A/N: Ahhhhh long chapter! To make up for all the time I wasn't writing. I'm so sorry. Forgive me! I got into a rut. I'm out of it. I'm sorry. Please enjoy the chapter! Also, I'm so sorry for this chapter, but it needed to be done. Don't kill me. :( Much Love- Bookworm

Harry was standing in front of Voldemort, his wand raised. Hermione's hand flew to her mouth in shock, Harry was alive. Voldemort had his wand raised toward Molly, but had frozen when Harry had appeared. Hermione watched Harry flick his wand, and quickly realized that he had just placed a protego charm around himself and Voldemort, effectively locking them into a bubble and in doing so, keeping anyone else from helping him.

"Potter." Voldemort said, rage filled his face.

"Riddle." Harry said calmly. "I don't want anyone to help me. It has to be me. One of us will die."

Hermione watched on as Harry and Voldemort began to circle each other, her heart pounding dangerously at the situation. She bit her lip as Harry began to speak again, about his mother, Dumbledore, and even Snape. Neither of them had cast any curses or spells, they only circled each other and spoke. Harry looked clam, and it struck her that in this moment, he reminded her of Dumbledore, the man he had looked up to the most in this world.

Voldemort, on the other hand, looked positively murderous. With every word he spoke, his eyes seemed to grow more red, the malice becoming thicker and thicker in his voice as each moment passed. Harry seemed to be egging him on a bit, as he continued to call Voldemort by his given name instead of his self imposed moniker.

Harry continued to speak, laying out Dumbledore's secret plan for Harry, how Snape hadn't been loyal to Voldemort since he had killed Lily Potter. This seemed to be cause for a pause from Voldemort, as his footsteps faltered a bit. Harry continued on to lay out the details on why the Elder Wand hadn't been performing it's promised unbeatable magic for Voldemort. Hermione drew her eyes away from the pair in the middle of the Hall and glanced around, everyone stood in shock, silent and tired, against the walls. There was an invisible force that separated the Death Eaters and the people of Hogwarts,though they ignored each other in favor of watching the two leaders in the middle of them all. So many people looked scared, scared of what was happening, and scared of what would happen if it didn't go their way. Hermione took a deep breath, and jumped a little when she felt a hand encase hers. She looked to her side, and tears filled her eyes at the sight of George. He was watching the exchange in front of them, but held tight to her hand as fearful tears escaped Hermione's eyes.

"I am the true master of the Elder Wand." Harry said, just as the sun rose and shone through the windows of the Great Hall. It was as though they were put in a spotlight, and both Harry and Voldemort raised their wands once more.

"Avada Kedavra!" Voldemort cast his spell.

"Expelliarmus!" Harry shouted at the same time. Hermione felt dread well in her stomach as their spells clashed between them. What good would a disarming charm do against the killing curse? Her question was answered by the Elder Wand flying through the air, Harry catching it with ease from years of being a seeker. Voldemort's body fell to the ground, limp and lifeless, and the Great Hall became silent. As the realization of what had just happened fell upon them, the Death Eaters began to rush the exit, hoping to escape before they would meet the same fate as their master. Members of the Order quickly acted and spelled the doors shut and subduing the Death Eaters that had survived the battle. Kingsley quickly took charge and sent out patronuses to reliable people that remained in the ministry, calling them to Hogwarts and quickly giving them instructions to arrest certain people that were loyal to Voldemort at the ministry.

Hermione was still holding tightly to George's hand, frozen in shock. Ron had run to Harry, and had tightly embraced him, as cheers erupted around them. George also seemed to be stuck in place, until Fred pulled him into a hug, and effectively ripping his hand out from Hermione's. She slowly moved herself away from the crowd forming in the middle of the Hall, until she was pressed against the wall behind her. He knees gave out, and she felt the stone scratch her back as everything she had held in the last few months came spilling out. Relief flooded through her as tears streamed down her face. She swiped them away as quickly as she could, but eventually she couldn't keep her arms up. She let her eyes close, and rather thought that the floor was quite comfortable. She felt her body slide sideways, and faintly registered the pain on the side of her head, but decided that it could wait until she had slept.

"Hermione… Hermione please wake up." A familiar voice woke her slightly, and she opened her eyes to see a familiar face. She closed her eyes again, and smiled a little.

"Fred.. I just want to sleep…" She muttered.

"I'm not… absolutely, love. Let's just get you to a cot."

"Okay." She mumbled, feeling arms slide under her and lift her up.

