Inell's Fanfiction Archive

i

“Harry, you can’t be serious.” Hermione stares at her best friend, uncertain how to react to his offer. While it seems impossible that he’s genuine, this is Harry. He isn’t likely to play a prank, and especially not about this. Still, she can’t help but question him.

“Do you honestly think that I’d joke about this?” Harry asks, looking offended enough that she feels guilty for doubting him.

“No, but it’s too much. I can’t accept it.”

Harry sighs and shakes his head. “Hermione, you used all your savings during the war, to keep us safe and fed. We probably wouldn’t have made it as long as we did if we hadn’t had that money at first.”

“It certainly wasn’t this much,” she points out, taking a moment to form an estimate of how much he was offering. “You’re talking thousands of pounds, Harry. I never had that much. If I had, we would had been able to eat well the entire time.”

“Consider it interest,” he suggests hopefully. “It’s been a year--well, more than that, actually--since we used your money. There’s that rate of interest thing that the banks always go on about, so just think of it as that way. And stop refusing me. You know that I’m not going to give up when I really want something, and I want you to take this money.”

“You’re such a stubborn prat sometimes,” she tells him affectionately. “I’ll accept it, but on the condition that I can eventually repay the ‘interest’ once I have a job and can afford it.”

“You call me stubborn but you can’t accept a gift? It’s not like this even makes a small dent in my vault,” he mutters before he runs his fingers through his messy hair and tugs. “We’ll discuss repayment some other time. After you’re back and settled and working and all that, yeah?”

“You’re putting it off instead of agreeing.” She sits back on the sofa and looks at the table. “Harry, it really is too much. You’re letting me live here without paying rent, supplying food and other necessities, and now this.”

“I’m a nice bloke,” he says sweetly before he nudges her leg with his foot. “Seriously, it doesn’t mean anything--the money and house, all that. You’re my family, you and Ron, and this is what family does. I know how important it is for you to go, Hermione. I can’t go with you, but I can help this way.”

She looks at him and admits, “I’m not sure that I’m ready. It’s been two years now since I sent them away, and I still don’t know if I can face them. I thought that I’d have longer, while I was finding a job and saving the money to go. Isn’t that pathetic? They’re my parents, and I want them back, but I’m scared.”

“It’s not pathetic.” Harry moves beside her and pulls her against his side for a hug. “If I could, I’d just miss training to go with you. Ron would, too. You know that, don’t you?”

“I know.” And she does. Even with the slight awkwardness that’s there between her and Ron since their relationship stopped being romantic, she knows he’d go with her if she needed him. He’s in Auror training, too, though, plus helping out George on weekends. While she’s been at Hogwarts completing her final year of school and taking her NEWTs, Harry and Ron have been working and making lives for themselves.

“I don’t want you to have to go alone,” he says hesitantly. She looks at him and frowns slightly. He’s avoiding her gaze, which means he’s about to tell her something she might not like hearing. “You mentioned a condition, and, well, I’ve got one of my own.”

“You have a condition?”

“About the money. Not like some illness or anything.”

“Yes, I figured that much out, Harry. What’s your condition?”

He looks at her then. “I want you to take Percy with you. To Australia, I mean.”

“Percy?” She blinks and tries to process that unexpected bit of information. “Why?”

“Why? Well, because, as weird as it might sound, I trust him to keep you safe. He’s also clever and good at dealing with political types, should anything happen that involves the Australian Ministry. I don’t want you to have to do this on your own, Hermione, and he’s the best choice.”

“You mean he’s the only choice,” she mutters. No one knows what she did to her parents except Harry and Ron. If Percy escorts her on this trip, then he’ll have to be told. She dislikes the idea of someone she respects--as she does respect Percy, despite his faults--knowing and looking at her as if she’s some sort of monster. She feels that way often enough without outside assistance.

“That, too, but, really, he’s a good choice. Logical, you know? You like logic.” Harry sighs and leans his cheek against the top of her head. “It’s been over a year since the war ended, and he’s still drifting. He works with George, but he gave up his flat and moved back home, and Ginny’s worried. All the Weasleys are worried. I think maybe he needs this. Does that sound stupid?”

“It sounds remarkably insightful for the boy who bought me a broom servicing kit for Christmas.”

“You’re never going to let me live that down, are you? I told you. I mixed up the tags. I got you that nice purple scarf, but I couldn’t very well explain my bollocksing up the gifts to Ginny when she opened the scarf.”

“I’m just teasing.” She wonders when Harry grew up, because this isn’t the same boy she left when she got on the train to Hogwarts last September. Ron isn’t the same, either. They’ve both grown up. Meanwhile, she feels like a scared schoolgirl uncertain about facing the world now that school is finished, and she’s on her own. Maybe going to Australia will help her with that, even if she has to take Percy along.

“Ron says that he’ll ask Percy about going with you. He just didn’t want to until you agreed. Scared you’d hex him for thinking you couldn’t take care of yourself,” Harry says, squeezing her shoulder as he hugs her again. “You okay with it?”

It isn’t like she really has a choice, even though she knows that Harry will probably cave if she refuses because he wants her to get her parents back. It’s not his guilt to carry, what she did with them, but she doesn’t doubt that it’s part of the large burden on his shoulders that he’s slowly starting to let go of. “Sure. Percy isn’t all bad. Don’t force him though, okay? If he has no interest in going, I don’t want Ron to use guilt or anything to make him.”

