OK everyone, I hope you like this next story. There will be Lemons and scenes of violence, alcohol and drug use. Also this is a story about a journey with a terminal illness. Please let me know your opinions.
Chapter One
Hermione
I swear to Merlin that is the last time I drink with Ginnys Quidditch team. Hungover with the mother of all headaches is not a good look for Sunday Brunch with my parents. After finding them in Australia and restoring their memories things had been tense between us.
They loved me I knew that of course and never held it against me once. I explained it to them and even Molly and Arthur had made it their mission to make them see how dangerous it was.
Considering the Weasleys had lost Fred and he was a very well trained Wizard they seemed to realise quite quickly that they would not be very fortunate if we were to leave them in the Country.
My mother was more accepting of my magical side again, I think she was just happy to get me back, but my father showed a fear to that side now he knows first hand what magic can do. I have been spending every Sunday with them for the past four years and realistically I would take whatever ire my father has just to spend time with them.
So yeah hungover after copious amounts of drinking with Ginny was not good, not too mention a group of girls whom I think could drink Minerva McGonagall and Andromeda Tonks under the table left me in a sorry state.
Even my newly improved Hangover potion was not kicking it. After the war I went back to Hogwarts to complete my schooling and recieved a Dual Mastery in Transfiguration from Minerva McGonagall and Potions from Horace Slughorn.
Once that was over I joined the Ministry and worked for the Department for Creature Welfare. It was renamed after the war to try and boost relations between wizards and the creatures all around the world.
It had been a slow but steady process and although there was certain obstacles put in place from certain people, the majority of the Wizarding World wanted to move on from the entire thing and not get branded a bigot.
Elves were first on my list, House Elves now must recieve payment of some sort and one day off every week. I tried to make it two days but the elves put their foot down. It was called Dobbys Law.
Second was the werewolves, after the dust settled, werewolf numbers were astronomical, thanks to Greyback we had more underage people who had been scratched or bitten throughout the war and so free Wolfsbane was given out for everyone on a full moon and a scheme with Draco Malfoy had allowed them to use the grounds of Malfoy Manor to transform for the full moon.
The home had been sitting vacant since Lucius Malfoy went to Azkaban and Narcissa Malfoy reconnected with Andi and became a Black again. Having just got married, Draco didn't want to live in the home either and so moved into a townhouse in the city with Astoria Greengrass.
After making relations between us and the centaurs at least honourable I was approached with a Job offer in the Department of Mysteries. Dianna Chang, Chos mother was head of the Department and wanted me to front their Potions Development and Research team, that was a year ago.
Knowing brunch will be spent in Pj's I opted to keep mine on, albeit it was after a shower with a clean pair but I decided to be comfortable rather than functional. Grabbing my wand I threw on my large oversized sweatshirt and made my way to my parents house.
Thankfully I could apparate straight into my parents back yard, my father has a small shed out the back that works for my entrances and exits. Its basically his mancave which consists of Tv with Games console, pool table and a bar.
Spinning to come and land on the solid ground I made my way out to the main house and found my father sweaty in his running clothes and my mother still in pyjamas as predicted smirking into her coffee cup as he kissed her cheek.
"All right pumpkin." I smiled at my father before going over and hugging my mum. She handed me my cup and offered me a plate of food, fruit to start with on the side of French cinnamon toast.
"Hey daddy. How was your run?" Asking as I bit into a strawberry which tasted like heaven by the way gave my father enough time to nod his head at me, declare it sufficient and steal a bite of mums toast before heading to shower.
Once he left my mum wouldn't look me in the eye and was swirling around the kitchen like she had a bee in her bonnet. I hadn't seen my mother this twitchy since she sat me down for the birds and the bees talk.
This went on for another thirty seconds, she dotted around washing out her coffee cup at the sink before gathering the newspaper and proceeded to turn to the crossword page. It was something we all did as a family at Sunday Brunch,do the crossword puzzle.
"Ok, what's going on?" She looked like a deer in the headlights before sighing and sitting down in front of me.
