A/N: Thanks for the reviews. Here's the second chapter. I don't think I put a disclaimer in Chapter 1 - so here it goes. "Harry Potter" is owned by JK Rowling - I'm just borrowing her characters and doing what I thought she should've done with them.
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Chapter 2
Harry woke up alone in his bed a few hours later. Ginny was nowhere to be found but Hermione was curled up asleep in the corner easy chair, with Hogwarts a History on her lap.
He wondered where Ginny had gone and was surprised that she left without waking him. Harry put on his glasses and went over to wake Hermione, gently shaking her by the shoulder.
"Harry," she said sleepily as she opened her eyes.
"This seems to be a common occurrence, you waking up in my room," Harry said wryly.
"Sorry," she muttered.
"It's no problem. It's just that when I fell asleep, there was a different witch here."
"Oh, Ginny, she left." Hermione said, stating the obvious.
"Well, I figured that out," Harry said, sitting back on the bed. "Do you know where she went?"
"To the Burrow. Molly sent an owl demanding that Ginny come home as soon as possible. She doesn't think it's safe for her to be away too long."
"Safe?" Harry snorted. "Voldemort is dead and Hogwarts is safer than it's been since he was a student here."
"I don't think she meant her personal safety," Hermione said, blushing slightly. "I found the two of you looking pretty cozy in your bed."
"Nothing happened, Hermione," Harry said, somewhat defensively. "Although if Ginny had her way, you probably would've found us naked."
"She wanted to have sex with you?" Hermione asked in surprise, trying to erase that image from her mind's eye.
"Yeah, but I stopped her."
"How?"
"I told her that I wanted to wait until marriage and that she should, too. But she misinterpreted it and assumed that I wanted to save myself for our wedding night."
"Oh, Harry…"
"I know - Ginny has it in her head that we're going to get married and have kids someday, like in my dream. But I don't know how to tell her that it's not what I'm thinking."
"So, it seems that you're back at square one with her."
"Yeah, but I have an idea how to get around it for the time being."
"What are you going to do?"
"I'm going on a long holiday."
"You are?" Hermione asked in surprise. "Where are you going?"
"I'm not sure yet, I was thinking America or Australia," Harry continued. "Some place where they speak English and I can live as a muggle. I told Ginny that I just need the time alone away from here. I need to clear my head and figure out what my next move is. All I've been planning to do for the past year is just to survive and I haven't really thought beyond that. I wasn't even sure I would have a future, now I do and I'm not sure what I want to do."
Hermione nodded. "I understand how you feel. All I wanted for the past year was to make it through alive and to help you make it through. I also wanted my parents to be safe."
Funny she should mention them, Harry thought. "Hermione, what are you planning to do regarding them?"
"Well, first I need to go find them in Australia and restore their memories. I also hope to repair my relationship with them. We weren't that close in the past two years and I hope they will forgive me for what I did."
"Why wouldn't they forgive you? You altered their memories so they would be safe, they should understand that."
"But what if they don't, Harry?" Hermione asked anxiously. "What if they never forgive me?"
"They will, they're still your parents, don't worry."
Hermione sighed, still looking anxious. Harry got off the bed and approached her.
"Hermione…what do you think of my coming along with you to Australia?"
She gazed at him with surprise mixed with tenderness. "You want to come with me?" she asked softly.
"Yeah, I've been thinking about it and I think it makes sense. First of all, I need to get away, and Australia is one of the places I've wanted to visit. Second, this trip might be stressful for you, so maybe you'll need a friend for company."
Hermione looked as though she was deep in thought for a moment and suddenly sprung out of her chair and into Harry's arms.
"Oh, Harry, thank you!" she cried. "That would be wonderful. I've been kind of dreading going because it will be hard to do this all on my own. But if I have you there with me…."
Harry pulled back to look at her and smiled at her reaction. He had thought it might take a little coaxing, but she surprised him with the ease in which she accepted his offer.
"So, it's decided then." Harry said. "We're going to Australia."
"Yes, we're going, we'll leave right after all of the funerals."
"The funerals." Harry repeated as the smile left his face and he sat back on the bed. "It's going to be a rough couple of weeks to see our friends buried. Fred, Remus, Tonks…. sometimes I wonder how we survived and they didn't, it isn't fair."
Hermione nodded, "I know, I can't believe they're gone. But I suppose they would all want us to live our lives and honor their memory."
They were both lost in thought for a moment until Hermione broke the silence.
"Harry, what are we going to tell Ron and Ginny?"
"About our trip?"
"Yes, don't you think that Ginny will not be happy that you're coming with me to Australia? Didn't you say to her that you were going alone?"
