"Merlin's beard!"
Hermione Granger had just dropped her wand into the water-filled sink.
Being so clumsy almost made her cry, caught in sobs that she was trying to keep in her throat.
She didn't want to. She didn't want to leave. But she had no other choice.
Hermione wanted more than anything to help the Wizarding world. A world she considered home.
It was her duty.
However, she felt like her heart was being ripped out of her chest when she thought about the fact that she was abandoning her best friends, at a time when darkness was taking over.
Hermione had had a complicated and intense month, last June, she had barely been able to spend time with Harry and Ron.
And now she had to leave them. She had promised Harry, a few months earlier, that she would go with him on this hunt.
Now, they were only the two of them. And they were leaving tonight.
"Hermione my dear, are you all right?" Molly shouted from the bottom of the stairs.
"Of course Molly, I'm coming!" Hermione replied, swallowing her tears once more.
Her throat was so dry.
Harry and Ron were waiting for her outside. She had to hurry and join them. Spend as much time as possible with them.
Maybe it was the last time she would ever see them.
Their mission, this Horcruxes hunt, they could get killed at any moment.
Ron.
Hermione's heart twisted again. They had only just admitted their feelings to each other.
Voldemort was probably going to take away the one person she had been in love with for years.
And she wouldn't even be there to save him, as she always did since they met.
They had officially been together for two weeks. Two short weeks.
As of tonight, they would not see each other again for several months.
Hermione couldn't accept this separation, this goodbye.
This possible farewell, if the worst was to come.
Harry.
Her best friend. The one for whom Hermione could die.
How was she going to survive without him?
It was inconceivable for the witch, not to help him in this final quest.
So close to the end.
After drying her wand, Hermione took a deep breath.
She had to remind herself that she would not be useless in this fight.
She would be there during the war. And in the meantime, she too was going on a mission.
A mission that she hoped would help save the Wizarding world. And her friends.
Hermione winced as she walked down the stairs. The creaking of the stairs irritated her, while a headache was clouding her mind.
"Of course, Molly, Minerva has thought of everything. She left nothing to chance."
Once she was downstairs, Hermione found Remus leaning against the dusty fireplace.
As she passed by him, she nodded and the former Defense Against the Dark Arts professor gave her a reassuring smile.
Just letting out a few words had become too difficult for Hermione.
The atmosphere was so heavy today.
The air outside didn't help much. It was six o'clock in the evening and yet, it was still horrendously hot.
"Hermione."
She shivered at the sound of her name. That voice.
Harry and Ron were sitting on a bench in the garden, and the redhead had just called his girlfriend.
In a soft, almost saddened tone.
Hermione looked at him as she walked over to join them.
The look on his face spoke volumes. He was ready and determined for this new adventure, but being away from Hermione was destroying him.
When the young woman sat next to Ron, he immediately took her hand in his. Caressed her thumb.
They were going to miss it so much. These little moments, out of time.
Hermione, no longer resisting, wanted to kiss Ron, but Harry cut her off.
Sat next to Ron, he turned his head over them.
"We'll meet again, sooner than you think." He said, without any doubt in his voice.
Hermione immediately looked away, feeling her body shake.
She didn't need to hear that, not now. She didn't need to break down.
Especially not in front of them.
Ron noticed Hermione's reaction and he squeezed her hand.
"Besides, even if we're not with you, Remus will be there." He reassured her.
"After being our teacher and our friend, he is now your father." Harry smiled.
Hermione forced herself to laugh, in vain.
Indeed, Remus was going to accompany her on her mission. They would have to introduce themselves as father and daughter, moving to a new town.
That's what the next few months were going to be like for Hermione.
And it was not for nothing that Remus had been chosen to follow her on this quest. It couldn't be done without him.
However, as much as Hermione loved Remus, all of this bothered her.
Remus was abandoning his wife and unborn child to go to the other side of the world.
Tonks was a strong woman, she would survive, but being pregnant and alone in these dark times was not easy.
Hermione found it hard to understand Remus' decision.
However, was it selfish? After all, that was the reality of war.
Sacrifices were inevitable. Remus had had to make one. And it hurt him irrevocably.
Ron did not take his eyes off Hermione. The exhaustion on her face was evident, and it pained him.
"Was your training tough this morning?" He asked as the warm wind blew the few red locks of hair off his forehead.
Hermione sighed heavily, her fingers tightening around Ron's.
"Gruelling. I think I'm close, so Remus is not sparing me."
Harry's green eyes widened.
"Already? But you only started training a little over a month ago!"
"I'm close, Harry, but I'm not there yet. I'm starting to feel something inside me, so the training must be tougher."
The two wizards looked at Hermione, feeling proud of her. She never ceased to amaze them. They would never get used to her unusual abilities.
Hermione, on the other hand, couldn't wait for this training to end. It was rewarding and what awaited her at the end would be more than magical, but it drained all her energy.
She didn't know how she would cope, she had so much to do there. In this new city.
"Can you believe it? You're going back to a Muggle school. It's going to be so weird, isn't it?" Ron tried to change the subject.