“Alright.” Harry summons the folder he’d given her. “I’ve looked into prices for tickets and all that for you. Are you proud? I got it all done before you got back from school, but the sales lady said the times wouldn’t change. Ron tried to find out about places to stay there, but we didn’t really know where you would be, and he had no idea how to find out about Muggle stuff.”

“Make sure that Percy knows about the Muggle flight. That might sway his decision, too, since it’s a lot longer than just taking Portkeys.” She is proud of Harry for all his planning, and she’s glad that he thought about using Muggle transportation. It’s been thirteen months since the Battle of Hogwarts, but the newspapers still sell when they have stories about them. The last thing she wants is some intrepid reporter to find out she’s arranged a Portkey to Australia, especially with Percy possibly accompanying her, and decide to investigate. Muggle airplanes are safe and will avoid a front page story about ‘Heroine of War Steals Parents’ Memories’ or some other sensational headline.

Harry tugs on her hair. “You spaced out for a minute. I asked what you wanted to do about the hotel stuff.”

“I’m not sure. I’ll figure it out when we’re there, I think. As long as it’s not camping, I won’t be that particular.”

“Well, bugger. I’d planned to give you a tent so you could enjoy the Australian outdoors,” Harry teases.

“Keep your tent, Potter. I just want your money,” she says, smiling before she starts to review the flight information that he gathered.

ii

Muggle airplanes are bloody uncomfortable. Hermione wonders if taking Portkeys might not have been worth the risk. They’re in Singapore for an hour and a half layover, but there’s talk about flight delays due to rain. It does seem to be raining a lot, but she really hopes they’re not stuck here for too long. The plane isn’t enjoyable, but it at least gets them closer to their destination.

“I bought you this,” Percy says, interrupting her rant against air travel as he hands her a cup. He sits down next to her and looks out the large window at the rain. “The woman running the till in the shop said that there’s flooding on a runway, whatever that means.”

“Flooding is when a large amount of water covers a space,” she tells him as she sniffs the warm liquid in the cup he gave her. She smells cinnamon and coffee.

He gives her a look that questions her intelligence and makes her tense automatically. “I’m aware of what flooding is, Miss Granger. However, I am not certain what a ‘runway’ is or how that would affect our travel plans.”

“Hermione,” she says for what has to be the fiftieth time since yesterday morning and hundredth in the past year. She used to be Hermione, back when she was a first year, and he was one of the few people who spoke to her. She was even Hermione in third year, when he was Head Boy and called most people by their surnames. It irritates her that she’s now Miss Granger, like some stranger that he doesn’t know. She takes a sip of the coffee and notes the cream that’s been added. “The runway is the path that the airplane takes before it flies. If it’s flooded, then it means the plane can’t fly.”

“Ah, yes. That makes sense then.” He takes another drink of his coffee before he puts it down and removes his spectacles. She watches him out of the corner of her eyes as he wipes the lenses with the hem of his shirt before he puts them back on. When he notices her watching, she looks out the window at the rain.

“I hope our flight isn’t delayed. We have another seven and a half hours before we reach Sydney, and we’re already arriving in the evening. If it’s too late, we might not be able to find somewhere to stay for the night without effort.”

“There’s still another seven hours left? The last flight took thirteen. We would have arrived yesterday had we simply arranged for Portkey travel. I certainly don’t envy Muggles their horrid transportation options.” He looks at her and frowns. “Did you not tell your parents to expect us? I had assumed that we would stay with them during our brief holiday.”

She shifts uncomfortably and sips her coffee to avoid answering. Finally, she says, “They won’t be meeting us. They’re not in Sydney, so I thought that it would be best to let a room for the evening then make our way to their town tomorrow.” Of course, she hasn’t yet figured out how best to get there, though she assumes that there must be busses or trains. Everything went so quickly after Harry told her about the money that she hasn’t had time to properly research anything. It’s left her feeling very disconnected and frustrated.

“You have told them that you’re coming, haven’t you?” Percy sounds slightly annoyed. His voice is low and tense, but she doesn’t want to explain about her parents at an airport in Singapore. She’ll tell him tomorrow, which is plenty of time. He shifts in the uncomfortable airport chair and mutters under his breath, too low for her to here. He rubs the back of his neck before he says, “Will it be awkward if you surprise them with a visit with me along?”

“You being along will definitely not be the most awkward thing,” she assures him. She looks at him and finally asks something that she’s been curious about. “Why did you agree to come with me? You could easily have refused.”

He purses his lips and looks out at the falling rain. “Ron asked me.” It’s a simple answer, in theory, but she knows that it’s more complicated than that. He shrugs a shoulder. “He said that he and Harry were worried about you traveling alone, especially with some of You-Know-Who’s supporters still at large. Since they had training, they trusted me with the task of looking after you.”

“Looking after me?” she repeats slowly, curling her fingers into her palm as she resists the urge to point out that she’s going to be twenty in two months and has no need for a babysitter.

He looks at her then, eyes clear and blue behind his spectacles. “They trusted me. I certainly couldn’t refuse, even if it involves horrible Muggle air transport.”

