Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters. I'm just borrowing for a story and my own imagination.

Chapter 3

The next morning, Hermione woke up early to send off the letter and get some breakfast, before checking out of the Leaky Cauldron. Since Remus, won't get there until noon, she decided to run some errands in Diagon Alley.

The first thing she did was head straight to Gringotts to transfer some funds from her Muggle bank account. With her parents gone, Hermione no longer had any connections to the Muggle world, and so didn't really need her account there, but she was reluctant to fully close it down. It was the last remaining link to her old life, before witches and magic and brooms that actually flew. Granted, she had only been eleven when she got her introduction to the wizarding world, but it had still been a part, just as much as the magic was.

She left her account open. Maybe, just maybe, she'll have an excuse to use it again someday.

After Gringotts, which had taken more time than she expected, Hermione only had just enough time to quickly pop into Madame Malkin's to place her dress order for Bill and Fleur's wedding, before it was already noon and she had to meet Remus. She rushed along, so worried about being late that she didn't really pay all that much attention to where she was going until she ran face-first into what turned out to be Remus himself. Holding her now throbbing nose, she looked up in time to see the werewolf quickly hide his smile to ask her:

"Hermione, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Remus, thank you for asking. Just a bruised ego, it would seem."

He laughed, failing to hide his mirth this time.

"I'm glad you're enjoying yourself, even if it is at my expense. A lovely friend you are."

"I'm sorry, I'll stop laughing now. Sorry. No, I'll really stop this time. Sorry. Okay, I'm all done now. Sorry, I mean it for real this time."

It took another solid five minutes before Remus was able to collect himself well enough to offer to get her things. Once Hermione pointed out that she had already packed up and put everything away, he held out his arm to her to Side-Along to the Cottage.

The twirling feeling in her stomach after they landed was almost too much for her, and Hermione had to spend a few moments hunched over to encourage her breakfast to stay where it was. Soon though, the rich earthy smell of fresh soil invaded her nose. She straightened up to see a stunning little garden, full of all sorts of plant life. There were so many different fruits and vegetables all laid out in neat rows, and the edges of the land were bordered by dozens of blooming roses in so many colours.

Remus chuckled beside her, amused by the expression on her face. She blushed, realizing that she had essentially just ignored Remus the entire time they had been here, first to handle her nausea, then to gaze longingly at the beautiful garden in front of her. She grinned at the older man sheepishly, then noticed that while there was a garden, there wasn't a house to go with it.

"Oh, the actual house is a little bit further from here. Because of the Fidelius, we can't apparate directly in front of it. Come on."

Remus led Hermione into the surrounding forest and eventually stopped in front of the largest oak tree she had ever seen in her life. She was certain that even if both she and Remus hugged the tree at once, their hands wouldn't even touch, the trunk was so thick. She wondered how old this tree had to have been to have gotten this large. What kind of things would this oak have witnessed over the decades it had lived?

Hermione was interrupted from her musings when Remus tapped her on the shoulder and then handed her a piece of paper. She unfolded it to see just two words. Lupin Cottage.

As soon as she looked up from the paper, she saw the most adorable little house in front of her, right in front of the huge oak tree. The cottage seemed to call to her, tugging at her very heartstrings.

Nature, in all its magic, seemed to cradle this petite abode, its exterior adorned with cascading vines and stones wrapped in a soft, mossy embrace. A meandering path, paved with stones that seemed to glow with an otherworldly light, invited her to explore. Wisps of smoke danced from a quaint chimney, carrying with it the scent of burning wood. The air hummed with the gentle melody of leaves rustling and the distant murmur of a babbling brook as if the very soul of the woodland would whisper secrets to those who dare to listen.

She stepped forward, entranced by the sight in front of her, and as soon as her foot touched the first stone of the path, a delicate bell sounded, alerting those inside the cottage of a guest's arrival. Sirius flung open the door a moment later, then ran out to greet them, like an excited puppy.

Hermione didn't even get a chance to say hello before Sirius had already pulled her into a crushing bear hug. She realized a moment too late that it was intentional, the Animagus squeezing her just hard enough that the breath was gone, teasing her in the same way Harry or Ron did. She started slapping his arm, trying to catch her breath until Remus reached over and smacked Sirius up the head.

"Ow! What was that for?!"

"For trying to kill the person that saved your life. Show some respect."

