A/N: I do not own any character references by JK Rowling in the Harry Potter series. This story is a product of my pure imagination.
Past me
I wanna tell you not to get lost in these petty things.
Your nemeses will defeat themselves.
Before you get the chance to swing
And he's passing by.
Rare as the glimmer of a comet in the sky
And he feels like home.
If the shoe fits, walk in it.
Everywhere you go
~Long Story Short by Taylor Swift
The process seemed to take forever for Hermione as her heart dared to beat out of her chest before the final golden strand entered her mother's head, and the room became quiet.
Hermione and Harry looked at Adelaide, who sat back on the couch as a bead of sweat rolled down her temple, "You are a brilliant witch, my dear. It's done. They were almost breaking the spell on their own. Their love for you is strong."
Tears filled Hermione's eyes as she watched her parents slowly re-awaken. First, her mother opened her eyes, confused as she looked around. Next, her father opened his, stretching and groaning, "This chair is horrible on my back."
Juliet Granger blinked and noticed Hermione sitting across from her, "Hermione? Darling, where are we?"
Hermione couldn't hold back the tears any longer, "Mum, I need you and Daddy to remain calm."
"Who are these people? And where are we?" Dan Granger asked, standing up as he looked at Harry, "Wait, aren't you Harry? You've grown so much."
"Yes, sir," Harry said as he stood up and held his hand out to shake, "I don't think we've ever officially met."
"Hermione, what is going on?" Juliet asked watching Harry and her father shake hands.
"Mum, we are in Australia. Sydney, Australia, to be precise," Hermione explained, "I did a spell to modify your memories so that you would move to Australia to be safe."
Juliet put her hand to her mouth, "You did what?"
"Hermione Jean!" Dan yelled, "You modified our memories!? Why?"
"It's my fault," Harry stated looking at all the Grangers in front of him.
"Harry! Stop, it's not," Hermione sobbed as she went to stand in front of him.
"In a way, it is Hermione," Harry told her sadly as he looked at Hermione's father, whose hair color was the same as hers, "Sir, there has been a war going on in the wizarding world. I don't think Hermione has told you much about it," Harry told them as Hermione shook her head, "There was a man… not even a man anymore, a being named Voldemort that was hunting and killing Muggles and Muggleborns because he believed that magical blood was purest only to those born in a magical family."
"He had followers too, still does, but most of them are captured or dead," Hermione explained, "Remember when Brockdale and the Millennium Bridge collapsed? That was his followers trying to kill as many Muggles as possible. They were torturing and killing as many Muggles as they could get their hands on."
"But what does that have to do with you?" Juliet asked, confused as she sat down on the couch with Hermione.
"Because he was trying to kill me," Harry told her honestly, "Before I was born, a prophecy was made that stated a child born at the end of July to parents who had defied him three times would be his downfall. My parents had gone up against him three times and survived despite my mother being Muggleborn."
Juliet looked away from Hermione, "Hermione said you lived with your Aunt and Uncle."
"Because he killed my parents when I was a year old. My mother died protecting me, and the wizarding world thought he died in my nursery," Harry told her as he sighed, "But he didn't."
Juliet looked at Hermione, "What stupid name did you say they gave him in the newspapers?"
"The Boy Who Lived," Hermione spit out, "Like a one-year-old could defeat a fully grown wizard."
"All I got was this scar, and I was famous," Harry said, holding up his hair.
Hermione looked at him, "It's barely visible now," She stated amazed.
"Well, when I got to Hogwarts and met Hermione, she knew more about me than I did, and probably still does," Harry admitted.
"She read so many books after she got her letter. We were in Diagon Alley at least ten times before she had to get her school supplies," Juliet told him.
"Mr. and Mrs. Granger, your daughter has kept me alive. Voldemort wouldn't be dead without her," Harry informed them.
"You see, not only because I was Harry's friend, but because I was Muggleborn, I was put on a registry, and I was being tracked by people within the Ministry," Hermione admitted, "Dumbledore died-"
Juliet gasped, "Your headmaster? What happened?"
"He was killed in front of Harry at Hogwarts," Hermione told her, looking at Harry, "At the time, we thought he was murdered. So knowing that there was the registry and they were looking for Harry, myself, and Ron too. We came up with a plan to finish what Dumbledore started to defeat him."
"But we had to go on the run," Harry told them, "So Hermione did what she could to make you guys safe, and didn't even tell me or Ron until later."
"Like I said before, I modified your memories and sold the practice and had you think you were moving here to Australia," Hermione admitted.
"Hermione!" Juliet stood up and looked down at her, "You should have told us. We could have run together!"
"I couldn't do that to Harry," Hermione told her.
Dan stood up and walked over to Harry, "You are a danger to my daughter; you are too dangerous, and I want you out of here!"
"Daddy, no!" Hermione said as she stood up and jumped over the small coffee table to pull him away from Harry, "Harry saved me. He did not ask for any of this. He didn't even want me going on the run with him, but I gave him no choice!"
Dan Granger stared into Harry's eyes, "Did she?"
"I tried running away in the middle of the night and leaving Ron and Hermione behind. They would not let me. Hermione saved the world, Sir, not only my life. Without her, we would never have stopped Voldemort," Harry informed him, "I'm forever indebted to her."
"He's gone?" Dan asked them.
"I killed him myself," Harry stated, his back hitting the wall behind him.
Dan narrowed his eyes, "You killed him?"
"Technically, he killed himself," Hermione said as she took Harry's arm, "Harry just took his wand from him, and the spell rebounded onto him as his wand flew through the air."
"You killed him with Expelliarmus?" Adelaide asked, surprised.
"That was the final spell that I cast," Harry said, not looking away from Hermione's father, "I didn't want to kill him. I wanted to defeat him. I've never wanted to hurt anyone, ever."