Harry nodded. "Yeah, I did. But Ginny doesn't have to know that we're going together."
"So you want to lie to her?"
"What choice do I have?"
"You can choose to tell her the truth."
"And what are you going to tell Ron?" Harry countered. "It might bring up, you know…"
"What, what will it bring up?" Hermione asked.
Harry shifted uncomfortably on the bed. They never really spoke about Ron's accusation of Hermione choosing Harry upon his departure months ago. Hermione also didn't know what occurred before Ron destroyed the locket. But he really didn't want to open that can of worms right now.
"You know, Ron…he's sometimes insecure about being left out."
"So, you think I should invite him to come with us?"
"Do you want him to come along?"
Hermione shook her head. "I don't think so, Harry. Even if I was serious about him being my boyfriend, I don't think I would invite him to go away with me this early in our relationship."
"So what will you tell him?"
"Well I would assume he knows that I have to go to my parents, so that part isn't hard. But I don't want to lie about your coming with me, either. Things are good between the three of us again, so I suppose I can just say that you offered to come with me and then you'd be going off on your own."
"I suppose that will work." Harry said, even if it wasn't completely the truth. "I'll tell Ginny that, too. She'll buy that, right?"
"I hope so, Harry."
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The next couple of weeks were hard for Harry. He had to watch many of his loved ones buried and console those left behind. The hardest funeral for Harry was watching Lupin and Tonks being laid to rest while his godson, Teddy, cried in his grandmother's arms.
Fred Weasley's funeral was also painful as Molly wailed about her son, while George looked like an empty shell without his twin beside him. Harry half-expected Molly to jump on the casket, had Arthur not clung on tightly to his wife.
Harry attended the funerals with Ginny, Ron and Hermione. They sat in that order, holding each others hands. He and Hermione were doing a pretty good job of pretending to be with their redheaded significant others. They didn't have much alone time, either and if Ginny wanted to snog, Harry told her he was too depressed.
In her downtime, Hermione made all of their travel arrangements, using the Internet at a library near hear old home. She and Harry decided to travel as Muggles and she made a reservation to fly from London to Sydney on British Airways. The entire trip would take almost 24 hours with a connecting flight in Singapore.
Her parents were located near Bondi Beach, a suburb of Sydney, so she decided to rent an apartment near the beach for a month, with the option of staying longer. Even if Harry decided not to stay the entire time, Hermione decided to stay to spend as much time with her parents.
Neither she nor Harry wanted to mention their plans to Ron and Ginny until everything was finalized. They were due to leave on May 22nd, a week after the last funeral. During that two week period, Harry and Hermione were invited to stay at the Burrow, with Harry sharing Ron's room and Hermione sharing Ginny's.
A few days before their scheduled departure, Hermione decided to break the news to Ron about her plans. She knocked on his open bedroom door to get his attention.
"Ron? I need to talk to you about something."
"What is it?" Ron replied, sitting on his bed and looked up from his Quidditch magazine.
"Please put down the magazine for a moment."
Ron looked up at her with a sigh as she sat on the edge of his bed.
"Ron, I'm leaving in a few days to go to Australia. I need to find my parents and restore their memories."
"Oh, how long will you be gone for?"
"I'll be gone for a month, at least."
"A whole month?" Ron asked in surprise. "It can't take you that long to restore their memories, can it?"
Hermione shook her head. "Of course not, what I mean is I'm going to spend some time with them. I need that time with them to get to know them again."
"Oh, I get it," Ron sighed again. "I wish I could come with you."
"I wish you could too, but I think you're needed here. Didn't you say you wanted to help George with the shop?"
"Yeah, I did but don't you want some company?" Ron asked, reaching for his girlfriend's hand.
Hermione took a deep breath and exhaled sharply; this was it. "Well, I'm not exactly going by myself. Harry's coming with me for a bit."
Ron's countenance changed. "Harry's coming with you?"
"Yes, for a little while. You see, he needs some time away after everything that's happened and when he found out I was going to see my parents he offered to come with me. Australia was one of the places he wants to visit, so…"
"He so generously offered to come with you, huh?"
"What's the problem, Ron?" Hermione asked. "Harry is my best friend."
"And what am I?" Ron asked angrily.
"You're my boyfriend," Hermione said in a small voice.
"Which means that I'm supposed to me more important to you than Harry! I would've thought that you'd want me to come with you."
"Ron, please, it's not a big deal."
"You know what? Go along with Harry on your little trip. Just don't expect me to be waiting for you when you get back."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"It means that I'm not sure if we should be together, Hermione. I thought when you kissed me a few weeks ago that you were mine, finally. But ever since then, you've barely touched me and the fact that you accepted Harry's offer speaks volumes about your feelings. Things haven't changed, you still choose him!"
