Author's note: The idea for this one came to me at work one day and I haven't been this excited about writing a story since I did "Circle of Friends" and the DD-universe with Heaven. I really hope that you all enjoy it. The title for this story changed many times, but I finally settled on a tried and true method of getting it from a song and since I happened to be listening to Michelle Branch when I was finishing this up, thus the title becomes "Drop in the Ocean". Remember, it is alternate universe (AU). Please read and review!
Chapter One
The Reluctant Traveler
Hermione Granger stood with her arms crossed staring at the open, empty suitcase on her bed. Her flatmate, Lavender Brown sat on the edge of the bed with an amused expression on her pretty features.
"What are you doing?" Lavender asked, staring at her.
"Thinking that maybe this isn't the best idea actually," Hermione answered. "Two months is really a long time, isn't it? We're really behind you know and this probably isn't the best time for me to be taking an extended holiday like this and I can just imagine what a mess that horrible Pansy Parkinson will leave the office in. Maybe I'll owl them and tell them I've changed my mind."
She closed her suitcase and walked over to her desk to write the letter when Lavender jumped off the bed and grabbed her arm.
"You'll do no such thing, Hermione!" Lavender exclaimed, grabbing her friend's arm. "Do you know how many people would give their right arm to go on a two-month holiday?"
"I know," Hermione said, relaxing her posture. She sank down onto her desk chair. "But, it's not really a complete holiday. Ostensibly, I'm going there to work on that article."
Lavender rolled her eyes. "An academic article." When she saw the hurt expression on Hermione's face, she quickly covered. "Which is quite an honor and I'm very proud of you…"
"Liar," Hermione said, laughing despite herself. She threw a folded up jumper at her friend.
"Hey!" Lavender said giggling. "The point of packing is to get the clothes into the suitcase not throw them at your best mate, Miss Bossy-boots."
"Right," Hermione said, getting to her feet and walking determinedly over to the closet and pulling back the doors. There were a few simple dresses and trousers and shirts and jumpers. Sensible clothing was the rule of the day. None of these outfits looked like a sensible wardrobe for a tropical, exotic island.
"What should I bring?" she asked, staring blankly at her clothes.
Lavender stood beside her and grinned mischievously at her. "You can never go wrong with the three S's."
"The what?" Hermione asked, pulling a confused face.
"Honestly, it's a wonder you have a boyfriend at all," she said, rolling her eyes. "The three S's, my dear naïve friend are sexy, slinky and skimpy."
"Lavender!"
Before Hermione could stop her, Lavender started flipping through Hermione's clothes. Her nose scrunched up in disgust. "And all three are seriously lacking in your wardrobe."
Although she certainly couldn't see Hermione's face since her back was to her, Lavender knew that Hermione was
probably shaking her head.
"Hermione, you can't very well go down to the islands wearing wooly jumpers and corduroys," she said, finally turning to face her friend. "For someone so smart, you have zero fashion sense. Which is why you are so lucky to have me because I happen to have just had a brilliant idea!"
"What?" Hermione asked.
"You can borrow some of my summer clothes," Lavender said, an excited expression coming over her face. "Between your stuff and mine, we're going to have you looking fantastic."
"I don't know," Hermione said, but Lavender had already disappeared out of the room. "Lavender-"she called out, but Lavender didn't answer. All Hermione could hear was the sound of her friend dropping boxes onto the floor. Hermione laughed as she sank back down on her desk chair. There was nothing that pleased Lavender more than a fashion or beauty project and Hermione shuddered to think what sort of outfits Lavender would suggest. Although they were best friends, their styles couldn't have been more different. Whereas Lavender always stayed abreast of the latest trends and styles, Hermione usually opted for whatever was most comfortable.
Hermione jumped as she heard a loud crashing sound coming from her flatmate's bedroom.
"Lav? Are you okay?" Hermione called out.
"I'm alright," Lavender answered back, her voice a bit muffled. "I just dropped a box. It's okay!"
Hermione shook her head and started packing up some of the books and paperwork she wanted to bring along on her trip. She was definitely a reluctant participant on this particular holiday. Her boss at the Ministry was Remus Lupin and he'd suggested that she take a few weeks off to get her bearings back. She had one small panic attack and suddenly she was in need of a sabbatical?
Coming out of Beauxbatons Academy, Hermione had been offered a job at the Wizzengamot. The position was head researcher and as they'd told her when they'd offered her the job, if she took it, she'd be the youngest witch to ever hold the position. Of course, she'd accepted. So for the past seven years, she'd spent most of her days poring over case books of wizarding law helping the members of the department prepare their cases.