"Besides Draco," Hermione stated.
Harry looked at Hermione, "You aren't helping Miss I-Punched-him-in-the-face!"
"You punched someone, Hermione Jean!?" Juliet asked, surprised.
"He deserved it. He called me a foul name in the wizarding world for being a Muggleborn. Plus, it was four years ago," Hermione spit out at Harry.
"Git deserved it. Even if he did end up saving our lives," Harry mumbled looking at the floor.
"Look, Harry, my job is done, and it's time for me to go home. I was so glad to catch up with Euphemia's Grandson, but can you send Peter a Patronus and see if he can come to get me?" Adelaide asked, "Too much excitement for this 105-year-old to bear, and you have much to discuss."
"Wait, 105 years old?" Dan asked surprised, as Harry waved his wand around his head and his stag Patronus emerged.
"Go to Peter Clarke, Peter, it's Harry, and Adelaide needs a driver home. Could you come to Hermione's parents' shop and get her?" Harry spoke to his Patronus, and it ran off.
"What was that?" Dan asked noticing the air moving around them and happy feelings.
"It's called a Patronus. It is a spell we use to cast aside evil creatures called Dementors, but a new development that I missed was that it can be used to communicate," Adelaide said, surprised, "You can cast a corporal Patronus, and it can travel to Canberra?"
"Yeah," Harry said as Hermione stood up and cast her own, and her otter appeared.
"Albus, had you learning about patroni to the point you can both cast a fully corporal one?" Adelaide asked, shocked.
"When Dementors attacked us our third year and I heard my parents being murdered, Remus taught me," Harry informed her.
"You were attacked your third year?" Juliet asked, surprised as Dan scoffed.
Hermione looked at her parents, "I'm so sorry I haven't told you everything, but after my second year, you threatened to pull me out of school, and it was the only place I'd ever belonged."
"Your headmaster never gave us a straight answer as to why you were in a coma, and we couldn't even visit you," Dan said bitterly.
"I was petrified, it wasn't a coma," Hermione admitted, "There was a basilisk-"
"At Hogwarts?!" Adelaide gasped.
Harry looked at her, "Tom Riddle's memory inside a diary bewitched a girl, and she opened the Chamber of Secrets and released Slytherin's basilisk on the Muggleborns. I killed it and destroyed his diary."
"In your second year?" Adelaide whispered, holding her chest.
Harry pulled up his sleeve and showed the scar from the basilisk fang, "Just one of many times I nearly died."
"You were bitten?" Adelaide asked as Dan looked at his arm, "What is a basilisk?"
Everyone jumped as Isabelle appeared in front of them, and Juliet screamed.
"Sorry! Did not mean to scare you. Peter couldn't come, so I've come to escort you home, Ms. Adelaide," Isabelle stated as she looked around, "Is everyone okay?"
Adelaide slowly stood up, "We were just informed that Harry was bitten and defeated a basilisk in his second year at 12 years old."
"Damn," Isabelle said, surprised.
Adelaide touched Harry's arm, "Was it a Horcrux?"
Harry nodded, "They are all gone. We made sure of it."
"Oh Merlin, how many did he make?" Adelaide asked, looking between him and Hermione.
"Seven," Hermione told her, "But we are trying to keep the existence quiet. He destroyed all the books about them in Hogwarts. So hopefully, the knowledge dies with us."
"Seven horcruxes. How?" Adelaide said as she slowly walked out of the backroom with Isabelle after Hermione handed her keys to the Ministry's car.
"Look, Mum and Dad, I am not proud of lying and omitting things from you both. All I wanted to do was keep you both safe," Hermione admitted.
"It shouldn't be up to you, Hermione, to keep us safe," Dan told her, "It is our job as your parents to keep you safe."
Hermione looked at him, "And Harry has no one, so I took it as my job as his best friend to keep him safe."
"Are you two dating?" Dan asked.
"No!" They both said at the same time.
"Actually," Hermione said, taking a big breath, "I'm with Ron."
"Ron?! Ron Weasley?" Juliet asked, surprised, "The one that called you names and you cried about how he treated you how many times?"
"He's… grown up," Hermione stated as she looked at Harry, as he scoffed and rolled his eyes, "He has. Can we just go back to your house and discuss this there?"
"And you will tell us the whole story there?" Dan asked.
Hermione swallowed as she looked at Harry, who shrugged, "Yes."
"Then alright, where are you two staying? If you gave the car to that woman, how are you getting there?" Juliet asked.
"We are staying on Cockatoo Island," Hermione said, "At a campground, but we don't have to go back tonight. I packed up the tent, and if there is no room in… your house, we can stay in the tent in the backyard."
"We have a guest room and a couch," Juliet said, looking at Harry.
"I'm fine with the couch, or I can stay in the tent. Either way," Harry told them.
"Juliet, take them to the house. I'll grab the till and take it to the bank and meet you at home," Dan said, shaking his head, "Since I guess we have two homes."
"Go ahead and make yourself at home. I'm going to go change," Juliet told Hermione and Harry after they had entered the house.
"Do you want some tea?" Hermione asked her mother.
"Sounds lovely, dear," Juliet said as she kissed Hermione's forehead and went up the stairs.
Hermione let out a shaky breath as she looked at Harry.
"Could have gone worse," Harry stated.
"I thought my Dad was going to hit you for a second," Hermione admitted as she sat at the kitchen table.
"Me too," Harry said as he opened a cabinet to find wine glasses.
"The kettle will be down under the stove," Hermione told him.
Harry went to the cabinet and found the kettle exactly where she said it would be.
"Old habits, even underneath, die hard," Hermione told him, "At least I hoped."
