Mornings with little kids around where chaotic. Hermione got roped into helping his mother set the table for everyone and being beside each other they looked like siblings more than mother and daughter… it was surreal along with everything else she was trying to wrap her head around. It was great that money wasn't really a concern of the household, but she really didn't get the whole concept of never-ending supplies and abundance in anything they might need. It clashed with her lessons in Hogwarts and with her parents' teachings. To have things or anything you wanted in like you had to work. Whatever they needed just appeared, no strings attached and no worries about money or a trip to the store.
It certainly was handy and it made going out of the house a matter of entertainment rather than a necessity, with a lot of little children to look after, you appreciated the break.
That morning was about to be different than the others she had taken part in since she arrived and learned of recent happenings.
An owl flew through the kitchen window and landed in front of Hermione while she tried to settle the kids in their respective chairs. She was not pleased.
To make matters worse, the owl settled on the chair and stared at her. It obviously waited a reply. And she really didn't want to stop what she was doing. However, one of the letters came from the Ministry and… the other one was from Ron.
This must be for Harry. With little to no choice she got the letters and started reading through them quickly, first the Ministry and then Ron´s.
She was furious. Oh the gal of these people! As if she wouldn't know when someone tried to track her through parchment or subtly blackmail her for information she wasn't willing to give away. She wasn't called the brightest witch of her generation just for her grades.
The children sat silently and didn't act out; if she weren't so angry she might appreciate the sight for once. Not even the bravest of the lot dared to step out in front of their eldest sister fuming rage, she looked too much like their mother and that commandeered respect. Jean looked at the development and held in a chuckle, it was difficult to associate her memories; it was only fair her oldest had inherited one of her traits, it just so happened to be her hell of a temper. It came as no surprise her daughter had that particular trait of hers.
After assuring her fuming daughter that she could handle herself with breakfast, Jean watched her leave the kitchen with the letters crushed on her hand and the owl flying at a safe distance. Smart bird didn't want to get its feathers singed.
…
A reality check, that´s what Ginny called his breaking up with Hermione? That coming from his sister and together with the latest developments gave Ron a lot of things to think about. And when he finally got that she won't be coming back and had dumped his ass for good. He was hurt, but above all confused.
She had dumped him just for telling her he didn't want to go to Australia yet, that´s what it took? He had done far worse over the years. Doing a trip back memory lane, he had been a complete douchebag in fourth year, he had really messed up in their search for the horrocruxes when he left after that argument they had when he had to hold the horrocrux.
And that's just talking about his recent mishaps.
His work seemed upside down. First Hermione leaving for good without so much as a letter or even a goodbye, then Harry doing things he'd never do in the past. He decided to go and defend the Malfoys of all things! And then he just ups and disappears. When Kingsley came to the Burrow bearing news of this latest development he didn't know how to feel or how to react.
His best friend and girlfriend had left. And he hadn't even had the slightest inkling to their plans. It was like he never really knew them in the first place and that was a heavy blow to his confidence and his sense of how things were. He was used to them always being there for him and this time they both had excluded him. Be it intentional or not.
Harry and Hermione had made it abundantly clear that they will do things their own way with or without him.
And he'd do anything to get them back. So he sided with Kingsley and the Ministry and didn't even think about denying his help. And just hoped they could forgive him, if they got angry, they had it coming. But it didn't matter how bad things got, they could always make up and go back. He only hoped so.
He really didn't know what to do without them; they were alwaysthere for him. It's just how things where ever since he could remember, they against the bad guys. They couldn't certainly throw away years of friendship and a relationship over something like this.
Even so, he felt so insecure and nervous while waiting for an answer of any sort to his latest letter. He only hoped Hermione didn't send something nasty.
If she was mad enough maybe… well. He had sent his letter there was no going back now, was it?
…
It didn't matter how much Narcisa cajoled or offered any of the travel agencies in Place Cache, no one had a translator to Australia for the next days. If they didn't know better they might've thought this was some kind of conspiracy. But really, that was paranoia.
As the only ones who spoke French in their party, Draco and Narcisa had to babysit Luna and Harry and make sure nothing bad happened to them. Mother and son were efficient in carrying out their respective duties. And Harry couldn't believe how much he used to hate Draco before.
Sure, he could be infuriating but not to the point he deserved to be hated for it.
He sure loved his clothes and shoes being in pristine condition and liked to browse around in libraries until he had to be dragged out, it's something he might end up sharing with Hermione if she gave him a chance.
It was obvious he was intimidated at the prospect of crossing paths with her again. She had given him a heck of a backhand in third year after all. In all right he had earned that one. But it wasn't by far the only nasty thing he had done to her over the years.
It was difficult to reconcile his "nemesis" with this side of Draco.
They would never be the best friends, but the blonde was tolerable at his worst and pleasant most of the time.
Luna didn't resent him even when she was held prisoner in Malfoy Manors dungeons for months.
_ If this keeps up we might have to prove our luck with muggle transportation again. Although I'm not too keen on staying inside one of those things for over a day, it doesn't matter how muggles thing those things are reliable, nothing beats a translator or the Flu.
_ Is just your opinion because you don't know or thrust them- Luna added from her position- But they´re reliable. If we´re to be here for at least a week we could get to know the place a bit. Is not every day you get an opportunity like this one and we better make use of it, right?
_ Draco and I would be delighted to show you around- intervened Narcisa. She looked positively happy, like she was glowing. And Harry didn't want to crush their enthusiasm.
_ Sure, lets know some places…- some of his doubt must've been visible because Luna added.
_ Of course we have to keep our disguise, otherwise we might get swamped by Harry´s fans.
If Harry blushed at her remarks and the others had a laugh, it was completely unintentional on her part!
