The second of June, 1998. It was exactly one month after the final battle.
Hermione stared at the calendar, trying to gather her thoughts. So much had changed since Voldemort’s downfall – it was hard to believe that it had been so short a time. The Wizarding world had revolutionised itself in just a few weeks, and making more progress than it had in the past decade. It helped quite a lot that Kingsley was now Minister of Magic, and implementing most of the changes. Hogwarts had been rebuilt quicker than anyone had expected, and the students were due back next week to finish off their interrupted term.
Her mind went back to that last night at Hogwarts. She didn’t think she could ever forget it. The cold voice of Voldemort still sent a shiver down her spine … the terrified screams of the students had haunted her nightmares. The people who had been lost – a tear leaked out the corner of her eye as it hit her once more that she would never see her friends again. Remus, Tonks, Fred, Moody, Dobby ... all of them had been lost for the greater cause.
‘Hermione?’ a familiar voice called uncertainly. ‘Are you in here?’
She heard footsteps behind her, and then Ron bent down and kissed her on the cheek. ‘Morning,’ he said, smiling down at his girlfriend with a fond look on his face. However, his expression immediately changed to one of worry as he noticed the tears now streaming down her face. ‘What’s the matter?’
‘One month,’ she whispered, still staring at the calendar. Ron realised instantly what she meant, and he made a strange gulping noise. He wordlessly put his arm around Hermione’s shoulders, trying to comfort her and at the same time repress his misery.
Harry entered the basement kitchen a few minutes later, and seeing them standing there, proceeded to sit down and eat his breakfast without saying a word. He already knew. Even Kreacher was silent, making as little noise as possible as he cleaned the kitchen, occasionally shooting worried glances towards his master.
After a few minutes, Ron and Hermione joined Harry at breakfast. The three of them had moved back into Grimmauld Place after the war – once it had been ascertained that it was finally safe. They were planning on staying there for a while, except Hermione, who was going back to Hogwarts in September to do her seventh and final year. Despite her attempts to persuade them otherwise, the boys were not going to finish school. They could manage perfectly well without their final year, Hermione knew, but she shuddered at the thought of not having full qualifications.
It was an unusually quiet morning at 12 Grimmauld Place. Harry disappeared into the library not long after breakfast. He was researching his family history, trying to trace it back to Ignotus Peverell, which was a time-consuming task. The library in the Black house was mostly useless, but there were some good family history books in there. James Potter’s family were Purebloods, after all.
Ron and Hermione whiled away the morning in the drawing room, talking quietly and staring out over Grimmauld Place. Hermione stretched out along the couch with her head resting on Ron’s lap, while he played with her hair absentmindedly. One good thing that had come out of the war was their newfound relationship.
They had always loved each other – that was fairly obvious – but being together was so much different. Sure, they still bickered and quarrelled like they always had, to the extent where it drove Harry mad to be living in the same house, but now there was that new thought that skipped into Hermione’s head whenever she saw him – he loves me.
‘We should go and see Mum today,’ Ron murmured. ‘She probably misses us. Ginny, too.’
Hermione smiled. Ginny had kicked up a storm when the three of them had moved into Sirius’ house together. She had wanted so badly to come with them, but Mrs Weasley had forbidden it. As much as she adored and trusted Harry, she wasn’t about to let her sixteen year old daughter move in with her boyfriend. She had long ago given up on trying to keep Ron at home. Ginny had been staying at the Burrow until Hogwarts was restored. It was just like summer, she told them, but much more morbid.
‘Good idea,’ Hermione said, closing her eyes and letting the sun’s rays hit her face. ‘Are Bill and Fleur still there?’
‘For another week, I think,’ Ron replied. ‘Why?’
‘I need to talk to Bill,’ Hermione said, thinking over her plans. She hadn’t told them yet – it was just another commitment to add to their growing list. The door creaked open, and Harry entered and sat down on the lounge opposite. He leaned forward and joined in their conversation.
‘What about?’ he asked. Hermione sat up, so as to not make it awkward for Harry – she and Ron tried their hardest not to be too open about their relationship in front of him. There were some things that you just didn’t want to see your best friends do.
‘Money,’ she admitted. They stared at her blankly, and she sighed. ‘I’m going to Australia. I have to find my parents.’
There was a pause as this sank in. ‘That’s great, Hermione!’ Ron said, squeezing her hand.
‘When are we going?’ Harry asked, now grinning broadly at the idea of leaving Britain and it’s war-torn state.
Neither of the two boys really knew her parents – they had only met a few times – but they seemed excited enough anyway.
‘We? I’m going by myself,’ Hermione said, frowning slightly. There was no point to them going too – they had to stay here and deal with the aftermath of the war. The press were still going wild, and the Ministry needed them to be the face for the public, the reassurance that everything was finally all right.
‘And deprive us of a free holiday? Not likely,’ Ron said, unworried. ‘Why do you need to go by yourself? Something might happen.’
Hermione smiled at this. ‘The war’s over, Ron,’ she said. ‘And you two have to stay here – Kingsley or someone might need you.’
‘Well, they can find someone else,’ Harry said. ‘It’s about time we got a break. And what better place to do this but Australia?’
‘It’s not going to be a holiday,’ she replied, having resigned to the fact that they were coming, whether she liked it or not. ‘We have to find my parents.’
‘We will.’ Ron grinned. ‘But surely we could do a bit of sightseeing along the way. I’ve always wanted to go to Australia.’