Harry ran water and looked at her as it filled, "I think I'm going to stay in the tent tonight. Just to give you guys space, and with my nightmares, I shouldn't be there on the couch."
Hermione frowned, "If they get too bad, please come in and wake me up."
"Same with you," Harry said as he put the kettle on the stove, lit the fire, and sat beside her, "Last night was better for you."
Hermione sighed, "I cast privacy charms around my bed after the first nightmare."
"Hermione, you know it doesn't bother me," Harry told her as he hugged her.
"I know, it's just I keep replaying Bellatrix over in my mind every night, and I hate waking you up when you don't sleep well as it is either," Hermione confessed.
Harry sat back with a sigh, "I wonder if Ron is having nightmares too."
"Hasn't said, but he doesn't have our wonderful bags under his eyes, so I'm thinking not as much," Hermione admitted as she stood up, took off her jacket, and then went to find the tea.
"Ginny had some nightmares," Harry admitted, "But she has since her first year and last year just retriggered them all."
"And how would you know, Mr. Potter, that Ginny is having nightmares?" Hermione asked.
Harry sighed, "I told you I carried her up to her room one night. I may have stayed with her a bit too."
Hermione looked at him surprised, "Harry!"
Harry laughed, "What!? I'm of age."
"But she isn't!" Hermione scoffed.
"Don't judge. It's not like we did anything… too bad," Harry confessed.
Hermione set the kettle on a potholder and sat down, "Have you two… you know?"
"Merlin, no," Harry said, blushing, "Just a little… touching."
"Oh my God!" Hermione laughed as Harry blushed.
"What about you and Ron? Merlin, I can't believe we are talking about this together," Harry groaned.
Hermione shook her head, "Ron and I haven't gotten any further than a little bit of a snog. It's a… work in progress. Don't tell him I said this, but remember how we used to joke that it looked like he was trying to eat Lavender's face? He still kisses that way."
Harry snorted, "Hopefully, he gets better with it eventually."
They both looked up as Juliet's footsteps were heard coming down the stairs.
"Is your Father home yet?" Juliet asked as she pulled four mugs from the cupboard and the tea canister.
"Not yet," Hermione told her as her mother sat down and opened the canister, "Mum! Tea bags? How uncivilized!"
Harry laughed as Juliet grinned at her, "They are easier."
Hermione poured water over each teabag and smiled, "Don't think I didn't notice the coffee pot," Hermione teased.
Juliet asked Harry, "Has she always been this cheeky with you?"
"No, in fact, I'm loving this," Harry said with a grin as Hermione rolled her eyes as she poured milk and put two sugars in his cup, then put milk and one sugar in her own, "Thanks. No, Mrs. Granger, for the first three years, I wasn't sure if Hermione could have fun."
Hermione gasped as she hit him, "Take that back, Harry James, and take that back now!"
"It's true. I think the first fun thing you did was punch Draco in the nose," Harry said with a laugh.
"What is this about my daughter punching people again?" Dan asked as he walked into the house.
"No, I think it's the same boy, at least," Juliet said as Dan walked over and kissed his wife, "I also found out that our daughter has only kissed her boyfriend, and he is a horrible kisser."
"Mum!" Hermione gasped, "You were eavesdropping!"
"Just saying, honey, your father never tried to eat my face. Now Harry, on the other hand, has been doing some minor petting with his lady," Juliet said with a grin over her tea.
Harry choked on his tea and sputtered.
Hermione snorted and grinned behind her hand, "Mum, give poor Harry a break. The only mother figure he has is his girlfriend's mum."
"Wait, Harry, you are with Ginny?" Juliet asked, surprised, "The one you said that treated him as a groupie?"
Hermione blushed as Harry looked at Hermione, surprised, "You said she was my groupie?!" Harry asked, shocked.
"Well, she had a Harry Potter fan club and everything," Hermione defended.
"No! She did?" Harry asked.
"Are you really that famous that there is a fan club for you?" Dan asked as he sat at the table with a cup of coffee.
"Sadly, I never did anything to deserve it either," Harry said as he shook his head.
"Don't let him fool you. Harry has done many spectacular things," Hermione said, "I mean; I wouldn't be here without him. A mountain troll nearly killed me in my first year on Halloween after a professor, who had Voldemort as a parasite on the back of his head; let him in so that he could steal something from the school. Harry knocked the troll out with the only spell he knew then."
"Which I learned how to pronounce from Hermione," Harry added.
"Then we became friends because he and Ron saved me from the fully grown mountain troll. He defeated Quirrell, our professor, with Voldemort as a parasite on the back of his head after becoming the youngest seeker in a century," Hermione told them.
"Hey, the whole troll thing and Quirrell were, as McGonagall said best, 'Sheer dumb luck,' and that's it," Harry told them.
"After that, Voldemort went into hiding for a while, but one of his Death Eater followers, Draco Malfoy's father Lucius, took a diary with a piece of Voldemort's soul to give to a young girl. Ginny, Harry's girlfriend, was the person it was given to, and she was, well, stupid enough to write back and forth to the book," Hermione said.
"She was 11," Harry defended, "And look at her brothers."
"Bill and Charlie are brilliant," Hermione told him, "And Fred and George are too."
Harry sighed, "Yeah."
"Anyways, like we said back at the shop. To no fault of her own, she was taken over by the memory of Riddle using his soul fragment and set a large basilisk on the school. Thankfully, no one died, but many, including myself, were petrified," Hermione explained.
"But again, Hermione saved the day even petrified because she left a note from a book she found when she discovered not only what the monster was, but how it was getting around through the plumbing," Harry told her parents.
"But you defeated it and destroyed the diary, bringing Ginny back and ending the first Horcrux," Hermione reminded him, sipping her tea.
"What's a Horcrux?" Dan asked, confused.
