Hi all – returning to fanfic after 8 years just to stretch those creative muscles a bit in lockdown! I'm sure this has been done before, but I have always considered this headcannon. Appreciate any feedback :) - merlinhelz
Monica ran her hands along the bookshelf, smiling as her hand passed over each book. The sun was streaming through the window as through reminding the world spring was here again. A middle age woman with bright pink lipstick smiled at her as she walked past with an armful of books.
Monica froze for a moment, as an owl flew past the window. Startled, she blinked rapidly and quickly realised that it was a kookaburra. Of course, it would be, in this sleepy town on the coast. It had always been her life's dream to move to Australia and she took comfort that she was finally living her dream.
The comfort was short lived, she looked down to see her hand resting on A Winter's Tale. Monica frowned, like the bird it felt it made her feel uneasy again. She stared at it, as though looking at it would uncover its secrets, but all that she felt was a slight pain in her head. Sometimes this happened when…
"Can I help you?" the kind lady with the pink lipstick asked. She gestured to the shelf of books, "Are you a fan of Shakespeare?"
"I don't know," replied Monica truthfully. She felt as though she was somehow, but was she? Her head was hurting now. "It's always been my dream to move to Australia," she found herself replying instead.
"Oh, wonderful dear," the lady said in a motherly tone. She smiled kindly. "How long have you been in Newcastle for?"
"Two months now. It's beautiful here." Monica smiled vacantly. "It's always been my life's dream to move to Australia." Her smile dropped. Why had she said that again? She shook the feeling away.
"Yes, my dear," the lady patted her on the shoulder kindly. "We are lucky to have you here, we get quite a few Brits down here and they never want to leave." She winked, "the weather is just too nice. Can I interest you in our special offer today…"
Later that evening, Monica sat down with her husband. The kind lady at the bookstore had convinced here to purchase a few books. She took them out of her bag one by one and paused when she got to A Winter's Tale. She looked at the cover and very briefly felt incurably sad.
"Wendell?" she asked before she had even realised what she was saying. "Why didn't we have a child?"
"Because it was our lifelong dream to move to Australia," he responded instantly.
She paused. He was right of course, it had always been their dream. The headache was niggling at the back of her head again, fighting against a new feeling in her chest. She took a breath, trying not to think but to feel. "But Wendell, do you ever feel like something is missing?"
"But it's always been our lifelong dream to move to…"
"Is that all you want though?" she cut him off. "I was so happy when we got here, but lately I can't help but feel like something was missing?"
He paused. For a moment she felt a true connection to him, like he somehow shared in her sorrow. Her headache worsened but she pushed through. She looked away breaking the connection. What was wrong with her? Why did she feel so confused?
She looked down at the book again. Before she knew what she was saying, the words were already out of her mouth, "Wendell, I think we should have a baby."
Hermione stood in the boarding line, trying to hold in her nerves. Everything had been so clinical up until this point. Step one, book the tickets. Step two, pack. Step two, get to the airport. Step three, confound the officials so that Ron could pass through – there hadn't been time to procure him a passport. Now that is was time to wait – that was when the worry set in.
Memory charms were not things to be trifled with. It had taken her a month of research, reading and practicing to find the right one to cast. Finally, she had packed their things and booked their flights. They were watching TV when she stood behind them and cast the charm – when they had turned around she simply said that she was there to take them to the airport.
They had believed her.
She looked over and saw Ron gazing with wonder at the planes. He hadn't complained at all when she had suggested flying the muggle way. To be truthful, the last thing she wanted to be doing was walk into the ministry right now to get to connection through the right international Floo networks, or to charm some sort of object to fly them 10,000 miles. No, the muggle way in this case was the most efficient.
Ron reached out his hand, as though he could tell she was anxious. Among all the mixed emotions, still couldn't believe that they were together. She smiled and him and he smiled back. They could do this.
Boarding began. In only twenty-four hours she would be reunited with her parents.
Despite Ron's enthusiasm for the planes at first - "but how do they stay in the air?" was said more than once, both Ron and Hermione were relieved to touch down in Sydney. From there they quickly made their way through the airport (with a little strategic confounding) and were able to duck out of site of the cameras apparated to Newcastle a few hours away.
Despite never having been there, Hermione could picture the little house very clearly. She had kept a photo of it hidden in her little beaded bag the whole year, charming it so it would only reveal to her. At times, when she was feeling, she had pulled it out to stare at it, wondering how her parents who never understood her were living without even knowing her name.
Lost in thought, she was brought back to reality by Ron once again grabbing her hand. He smiled encouragingly at her, "It will be okay, if anyone can lift off this charm it is you."
She knocked on the door.
Immediately, she could hear some slow, but heavy footsteps pottering around the house. Her heart rate sped up even further and she counted down the seconds. It was finally all over. It was time for them to all be safe again.
Finally, the door swung open.
Hermione froze for a second. Relief washed over her as she found herself looking at her mother's face. There was so much comfort in those familiar brown eyes. Emotion welled up in her – finally everything would be right again.
She looked over at Ron, who was looking quite confused.
"Can I help you?" Hermione's mother asked. Hermione realised that she hadn't said anything and cleared her throat. She looked at Ron for help but for some reason he appeared to be in shock.
"Um yes, my name is Hermione and this is Ron."
Ron nudged her in the ribs.
"Hermione," her mother trailed off, "What a strange coincidence."
Ron again nudged Hermione in the ribs, as though he was trying to get her to notice something. She shook her head at him, she had read extensively that the calmer people were when they had their memories restored, the better the outcome. She had to ensure her parents felt like nothing was wrong.
"Mu-Monica," she continued. "We here to conduct a home inspection on smoke alarms." Hermione shook her head. They had practiced this. The key was to get inside, safely and calmly so they could reverse the spell.
"Hermione," Ron nudged her in the ribs again. "Your mother…". Hermione shot him a look to silence him.
A voice called out from the kitchen. "Honey, who's at the door? Are you and little Hermione okay?"
Hermione stopped for a moment. What? How had her father known her name?
She looked at Ron, who, giving up all pretences pointed at her mother's stomach.
Her mother, mistaking her confusion said, "Oh, he doesn't mean you love," she said shyly. "We've just named our baby Hermione also. She's due at the end of winter."
With horror, Hermione finally saw what she had been missing. Tearing her eyes away from her mothers' face for the first time she looked down at her body. Her mother was visibly pregnant, likely about six or seven months along.
Dropping all pretence, she stared at her mother. "You're pregnant. How?"
Ron however, had started laughing. "Another bloody Hermione, because clearly one wasn't enough."
Thanks for reading I had a lot of fun writing! If you like please review or read one of my other stories