"You know I'd never try to stop you from going back, right?" Fred asked later that night after George had gone to bed and he was alone with Hermione.
She smiled. "I know, Fred, and I love you for it." She squeezed his hand before leaning her back into his chest as they reclined comfortably on the twins' couch. "I can't pretend that the idea of being away from you that often isn't having some impact on my decision though."
"We can make it work, love," he said, kissing her softly on the top of the head.
"On one hand," she began, "I do enjoy school and learning. There is something that makes me cringe at the thought of not finishing. On the other hand, though, I really am not sure that I will get much benefit from it outside of a piece of paper. Fighting against Voldemort, everything with Harry, I'm pretty sure it goes beyond the standard text of Year Seven."
"You don't actually need that paper to get a job," Fred offered. "The Ministry has already offered you one. I'm sure other places would, too. You are the Hermione Granger, after all."
Hermione's face twisted into a disgruntled expression as she considered her options. The more she thought about it, she wasn't sure if she could really go back to being a normal Hogwarts student after all that had happened. It wasn't just the final battle. She already knew that it didn't take being at Hogwarts for her to have a constant reminder of that night. It was more the entire year plus since she last attended. She couldn't pretend it hadn't changed her. Hadn't forced her to grow up much too quickly. It had for all of them. Hermione didn't have Mrs. Weasley breathing down her neck and forcing her to go back either. In fact, she still didn't have any idea where her own parents even were.
As if reading her mind, Fred spoke. "You know, there is a third option," he said.
"What's that?" she asked.
"We could look for your parents."
Hermione shot up and turned to look at him. "Wh-what?"
"We could look for your Mum and Dad."
Her mind was racing. Could it really be possible? "But Kingsley looked," she said. "He couldn't find them. I don't think that we-"
"Kingsley didn't defeat Voldemort either," he argued. "That was Harry, Ron, and let's be honest, the true brains behind the operation, you."
"He had all the resources of the ministry at his disposal."
"Do you really think you couldn't call in any favors if you needed to? Besides, I will help you. George, too."
"You two have a shop to run."
"Honestly, we have several employees trained at this point. It can probably run itself for a while. We can take some time off. Besides, we're wizards. Not that hard to get back and forth if need be."
"You're serious?"
"No, I'm Fred," he said causing her to groan. "Do I mean it? Yes. If it is what you want." He took her hand and lifted it gently to his lips. "Hermione, I know you miss them. I know it weighs on you every day. They are out there somewhere. We can find them."
"And what if we can't reverse the memory loss?" she asked.
Fred sighed. "Well, let's just take it one step at a time, love."
Hermione ran her fingers through her hair in frustration. She wanted more than anything to find her parents, but she wasn't sure if she could handle it if she found them and was unable to reverse the spell. Would they even want her to reverse it? They probably had all new lives at this point. What would happen to all of that if she suddenly came back into their lives? She was not self-absorbed enough to think that their whole world would revolve around her when she was ready to have them back.
"What are you thinking?" Fred asked.
"That I must be mad for even considering it. I'm sure they have moved on, started new lives. I kind of made sure of that when I obliviated them in the first place. I don't want to disrupt their lives yet again."
"You don't think they would want to know they have a daughter?" he asked. "I'm not sure you get to do decide that, Hermione."
"I decided to make them forget," she said, the tears beginning to stream down her cheeks.
"You did that to keep them safe," he said, pulling her in for a hug. "You did the only thing you could do."
"Doesn't really make me feel much better," she said, her voice muffled as her face was buried in Fred's shirt.
Maybe it would be enough just to know that they were okay. That she had succeeded in protecting them.
"Okay," she said. "Let's do it."
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