"We'll get to that when we talk about last year, but it's something that holds a piece of your soul," Hermione told her father.
"Because that's a thing in the wizarding world, got it," Dan sighed as he got up, "Continue."
"Third year was honestly our most normal year," Hermione said.
"Besides you having a complete and utter nervous breakdown," Harry told her, "And thinking a murderer was trying to kill me all year."
"A murderer?" Juliet asked, shocked, "Other than this, Voldemort?"
"Sirius Black, the escaped prisoner? He was my godfather, and everyone told me that he was the one who betrayed my parents and was trying to kill me to finish the job that Voldemort started. He was actually innocent and had been set up by my father's other best friend, who had been living as a rat with Ron since my parents died," Harry admitted.
"A rat?" Dan asked, "I thought your professor, who came to visit us and turned into a cat, was the only one."
"McGonagall came to your house?" Harry asked Hermione surprised.
"To deliver my letter on my 11th birthday. She turned into a cat to show us that magic was real," Hermione told him, "How'd your letter come?"
"By owl through the mail slot," Harry said, "Remember, they thought I knew about magic."
"That's right, anyways, remember our fourth year we went to that World Quidditch cup?" Hermione asked her parents, and they nodded, "Well, Death Eaters came out and started torturing the Muggle caretakers of the grounds, and after that, I stopped telling you guys much. Just to keep you safe. My year was uneventful, but Hogwarts hosted the Triwizard tournament. It was supposed to be for only those of age, but someone enchanted the Goblet of Fire and put Harry's name in as the only person in a fourth school. So Harry had to compete. Utter malarkey if you ask me, fighting dragons and kidnapping people to put them underwater," Hermione mumbled.
"Without Krum, you would have been the person I missed most, by the way. Ron's my best mate, but I noticed you were gone first," Harry admitted.
"Wait, you were kidnapped?" Dan asked Hermione leaning against the kitchen counter.
"Put in an enchanted sleep and put underwater guarded by mermaids to be rescued by a champion," Hermione told him, "Harry took the clue a little too literally and thought after the time limit we'd all be dead and nearly drowned himself trying to rescue everyone."
"But everyone lived," Harry commented.
"Saving people thing," Hermione replied, "Anyways, it turns out who we thought was our Professor wasn't the real professor but a former death eater pretending to be our professor, and he enchanted the Triwizard cup this time and," She looked at Harry, "When Harry and our schoolmate touched it, they traveled to another location where Voldemort was brought back into a body, Cedric was killed, and Harry was tortured."
Harry looked down at the table, "But no one believed me that Voldemort was back. So, the ministry tried calling me a liar, and everyone started turning against me at school. Not Hermione, though," Harry said, looking at Hermione with a warm smile, "When the professor that the ministry sent us refused to teach us, Hermione helped me start a rebellion."
"I wouldn't call it a rebellion," Hermione said, rolling her eyes, "We just organized a secret group to teach ourselves since it was outlawed by the ministry. Harry taught everyone so much that he kept us all safe. Then we broke into the ministry to save Harry's godfather," Hermione said as Harry stood up and looked out the window above the sink, "We didn't know that Voldemort knew he could access Harry's mind. He made him think Harry's godfather was captured."
"And I got him killed, nearly got Hermione killed too. You should hate me for that," Harry said sadly, as Hermione got up and hugged him from behind.
"No, it was Bellatrix. She is the one that cast the spell that sent him into the veil," Hermione told him, "But Voldemort showed up, and the ministry finally knew that Harry wasn't lying."
Harry turned around, "Did you know he possessed me that night?"
Hermione gasped looking up at him, "What?"
Harry nodded, "Thinking of you and Ron and Sirius… that's what forced him out. My power, he knows not, always has been how much I love my friends."
Harry rested his head against the top of hers, and then looked at her parents, "I think we've freaked them out."
Hermione wiped her tears and stepped back from Harry, "Sixth year was rather uneventful until the end of the year. We were told not to tell Harry much because Dumbledore finally realized Harry's mental connection to Voldemort. Dumbledore was training Harry to find the fragments of Voldemort's soul called Horcruxes. He would kill people and put a piece of his soul into an object so that no one could kill him. The diary and Dumbledore found a ring belonging to Voldemort's mother's family. Then Harry went with Dumbledore to get another one, which was not real."
"It was a fake, and Dumbledore died because of it," Harry said, "After that, I had to take on the task to find the rest of them. So I didn't go back to school and went on the hunt for them."
"WE didn't go back to school, and WE went on the hunt with them, with Ron. For nearly a year," Hermione told them.
"You were staying where while you were looking for these Horcruxes?" Juliet asked.
"In a tent. Going from place to place to hopefully not be caught because we each had a bounty on our heads," Hermione admitted, "Until we were captured."
"They found you?" Dan asked.
"We didn't know that saying Voldemort's name triggered a taboo and summoned his Death Eaters," Harry told them, looking at Hermione, "You need to show them, Hermione. They'll see it eventually."
"At the end, when we are done," Hermione told him, "Anyways, we ended up getting another Horcrux by breaking into Gringotts, then escaping on the back of a dragon when we realized we were going to have to go to Hogwarts where the final one that we knew of what located. What we did not realize was that he would follow us there. We lost a lot of friends, and Harry died."
Juliet looked at Harry, "You died?"
"Voldemort killed me. I'm the only person to survive the killing curse not once," Harry said, holding up his hair, "I've survived it twice," Harry said as he pulled up his shirt and showed a new scar over his heart in the same shape as the one on his head.
Hermione swallowed as she ran her fingers over it, "You didn't tell us it left another scar."
Harry shrugged, "I was so beaten up afterward. I thought it was just another injury," Harry said, pulling down his shirt.
