Yes." It was a good thing. The sea was safer now. A little bit, at least.

"And, wow - I couldn't have done half the things you did. Hell, I wouldn't have thought of it!" Ron went on.

"You know Hermione - she knows a lot," Harry said. "And she knows a lot of spells."

Ron blinked, then looked at him. "'Hermione'? Not 'Granger'?"

Oh. Harry hadn't told anyone that part of the story yet. It wasn't something you just blurted out in the middle of a group of his parents and their friends. He hesitated a moment. They hadn't said anything about hiding their… relationship, had they? Quite the contrary, actually. And there was no reason to hide it, anyway. Ron was his best mate and was going out with Hermione's best friend. "Yes." Harry nodded, then shrugged. "It just happened."

Ron blinked again. "It just happened? Well, it would've been stupid to feud while you were stranded on the island… Wait. You mean…?" Harry felt himself blush a little, and Ron made a surprised sound. "You and… her?"

Harry narrowed his eyes but nodded. "Yes."

"Wow. I'd never expected that!" Ron chuckled. "Then again, I never thought you two would get stranded on a pirate island."

"Yes," Harry repeated himself again.

"So, you two are dating." Ron shook his head with a smile. "We can double-date now!" He chuckled again.

Harry laughed. It felt good to joke around. "She's visiting tomorrow." He smiled. It would be good to see her again - he was missing her already.

"Oh."

"What?" Harry looked at his friend.

Ron hesitated, then grinned. "Nothing." He reached over to clap Harry on the shoulder. "Welcome back, mate!"

Kingston upon Thames, London, Britain, July 19th, 1996

She was alone. Alone facing a gang of pirates. And they had seen her - the closest was pointing his wand at her, moving it in a familiar pattern. She sent a Stunner at him, but his shield deflected it. And the pirate's spell shattered her own Shield Charm.

Her next spell was stopped by the man's shield as well, and she dropped behind a rock to avoid his next curse. The rock shook with the force of an explosion, and she started running away as more pirates joined in, blowing the rock up and sending more spells at her.

She couldn't fight so many! She was alone! All alone!

She recast her Shield Charm as she slid down the slope, narrowly avoiding a Stunner, heading straight to the jungle's edge. She could lose them in the underbrush!

But before she reached the jungle, the trees started toppling, and a monster emerged - the wyvern! And it was charging straight at her...

Hermione Granger woke up with a gasp, sitting up with her wand in hand. She was sweaty - her pyjamas clung to her as if she had fallen into the sea with them on. And she was panting. As if she had run a mile or two. And Harry was gone!

She looked around, aiming her wand. Where…? Oh. She was home. In her room. In her bed.

She hugged herself as she took deep breaths, forcing herself to calm down. She was home. She was safe. The pirates had been arrested. The wyvern was dead.

And Harry was home - at his home. She was alone in her room except for Crookshanks. At… she looked at the clock on her nightstand. At one in the morning.

She closed her eyes. She was safe. Her parents were in the room next to her. Crookshanks was sleeping in her chair. Harry was safe with his family. Everything was fine. She just had a nightmare.

But she was still trembling.

Clenching her teeth, she shoved her wand under her pillow and lay down again.

When Hermione Granger woke up again, it was seven in the morning. And instead of resting her head on her pillow, she was hugging the pillow to her chest. At least she wasn't drenched with sweat any more, but, as a quick sniff proved, she smelt like it anyway.

Grimacing, she slipped out of her bed. A few cleaning charms would… No! She lowered her wand, then dropped it on the bed. She was in London, and underage magic was illegal. Until she returned to Hogwarts.

She picked her wand up and went to the bathroom. Out in the hallway, she heard Mum from below. "Hermione? Are you up already?"

She frowned for a moment. What did Mum think? That Hermione was so exhausted that she needed to spend the day in bed? She wasn't so fragile. "Yes, Mum," she replied. "Going to the bathroom."

"Alright. I'll prepare breakfast."

Oh. Breakfast. A real breakfast. Tea and scones and croissants… damn, she would love black pudding right now, but her parents never made that.

In the bathroom, a glance at the mirror had her wince at the state of her hair. If only she could use a charm to fix it!

But the shower was great. Divine. Hot water. Scented Soap. Shampoo. Soft towels.

Hermione was still smiling when she entered the kitchen wearing a light sundress. "Smells great, Mum!" she said. "Where's Dad?"

"Rescheduling our appointments."

"Oh." Well, that made sense. But… "What excuse are you using?"

"A family emergency."

She pursed her lips and put her cup down. "What kind of family emergency?"

"You were almost in a traffic accident and were shocked."

Hermione clenched her teeth. She was tougher than that.

"It explains why you returned home, and it'll explain any, ah… flashbacks you might have," Mum explained.

"I wasn't in a war, Mum!" Hermione protested.

"It was close enough according to what you and Mr Potter told us," Mum retorted. "And the newspaper…"

"What?" Hermione looked up and saw that Mum was holding the Daily Prophet. And she could read the headline.

Missing Students Battle Wyvern and Pirates!

Mum handed her the newspaper. Hermione quickly read the front page. It was all there - Portkey, pirate island, wyvern, pirates. But the details… "That's pure speculation!" she exclaimed. "We didn't kill the wyvern with ancient curses from the Black library! And Harry didn't duel the pirate captain!" Just because Harry was a talented duellist didn't mean they would've done something stupid like challenging an experienced pirate to a duel! "And certainly not over me!"

