Homecoming
The next morning when Harry called Hermione she told him she would love to go to his game. He was overjoyed. Two weeks later he called her and told her they had made it and that he would get her a good seat.
"Do you think you could get me three seats?"
"Sure, no problem - mind if I ask why three?"
"I have a couple of friends I want to bring with me. They're wizards, but they've never seen a Quidditch game and I thought this would be a good way to let them see the best Seeker in action before he retired."
"Great so I'll see you in a week."
"Yeah Harry, see you."
"So we're going to go." James said hopefully from the bottom of the stairs as she hung up the phone. He and Lily were sitting on the bottom steps watching her hopefully.
"We're going. They've made the Cup and he's going to get us tickets."
"But you didn't tell him?"
"I don't think it's the kind of thing you tell someone over the phone. Now go upstairs and get organized I have a couple phone calls to make."
"Alright Mum." They said in unison running up to their respective rooms. Hermione called the airport; they had tickets to England for tomorrow. Then she called Meredith, one of the employees at her store, and asked her to take care of running it while they were away. Meredith said she would be happy to; she was a witch who'd worked with Hermione since Blue Moon had opened seven years ago and knew everything there was to know about running the store. Next she called Ginny.
"Hello," a male voice said from the other end of the line.
"Hey Daniel, its Hermione can I talk to your wife."
"Which one?"
"The pregnant one."
"Could you possibly narrow it down a bit?"
"Dan just put her on the phone."
"Alright," Dan said laughing, "let me just give her the phone."
"Hello." Came Ginny's voice a few moments later.
"Hi Ginny."
"Hermione how are you and the kids?"
"We're doing alright. How are you holding up?"
"Well, my ankles hurt like hell though, Luna says I don't have anything to complain about yet."
"You don't - believe me, it only gets worst. The next few months are going to be the hardest of your life."
"Oh thanks I really didn't need to hear that."
"Well there's nothing you can do about it now. Listen Ginny, do you think the kids and I could come and stay with you for a couple weeks?"
"You're coming home?"
"Only for two weeks. We're flying out tomorrow and then I'm taking the kids to Harry's last game. Are you guys going?"
"No, that's our anniversary and Daniel already made plans for us. You're going to tell him?"
"Yeah I'm going to tell him. They finally asked me about him and then Harry asked me to go to the game. I figured it was a sign."
"Well that's great, but hold on let me ask Daniel about you guys staying over." Hermione heard Ginny put the phone down and then heard muffled voices. "He said he doesn't mind; we have enough room around here and it'll be great to see you."
"Okay well the flight gets in to Heathrow at eight on Monday morning."
"I'll see you then."
"Bye Ginny."
"Bye Hermione." Hermione hung up the phone and went upstairs.
"How are things going up here?" Hermione asked standing in the middle of the hallway, between the twin's adjacent bedrooms.
"Good." They both called.
"Listen only pack your cloths and maybe something to read. We're going to be staying with my friend Ginny and her husband Daniel, they are both wizards so there won't be electricity there or batteries so there will be no point in brining anything electronic."
"Okay."
"If they don't have electricity how come they have a phone?" Lily asked, ever the practical child.
"They have a phone so they can call me and I can call them - they are one of very few wizarding families that have phones."
"But then how does that work - do muggles know about magic in England?"
"No more then they do here - Ginny and Daniel have a special arrangement with the muggle government to have a phone line brought into their house, but not have the number made public to muggles. It's quite complicated and it took several months to set up, but it's all organized now and all I care to know is that it works. Now I'm going to go pack, how about when we're organized we go and get pizza for dinner?"
"That sounds good."
"I want pasta."
"We'll go somewhere where we can get both Lily."
"Okay." Hermione smiled and continued down the hall to her room. She had no idea what to bring with her. Cloths obviously, but which ones? She would be seeing Harry again, which was something.
In the end she decided to pack what she was comfortable wearing and a couple of books that she had been wanting to read again. Then she went down to the desk in her study and got out the photo album of the twins, their baby books, their passports, and hers. Hermione had gotten her children passports when they were six; she had almost taken them home then, but backed down at the last minute.
The next night they got onto a plan and roughly twelve hours later they were walking through Heathrow airport. Hermione was home. Ginny was waiting for them at the arrivals gate with open arms and a sign that said Welcome Home Hermione, Welcome To England Lily and James.
"It's so great to see you." Ginny said hugging her tight.
"It's great to see you too and you look so beautiful." Hermione said hugging her back. Ginny looked very different from the last time Hermione saw her; even different from the wedding photos that had been taken two years ago. Her hair was short, falling softly just below her jaw line, and she had that glow that all pregnant women have.
"So do you - I wouldn't believe you were the mother of nine year olds if I didn't see them cowering behind you there."
"We aren't cowering." James said stepping up to his mother's side. "We were trying to be nice."
"Hermione he looks exactly like Harry." Ginny said kneeling down carefully so that she was at his eye level. "Except the eyes, they're like a bled of yours and Harry's." James looked at her as though he greatly disliked her appraising him. "Oh, but he does have your stare of death."
"And Harry's intensity. Well James this is my friend Ginevra Lewis."
"Ginny's fine, you can call me Ginny." Ginny said holding out her hand to James, he shook it apprehensively. "I think he thinks I'm crazy."
"Well he has always been a good judge of people." Ginny glared at Hermione before moving on to Lily.
"Now those are they eyes I would expect from Harry's child."
"Lily this is Ginny - Ginny this is Lily."
"Hi," Lily said very politely. "Do my eyes really look like my fathers?"
"Yes they do, very much so. Your hair as well - though his was never as long or in such lovely curls." Ginny said holding out her arm. Lily jumped into them and hugged Ginny tight; Lily tended to attach to people very quickly.
"Your going to have a baby aren't you?" Lily asked as Ginny put her down and stood up slowly.
"Yes I am, but not for sometime. So did you bring your whole house with you?" Ginny asked helping Hermione with some of the bags.
"What can I say, my children are packrats. Oh don't worry," Hermione said trying to force the bags out of Ginny's hands, "we can manage them on our own." Ginny, just as stubborn as ever, simply marched off ahead of them - a bag in either hand.
"Hermione I'm pregnant not disabled."
"What would Daniel say if he saw I was letting you lift these bags?" Hermione asked as Ginny guided them through the crowded airport to where he car was parked.
"Knowing my Dan, he'd probably say, 'put your back into it'." Hermione laughed.
"I can't believe you have a car." Hermione said as they pilled their suite cases into the back of a large silver SUV.
"Well Dan was raised as a muggle until he went to school, so he always wanted to drive, and when I married him he taught me to drive."
"This car doesn't fly does it?" Hermione asked apprehensively closing the passenger door behind James and getting into the front seat.
"Oh no, I wont let my father anywhere near my car. I love it to much to see it join the old Ford in the Forbidden Forest." Hermione laughed again; it was good to be home.
AN: So she's home, telling Harry can't be far off ; )
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