And now back to our regularly scheduled programming.
Once again, the portkey dropped Hermione off somewhere in the midlands rather than in London. Perhaps that was better. She wouldn't want some unsuspecting No-Maj to be obliviated due to her dropping out of nowhere in their garden. She imagined that her friends wouldn't recognize her. It took eight hours and lots of magic, but she now had mature dreadlocks stretching down her back. Her new wardrobe had arrived as well, which led to a fashion photo shoot at the shop in town. Today, she wore long, yellow tartan trousers with a cream peasant blouse. She thought she looked good in all the outfits. Even the ones she never would have considered for herself a year ago. At the very least, her change in style and personality would drive home the fact that she wasn't the Hermione they knew.
She had decided she wouldn't be Hermione anymore. No. She was Nia, now, and she would be until, if ever, she felt like her old self again.
"Let's go for a drive," she said, setting her new car down on the street.
She clicked the button on her fob twice and her car, now affectionately deemed "Bug", grew full-size. It was a little weird driving on the wrong side of the car, but she figured as long as she remembered to drive on the correct side of the road then she would be absolutely fine. Besides, the car had a magically added no crash feature, the exact same on Ministry-issued cars and Knight Buses, and she had no intention of driving like the wizards that drove those. Frankly, she wondered if that feature was added because none of those people had a valid license or even proper training. She at least had the sense to read up on U.K. traffic laws before arriving.
She'd only driven Bug a couple times and she was still a little nervous behind the wheel. What helped was feeling the layers of magic surrounding and protecting her. Though, she understood why these were non-existent in the class vehicles. She couldn't be too reliant on this, because she might not always drive a car with these features. Until then, it felt a little bit like having stabilizers while she got used to this new skill.
The difference in traffic was noticeable as well. When she got on the M-25, she always seemed to constantly be moving through traffic while everyone else was at a standstill. She'd been on this plenty of times with Roger and Beatrice and it was always a nightmare. She didn't know who designed this road, but they must've been sent from Hell. After dropping Crookshanks and her things off at the Herbert Street house (which had been outfitted with some very nice wards), she continued on to Diagon Alley.
"Maybe I should have walked," she muttered, feeling anxious as she navigated the streets. She knew her way around the Tube just fine, but when it came to the streets she never really thought to pay attention.
At a stop light, Hermione chanced a look at her map of the city.
"Why can't this be a grid system?" she muttered. "We could be at 24th and 5th, need to get to 35th and 6th, it'd be eleven up and one over. Simple." She looked at the compass on her dash and rested her good hand on it. "Point Me to the Leaky Cauldron."
At once, the thing spun before the North facing side pointed her towards the right direction. She followed it, finally getting to a street she recognized. She parked in the nearest car park, locked her car, and shivered. She'd never seen it this cold in August. She summoned another little item Esperanza had made for her. A notice-me-not cloak. It wasn't quite like an invisibility cloak, but it was inspired by the shade of green used in theme parks like Disneyland. Something people just… skipped over. She couldn't sneak past a guard in an empty room, but a crowded area would be no problem.
Plus, it would keep her warm in this thick fog. She could sense it wasn't any ordinary fog. This was magically induced. Oh… she recognized this magic.
Dementors.
She supposed if she needed, she could try casting the spell in her left hand since her right absolutely refused to heal.
Steeling her nerves, Hermione went through the Leaky Cauldron to the back alley and let herself into Diagon Alley. The change was immense. It used to be alive with people stopping to chitchat in front of stalls, but now half the shops were boarded up and kiosks that normally sold small items were replaced by seedy looking wizards selling fake amulets. Every spare space was covered with posters of Death Eaters. Sandwiched between the faces of Bellatrix Lestrange and an ugly man with summer teeth was her Cedric, smiling out of his annual photo.