"I knew you wouldn't last very long, you were always so quick at figuring things out. Let's wait for your dad and we can talk alright." All sorts of fears and worries ran through my head in that moment.
"Is one of you dying? Contracted a deadly disease? Getting a divorce? Oh god please tell me you aren't pregnant?" I could only imagine the facial expressions my mother was being subjected to at this point.
"Jesus Hermione! Gosh sometimes I forget I left behind a young girl and now you're a woman."Just on queue my father chose this moment to walk in and as he glanced between us both he landed on my mum before rolling his eyes.
" I thought we were telling her together Jean, you owe me a tenner." Ok so no one was dying thankfully. My mum slapped him slightly on the shoulder as he came closer to her.
"She didn't tell me anything so do you care to enlighten me daddy?" He took a bite of fruit from one of two bowls on the table. One was mainly a mix of Berries and the second was a more tropical pick.
"Ok, so considering your mother and I have been back and it's been wonderful, we are of retirement age. We have sold the practice, and although we love it here and it will always be home...the Australian Summers did wonders for those aches and pains and we made a wonderful circle of friends..." It didn't take me a very long time to realise what he was getting at, my parents were leaving me again. I suppose I shouldn't be bothered about it but I feel like I have missed so much time with them both.
" You're moving back to Australia?" Both of them nodded their heads before my mother took over the rant at this point before coming over and holding onto my hand and started to cry.
"Listen to me darling, we love you. Of course we do except your father and I always did have a plan of sorts for when we got older only I thought it would be the South of France. You know it will help you of course also, the house is bought and paid for and it will save you money, paying for that Apartment every month. The deed is already in your name, considering your Apparition thingmabob you can make the commute. Australia is easy enough for you also isn't it. Sunday Brunches every week if you want." I couldn't help but smile at her before sighing and took a drink of my Mimosa and tried to not freak out.
"You both know I would support you no matter what, how could I not after everything you both have done to give me the most extraordinary life. You both have paved the way for me to be anything I have ever wanted. I miss you already." They both came over and wrapped their arms around me and handed me a small brown envelope.
"Now this is the deed to the house, you don't have to move in if you dont want to but we thought it would save you a bit of money not having to pay for your Apartment in the city. You apparite to work anyway so where does it matter where you live..." My mum smiled at me before taking a second to sip at her coffee but as always dad is there to pick up the slack of the conversation.
" We would just have to rent it out or sell it otherwise but I liked the idea of it staying in the family. " I nodded my head again in understanding but didn't say anything more for the rest of breakfast.
It wasn't until I was on my way home after arranging for to help them pack the following Sunday I realised what was happening. My parents in their retirement have more happening in their life than I did.
Truthfully last night was the first time I had been out in a while. I was probably what most people would call stuck in a rut. It had only been five years since the battle and I had been single for three of them.
Ron and I gave it a fair go but with a full year of me at Hogwarts and him at Auror training followed by six months of actually getting to know one another when our lives weren't on the line and another six months of fighting so much we made WWE fighters look tame.
Completely dysfunctional with Ron and then a disastrously complicated and foolish friends with benefits situation with Dean Thomas, I haven't been with anyone since. I am largely a creature of habit and I have been a work, home, work, home type of person for longer than I cared to admit.
If my parents can upsticks and move to another country, I can change my routine a little bit to try and live a little. Pouring myself a glass of wine I made my way to my bedroom down the hall. My White cat Venice was sleeping at the bottom of my bed and barely acknowledged my presence as I walked in.
"Hello to you too." Shaking my head I walked past the lazy cat and grabbed my pyjamas on the way before heading to the bathroom to change. What I need is a project of some sort, something to stimulate my brain that isn't work.
A cup of camomile tea in front of me and I was just about to crawl onto the couch with the newest Potionieers Newsletter when the door knocked. Noticing it wasn't overly late but still a little bit past what is usual social hours.