Honest to Merlin, Sirius, the grown adult, pouted like a petulant child whose been told no. Hermione let out a breathless laugh, her lungs still recovering. After everything that had happened, she hadn't realized how nice it would be just to be around people. It was a relief, removing some of that burden off her shoulders. Tears filled her eyes all of the emotions she had been pushing away for honestly months came crashing down.

Remus was the first to realize something was wrong. He turned to her, the smile quickly leaving at the sight of her crying face. He immediately came up to Hermione, reaching out for a hug, but hesitating just before, like he wasn't quite sure if it was the right thing to do. Sirius was more forward, immediately pulling Hermione into his arms once again, but so much more carefully this time.

"Hey, little witch, it's okay, I've got you. We've got you. You're okay, it's alright. Let's just go inside and talk, okay?"

He gently pulled her into the house and straight into the first room on the left. Through her blurred vision, Hermione could just about make out the large bookshelves lining the walls and realized that Sirius had taken her into the library. He sat her on the couch beside him and pulled her back into a comforting hug.

Hermione wasn't sure how long they stayed like that before Remus quietly tapped her on the shoulder and handed her a cup of tea. By then she had calmed down enough to accept it. The first sip surprised her. The tea wasn't too hot or too sweet, but just right, exactly the way she had learned to make her tea from her father. Her vision started to blur again, but she forced the rising sadness down again and concentrated on enjoying her tea.

The trio sat in silence for a few minutes, gathering their thoughts to prepare for the inevitable conversation that they had to have. It was Remus who cleared his throat to warn her that was going to start talking. Hermione let out a breath, bracing herself.

"So, do you want biscuits with your tea, or should we just go straight to lunch?"

Hermione couldn't help it. She burst out laughing, wiping the tears from her eyes and finally feeling at ease. Remus shot her a quick grin, glad to see her smile. Hermione knew then that she could tell them, she could trust them. They were her friends too, especially after all they had been together. The words left her in a rush.

"I wiped my parents' memories of me and sent them off to Australia to keep them safe from the war. I even changed their names to Monica and Wendell Wilkins, two dentists who have always wanted to make the move but held out hope for years to have a kid in their homeland, but since it didn't happen, they decided to sell their practice and move on."

The silence that followed made Hermione think that perhaps she was wrong about the Marauders, that they would see her as some sort of monster for what she did. Maybe they would hate her, in the same way that her parents would if they ever remembered what she had done. They were going to kick her out and then tell everyone else that she's a horrible, evil person who basically destroyed her parents' lives and -

"Hermione! Breathe!"

"Yeah, little witch, it's okay. You did what you had to do. I just can't believe you did it all by yourself. Why didn't you call us for help?"

Hermione blinked. They didn't hate her? They wanted to help?

"I didn't want you to think I'm a monster for doing what I did."

"Hermione, we would never! You just made the ultimate sacrifice. Do you know how many people in your situation would have just said, fuck it and left? Hell, most people would have walked away from Harry the first time he got in trouble back in first year! You're one of the bravest, kindest most resilient people we know. Why would we ever think anything bad of you?"

"But I changed their whole lives. I've taken away so much from them!"

"Little witch, you also did the same thing to yourself. You just took away two of the most important people in your life, just to make sure that they would be safe and happy, all at the expense of your own happiness and peace of mind. What kind of monster does something so selfless?"

"But it's not selfless! It's selfish! I just did what I wanted without asking them what they thought or what they wanted!"

"Hermione, ever since I met you in your third year, the one thing I noticed was that you never do anything without thinking it all the way through. This wasn't some rash decision you made just to make your life easier. This is something you carefully planned down to the last detail to make it flawless. and in all that planning, you realized that this is the best choice for your parents. No, maybe you didn't ask for their permission, but you knew they would never agree to this, so you did to protect them anyway. Hermione, you're not a bad person, or evil, or anything like that. You're a desperate person, doing a desperate thing, in a desperate time. It's okay."

Hermione couldn't say anything more after, her crying taking over once more. This time, Remus gently pulled her up by her arm and led her to another room further into the cottage. He handed her over to Sirius to hold while he pulled back the comforter in what would be her room for the next little while before the men tucked her into the bed to get some rest.

They stayed with her for the rest of the afternoon, until Hermione had cried herself to sleep. The last thing she remembered was the warm, comforting feeling of someone holding her hand and stroking her hair.

Author's note: So, I want to apologise for how long this took. But I hope I make up for it with how long it is. Please tell me how it is, I would love to hear your thoughts.