It’s impossible to remain annoyed when he sounds so sincere. It means a lot to him that Harry and Ron trusted him, though she hopes that he doesn’t feel manipulated when he finds out why they really sent him along. It wasn’t for the supposed danger of a random Voldemort supporter hiding around Australia waiting to kill her, after all. She won’t tell him about that yet, though. Besides, it still means a lot that they trusted him to know Hermione’s secret, much more than simply acting as a bodyguard.

“Thank you. For the coffee. You even added cream,” she says, deciding that small talk while waiting for their connection is better than risking a disagreement before they even arrive at their destination.

“Yes, well, I noticed you added it yesterday.” He rubs the bridge of his nose and glances around before focusing on her. “I saw a bookshop when I got the coffee. After you’re finished, we can go investigate it, if you’d like. I’ve already finished the text that I brought along with me, so I would like to acquire something new for the remainder of the flight.”

“I’d like.” She stands up and stretches before she picks up her carry-on bag. It’s a relief that they were able to use magic to pack, so she’s not worried about the airlines misplacing their luggage. With the rain here and the delay in London yesterday, it’s been one less thing to be concerned about. “We should try not to sleep on the flight to Sydney. I’ve read that it is best to adapt to the times in the country you’re visiting to avoid jet lag, and it’ll be evening when we arrive.”

“Really? I’ll take that suggestion under advisement. Of course, it isn’t as if I was able to sleep on the flight here. The seats are much too small and certainly don’t tempt one to curl into them to nap.”

“I hope we don’t get another talkative seatmate,” she mutters, making a face as she remembers the flight here. “If so, it’s your turn to sit by them.”

“I was unaware that we were taking turns, thus I am not obligated to do anything, Miss--Hermione,” he says primly as he stands and smoothes down his Muggle shirt. “Shall we? The bookshop is this way.”

“Not obligated,” she repeats, rolling her eyes despite herself. If he were Harry or Ron, she’d smack him upside the head and make him sit by the stranger. As it is, she has no idea how to handle Percy. She studies him for a moment before she follows him to the bookshop. Maybe there will be a book on Australia that she can study during the remainder of their flight.

iii

They find a hotel by the airport with vacancies. It’s a chain that offers breakfast in the morning, which Hermione assumes consists of baked goods and coffee from the picture she sees. They have several rooms available, but Percy requests one with two beds. It’s after nine, and she’s tired after the delay in Singapore and the wait at customs, so she doesn’t protest. It saves money, after all, and she’s shared a small tent with Harry and Ron for months, so this is almost standard for her. After they get the key and directions to their room, she notices that Percy’s cheeks are flushed.

“We don’t have to share a room if you prefer not,” she mentions as they walk down the corridor to the staircase the clerk referenced. “Harry was very generous in the amount of money that he lent me, so we can afford it if you’re uncomfortable.”

“It would be impossible to protect you from threats if I were in a room by myself,” he points out, his tone suggesting that he wants the subject dropped now.

“Yes, well, I doubt there are any Death Eaters lurking around the lobby of a Muggle chain hotel waiting to attack me.” She has never been one to simply drop a subject if it interests her, and she’s too cranky and tired right now to be polite.

“You have been entrusted to my care, Hermione. If that means sharing a room, so be it.” He gives her a look that she suspects means he’s considering whether it’s appropriate to use a Silencio on her.

“Right.” She doesn’t argue. She’s exhausted, and she’s dreading the confrontation with her parents once she removes the charms that she used. It’s better to face up to what she’s done and deal with it, though, so she knows that she needs to stop procrastinating. There are no excuses now, after all. She’s finished with school, she’s taken the time to further analyze the charms, and she’s in Australia.

The room is small but functional. There are two beds, a telly, a small table, and two chairs. The price is appropriate, really, so she can’t complain. She puts her bag on the first bed and opens it before she removes her wand from its hiding place.

“Would you mind taking the other bed?” Percy shuts the door and locks it with the Muggle locks before he casts a locking charm, too.

She looks up and stops removing the shrinking charms on everything she brought. “Why?”

“This bed is closest to the door. If anyone were to attempt to gain access to the room, I would feel better if I were the first target they reached,” he explains, using his obnoxious patient voice that makes her feel like a first year.

“What if they came in through the window?” she asks, looking at the large window that overlooks a car park. “They might even have brooms to just fly up and attack.”

He looks at her for a moment before his lips curl slightly into a smile. “I’m too bloody tired to argue about it, Hermione. Just take the other bed. Please?”

“Fine.” She’s surprised at his smile since she knows he isn’t the type to appreciate teasing, but it’s a nice surprise. She wonders if she can earn an actual smile from him sometime during this trip. She can’t really remember the last time she saw one. No, that’s not true. Memories of the final battle, of a big smile as Fred praised him, followed by pain and screams come to mind. She looks down at her bag and picks it up, moving it to the other bed. “I’d like to take a shower.”

“You can go first,” he offers before he walks to window and casts charms on it, too.

She can’t help but smile because his caution makes her feel safe, even if she knows there’s no real threat of attack. After she gets her pajamas and clean undergarments from her bag, she gets the smaller bag with toiletries and goes into the small bathroom. The shower is refreshing, as is getting out of clothes that she’s been wearing for more hours than she cares to count, especially with the time difference and calculations required. She even takes the time to wash her hair, since she feels more awake after the shower.

