A/N: It took me forever to update this but now it's finally here. Enjoy!

July

Her Granny's house is full of life, with cousins running everywhere and her uncle desperately trying to prevent them from breaking things.

She shares a room with her 15 and 13 years old cousin and barely lets herself sleep in fear that she'll have to explain why she wakes up screaming, shaking to her core and drenched in sweat. Thankfully, her nightmares have been more scarce, but the ones she's had have been worse than when she's had Ron beside her. She doesn't want to take her chances so she stays awake as much as she can.

At dawn, she walks in the little kitchen to put the kettle on. She feels cold all over despite the summery high temperatures.. She hopes the tea will help her warm up.

Her Gran enters the room as she wraps her hands against the warm cup and stares at the clouds lighting up in the morning light.

"You're up early!" her Gran looks surprised to see her.

"I couldn't sleep," Hermione shrugs.

"Something on your mind love?"

Her guilt is almost unbearable, her parents have been questioned relentlessly the previous day - so has she, - and it's been difficult to come up with reasonable answers for them to disappear for a year without notice. So they lied. Every time her mother uttered another lie, she glanced at Hermione with a pained look.

Hermione tugs on her sleeve saying she's fine.

"You must be hot in those long sleeves, why don't you go put something more comfortable as I start on breakfast?"

She protectively wraps her arms around herself as she feels the scar on her arm beginning to tingle and her grandmother looks at her strangely, silently waiting for Hermione to explain further.

"It's...it's just that... a lot happened this year while mum and dad were away."

"You mean while you were in school?"

"Hm, yeah I guess so, it's hard to explain and I don't know where to start yet and I don't think I'm ready to talk about it. I haven't even talked to mum and dad about it."

Her grandmother eyes bear the weight of a war too and she looks at Hermione like she's recognizing something in her that she hadn't seen before. Hermione suddenly feels closer to her than she ever thought possible. The older woman understand that she isn't ready to talk about her scars, physical and emotional, yet, so she changes the subject to Ron, whom her father mentioned over dinner the previous night. The conversation is easy and she feels herself warm up just by talking about him.

When the house begins to wake up, before their quiet bubble burst, her Gran tells her she wants to meet the boy who stole her granddaughter's heart.

…

Ron is with the Aurors . She can't wrap her mind around it. She can't figure out how to feel. Immensely proud or deeply scared. Mostly both, going back and forth.

She spends her days reading, catching up on lectures she should have been reading during her seventh year instead of dark magic books. She settles on a well oiled routine with her parents. She wakes up before them, she can't sleep much anyway. She wonders if she'll ever find restful sleep without Ron's body next to her.

Without him, there's no one to wake her up if the trembling starts.

So she wakes up at dawn and prepares breakfast the Muggle way. She knows her parents appreciate her efforts and it gives her something to do. She's improving her cooking skills too, not always successfully and on occasion her father will throw away their breakfast and start all over again, showing her how to do it.

She mentally notes to mess up breakfast more often, just so she can have her father simply be a dad . The first time it happens, Hermione can't help herself and she throws herself into his arms when they're done. Her throat too tight and tears in her eyes.

Her father is surprised at first, but he holds her back just as tight.

…

She meets Ron in the mornings when her parents are out and it's breath of fresh air she craves more and more.

She doesn't have to be careful around him and even though she is more honest with her parents now than she's ever been, there is still a lot they don't know.

Still, she lies.

It's nothing big, she tells them she's going for a walk when instead she meets Ron. She just can't bear the look they get when she mentions using magic, like they are sad that magic teared them apart so much.

There is more truth between them, but there is also more distance. Even though they've been drifting apart for years now, since she started Hogwarts, since she began to lie, she longs to see them smile like they used to.

She finds herself seeking for normalcy with her parents, but she doesn't fool herself enough to know she still has a lot of explaining to do, scars to show and fears to share.

…

There is no place where she feels more like herself than the Burrow. She can tell her parents are getting more antsy when she keeps dodging some of their questions about their year apart, or the years before when she was in school and the lies began. So she escapes to a familiar place where she doesn't have to lie about who she is.

A lighthearted Sunday dinner at the Burrow suddenly becomes heavy when Molly accidentally sees the scar on her forearm.