"Merlin… you're just skin and bones…" The sad whisper was the last thing she remembered.

George was infuriated. This should be Fred. He should be the one holding her hand, but he was nowhere around. Hermione had been asleep for over a day, and they had brought her, Harry, and Ron back to the Burrow. She had only stirred a little, and George was worried that if she didn't wake up and eat something soon, she might die. He couldn't lose her. Not after everything. George was exhausted. He and Fred had fought for hours, he still refused to see that Hermione didn't just let Percy die. George had done everything he could to convince Fred that there had been nothing else to do, but Fred had only stormed off, saying that he was going back to their flat and would come back when she was gone.

George heard the door open and close, but kept his eyes on Hermione. A hand landed on his shoulder, and he jumped a little.

"I'm sorry love. I didn't mean to frighten you. I just wondered if you would like some dinner?" His mum asked kindly.

"Could I have it up here?" George asked, pulling his tired eyes away from Hermione to look at his mother.

"Of course. I'll bring a little extra, just in case." She assured him with a small smile. George nodded, and turned his attention back to Hermione. It wasn't long before Molly was back to the room with the food, and she took a seat next to George in an empty chair. She had set one plate on the small table next to the bed, and held one out to George, who took it gratefully. They both sat still, not eating, only watching Hermione.

"Thanks mum, but you don't have to stay." George said after a few moments.

"I know. I want to." She said. "You care so much for her…. are you..?" She trailed off, and raised her eyebrows at George.

"Mum. No. I love her, but not like that. She's one of us. Even if Fred is being a prat." He explained, and she nodded.

"I just wanted to make sure. You know, your uncles once fell in love with the same girl. They decided to both let her go, if one of them couldn't have her, neither would." She told him.

"Mum, I'm not in love with Hermione." George said firmly.

"Alright dear…. Do you know what's happened with Hermione and Fred?" She asked him.

"Yes… do you?" He asked.

"Fred told me." She said, nodding. "I tried to reason with him, but he wouldn't hear it."

"She called me Fred. At Hogwarts. She called me Fred. She's never mixed us up before." George told her.

"You can't blame her. She was asleep."

"I know. But… she's going to think that Fred was the one who helped her. It'll break her heart." He explained.

"She'll have you. She'll be fine." She assured him. A large yawn escaped George, making Molly chuckle slightly. "I think you should sleep, I'll put your food up. Get some rest." She said, standing and taking his plate as she planted a quick kiss on his temple.

George stood as she left the room, and patted his pockets in search for his wand, intending to transfigure his chair into a cot, but then remembered he had left it by the fireplace when they had come home. He groaned and considered going to grab it, but didn't want to leave Hermione. He rolled his eyes, and decided to just climb into the bed next to Hermione. The moment his head hit the pillow, his mind went blank and sleep overtook him.

When Hermione woke, the first thought that reached her mind was that she was thirsty. The second, was that she knew the room she was in. She sat up, and glanced around at the room she had frequently shared with Ginny at the Burrow. Her eyes landed on the other person in the bed, and for a fleeting moment she was overjoyed by the sight of Fred, but she quickly recognized that it was not Fred, but George that had been laying next to her. She carefully stood from the bed, not wanting to wake him. She quietly left the room and shut the door behind her, and made the familiar trek down the stairs of the Borrow and into the kitchen, where she was met with the entire Weasley clan and Harry, minus Fred.

"Hermione. Your awake!" Harry said, jumping up from his seat and pulling her into a hug. Hermione laughed and hugged him back, patting his back a couple times.

"I'm fine. I'm fine." Hermione said. Harry released her and she was then hugged by every other person in the room, all of whom gave her whispered words of thanks.

"I'm thirsty." Hermione finally said after Molly let her go.

"Oh of course. You sit, I'll get you a glass of water. Or perhaps I should make some tea?" Molly said, making her way to the tap.

"Tea please?" Hermione asked softly.

"Of course dear. Is George still asleep?" Molly asked, busying herself with the tea.

"Erm, yes." Hermione answered, avoiding eye contact with everyone around the table.

"Ah, we'll let him sleep a bit longer." Molly said.

"How- how long was I asleep?" Hermione asked tentatively.

"Almost two days… You collapsed in the Great Hall yesterday morning, and it's almost time for bed now." Ginny answered from next to Hermione.

"What happened?" Hermione asked.

"Maybe we should discuss this tomorrow dear?" Molly suggested as she began to pour the tea into cups for everyone.