Choking back a sob, Hermione sped along towards Gringotts. It was worse than she expected. This was no good. She should have been here sooner. She took note of the shops that had closed. Oh… Ollivander… It seemed unlikely that he had up and moved away.
She picked up the pace and heard the only lively shop in the alley before she saw it. The whole place was painted in a pink so pink it defied description matched with a horrendous acid green that burned the eye, and both windows were packed to the brim with brightly packaged products that spun, shrieked, swizzled, whirled, and blinked. There were also eye-numbing posters that advertised things like constipation drops called U-No-Poo, or Comba-Comba-Comba-Comba-Comba Chameleon, which promised to make a person's hair change colors.
The neon sign blinked: Weasley Wizard Wheezes and the Howdy Doody style head sticking out of the top raised and lowered a top hat so the rabbit perched there disappeared and reappeared.
Guess she'd have to drop by after her appointment. Hermione was able to reach Gringotts and bypassed the queue to Griphook's desk.
"Good morning," she said, letting her hood fall back. "I have a meeting?"
His quill stilled and he looked up. "Ah, Miss Granger." He put a sign on his desk and jumped down from his chair. "Follow me, please."
Griphook dragged his nail along a column and the barrier to get past the main hall opened to allow them through. Hermione followed him to the same office she had been to before. There were several goblins, chatting amongst themselves and she figured this must be the council.
"Please, turn in your wand," said Griphook.
Hermione summoned her wand from the holster, frowning when it slid through a gap in her brace onto the floor. She picked it up and placed it in the basket Griphook held. He set it on the edge of the desk within her reach. Almost daring her to take it back.
"Good morning," said Hermione, bowing politely. "Thank you so much for meeting with me today."
"Thank you for responding to our inquiry quickly," said the middle goblin. "Have a seat."
She took the single seat on the side of the table opposite from them and rested her hands on the top where they would be in full view.
"I thought wizards had the ability to heal all afflictions." His eyes narrowed. "Or is this meant to make us underestimate you?"
She looked at the clunky brace that kept her hand in a resting C-shape. It had straps from her fingers to her forearm. She undid the top most ones and raised her hands. Instantly, her fingers warped and curled, making her groan in pain. It was still purple and every time she took the cast off to wash the appendage she was in agony. The other hand was barely much better with the prolonged use. She strapped her fingers down again, hissing as they were reshaped.
"My hands were cursed," she said. "The final straw was when I defended myself a short time ago. I couldn't even hold that wand if I wanted to. But we're not here to talk about my troubles are we?"
"No, we are not," said Ragnok. "Last time you were here, you claimed that you were not trying to get us on the side of the Order of the Phoenix, yet Dumbledore states otherwise."
"He lies," said Hermione. "He didn't even show support for S.A.M.B. when I first started it, and I'm furious that he would use my organization to manipulate you."
"So this is not to get us on Dumbledore's side."
"I'm not even on Dumbledore's side," she said. "He and You-Know-Who are playing a game that nobody knows the rules of and can't see the pieces. So I'm going to cheat to win."
Ragnok narrowed his eyes. "So what do you want?"
"It's not so much a want as a need," she said. "I need a goblin crafted weapon."
"What if we refuse?"
"I'll give you what you ask for anyway," she said. "Figure something else out."
"What if we decide we want more?"
"Like what?"
"The Sword of Gryffindor."
Hermione hummed. "May I ask why you want it back so bad? Are goblin-made artifacts inherently the property of the goblin who made them? Is that the disconnect?"
"Actually, goblins used to have no concept of property," said Ragnok. "Everything is meant to belong to everyone. Tools, clothing, weapons, etcetera. We did understand, however, that when humans purchase something, they believe it belongs to them. Ragnuk the First, King of the Goblins, knew this better than anyone. However, with skill comes pride. The Sword of Gryffindor was his finest piece of work. He loved it so and when it was gone he was unable to work on anything else, believing he would never make anything so fine ever again. He grew bitter and believed that he was the rightful owner of it. When a goblin becomes so prideful that he can no longer see his faults, the item he creates must be repurposed and made into something new by other goblins. This breaks the curse of pridefulness to the point of blindness. That is why we want the sword and the scabbard."
