Chapter 18: Taking Flight
From Hogwarts, to Germany, to Italy, to Romania, to Turkey, to Turkmenistan, to China, to Thailand, to Malaysia, to Indonesia, then over the Timor sea to Darwin, Australia. The journey took them over 16000 kilometres – about 9941.94 miles. Hermione and Draco opted to use planes when possible, but Draco not existing to muggles in the form of documentation, made travel difficult. They mostly stuck to their brooms, which Professor Flitwick had charmed to be as comfortable as possible. When they had the opportunity, they took trains, taxis and busses, and ate exotic foods. Hermione spent the last few days of the journey shopping in China, whereas Draco preferred the snorkelling and scuba diving lessons in Thailand. They both loved all the different cultures and ways of life, and they would sometimes bicker about who's meal was more daring – Draco's Spicy Indonesian Chicken, or Hermione's Spicy Indonesian Fish. They made friends and learned interesting words that they'll probably never pronounce. They often flew very far at a time, and when they finally discovered a place with food – which Draco always insisted to pay for – they could barely move from sitting still for so long. They often found themselves talking for hours at a time, and this is where Hermione learned that Draco meditates at night, to prevent nightmares from the war. Draco discovered exactly why Hermione's scar hurts, and he learned that it always bleeds whenever someone insults her heritage. He learned that Hermione doesn't have a favourite colour, because she likes all the colours, and Hermione learned that Draco would like to go skydiving some time. He apparently saw a video of people skydiving in muggle studies when he was eleven, and has wanted to try it since. They laughed and giggled, but also argued and bickered. They spent a lot of time walking along beaches, but they also found themselves in awkward situations, where their requests for water or restrooms would get lost in translation. Draco learned that Hermione's parents used to be like St. Mungo's healers, but for teeth. Hermione learned that Narcissa spent her days after the war knitting viciously, and that she liked to care for her rose garden. All in all, they were a sweet couple on a journey through the world. But then, when they arrived at the north most tip of Australia... Draco said something...
"Ah, to think, when this is finally over, I'll have no more trails... Nothing to worry about... No more Aurors on my back... Just gotta find the folks and I'm home free."
"What? Why would you say that? Did you do all of this just to clear your name? Was it all pretend? You were lying the whole time, weren't you? Probably thought it's a nice, easy way out? Befriend the muggleborn, travel the world, find the parents and your reputation is saved?" Hermione was on the verge of tears.
"No, 'Mione, no, that's not what I meant! Please don't understand it that way. I started the whole thing because I wanted a new page... I wanted to start over, but McGonagall gave me the opportunity to do exactly that when she offered I give you lessons. It was the perfect opportunity to make everything right. Please, understand. Along the way, I fell in love with you, you're brilliant and I love you, I wouldn't want to travel the world with anyone else, okay?" He walked over to her, and kissed her forehead.
"Okay." Hermione felt reassured.
Somehow, someway, through all the stumbling blocks, they managed to find her parents, somewhere near Sydney. They didn't know a thing about having a child, but the advanced memory spell Kingsley taught her soon recovered their memories. She introduced them to Draco, and they spent an evening discussing all post war activities. The Granger's promised to sell their house the next day – and move back to their old house as soon as they tied up the loose ends. When owled, McGonagall gave them permission to stay as long as they needed. All was well.
A few weeks later, when Hermione opened her trunk to unpack, she found the same note Dracohad scribbled the rune translation on so many moons ago. When she turned it around, there was a rune... Which, translated to latin, would say "te amo".
AN: Hey guys. Thanks for all the great reads, reviews and favourites. It was truly an honour writing something that other people enjoy and support. As I've stated previously, I don't own anything you recognize - just the plot. But I would like to keep it that way, please. If you see someone copying this story, please send me a personal message. My story is finished, and I will most likely not write anything anytime soon, but I do encourage you guys to talk to me if you have questions - I will not be deleting my account! I'm sorry if the story did not have as many twists as you guys hoped for, but at least its finished. A year and a half tends to change one's direction with a story. I know there are grammatical errors, errors with line spacing, etc., but I feel that I published my work just the way I want it to. For example, Lavender died in the war - but I wanted her to survive Greyback's attack, and so I did. It's a rough draft for a nice story, sketched in my mind. Thus I will not edit it, and I will not fix these errors - they make it original. It's not perfect - because it's not supposed to be. Thank you all for your beautiful messages through the story. I really do appreciate them all. I will not be writing a sequel, or epilogue, because I want you guys to use some imagination and take the characters where you want them. Again, thanks guys. My dearest wishes for you all. xxxxxxxxxxxx