Summary: Our couple leaves Hogwarts and heads to Germany.
A/N: Thanks for reading! Now we're on to the next chapter of Severus and Hermoine's lives.
Chapter 27
They left her dormitory and made their way down to the common room.
"Hey, how'd you get up there? It's charmed so no boys can enter!" Harry cried as he saw Hermione and Severus descending the stairs.
Severus shrugged. "I am a Slytherin and a spy."
"That answered nothing," Ron scoffed.
"That is all I'm willing to say," Severus quipped.
"No matter. We're all about to head out of here," Harry mused. "Do you have your Portkey ready?"
Severus motioned to the ripped handkerchief in his coat pocket.
"You guys will be back for Christmas, right?" Ron asked.
Hermione hugged him. "Of course we will be. We'll miss you terribly."
She stepped back and threw her arms around Harry.
"I'll miss you," he said.
While they were hugging, Ron moved over to Severus and threw his arms around him.
"I know you probably hate this, but we won't see each other for a while, and I just wanted you to know that I care, mate."
Severus patted his friend's back and pulled away, smiling at him. He found he was choking up and cleared his throat so as not to seem too sentimental.
"I'll miss you, Ron. Feel free to visit any time."
Ron pointed at his friend. "I may take you up on that."
Harry reached out to shake Severus' hand but instead pulled him into a hug.
"You two are making us all look like saps, you know that, right?" Severus ground out.
"Damn straight," Harry replied with a grin. "And I don't care who sees us either."
"Well, thankfully the Common room is empty," Severus huffed.
"Oy, mate, we wouldn't have been so forward had there been people here. We're just giving you a hard time."
Severus smirked at them.
"You three are terrible!" Hermione cried.
"Well, you chose to live with one of us, so be prepared," Harry replied.
Hermione batted him on the arm and turned to Severus.
"We'd better get going. The Portkey activates in a few minutes."
Severus nodded.
"We'll walk you to the gates," Ron offered.
Severus bowed his head in affirmation, and they all set out, leaving the Common Room. Descending the stairs, they chatted about the Ministry and becoming Aurors.
"So, have you found somewhere to live in Munich yet?" Harry asked.
"We have a hotel and will look around for somewhere to live those first couple of days. Madam Groeberg gave me a list of possibilities. I'm sure one of those will suffice."
"Do either of you know German?" Ron said suddenly.
"I know a bit, but not enough to converse with confidence. It will take some time," Severus replied.
"I don't know any at all."
"I will help you, and you will learn," Severus assured.
Hermione smiled at him.
They finally reached the gates. Hugs and back slaps were given once again. Severus looked over at Hermione.
"Are you ready?" he asked.
She nodded. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the ripped handkerchief and held it out toward Hermione. She grasped it and said goodbye once again to Harry and Ron. The Portkey activated, and they disappeared. Reappearing above an out-of-the-way street in Munich, they floated down to the ground. Hermione stumbled a little and grasped her stomach.
"Are you all right?" Severus asked as he grasped her to him.
She nodded and straightened up. "That just seemed to pull harder than usual."
"It is a pretty long distance."
"True. Longer than I've ever traveled by Portkey."
"Well, here we are…" Severus said as they looked around.
They were on a cobblestone road with Bavarian houses lining it. Hermione smiled.
"It's beautiful here, Severus. I can't wait until we find a flat."
Severus grasped her arm. "Let's go to our hotel and check-in."
They headed down the street, taking in everything as they walked. Their destination was a couple of blocks away, and both Hermione and Severus enjoyed the Bavarian style of the Wizarding neighborhood. It didn't take long for them to be in front of their hotel. Severus held the door open so Hermione could enter before him.
"This is the Hotel Wolff. It is the main hotel in Wizarding Munich. There is a smaller hotel at the other end of town, but this is where everyone traveling from out of the country stays," Severus explained as they neared the check-in desk.
Severus spoke to the attendant in German and soon they had a key and were headed to the lift. They entered and were whisked up to the seventh floor. They found their room and entered. Hermione went to the window and moved the curtains back so they could see the view.
"Oh, wow, Severus. It's so beautiful. I love how old-world it is."
Severus looked out at all the orange-red roofs. The cathedral was only a few blocks away and towered over almost everything.
"Lovely," he murmured. "I think we will enjoy our year here."
Hermione threw her arms around him. "I'm looking forward to what this year will bring!"
