A/N sorry it took so long to post this chapter.

Hermione went back into the kitchen to write a note back to McGonagall. She grabbed a piece of parchment and a quill and quickly wrote:

Professor McGonagall,

Harry has gone to look for his family, and does not know when he will be back. He asked that we let you know, and that he will go see the portrait when he returns. I will try to get hold of him via Kreacher so you can give him your message.

Hermione Granger

P.S. Thank you for allowing us to return and finish our education.

She tied the parchment to the owl, who had apparently been told to wait for a reply. No sooner had she tied the parchment to its leg did Ginny come back downstairs.

"He's really gone, hasn't he? I thought he would at least wake me up to say goodbye, but he didn't even do that."

"Gin, you need to realize that he has gone through so much in the past three years. I hate to say this, but he's damaged. No one could go through what he went through and not be. And now, for the first time in his life, he doesn't have to worry about anyone killing him. Yes, I realize that there are still Death Eaters out there, but most of them are terrified of him. He killed the Dark Lord with only using Expelliarmus. You do understand how powerful that makes him appear? How powerful he actually is?"

"I know, Hermione, okay? I know. I don't think he knows, but I do. I don't care. I love him. I've loved him for as long as I can remember. Before the Chamber, although that didn't help me get over it. How do you think it felt having the person I love in my house every single summer, knowing that I couldn't do anything about it? I know that he finally doesn't fear for his life. I know that he's the most amazing, selfless, caring person I've ever met. He's been my hero for a long time, and not just because he defeated Voldemort, or because he saved my life, it's because he's gone through so much. And if it had been anyone else that this happened to, they would probably not have made it through…I know I wouldn't have."

Hermione saw that Ginny was talking more to herself than to Hermione, so she went to look for Kreacher to see if he could find Harry.

"No, miss," he said, without too much contempt, "Kreacher can only go to him if he calls for Kreature. If he doesn't calls, then Kreacher has to stay with the house."

"Damn! If he does call you, can you come tell me before you go?"

"No, if Master calls, Kreacher has to go right away. It's the way it works."

"Okay then, if he does call you, will you give him this please? I know you don't have to, because I'm not your master, but Harry would really appreciate it, I think."

"Kreacher will, miss," he said, before going back to making breakfast.

With that, Hermione went into the drawing room and collapsed on the sofa. She was as mentally and emotionally exhausted as she'd ever been in her life, and realised that she still had so much left to do before her life would be even remotely 'normal'.

She set to planning how to find her parents, throwing herself, as usual, completely into her work. She got a map of Australia and picked out the places her parents would most likely be. They may have had their memories modified, but they were still her parents. The only things that were changed were their names and the fact that they didn't know they had a daughter. That and their desire to go to Australia.

Suddenly, there was a tap at the window. A large tawny owl was sitting on the windowsill, waiting for Hermione to open the window so it could fly inside. She immediately recognised the writing on the parchment as Kingsley's. The letter was addressed to 'the Gryffindor Trio', so she called Ron in.

"Ron! Come here for a minute!" she called. "There's a letter here from Kingsley, for the three of us. And it must have something to do with the ministry, because it has the Minister for Magic seal on it. Possibly about the 'Order of Merlin, First Class' that we're getting, but I think it's something else."

"Alright, I'm coming," he called. He was in the drawing room several minutes later, "Do you think we should wait for Harry?" he asked. He was dying of curiosity, but he was trying to get back into Hermione's good graces.

She laughed, "Ron, we can open it if it's addressed to more than just Harry, just not when it's just his."

"Good, because I'm dying to know what Kingsley wants."

They both laughed. "I asked Kreacher to give Harry the letter from McGonagall if he calls him, so after we read this, we can get him to bring this too."

"That's a brilliant idea. I never would have thought of that. You really are wonderful, you know."

"Ron, you're taking the sucking up way too far. I love you for you; I just want you to respect people's privacy. But right now, let's just get to that letter from Kingsley."

"Dear Harry, Hermione, and Ron,

I know from talking to Minerva McGonagall that the three of you wish to continue you education at Hogwarts. However, I have a proposition for you. If possible, I would like to meet with you as soon as you return from Australia to discuss your futures. You could probably bring Ginny as well. Harry, your dream to become an Auror may very well come true long before you had hoped.