I was shocked looking through the peephole, of all people to be standing on my doorstep at half eight in the evening, she was not one of them.
"Andromeda? Is everything ok? Teddy?" Andromeda Tonks was probably one of the most beautiful Sixty year old I had ever seen. She is a living, breathing image of Bellatrix if the darkness hadn't gotten its grips into her.
"Sorry to call so late Hermione, Teddy is fine, I need your help." I nodded and moved aside to let her in. For such a formidable woman and witch she looked a shell of herself in front of me right now.
She had her hair all disheveled and was as white as a sheet, I guided her over by the arm to sit on the chair across from the fire.
"What do you need Andromeda?" She pulled out what looked like a medical file and handed it to me. It was thick with a patients ID number but no name. There was a full parchment of the patients medical history, tests and treatments so far and even muggle Xrays which showed corrosion in the thigh bone.
"Who is this? I'm not a healer Andromeda." She nodded and I stood to offer her a glass of wine and poured it the muggle way.
"No, but when your own scar was giving you bother you absorbed more knowledge on dark curses than anyone else I know." I nodded and continued to look through the file and honestly I didn't know how much I could do.
"Leave it here I will call down to yours tomorrow after work. I'm overdue a visit to my favourite man anyway." She smiled and opened the file before taking a sip. I bid farewell to her at the door and went to read through the information.
Patient was Forty-Five years old and the curse entered in at the upper thigh. Photographs of a large scar on a pale, athletic but skinny leg were attatched. An angry purple scar was on her upper thigh just below the groin.
Muscle damage was quite extensive and the curse finaly settled on the Femur, small black like pitting could be seen on the XRays. It looked like it had slowly eaten through the femer bone and up into the hip bone. The curse had stopped just shy of the bottom of the spine.
From what I could see it was attacking bone and not muscle so that narrows it down significantly. Whoever this person was I would have to speak to them, it had to be someone close to Andromeda.
I was going through the list of people in and around the age that fought in the Battle of Hogwarts. I couldn't think of anyone off the top of my head but I was like a Zombie after the fight. I spent twenty hours sleeping before making the plans to go and find my parents.
It took me till ten in the evening and three glasses of wine before I reached the end of the file. In all honesty I dont know if there is anything I can do. Going to bed I made a mental note, to attack the Ministry Library on my lunch break to see what I can find.
-/-/-/-/-/-
Seven AM always comes around really quick, as my alarm went off and I dressed I couldn't stop thinking about Andromeda. She was so visibly upset, I would say as a healer she would become attached to her patients but she was so shaken.
For a woman like Andromeda to be in a state like that it had to be important. It needed to be someone important to warrant that sort of dishevelled appearance. Saying goodbye to Venice and grabbed my coffee cup before apparating to work.
I always ended up in the atrium before the morning rush which after the war was preferable. As I began walking down to the lift I felt a presence behind me, without thinking twice I whipped around with my wand in my hand and held it to the throat of my shadow.
"Blimey Hermione! Remind me to get you to run the course upstairs sometime. I can guarantee you would whip the arses of them." I pulled my wand away and smiled at him before hooking my hand into his arm.
"That does not instill much confidence in our police Harry! Would you please tell your hateful wife that the next time she has a team member back out of the celebrations to find someone else." My best friend smiled at me and shook his head before stealing my coffee and taking a swig.
"I thought you had a nice time..." I nodded and snatched my coffee away from him before swatting him lightly on the shoulder.
"I did, although I think I could have done without the tequila." He knew better than to openly laugh but he did smirk at me just as we reached the lift and walked in together.
"Please sometime tequila is the only thing that makes those girls tolerable." I could only smile at him in return. Before either of us could say anything else Blaise Zabini walked into the lift to join us.
"Potter, Granger. Pleasure to see you both again." Both of us acknowledged the man in question, the gate closed and we were off. Blaise had joined the Department of Magical Games and Sports.
"Tell me Potter, if feelers went out for your wife to get drafted into the England Quidditch team, would she be interested." I smiled at Harry who looked a little bit shocked but only nodded his head at the man.