Severus smiled down at her. "Me too." He kissed her lovingly. "Shall we go check out possible living arrangements?"
Hermione nodded.
"Everything is within walking distance, as the Wizarding area is somewhat small. Only a couple of streets wide, but quite a few blocks long. Madam Groeberg's list of available flats shouldn't take too long to go through."
Hermione grasped Severus' hand. "Let's go!"
They headed down and out into the street. Severus led them around the corner and down the street from the hotel. After a few minutes, he stopped in front of an old Gothic building painted light blue. They entered and knocked on the first door they came to, which was labeled Der Vermieter–Landlord. The door opened and Severus introduced himself.
In no time, they were being led to a third-floor flat.
"I feel so lost not understanding what's being said," Hermione whispered to Severus.
"We were just discussing vacancies and rental prices."
"Can we afford it?"
"It's comparable to flats in London."
The landlord removed his wand and flourished it over the three of them.
"Standard translating spell," he replied in perfect English. "You hear English when I speak, I hear German when you speak."
"That's brilliant!" Hermione gushed.
Stopping at a door, the landlord–Herr Kraus–opened it and let Hermione and Severus pass through to look at the flat.
"I'll be back in ten minutes," Herr Kraus said and disappeared down the hall.
They looked over the apartment, which was quaintly decorated. It had a beautiful plaster ceiling with an oval inlay which carried throughout the flat. Moving to the bedroom, they noted a private bath along with a hall loo as well.
"This is nice, Severus."
"I agree. The kitchen is small, but it's open, so it shouldn't be too much of an issue. Madam Groeberg's shop is just down the street as well."
"I know we should look at other options, but I like this flat. What do you think?"
Severus continued to look around the front room area. Turning to Hermione, he smirked.
"I think it will do. I am happy with the location and the layout. Let's tell Herr Kraus that we would like to rent it."
Hermione took Severus' hand and squeezed it. "Perfect," she said.
They made their way back down to the Landlord's flat and knocked on the door again. Herr Kraus opened the door.
"Done already?" he said as he stepped aside to let them into his flat.
"Yes, we will take it," Severus advised.
With a wave of his wand, Kraus produced a contract.
"I've translated it into English for you," he said.
"Thank you."
Hermione and Severus read through the contract, noted the monthly rent and due date, and signed it.
"You can take possession tomorrow. Come by at nine a.m. with payment and I will give you the key."
"Thank you," Hermione said as Severus bowed his head in agreement.
Leaving the block of flats, they looked at each other and both smiled.
"That was much easier than I anticipated," Hermione said.
"Yes, I thought we would be at this all day. As we have some time on our hands, shall we explore?"
Hermione threaded her arm with his and squeezed his arm with her other hand.
"Let's."
They explored Old Town, grabbed some lunch at a small cafe, and then made their way to the Marienplatz. They stopped and bought some inexpensive furniture for the flat while they were out. After several hours of sightseeing, they returned to their hotel.
"What a lovely day," Hermione said as they entered their room.
"The city is beautiful."
Hermione turned and embraced Severus. "I'm so looking forward to living here with you."
Severus gave her a shy smile. "Me too. I look forward to this adventure with you."
Hermione leaned up and kissed him. He thoroughly snogged her senseless before pulling away and giving her another smile.
"We will get settled tomorrow and head to Australia."
"I know we don't have much time to find my parents before you need to be back here to start your apprenticeship, so I hope we can locate them quickly."
Severus ran a finger down her cheek. "If necessary, you can stay in Australia until you find them, and then I can come back and meet them with you that next weekend."
Hermione nodded. "Thank you for coming with me. I hope everything will go much smoother with someone else to confirm how horrible the war was. Maybe they'll forgive me for doing what I did."
He pulled her to him and squeezed her tight.
"They will eventually if not at first."
She sighed. "I hope so," she said into his chest.
"Whatever happens, we will face it together."
"Have I told you lately that I love you?"
"Not in the last little while," Severus advised.
Hermione pulled her head back and looked into Severus' eyes. "I love you."
"And I love you, too. Thank you for loving me."
They picked up the keys the next morning and spent about half an hour unpacking and rearranging their furniture to their liking. Herr Kraus said they could alter the color of the walls, so they had made their bedroom a dark grey but left the rest of the walls the original cream they had been.
Standing together, they reviewed what they had done.
"It looks good."
"I agree. It is comfortable as well," Severus mused.