"No. I want to know." Hermione insisted. Molly let out a sigh before nodding and handing out the teacups.

"Well…" Bill spoke, glancing around at the room. "Kingsley got a hold of some people at the ministry. They made more than a dozen arrests inside the ministry, and they gathered up the Death Eaters from Hogwarts. Kingsley was made interim Minister, until a proper election is held. He's working on fixing up Azkaban, and is reappointing people to the Wizengamot so that the trials can get underway. Most of the trials are just a courtesy measure, but there are a few people who's loyalty to Voldemort has been questioned, and they will undergo a proper trial. You lot have already been pardoned for any and all crimes committed during the war, which really was just breaking into Gringotts and stealing property. They haven't decided what to do about Hogwarts yet, but I'm sure this summer they will fix it up. The world is already trying to get back to normal." Bill told her as she sipped her tea.

"Is that really… is that all? Is it really over?" Hermione asked, directing this question to Harry.

"It's over." Harry confirmed.

"Well, besides the trials. I'm sure you lot will need to testify." Arthur said. Hermione glanced up at him, her eyes wide. "I'm so sorry." He said, looking grim.

"When will they start?" Hermione asked, turning her gaze down to her cup.

"Kingsley wants to start them as soon as possible, hopefully within the week."

"Right. Then I have a week to find my parents." Hermione said, standing from her seat.

"Where are your parents?" Came a voice from the doorway behind Hermione. She turned to see George, and gave him a sad smile.

"Fred didn't tell you?" She asked.

"Tell me what?"

"I obliviated them, and sent them to Australia." Hermione told him. There were gasps around the room, and Hermione glanced around to see everyone staring at her with shock.

"You did what?" Arthur asked, his face had gone pale.

"I had no other choice. I couldn't send them here, you lot would have been in too much danger, and I had never told them about Voldemort. If I had, they would have taken me away. I did the only thing I could." She explained.

"Do you know how to reverse it?" Ginny asked, and Hermione bit her lip, not giving an answer. "Oh Hermione." Ginny said softly, figuring the answer out for herself.

"I'll figure it out, I just need to find them first." Hermione insisted.

"Do you know where they are?" Bill asked.

"I gave them a brochure, I'm hoping they bought one of the houses in it." Hermione answered.

"I'll go with you." Bill said. Hermione opened her mouth to protest, but before she was able to get a word out, Bill continued to speak. "Hermione, I'm a trained curse-breaker. I can help. I can help them get their memories back." He told her. She remained silent for a moment before nodding.

"Can we go tomorrow?" Hermione asked, eager to see her parents again.

"Are you alright to travel? We have to portkey, because of the distance." Bill asked her.

"I'm fine."

"Then I don't see why not." Bill said with a shrug.

"I'm coming with." George said, fully walking into the room.

"George…" Hermione said, wanting to tell him no.

"Hermione." He said, staring at her, his eyes pleading.

"Okay." She agreed softly.

They all woke early the next morning, Bill had been up longer than Hermione and George, and had taken it upon himself to wake them. He had found them once again in the same bed, and had woken them at the same time, looking angry as he did so.

"We need to get going. I made arrangements for a portkey, and if we don't leave now, we'll miss it." He told them, waiting for George to exit the room to get changed before he turned to Hermione, his eyes flashing.

"What are you doing?" He asked, glaring at her.

"What are you talking about Bill?" Hermione asked, her eyes wide with confusion.

"Aren't you with Fred? What are you doing, shacking up with George?" He asked, crossing his arms.

"Bill, it's not like that… I just didn't want to be alone last night. I love Fred, I would never do anything to hurt him.." Hermione said, hurt filling her face. Bill's stance softened, though he still looked guarded.

"People say that they are the same person… You aren't just replacing Fred, are you?" He asked.

"No, of course not. Fred means everything to me… I did everything for him, Bill. George is my best friend. They aren't the same person at all. I'm in love with Fred, not George." She explained, looking down at her hands.

"Promise?" Bill asked.

"I promise. He's like my brother. Just like you, just like Ron. Nothing more." She said, frowning.

"Well… alright then. You should get dressed, we really should be going." Bill said, exiting the room.

Hermione let out a deep sigh, and quickly dressed, eager to leave and get her parents back. They all left the house quietly before they apparated to the Ministry to catch their portkey. Kingsley had been there, waiting for them, and had shown them to their transportation just as it began to glow.

