AN: Here's another chapter, folks. Enjoy!


Sins of the Past

Chapter 9


Hermione felt like she'd just survived a frontal collision with a wrecking ball which was followed by an elephant stampede. When she regained her consciousness she tried to distinguish between the various pains ailing her body but she found that it was impossible. Her whole body felt like it had been roasted on an open fire and now her skin tried to peel and crawl off her flesh. She groaned as she attempted to open her eyes but the bright light shot needles of pain through her eyeballs which forced her to shut her eyes tightly again. Not soon afterwards she fainted into a much welcomed blackness.


„John..." Jean Granger said, faltering as her mind worked to make sense of the conflicting memories that assaulted her. „Why...why in the world are we in Australia? I don't recall ever having wanted to come here...but then suddenly I remember this urge to pack and go..."

„Same here, Jean. And...you know how much I hate snakes...and spiders...and everything that crawls and tries to kill you. I don't know..." he said, confusion evident on his face.

„Hermione...she's probably had something to do with it...she...we do have a daughter, right, John?" Jean asked, as two conflicting memories colliding in her mind. She had a distinct memory of the pains of giving birth and flashes of a brightly smiling young girl, but most of it was blurry around the edges.

"I think so." John said, furrowing his brows in concentration. "I remember bushy brown hair and a small child skipping towards me but it feels so distant. Like it was a lifetime ago."


"Easy, love. You don't want to overdo it quite so soon", a soothing voice said as Hermione attempted to raise herself on her elbows. The pain had significantly diminished, now it was just a dull ache here and there. As she had a moment to adjust to her new condition, it struck her how remarkably well she was, compared to earlier. It was not much worse than the fatigue and muscle soreness she felt after the final battle.

"Whu...where...", she attempted to ask but her vocal chords appeared to have a mind of their own.

"Hush, my dear...you're in St. MacKillop. You're safe. You splinched when you apparated", the familiar lilt, thick with emotion, cleared the remaining fog from Hermione's mind as she realized who was sitting by her bed. She relaxed her muscles as instructed and instead opened her eyes.

"M...Minerva", she croaked weakly and attempted a smile.

"Of course, my love. Who else?" The Scottish witch replied, thankful that the young witch seemed to be recovering well. Her heart sped up in joy when Hermione's brown eyes focused on her. As red rimmed and watery as they were, Minerva still thought they lit up her otherwise ashen face. She reached out to squeeze her lover's hand affectionately.

"How'd...you know that I was here?" Hermione asked.

The Animagus took the fact that the brunette was already asking questions as a good sign and relief flooded her senses once again. When she was alerted that the Infiltration Unit recovered Hermione from the muggle hospital she immediately rushed to her side, High Councillor's enquiry be damned. She'd explained most of their situation to High Councillor Robinson who was astonished to find out that Hermione's parents were concealed in Australia. Minerva was vaguely worried that they would demand to question Hermione about this move but that would be a crisis for another day. 'All that matters for now is that she recovers completely...'

"I'm an Animagus..." Minerva said cryptically, wondering if the hint would be enough for Hermione to figure it out.

Hermione furrowed her brows, racking her brain for the key to Minerva's riddle. She knew that her lover was waiting for her to figure it out but her brain felt extremely sluggish, more so than it should have. "Sorry, my brain feels like it's been frozen over and hasn't thawed yet...", she admitted.

Minerva snorted at the brunette's colourful admission of defeat. "I believe that might be due to the chemicals the muggle doctors fed you before you were smuggled out." she explained. She had been told that they literally had to obliviate their way into the muggle emergency room, restrain everyone and perform rudimentary healing spells to stabilize Hermione's condition enough to magically transport her. "Animagi not only have heightened senses but...a sort of magically enhanced instinct as well, if you will. We can sense if our mate is in trouble."

The brunette absorbed the information but there were still some gaping holes that didn't quite add up. "So...how come I still ended up in the muggle hospital?" she asked.

The Animagus stared for a few moments, processing what Hermione really was getting at, the hidden meaning behind her question. "It's a type of... sixth sense, if you will, not a locator spell. I knew something terrible had happened to you. I saw flashes of you in a pool of your own blood." Minerva cringed at the all too vivid memory. She was grateful that she did not have to see Hermione in that state from up close, the vague impression that flashed into her mind was more than enough for a lifetime. "I didn't know where you were but I hazarded a rough guess. I apparated to the Australian Magical Council for help but upon my arrival they told me that they've already dispatched a unit to retrieve you."