Hermione opened her mouth to protest, but then changed her mind. Ron was giving her an out, isn't that what she wanted? But was she choosing Harry again?
"I'm sorry, Ron. This is the way it is."
"I'm sorry, too, Hermione. Maybe on your trip you can finally figure out what you want. But until then, consider yourself single."
Ron picked up his magazine and walked out of the bedroom, leaving Hermione alone with her thoughts.
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Meanwhile, Harry and Ginny were taking a walk together around the back garden of the Burrow, looking at all of the flowers that were in bloom.
Ginny was prattling along about the flowers, but Harry was half-listening to her, knowing that he had to break the news to her about his trip. During a pause in the conversation, he took a deep breath and dove right in.
"Ginny, do you remember when I told you that I was planning a holiday?"
Ginny nodded. "Yes, I do."
"Well, I've made my plans. I'm leaving in a few days, to go to Australia."
"Australia? Isn't that where Hermione's folks are?"
"Yeah. In fact, we're going to travel together to Sydney."
"How are you getting there?"
"We're taking an airplane, you know like Muggles."
"And then she's going to her parents and you're going to take off on your own?"
It would be so easy to lie to Ginny at this moment, but Harry felt bold and told her the truth.
"Um, not exactly. I'm planning to go with Hermione when she visits her parents."
Ginny's eyes narrowed. "I see. And how long to plan to stay with her?"
"Well, Hermione's rented a two bedroom apartment near her parents for a month or so, so I might stay the whole time, but I'm not sure."
"Did she ask you to come with her?" Ginny asked, her voice becoming a higher pitch.
"No, I offered."
Ginny stopped walking and became visibly agitated. "I don't believe this, Harry. I remember I asked you if you wanted some company and you said that you wanted to be alone on this trip to think. But then you go and offer to go with Hermione to see her parents?"
"Well, Gin, I wasn't lying when I said that. But then I found out that Hermione was going to Australia and I thought it might be nice if we went together. It can't be easy for her to do this by herself."
"Oh, please. Hermione is a big girl, if she altered their memories on her own she can certainly restore them on her own, too." Ginny fumed. "Harry, why don't you admit to yourself that you'd rather be with Hermione then spend time with me, planning our future?"
"Ginny, this has nothing to do with you. Hermione is my best friend, she's been there for me for seven years and I feel like all I've done is take from her. I want to be there for her for a change."
"And what about me, Harry? Don't you want to be there for me? I just lost one of my brothers, for Merlin's sake, or does that not matter to you?"
Harry sighed. "Of course it matters, Ginny. But you're not alone in this - you have the rest of your family to help you through. Right now, Hermione has nobody. She's an only child and I am her best friend."
"Best friends, yeah right." Ginny said disdainfully. "Harry, why don't you be honest with yourself? It's obvious that you'd rather be with Hermione than me - maybe you should figure out why that is."
"Ginny, come on…"
"No, you come on. You know, maybe it's good you're going on this trip, so you can figure out who you want to be with. Have a great time."
Ginny turned on her heel and went back towards the house, leaving Harry alone with his thoughts.
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The next few days at the Burrow before the departure for Australia were a bit uncomfortable for everyone. Ron and Ginny informed Harry and Hermione that they had decided not to tell their parents that they had split from their significant others. They did not want to further upset Molly since she had taken Fred's death pretty hard.
Molly was also upset when she learned that Harry and Hermione were leaving the nest for a while, but understood why Hermione needed to see her parents. She was less than understanding when Harry explained that he needed some time away, but he was no longer a boy and could make his own decisions.
The night before they left, Molly approached Hermione for a little witch to witch chat.
"Hermione, dear?"
"Yes, Mrs. Weasley?" Hermione asked, looking up from her packing.
"I'd like to speak with you about something."
From the expression on her face, it looked serious. "Yes, what is it?"
"It's about your trip with Harry," Molly said, taking a deep breath. "I want to wish you a safe journey and hope that everything goes well with your parents."
"Thank you, Mrs. Weasley, that means a lot to me," Hermione replied with a smile.
"Call me Molly, dear," the older witch admonished. "You're almost a grown woman now."
"Okay, Molly," Hermione said uncomfortably as she could tell that she was far from finished.
"I understand that the two of you will be staying in Australia together?"
"Yes, I am renting a cottage near Bondi Beach and Harry will be staying with me for a while."
"Well I might as well cut to the chase as I am concerned that something improper might happen while you are cohabitating."