"If he killed you, how are you here?" Juliet asked.
"Because he didn't realize that when he went to make his seventh Horcrux the night Voldemort killed my parents, he made it. His soul shattered, and part of it attached to me. That was why he could access my mind. But when he killed me, he killed the fragment of his soul. I woke up in the forest in agony, but I pretended that I was dead," Harry told them as he looked at Hermione, "I'm sorry, by the way."
"He was like a limp doll," Hermione said, burying her face in his shoulder.
"It distracted him though, and we got the snake, then I could actually kill him, well… he killed himself," Harry stated, "And now we are finally free of him."
"And we are going back to finish our final year of school. Hopefully, we're having our easiest year yet," Hermione told them, wiping her eyes.
"Well, if we don't have a mountain troll attack us or someone doesn't try to kill us, we will probably be bored," Harry said with a smile.
"So he's gone for good this time?" Dan asked.
"The Aurors cremated him," Harry told him, "And the followers that were there that night either were killed, captured, or are being tracked down."
Hermione sighed at the table, "And talking about scars. We mentally have a lot, understandably, but physical ones, too. I have one on my chest that I can't show Daddy. Goes from here to here," She said, pointing to the portions of her chest, "But I also got this when we were captured."
Juliet gasped, grabbing her arm after Hermione pulled up her sleeve, "Oh my God, was that carved into your skin?"
"She's dead, Ron's mom killed her. She thought I stole something from her vault, so she tortured me trying to get answers," Hermione explained.
"And you want to go back to this world?" Dan asked honestly.
"Yes, to help clean it up," Hermione answered honestly, "Cause they are stuck in their pureblooded ways, and that's why Voldemort got so far. They are scared to change. But Harry and I want to change it."
"Like a clean slate," Harry told him, "Not for me, but for my parents and everyone else that was lost because of one man's brainwashing, making so many think that their blood was different just because of who we were born to."
"And you think you can change things?" Dan asked.
"Yes," Harry answered, "Because I'm going to go into the Aurors when I'm ready, and I'm going to change a lot of things. Use my fame if I have to. Hermione will enter the Ministry, change many laws, and become the Minister of Magic."
Hermione scoffed, "That will never happen."
Harry looked at her, "Wanna bet? You won't stop until you get to the top. Ron is going to help me, and so is our friend Neville."
"What about your girlfriend?" Dan asked.
"Ginny doesn't quite know what she wants to do, honestly. She is pretty good at the ministry because of her Dad, though," Harry told him, "We are going to change things for the world and our children so they don't have to grow up in this fear that we did."
"So you have no romantic interests in my daughter?" Dan asked Harry.
"Hermione is the most important person to me in the world. She is my family, the only one I have left," Harry told him.
Dan got up and shook Harry's hand, "That we can agree on."
*~*~* June 14, 1998 *~*~*
Hermione pulled her sweater closer as she walked out the back door of her parents' house and quietly shut it behind her. A light glowed through the tent's canvas, showing that Harry was awake. Opening the flap, Hermione walked inside to see Harry at the table drinking from a cup, "Can't sleep either?"
Harry looked up, "No, nightmares. You?"
"Same," Hermione said as she curled her legs up on the chair in front of her, reached over to take a sip of whatever beverage he was drinking, and coughed, "What is that?"
"That Firewhiskey I found, I hadn't even taken a sip yet. Just the smell was burning my nose," Harry admitted, looking down into the mug as she handed it back to him.
Hermione stood up, "I'm making us some hot chocolate," Hermione told him as she pulled the saucepan out of the cupboard.
"Wow," Juliet's voice said from the entrance to the tent.
Hermione jumped, "Mum, did I wake you up?"
"I heard you tossing and turning. I figured that you came out here again," Juliet told her as she looked around, "Magic is amazing. Here, I thought Harry was sleeping out here in a sleeping bag. I may need to borrow this to escape your father's snoring."
Hermione poured milk into the saucepan and returned it to the small icebox. She stirred cocoa and sugar into the milk and then put it on the stove.
"Hermione had a nightmare, and you are up too, Harry. I know you told us about what you had been hiding, but it was worse than that, wasn't it?" Juliet asked them, "The few times I've seen Harry, he's always been skinny, but you are thinner than I remember. Hermione honey, you are so thin too."
"The camping part of our hunt was a little more primitive than we would have liked," Hermione admitted, looking at Harry.
"We did our best with what we had. The problem was when we went to a café we were attacked by Death Eaters. We were being tracked, so going to the store was not an option. When we did go to the store, it was me sneaking after hours," Hermione admitted, "It was wild rabbits, nuts and berries, and lots of fish."
"Hermione was amazing, though," Harry told her as the hot chocolate started boiling over.
"Oh no!" Hermione said as she took it off the stove.
"No wonder you two are so skinny if you relied on my daughter for food," Juliet said.
"Mum!" Hermione said, embarrassed.
"It wasn't too bad. We survived," Harry said as he got up, emptied the pot, and started the hot chocolate over, "Everything you cooked was better than Polyjuice. Did you tell your parents you accidentally turned yourself into half a cat?"
"She did what?" Juliet said, laughing.
"So Polyjuice potion, you take it to transform into someone else for just an hour. We were trying to find out if Draco was the one who opened the chamber of secrets. I got into a fight," Hermione said as she glanced at Harry, "And the girl who was fighting me was in Slytherin. I thought it would be perfect to use her hair to become her so I could get into the common room and ask Draco with Harry and Ron. The problem was animal transformations are not meant for Polyjuice. So I was stuck as a cat for two weeks."
"Mrs. Granger, she had a tail and whiskers and everything," Harry said, laughing.
Hermione narrowed her eyes at him, "Draco should have broken your nose harder."