As cliché as it may sound, things seemed to be going too well. All hell, of course, broke loose two weeks ago on what had started out as a normal, ordinary day. Hermione shuddered as she remembered that horrible day in the office. As usual, she'd taken on much more than she should have and the stress had caught up with her and she'd been in the middle of presenting research to a group of aurors. Things had started out well enough. She'd started to present her findings to the assembled group when suddenly her hands began to tremble. The room seemed to start spinning and she felt as if she couldn't catch her breath. Beads of sweat fell from her forehead on to the index cards in front of her. Everything became cloudy and the next thing she knew she was coming to on the floor. More embarrassed than ill, she'd wished her superiors had let her cast a memory charm on those witches and wizards who'd witnessed the incident. It hadn't been her finest moment to say the very least.
The staff medi-wizard who'd examined her asked her questions about her schedule and how she handled stress. Hermione had explained that she'd been getting less than five hours of sleep a night and how her job was very demanding. When the medi-wizard had responded with an "I see", Hermione had quickly covered and said that she thrived under pressure and this small incident was just a fluke and probably wouldn't happen again. This, of course, was followed by another infuriating "I see" from the medi-wizard who'd recommended that she take some time off.
The idea of taking time off was foreign to her. Ever since she'd graduated from Beauxbatons, she'd been on breakneck speed running here and there and doing this and that. Logically, she knew that no one was going to last very long doing too much. But, she'd wanted to make a name for herself at the Ministry and she couldn't do that by sitting around and twiddling her thumbs. She remembered how her father used to tell her time and time again that no one got anywhere unless they made something happen for themselves. Those words had become a sort of mantra for Hermione. Well, I definitely made something happen, she thought with a frown. I managed to turn myself into the office basket case.
She remembered coming out of the medi-wizard's office and finding Remus Lupin sitting, waiting for her. He'd suggested she come into his office for a quick chat and her heart sank as she imagined he was going to fire her for the incident.
Hermione followed Remus down the hallway processing a million different scenarios in her mind. All of her hard work had been for nothing. With one small incident, everything she'd worked so hard for was going to fall apart. Lupin opened his office door and ushered her inside. He closed the door firmly behind them and asked her to take a seat. When he saw the stricken look on her face, he smiled reassuringly at her.
"I haven't asked you in here to sack you," he said sitting down at the desk.
"You haven't?" she couldn't stop herself from asking.
Lupin laughed. "No, not at all."
Hermione looked thoughtfully at him. "Well, what did you call me in here for, Sir?"
"Hermione," Lupin said, resting his elbows on the desk. "I think you may need to take some time off."
"Is that what they told you?" she asked interrupting him. "Honestly, I'm perfectly fine. I just had a small fainting spell and it's probably because I haven't been sleeping well and I didn't really get a chance to catch breakfast this morning and ---"
"Which is precisely why you need a break," Lupin interjected. "You're going to run yourself into an early grave if you keep up at this pace, Hermione. You're only 24 years old, for Merlin's sake."
Hermione sank back into the chair. "Okay, I'll take a couple of personal days."
"No," Lupin said. "You'll take a couple of personal months."
"Pardon me?" Hermione asked, sitting up straight. "Did you just say two months?"
"I did indeed," Lupin replied.
"But, Sir," Hermione said quickly. "I can't take two months off!"
"You can and you will," Lupin said firmly.
"But-"
"No, Hermione," Lupin said, a compassionate look on his face. "I'm not going to change my mind about this. You need to take a break. Take it easy for awhile. Live life."
Hermione stared back at him incredulously.
"Don't look so serious," he said chuckling. "You'll thank me for this. And you'll get the chance to write that article you wanted to for the law journal. Just promise me you won't obsess over it and you will enjoy your time off."
"Yes, sir," Hermione said grumpily.
Lupin looked thoughtfully at the young woman he thought of like a daughter. An idea sprang into his head and he pulled a couple of photographs from his desk drawer.
"What are those?" she asked curiously.
"Photographs of the most beautiful place on earth," Lupin answered handing her the photos. She looked through them and saw a picture of a sandy beach with the coolest, clearest water she'd ever seen.
"That place looks amazing," she whispered.
"It's even better in person," Lupin said smiling at her as she handed him back the pictures. "I just had an idea. I happen to have a couple of friends who live on that island year round. They have their own private island. And I happen to have a guest house there."
Hermione nodded.
"Perhaps you'd fancy staying there on your sabbatical?" Lupin asked.
"I-I couldn't," Hermione said. "Won't your friends mind having a stranger show up out of the blue?"
"No," Lupin said, shaking his head. "They'll look out for you. I'll owl them today if you give me the okay."
Hermione certainly wouldn't mind seeing a beautiful ocean like that up close. A smile played at her lips as she could imagine the sand on her feet. She certainly wasn't crazy about taking time off from work, but she couldn't deny how exciting it sounded to travel…especially to place as beautiful as this.