"I see," said Hermione. "To turn it into something new and save your ancestor postmortem."
"You understand then."
Hermione thought about it. It made sense. Even if it was a lie, which she seriously doubted, it wasn't worth all this fighting. She'd rather have the anger be directed at her for turning something in. Wouldn't be the first time. Even so…
"I don't know if it would be possible to give it back. See, an enchantment was placed on it so that no matter where it was it would always appear inside the Sorting Hat. There's no guarantee that if I could bring it to you that it would stay in your possession long-enough for you to repurpose it." She bit her lip. "Can we revisit this after You-Know-Who's defeat? I don't see any conceivable way to include it in this deal. I'm sorry, I wish I did. Why don't I show you what I can give you?"
The whole council looked surprised.
"You already have it?" Griphook asked.
"Yes." Hermione opened her bag and brought out the box containing everything from the video to textbooks to detailed instruction manuals. "It's all right here." She passed the items out. "If I might show you a short video? Er, it's like moving pictures with sound."
The goblins agreed and Hermione set it up, getting Griphook's help in writing the runes on the mirror. She played it for them. It was a short video of the workshop and a fast-forward through Mr. Lim making a wand.
"Now?" Mr. Lim had asked Hermione.
"Yes, go on," she'd replied.
He cleared his throat. "Hello, goblins of Gringotts, I am Tristan Lim. I am a Master Wandmaker at Kilokilo, I gained my Masters, oh, how long—ten years ago? I think. Anyway, we are always looking to branch out our techniques and I think the craftsmanship goblins have to offer could revolutionize wandmaking. So, I would like to offer an internship to two or three goblins here at Kilokilo. I will teach you the traditional method of wandcrafting as it really does take more than books to teach you how. If you agree, you can tell Herminia here and she'll give you the information. I'll be ready for you whenever you are."
The video ended and Hermione left the mirror and the crystal on the table so they could rewatch it at their leisure.
"Is this legitimate?" asked Ragnok.
"Yes, I have a contract right here," she said. "I meant what I said and I said what I meant. I want to help. Even if you don't agree to make a weapon for me, I'll still give you this. It's important, but before you make a decision, I did bring some materials for you." She brought out her horcrux hunting kit. "I have three vials of basilisk venom, fifteen Troll-grown crystals that I have been given or won in a competition, and a qirin horn that was shed in front of me after I was adopted by a dragon." She placed the items on the table.
One of the goblins jumped to her feet looking excited.
"Troll-grown crystals?" she gasped. "May I?"
Hermione nodded and sat back so they could inspect the materials.
"Qirin horns are rare," said one.
"The magic inside Troll crystals is legendary," said Ragnok, holding the massive stone Biggs gave her aloft. "These materials would make powerful weapons indeed."
"Do you have experience with weapons?" asked Griphook.
"I am trained in the bo staff," she said. "But I'm sure I can find a teacher for a sword. I'm half-blind, so this isn't quite for combat. It's meant for dark artifacts that can't be destroyed with regular magic. Your weapons are the only ones strong enough to contain basilisk venom."
Ragnok steepled his fingers and studied her for a long time, then looked at the items on the table. "Alright Miss Lotulelei-Sanchez y Granger. You have a deal. You've more than followed through with what we wanted and it sounds as if there are some out there who value our skills… and us."
"Yes." Hermione nodded. "And maybe whenever all…" she gestured to the window. "That is over and we start rebuilding, perhaps we could revisit S.A.M.B. It's really important to me to have Magical Beings on the board to make decisions."
"After you-Know-Who's defeat," Ragnok agreed. "For now, does the council agree with the current terms?"
Hands raised unanimously.
