A/N: BIG stuff happens in this chapter. Pay attention. :)

Harry's POV

Harry decided almost immediately he was not going to like Australia. It was too hot, too quiet, too empty, and the accents were far too odd for his liking.

But then, it had been a long time since he had been out of England. Out of his routined life with Ginny. So perhaps that was it.

Gritting his teeth and using one hand to shield his eyes from the sun, Harry wandered around a suburb of Mackay, looking for a place to stay. The downtown area, if it could even be called that, had recommended a small bed and breakfast about two miles down the road. Of course Dipple had not thought to give Harry a place to stay why he was on assignment– that would be entirely to thoughtful for such a callous man.

Lost in thought, and looking around the dusty road for the aforementioned inn, a shriek barely registered on Harry's radar. But for some reason, perhaps it was his years godfathering Teddy, Harry;s parental instinct kicked on when he realised the scream was coming from a young child.

Spinning around instantly, he cocked his head to the left and listened again. There was a gentle sobbing coming from perhaps a block away. Without a second's hesitation, Harry raced towards the sound, completely forgetting his search for a place to rest that night.

As he rounded the corner, he nearly tripped over a small, bushy-haired girl clutching her leg, with tears streaming down her chubby cheeks. Dropping to his knees, Harry took a quick glance around to confirm that no one was in the area.

Cautiously, he pulled his wand out of his back pocket and re-examined the girl. She had stopped crying now, though her cheeks were still wet, and her green eyes red and irritated. She could not have been older than three or four. Her tiny hands were clasped desperately around her left knee, and there was blood seeping from between her fingers. An abandoned scooter lay crookedly in the grass behind her.

"Okay," Harry breathed, more to himself than to the kid. "Okay, hold on, hold on. Let me see your leg, okay sweetie? Let me see and I can make it all better."

The girl refused to let go but was now staring at his wand curiously, her emerald eyes shining through long brown lashes.

"Come on now," Harry said again, more impatiently this time. How would it look for him to be in front of a small child he did not know, holding a wand? No matter who found them, it wouldn't look good. Reaching his calloused hands towards hers, he pried her fingers off the wound and furrowed his eyebrows, complexed.

It was nearly healed.

What had clearly been a gaping hole in her leg just a few seconds ago was now a fading pink line, which, before Harry's very eyes, disappeared, as if by...

"Magic," Harry breathed, looking over the small child again. Clearly, she must be a witch, and, judging by the looks of it, already quite talented in controlling her magic.

"Magic!" the little girl giggled, surprising her older companion. "La-la-la-la-la lamamamama magic! I good at that. Mummy saids so."

Harry shook his head softly. So her mother was a witch as well. This jolted something in Harry's head and he nearly hit himself in stupidity. "Er... what's your name, honey?"

"Wrose," The girl said, clambering to her feet.

"Rose, okay, I'm Harry. Do you know where your mum is?"

She nodded, rather somberly for a toddler. "Dis way." Rose grabbed his hand with her tiny one and attempted to pull him to the yellow house to their left.

"Okay, okay, okay, I'm coming," Harry pocketed his wand and stood, cautiously following her to the door of the house. Knocking three times, Harry waited, with baited breath, for the door to open.

Thankfully, there were resounding footsteps through the small home and the screen swung open, pushed by a kind-looking older woman with greying brown hair. "Oh, Rose!" She cried, flinging herself to her knees and embracing the toddler. Harry stood awkwardly as Rose and her mother embraced.

"Goodness, we were so worried!" The woman said, looking up at Harry with pure joy in her eyes. "She's such a little wanderer. Likes to go everywhere by herself. A lot like her mum, this one is!" Harry was first taken by her old accent. It wasn't quite like the Australian ones he was accustomed to hearing from the natives, but instead, it sounded... More familiar.

"Hang on," Harry said, blinking. "You aren't... er, her mum?"

The older woman straightened and laughed, flattered. "Oh, dear boy, no. She's my granddaughter, actually."

Weird, Harry thought, idly, as he watched Rose become reacquainted with her grandmother. Her mum must be really young and–

Suddenly, an all too familiar voice rang out behind them. "H–Harry?"

Hermione's POV

Hermione greeted her neighbor, Mr. Kirkwald, and turned onto her dusty street. It had been a long day and WICA and she was tired. A strange group of Europeans called the Shadowend had been wreaking havoc lately and the Ministry of Magic had its paws all over the case, saying they were going to send Aurors in, etc, etc. It was all incredibly annoying.

Opening the gate to her parent's house, Hermione wiped her unruly hair out of her face and sighed. Her bones ached. It felt like it had been a long time since she had truly taken break. Three years, actually. Since that night...

For one long moment, Hermione allowed herself to image Harry was here, at her door, saying that Ginny had been a mistake, that the wedding was off, that he was here, for her, now. Of course, logically, that would never happen. Harry didn't admit to mistakes, and he certainly didn't beg. It was something she had always admired about him. Even in the face of death, he didn't beg.

Sighing heavily, Hermione pulled out her key, surprised to see the door already open. Her mother was there, talking to a young, jet-black haired man. Confused, Hermione blinked several times, thinking she was still within a fantasy.

"H–Harry?"

He spun around, a hand going over his eyes to shield from the bright sun.

"Hermione?" And then, his arms were around her, and she was hugging him back, and, merlin, this couldn't be realm it was too perfect, it was too much like she had imagined.

"I can't believe I found you... I mean..." He paused, pulling back from her. "Hang on... You live here...?"

"Mummy!" Rose waddled up to Hermione, her little arms flailing wildly.

"Rosie!" Hermione picked her daughter up, cuddling her in her arms lovingly.

"'Mummy?'" Harry asked, his voice hoarse? "Mum–"

And then, something happened that Hermione had seen only when he was under attack.

Harry fainted.