Hermione raised her eyebrows. "Mrs. um, Molly, I can assure you that nothing is going to happen. The cottage has two bedrooms and I saw a floor plan and pictures of it on the Internet and they are on opposite sides of the house. Besides, Harry and I were cohabitating as you say for several months recently and nothing happened."
"Yes, but Ron was with you."
"Not the entire time, I think you are aware that he was at Shell Cottage for several weeks, while Harry and I were left alone?"
"Yes, I do know that and I know you wouldn't cheat on my son. However, it's Harry I'm concerned with."
"What do you mean?"
"I think things are a little strained between Ginny and him. I've just noticed that he doesn't look at her the same adoring way he used to. But I have noticed the way he looks at you."
"I don't understand, Molly," Hermione said, a blush creeping into her face.
"Harry has a lot of affection for you and I'm just asking you to be careful. You see, it's always been my dream to have him as a son-in-law and I would be absolutely shattered if that didn't happen. I've already had my heart broken when we lost dear Fred and don't want to see anymore major disappointments in my life."
Hermione sighed, Molly wasn't even her mother, and she was giving her a proactive guilt trip.
"So you are asking me to make sure that I don't do anything to encourage him?"
"Exactly! You always seem to be so close - always holding his hand or hugging him. Perhaps you should be aware that Harry might misconstrue these signs of affection for something else."
"But I have never intended those to be anything other than to show my friendship, Molly!" Hermione protested, feeling embarrassed.
"Of course you did, dear," Molly replied soothingly. "But I have raised six sons and have been married for years to my Arthur, so I know the male of the species, and especially how they are at the age of eighteen. Just be careful."
Molly put her arm around Hermione. "Are we understood?"
"Understood." Hermione repeated.
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The following day, Harry and Hermione woke up very early to get to Heathrow airport for their 10AM flight. They apparated (with their miniaturized luggage) to the lobby of the Ritz Hotel in London. Hermione chose this location as the lobby was always busy with guests and conference patrons so nobody would notice them. Also, taxis always lined up outside the hotel to take its well heeled guests to London's shops, restaurants and of course, the airport.
Hermione took her and Harry's luggage into the ladies room and restored it to full size in her large private stall. Once outside the hotel, the doorman hailed them a cab and thanked them for staying at the Ritz.
They got into the cab for the one hour drive to the airport. Harry groused that they could've gotten an hour more of sleep and just apparated straight to the airport, but Hermione argued that security measures were extremely strict and she didn't want to draw any undue attention their way.
Harry leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes. "I can't believe we're finally on our way to the airport and to Australia. The last few days have been pretty brutal."
"I have to agree with that. But I'm glad that we were able to tell Ron and Ginny the truth. It's too bad that Mrs. Weasley still thinks that I'm with Ron…."
"And me with Ginny." Harry finished.
"Well not exactly," Hermione muttered.
"What do you mean by that?"
"Last night, while I was packing, Mrs. Weasley and I had a little chat."
Harry rolled his eyes. "What did she say?"
"She asked me to call her Molly, which was weird. But the main thing was she sensed that there might be trouble in paradise with you and Ginny and warned me not to use my feminine wiles on you while we are away."
Harry snorted, "You're kidding."
"I wish I were," Hermione said soberly. "She is hell bent on you marrying into the family and doesn't want anything standing in her way. Of course she did it in a very manipulative, non-threatening, and guilt inducing way."
"I don't know who is worse, her or Ginny. Both of them seem to have it stuck in their heads that I'm destined to be a Weasley."
"Well, at least Ginny doesn't anymore, right?"
"I suppose so, we really didn't say much to each other the past couple of days. She's still angry with me that I'm going with you to your parents."
"So was Ron. He's mad that he's being left out."
"I know - he was kind of cold to me the last couple of days. When I asked him about it, he said he didn't want to talk about it and if I really wanted to know, I should talk to you."
"It was nothing, Harry, just Ron's insecurities getting the best of him, as usual," Hermione shrugged.
"You know what?" Harry said. "Let's make a pact. For the next month, let's not talk about Ron or Ginny. We're going to be away from them for a while, so why should we waste time talking about them?"
"Harry, that's a bit cruel, isn't it? Ron is your best mate."
"I know, but I'm sick of him and his issues always getting in the way of our friendship," Harry explained. "It's such a drain and I want to focus my energy on getting you and your parents together again, so let's not mention any redheads, okay?"
Harry held out his pinky finger, inviting Hermione to do the same. She did so and said, "Okay, I promise not to mention our former redheaded paramours."
They made their pact, but Hermione secretly wondered what else they were going to talk about with that subject verboten.
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