"I can't believe this is our home for the next year!"
Severus turned to her and put his hands on her waist, pulling her toward him.
"It's all the better with you here with me."
Hermione smiled up at him and kissed him lovingly. He begged entrance, and she opened her mouth, letting him in to plunder her, moaning with his advances. They enjoyed each other for a bit before breaking apart, out of breath.
"Are you ready?" Severus asked between breaths.
She nodded, still unable to string the words together.
Releasing her, he went over to a box they had placed on the kitchen counter. He opened it as Hermione neared. The box held a bent bottle cap. Looking at her, he gave instructions.
"On the count of three, we'll touch it together."
"Okay, I'm ready," Hermione offered.
"One… two… three."
They both touched the Portkey and disappeared from the room, landing in Melbourne blinking at the darkness. They grasped hands and headed for their hotel. They were soon checked in and settled. Hermione pulled out a map and placed it on the table.
"There were a couple of different places I had in mind when I modified my parents' memories. Melbourne was one, and Sydney was the other. My father always wanted to visit Australia, so it made sense to instill that desire into them."
"So, where do you want to start?"
Hermione bit her lower lip, straightened, and moved to the bedside table. She opened the drawer and smiled. Reaching in, she removed a large telephone book and moved back to the table, placing the book onto it.
"Good idea," Severus remarked.
Hermione flipped to the back of the book and searched for Wilkins. There were several, but none listing a Monica or a Wendell. There were three that were just listed as Wilkins. She pointed at them.
"We'll have to check out these three addresses."
"It's too late to go knocking on doors now," Severus mused.
"You're right. Ugh, the time change is going to mess with my head."
"How about we go get a small bite to eat then come back and relax, try to sleep, and we'll get going with these addresses in the morning."
She reached out and grasped his hand and stood. "Let's go!"
The next morning, they woke up bleary-eyed. The time change had messed with them, and they'd hardly slept, but they were now dressed and ready to go. They studied the map to see where each home was located and where they could Apparate without being seen. Hermione gave Severus a hopeful smile. He took her arm, and they Disapparated to the first address. They appeared behind a house at the end of a lane. Hermione reached down and grasped Severus' hand like a vice.
"I'm scared."
"I'm right here with you. You can do this."
She nodded and started to go around to the front of the house. They were soon at the door. Hermione lifted her hand and rapped on it. Soon the door was opened, revealing an old lady with glasses.
"May I help you?"
"Hi," Hermione said. "We're looking for Monica and Wendell Wilkins. We must have the wrong address."
"There's no one here by that name. I mean, I'm Joanna Wilkins, but I don't know any Monica or Wendell."
"Thank you for your time," Severus said as they turned and departed. They walked down the street to where they could Apparate without being seen and disappeared.
They appeared in an alleyway near the second address. Walking around the corner, they spied the yellow house that was their destination. Hermione squared her shoulders as they turned up the walk.
This time a young man opened the door. He was Joshua Wilkins–no relation to Monica or Wendell. They thanked him for his help and moved along. The third house proved to be just as much of a dead end, so after exhausting all their leads, they Apparated back to the hotel and were now in the room, making other plans.
"So, we'll Apparate to Sydney tomorrow and find a phone booth. Or we could just book another hotel there and change base location," Hermione said with a glance at Severus.
Severus mulled it over for a moment. "Let's just stay here. Otherwise, we would have to haul our luggage around in our pockets because we wouldn't be able to check into our hotel until the afternoon."
She shrugged. "It's not that big of an issue either way. We can stay here. It's easy to Apparate between cities."
"Okay, so we've got the rest of the afternoon to figure out what's for dinner and maybe take a walk in the city center afterward?" Severus offered.
"Mmm, sounds perfect," Hermione said as she kissed his nose.
"Did you notice the Italian restaurant down the street? I think it was called Tucci's?" she asked.
"I take it you want Italian?"
"A nice pasta sounds perfect after today," Hermione said with a sigh.
Severus smirked at her. "Italian it is, but first, come here."
She moved over and sat in his lap. He hugged her to himself.
"I know this is hard for you, but we'll find them."
Hermione hid her face in his shoulder. "I hope so."
"And when we find them, we will restore their memories, and everything will be back to normal."
She pulled back and looked at him. Taking her finger, she tapped his nose.
"Thank you, Severus. You always calm me down."
He kissed her lovingly. "My pleasure."