Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Bridge the Gap

John Granger was pacing in his study. It had been three weeks since his daughter had visited them and let out her fury about what was done to her when she was eleven. He hadn't been able to get what had happened out of his mind since then. He felt older than he ever had in his life as he thought back through the past years and could see all the mistakes that he had made concerning his daughter.

"I think you've been in her sulking enough," his wife said to him from the doorway. He looked at her and glared, didn't she see all the places that he had messed up? She gave him a slight smile, the one that showed that she understood what he was thinking and added, "It's not like you to run from your troubles. Now I haven't said anything sooner because I know that our daughter is a lot like me when she's angry and won't listen to a thing you say until she's cooled down, but I'm sure she has by now …" her voice broke a little on that and her eyes got watery, "at least enough to listen to us."

"I don't think it's that simple … not after what I have done … what I have put her through," John said in a grave voice, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"It's not like you to give up," Jean said her voice a little colder than before as she narrowed her eyes at him, "especially on something this important. Things …" at this point her voice really broke and he could see the tears falling down her cheek, "things might never be the same, but that doesn't mean you don't try to fix them."

John didn't say anything as he got up to hug his wife, he knew that she was right, and he had to do something. Still, how could he face his daughter after what he did?"

So, he sat down and started writing.

Dear Hermione,

I know that you probably still don't want to hear from me right now, but I have to send this to you anyways. I don't want you to think that I don't care along with the other crimes that I have committed against you. I also know that if you're not ready to listen now that you could put this letter aside and look at it at another point in time. I hope that you don't wait too long to read this letter because there is a lot that I know that I have to apologize for.

First of all, I'm sorry that I couldn't let you go to that school. I'm sorry that I was afraid of losing you. You have no idea how terrifying it is to send your child off to another world, knowing that they may never come back. That was my fear all along. That you would never come back. Not that something terrible would happen to you, that you would get hurt or … I can't even write it. That was just my excuse. As soon as I heard that strict looking witch, McGonagall if I recall correctly, said that there was a war and it was possibly dangerous there, I took that as my opportunity to keep you away. However, the truth was I knew that as soon as you went away to that school you would no longer be the daughter that I raised. You would have immersed yourself in that new world and your mother and I would have lost you forever. Yes, I was a little wary every time you turned the couch blue (you did that a lot when you were two, that was until we painted your room that same color), but I wasn't afraid of you for doing it. I acted foolishly and utterly selfishly that day and I will have had to live with the consequences of that for the rest of my life.

I watched you as you soared through all your classes with pride, but I could see with every letter you sent home that urgent need to please us and it made me feel ill at ease. Over the years I noticed how little you ever chose for yourself. I tried to make you see that it didn't matter to us, but my one and only time I approached this subject, your reaction … was disturbing …

John paused here as he remembered how his daughter had nearly fallen to pieces as he tried to make her decide on the trivial matter of where they should go on vacation.

That was when I knew what I had done. Despite my intentions, I knew that I had lost my daughter anyways. After that time, I tried to show you that you didn't have to do everything perfectly … it looks like I have failed in that just like I have failed in everything else. I did have aspirations for you to become a dentist like myself but I knew I couldn't push you … I never wanted you to do something that you wouldn't be happy doing.

When you came to us and said that you were going to go to the University of London instead of Oxford, I was shocked to say the least and wanted you to go to Oxford but I thought this was showing signs that you were going to make up your own mind from that point on. That was what I wanted more than anything, and I'm sorry that I took that from you. I'm sorry that I failed you. I

At this point John crumbled up the letter and threw it away. This might have been how he felt during those years, but it wasn't something that he should send to her in a letter. So, he wrote another letter, one that was formal and proper, but still portrayed that he missed and loved his daughter and put it by the door so he could mail it to her the next day.

O

It was more than a week later and a month since she had seen her parents when Hermione got the letter from her father. She looked at it, and she felt pain shoot through her as she thought about parents and though she knew she needed to open the letter, she didn't feel ready to read it yet.

