Saturday, June 13, 1998

After spending most of the day yesterday filling out questionnaires and being interviewed by "Compatibility Experts," Hermione was ready for a little getaway, however as she looked over her list one last time, she wasn't sure this would be the one she would have chosen. Of course, she had shared her parents' enthusiasm to experience Australian culture, and it was an adventure she had been hoping to enjoy with them one day. Yet, everything depended on these next few days.

What would her parents be like now? Would she be able to restore their memories? How would they react if she did? Would they forgive her? Would they hate her?

Hermione felt the tears sting her eyes, and she tried to blink them away. She was aware that what she had done had been extreme, but she had been desperate. Nevertheless, she would do it all over again if put in the same place. Yaxley, with a few others, had broken down the wards of her parent's home only a few weeks after Harry, Ron, and herself had gone on the run the previous year. Fortunately, she had returned a few days after they had left for Australia, packed away everything, and placed it in a storage facility under a different name because the Death Eaters had left behind nothing but brick and ash.

A hand came up and squeezed her shoulder. She looked up to see Harry's face full of concern, and it made her lip quiver. Harry gathered her into his arms and held her tightly.

"I'm so scared, Harry. I'm more scared now than when I had taken their memories. So many things can go wrong." Hermione did her best not to cry. Everyone would be in the sitting room in a few minutes to wish her and Remus goodbye, and she didn't need them feeling sorry for her. It would only make her cry worse.

"Honestly, Hermione." Harry sighed exasperatedly, sounding a bit annoyed. Confused, she looked up at him, just to see him smiling down brilliantly at her. "If anyone in the world could do this, it would be you, and you can do this. I know you can. This is a walk in the park compared to the things you have accomplished." While they both knew it wasn't true, she still felt her confidence rise as he held her at arms length and looked her dead in the eye. "You are going to restore their memories, enjoy some much needed family time down there, and come back, and everything will be perfect becau-"

"Wh-"

"Because your parents absolutely love you, and while they will be mad at first, it will mostly be that they are hurt. Once they understand how things were at the time, they will come around. But you have to be completely honest with them, about everything. All the way back to first year. No more secrets." He looked at her sternly, at least as stern as Harry Potter could look at Hermione Granger.

She laughed, throwing her arms around him. If the worst happens, she will always have Harry. He kissed her temple as he hugged her back. They pulled away from each other when a small cough sounded behind them, making them look back toward the sitting room door to see Remus setting his carpet bag down beside Hermione's beaded bag.

"Are you almost ready, Hermione?" He asked politely.

"Yes. I'm just getting a last-minute pep talk from Harry." She said, giving him a brilliant smile.

"Good, then I'll just go grab our jackets." Remus said as he ducked out of the room, passing Ron and Ginny on their way in.

"It's hotter than the hells out there. Why do you need jackets?"

"Because dumbass it's winter in Australia." Ginny said, smacking her brother on the back of the head as she made her way to Harry and Hermione.

"Though Sydney doesn't get as cold in the winter as Britain does." Hermione clarified.

"You got everything you need?" Hermione nodded, and the redhead smirked before she began listing items off the top of her head. "Toiletries? Including makeup in case you go out to dinner or something? A few nice outfits? Oh, and definitely a few comfy ones."

Ginny paused, looking over her shoulder toward the door before whispering suggestively, "lingerie?"

"Ginerva!" Hermione shrieked, turning a brilliant shade of red while Harry and Ron covered their ears, each exclaimed, "Gin!"

"What? Aren't both of you sharing a room at the hotel?"

"We share a room here." Hermione hissed at Ginny as she watched Remus walk in with their jackets, making his way to her.

Ginny shrugged and gave Hermione a playful wink. "Still nice to have. Never know when you'll need it."

"Need what? Are you forgetting something?" Remus asked, looking at Hermione as he handed her jacket to her, which she folded over her arm, keeping her head ducked so he wouldn't see the blush on her face.

"No, Gin is just being a prat." Hermione said as she playfully shoved Ginny while giving her a look that clearly said shut up.

