Mum and Dad had, for as long as Hermione could remember, been of the social sort. She had inherited her curiosity from the both of them. While her tendency prompted her to read half the Hogwarts library, they were endlessly eager to meet new people.

When she had mentioned that she would be returning late the next night due to entertaining out-of-town friends, they insisted on giving the tourists at least an hors d'oeuvre. Harry had commented that perhaps they could help out a bit on the memory matter. Ron screwed up his face and expressed the hope that they weren't going to serve anything sugar-free.

Hermione had smiled patiently and left them with a single sentence: "Be here at six and if you are late or attempt to charm any of them, I'll show you the new hex I've been reading about."

They turned up at six on the dot, undoubtedly encouraged by the thought of home-cooked food. Mum let them in the front door, since the maternal side of her refused to let an unfamiliar man into the house without first passing inspection.

Both of them were wearing the England National colors of red and blue, but Ron had at least foregone the practice of painting any part of his body or charming his hair to match his team's colors. Instead, he wore a red t-shirt and blue jeans, while Harry wore a blue jacket over his red t-shirt and a pair of dark trousers. Even as someone who had become accustomed to the Wizarding world's sometimes odd fashion sense, Hermione was immensely grateful that they had made such an effort.

"Mrs. Wilkins," Hermione said, "these are two friends of mine from school. Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley."

"Hello," Ron said.

"Pleased to meet you," Harry added.

"A pleasure," Mum said graciously. "Please come in."

It felt unsurprisingly odd introducing her parents with such formality to the friends that they had seen frequently over the years. Harry and Ron accepted the invitation and she watched them do a quick scan of the living room, looking out for any sign that she had ever been here. After a moment, they turned their attention back to their hosts, Harry with a straight face and Ron looking slightly disgruntled at not having found anything.

"Wendell will be joining us in a moment," Mum explained. "Let's have a seat, shall we?"

True to her words, Dad emerged from the study a moment later. He immediately broke into a grin and crossed the room to greet his new victims.

"Wendell Wilkins," he introduced himself. "I understand you're friends of our favorite tenant?"

"Yes, sir," Harry agreed. "We knew Hermione at school."

"Splendid," Dad pronounced. "Monica, are we nearly ready?"

"Yes, dear," Mum called back from the kitchen. "Better get seated before it goes cold."

A few moments later, the pudding had been served and the usual interrogation began.

"So," Dad asked, "what is it that the two of you do?"

"I'm studying to be a teacher," Harry fudged.

"I'm a sportswriter," Ron said. "I'm down here for work and thought we might stop in to see how the resident bookworm was doing.

"I imagine she was a good academic influence on you both," Mum said as if she were quite familiar with the tenant that she had only known for a few days.

"She shamed us into doing well mostly," Ron laughed. "Drove us batty sometimes, but it always turned out we should have listened to her in the first place."

Mum smiled with a slightly wry sparkle in her eye. "Just like our..." Mum began.

She broke off, her smile disappearing behind a slightly bewildered expression. "I can't seem to remember," she murmured. "Wendell, who is that just like?"

"Haven't the slightest," Dad said, helping himself to another serving of pudding. "Sounds mostly like you. I could barely tear you away from your books for a date at first."

"True enough," she sighed, her smile returning more cautiously.

"Hermione was the same way," Ron confided. "It took a full seven years to get her to notice me."

"Nonsense," Hermione scoffed. "I noticed you early enough, but you were an immature prat at times. I had to wait for you to grow up."

"You two are together, then?" Dad asked.

"As much as we can be when on different continents," Ron said, casting a baleful look at Hermione. "I keep hoping she'll listen to me and come study closer to home."

"We'll see," she replied honestly.

A few moments passed while they ate their pudding in silence and Harry and Ron exchanged pointed looks. It was as if they were arguing silently about who would be the one to break their no-charming policy.

"So, I understand you're going to a football match tonight," Dad said before either of them could make up their mind.

"Yes," Harry responded. "Have you had a chance to see one here?"

"Heavens, no," Dad stated. "Monica's never been a fan and the University keeps me fairly swamped with work during the school year. I hear from the chaps after class that the Knights are doing very well this season. Tom Podeljak is making quite an impression."

Ron looked blank for a moment before remembering that, in theory, that was the team whose colors they were sporting tonight. "So I've heard," he said lamely.

"Well, perhaps if they continue to make it an exciting season, we'll watch a match or two on the telly," Mum suggested.

"Well, if you've got to be at the field on North Sunshine by seven, you'd better head out," Dad observed.

"Yes," Harry said quickly, checking his watch. "Mr. and Mrs. Wilkins, thank you for the pudding and the welcome."

"Yeah," Ron agreed enthusiastically, "it was great."

"Well, we'll be sure to see you before you fly out again," Mum encouraged. "Enjoy the match."

They followed Hermione out the door and to her flat, not speaking until they had entered.

"That," Ron pronounced, "was weird."

"It was," Harry concurred. "I think they're on the verge of remembering on their own, but still can't manage it."

"I know," Hermione called back. "Every time we have a conversation, I hear something else that makes me think that they're just one session in the spell damage ward away from coming back to their senses."

"Have you thought about that?" Harry suggested. "We could find out if St. Mungo's has any places down here that they'd recommend."

Hermione paused in pulling on her blue jumper. "I've thought about it," she confessed, "but I'd rather see if I can manage it myself."

"But you're not a Healer," Ron protested. "You might do something wonky with,their brains."

"Wonkier than convincing my Mum that Mili is her first?" Hermione shot back.

"Besides," Harry reasoned, "when has anything Hermione's put her mind to gone wrong?"

Her smile was hid as she pulled the jumper over her head, but she focused on getting ready to leave the house. When she had retrieved her handbag and keys, she shut off the living room lights and ushered the others from her flat.

"I still don't think it's quite safe," Ron added as they walked up Holden Street towards the Apparition point that they had chosen. "I mean, yes, Hermione is seven kinds of brilliant, but she's never done this before."

"It will be enough of a shock for them to find out what I did to them," she explained. "When they come to themselves, I don't want them being ogled like some rare specimen. Our kind think Muggles are peculiar as it is and I'm not sure exposing Mum and Dad to a hospital full of people staring at them would help."

"Good point," Harry said. "Have you got any more ideas on the how and when of reversing the spell?"

"Nothing concrete yet," Hermione stated, "but Ron's dad has put me in contact with some very helpful people at the Accidental Spell Reversal Squad. Professor Flitwick owled with some suggestions that he had found in his collection. If I choose to let the professionals do it, it will be after I know that I can't do anything more for them."

"I guess that makes sense," Ron conceded. "Still, it could take ages. Don't you want them back?"

Her mind focused on her mother's half-bewildered scowl at the dinner table. It had been the closest Mum had come in the time that Hermione had been there to realizing that she should recognize the person sitting across from her.

"Sounds mostly like you."

"Of course I do," Hermione murmured, "but I could have gotten someone else to do it a month ago. When they come back, I want it to be on all our terms."