"What's that love?" Ron asked when he noticed that she was carrying a few letters (Muggles sure had an odd way of delivering post), and the frown she now had on her face.

"It's a letter from my dad," Hermione said in an emotionless voice.

"Are you going to read it?" Ron asked sighing, not sure how he was supposed to react to this information. He knew that she was still dealing with how she felt, and they even talked about it at times, but she was still processing what happened.

"No," Hermione said putting it in a drawer by the phone, "not right now."

"Mione," Ron started looking at her carefully. "Just don't forget."

"I won't," Hermione said frowning. "But I'm not ready to deal with this yet."

"Okay," Ron said noticing the tone meant this conversation was over. "So, did you give Andy your answer yet?"

"I might have," Hermione smiled, in fact she had gone down to see Andromeda Tonks early that day to give her answer about the job offer that was made (on the same day that she learned that she was a witch and about her missing memories). She had apologized to Andromeda for taking so long, she had not meant to wait a month before giving an answer, but the older woman told her that she understood that she was dealing with so much during that time and didn't expect a quick response.

"Well," Ron said impatiently. Hermione had refused to tell him what choice she made in regard to her decision. She seemed to keep going back and forth, seeming to want to both finish her education (and her plans) by taking the class at Oxford and work at the Ministry in what seemed the perfect job for her. However, she knew she couldn't do both and she needed to make the decision. For a long time, she didn't think she would be able to make the decision as that was something she had struggled with for years, but once she was able to slow down and think about what was best for her, she came up with the answer.

"Honestly Ronald, do you really think there was much of a choice?" Hermione said smiling at him, as he still looked like he had no idea what her choice would be. "I told Mrs. Tonks that I would love to take the job she offered me."

"Yes!" Ron cheered, running over to her and wrapping his arms around her.

"So, I take it you like the news," Hermione giggled as he leaned in to kiss her. She had of course thought that was how he felt, but he never told her, not wanting to influence her.

"Maybe a little," Ron was able to mumble before their lips met.

O

After the conversation with Andromeda, Hermione had signed up for the W.O.M.B.A.T (or Wizards' Ordinary Magic and Basic Aptitude Test) that was going to take place in August and the A.P.E. (Adults Practical Exam) in September. Though Andromeda said that she only needed the W.O.M.B.A.T (and that she wouldn't need them until after the internship was finished), Hermione didn't want to put this off and thought it was better to take both the written and the magical test. She knew that just taking these tests instead of the O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s would make people look down on her education, but it was still better than not having any kind of results. She also knew that she was learning everything quickly, and that she could be ready for these tests, as long as she continued the way she was going.

After all, her studies with Harry had been going really well. She had gotten through the third-year books in Charms, Transfiguration and Defense, which were the subjects that Harry was going over with her. Though it was true that he still wasn't very comfortable with helping in Charms and Transfiguration, she was still able to get through most of the spells on her own, with only moderate help from Harry. Whereas in Defense, Harry took charge of the lessons and she found she really had to work hard to get through what she needed to learn.

Though it took longer to start her studies in Herbology and Potions, she felt that her current tutors were going to help her learn quickly. After the night that she had met the Gryffindors at the Leaky Caudron Ron had taken her to meet Neville at his greenhouse and he had taught her several things in the one visit, and they had made plans on meeting up on Fridays in the future. Then there were the Potions lessons she got from Molly that had gone extremely well. Not only was Molly an excellent teacher, that showed her a lot of tricks (from ingredient preparation to stirring techniques), but she also found that her relationship with Ron's mum changed overnight, and she felt comfortable with the older woman.

"… and now I'm not sure what to do," Hermione said, she had finished brewing the potions and they were now waiting to see how it came out. Though Hermione had been mostly thinking about her lessons since she had received the letter from her dad, it was always in the back of her mind though she stubbornly chose not to read it. However, when Molly had asked how things were going a few moments ago, she had blurted out all of her feelings. The reason why she was talking to Molly was because she really didn't know what she should do about her parents. She was still so mad that she just wanted to keep them out of her life, but there were times that she wanted to talk to them. So, she told the older woman everything that she was feeling over the last month and a half and everything that she went through as a kid.