"Alright. You lot ready?" Bill asked. With a nod from both Hermione and George, they all grabbed onto the glowing muggle rotary phone, and they were pulled from the ground. Hermione kept her eyes tightly shut, feeling dizzy even though she couldn't see the spinning, she only felt it. After a long time, she heard Bill shout to let go, and she did so without hesitation. She stumbled a bit on landing, but was saved from falling by Bill, who grabbed her arm and steadied her.

"Thanks." Hermione said, taking a deep breath of the warm afternoon air of Sydney.

"Merlin Bill, where are we?" George asked, glancing around.

"Just a ways from the city, we couldn't very well portkey right next to the Ministry, and that's where we need to go first." Bill answered. He gestured forward, and they began to walk in silence. Hermione was suddenly very grateful that Bill had come along, as she would have had no idea where to go from here. She and George followed behind Bill, who had been to Sydney before and knew where to find the ministry, and they soon came to a run down building that Bill gestured for them to enter first.

Unlike the outside of the building, the inside was bustling with life, and the opposite of run down. Bill led them to what was obviously a check-in desk, and laid his wand down on the wood. He glanced back at Hermione and George, and nodded for them to do the same.

"Nationality?" The witch behind the desk asked in a bored voice.

"British. All three of us." Bill answered. The witch finally looked up at them and nodded while taking their wands. She did a quick spell on each one, and asked for the wand owner to declare their name after.

"Bill Weasley."

"George Weasley."

"Hermione Granger." At her name, the witch did a double take, and her mouth fell open.

"As in- Harry Potter's friends?" She asked. Hermione awkwardly looked away and nodded.

"Thank you. So much. You have given us all our freedom back." The witch said, standing and giving her a small, unneeded bow.

"What do you mean? Voldemort was in Britain, not Australia." Bill said, his brow furrowing.

"So many families went abroad, many of them came hear, and they were traced. We lost so many people, magic and muggle." At this news, Hermione went pale. She had thought Australia would be safe. George glanced at Hermione, and seeing her face, grabbed onto her hand reassuringly.

"We are… we are looking for a couple people actually." George said, and the witch's eyes went wide.

"Oh… Oh I'm so sorry. But I must ask you to come with me." She said. Bill nodded, and the three of them followed her further into the building, and into what looked like an interrogation room. Hermione looked around uneasily, wishing that she had her wand.

"I'll have someone be with you in just a moment." She told them, quickly exiting the room and leaving them alone.

"What's going on?" George asked, turning to face Bill. Bill only shrugged and took a seat in one of the empty chairs. Hermione stayed close by the door, not liking the feeling of being trapped.

"They took our wands." She muttered to herself.

"That's expected. Every foreign country has their own screening process for foreigners." Bill told them lazily. They waited a short five minutes before a burly wizard walked into the room, carrying a thick binder of papers.

"I'm so sorry it took me so long, I had to update my list." He said, shaking his head somberly.

"What do you mean? Why are we being held?" Hermione asked, feeling the panic start to settle in her mind.

"Oh, I'm sorry. My name is Hubbert. I work in the Foreign affairs office. You are looking for someone, are you not?" He asked, his gaze flicking between the three of them.

"Yes, we are. Their memories have been altered, to keep them safe. And they moved here, as a result." Bill said, taking charge of the situation.

"Right then." The man said, taking a seat across form Bill and setting the binder down. "We had to come up with a protocol, to help foreigners find their loved ones, and this was the easiest way to narrow things down. The deceased from the war have been buried already, we couldn't always track down family, or they had none. You are the first to come looking for someone, so this is a test run of sorts, but in order to determine if you will be allowed to roam the country for them, we need to first determine if they are alive or not. This binder… it contains the name of everyone we found that had been attacked, or had traces of magic on them when they were discovered." He said, sliding the binder to Bill. He glanced up at Hermione, who took a deep breath before nodding.

"Right. Hermione, who are we looking for?" Bill asked, opening the binder to the first page.

"Monica and Wendell Wilkins." Hermione spoke softly. Bill nodded, and began to flip through pages, scanning his finger down the lists. Hermione watched on, nervously biting the inside of her cheek as he did so. He read through the lists quickly, and Hermione let out a breath when he reached the last page, but it caught in her throat when his finger stilled halfway down the full page of names.

"I… Hermione…" Bill whispered, looking over at her.

