Unofficial Portkey Archive

"Hermione, I was wondering if you wanted to go to the mall tomorrow," Olivia started as she painted her nails on the bed.

Hermione nodded her head. She didn't actually want to go. There was nothing on her list of required items and therefore she would stay put at home. Hermione despised the mall and all of the people that it entertained. They had no clue as to what had been going on around them just months ago.

She turned to her sister and scowled.

"Mum's told you plenty of times not to polish your nails on the comforter. Don't you remember how it got ruined last time?"

Her sister moved her leg off of the table and onto the side table. Olivia just loved to tease her. But this time she didn't fight back against it. And after almost an hour of trying to get under her skin, Olivia too had noticed this.

"Herms, what's wrong?" Olivia asked.

Hermione shushed her. She was hearing bits and pieces of a conversation being held by her parents. She could tell she didn't like what they were talking about. Her grandmother, Violet Granger had arrived a few days ago. She had been listening in on their conversations.

Violet Granger had been in poor health. She would not have come today had it not been in dire circumstances. Hermione didn't consider this the most pressing of all situations. However, it was to her parents. She didn't see this because she had saved their lives.

"I don't know, but I've heard the words, `magic' and `Hermione'. I would know the rest if you would shut up," Hermione hissed at her sister.

"I'm sorry," Olivia muttered.

She lightly crossed the room as she turned off their bedroom clock. It made this loud ticking noise, and a few moments later they were in utter silence.

Hermione sent her a brief smile of thanks before she worked on the current situation. It was to no avail. She could still not hear what they were saying, and if possible their voices dropped again.

"Isn't there some spell you can do?"

"No," Hermione said furrowing her brow. "I left my wand with Harry, I think. I still haven't had time to get it back."

"Well, we might as well do it the old-fashioned way," Olivia said. "Come on."

Harry sat with his stethoscope over his shoulders. He was about to begin another hard night at work. He had not expected to be on call tonight. He had a date with Ginny, which of course was now cancelled.

He had promised Neville that he would fill in. And now he was doing just as he had promised.

The wizarding world promised careers that muggles couldn't begin to dream about. He had received offers for just about every one of them. But he had shot most of them down. Even his first choice of Auror.

He wanted away from the spotlight. And way from the reporters, but these days it didn't seem to be working. He had recently returned from Australia. It had taken Hermione two years to work up the courage to restore the memories of her family members.

At first it was the fear of his return. And after that it was the guilt of how they would feel. Now, Hermione was at home dealing with that. How, he did not know. He hoped she was feeling better than he was.

He grabbed the file on the call desk, and began to walk to wherever his patient was. The halls of St. Mungo's were so confusing. He had heard from a few it could take years before he understood how to get around.

He stared down at the name on the file: Margaret Benson. He secretly wondered if this was another woman with no injury. It was sad but true. Many had turned up just to get a chance to view Harry Potter up-close and personal. Some hoped to get diagnosed with something so they cold get a prescription written up with an added incentive of his signature.

Harry shivered at the memory of such an occasion. He had arrived at her destination and saw the purple splotches covering her skin. This was definitely not a hoax. Neville had treated this a dozen times over. He identified it quickly and sent an assistant to get the needed medication.

"I thought I might find you here," Ron said. "I was wondering how Hermione's been doing. I haven't heard from her ever since Australia."

"Ron, you're not supposed to be up here," Harry muttered. He closed the curtains leaving the woman in privacy as she continued to scratch the splotches. "You can catch one of these contagious diseases."

"Another Healer already beat you to it," Ron said with a slight grin.

Harry however was serious. He hated working on this level himself. He ran the risk of coming out with a vanishing illness or something worse. It didn't sound terrible, but indeed it was.

"Hermione has asked me to leave her alone. And until she says otherwise I don't intend to do so. Has her position on Molly's clock changed?" Harry asked.

"No," Ron said sheepishly. " I just wanted to see her."

"Ron she hasn't seen her family in two years. I believe she's entitled to that time by herself," Harry finished.

"Yeah, I guess so," Ron finished.

"But, hey, I bet her family's driving her crazy by now. Why don't you check in on her?"

"You think?" Ron asked. "I get the feeling sometimes that her parents don't like me."

"They're just very protective of their daughter. I would be too I guess. It would be better if you waited until the morning though."

"Yeah," Ron said. "I think I'll get something special for her."

Harry nodded as he went back to work. Sometimes he wished he had Ron's problem. The only thing that stood between their relationship was her parents. They could be difficult at times but he knew they cared.

But Harry couldn't hide from himself. He knew that a change in careers probably wouldn't make a difference in his relationship. He would probably always be too busy for her. It was fighting the inevitable.

The space between the wall and the banister was so minimal. So for the two girls there was no way to sit in the space comfortably. The main objective was not to be seen. And on the bright side, they could now hear what was going on downstairs.

A lot of arguing was going on.

"Margaret, there is not another way. Mother agrees with me," Paul concluded.

It was obvious they had arrived towards the end of the conversation.

"Paul, it's just not right. She's our daughter, and we've always promised to give our children what they wanted. Do you remember how much she begged us to let her study at Hogwarts?" Margaret pleaded with her husband.

"Of course I remember. I have taken that into consideration, but there are more important things to think about."

"And I too know that. We can't just ostracize her from the family."

The words hit Hermione like a ton of bricks. She held back a gasp, her fury rising. This is what those two years had led to. Silence had taken over the room and tears began in her eyes.

"Hermione, they can't do that," Olivia whispered. "I promise I won't let them, or I'll leave too."

Hermione waved her sister off. She had made the decision years ago, and backed it up with recent decisions. It was known the clashing of the two worlds. They did not coexist peacefully.

"I love my daughter, I honestly do, but this comes down to what we are willing to face. She is capable of anything, but if another dark wizard takes a hit on the family there is no protecting us. There is no other way."

On one side, it was totally selfish. Her parents had never feared anything. But they didn't belong to the wizarding world. They would never understand Aurors or The Order of the Phoenix or anything else she knew.

In a way she just expected them to.

She stood up from her corner in the wall she had molded too. She felt bruises forming from squeezing so tight into. She limped towards the room she shared with her sister. Olivia still stood rooted to the spot.

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