Hermione has dreaded that conversation with them for months, she still hasn't told her parents. Everyone is outside so it's only Molly, Ron and her at first, then Arthur comes in and words flow more easily than she thought they would. They all cry, but it's the first time the tears feel cathartic, it's the first time she feels less heavy with guilt about all the lies she's told.

She can't tell her parents yet, but maybe things are finally beginning to get better for all of them.

…

Sometimes it feels like her parents and her will be able to move forwards, but most of the time, everyone is still walking on eggshells around each other.

She hates it.

She hates that she can't make herself tell her everything, undo all the lies she told over the years, make them understand. But she's not ready to tell them and she doesn't think they are ready to listen.

Her parents go out a lot. Reacquainting with friends they haven't seen in a year, there is also a lot of paperwork to set right and everything is more complicated than Hermione anticipated it would be.

They also need to reopen their dentistry practice and apparently it's not easy. The building they previously rented has been sold and is now a music store.

They have to explain their absence to everyone.

Even though she doesn't tell them about her morning visits with Ron, they know when she goes to have dinner with his family. Every time she announces she's going to the Burrow, she can see the look her parents share and it makes her insides turn to stone. They think she's choosing the Weasleys over them.

It's harder to push the guilt away when Ron's away on Auror missions. When he comes back and surprises her by showing up at her parents, she tells him how bad things are with her parents.

…

She does everything to be the perfect little girl she once was.

There's an unsaid no magic rules that she has to break every night to put on silencing charm because she still doesn't always sleep well. Every time she tries to mention magic, her parents share a look that makes her feel ten times more guilty. She usually ends up apologizing profusely once again before locking herself in her room with a book.

She has chores to do and a curfew when she asks to go out. She never lets Ron in the house when her parents are away, despite his protests and how much she wants to.

She broke their trusts so many times, she wonders if it'll ever be possible to ever restore it.

The night she comes home well past curfew, they all sit down and talk.

They talk about her plans for the future when her father asks. "Is Ron in this future with you?" They say his name like he is a stranger, like she hasn't grown up all these years with him and Harry by her side, like he'll just go away once she's done with Hogwarts. Like she'll stop being a witch. She tells them all that, her throat tight. She still sees Ron and Harry in her future, she still sees magic.

"I can't renounce who I am. And I know I've hurt you and that you don't think magic is a good thing, but it is. It can be so good. And Ron… He's a part of my life now. He's always been, ever since I've started Hogwarts but it's different now, and I wish you'd accept him."

Her parents are quiet for longer than Hermione thinks she can take and then her mum sighs and her parents speak at the same time.

"We'd like to have him for dinner again," she says resolvely.

"We just want to make sure you are being smart. " Her dad frowns, avoiding her gaze.

Her mother turns toward her father rapidly, about to scold him but Hermione replies quickly.

"We are. We - we're safe. There's a spell," she blushes a little but standing a little taller, she didn't expect this conversation to turn out the way it did.

Apparently that is not the right thing to say because both her parents turn back to her and she can see their faces blanching.

"A- a spell?" her dad yelps, "but is that really efficient? I mean considering how they live I don't thi-"

"And how do you think they live exactly?" Hermione retorts heatedly.

"Hermione," her father says patronizingly, "you've seen how they dress, they don't even use electricity they use candlesticks ! It's like medieval times it's ridiculous!"

She can feel her blood boiling and it takes all her strength to stay calm.

" They are called wizards. I've told you, magic doesn't mix well with electricity. It causes all kind of interferences. But it's wonderful and I know I haven't shown you much the better side of magic and the remarkable things it can do. I know you don't trust magic and you probably don't trust me either but I trust magic. It has never failed me and I am pretty darn good at it so I don't expect this particular spell to fail."

"You have scars Hermione," her father exclaims, "we sent you to school every year and you've came back with lies and scars. How do you want us to trust magic when all we've seen from it are the scars you won't talk about and all the things you still don't tell us."

She feels lightheaded, her father's words ringing truth in her head. Her fingertips grown numb and it becomes harder to breathe. "I can't do this," she whispers hoarsely before fleeing to her room.

That night after her father has gone to sleep, her mother knocks on her bedroom door. There a bluebells flame on her nightstand and a potion book in her lap.

