"You think we can do this?" George asked nervously as they both stood in front of the fireplace. Hermione turned to look at him and gave him a small smile.
"We are doing it together; it will be alright." She gave his hand a reassuring squeeze and pulled him with her in the fireplace. He gave a short squeeze back as he called out the burrow.
The living room was empty, but they heard muffled voices from the kitchen. They arrived after dinner was finished so they didn't have to go through the busy family dinner as they still needed their space their space. George took a deep breath and stepped towards the kitchen, Hermione on his tail. He slowly opened the door and all eyes fell on him. Hermione was still hidden behind him.
"GEORGE!" Molly cried as she ran over to hug her son. She held him tight and when she opened her eyes, she saw Hermione standing in front of her. "Hermione dear." She smiled softly.
"Hi Molly."
"Hi mum."
"I missed you. Why didn't you come earlier? We could have had dinner together as a family?" She asked as Hermione and George walked further in the kitchen. Harry and Ginny ran over and hugged her tight before moving to George. The whole family greeted them, most of them with worried looks on their faces. George and Hermione sat down at the end of the table. Hermione reached her hand over to George's under the table and gave it a squeeze.
"We are actually here to tell you something."
Molly's eyes went wide and shifted from George to Hermione and back. Harry and Ginny looked confused at each other while the rest of the family looked with furrowed eyebrows at them.
"As all of you know, I'm having a really hard time processing everything. This is the first time I came out of my room since-" He swallowed hard looking down at the table. "I think it is time for another approach." He glanced at Hermione who continued.
"I'm leaving tomorrow to go find my parents and restore their memories. George doesn't want to be alone and I wouldn't want to leave him alone either, he then offered to accompany me." She looked around the table, all eyes fixed on her.
"But- George you could stay here with us. He needs his family." Molly proposed.
"Mione is family." George said steadfast.
"Molly dear." Arthur said next to her. "George needs to find his own way. Hermione has been there since the start when we couldn't. If this is what he wants to do to find closure and move on, we should let him."
Molly sighed looking at her husband before looking back at the both of them. "Alright. Where are you going?"
"Australia. I sent them there with new identities. So, it may take a while before we find them... if we find them."
"We'll find them Mione." She looked back at George and gave him a sad smile.
"Do you know where to start?" Ron asked from the other side of the table.
"We'll start in Sydney. That's where their plane landed and we will see from there."
"Keep us posted." Bill added. "And if you need anything. Owl us, sent a patronus, anything. We'll be right there."
"Thank you, Bill." Hermione smiled at the oldest brother.
It grew silent at the table and Hermione tried to avoid Harry's gaze as she was afraid she would spill everything. She saw in Molly's eyes she was still uncertain that this would be the best for George to do at the moment but kept quiet as Arthur held her hand. Ron was picking at his dessert not eating it while Percy sat next to him staring out the window, grief in his eyes as he felt guilty about Fred's death. Charlie, Bill and Fleur were looking at George with sad eyes. Even though George was devastated, he hated the looks his family gave him. That was one of the reasons he kept his distance.
George cleared his throat before letting go of Hermione's hand and stood up.
"We better get going. Still need to do some packing."
"Oh! Molly do you mind if Crooks stays here for a bit longer?" Hermione asked as she rose next to George.
"Hmm?" Molly's glazed over eyes found her. "No that's fine dear. He likes chasing the gnomes."
"Thank you."
"We'll see you soon." George said crossing the table and hugging his parents and the rest of the family while Hermione said goodbye to Harry, Ginny and Ron. They walked to the fireplace and disappeared.
"I'm worried about them."
"Me too." Arthur answered and pulled his wife in a side hug both staring at the empty doorway.
- FWHGFWHGFWHGFWHGFWHGFWHGFW -
When George and Hermione stepped out of the fireplace at the flat, George let out a deep sigh and dropped on the sofa with his head against the back looking up at the ceiling. He felt the sofa dip as Hermione sat down next to him.
"That went better than I thought. I thought mum would've lost it."
"Probably would have if your father wasn't there." Hermione answered as she too dropped her head against the back. They sat in silence for a moment before George turned his head to her.
"Mione."
"Yeah?" She turned and looked him in the eyes.
"When we get Fred back, I promise you, I'll get your parents back."
"Thanks Georgie." She dropped her head on his shoulder and not long after they both fell asleep.
The next day they woke up with sore necks and quickly packed the rest of their bags before heading to the ministry to pick up the portkey. They floo'd over to the ministry and carefully looked around trying not to bump into someone they knew. They quickly made it to the lifts and went down to level 5. They came early so they weren't a lot of people around.