Silence stretched thickly between the two witches as the younger woman absorbed all the information. She knew they would inevitably have to discuss the exact nature of both of their reasons to travel to Australia but Hermione was loath to broach the topic just yet. She was sore and tired, relieved that she was alive and deep down, incredibly happy to see Minerva.

"Thank you", the brunette finally said, squeezing the hand that still rested on hers. "And... I'm sorry. I..." she faltered. She hadn't had time to think about how to put her regret into words.

"We can talk about that another time, Hermione", Minerva said. She intended it to ease her lover's worry but her tone sounded much too dry, even for her, so she elaborated. "You're projecting your guilt so vividly that it's almost blinding. And I'm inclined to forgive you, but you need to rest. There is likely going to be a formal enquiry regarding why you chose to apparate directly from Britain to Australia."

"I should think you would be able to answer that on your own" Hermione quipped in a slightly less friendly tone, her temper suddenly flaring. Despite the fatigue and pain, she quite vividly remembered why she was all but forced into making this decision.

Minerva stared at Hermione for a long minute. She honestly did not remember her having such a tempter in her younger years. 'I hope I'm not rubbing off on her the wrong way...'

"I should think not. Apparating to Australia is forbidden for a reason, Hermione. Surely you know that?" Minerva evaded the younger woman's accusation.

"And the same rules do not apply to you? I take it you've apparated as well." Hermione remarked sullenly. It was then, that Minerva realized that Hermione might indeed be oblivious to the reason for her alarm. She was heralded as the brightest witch of her age for a reason, but on occasion Minerva was reminded that her brilliant lover was, indeed, still human. With all the imperfections that implied.

"Love", she said patiently. "It's forbidden because it is much too dangerous. Most people cannot make the trip without splinching fatally. As for me, I'm the Headmistress of Hogwarts. Hogwarts lends some of its magic to me which enables me to apparate safely across the globe."

The change in Hermione's features as the information sank in was remarkable. She first went from sullen to confused and then as realization of what could have happened sank in, her slightly pinkish hue faded back to the ashen pale that she'd started out with. When she realized that she is lucky to even be alive her eyes filled with horror.

"I'm sorry I came here without your consent. But I never dreamed that you'd try to follow me in such a hazardous manner." Minerva said truthfully. She did feel slightly guilty, but she knew that what Hermione said she wanted was not necessarily always what Hermione actually needed. The Animagus knew that in the long run the younger witch would regret not including her parents in their lives out of fear. She'd rather work to get Hermione's trust back than work to pick up the irreparably damaged pieces.

"Why did you?" Hermione asked quietly. The revelation that she could have died knocked most of the anger out of her.

"I was furious about what happened the other day. I was fuming in my office, trying to figure out what exactly happened, what would prompt you to behave in such a way" Minerva said, and halted whatever Hermione was about to say with a raised hand "and then suddenly I realized that it was fear. When I realized that it came to me almost instantly. Am I right in assuming that you were so terrified because you were worried that meddling with their memories a second time would cause them permanent damage?"

The fact that Hermione averted her eyes was confirmation enough for Minerva, but the bright young witch nodded in affirmation.

"I've managed to complete the spell before your arrival. They're going to be fine." Minerva said. She thought that the fact that she literally finished the spell just minutes before Hermione's splinching might best be concealed for the time being. The mere notion that Hermione could have jarred her from her concentration in the middle of it gave her a cold shiver. That was not something she could have been able to repair, neither in the Grangers' memories, nor in Hermione.

"So...they remember me?" Hermione asked, her tone hopeful. It pained the Animagus to see Hermione so vulnerable, so broken. She looked like a small child in that moment, who only wanted to cuddle up with her mommy after a terrible fright.

"They do" the dark haired witch replied, glossing over the details of how she left them. "I've been waiting for you to recover enough to receive visitors. Shall I fetch them?"

"What if they won't forgive me for what happened?" the brunette asked in a small voice.

"My love, I would never let that happen." Minerva vowed solemnly and meant every word of it. If she had to she'd talk holes into their stomachs until they relented and accepted that their daughter had done the only thing possible to save them.