Mum actually chuckled at that.

Hermione scowled. "We need to set the record straight before they claim he had to rescue me from an Ottoman Harem!" She would never live that down.

"Oh, Hermione. Gabriel and I had a talk. We think we all should visit the Potters today."

What? Why would her parents want to come along? "We don't need a chaperone!" she protested.

"What? No, we want to discuss how best to handle this affair with them," Mum said. "But… a chaperone? Why would you think of that? And with Harry Potter?"

Oh. Hermione sighed. "Well," she said, "We - Harry and I - had to work together on the island to survive. And, well… we did work well together, once we talked things out, and… one thing led to another, and… we're now in a relationship."

At least she hoped that they still were in a relationship.

Godric's Hollow, Devon, Britain, July 19th, 1996

He was racing on his broom. Towards the jungle. Just a few hundred yards left. Spells flew past him, above his head, bouncing off his shield, narrowly missing him. Just a few dozen yards now, and he was above the trees. Almost safe.

A pirate appeared in front of him, flying towards him. He rolled and flicked his wand. His Cutting Curse shattered the man's shield and sliced into his neck seconds before they met. Then his foot hit the man's face, and the pirate's head snapped off. He flew past, then dived, breaking through the dense foliage, then pulled up before he hit the ground - a perfect Wronski Feint!

As he weaved through the trees, another pirate came up behind him. He veered to the right, and the pirate crashed into an uprooted tree with a sickening crash. Blood splattered all over the wood.

Then he was on a cratered field, smoke rising from the craters left by Blasting Curses and the remains of the forest set ablaze. He was surrounded by half a dozen corpses. Cut in two. Mangled beneath fallen trees. Missing limbs or heads. Burned to crisp.

And he was covered in blood. Not his. None of it was his. He turned, looking around. As far as he could see, there was only devastation. Broken brooms and dead pirates.

He stared at his hands. They were covered in blood. Sticky, drying blood. He blinked and drew a shuddering breath. Where was Hermione? He couldn't see her. He screamed her name but didn't hear an answer. She was gone. Kidnapped? Killed? Or left in disgust?

Either way, it was his fault.

All his fault.

Harry Potter woke up with a gasp and sat up, blinking. Then he looked at his hands. They weren't covered in blood. His face wasn't covered in blood. It was just sweat. He rubbed his eyes, trying to slow down his breathing. It was just a nightmare, nothing more. He was home. With Mum, Dad and Rose. He hadn't killed anyone.

He closed his eyes, sighing as he slowly put his wand down. He was in his bed. Not standing in a wrecked patch of jungle, surrounded by corpses.

But he was alone. Hermione wasn't here. She was with her family. Safe. In her home.

And as he wrapped his arms around himself, shivering, he wished she was still with him.

Hedwig looked at him, barking in her concerned tone.

"I'm fine," he told her with a smile. "I'll have a letter for you later. For Hermione."

She barked again, and he winced. "Not a pranked letter, I promise."

"Harry? Are you up?"

He twitched, grabbing his wand before he recognised the voice. Rose. "I'm up," he told her.

"Good. Breakfast is ready."

"Coming." He got out of his bed and hesitated. He wasn't on the island any more - he was back in England. And he was underage.

"Fuck it," he mumbled and cast a few cleaning and hairstyling charms. It felt good. "Accio robes!" he whispered, and his house robes flew towards him.

Perfect. Or almost perfect - he ran his hand over his cheek, feeling stubble. His enchanted razor was in the bathroom. It wouldn't take long…

He scoffed. He could do that after breakfast.

Mum, Dad and Rose were already at the table when he entered the kitchen.

"That was fast!" Rose said. "Wait - you didn't shower?" She grimaced.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Cleaning Charms. I didn't shave, though."

He looked at Mum and Dad, but they didn't say anything about him casting spells. Mum smiled at him and moved the basket with the toast towards him.

She'd done a full spread, he realised - eggs, sausages, bacon, even black pudding. "Oh, Mum!" He beamed at her.

"You've been eating coconut for weeks," she said.

"Don't get used to it," Rose commented.

He snorted and started eating. It was wonderful - he ate everything and then had seconds. "It's delicious, Mum!"

"Nothing like a diet to make you appreciate good cooking, right?" Dad grinned at him.

But Mum scowled. "James!"

"Sorry," Dad replied, ducking his head. "I didn't think…"

"It's OK," Harry told him. "Hermione said the same on the island. You can ask her when she's coming by today."

"Ah. When is she coming?" Mum asked.

"I'll send her a letter," Harry replied. "I hope she can eat lunch with us." Hermione should be up by now, and Hedwig was fast. As was the Knight Bus. He perked up. "Or I could take the Knight Bus after breakfast and ask her in person."

Mum and Dad were glancing at each other. And Rose was staring at him.

"What?" he asked.

"Harry, I don't think you should go to London," Mum said.

"Why not?" Harry asked. "I could go fetch her."

"I don't think she'll want to spend her first day back home here instead of with her family," Mum said.

He frowned. "She said she would visit."

Mum and Dad looked at each other again.

Harry pressed his lips together. "I'll send her a letter, then."

She said she'd visit. Why wouldn't she want to visit?

Then he saw the Daily Prophet on the table.