…
Draco and Narcisa weren't too happy about having to board a muggle contraction for over 21 hours; Luna seemed happy with the opportunity and tried to infuse some positivity on the others. Harry was angry.
He didn't know what to think about Kingsley and the others. After speaking with Hermione and finding out about the tracking charm on the letters he got even angrier. People trusted him to face Voldemort on his own and didn't trust him whenever he wanted to take his own decisions. Oh the hypocrisy.
They really had lost their minds and this gave them both something to really think about. Did they really want to go back to such a place? It was clear as day that they were bordering an imposing dictatorship. And that was being mild about the whole affair. Neither Harry nor Hermione were criminals or something. They were civilians with no obligation whatsoever to the government, especially after what they did in order to defeat Voldemort.
On Hermione´s case ever since she arrived at Hogwarts and tried to learn everything she could about how things worked and what you could and couldn't do. She found a lot of points of inflection or situations where she really thought that maybe it would be better to try and live as a muggle. But after discovering and embracing magic it wasn't something easy to let go of. It was an essential part of who she was.
She made her best friends and learned a lot in Hogwarts, she met people she admired and people she despised. Good and bad. A whole new world besides the one she knew and she loved it. But she took issue with the Ministry and how things were run, even with how things were done in Hogwarts.
Sirius Black being thrown in prison without a trial, how the Ministry orchestrated a witch hunt for Harry and tried to paint him as some lunatic when he started to announce Voldemort´s return.
How they wanted to use him during Scrimmgeours brief tenure.
To say she was disgusted was an understatement, she really couldn't believe this level of…she didn't even know how to name it. Everything felt short on the whole situation.
If everyone else in the house noticed her humor, no one commented on it and for that she was grateful. She didn't want to explain to her recently discovered siblings, her parents and their hosts how she was somehow persecuted by what she thought was a working government she had helped in the past by no valid reason whatsoever.
Harry must be fuming wherever he was right now.
…
When the howler pierced the peace at the Burrow, Ron knew just how big of a mistake he committed when he sided with Kingsley. His ears ran with Hermione´s rant hour after it. He couldn't go back in time and undo what he did. He had to face the consequences if Harry or Hermione ever deemed to talk to him.
His mother wasn't pleased and she even commented it was for the best Hermione broke up with him. Deep down Ron just thought she didn't want competition on being the one that took decisions in the household and Hermione wasn't the kind of girl that will endure something like that.
Not only she told him how much of an idiot she though he was, of course not.
Hermione wasn't known as someone intelligent without a reason, her words stuck home and Ron just knew he wouldn't be cooperating on any other plan to try and track Harry and Hermione, they will come back whenever they felt like it, but things between the three of them might never be the same.
How he missed his friends.
…
Knowing Paris turned out to be one hell of an experience. Harry liked it even more than summer of third year when he got to spend some weeks unsupervised on Diagon Alley after blowing up Marge.
Draco laughed until he cried when he heard the whole story and Harry couldn't believe he used to hate him so much it made his blood boil. They talked about a lot of things to kill time, so much, that he event forgot that basically he was a wanted man thanks to Kingsley and everyone else back home. Luna brought up his time with the Dursleys and the two Malfoys were curious about it. The tale about Marge was about the only thing they found funny. Draco looked surprised and a little bit upset. Narcisa looked scary as hell.
That they of all the people he knew wanted to exert revenge on the Dursleys surprised him.
…
They shouldn't be surprised Harry managed to give them the slip and leave anyways; he had been on the run for months on end when he was looking all over for the horrocruxes with Ron and Hermione.
That made this whole affair something really frustrating for Kingsley and the aurors he dispatched to try and locate him. And he had barely enlisted the cooperation of the French Ministry. So far, no one had laid eyes on Harry or any of the Malfoys.
They must be disguised and also avoiding magical communities. They hadn't received reports of any translator purchased or activated to Australia but they couldn't completely discard illegal translator operations.
Why had Harry decided to rebel now? Couldn't he wait until the uproar for the war died down? Hermione had been another unwelcomed surprise too.
Ron had cooperated with a letter but didn't want to be involved on this operation any longer and Kingsley couldn't force him. He really didn't want to deal with Molly, no one forgot shed been the one to kill Bellatrix.
Merlin he definitely didn't sign up for this when he accepted to be Minister.
…
Something had changed, that much could be felt.
That's why the conversation couldn't be postponed any longer. Hao found herself leaving her warm and comfy rocking chair even with swollen ankles and sleep somehow still clogging her mind. Thank goodness nausea didn't decide to make a show up as well; she had enough on her plate as it is.
This whole situation gave a new found respect for women. If this whole situation hadn't been as tragic from the get go she might've though Ana did this as a twisted vengeance, but if that were the case, her soul would've lingered on this world instead of being forced to leave and assimilate to The Great Spirits. She'd never leave Yoh´s side willingly.
Reaching Hermione´s current location was easy enough. The witch was sitting outside in the cabin´s porch contemplating the sky and the people walking on the street. A thoughtful frown on her face, her eyes seemed to be far away from the picture right in front of her.
_. Is something the problem? - Hao asked, and she jumped.
She might have laughed at the other brunette but the situation called for seriousness. She asked out of respect for the other girl and giving her an opportunity to tell the truth on her own.
_ As a matter of fact, yes- Hermione answered- I got a letter from someone back in England and that letter had a tracking charm. I managed to throw off its course but that they tried to locate me through something like that tells me they´re not pulling punches. I don't think it might be convenient for them to come here. I don't want to put you all in danger.
_ Are they dangerous? - Hao asked.
_. If you´d asked me that in the past I might've found the whole thing as something ridiculous. But now I'm not so sure. That they stopped so low to try and find me with a tracking charm hidden in a letter tells me otherwise. One of my friends is coming and I don't want to bring him here directly. There might be people following him.