"Good morning. How can I help you?" A middle-aged witch behind the counter asked them nicely.
"Good morning. We are here to pick up the portkey on the name Granger."
"Alright. Give me a moment. I'll be right back." Hermione smiled at the witch before she disappeared behind a door. She looked back and saw that George sat himself down on one of the few chairs in the hallway. She walked over to him and held his hand. They waited in silence for the witch to come back. The door opened again and Hermione jumped up and walked to the counter.
"Here you are Miss Granger. Do you know how it works?"
"Yes Ma'am."
"Great. The portkey will activate in an hour. If you want to come back via portkey you have to arrange one in the country you will be staying at." She handed the box over.
"Thank you. Have a nice day."
"You too."
Hermione put the box in her bag before they made their way back to the lifts and floo'd home. They arrived back in the flat, gathered their stuff and waited in the living room. Hermione opened the box the witch gave her and pulled out an old house key. George bent forward and took the key in his hand turning it over. He shrugged and gave it back to Hermione. Hermione looked down and saw Luna's ring on her finger.
"Oh!" She cried out and reached for her wand. "My hair." She put the tip of her wand against her head and whispered a spell. Her hair changed to light blonde with soft curls.
"That's weird." George twirled a lock around his finger grinning.
"Are you going as a Weasley or?" She pointed her wand at her head.
"We are purebloods but maybe it would help if we say we are siblings. So do your best Mione."
She grinned and tapped his head with her wand. She chuckled as his hair changed. "That is even more disturbing."
"Oi! It can't be that bad?" George jumped up and walked towards the mirror. "Oh, maybe it can. This is so weird." He says as Hermione came up next to him. "But I think we can pull off brother and sister." He gave her a small smile before heading back to the sofa.
"How long?" He asked
"Just a few minutes. Do you have everything blondie?"
"Yeah. Even though the shop is closed I owled Lee to keep an eye out."
"Good." She nodded as she stood up and walked over the cupboard. She picked up a picture of her, George and Fred. She stared at it and tears filled her eyes. George jumped up and pulled her in a hug.
"We'll get him back Mione. I can feel it." He whispered in her hair. She sniffed and was about to answer when the key began to vibrate.
"It's time Georgie."
George summoned his bag, stuffed the picture Hermione had been staring at in it the bag and they both hooked a finger around the key. They felt the familiar pull behind the bellybutton and seconds after the flat was empty.
They arrived at MACUSA in New York. Their eyes went big as they stared at the entrance hall, dozens of people were walking in and out of the building, paper airplanes flying over them, it was much bigger than the ministry in London. They were so distracted that they didn't notice a wizard approaching them.
"Name and reason for visitation?"
"George and Hermione Lovegood. We are here to find our long-lost family." Hermione looked back at the wizard. He was short with pitch black hair and a big mustache.
"Follow me." He beckoned them over as he looked over his papers. He walked towards his desk and summoned several papers. "Everything seems in order. I see you asked to look at our archives?"
"Yes sir. I applied a couple of days ago."
The short wizard hummed as he scanned his papers. "The first available appointment is in three days." Hermione felt George's shoulders slump but kept her gaze at the wizard in front of her.
"That's great."
"Do you have a place to stay?"
"No, not yet."
"You can choose to stay over at several muggle hotels in the area but we also have a wizarding hotel just a half hour from here if you would like. We have a floo connection with the hotel. But I have to say it isn't cheap.
"That is not a problem sir. We would like to stay at the wizarding hotel." George said politely.
"Very well." He handed over a pamphlet of the hotel. "It's The Simmering Cauldron. Only accessible for Wizards and Witches."
George took the pamphlet and looked over the information of the hotel while Hermione looked back at the wizard.
"Is there a wizarding town nearby or a place where we could we meet more witches and wizards?"
"You have a community on North Brother Island. You can apparate there." The wizard said as he pulled out another pamphlet from under his desk. Hermione took it and scanned the pamphlet before putting it in her purse.
"So, your appointment is Thursday at 9 sharp. If you have any questions in the meantime you can always drop by." The wizard smiled behind his mustache.
"Thank you, sir." George got up from his seat and handed the pamphlet from the hotel to Hermione.
"Thank you." Hermione shook his hand after George released it. The wizard came from behind his desk and gestured them to the fireplace.
"My pleasure. I'll send you to the hotel so you can get situated." He grabbed some floo powder after Hermione and George nodded their agreement and he called out "The Simmering Cauldron." and they were gone.