"I don't have answers for you, Hermione," Molly sighed. "But I can tell that there are a lot of things that you don't understand about your parents. One in particular you seemed to be missing."

"And what is that?" Hermione asked, raising her eyebrow.

"That they love you more than anything," Molly said simply. "As a mother, I know that …."

"Not all parents are like you," Hermione muttered looking down.

"Yes, unfortunately you're right about that," Molly allowed as she frowned at just the thought of that. "But from everything that you have said about your parents … I know they love you. Hermione, I know that you're hurt right now, but trust me, you don't want to lose them."

Hermione let out a breath, she knew Molly was going to say something like this, and she knew that a part of her wanted to be talked into reading the letter … into talking to her parents. "Thanks," was all she said about that, and then they changed the subject until the potion was ready.

When she got home, however, she walked to the drawer that the letter was in and she stared at it, not moving until she felt Ron wrap his arms around her. She jumped when he touched her, she hadn't heard him come home and so didn't expect the touch but soon she leaned into his chest as she continued to look at the drawer.

"Do you want me to open it for you?" Ron asked softly.

"No," Hermione sighed, knowing that she didn't want him to open the letter and read it for her, but she was glad that he was here. After all she always felt better with him there to support her.

"Okay," Ron said and waited until she reached into the drawer and got the letter before he led them to the couch so they could be more comfortable while reading.

Hermione kissed him as a way to say thanks and then turned back to her letter and opened it. The first thing she noticed was there were three different pieces of paper there. She read the first, it was a nice letter, it definitely showed her that her dad cared about her, but it felt empty somehow. She turned the page a little confused, as it was obvious that this letter was finished so she wondered why there were two more pages. The next page was in her mum's handwriting:

Dear Hermione,

There is so much that I have to say to you, but I couldn't possibly put it down on a paper like this. So, all I will say is that I love you. If you can't believe anything else, you must believe that.

Love From,

Mum

P.S. The reason why I'm writing this to you is because I also sent you a letter your father had written though I believe he never intended to send you. However, I think that it might be important that you read this.

Hermione sighed and turned to the last page that had definitely been crumbled. She read the letter, frowning at the first few lines, it seemed like her dad knew her better than she would like to admit at the moment. The longer she read the more pronounced her frown became. It made her angry that he had seen so much and said nothing to her. When she was done with the letter she threw it on the table and got off the couch. "I think I'm going to go to bed," she said.

"Isn't it a bit early?" Ron frowned. "I mean it's not even five-thirty yet? And we haven't had dinner …."

"Whatever," Hermione said walking to their bedroom.

"Do you mind if I read …?" Ron started to ask.

"Knock yourself out," Hermione said warily.

"Er … is that a yes, or no?" Ron asked, truly confused.

Hermione smiled at him for a second and then answered, "Yes."

So, Ron walked to the kitchen and made three sandwiches (eating one of them quickly) and placing the other two in the fridge. He wasn't sure if Hermione would get hungry later and he wanted there to be something he could summon to them easily if she does. Once that was done, he picked up the letter and started reading it but the more he read, the more confused he got. He couldn't understand what was in this letter that was annoying her so much. He sighed, as he went to their bedroom. When he got there Hermione was in bed, looking at the door and waiting for him to get there. "I knew you wouldn't understand."

Ron just smiled at her for a moment, she was wearing his shirt and boxers, her favorite sleepwear, and she was a vision. He stripped quickly and joined her in their bed. "How do you know I'm confused?" he asked as gave her a quick kiss.

"This," she said kissing between his eyebrows that were furrowed at the moment. "They always get a certain way when I do or say something that confuses you. I think it's adorable."