When she finishes, she gets dressed, which isn’t easy in the small space between the toilet, lavatory and shower. She bumps her elbow against the wall hard enough that she thinks it might end up bruising, but finally manages to get finished. After drying her hair, she cleans the bathroom so that Percy isn’t stepping in water puddles, and goes back into their room.

Percy is lying on the bed with pillows behind him as he reads the Muggle mystery novel that he got in Singapore. He started it on the plane, when they weren’t talking, and it’s obvious that he’s enjoying it. He looks up when she walks past his bed and closes the book. “You look very revitalized.”

“The room might be small, but the shower works very well,” she says before she folds up her dirty clothes. She quickly stuffs her bra and knickers into the bag when she realizes they’re folded into her shirt and doesn’t look at Percy to see if he noticed. During her travels with Harry and Ron, she learned that it’s better to ignore that kind of situation instead of commenting.

“Right.” Percy clears his throat and unzips his bag. “I’ll go find out for myself.”

Once he goes to shower, she sits down cross-legged on her bed and studies the book that she bought. There’s information about various cities and things to do, but she can’t find anything about the best way to reach Gladstone. The small blurb on the town doesn’t sound at all like she expects, and she wonders if she made a mistake by suggesting that as a destination to her parents. She had looked at a map of Australia, though, and seen it and thought it would be nice to send them somewhere with ‘glad’ in the name.

Now, she’s read about a small town with a low population, which doesn’t sound very appropriate for her parents. She hadn’t wanted to suggest somewhere well-populated, though, because it would have been more difficult to locate them. In retrospect, she should have done more thorough research and sent them somewhere based on something other than ‘glad’ being in the town’s name. She scowls at the book and flips through more pages.

As she does, she finds another Gladstone. She rubs her temples before she checks the map carefully and realizes that this Gladstone is the correct one. She’s happy to have made the wrong assumption, because this Gladstone sounds much better. The population isn’t too great, but it’s enough that her parents shouldn’t be bored. She reads about the history and location, checking maps and writing down calculations.

“How will we be reaching your parents?”

She is startled by the question. She’s been researching and didn’t hear the shower turn off. She looks up and blinks when she sees Percy wiping a towel over his head. He’s wearing pajama bottoms that are obviously too big because they’re hanging low on his hips. He also seems to have lost his shirt. She’s seen boys without their shirts before, has seen Ron without anything on before, but she can’t help staring. Percy’s skin is freckled and not as pale as she might have imagined. He’s still tall and lean, but there’s some definition in his chest and his arms that is unexpected.

“Hermione?” He looks up and drops the towel around his shoulders. “Were you sleeping?” He steps back into the bathroom and reemerges with his spectacles on. His hair is curled from being wet, and she looks down at her book before he can catch her staring.

“No, sorry. I was reading.” She should not be staring at Percy. He’s Percy, which automatically makes him forbidden--Ron’s older brother, former Head Boy, and not someone who would appreciate being stared at it in such a way. She obviously needs to sleep and recover from the extremely long flights.

“Ah. Well, I asked how we’ll be reaching your parents,” he repeats. He steps back into the bathroom and reappears without his towel. “Where are they living?”

“Gladstone. It’s north of Brisbane. Really, we should have flown into Brisbane, but there were more stops, and I didn’t realize how far Sydney was from our destination. I had to purchase the tickets fast or they would have been even more ridiculously overpriced. They were bloody expensive as it is, and I just don’t want to owe Harry even more money, despite knowing he’s unlikely to ever allow me to repay him.” She cringes when she realizes that she’s rambling, but she hates not being prepared.

“I’ve never heard of it,” he says as he pulls the covers back on his bed. “Is that very far then? From here, I mean.”

“I’m not sure. From what I can tell, it’s, um, over fourteen hundred kilometers,” she tells him, cringing slightly. “By my estimations, it’s nearly twenty hours away. I had no idea that things were so far apart here. I mean, I know that not every country is as central and compact as ours, but twenty hours? That’s bloody ridiculous.”

He frowns as sits down and picks up his book. “Have your parents never said? Surely they’d have mentioned their home being so far from civilization.”

“They haven’t said anything.” She sighs and closes the guidebook. “Percy, you’re not here because Harry and Ron are worried about Death Eaters. That is, they probably are since they’re always paranoid when it comes to my safety, but that’s not why they refused to let me make this trip alone.”

“There is always a threat, especially with one such as yourself,” he points out. He frowns slightly as he looks at her. “Why am I really here then?”

“Two years ago, I altered my parents’ memories without their knowledge and sent them to Australia.” She looks down at the faded blanket and picks at a loose thread. “It was after Dumbledore died, before we had to run, and I just wanted them to be safe. I sent them somewhere they’d mentioned visiting, Australia, and I chose the town from a map on a whim. I’ve come to get them now, to remove the charms and let them remember everything, remember me.”

Percy is silent. She finally looks up to find him staring at her with an unreadable expression on his face. “Harry and Ron know, I trust?” he says slowly, speaking quietly. “Did they know beforehand or after you had already done it?”

“They’re the only ones who do, though I think that your father and Kingsley--Minister Shacklebolt--suspect something. I told them after, when my parents had already gone. I knew they probably wouldn’t approve of my choice.” She looks back down and bites her lip. “They couldn’t come with me because of training, but they didn’t want me alone.”