"What is it with this Draco Malfoy? Is he the school bully?" Juliet asked as Harry poured them three mugs of hot chocolate, and she took a sip, "This is delicious."
"Thank you. He is essentially my archenemy. He was mad that I did not shake his hand the first year, and his father was a Death Eater, so since I supposedly killed him, I am sure he was brought up hating me. Plus, I was friends with Hermione, a Muggleborn who was better than he was," Harry told her as he sat down at the table.
Juliet set her mug down, "Hermione, your father and I were talking. We are going to stay here for a bit. We just opened the shop and made such a big investment in it. We want to give it a go for a year. So until next April, of course, you are going back to Hogwarts, so you won't be home anyways," Juliet said as she looked at Harry, "Are you still living at your Aunt and Uncle's?"
"No, honestly, I don't know where they are. I haven't heard from them since a year ago. Hermione and I are staying at Hogwarts and helping with the repairs," Harry told her.
"Repairs?" Juliet asked.
"The battle where Voldemort was killed, Mum, was at Hogwarts. It was a bloody battle. We lost many good people, many Death Eaters, too. Ron's brother, Fred, died. Remember Tonks?" Hermione asked as her mother nodded, "She was killed alongside her husband, Remus. Professor Remus Lupin. They left behind their son, who is Harry's godson."
"Oh, Harry, I'm sorry," Juliet said, touching his hand.
"He has his grandmother, thankfully," Harry told her with a slight smile, "I have no clue what to do with an infant," Harry admitted as he looked at Hermione, "When we go back, I should go visit."
"I'll go with you," Hermione told him as she looked at her mother, "When you and Daddy are ready to come home. I have a ticket back for you both. I'll call the airlines and turn them into vouchers, so they are good until you come home."
"When are you two heading back?" Juliet asked.
"We are flying back on the 21st. I got tickets for all of us to head back on the 21st, but I understand," Hermione told her, "In another two months, we will be going back to Hogwarts officially for term."
"Are you just living there until then?" Juliet asked them.
Hermione looked at Harry, who shrugged, "Harry has nowhere else to go," Hermione sighed.
"The house is sitting empty, right?" Juliet asked, "It has three bedrooms. Go ahead and use it. No need for it to sit empty."
"Are you sure?" Hermione asked.
"Daddy would say the same thing. Yes, please go home," Juliet told her as she looked at Harry, "Please stay in the guest room. I would hate for you both to stay all year round in that castle. Plus, you can keep an eye on her for us." They watched as Juliet stood up, "Now, I think it's time that we all get back to bed. We have a long day ahead of us exploring Sydney."
Harry put their cups in the sink, running water in them.
"This tent has water too?" Juliet asked, surprised.
Hermione laughed, "Goodnight, Harry," She said as she led her mother out of the tent.
"Goodnight," Harry said as he whispered 'Nox' and slid the door open to his room.
*~*~* Sat June 20, 1998 *~*~*
Harry grabbed the bag with their towels and blankets and shut the car door as he and Hermione walked around her parents' car. Juliet put her arm around Hermione's shoulders, "I cannot believe you are leaving tomorrow already."
"I know, Mum, this week has gone by too fast," Hermione said as they ventured onto the sand.
Harry helped Dan spread out the blankets on the beach and then sat down next to Hermione, "I know it's cold for Australia, but it rarely feels this warm in the UK," Harry told them as he laid down on the blanket.
"Can you swim, Harry?" Dan asked as Hermione laid down after pulling her shirt off to uncover a black one-piece suit.
"Not really. My aunt and uncle never put me through swim lessons, and gym in school was more just pushing me into the pool," Harry told him, glancing over to see the very top of the scar on Hermione's chest.
"We are going to go get in the water if that's okay with you kids," Juliet said.
"Go ahead, we're fine here," Hermione said, closing her eyes.
Harry propped himself on his elbows as he watched her parents run into the water as waves crashed against the beach, "Your parents seem to love each other."
Hermione sighed as she pulled her hat down lower on her face to cover it, "They have their moments. I'm sorry that you never got to experience this from your parents."
Harry shrugged as he turned on his side to face her, noticing her skin was turning bronze again as it did during their summer vacations, "I've never known anything different to miss it," Harry told her.
Hermione looked at him as she picked up her hat slightly, "Are your Aunt and Uncle close?"
Harry laughed as he laid back, closing his eyes, "My Uncle is so controlling even with her. She is the perfect trophy wife to him. He has told his coworkers that at dinners, too. What she even saw in him is beyond me. She never worked out of the house; she just stayed home to take care of the house. Nothing is wrong with that, but that is why I always loved the Burrow. Molly is home, but the house is not cold and doesn't look like a museum," Harry admitted, "I'd get in trouble for dropping dirt on the floor after gardening when she asked."
Hermione sighed as she sat up, reaching into the beach bag, "I hate your Aunt and Uncle. Amazingly, you grew up so well."
"I basically raised myself," Harry mumbled, "I did have some amazing teachers and friends," He said as he looked at her, "At least once I turned 11."
Hermione opened a bottle of sunscreen lotion and started applying it, "I nearly forgot, and I would have burnt so bad. Do you want some? I put some concealing potion in it," She whispered.
"Sure," Harry said as she handed him the bottle so he could apply his own.
"Can you get my back?" Hermione asked as she looked at him, "Harry, you can take your shirt off."
Harry looked at her and then swallowed hard as he pulled his shirt over his head and quickly applied it to his chest.
Hermione moved onto her knees and ran her fingers over a scar on his shoulder, "What is this from?"
"The dragon in the first task," Harry told her as he applied sunscreen to his chest, covering up the oval near his heart from the locket.
"I noticed that the oval scar was still there when you showed the new scar the other day," Hermione said sadly.