"Thanks," Ron said. "Okay, so you're right, I'm confused … what was so bad about what was in the letter?"

Hermione sighed and said two simple words, "He knew."

Ron's eyebrows furrowed again, though in a different way than they were just a second ago, as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her, so she was resting her head on his chest. "I'm sorry."

"It just makes me so angry that he knew all this time and he didn't say anything!" Hermione huffed.

"And what was he supposed to say, Hermione?" Ron asked. "What would have made you feel any better?"

"Don't take his side," Hermione hissed.

"I'm not," Ron groaned. "I'm just asking if it would have helped."

Hermione was fuming and refused to say anything for a moment. Actually, it was more like an hour later that she said anything. Instead, she thought about what would have happened if her dad had talked to her about her issue with making decisions when she was younger and she couldn't see that going well. "It probably would have made things worse," she finally admitted when she was ready to talk.

"I'm sorry," Ron sighed, pulling her closer to him.

"Why did you have to say that" Hermione sighed. "I like being angry more than being sad."

"Well, because I had something else to say," Ron said. "Did you notice what it said in the beginning?"

"I read the letter, Ron," Hermione said her voice thick and strained.

"Okay," Ron sighed. "Did you get the part where he said that he was just afraid of losing you … not that he was afraid of you …."

"I got it," Hermione said stiffly. "That doesn't really mean anything. It doesn't change the fact that they couldn't accept me …."

"Yes, it does," Ron argued.

"He was afraid to let me be who I really was," Hermione said in a small voice.

"Well, you have me there," Ron sighed, and he wasn't going to bring this matter up again, he wasn't going to argue with her about this. If she asked, he would always give her his honest opinion, but he wasn't going to force her on this subject again.

They didn't talk much the rest of the evening, as Hermione was lost in her own thoughts. Though she didn't really want to hear what Ron had to say at the moment, she knew he was trying to make her look at this objectively and not emotionally as she had been doing. She loved that he did that, and that he stopped when he realized that he was starting to push too much. Hermione had to take her time to think about this.

Hermione always had to process everything fully, go over every detail before she liked to confront a problem. Yes, she had gone over to her parents when she first found out because she couldn't stand not getting that off her chest, but she knew that nothing was going to be decided that night. She told them that she would never forgive them for what they did to her, and she knew she would always resent them for this. However, she knew that it was in her to overcome this, that is if she was so inclined to do so.

"I'm going to my parents' today," Hermione said that Saturday morning as if she was stating that she was going to the market or something like that.

"Okay," Ron said amused. "And what brought this on?"

"It's time I do it," Hermione shrugged.

"Do you want me to take you there?" Ron asked still amused.

"I suppose," Hermione furrowed her eyebrows. "I don't really fancy spending all that time in a car or bus … but this time I would like to talk to them alone. I'll call you when I'm done."

"Okay," Ron said continuing to eat his breakfast. If she was going to act like this was no big deal, he was going to follow her lead. "Just let me know when you're ready."

About an hour later they Apparated to the Granger's house, in the backyard this time, making sure that no one could see them. Ron wanted to wait until they knew that the Grangers were home, but Hermione told him to just go and she'd call him if they weren't there. So, he Apparated to Harry's, he didn't think he could handle just being at home at the moment, Hermione was acting so oddly right now that he wasn't sure what he was going to find when he saw her again. Besides, Harry would know better how to handle that blasted Sellfone thingy that he still didn't know how to use (other than how to keep it charged).

Hermione took a deep breath as she walked to the front door; she thought it would be odd to just knock on the back door. Her parents were home as she knew they would be, they never really changed their habits much in the last twenty years (probably longer). Her dad would be watching the football match that was on and her mum would be either reading a book or … well … reading.

Her dad answered the door, and she reasoned that it must be halftime, or he wouldn't have gotten off the couch, and he looked a little annoyed until he saw her. His expression was now guilty and uncomfortable, and she could see that he wanted to hug her but didn't know if he should.