Ginny smiled and waggled her eyebrows at Hermione as everyone started gathering into the sitting room to say their goodbyes.

Mrs. Wesley came barreling up to Hermione, threw her arms around her, and squeezed her so hard, Hermione was certain she nearly broke a rib before she gently put her hands on either side of Hermione's face. "Not to worry, everything will work out, dear." Hermione smiled gratefully at the Weasley matriarch, then watched her turn to Remus and give him a bone crushing hug and even though he towered over her she didn't falter as she looked him in the eye. "You take good care of our girl. And yourself."

"You know I will, or at least try to do my best. We all know how fiercely independent she can be." He said with a chuckle and a wink in her direction. It was a combination that made her stomach flip.

As everyone continued with their goodbyes, ending with Kingsley, who after he wished them well, withdrew a small cloth-covered package from his deep violet robes and held it out between Remus and Hermione. He uncovered half while still keeping the cloth around the item, so he wasn't actually touching what looked to be a regular muggle pen.

"Now this will take you directly to Australia's Ministry of Magic, the International Travels Department. They are not currently accepting British citizens yet, so the screening process will be difficult but I have the Minister's word that as long as you have the correct paperwork, they will not give you any problems besides a thorough screening. You do have everything, correct, Hermione?"

"Everything is right here." She said, holding her beaded bag up, which Remus had handed her while Kingsley had been speaking.

"Good. There is also a certificate verifying that beaded bag of yours in the paperwork, so be sure to give them that to avoid that thing from being confiscated." Kingsley said, his deep laugh reverberating around the room as everyone laughed and chuckled along with him.

"Off you go then." Kingsley offered the portkey to them.

Hermione put her beaded bag over her shoulder as Remus grabbed his carpet bag before they reached out and grabbed the muggle pen.

"Bye you lot, see you in about a week!" Hermione called as she felt the pull in her stomach before everyone swirled out of existence, and she landed in an unfamiliar office, where her wand immediately flew out of its holster.

"Hello, welcome to Australia. Where are you traveling from?"

Hermione whirled around and saw a petite woman with her blonde hair pinned up in a twist. She was about Remus' age and was sitting behind a desk, smiling at them.

In the two corners nearest her was a much more serious looking witch, with black hair tied back in a ponytail and a burly blonde haired wizard. The wizard had his wand trained on them, while the black haired witch was already using her wand to scan them for any weapons or spells that could alter their appearance. Hermione felt the desperate need for her wand but saw the witch had both her and Remus' wand laid out beside her on the desk. She looked over at Remus and watched as his wand hand clenched and unclenched several times. Hermione, forgetting what she was doing and what the blonde witch had just asked, started to feel her chest tighten, and she felt the panic start to take over.

Remus gently took her hand before calmly answering the blonde woman, "London. I know you are not accepting anyone from the UK, but Minister Kingsley set up accommodations for us with the Australian Minister."

The two apparent Aurors straightened up and looked even more ready to attack them. Remus squeezed her hand as the blonde waved her hand, silently telling the other two to stand down. The wizard lowered his wand, crossing his arms over his chest, but managed to keep his wand still aimed slightly in their direction.

"Yes, of course." The blonde exclaimed joyfully as she rifled through some papers on her desk, causing Hermione to let out a heavy breath. "Remus Lupin and Hermione Granger? My name is Grace, I will be helping you through the screening process today. Do you have your paperwork with you?" She asked as she looked back and forth between the two of them before her gaze settled on their clasped hands. She looked back down at the paper in her hand, back up to their clasped hands, and made eye contact with Remus. He looked a bit guilty as his hand slipped from Hermione's.

"I have it in my bag, if I may?" Hermione answered, indicating her beaded bag.

The blonde smiled politely at her. "Sorry, would you mind if Helen here were able to get it out. Procedures and whatnot, we can't be too careful, accepting you Londoners after all the dark wizards and war, you know?"

Hermione tried her best not to scoff at the woman, who (in Hermione's opinion) was much too happy to be playing a glorified concierge all day, as she handed her bag over to the black haired witch. The witch who was already looking much less severe, probably because of how easily they were cooperating, reminded Hermione of Tonks, just a few years older. She reached into the bag before looking confused and reaching even further in the bag. Once she had her entire forearm in the bag, she gave Hermione a look.