“So they chose me.” He sighs and taps his thumb against the soft cover of his book. “You know how to remove the charms, I assume?”

“Yes. I’ve researched them thoroughly during the last year. I was going to come here straight away after the war ended, but there were funerals and rebuilding and then classes began, and I couldn’t get behind another year or not take my NEWTs.”

“You received the same offer that Ron did, did you not?”

“I--yes,” she admits. “Many of us did, but it’s not the same as actually going through the classes and taking my NEWTs. I didn’t fight in the war to bypass my studies or anything.”

“You also didn’t want to come here and have to face what you did,” he adds thoughtfully. When she looks at him sharply, he smiles wryly. “I know about family, Hermione. I also know about making mistakes and being too scared to face up to them quickly. It took me two years, and then it was already too late in many ways.”

“You followed your beliefs, however misguided. I took away a choice that my parents should have been given a chance to make.” She shakes her head. “It’s not a competition as to who did the worst thing. I just wanted you to know the truth.”

“We should sleep. It sounds like we have a long journey ahead of us.” He removes his spectacles and places them on the small table between their beds. After she’s lying down, he turns off the light. It’s quiet for a moment before he softly says, “I would have still come if you’d been honest from the start.”

She bites her lip and pulls the covers over her shoulder. It doesn’t make things any easier, but she’s relieved to hear that. She lies in bed for a while, until she hears his breathing even out, and then she drifts off to sleep.

iv

They miss the train to Gladstone. There are two more that night, but they’re so late that they would arrive in the middle of the night, which is too great a risk when it comes to lodging and finding their way around. It’s been another long day, and Hermione’s getting tired of Muggle transportation. The train from Sydney to Brisbane was relatively comfortable, but she is developing a loathing for small seats, talkative strangers, and no respect to personal space.

After she checks the times again, she looks at Percy. “We can always take the one before midnight, but I don’t know what we’d do when we arrive. It’ll be tomorrow morning, but I’m not sure I can get any sleep tonight on the train.”

“That seems pointless if we’ll be too tired tomorrow to do anything. The problem is that there’s not another train to Gladstone until late tomorrow afternoon, so we’re going to have to sleep on the train regardless.” He lowers his voice. “It might have been easier if you had just chosen a larger town to send them, even if we’d have had a more difficult search.”

She bristles as she glares at him. “Sorry, but I was more concerned about keeping them alive than hunting them down after. Besides, I didn’t even know if I’d survive the war, so I wasn’t as organized as I should have been.”

“Hermione, I didn’t mean--“ He curses under his breath and follows her as she leaves the rail station. When she feels him grip her elbow, she stops walking and counts to ten. “I wasn’t insinuating that it’s your fault Muggle transport is bloody horrible.”

“I know.” She sighs and looks at him. “I’m sorry. This is just very stressful. Traveling this way and then worrying about finally facing them. I just want it to be over, really, yet I’m almost glad that I’ve got another night before I have to do it.”

“I can understand.” He squeezes her elbow before he drops his hand and looks around. “I suppose that we need to find somewhere to stay this evening. After that, we need to eat something substantial. We’ve been living on packaged food for days, it seems.”

“A proper meal does sound lovely,” she admits. “We could look in a directory for a hotel or maybe we could ask somewhere here. There must be a guest relations area somewhere, I’d think.”

They manage to find a friendly older woman who seems quite taken with Percy. The woman offers them a choice of hotels and even suggested several restaurants. Once they have a taxi, she can’t help but tease him.

“I was starting to wonder if she might not just keep you with her.” She tries not to smile, but it’s impossible. It’s been another long day of traveling, and she feels more comfortable with Percy. They spent the majority of the train ride talking about everything and nothing.

“Yes, well, she obviously has excellent taste, which bodes well for our lodging and dining choices,” he says primly, even as his cheeks flush faintly.

“I’m so hungry right now that even Muggle takeaway would probably be good.” She leans her head against his shoulder as the taxi takes them to a hotel. She feels him tense before he slowly relaxes. “She was very fetching for an older woman.”

“If I ever decide to explore a relationship with someone forty years my senior, I’ll certainly know where to go.” His voice is low and quiet with just a hint of amusement. She bites her lips and stares out the windows at Brisbane as she tries not to think about his voice. It’s difficult when she keeps noticing his tone and how she reacts in ways she really shouldn’t.

The taxi stops at another Muggle chain hotel, and they register for a room. Two beds again, but this room is larger and even has a desk. There’s also a tub in addition to the shower, and she considers taking a lazy bath later to help ease some of the pain in her back and legs from all the sitting she’s done recently. After they clean up, they leave their room and go find somewhere to eat.

They choose a seafood place near the hotel, and they’re seated instantly. She’s glad that it’s either an odd time of day or a slow evening because she didn’t fancy having to wait. Once she’s checked the menu and decided what to order, she closes it and looks at Percy.

“Do you regret agreeing to accompany me?” she asks curiously. It’s proving to be a difficult experience, and she can’t help but think he must wish he were home instead.