"Hermione," he said in a hopeful voice.

"The game not going so well, Dad?" Hermione asked she was uncomfortable too, but she needed to see something.

"Er …" John said furrowing his eyebrows, not sure what she was getting at talking about the game like this. "No, Manchester is losing one nil … but that's not important now … er … do you want to come in?"

"Okay," Hermione said and went into the house that looked the same as it always did. "I'm sorry, I probably should have waited another hour so you could watch …."

"The game doesn't matter, Hermione," John said before she could finish, no football game would matter, not even if England was in the world cup final, if he had a chance to make things up with his daughter. "So, is there anything I can get you?" he continued after an awkward silence and not sure what he could say.

"Mum would be nice … I think it would be good if she was here for this," Hermione said smiling a little as her dad looked at her sheepishly.

"I should have probably thought of that sooner," John said and then went to get his wife. When they returned to the dining room, Jean went to hug her daughter, she didn't care how uncomfortable either one of them was, she couldn't not hug her.

"So, to what do we owe the pleasure of your visit today?" Jean asked.

"I read your letter a few days ago," Hermione said like she had a speech prepared, though she didn't really, it was just that her mind had been reeling about this issue for so long that it came out that way. "You were right dad; I did put it aside for a few weeks before I was ready to read it."

John smiled at that before his eyebrows rose in shock, he knew that he didn't put that in the letter that he sent her. He then looked at his wife suspiciously and realized what had to have happened because she was blushing and avoiding looking at him. "You sent that letter too," he muttered a little angrily and more than a little worried.

"She had a right to know," Jean said in a small voice, "and I didn't know if we would have gotten another chance to talk to her."

John was frowning when he turned back to Hermione. "That was not how I wanted to tell you."

"It's okay, Dad," Hermione said. "I think it helped me understand things a bit better. I'm still angry of course. And now I'll always wonder what my life would have been like," she sighed as she said that she couldn't help but feel that she missed so much not going to Hogwarts. She felt that she could have been so much closer to Ron (as hard as that was to believe) … to Harry … to Ginny … to all the Weasleys probably, if she had lived the life that she was supposed to and that hurt. That was the worst part about this.

She could see that the issue that she was so angry about at first wasn't so bad anymore. Sure, she knew she still had problems with making choices but after deciding to work at the Ministry, she knew that she wasn't going to have a nervous breakdown anymore. And she knew that she didn't need her parents approval on those choices anymore. She made up her mind about her life now when she chose to work in the wizarding world, embracing all that she lost, and she really felt like she had gained part of herself back. That didn't mean that she wouldn't ever feel this panic insecurity she felt in situations like this, but at least now that she understood the root of the problem, she could deal with it.

However, the connection she was sure she would have made with Ron, Harry and the Weasleys was a lot to take in, at least right now. She couldn't see how she could love Ron any more than she did right now, but at the same time she knew that having thirteen more years of knowing him would only have been a good thing. As for Harry, well, he really could have used another close friend who he could connect with when he was younger, and to be honest she could have used that too. Sometimes it was just so easy to talk to Harry; he was almost like a brother to her. And then the Weasleys, well really, who wouldn't want to know the Weasleys as soon as possible? They had such a warm and inviting home that extra time spent there would have been a good thing.

Hermione looked up at her parents, "but there's nothing we could do about that now. I think it would be best if we just try to go on from here."

"So, you're saying that you're still going to be talking to us," Jean asked, looking at her daughter hopefully.

"I just need to know something. Why did you want my memories erased?" Hermione asked, she wasn't sure how to answer her mum's question yet.

"I thought you would be happier not knowing," Jean answered immediately.

"Did you want me to go to Hogwarts or not Mum?" Hermione asked the first question was actually directed towards her dad, but since her mum was the one that answered she felt she should ask this question now.