They both looked at Hermione eagerly, and she sighed. She couldn’t not take them, she supposed. Not after all that they had been through together – it had made them closer than ever. She didn’t know how long it would take her to find her parents, after all, and she might need them.
‘But why do all three of you need to go?’ Mrs Weasley asked, biting her lip anxiously. ‘How long will you be away? What if something happens? How will we find out? What if–’
‘Mum!’ Ron said loudly. ‘We’re going to be fine. It’s just Australia. There isn’t a Voldemort anymore, remember.’
Mrs Weasley cringed automatically at the name, and then giggled a little at her own silliness. ‘I suppose,’ she said weakly. ‘But make sure you take Pigwidgeon, and if anything happens, send him back, and we’ll come get you.’
‘Would Pigwidgeon be able to manage the journey, though? It’s pretty far,’ Hermione said. Although Pig was perhaps the most eager-to-please owl she had ever seen, he had his limits.
‘Well, I’ve been meaning to get a new owl,’ Harry suddenly said. His voice was casual, but Hermione could hear the effort he put behind it. ‘So I’ll get one before we leave, and take it with us.’
A pang hit Hermione as his voice cracked at the end of this. She squeezed his hand as everyone fell silent, feeling for the loss of Hedwig. They stayed like this for a moment before Harry finally spoke, his voice normal again.
‘So how are we going to get to Australia?’ he asked Hermione. ‘Is there any magical transport to take us halfway across the world?’
‘I did some research on it,’ she said, opening a notebook. ‘There isn’t anything except for Apparition and Portkeys.’ Harry and Ron looked doubtful. ‘I know what you’re going to say, and I agree. I don’t have enough faith in my Apparating skills to go that far. We could go by Portkey, but it would be too much work to ask the Australian Ministry of Magic to organise one for us. You have to fill out all these forms, and it could take months.’
‘So how will we get there, then?’ Ron asked. Hermione grinned at him, flipping to another section in her notebook.
‘We fly.’
‘By brooms?’ Ron asked worriedly. ‘I don’t know, Hermione. It would be really risky – you don’t even know how to fly. And we’d have to go so far ...’
She laughed. ‘Not by brooms. By aeroplane.’
Harry nodded, understanding immediately, but Ron just looked confused. ‘Aeroplane?’ he asked. ‘Aren’t they those giant flying metal things?’
Harry chucked. ‘I’ll leave the explaining to you,’ he said to Hermione, before leaving the room, presumably to go find Ginny. Mrs Weasley followed him, looking worried at the mention of giant flying metal things.
‘Yes, Ron,’ Hermione said, sitting down on the worn couch. ‘They’re Muggle – which means they run on gas and motors, not magic. I don’t know exactly how they work – I’m not an engineer – but they’re completely safe, so don’t worry.’
He joined her on the couch. ‘How long will it take us to get to Australia from here?’ he asked.
She shrugged. ‘A day, maybe more. The only problem is the flight tickets – they’re fairly expensive. I have a bit of Muggle money in a bank that Mum and Dad had saved for me – but it’s not enough to get one ticket, let alone three.’ She tactfully didn’t mention that Ron’s family wouldn’t be able to afford it, either.
‘So what are we going to do?’ Ron asked.
‘I’ll pay,’ Harry said, leaning over the back of the couch. He had returned to the room to catch the end of the conversation. Hermione sighed in relief – she had been planning on asking him, but at least now she could save herself the embarrassment. Ron went red.
‘We can find the money another way,’ he mumbled. ‘You don’t have to pay for us all ...’
‘I can, and I will,’ he said with a tone of finality. ‘Ron, where’s Ginny? I haven’t seen her all afternoon.’
‘I think Mrs Weasley said she went up to visit Luna,’ Hermione said. Ron scowled as Harry’s face lit up and he headed out the front door of the Burrow. He looked so annoyed that Hermione laughed, and pushed Ron’s shoulder lightly. ‘You need to get over yourself. They’re not going to break up just because you don’t approve.’
Ron sighed. ‘I know. And it’s not that I don’t approve – I’d rather it be Harry than anyone else. But you’d think that they could at least tone it down a little – it’s sickening, seeing your little sister and your best friend like that.’
‘Ron, they’re not that bad. Harry tries to keep it private.’ Hermione suppressed a smile. Ginny, on the other hand, did everything she could to infuriate Ron. It was rather amusing to watch Ginny kiss Harry when she knew Ron was watching – and even more amusing to watch Ron’s expression.
‘The other day, Harry was telling me how much he loves her,’ Ron admitted, staring out the door where Harry had disappeared. Hermione laughed and moved over to snuggle into his arms.
‘Leave them alone, Ron. They wouldn’t be so bad if you don’t react so badly. How would you feel if every time you touched me, Harry glared at you?’
‘I wouldn’t care,’ Ron said. Hermione looked at him disbelievingly. ‘Fine. I’ll try to be nicer.’ He said this with such a surly tone that Hermione laughed again, and craned her neck to kiss him on the nose.
‘I love you,’ she said, putting her head back on his chest. He rested his chin on her head, wrapping his arms around her.
‘I love you, too.’
They settled into a comfortable silence, watching out the front window as Harry climbed up the hill that led to the Lovegoods’ place. It was peaceful, being here, and not having to worry about anything except the price of plane tickets and how long it would take until Ron finally had enough of his best friend and little sister.
Hopefully their expedition to Australia would go just as well.