“No,” he says simply as he closes his menu. He must notice her surprise because he smiles slightly. “To be perfectly honest, it’s a bit like an adventure, isn’t it? My father will be very envious when I tell him about the Muggle transport, and gloss over how utterly wretched it is, and I am seeing sights that I never planned to visit, even if they’re through the windows of a train. I have no regrets yet. Why? Do you regret allowing Harry and Ron to insist that I come along?”

“If I had wanted to do this on my own, I wouldn’t have agreed,” she points out. “They can be insistent, but I don’t usually do things that I don’t want to even when they whinge. I’ve grown past that stage, years ago. I’m glad you’re here, even if it’s keeping you from work back home.”

He snorts but doesn’t have a chance to reply as the server approaches their table. They both order, and, when they’re alone again, Percy looks at her. “I work with George, Hermione. Half the time, I think he only tolerates my presence because he worries I’ll go out and do something foolish if I didn’t have something to keep me occupied. He’s wrong, of course, but guilt affects us all in various ways, I suppose.”

“Do you only work with him because of Fred?” It’s blunt, but she’s never been very good at soft-coating questions. Her lack of tact is something that she needs to improve if she ever hopes to lobby for change in their world’s laws and policies.

“I--well--no.” Percy frowns and removes his spectacles, wiping the lenses in what she’s noticed seems to be a nervous response. “At first, it was. It should have been me in the corridor, after all. Not Fred. It should never have been him.”

“There were many that we lost that we shouldn’t have,” she reminds him softly. “No one life is worth more or less than another. Not even those of our enemies. If we begin to think that way, then we’re on a path that’s difficult to ever get off.”

“I would rather have lost a dozen of our enemies than my brother,” he says sharply. He puts his spectacles back on and frowns at her. “To think otherwise is naïve and foolish.”

“It isn’t foolish to believe that every loss of life, especially in a conflict, is a terrible thing. I wish that no one had died, that we’d have been able to win without sacrifice, but I know that those fighting that night made a choice. In a perfect world, they’d all be alive and with us still, but triumph is rarely obtained without loss.”

“So your opinion is that the end justifies the means,” he states dryly. “It doesn’t matter if Fred died by being crushed by a bloody wall, so long as we won in the end?”

“That isn’t what I said, but, yes, I think that all of us chose to fight knowing the possible consequences, and that we were all willing to die in support of our cause. It isn’t right or just, but the world isn’t that way. I might be an optimist, but I’m also a bit of realist in some respects.”

“Yet you think that century old laws can be changed or removed if you protest their unfairness and that people will actually care about the plight of creatures they consider servants.” He shakes his head. “You’re a contradiction, at best.”

Their drinks arrive with a basket of fresh bread. She takes a roll and breaks it open before covering it with butter. “I prefer to think of myself as complex,” she informs him. “Being hopeful and working towards change doesn’t make me a naïve fool, Percy. Blaming myself for every death that happened because I wasn’t smart enough to figure things out sooner and to help Harry end it before it became chaos? That would make me a fool.”

“I never called you that.” He watches her eat a bite of the bread before he reaches for his own. “You’re many things, but you’re certainly no fool.”

“The insinuation was there.” She feels her cheeks flush with heat as she busies herself with the bread. She is curious what he means by ‘many things’, but she doesn’t ask because they might not be positive at all. Still, it sounds like a compliment when he says that she’s not a fool.

“I rarely bother with insinuations. I prefer to be honest and to the point when the situation calls for it,” he says before reaching for his drink. He glances at her as he puts it back on the table. “You are not responsible for the length of the war, Hermione. If you think so, even in passing, you’re wrong.” He hesitates for a moment before he continues. “While I know, logically, that Fred’s death wasn’t my responsibility, I also know that it would have been better for everyone if it had been me instead of him.”

“You’re wrong,” she tells him firmly. “I miss Fred, and I wish that he were still alive, but you dying in his place wouldn’t make the world right and perfect any more than it is now. If you’re working for George because of some imagined penance or you’re making the choices that you are based on guilt, then you’re betraying the memory of Fred and everything that he stood for. He wouldn’t blame you, and you know it.”

Percy opens his mouth but closes it before he says anything. His lips tighten as he looks anywhere but at her. Their food arrives, and they eat their meal in silence.
v

It’s just after four in the morning when their train arrives in Gladstone. They could have gone yesterday and arrived later, but Hermione’s glad they spent the night in Brisbane. Things have been tense since their dinner last night, but she took time to have a relaxing bath and slept well, so she’s in a better mood now even if it’s ridiculously early in the morning. Her feet are still sore from all the walking they did in Brisbane, but she enjoyed exploring the town with Percy, even if he’s barely spoken to her since their conversation about Fred. She isn’t sure how to fix whatever happened, but the silence isn’t necessarily uncomfortable, so she hasn’t pushed yet.

“The toilets are disgusting,” Percy mutters as he joins her.

“The ladies’ wasn’t too bad.” She shifts her bag on her shoulder and looks at the clock. “It’s not even five yet.”

“I guess we can either find a room or get something to eat. If we locate your parents today, then we might not need a hotel this evening, so I’m not sure if it’s worth the expense for a few hours.”

“Food would be good.” She bites her lip. “Do you think there’s anywhere open this early?”

“Probably not,” he says with a wry smile. “It’s bloody early, even for London.”

