"Why, look. Little-miss-perfect drinks pina coladas. Who would've ever thought?" Rita Skeeter's sarcastic voice destroyed Hermione's idea of the perfect vacation.
"What're you doing here?" Harry demanded, sitting up and instantly getting ready for the worst. All three of them knew that the war was over, but it didn't stop their instincts from kicking in whenever something unexpected (like the surprise birthday party they had held for Harry) or unwelcome happened. Even Hermione had her wand gripped in her sweaty, sandy hand before she even realized that she'd moved.
The trio's reaction wasn't missed by Rita. She quickly backed up a few steps, her bag clutched tightly to her chest and her eyes slightly wide.
Hermione sighed and set her wand back down, then calmly picked up her paperback book and continued reading. Harry and Ron went back to their conversation, and Rita was left standing there, ignored and confused.
"I want an interview."
"-but this year, I reckon the Cannons really stand a chance! I mean, now that they've gotten rid of-"
"You owe me, anyway. I've kept my end of the deal, and I haven't written anything about you at all during the war. I want my reward."
"Your reward was us not turning you in." Hermione replied coolly, her eyes still focused on her book but no longer reading. As much as she hated to admit it, an interview with someone, anyone, might not be a bad idea. Owls had been bothering them for weeks, ever since they had first gone on vacation, and it almost would be worth it to just tell the people asking what they wanted to know and get it over with.
Harry caught her eye and sent her a questioning look, to which she shrugged and looked over at Ron. Ron, who had noticed the interaction between his two best friends, also gave a casual shrug, so Hermione nodded as though making a decision and leaned forward.
"We'll make another deal with you Rita. We'll give you your interview, but in it you can't say where we are, and you can't elaborate or change our words around. This is our interview, and it says exactly what we want it to say."
"Or else?" Rita asked wryly, her expression a cross between being amused and annoyed. "I became a licensed Animagus a week ago. You don't have anything to hold over me anymore."
"Or else no more interviews. And believe me, it won't look good if we write the Daily Prophet a letter trashing you and your writing." Hermione marveled inwardly yet again at Harry's Slytherin-like thinking, but didn't let her surprise show.
Rita, deflated, relented. "Fine. You can even read it before it goes to print."
Primly, Hermione shut her book and set it next to her wand. Likewise, the two boys behind her sat a little straighter and stared expectantly at the reporter before them.
Rita, shocked at the change she saw in the golden trio, scrambled to think about where to start. Finally, she asked, "Shouldn't you be in school by now?"
The exasperated, slightly annoyed looks she received were more than enough of a reply. "Yes, school started at some point last week."
"Then what're you still doing here?" She asked, honestly confused. The war was over, and the children that had left Hogwarts because of the danger Voldemort had presented to the castle had once again returned. The trio had been the only ones to not show up at the castle for their final year of school.
"We've just been through hell. Physically, emotionally, we've just spent an entire year living solely so that others wouldn't die. Then, even after the war ended, there were all sort of loose ends to tie up that we were obligated to stay behind for, so it took forever to finally get out of England-"
"And out of the political hole we'd dug ourselves into." Ron added, interrupting Harry mid-rant. Harry, whose voice had gradually been increasing as his speech continued, abruptly shut his open mouth and calmed down.
"Yes, and that too. So we left. Just to relax for a while."
Rita clearly didn't believe them. "But…but what're you doing here? I mean, is there more to You-Know-Who's demise than we know, or some rampant death eaters nearby, or a new dark lord rising, or-"
"No." Harry answered simply, shrugging. Hermione coughed to cover a laugh at the skeptical look on Rita's face. "Just lots of sun, and sand, and water. No monsters, no mysteries, no stories."
Rita quickly recovered from her shocked expression to continue asking questions, trying to get interesting answers. "Aren't the three of you planning on returning to school?" She asked, surprised. It had seemed like Granger wouldn't dream of staying away from studying, and she'd probably have one of the highest ever NEWT scores.
But even Prefect Hermione Granger, the girl who could've been Head Girl had she chosen to remain behind at school, just shrugged. "Probably, someday."
"But…but what about jobs? You need NEWT scores to get a job." She paused for a moment, then added, "Actually you could probably live pretty well off of the reward money from the war for the rest of your lives."
Hermione smiled and shook her head. "Actually, this is the last of it." She replied cheerfully. "We've still got enough to cover a nice long vacation, but that's about it."
Rita was flabbergasted. "But…what'd you do with the rest of it?" She asked.
Ron Weasley, who had always wanted to be wealthy, shrugged. "Charities, hospitals, our families…"
"But what about a house? You'll need a house if you aren't going back to school right away." Rita pointed out. Instead of looking worried, Harry Potter smiled.
"Nah. We've got a flat somewhere for a while."
Hermione reflected on how it had all ended, and couldn't help feeling a little amused. Yeah, she had never pictured this as the perfect ending. In her perfect ending, she'd stayed at school, gotten the highest NEWT scores ever, gotten an important and sophisticated job at the ministry, stayed close to Harry and Ron, and lived a long, happy, healthy life.
But the world wasn't perfect. She still hadn't picked up a textbook for school, and she had no idea what career she was interested in, and she didn't know where her life was going. She owned a dingy little apartment near London, had no husband or boyfriend, and still had to finish her schooling.
"Hermione?" Startled out of her thoughts, Hermione jumped a little and turned to look at a grinning Harry and Ron. She was shocked when both boys grabbed an arm, picked her up, and flung her into the nearby pool, sunglasses and all.
Life, she had discovered, wasn't about were you ended up. It was about how you got there, and who you got there with. And as Harry jumped in next to her, splashing her once again with a tidal wave of pool water, Hermione decided that she didn't need a fancy house, incredible NEWT scores, or an important job at the ministry. Sure, those things would be nice, but she didn't need them.
The world was safe, Harry was laughing, and she was on vacation. The rest of her life could wait.
Some things were much more important.
IT'S DONE! I'm not sure if I like this ending or not, but everything else I tried writing seemed too vague and pointless. Please let me know what you thought, even if you disliked it, but don't send me ridiculous flames. I'm not writing on Portkey to offend anyone with horrible writing; I'm on this site writing fanfiction only to share my ideas and opinions regarding Harry Potter and improve my literary skills and writing technique.
-->