"It is agreed," said Ragnok. "We will begin right away and summon you when it is completed."
"Thank you, sir," she brought out a business card. "Here's Mr. Lim's information. And please, let me know if there are any problems and also how the apprenticeship goes."
"Pleasure doing business with you," said Ragnok. "Griphook will escort you back to the front."
That was something she could check off the list. She didn't know how many horcruxes had been made, but at least she could be prepared for any other dark artifacts.
"Have a good day, Miss Lotulelei-Sanchez y Granger."
"Thank you, sir."
"Hermione!"
She looked over at one of the help desks where a woman with short white-blonde hair was waving.
"Fleur!" Hermione hurried over and hugged her. "It's good to see you. I forgot you worked here."
"Just part-time," she said. "I will be starting in the professional dueling circuit in September."
"Oh, that's great! Sounds like a good opportunity."
"Yes, yes. What are your plans for today?"
"Well, I just had a meeting and I was going to run a couple errands."
"My lunch break is in an hour, would you like to meet up?"
"Sure, where do you want to meet?"
"How about Fred and George's shop?" she suggested. "It is the safest shop in all of Diagon Alley."
"Really? Even with the U-no-Poo thing?"
"Yes."
"Huh. Okay, I'll meet you there."
Roger and Beatrice weren't expecting her to be home until dinner anyway and she still had to break it to them what she had been up to as well as convince them to let her go back to Hogwarts. That would be hard.
Hermione stepped out of Gringotts and shivered in the fog. She murmured a Maori anti-mist spell and blew hard. A strong wind pushed most of the fog out of the alley and watery sunlight pushed through the thin clouds. The few people around tipped their heads up, which really said how bad things were. Picking up the pace, Hermione made her way to the joke shop.
"Oi there, sweetheart," a seedy wizard selling false amulets called. "It's dangerous to be alone out here. Never know who's lurking in dark corners."
She whipped her head towards him and hissed, small flames spurting out the corners of her mouth. He slammed the suitcase and ran off screaming about a dragon lady. Hermione scoffed and entered the joke shop, shedding her cloak. It wasn't very busy, but she imagined that when families came back-to-school shopping it would be packed. She took off her cloak and stuffed it in her purse. Someone wolf-whistled and she turned, ready to roast the eyebrows off the offender. Seeing no one, she furrowed her brow and looked around. The high levels of magic were fogging her vision, so she had put on her eye patch to focus better.
"Hey good lookin'!"
She spotted a raven sitting over a package labeled: "One Red Sock—it turns everything pink!"
"Is this a big 'ol robot?" she muttered and poked it. "Oh! Hi, George."
The raven squawked and hopped down, turning into George halfway through. His magenta suit clashed horribly with his hair and his yellow bowtie clashed with everything else.
"Nothing gets past you," he said and opened his arms for a hug.
Hermione accepted it, kissing him on the cheek.
"It's good to see you," she said. "I was sorry to hear about your dad. I know how hard it is."
"Yeah… it still doesn't feel real you know? I keep expecting him to walk through the door and…" he sighed.
"I know." She patted his back. "The place looks great. You really got this together fast."
"Oh, you know, just been planning it our whole lives," he said. "Right down to the shelf colors. Let me give you a tour, Hermione!"
"I don't go by Hermione anymore," she said. "It's Nia."
"Nia, huh?"
"Yes, I won't answer to anything else. How's Lee?"
"We're dating now," he said proudly. "I'm not out to my Mum yet though, so…"
"Mum's the word," she said, taking interest in a marionette of Quirrellmort warbling its way through "Different" from the musical the three of them wrote. "This is cute. Did you get backlash for pranking all of Hogwarts?"
"A little bit," he admitted. "So we donated curse blocking hats. They won't stop the Unforgivables, but jinxes, curses, and hexes all the way up to moderate will bounce right off. After the initial donation, we've got a huge order to outfit the entire Ministry."