Except that it only made her more stressed. She had almost forgotten about this detail.
To avoid suspicion, Hermione had been enrolled in the Forks High School, the town where her mission was taking place. Where she would be living with Remus.
Hermione no longer belonged in this world. She didn't belong with muggles anymore, she was sure of that, deep down in her heart.
She knew where she came from, but for a few years now, Hermione had considered herself a witch only. And no longer a Muggle-born.
The Wizarding world had given her so much more than the muggle one, it had accepted her for who she truly was.
Being back to square one was therefore very complicated for Hermione.
Even the idea that she could enrich her knowledge with subjects she didn't have at Hogwarts didn't comfort her.
"I hope it goes well. The hardest part will be controlling my magic and pretending it doesn't exist anymore." Hermione admitted.
"I'm sure you'll be fine," Ron assured her.
A small smile formed on Hermione's lips.
She appreciated Ron's attention, but it was no longer enough.
A distance had already been set in their conversation, Hermione could feel it.
It was as if the trio had already come to terms with the fact that they would be apart for months and that there was a small chance that they would never see each other again.
Hermione realized that they had already said goodbye to each other days ago.
Only their bodies were present in the moment they were sharing at the Burrow.
Their minds were already lost in their respective quests.
The war had not yet taken place, but the consequences already haunted them.
Nothing would ever be the same again.
And the separation came faster than they wanted to.
Three o'clock in the morning. Plain dark.
With promises for last words.
"I'll write you letters, Ron," Hermione promised him.
She would find a way to locate him. Without putting his security at risk.
One last kiss. One last look.
As well as one last hesitant hug between Harry and Hermione.
A knotted throat again. Teary eyes.
And the two people who meant the world to Hermione faded into darkness. Ron couldn't help but turn around one last time, before disappearing.
With that shy little smile.
In the second that Harry and Ron walked away, Hermione broke down.
A single tear rolled down her pink cheek.
She had never felt such emptiness inside her. She would never be complete without the two boys.
Now she wondered how she had managed to live without them, before coming to Hogwarts.
She couldn't believe it.
And now it was her turn to leave. In the early morning. Under a sunset full of hope, and yet.
Hermione's departure was even more punishing for her.
Without even realizing it, she found herself in Forks, Washington, USA.
A continent, a country, a city that were completely unknown to her.
It had been an awful trip for the two wizards. Hermione and Remus had taken the plane, a first for the former professor.
Hermione had taken it many years before, it was just like the first time for her.
She had been feeling sick during the flight, on the verge of vomiting with every turbulence.
Between stomachaches and heartaches, Hermione had endured those endless hours in the sky.
Remus, on the other hand, had tasted different Muggle alcohols to stop feeling the discomfort that was overwhelming him.
And then, the Apparition and Disapparition had been the final blow for Hermione.
After appearing at the edge of a large forest, Hermione had vomited her breakfast that she had already struggled to swallow.
But at last, they had arrived.
"Hermione, we've arrived. You can breathe now." Remus whispered to her, putting his comforting hand on the witch's shoulder.
With the time difference, they were once again greeted by the sunrise. Much less colorful than the one at the Burrow.
The smell was also different. It was still summer here, but nature smelled of autumn. Pine, cedar, fir. The humidity and the mist.
Everything looked so bland here. It was nothing like the magical world Hermione loved so much.
She almost shuddered. She just wanted to go back. It didn't take long for the homesickness to kick in.
"Minerva wasn't lying when she told me this place was rather... melancholic." Remus joked.
Remus's old suit, already quite weathered, was full of fir thorns. He patted his jacket to get rid of them.
Hermione, standing a few inches away from him, looked down. She noticed that her sneakers were stuck in the mud. Her jeans were also spotted with dirt.
She touched her backpack, making sure it was securely closed and that nothing had been lost during the Apparition and Disapparition.
"Let's go, it's still early. Let's take advantage of this to avoid getting ourselves noticed."
Of course, neither Remus nor Hermione had a Muggle driver's license.
And so, they set out on foot to their new home, to their quest.
Exhausted and dirty after that long trip.
A large sign welcomed them to Forks. None of them seemed to accept the welcome.
While they were walking toward their new home, which Minerva had found for them, everything was silent.
Their thoughts were too overwhelming, so much so that it was useless for them to burden themselves with words.
Hermione looked around, noticing that the buildings, the houses, everything, everything was gray. There was no color, no cheerfulness.
She hoped that this sensation was only due to the early morning.
Hermione had the impression that she was in a parallel dimension.
Everything seemed so... normal. Her own body felt that it was not surrounded by any magic. She was feeling weird.
Forks was definitely a Muggle town. Even in London, there was more magic.
So, as the two wizards finally arrived home, Hermione asked herself the fated question.
How could such a place hide people who transformed into super-powered wolves whose longevity far surpassed that of humans, thanks to their transformation?
It didn't make any sense.
And yet.
What do you think? I hope this is intriguing enough!
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Thank you xx