"There's a certificate for the bag with the paperwork." Hermione said a bit sheepishly.

Helen's face broke out in a big smile, and a bit of a laugh slipped out as she pulled the paperwork from the beaded bag before handing it over to Grace.

Grace quickly looked over Kingsley's paperwork, handing Helen a page out of it, assuming the certificate for the beaded bag, as Helen looked it over before investigating the bag further.

"So, I see you are here for pleasure? Visiting family to be specific? Would you like any recommendations to visit?"

"We would appreciate that. We are visiting my parents for the first time since they moved to Surry Hills from the UK, and I'm sure we would like to do a bit of exploring while we are here." Hermione said with a bit of a tight smile. For some reason, the mention of her parents made her extremely nervous.

"Let me get you a list, Miss Granger. You said Surry Hills?" Grace said with a cheerful smile as she leaned over to rifle through a draw in her desk.

"Yes." Hermione glanced over at Remus, who looked at ease to the normal eye, but she knew him. He was still on his guard, slightly blocking Hermione from the other wizard's wand.

"Here we are. Now, are you staying with your parents, Miss Granger, or have you made alternate arrangements? If not, I can book accommodations for you." Grace said, handing Remus what looked to be a rather thick welcome packet.

"Hermione already booked arrangements, thank you, Grace." Remus answered politely as he thumbed through the packet.

"Yes, I booked a room at a hotel next to Hyde Park. Are you familiar with the muggle hotels in the area?" Hermione said.

"Oh of course. Hyde Park is absolutely beautiful, and it's only about a kilometer or two away from here. There's much to do in the area, especially if you love museums and history."

"I didn't realize we were that close." Hermione said quietly, looking over at Helen, who had just finished going through her beaded bag.

"That's great. We're big academic buffs, I'm sure we will stay busy." Remus said a bit eagerly as he leaned over and showed Hermione a list of museums in the area. She took hold of one side of the pamphlet to look over the list with him.

"Oh then you will love the area. We just need to go over a few things about your stay and check your bag, Mr. Lupin."

~

Remus held the door for her as they stepped out of the Australian Ministry about an hour later onto a rather busy street.

"Do you want to go to the hotel first or get something to eat?" Hermione asked as she looked up and down the street they were on before looking at a map she had pulled from her bag.

"Can we take a nap at the hotel first, or do you want to go explore right away?"

"A nap sounds wonderful. This much of a time change is going to be a pain to get adjusted to." She said, flipping her map over and looking down the street again.

Remus walked up beside her and looked over her shoulder to see what she was trying to find. She had her finger pointed to a certain spot. A quick glance around told him that was where they currently were. She counted a few streets over before flipping the map over again and continuing to count streets.

Remus looked up, spotting a yellow car driving down the street towards them with a signal light lit up on its roof. He waved the taxi down before throwing a smirk at Hermione, who smiled and rolled eyes. When the car pulled up in front of them, Remus opened the door for Hermione before quickly getting in beside her, placing his bag on his lap as Hermione gave the address to the driver.

The drive took all of five minutes, and then they were getting out of the taxi in front of a large hotel across the street from Hyde Park. Remus felt out of his element walking into the hotel. When he had done most of his traveling in the 80's, he had spent a good portion of it staying in hostels, either working his stay off or because it was the least costly option. He figured Hermione wouldn't have booked a hostel, but he wasn't expecting what appeared to be a four- or five-star hotel either. Then again, having two dentists for parents, there was a good chance this was just what she was accustomed to.

He stayed back as Hermione walked up to the front desk to get checked in, watching the people milling about in the front lobby. While he had bought several new outfits, both wizarding robes and muggle clothes, he still felt as if he had his old threadbare pants and jumper on compared to the other men walking around in their expensive suits.

Hermione came back holding a key to their room.

"Are you ready? We're on the twelfth floor." She said, looking around for the lifts.

He cheekily gestured for her to lead the way.