"Huh… Can I get some as a pair of bracers?"
"Bracers?"
"You know, armor for your forearms," she said. "Like a wristguard. Wonder Woman's bracelets of submission." She moved her arms. "Swish, swish!"
"Oh! I get it now," he said. "Yeah, of course. Hey, Fred! Look who's back!"
Fred rested the crate he was carrying on the counter and looked at her.
"Uh…"
"Geez, Fred," said Hermione. "We only went to school together for four years."
"Hermione!"
"It's Nia, now."
"I didn't recognize you," he said. "Look at you, you're hot!"
"Fred!" George scolded.
"I know," said Hermione. "How's Angelina?"
He slumped against the shelf and mimed ripping his heart out.
"She dumped me," he said. "For leaving school before the final Gryffindor Quidditch match."
"Aww, poor baby."
"Speaking of, what happened to your hand?"
"Mm…" she looked at it. "Broke it on some lolo's face. Magic isn't working on it, so I gotta let it heal the old fashioned way."
"Sorry to hear. Erm… by the way, how is… you know… how is he?"
"I don't know. He dumped me back in May and I haven't seen nor heard from him since."
"What? No! You can't break up!" said George.
"Well, if you see him, tell him that," she retorted. "I should have expected it, letting all that happen to him."
"What could you have done? You were a whole ocean away," said George. "Besides, I know you've got some plan up your sleeve to clear his name and bring him home!"
"Well… I could probably get Madam Bones on my side."
The twins made a face.
"She was killed a few weeks ago," said George. "Word is Susan barely made it out."
"Oh… oh, that's awful. I'll have to send… wait, no. Flowers are wrong. Food. I'll find out where she's staying and send along food."
"Look, even if it takes a few more months I know Cedric won't hold it against you," said Fred. "And if there's anything we can do to help, just ask. In the meantime, I'm dealing with a brutal breakup too, so maybe we should just date until they come to their senses."
"I think we'd better try a date before any commitment," said Hermione. "What did you have in mind?"
His cheeks turned pink and he looked shocked. "Wait! No, I was joking!"
"Then don't say things if you don't mean them!" she said. "If he came home tomorrow and still wanted me, I would drop anyone in a heartbeat for him, but he left and told me not to wait for him, so I'm not!"
"We should've known he didn't plan to come back," said Fred, sitting down on a rung of the ladder. "I mean… he gave us the deed to his house and barn… But we thought that was so the Ministry wouldn't take it."
"It meant a lot to him," George agreed. "We've been fixing it up. Turning it into a headquarters of sorts, you know. For our joke shop. A place to keep inventory, order forms, at the very least make sure that nobody else accidentally sets them off."
"Look, I don't want to talk about him right now," said Hermione. "Okay? I'm trying not to have a meltdown in public. Give me a tour of the shop."
"Er, right. Okay," George led her along and pointed out a lot of their products, both old and new. Including things that might not interest Hermione, but were interesting all the same.
"Anything you want, just take it," said Fred. "Ce—He's not here to accept it and you've believed in us this whole time, so you don't pay."
"Thank you," said Hermione, picking up a crystal. "Instant darkness powder?"
"Yes, from Peru."
"Mm, they overcharge there," she said. "The Trolls in the Venezuelan Hearthstone have oodles of this stuff as a byproduct from gem creation. If you contact Azra and Draal Laguna and drop my name I bet they'll sell it wholesale."
"Huh… thanks, Hermione—I mean, Nia."
"Anytime. I think I'll take a couple anyway," she said, dropping a box of five in her reusable shopping bag. "Tell me about these Wonder Witch products."
"Well, we've got some relationship based items," said Fred. "Kissing concoctions for those too afraid to take the initiative, though that can also be used as a prank. You'll kiss whatever you see first, so caution is required. We've also got this perfume. It's based on how Amortentia smells like whatever the person loves most. Without the nasty side-effect of drugging a person."