Harry grabbed her hand where it rested on his shoulder, "You said it was stuck in my body, right?" as she nodded, "Then you had to remove it. Who knows what the locket would have done if it made it into my body? It was trying to kill me that night. You saved me again."
Hermione sighed as she sat back and took in his forearms, "I never realized how many scars you have."
Harry covered his right arm with sunscreen and pointed out the scars as they disappeared with a shimmer, "Nagini's bite is barely there. This one was from Pettigrew when he took my blood to return Voldemort."
Hermione nodded, "Just so happens to be where the dark mark would be."
"Fitting, isn't it?" Harry said.
"Here, I'll get your back," Hermione told him, taking the bottle.
Harry breathed slowly as she went behind him, applying lotion to his back.
"Harry, what is this scar from?" Hermione asked, gently smoothing lotion over his lower back.
"Old injury," Harry said as she traced it.
"Harry, did they… hit you?" Hermione asked quietly.
Harry closed his eyes and swallowed hard, "Only twice when I was little, and I went swimming a week later. The teacher reported it, and Vernon talked his way out of it. Never hit me with a belt after that."
"Oh, Harry," Hermione said, her forehead on his back.
"I'm never going back there," Harry told her, shaking his head, "I'll never see them again. I looked into if they were okay, through, Kingsley. They survived, but that is all I need to know. I have no more family left."
Hermione threw her arms around his neck from behind, "You are my family, Harry."
Harry cleared his throat, "Enough of this. Let me get your back." Hermione handed him the bottle as she turned around, pulled her hair to the side to let him apply it, and saw a man in the distance with tattoos, "Have you ever thought of getting a tattoo?"
"A tattoo?" Harry asked, following her line of sight, "Not really, but Sirius had some, but they meant something. Did you know he had a stag and a wolf? He also had a rat but put his own tattoo over the rat in Azkaban," Harry said, slowly running his hand over her back.
Hermione swallowed as his hands moved over her skin, making her magic dance within her body, "I've thought of getting a tattoo to cover up my scar."
Harry wiped his hands on his shorts and sat beside her, "Really?"
"It just brings up too many bad memories," Hermione said, running her fingers over where the word 'mudblood' would be on her arm without the lotion, "I just don't know what to get."
Harry bumped her shoulder, "When you are ready, I'll be there with you."
Hermione looked at him, surprised, "Really?"
"Of course," Harry said as he laid back down, "Now, let's get some sun before we go back to dreary England."
Hermione smiled as she looked down at him and had never felt more grateful for the scrawny boy, turned man beside her who had always given her a level of unwavering support and friendship that she never thought she would experience. Lying back down on her belly, she rested her head against her folded arms and closed her eyes.
*~*~* June 21, 1998 *~*~*
"You have your bags?" Juliet asked, "Everything you needed?"
"Yes, Mum," Hermione said as they stood at the boarding gate of Sydney's International Airport with Harry and her father as Hermione and Harry waited to board their plane, "I know, and I understand, but I still wish you would come back home."
"Give it a year," Juliet said as she hugged Hermione and kissed her cheek, "We will see how the shop is going and decide. You have big decisions to make yourself about after schooling."
Dan Granger pulled Juliet away from her daughter, "Let her breathe, dear. She has a whole year to figure things out."
Juliet nodded as she wiped away her tears and looked at Harry, "Take care of my baby."
"Of course," Harry said with an oomph of surprise as she threw her arms around him, "I'll watch after her, Mrs. Granger. I won't let her out of my sight."
"Great," Hermione said with a smile.
Dan held his hand, "I'm sorry that we got off on the wrong foot, Harry, but after getting to know you… I'm glad she has you."
Harry shook his hand, "Thank you, sir."
Hermione looked at her mother, "I'll call you on Sundays at 9 p.m. It will be 10 AM in Hogsmeade, and they have a phone there now."
Juliet hugged her, "I'm so glad you can call us now. That was the worst thing I was worried about. I don't think owls can travel this far."
"No, but there are other methods, but the phone will be better," Hermione said, rubbing her mother's back, "I love you, Mum." Pulling away, she hugged her father, "I love you too, Daddy."
"No more chasing dark wizards," Dan told her.
"Hopefully, I'm done with that for good," Hermione said, smiling as she looked at Harry.
"Please! I want to be just like a normal policeman, just in wizard form," Harry told them as they announced their flight was boarding.
Juliet hugged Hermione and Harry again, kissing them on their foreheads, "Be careful. I do not care what time it is when you get back. If that Hogs Head is open, call me to tell me you are back at the castle."
"Actually," Hermione said, looking at Harry, "I think we are going to go to the house."
Juliet hugged Hermione again, "I'm so glad. Be safe."
"Honey, they need to be going," Dan told her, touching her shoulder, "They can't call you if they can't go home."
With one quick hug from both parents, Hermione looped her arm into Harry's and presented their boarding passes to the airline attendant as they walked over to her.
"Love you both!" Hermione yelled as they walked down the bridge to the plane.
Harry followed Hermione to their seats and sat down after placing his rucksack in the overhead, "I know you want them home, but we are going to be back to school soon. At least you can call them now."
After fastening her seatbelt, Hermione held her beaded bag in her lap, saying, "I'm glad you were here with me, Harry. I can't believe I thought I could do this alone."
Harry fumbled with his seatbelt, and Hermione reached over to help him fasten it, "Goodness, I'm sorry; I forgot you've never flown before."
"Of this method of travel," Harry said with a wink as the flight attendants started going through the safety briefing, "So how long is this flight?"
"Nearly ten hours. We have a seven-hour layover in Bangkok, China, then an overnight flight to Germany. Land there early morning, then have a two-hour layover before going home," Hermione told him, "While Portkeys are faster, I figured you wouldn't mind since the tickets are non-refundable."