"I take it from your smile, you're relenting?" Lupin asked, interrupting her thoughts.
She nodded. "What's the name of this place?"
"Isla Solarte," Lupin said as he pulled out a fresh piece of parchment. "It's near the Abaco Islands in the Bahamas."
"Isla Solarte," Hermione repeated.
Lupin nodded.
"And you're sure your friends won't mind?" Hermione asked. "I don't want to impose."
"I'm sure they won't mind," Lupin said reassuringly. "I've known one of them since we were lads. And the other one is a son of a good friend. They'll look out for you and help you in any way they can. If they do give you any trouble, you just owl me and I'll take care of it for you."
Hermione laughed, hoping he was joking. When he laughed too, she relaxed.
"Okay," she said with a slight grin. "I guess I'm going on sabbatical."
"I guess so," Lupin said, winking at her.
Now, on the eve of her trip, she was wondering again if this was such a good idea. She didn't have long to ponder on this as Lavender came running into Hermione's bedroom just then clutching a few pieces of old parchment in her hand, her cheeks flush with excitement.
"What have you got there?" Hermione asked as she packed a couple of large tomes in a trunk.
"You'll never believe what I found in my closet," Lavender said giggling. "You remember those lists we made at school?"
"You'll have to narrow it down for me," Hermione said with a laugh. "I made a lot of lists at school."
Lavender rolled her eyes. "You remember that night when we were all stuck in the castle because of the blizzard outside and you and I sat on my bed coming up with life lists."
Hermione put a hand over her mouth. "Oh my God! You kept those?"
"I keep everything," Lavender said smiling at her. She handed Hermione one of the pieces of parchment. "How young were we? Fourteen?"
"At least," Hermione answered, smiling as she looked down at the parchment.
Lavender moved Hermione's empty suitcase from the bed and sat down. She laughed as she read over her own list. "Life wish list for Lavender Brown," she read aloud. "Number One, Fall in Love. Two, Fall in love with a very wealthy man who will keep me in the lifestyle with which I've grown accustomed to. Three, Travel to America some day and shop on Fifth Avenue in New York City. Four, have two boyfriends at once. Five, get Jean-Paul to ask me out. Merlin, I can't believe I ever liked him!"
"Neither can I," Hermione teased.
"I wasted the entire fourth year on that git," Lavender said, shaking her head. She frowned at the other items on her list that in some way involved Jean-Paul. "Now, I'm beginning to wish I hadn't kept these. Out of all these things, I only accomplished number one and number four."
Hermione laughed as she set her own list down on her desk.
"Aren't you going to read yours?" Lavender asked, getting up from the bed and picking up Hermione's discarded list. Lavender grinned over the piece of paper at her friend.
"Okay, let's take stock of your life, Miss Granger," Lavender said. "Life wish list for Miss Hermione Jane Granger. Number One: Be the youngest Minister of Magic ever. Number Two: to teach classes at either a wizarding academy or a university. Number Three: become a well-renown author. Number Four: Get higher marks on the next Charms test than Anastasia. Number Five: To get my parents to increase my monthly allowance so I can buy new books. Number Six: Get my roommate and best friend Lavender Brown to stop talking incessantly about boys all the time."
Hermione chuckled. "Well, I should have known Number Six was a washout."
Lavender stuck her tongue out at her before continuing.
"Number Seven: Be Made Head Girl. Number Eight: Fall in love," Lavender said.
"Okay, how many of those have you accomplished?"
Hermione set another pile of books in her trunk and looked up at her friend. She thought for a moment. "Five, six, and seven."
Lavender's mouth fell open.
"What?" Hermione asked.
"Don't you wish to include number eight in that?" she asked.
Hermione's cheeks reddened. "No," she said softly.
"But you and Ron…?"
"We've only been dating each other for six months, Lavender," Hermione said defensively.
"But you're not in love?" Lavender asked probingly. "But he tells you he loves you all the time. I just assumed you'd said it back."
Hermione sighed. Ronald Weasley was a professional Quidditch player for the Chudley Cannons. He was tall, athletic and very charming. Hermione had met him through his sister, Ginny. Ginny brought Hermione to the Burrow for dinner one night and Hermione met Ron. He'd poured on the charm immediately. For someone who hadn't dated much in the past, she'd found it was quite nice to have such a handsome man pay so much attention to her. They'd started dating and their relationship had progressed slowly from there.
"It's complicated," Hermione tried to explain. "I like him a whole lot. We have a nice time together. But, he's busy with his games and I'm busy with work and we haven't seen much of each other recently and I've had a lot of time to think about it and I'm not sure if what I feel for him is love…yet, anyway."