Hermione spritzed some and sniffed. "Ocean, warm hay, spearmint toothpaste, new books, and fried dough. You know, that shouldn't work, but it does." She placed a box in her bag.
"Mood lipstick. Changes to match your current mood," said George, twisting the sample. It was pretty. Clear with a tiny flower and gold flecks suspended in the middle. Hermione grabbed one of those. "And daydream charms. Mix and match, each one lasts about thirty minutes."
"Oh, that's the one where you got memories from me and Cedric, right? Competitions, beautiful scenery, yeah?"
"Yes."
"Such clever magic," said Hermione, selecting a bracelet and five charms: a sword, a glass slipper, a dragon, a rose, and a star. "I imagine you intend for these to be used during class."
"What else?" he said. "May induce drooling. And some charms aren't for those under sixteen. They're not inherently risqué, but they can lean that way sometimes."
"Yeah, I understand." Hermione wandered among the shelves, shrieking and laughing at a teddy bear that turned into a hairy spider. "Inspired by your brother?"
George chuckled. "He jumped sky high when he was here last week with everyone else."
"Oh, did school letters come in?"
"That's right. What about you? Going back to Castelobruxo."
"No, not at all. I was expelled."
"How on earth did you get expelled?"
"Oh, you know, I cause too many waves. Besides, I was gonna go back to Hogwarts anyway. It's my fault Umbridge stayed as long as she did and if the next teacher is worse well…" she shook her head. "I am not going to let anyone else I care about get hurt. I refuse."
The bell to the front dinged and Fleur and Bill entered the shop.
"Hermione!" she called. "Ready for lunch?"
"It's Nia now," Fred and George chorused.
"Nia. Very chic."
Hermione grabbed a brick of rapid expanding foam and patted Fred and George on the shoulders.
"I'll stop by again when I get my school things," she said.
"Nia," said Fred. "It's really not safe out there alone. Especially since you can't hold a wand."
"That's why I'm going out with Fleur," said Hermione. "Don't worry, starting tomorrow my cousin Cecilia will be escorting me everywhere. Is Bill joining us for lunch?"
"Well, I just thought… extra protection," he said.
"I understand," said Hermione. "Fleur and I together, we'd keep you safe and sound." She patted his arm. "Let's go. There's a good sandwich place down the street."
"I meant me protect you," said Bill, following them out.
"Of course, mon chou," said Fleur, looping her arm with Hermione's.
Hermione realized what was so strange. The summer tourist crowd… wasn't there. She was so used to seeing groups and tours and people reading maps and asking for directions. There wasn't any of that. Or at least, none noticeable. Had the government closed down travel or had the constant issues and deaths and "strange weather" just turned people off? Perhaps the new minister wasn't like the mayor from Jaws. They managed to get a seat in the restaurant after placing their order at the counter.
"How long is your lunch break?" Hermione asked.
"At this point we have thirty minutes," said Bill.
"Well, what's new with you guys?"
"We're getting married!" said Fleur. "Show her the ring."
Bill held out his hand where a fine rose-gold band sat with a single tiny diamond. Hermione threw her hands up and screamed delightedly.
"Oh, my gosh! I'm so happy for you!" She hugged Fleur. "Details, girl, details."
"Well, I've only known William for a year," she said. "But I know that he is the person I want to spend the rest of my life with. While we were visiting my family last month, we talked about our futures and he said he loved me, but was worried about pushing me into something before I was ready. So, I bought the ring and asked him."
Bill turned pink and didn't bother fighting his smile. "I was surprised, but I said yes. Why wouldn't I? I love her."
"We have already moved in together," said Fleur. "Viktor and Esperanza say it is good to see how big the house will need to be."
"Yeah, I mean, what if you find you can't stand being roommates?" said Hermione. "When are you gonna break the glass?"
"We're aiming for next December," said Bill. "I've been working overtime a lot, so I haven't been able to help much with the planning."