"There is still a lot you haven't told us," her mother speaks softly as she looks at the bluebells flame in wonder..

"I don't think I'm ready to," Hermione says regretfully.

"Sometimes you think you're not ready for something," her mother grabs her hand gently and gazes straight at her, "but then you don't have a choice and you just have to dive in and it turns out you were ready all along but too scared of what was waiting for you on the other side."

All Hermione can do is reach for her mother, engulfing her in a strong hug as she tries to swallow the lump in her throat.

When she can finally talk again, Hermione tells her mother that she'll try, soon.

...

She's so used of lying that she finds it hard not to revert to lies to shield them.

A few days later she sits them on the couch and tells them to ask her anything they'd like to know.

"Why didn't you come with us?" her father starts.

It's one she's expected them to ask, she has to begin somewhere and she may as well starts there.

"Ron and Harry needed me," the words come out more easily than she thought and she wonders why she's been so afraid to tell her parents.

"You love them very much."

It's not really a question but she answers her mother nonetheless. "I do."

"More Ron than Harry," her father adds inquiringly.

"Well Harry is like a brother, but Ron, Ron is-"

"Not like a brother," her mother finishes for her.

"Definitely not," she laughs and her parents smile kindly.

"Why did you had to send us away if you stayed?"

"Muggles weren't safe and you specifically weren't safe."

"Why?"

"There was a dark wizard, his name was Voldemort, and he believed wizards from muggle born families were tainting the bloodlines of wizards. He had many followers that believed the same things and that were willing to do anything to get rid of muggle born wizards and their families."

"So he was after families like us?"

"Yes but only partly. Mostly he was after Harry."

"Harry? But he's just a boy, why?"

"A long time ago," Hermione states matter-of-factly, "someone made a prophecy that announced that Harry would be the one defeating Voldemort. Over the last few years Voldemort grew strong enough that he and his followers were able to gain more control in our world, which means that they also began to get rid of muggle born wizards and their families."

"If you were in so much danger why didn't you leave with us?" her father asks shaking slightly.

"I told you Harry and Ron needed me. I am, as you know, really good at magic. I was able to help a lot. But I couldn't risk you, I couldn't stand the thought of putting you in danger because I was off fighting a war that you had nothing to do with. I couldn't lose you." Hermione doesn't realise she's crying until her mother brushes the tears away from her cheeks. "Harry, Ron and I were able to figure out how to get rid of him forever. It took us months and in the end there was this big battle at Hogwarts and-," she finds it harder to talk as she closes her eyes and sees the face of the fallen, Fred, Colin, Tonk, Lupin... She feels cold all over.

"Hermione?"

"Many people died during the battle, including one of Ron's brothers," her voice cracks and her parents gasp. "Voldemort died too, for good."

This they knew already, Ron and her had explained some of it when they were still in Australia, but it seems like her parents are really understanding the reality of it all just now.

"Oh honey, you were in such danger and we didn't know!"

"I am sorry I didn't tell you everything. I didn't want to lie to you but you would have made me go with you and I couldn't leave Harry and Ron. There was nothing you could have done against Voldemort, you would have been defenseless. He killed Harry's parents, both wizards, when he was just a baby. You wouldn't have stood a chance."

There's a lump the size of a fist in her throat as her parents both reach out to her and cry as she circles her arms around them.

"I'm okay now, it's over, the war is over," she repeats soothingly when she finds her voice again, for all three of them.

"And your scars?" her mother asks when the tears have dried, brushing the tiny mark on her neck with the tip of her fingers.

"I have severals," Hermione shivers absentmindedly, "Magic can usually make them disappear but the ones done with dark magic can't go away."

"And you have some that were made with dark magic?"

"Yes."

Her parents share a frightened look at what it means. That Hermione was close enough to danger to get hurt and have scars that magic can't erase.

"Like this one on your neck," her mother points gently, "and the one you're hiding on your arm?"

She folds her arm protectively towards her and only nods. She wasn't sure they had noticed her long sleeve clothes but apparently they did.

"Will- will you show us?" her mother pleads, "when you're ready?"

"It's still healing."

"It's okay, we are too," her father says softly and Hermione finally believes it.

Her family is beginning to heal.