Lavender shook her head. "I don't understand. You've been dating for six months. If you didn't---or don't---love him, what's the point?"
"I don't know," Hermione said uncomfortably. "I've never been in love before so I don't really have anything to compare it to, do I? How am I supposed to know what it feels like?'
Lavender nodded.
"And I know it's going to sound so stupid and silly, but I guess I'm still waiting for someone to come and sweep me off my feet," Hermione said, her cheeks blushing pink again.
"It's not stupid," Lavender said, patting her best friend on the arm. "But, if you're waiting for some white knight to come riding in on a white horse, you're going to be waiting for quite some time. Heroes are hard to come by."
Hermione nodded. "You're right. Maybe I've been unfair to Ron expecting him to fit my perfect image of what a boyfriend should be."
"Yes, but you can't make yourself love someone," Lavender said. "It shouldn't be like that. It's something that you just…know."
Hermione didn't know what to say to that. Hoping to change the subject, she cleared her throat.
"So how about those clothes?" Hermione asked forcing a smile. "Did you find some outfits for me?"
Sure enough, Lavender bounded from the room and came back with a pile of shorts, dresses, tops, and skirts.
"I can't take all that!" Hermione said incredulously as Lavender set the clothes into her friend's suitcase. Lavender pulled her wand out of her pocket and muttered a spell at the clothes, which were quickly and neatly folded. With one more flick and swish of her wand, the clothes landed in the suitcase. "There you are, sorted."
"You're the best, Lavender," Hermione said smiling at her.
"I am, aren't I?" she said proudly.
Hermione laughed.
"And in honour of your last night before your trip, how about we order pizza and watch a movie?" Lavender asked with a conspiratorial wink to her friend. She pouted when Hermione looked reluctant to take her up on her suggestion. "Come on, Hermione. We haven't done something fun like that in ages. Besides, you're going to be all alone on some tropical, exotic island without your best friend to talk to. You'll be missing me so much you won't know what to do. So, humour me just this once."
"Okay," Hermione said, smiling at her.
Lavender clapped her hands together excitedly. "I'll go order the pizza so you can finish packing."
Hermione watched her friend walk out of the room. Her eyes fell on a photograph of Ron that was taken recently. He'd given her the small frame as a gift.
She'd seen him this afternoon for a quick lunch. He was leaving with the team for a few road games and wouldn't be able to see her off tomorrow morning. He'd been his usual charming self, but had seemed somewhat distracted. At first, she'd wondered if he was still upset about her going on sabbatical, but he'd told her he was happy she was getting the chance to take it easy. He'd said that if anyone needed a vacation it was she. Shaking off her thoughts of Ron, she walked out of her room to check on Lavender.
She found her in the kitchen, reading the newspaper.
Hermione went to the icebox and pulled out a bottle of pumpkin juice.
Lavender giggled.
"What?" Hermione asked.
"The Daily Prophet's latest Potter sightings," Lavender said looking up from her newspaper.
Hermione sighed. Harry Potter had seemingly dropped off the face of the earth when he'd defeated Lord Voldemort. No one knew where he was or even if he was still alive. The newspapers consistently printed stories speculating about his whereabouts and what he could possibly be doing and who he could possibly be doing it with. None of their leads had proved substantial.
Hermione peered over Lavender's shoulder at the paper and saw a photograph of The Boy Who Lived which was taken a few days before his graduation at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry. That had been taken seven years ago. In that time, no one had seen or heard from him.
Hermione knew of course all about Harry having read about him in a number of books. He was also revered in their world as its greatest hero. She also knew of him from Ron. Harry and Ron had been best mates at school and Ron had told her plenty about his best friend. The stories intrigued her and she had hoped that one day, she'd get to meet him. But, that didn't seem likely. According to Ron, he hadn't seen Harry in seven years. Supposedly, they still kept in contact through the post, but that was about it.
"So where are they saying he is now?" Hermione asked before taking a swig from her cup.
"Someone spotted him in New York City," Lavender said. "They said he was a street musician playing for money in the subway system."
"All that and he can sing, too," Hermione said sarcastically. "Honestly, they should just leave him alone. Where ever he is, he's getting a good laugh at all this. They should just leave him to his peace and quiet. If anyone deserves it, it's definitely him."
Lavender nodded.
"Well, I better order our pizza," Lavender said, picking up the telephone. "Do you want the usual?"
"Yes with extra mushrooms and peppers," Hermione answered. She folded up the newspaper and discarded it in the rubbish bin.
She excused herself to go and finish packing.
Again, her mind floated to Ron. Maybe this time away would help her reevaluate their relationship. They did say that absence made the heart grow fonder. Perhaps that would be the case this time.