“Maybe we should just find a room and rest before getting breakfast. Even if we do find them easily, I don’t know if they’d open their home to me after what I’ve done.”

“Alright. We’ll find a hotel. It’ll probably be worth the cost, just to avoid having to sit and wait somewhere.” He glances at her and reaches out to squeeze her shoulder. “You’ll be fine.”

Oddly enough, she feels reassured. They get a taxi from the station and find a hotel with a vacancy. The desk clerk isn’t very thrilled to be disturbed at such an early hour, but they get a key and a decent room. After they have a nap and clean up, they decide to get something to eat. It’s late enough that there are places open now, so they find a Muggle fast food place nearby.

The food isn’t very good, but it’s edible, and the coffee is strong. It’s crowded with people that she assumes are on their way to work, getting something to eat before rushing back out. Few actually find tables and sit, so they don’t have anyone sitting close to them. She watches Percy as they eat, looking away whenever he glances up from his food. She wants to talk about last night, to find out how to ease this sudden tension that’s between them, but she suspects that forcing him to talk might just make things worse.

As she eats, she realizes that she owes Harry and Ron for insisting that she not come alone. It’s been more trouble than she ever expected, and she honestly isn’t sure that she’d have been able to do this if she was alone. Percy’s a calming presence, even with all his questions. When they finish eating, they go to a park. It’s a lovely park, so it’s better than sitting in their hotel room while she figures out how to locate her parents now that they’re here.

It’s winter in Australia, but it isn’t particularly cold, especially compared to winter back home. The fresh air is nice, especially after spending so many hours stuck on airplanes or on trains over the last few days. When Percy sits on the bench next to her, she looks at him. “I think that the best way to find them is to just find a directory and look them up. My mum would definitely want to be listed, especially if they opened a dental practice since moving here.”

“A directory,” Percy repeats thoughtfully. “For the tellyphone, right?”

“Right. It’s a list of names, address, and telephone numbers. There should be one available somewhere. Perhaps a tourism center,” she muses, trying to think of where they might find one.

“Telephone. That’s right. Telly is the box with moving photographs.” He taps his fingers against his thigh. “So, we wait?”

“That’s all we can really do,” she says, shrugging a shoulder as she looks away from his hand. They don’t stay in the park for long. Instead, they end up walking around town, looking at things and talking quietly. She isn’t sure what’s changed since they left the station, but she decides that it’s best not to question it.

When they find a tourism center, she asks for a directory. Unfortunately, they only have copies for the center, which isn’t entirely helpful. She takes the book and sits down next to Percy. Once she finds the number and address, she’ll write it down. After looking in the proper place, she doesn’t find anything. She checks variations of the spelling and even checks Granger, just in case, but there’s nothing.

She starts at the beginning and scans every single page until Percy finally stops her when she reaches the Gs. He doesn’t say anything, but she understands his concern. “They’re not listed,” she whispers, feeling a heavy weight settle in her belly as she looks back at the directory.

“Let me see the directory,” he says gently. She lets him take it and is surprised when he turns his body and Transfigures a women’s magazine into a copy. He hands her the copy and nods towards the counter. “Put that one back. They won’t notice it’s not the real thing until we’ve left.”

Instead of arguing that it might be considered theft, she puts the fake copy on the counter and follows Percy out of the center. “Is it theft if they didn’t pay for it?” she asks when they’re a short distance from the center. “I think they generally get copies of those for free, but maybe not. I should have left money, just in case.”

“We can always drop it back by covertly before we leave,” he reminds her. “Now, you said they’re not listed, but perhaps they have a business. We can ring those and ask, right?”

“We could. I want to finish checking the residential pages first, though. There might just have been a mistake, you know?” She looks at him, hoping that he’ll understand.

He sighs and squeezes her shoulder before he nods. “I know. I saw a shop with books and coffee on the way here, so why don’t we go there? I’ll browse the books while you search the directory.”

“Okay. It’s probably more comfortable than our room,” she says. She looks at him and smiles slightly. “Thank you, for understanding.”

It’s late afternoon when they get back to their hotel room. The beds have been made, but she doesn’t pay much attention. She feels exhausted and defeated, neither of which are feelings that she enjoys. After putting her bag down, she sits beside it on one of the beds and stares at the wall. There’s an oddly shaped stain, so she studies it because it means that she doesn’t have to think about anything else.

“The shower is clean, at least,” Percy murmurs from behind her. She doesn’t bother replying because, really, the cleanliness of the shower isn’t that important at the moment. The mattress dips as he sits down beside her. “Just because they’re not in the directory doesn’t mean that they’re not here.”

“They should be listed. Mum always made sure they were in the directory, in case someone needed to find them. I didn’t--what memories I changed shouldn’t have made that any different. They don’t know me, don’t know they have a daughter, but Mum would still want to be listed.”

“Hermione, you can’t know for certain that they would be,” he points out in a tone that is firm yet gentle. “We’ll ring dental clinics tomorrow and find out if they’re working anywhere.”

“What if they don’t want to be dentists? If Mum doesn’t want put in the directory, who knows what they’re doing.”

“Would you prefer that we just return home?”

“No. I want to keep looking.” She looks at him and sighs. “I just--this isn’t how I imagined it. None of it is. I thought that I’d just find them easily when I had the money to come here and was ready to remove the charms.”