She rolled her eyes at him before heading towards the lifts.

They stepped off the lift, and Remus followed Hermione down the hall until she came to a stop in front of one of the doors.

She unlocked the door, and Remus reached over her to push the door open for her before he followed her into the room.

The room was much larger than he had expected. Not only was there a king-sized bed but a small kitchenette, as well as a couch and a desk near the window, with a television. He peeked in the bathroom and saw a large corner bathtub with a separate shower.

"Hermione, do we really need this much space? I figured you'd spend most of your time with your parents or out exploring." He tried to be subtle about it but living with little to no income for more than half his life, he always worried about how much things cost and this seemed a bit excessive.

"I booked their cheapest single bed room, and when we checked in, I just asked if an upgrade was possible and voilà, same price. It's a trick my mom taught me when I was younger." She shrugged as she looked out the window at the park.

He walked up next to her. "They just happened to give you a king-sized suite with a view of the park?"

"I would consider that an upgrade, wouldn't you?"

"I suppose. It just seems oddly specific."

"I had booked a standard king suite with a view of the park. They upgraded it to a superior room. I didn't have any other say besides that." Hermione walked over to the bed, where she had placed her beaded bag and started to unpack her things. Remus closed the curtains and started to do the same. Remus thought it comical how similarly they unpacked and put everything in a proper place, nice and neat.

When they finished, Remus laid down on the bed and watched as Hermione crouched down in front of the alarm clock and started messing around with it.

"Do you think one hour will be enough? I worry more than that we won't be able to go to sleep tonight."

"You are probably right. Maybe we can adjust ourselves a bit easier that way." He answered as he stretched his arms over his head.

She put the clock back on her nightstand and watched him suspiciously.

"Aren't you going to get under the covers?"

"For a nap? No. I'll sleep lighter on top of them."

"What kind of crazy person are you? Clearly, you've spent too much time in the Black house because the crazy is starting to rub off on you."

Remus laughed with her as he watched her crawl under the blankets.

"One hour, Remus, better get to sleep."

~

Hermione looked up at the beautiful Archibald Memorial Fountain, admiring the sculptures that made up the fountain itself. Feeling lost in a trance as she watched the way the water sprung up and fell in its graceful arches. Hermione had always been mesmerized by fountains, unsure of where the fascination came from, though.

As she stood there, water splashed across her, drenching a good portion of her, including her hair and the entire front of her. She shrieked, looking over at Remus, who held his hands clasped behind his back, out of her sight. He stared up at the nearest part of the fountain, straining to keep a straight face.

"Honestly." She said with false exasperation lacing her voice, as she walked over to stand next to him. "Are you ready for dinner?"

Remus scrunched his face, a bit confused. "Dinner sounds wonderful, actually. I'm starved."

As soon as he finished speaking, as quickly and stealthily as she could, she scooped a handful of water from the fountain and smacked him in the face with it.

Remus, with his water drenched face, looked down at her and arched an eyebrow.

"You're gonna pay for that, you know?"

"Well you started it, plus you would have to catch me first." She said with a laugh as she backed away from him before sprinting off. Honestly, while he could easily outrun her, she was really hoping his recent transformation would, at the very least, slow him down a bit.

She was wrong.

Remus quickly covered the distance between them and was right behind her. She veered off the path, ducking in and out of the trees, laughing with childish glee. When he got too close, she ducked under his outstretched arms and doubled back towards the fountain.

When she drew closer to another fountain, she glanced over her shoulder to see where he was, but he popped up from the other side of the tree she was running past and grabbed her around the waist, causing her to come to a very sudden halt, which she wished she could say was the reason her stomach made such a swooping motion and not because he had his arms around her in such a public place.

"I got you." He whispered in her ear. Hermione's heart was in her stomach.

"You're lucky I didn't throw you in that fountain over there. Think you can outrun me." Remus let out a huff of a laugh as he let go of her. "Now, where do you want to eat?"

Disclaimer: I've never traveled internationally, so please excuse any inaccuracies.

Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this chapter. Thank you to everyone who has favorited, followed, or left a review. I appreciate it!

-Jade