Please send a response as soon as possible

Yours,

Kingsley Shaklebolt

Minister for Magic"

"From the sounds of things, I'd say he's going to ask us to be Aurors, without the proper training," Hermione stated. "I don't know if that's such a great idea. I mean, I know that the world thinks we're great wizards and witches because we destroyed all the Horcruxes and stuff, but still…we're not. I mean, we learned almost everything about them from books and memories, and the only reason we knew so much about Voldemort was because there was so much to know. Anyone who tried would have been able to figure it out."

"Hermione, you don't know if that's what he wants us for anyway, you should calm down. And stop acting like Harry."

"What do you mean, stop acting like Harry?"

"Being so modest, why am I the only one of the three of us who will actually accept the fact that everyone thinks we're great?"

"Because! We're not any different than everyone else, well, Harry is, but all we did is what we needed to do to survive. I'm sending an owl to Kingsley to ask for a press conference to let everyone know that we're just normal teenagers who had no choice, it was either do what we did, or die."

"Hermione, you've got to be joking. You actually want to hold a press conference? What about what Harry and I want?" Hermione gave Ron a look. "Okay, so what about what I want? I've always had to be second fiddle to you and Harry. You're the smartest witch Hogwarts has ever seen, possibly even smarter than Rowena Ravenclaw herself. And Harry has been famous almost his entire life, and here I am, Ron Weasley, the youngest son in a huge family, overshadowed by everyone, including his little sister and two best friends. Maybe I want a bit of attention, maybe I want to be famous for once. Please don't hold a press conference! If you do, then I'll be back to being the forgotten and unknown one of the 'Golden Trio'."

"Oh, I forgot about you and your jealousy thing. If this will finally stop you from being jealous of Harry, then fine, I won't ask for a press conference, and I'll just hide away in the Muggle world until all the hype dies down and I can live a normal magical life."

"My 'jealousy thing'? What the hell is that supposed to mean? Yeah, I can get jealous, but you don't know what it's like to have to live up to five older brothers. Even if Fred and George –" He paused, thinking of Fred still hurt like hell, even if he was getting an Order of Merlin, First Class. "– even they are successful. And if having to live up to my brothers isn't enough, it feels like the world expects me to be as brilliant as you are, or as good a person as you and Harry. Well, I'm not. And you know what, I don't want you to give me another chance, if you're not going to accept me for who I am, then I don't want to be with you. It's over between us, Hermione. You can go look for your family on your own. I'm done here. I'll see you at the ceremony tomorrow, and then I'll see you at the meeting with Kingsley. Owl me when you're back from Australia. Goodbye, Hermione Granger."

And with that, Ron stormed out of the house and slammed the door behind him. Hermione collapsed once more onto the sofa and burst into tears. She hadn't meant to upset Ron like that. She knew he had a temper, and she had provoked him all the same. She should have known that they wouldn't last, that it was too good to be true. She was exhausted and soon she fell asleep on the sofa. She awoke several hours later and decided that it would be best to go talk to Ginny and then leave as soon as possible for Australia. If Ginny wanted, she could go with Hermione, and if she didn't want to, Hermione would go alone.

It turned out that Ginny wanted to stay with her family, and said that she hoped that Hermione would understand. Hermione did understand, and asked Ginny to owl her if anything important happened. She also asked her to tell Kingsley that she would not be at the ceremony, and to tell Ron that he knows where she'll be if he changed his mind. "You will have to come to the Burrow, if only to say goodbye to the rest of my family, Hermione," Ginny told her. "Mum would be really upset if you didn't. She's already upset that Harry didn't, do you want her to be upset at the majority of the 'Golden Trio'?"

"Fine, I'll make a quick stop at the Burrow, but you have to promise me you'll keep Ronald away from me if he's still in one of his moods. I won't go just to be yelled at more."

"Promise, Hermione. But you know mum, she might try to persuade you to go to the ceremony."

"If she does, she'll be disappointed, because I want to go find my parents, it's been a year since I last saw them, and I miss them terribly. I think she'll understand that, if Molly Weasley is anything, she's a family woman. Just look at what she did to Bellatrix." Both girls laughed at this and then Apparated to the Burrow.

A/N Reviews are very much appreciated, and possibly speed up the writing. I accept all reviews. Take my poll to vote whether or not Hermione should go to the awards ceremony at the Ministry. The sooner I get at least a few votes, the sooner the next chapter will be up.