"Er … I was … I wasn't sure," Jean sighed looking down and trying to remember everything she was feeling at that time. She had been wary of Hermione going off to an unknown school to learn things that Jean couldn't possibly understand but she had noticed how excited her daughter was about just the idea of that. If she was the one that made the decision she probably would have let Hermione go to Hogwarts, but she had felt relieved when her husband had denied that from happening. "I could see how much you wanted to go … but I was a little afraid, too."

"Of me?" Hermione asked, her dad had said in the letter that he wasn't afraid of her but she wanted to hear about this from her mum too.

"No," Jean shook her head, tears coming to her eyes. "You're right that I was afraid of your magic when you were a child, but that was more because I was afraid of what that might mean. I was afraid that someone might come asking questions about how you are able to do the things that you could … and then they might …" she trailed off, looking at her husband and not sure what to say.

"Take me away," Hermione furrowed her eyebrows, the thought coming to her suddenly and she continued with this new theory, "and then someone came and was planning on doing just that … just not in the way that you had been worried about."

"Yes," Jean sighed, "I was so afraid of letting you go."

"So, Dad?" Hermione said turning away from her mum as she let those words sink in, she still wasn't sure how she was feeling but she knew this was thawing some of her resentment. Still, she needed to hear her dad's thoughts too. "Why did you want me to forget?"

"Honestly Hermione, I really didn't like how you were handling the news," John answered frowning. "But I probably never would have suggested that you forget … I wasn't sure that it would help you. I've never seen you like that before, and I didn't like that."

"So, you thought you could just erase it … poof nothing happened," Hermione said narrowing her eyes, she had promised herself that she wouldn't get angry today but she couldn't help it.

"I knew it was a mistake right after we mentioned that your memories be erased, when I saw your reaction," John frowned looking at his daughter's shoes, "but by that time it was too late."

"What would you have done if I told you at the time that I thought you couldn't accept all of me," Hermione asked the question that had been going through her mind a lot the last couple of weeks. McGonagall had told her to talk to her parents before she had her memories erased, but she couldn't handle that conversation at that time because it would have been worse for her if they still couldn't accept her. Now, a part of her wished that she did have that conversation, maybe things would have been different if she had.

"That you were wrong," Jean answered.

"Well, I don't think I would have said that, telling you that you're wrong is one sure way to make you angry at us," John said trying to smile and then answered the question more seriously. "I'm not sure, but I wouldn't have let you think that we didn't accept you. I had a lot of fears, and I allowed them to take over my better judgment, but I've never been afraid of you. Hermione, I've never once not loved you for exactly who you are."

"Do you think you would have let me go to school if we had that talk?" Hermione said this time looking at her dad's feet, her heart skipped a beat at the sincerity of his voice as he answered her last question. She could feel the wall she had put up against them relaxing a little.

"I don't know," John answered honestly, and then a fond smile went on his face as he added, "you know how stubborn I could be when I think I'm right."

"I might know that," Hermione smiled in spite of herself, she definitely got that quality from her dad. She then looked up at her dad, tears in her eyes that she didn't want to hide from him anymore. "This doesn't fix everything you know."

"I know," John said his voice was thick and filled with regret.

"And things probably will never go back to the way they were before," Hermione really started to tear up at that, she had always been a daddy's girl, she loved talking to him about anything.

"I do know that, too," John said gravely.

"But I still love you, Daddy," Hermione said, going over to hug him and he returned it feeling elated and relieved.

"I love you, too," John said in a thick voice. Tears had fallen from his eyes too. A part of him was sure that he didn't deserve this from her, but all of him was pleased at the moment. Hermione just smiled against his chest, her heart feeling a little lighter than it has in the last six weeks, and she knew that she was doing the right thing letting her parents back in.

A/N: This chapter is very close to the one I had originally wrote. I don't know what happened, but it seemed like I had a lot more things I wanted to change to the first half of this story, and the second half is very similar. Well except I've added a few extra chapters. Which I'm going to do in the next chapter. I'm going to have a chapter where Ron comes to the Grangers and have a more normal interaction with them. After that chapter will be the last chapter.