Hermione lips turned upwards into a grateful smile, and she slowly raised the hand still gripped in hers, kissing the knuckles gently. "I love you. I don't know what I'd do without you."

The heartfelt words coming from Hermione made Minerva's heart skip a beat. Her body flushed and a beautiful smile that finally reached her eyes lit up her face. "I love you too, Hermione." She leaned in and gently pressed her lips to the recovering woman's temple. "Let me get your parents."


The front door bell made the inhabitants of the Wilkins-now-turned-Grangers' home jump in anticipation. Both rushed to the door and tore it open, surprising the Animagus enough to make her take a step backwards.

"About time Professor! Come in!" They exclaimed at the same time. "Where is Hermione? Is she alright? And WHY are we Australia?" They bombarded her with a myriad of questions as they none too gently ushered her into the living room.

Minerva took a deep, calming breath to collect her thoughts and regain her composure. She figured out in hindsight that she should have anticipated that the Grangers would await her in something of a panic. Their questions definitely pleased her as they proved that their minds appeared to have worked through the contradictions of their memories.

"My apologies, Mr. and Mrs. Granger. There was a...bit of a complication. Hermione is well on her way to recovery now." She started with the most urgent news, hoping that bit of information would calm their nerves enough that they would stop asking about Hermione so frantically. "Hermione had a travelling accident here in Australia which required medical attention but the muggle medical services arrived on the scene before our healers could have found her. They needed to retrieve her from the muggle authorities before they transported her to St. MacKillop which is the local magical hospital."

She watched as her prospective in-laws processed the information. Relief was evident on their faces from the moment she revealed that Hermione was in good hands but she knew that their apparent calmness as only going to last for so long before a new storm of questions hit.

"So...she's in one of your hospitals. How is she? Can we see her?" Jean Granger asked.

"Yes, that is why I am here, so that I may escort you to St. MacKillop." Minerva confirmed. "However, I believe I should explain a few things to you before we arrive. They'll surely come up in the coming discussions but it would be better not to tax your daughter's recovery too much. I believe I'll be able to answer much of your questions myself."


Hermione anxiously picked at the lint on the purple blanket she was covered with. If there was one thing she hated, it was waiting, and especially if she had nothing to do but twiddle her thumbs. Minerva had left about two hours ago. "What in the bloody hell is taking her so long?" She muttered to her self in exasperation. At first she'd assumed that Minerva had just stepped out to get her parents from the hallway but soon realized that was not the case. When she thought about it, for she certainly had the time, it seemed perfectly logical. Minerva told her, although not in so many words, that she had stayed by her side ever since they retrieved her. Which, she found out from one of the healers checking up on her, was about six hours ago. She'd been unconscious for over four hours.

The younger witch slowly regained her strength, the healing potions administered to her were kicking in. Granted, they'd been hampered at first, due to the muggle anaesthetics coursing through her veins but once they figured out what drugs were given to her the healers managed to counter their effects. Hermione gingerly raised the blanket to look at her healing wounds.

The young healer in training who had been in to check on her a while ago was very communicative and explained to her that she'd had a great deal of skin stripped off her flesh and that a large chunk of her left thigh was missing, as well as several of her ribs. She'd guessed that something was up with her bones because of the nasty tasting Skele-Gro they made her drink but it was still a shock to learn that she'd be experiencing the regrowth of her ribs during the night.

She raised the neck of her nightshirt to peek at the monstrous sight of her chest which had odd dents where her ribs ought to have kept her skin and breasts up. Her left breast looked firm and perky as usual but the other currently looked rather flat as much of its mass was residing in the hollow left by her absent ribs. When she'd first noticed this she almost got a panic attack but the very compassionate healer who drew her attention to it explained that as the ribs grew out they'd push her breast back up where it belonged. Hermione vaguely wondered how the rib didn't pierce the soft tissue, to which the healer replied with a cheerful grin and said it was magic.

After she'd satisfied her curiosity once again she slowly but determinedly reached for the glass of water on the bedside table. However, before her sluggish muscles could propel her hand to its destination, her attention was drawn to the door opening and she instantly froze when she saw the familiar faces of her parents. And no Minerva in sight. 'Coward.'


TBC

AN: I know I'm cruel with my cliffhangers. *muhaha* Let me know how much you hate me right now? :)