"I do know I want you to be my Maid of Honor, Hermione—Nia," said Fleur. "Oh, please say you will?"
"Of course! Consider me honored!"
"Bon!" Fleur hugged her tightly and kissed her cheek.
"I'll help you plan, too. Maybe I can come by tomorrow."
"I will be at Sirius' house tomorrow," said Fleur. "I am helping Molly around the house. Trying to get her to like me…"
"Mum will come around," said Bill, kissing her temple. "I know she will."
"So where's your ring, Fleur?" Hermione asked. "I know you asked him, but still."
Bill's face tightened with embarrassment.
"I've been trying to find the right one," he said. "Something perfect for her."
"Mmhm, what's the real reason? If it's a commitment thing…"
"No! Of course not, I just…" Bill sighed. "I used up most of my savings for my dad's funeral. Everything else has been going to rent and helping out my mum. I can't afford a nice ring. I can barely afford lunch and Fleur deserves the moon."
"William, I don't need an engagement ring," said Fleur, rubbing his arm. "Knowing you love me is enough."
Hermione would tell Cecilia Bill's predicament and see if they could work out a barter with the family for at least a nice set of wedding bands. Maybe call it a wedding present.
"Well, I'm happy for you," said Hermione. "I'll be the best Maid of Honor I can be. Who's your Best Person, Bill?"
"Cecilia. We've really gotten close since she's been here," he said. "She's a good mate. I don't think I would've been able to get through it all without her and Fleur's support. She said she'll help plan too since you've got school."
"What has been happening with you?" Fleur asked.
"Quite the opposite of your news," said Hermione. "But maybe if you could tell everyone else, you'd spare me the pain of relieving it."
She rehashed her break up, her rebounds, how she was sure everything was her fault, that she was returning to Hogwarts to make sure nothing else awful happened to her friends, and also the new identity she'd made for herself.
"I am so sorry, Nia," said Fleur, squeezing her shoulder.
Hermione sighed heavily. "I oughta get home. Explain to Mum and Dad."
"Do you need an escort?" asked Bill.
"No, I've got my car."
"Car?" said Fleur.
"La voiture."
"I know what a car is," said Fleur. "I just don't know why you have one. May I see it?"
"Sure."
Hermione led them to the car park. Bug beeped and Hermione held a finger to her lips. It settled down and opened the door. She was sure being small and in her purse, Hermione's magic seeped into the car faster than expected.
"Wow!" said Fleur. "It's beautiful!"
"Thanks. She won't be happy when I take the train to school." Hermione got in and put the key in the ignition. A tough feat with her left hand but she managed. "See you soon."
"Be safe, Nia."
"You too." Once they were heading back to Diagon Alley, Hermione started the car and drove home.
She was early, but she didn't care. She didn't want to do anything else. She was tired and wanted to go home to her mum and dad. Hopefully, somebody would be home. She couldn't stand being alone anymore with her thoughts and fears. Whimpering, she turned up the radio and shouted along with the song. She didn't know it very well, but it distracted her from her thoughts. She pulled up to her house and checked the curb, misjudging the distance. The sun visor swung in, smacking her in the forehead.
"I have no depth perception," she protested. "Do you know how hard it is to park with one eye?"
She got out of the car and slammed the door, which popped open to hit her in the butt.
"Do you want to go in your case?" The door shut and she nodded. "Didn't think so."
She locked up and went inside.
"Hello?" she called.
"Mimi!"
Chibuzo barreled in and gave her a huge hug.
"Oh, look at you!" she gasped and stooped, hugging him tightly. "Look at how big you've grown."
"Hermione!" Beatrice came in and Hermione stood up. She gasped. "Oh, goodness! You've grown too! I love what you've done with your hair."
"Thanks, Mum." She hugged her as tight as she could. "This year has lasted forever."
"Mm… I bet."
"I have a lot to talk to you about."