"Oliver Wood is now the captain and he has had his eye on Ginerva for just over a year. Considering the World Cup is coming up and the England team is currently all men he was to add some kick ass women to his line up. Of Course Mysoganist that Zachary Bryan was in his Captain title it wasn't surprising." Knowing enough about Quidditch allowed me to enter into the conversation.
" Ginny would be an excellent addition to round them out, she can kick the arse of any man." He nodded his head at us both before getting off at his floor. We didn't say anything to each other as the lift continued its journey to the DMLE.
"Listen I wanted to talk to you about something, can we meet for lunch?" I wanted to have a look in the Ministry Library at lunch but I suppose I could do it after work and then head to Andromedas.
"Sure, chinese?" He nodded and got off at his level leaving me alone and as I scanned my wand to allow it to read my Security Clearance I slowly made my way down to the bowels of the Ministry. I always got to work early, even before my assistant, it allowed me to get facts together for the research I would be presenting.
We actually didn't have any open research projects going at this point in time. Which means I could maybe dive headfirst into the casefile Andromeda gave me. I had already read through it and knew where I wanted to start.
Plucking a book off my shelf on dark curses I began my reading, one of my best and worst qualities was the fact that I could lose myself in my work. Other that two cups of coffee and a danish being placed under my nose by my Assistant I didn't stop making notes and observations.
"Wow! I am getting flashbacks to Pre-Exam Hermione. You are on a roll." I nodded at Harry as he stood at the door smirking at me with what smelled like chinese food in his hand.
"Just got a new research project and I may be older but that doesn't mean I have given up my obsessive ways." As he unpacked the Chinese food and the smell invaded my senses I couldn't help but be forever grateful for him.
"So is this research project top secret or can you tell me about it." I suppose it didn't hurt to get a different perspective on it. Andromeda didn't tell me to keep it too myself but I wouldn't indulge too much.
"No, at least I don't think it's a secret. Andromeda actually asked me for my help. It's incredibly fascinating." I took out the pictures and showed him the pictures of the curses pathway up the thigh, I had been so caught up in my rambling that I almost missed the knowing look on his face.
"Harry Potter I know that look, you know who this is don't you?" He scooped a mouthful of Orange Chicken into his mouth and ignored my question. He didn't have to answer because I already knew it.
"Andromeda seemed pretty upset, so who do you both know that fits the parameters of Patient 3X21-3." He continued ignoring me and eating his food whilst I looked dead at him. I could tell I was sort of getting to him but the Harry from Hogwarts had hardened significantly since graduating.
" Look, Andie will tell you when you see her again, you don't need me to say anything." I wouldn't ask him to betray her confidence but I was pissed he knew something that I didn't.
"So what is it you wanted to talk to me about..." Grabbing my salted chilli tofu and spring rolls I grabbed some chopsticks and got stuck into my lunch.
"It's about Ron, he wanted to tell you himself but felt it was a bit inappropriate." I was confused for a second before taking a swig of my Strawberry Lemonade.
"Just tell me Harry..." He set his food down on my desk and looked terrified for a moment before lifting out a Black envelope which had golden writing on it.
"Ron's getting married, he asked Susan and she, said yes." My chopsticks froze as they got just shy of my mouth before I set them down and took the envelope from his hands.
"So instead of coming and telling me himself, he got you to do it. I don't care Harry. Ron was my friend long before he ever became my boyfriend, I am so happy for him and of course I will be there to celebrate this with him if that is something he and Susan are comfortable with. I love him, but not romantically." He seemed to breathe a sigh of relief at that and took a bite of my food before smiling.
We spent the entire hour chatting and eating before he had to get back to his own Department. I loved the fact that all of my friends were moving on with their lives and finding people, but it did make me even more aware of my crippling loneliness. I will find my happy ending someday, but for now I had a puzzle to solve.
So I hope you enjoy this, updates will be sporadic but please do follow along.