Harry looked up as the plane started moving, "Don't planes show movies?"
"Yes, this one will, and I have books," Hermione said, patting her bag, "When we were in the shopping centre, I purchased some books I thought would be helpful for our final year. Plus a new Quidditch book."
"Brilliant," Harry said as the plane took off, and Hermione grabbed her seat. Harry laughed as he took her hand, "This is nothing compared to a broomstick or a dragon," He whispered.
"I just hate heights," Hermione admitted.
*~*~* June 22, 1998 *~*~*
Harry groaned as they walked off the plane and sat inside the Vienna, Austria airport, "Okay, never again, Hermione. I'll take Portkeys over these long flights."
"I'm sorry," Hermione said as she sat down with a huff, "God, my back is killing me from sitting so long."
Harry looked at her suddenly, "How far is it, you think, from here to London?"
"Too far to apparate," Hermione told him, "We'd have to do at least four jumps."
"But Voldemort went from Malfoy Manor to Nuremberg to kill Grindlewald," Harry told her, confused.
"Because it was Voldemort," Hermione told him.
Harry sat momentarily, and then stood up, "I need to use the loo."
Hermione grabbed Harry's hand, "Harry, don't even think about it."
"Calm down, Hermione," Harry told her as he went towards the sign marked lavatory.
Hermione sat back and looked towards his back as he walked into the bathroom, "He wouldn't… would he?" She wondered aloud.
After ten minutes, Hermione walked to the bathroom and heard a familiar snap of apparition from inside.
Harry walked out smiling, "Come on," Harry said, grabbing her hand.
"Harry, no!" Hermione said as she felt like she was being sucked through a straw and found herself standing on Kingsdown Beach, one of the places they had stayed on the run, "Oh my God, Harry!" Hermione touched and looked all over her body, then hit him, "That was over 1,000km!"
"I went to the outside of Nuremberg, but it was creepy, so I thought I'd try going to Hogsmeade, and it was nothing, but I was going to side-along with you and didn't want to risk it, and this is the most southern part of the UK we stayed at," Harry told her.
Hermione looked at him in shock, "Harry, that should have been impossible. How did you do that?"
Harry shrugged, "I just focused and let my magic build up and focused. You know, destination, determination, and deliberation worked, didn't it."
Hermione stared at him, "Harry, you said spells were coming easier to you. I think Voldemort's soul was draining on your core. Without it, you are finding everything easier."
"It's possible," Harry said, holding his hand out to her.
Hermione shook her head and took his hand, and with a snap, they were standing in the backyard of a house.
Harry looked up as they landed in between trees in a grassy yard. Following Hermione, they stepped out into the backyard of a very nice, tall brick home.
"Is this your house?!" Harry asked, surprised as they walked through the long grass.
"Bernie hasn't mowed the lawn I see this summer. Welcome to my home," Hermione said as she led him up to the back door and started canceling the spells that she put on it so they could go inside.
Opening the door, Harry took in the large kitchen, "This is your house?" Harry asked, still surprised.
"My mum inherited it from my grandmother when she passed," Hermione told him as she took her shoes off, "This is the kitchen. The dining room is in there," Hermione said, pointing through a door, "I put everything on this floor upstairs shrunk in my old dollhouse, so it looked like we'd moved out."
Harry followed her to the house's entranceway and up the stairs, glancing at the empty room to their right. At the top of the stairs, Hermione pointed to her left, "That's my study room. My bedroom is this room," She said, walking towards it and opening the door.
"This is twice the size of my room at the Dursleys," Harry said, surprised.
"Really?" Hermione asked as she frowned, "I'm not surprised, but I feel better," She led him down the hallway and opened another door, "This is our guest room, which will be your bedroom."
Harry stepped inside and took the large bed in the room's middle.
"It's only a queen-" Hermione said as Harry interrupted her, "Hermione, it's great. I've never slept on anything bigger than the Hogwarts beds anyway."
"I hate the Dursleys. The bathroom is over here. We share it on this floor. If one of us is using it, there is one upstairs too," Hermione told him, "Follow me."
Harry followed her up the stairs to the second floor.
"To your right, here is the bathroom. Only a single sink and tub, but it does the job," Hermione told him.
"Are these more bedrooms?" Harry asked, surprised.
Hermione blushed, "Well, they were, but my parents found out that I was going to be their only child and made one into their study, and then," Hermione said as she opened the door straight from the stairs, "We needed room for the books."
Harry laughed, "Of course, you guys have a library in your house."
"So yeah, this is it," Hermione said, shutting the library door behind him, "It's not the Burrow-"
"It's great, Hermione," Harry told her.
"Go ahead and make yourself at home in your room. I'm going to take a shower to get the traveling off me," Hermione told him, "But I need to go call Mum first."
"I'll use the bathroom up here," Harry told her.
"Sounds good. We can run to the market after we wash up," Hermione said as she walked down the stairs.
"Merlin, Hermione's parents are rich," Harry mumbled as he entered the bathroom.
Opening the door to the supermarket, Hermione led Harry inside, "We will just get the staples," Hermione said as she looked back at Harry, who had stopped, "What's wrong?"
"Holy crap, this place is big," Harry said, surprised as Hermione got a buggy.
Hermione swallowed as they walked over to the bread aisle, "Did you ever get to go shopping with your Aunt?"
"No," Harry said, taking in all the types of bread, "I always had to stay with Mrs. Figg."
"Are you sure they aren't back at their house?" Hermione asked, squeezing the bread in her hand.
"Hermione, you are destroying the bread. I have no clue where they are, and I don't care," Harry told her.
Hermione huffed and grabbed her favorite cereal, "It might be better that way. I might accidentally hex them."