Hermione's mind went blank, and she felt herself stop breathing. This couldn't be happening, they had come to set them right. Hermione felt her feet move on their own accord, and she reached the table that Bill and Hubbert were sitting at. She pulled the binder out from under Bill's hand, and scanned her own finger down the page until her fingertips were just under the line that read 'Monica Wilkins, Wendell Wilkins (sp.) - No relatives found-'. Her palm went flat on the page, and she felt her knees give out from under her. George caught her under the arms, and Bill quickly stood and pushed the chair under her so she could sit.

"Hermione?" George asked, worried. He knelt down next to her, and Hermione turned to look at him.

"I… I tried to save them." She whispered.

"I know, I know." George said, nodding. Hermione noticed tears beginning to fill his eyes, and confusion filled her. She should be crying, why was he? She looked back down at the page and traced the names slightly with her finger.

"What if it isn't them? What if… I mean, I just made up the names, maybe it isn't them." Hermione said faintly, though she didn't think that it was likely.

"We… Erm, we have pictures of everyone." Hubbert said, watching Hermione nervously.

"Get them." She said in a whisper. Hubbert left the room, closing the door gently behind him. She remained silent, refusing to open her mouth as she now felt nauseous.

"Hermione…" Bill began to speak, but she shook her head. She didn't want to give up hope. She had done this to save them, they couldn't be dead. Only a few minutes had passed when Hubbert came back, holding a yellow envelope. He set it down in front of Hermione, and she gingerly picked it up with shaking hands. There was a large label on the front of it that read 'M&W Wilkins'. She opened It slowly and slid out the picture. As soon as she saw their faces, her world seemed to stop. A sob escaped her throat, and tears immediately began to rush down her cheeks. She brought the photo of them to her chest, and allowed her grief to overtake her. This would be the last time she saw them smile, the last time she saw them at all. They had died because of her, not even knowing who she was, not knowing who they were.

"I'll give you a moment." Hubbert said, standing and walking to the door again. "My deepest condolences, Miss Granger." He said, before exiting the room.

"Hermione…" Bill began again, but George shook his head.

"Give us a minute?" George asked softly to his brother, wiping his own tears quickly from his cheeks. He had met the Grangers, he had liked them, and in this moment he could feel Hermione's grief. Bill nodded, and silently left the room, his head hung low.

"Hermione. I'm so sorry." George whispered, kneeling down next to her and placing his hand on her knee.

"It's my fault. It's all my fault." Hermione cried, turning to face him. His heart cracked when he saw her face. She looked nothing like the brave girl he had known for seven years. Nothing like the happy and mischievous girl that had helped him plan pranks. She just looked broken.

"It's not. You did everything you could." He whispered, shaking his head.

"No… No… I could have-" Hermione's voice broke as her breathing became faster, and George could see the panic in her eyes. "I want to go home." She whispered.

"We will. We'll go home." He assured her, pulling her into a hug. She kept the photo against her chest, and sobbed heavily into George's shoulder.

"I killed them… and I killed Percy…" George heard her muffled voice against him.

"No, you didn't. You protected them, as best you could. You can't save everyone Hermione." George said, allowing his own tears to rain down into her hair. "You did everything you could." He repeated. He held her in his arms for a long time, until her shaking stopped, and his tears stopped. When she finally pulled away, he searched her face sadly, but only seeing emptiness, he helped her out of the chair and out the door to meet Bill. He noted that she was still clutching the photograph of her parents, but chose to stay silent about it.

When they exited the room, Bill stood from the chair he had claimed, and took the couple steps to meet them. He held a hand out, and placed it on Hermione's elbow, and she transferred herself to him, clutching blindly to his arm. George took a moment to collect himself before going to the check-in desk and asking for their wands and a portkey back to London. When he had secured their transportation and wands, he made his way back to Bill and Hermione. Bill quickly took his wand back, but Hermione just glanced at hers then looked away from it. George stuck it and his own into his pocket, and led the group to the room the witch had pointed out for the portkey. They only waited about five minutes, and the can that sat in the middle of the room began to glow. Without a word, they all grabbed a hold of it and they were lifted from the ground.

The moment they landed in the Ministry, Hermione turned away from them and vomited. Bill looked away from her, looking a bit sick himself, but George quickly pulled out his wand and vanished the mess. He took hold of Hermione's hand and took a deep breath to calm his own stomach. He gently squeezed her hand, and she looked at him with sad eyes.

"Home?" He asked, and she only nodded. Bill joined them, and they all locked arms before apparating them back to the Burrow.