He reaches up and brushes her hair back from her cheek. “Life is rarely that simple and easy. It’s a set-back, certainly, but it doesn’t mean that we won’t find them tomorrow. Don’t give up just yet, alright? After all, you’re supposed to be the hopeful one.”

“I’m not giving up,” she says, watching his face as he flushes and drops his hand. He starts to look away, but she touches his cheek before she realizes she’s moved her hand.

“We, uh, should get something to eat.” He drops his gaze and looks at her lips before he looks back up. It happens so fast that she wonders if she’s imagined it. “If you’d like to rest, I can find some takeaway for us to eat here. It’s been a long day.”

There’s stubble on his cheek, but his skin is soft. She moves her thumb along his jaw and sways towards him. She wants to kiss him. While she’s noticed him before, it’s the first time that she’s felt this close to pressing her lips against his. Everything is so confusing right now. She can’t find her parents, can’t get anything to work out the way it’s supposed to, and now she wants to kiss the older brother of her ex-boyfriend.

Percy puts his hand over hers and carefully moves it from his face. “You should rest. You’re tired and upset, not in your right mind.”

“I know what mind I’m in,” she whispers. He stands up quickly, which is an obvious sign that he has no desire for her to kiss him. Not that he knows what she’s thinking, yet she can’t help but think he does this time. He stands there for an awkward moment of silence before he mutters something about food and leaves. When he’s gone, she lies down on the bed and curls up into a ball as she looks back at the stain on the wall.

vi

It’s been three days of ringing clinics, showing a photograph to employees at every location that employed dentists, and even using a Muggle computer at the library to try to locate any mention of Wendell or Monica Wilkins. There was nothing. No vague recognition from employees at the clinics, no record of any business opened by a Wendell or Monica, and nothing found on the computer search that proved to be a valid lead.

Things with Percy are strange now, too. Hermione knows that it’s her fault, but that doesn’t make it any better. A kiss that never even happened has caused a new kind of tension, an underlying awareness that she wishes she had never acknowledged. He keeps a distance between them now, without any casual touches or hugs. It’s funny how much she misses that when it’s only been a few days that he’s allowed her such familiarity. Of course, he’s polite and helpful, so the differences are all subtle and things that she probably wouldn’t even notice if she weren’t so alert to his actions.

The door opens as Percy gets back with food. She looks up from the notes she’s been making and sees him carrying a large square box. “Pizza,” she says as her tummy growls. There aren’t a huge number of choices in Gladstone for takeaway, but Percy’s found a place with pizza and pasta, as well as a Chinese restaurant and a Thai place. She prefers those three over the fast food burgers.

“We had Chinese last night, so I thought Italian would be good,” he explains, shifting the box before he put it on his bed. “I got fizzy drinks to go with it, but we still have bottles of water if you prefer something without sugar.”

“Fizzy drinks are good. I could probably use the sugar rush tonight.”

She closes her notebook and stands up, stretching before she walks into the bathroom to use the toilet. She washes her hands and makes a face when she sees how tired and stressed she looks. No wonder he had no interest in kissing her. She’s not really that appealing, unless someone likes stressed out brunettes with crazy hair and circles under their eyes.

When she walks back into the room, she takes the paper plate from him and sits on her bed opposite him. “Thanks.”

“I got some kind of garlic bread with cheese, too,” he says, motioning to a greasy white bag. “There was a special.”

She finishes the bite of pizza and smiles. “Specials are good, especially when they involve food. It smells nice.”

He looks at her for a moment before he focuses his attention on his plate. “I think that we need to consider the possibility that your parents aren’t here.”

“I know,” she whispers, losing her smile as she picks a piece of onion off her slice of pizza. “We’ve tried everything that I can think of, and I just don’t--they’re not here. I think that I’d have found them by now or found someone who knows them if they were.”

There’s rustling as Percy opens the bag, and then there’s a piece of bread on her plate. It’s topped with loads of cheese and garlic. “Well, that’s certainly messy,” he mutters, licking his fingers while she picks up the bread. She realizes that she’s staring and looks down quickly. “I have to agree with your assessment. I don’t think they’re here. The town isn’t tiny, but it’s certainly not large enough that we wouldn’t have been able to find something by now.”

He’s right, but it’s still hard to just accept it. She finishes her slice of pizza and leans forward to get another slice. “I’ve been thinking about it,” she tells him, “and I had an idea.” She glances over to see him staring at the vee in her shirt. After a quick look down, her cheeks flush when she realizes that he has a clear view of her breasts if that’s where he’s looking.

“An idea?” He clears his throat and taps his foot nervously. “What sort of idea? I’ve already thought of every charm that I know, but I can’t think of any magical way to locate them. They’re Muggle, so it’s different.”

“Not magic.” She looks at him and tries to focus on the reason they’re there, which isn’t to stare at his mouth or wonder if he’s remembered to shave that morning. “In my guidebook, there’s another Gladstone. It’s south of here, down around Adelaide. I originally thought that’s where I sent them, from flipping through the book, so what if they made the same mistake? I mean, I just told them Gladstone, but I didn’t realize there was also one down in South Australia.”

He frowns in thought and tilts his head slightly. “So you think that they might have arrived in Sydney and gone to that Gladstone, instead?”

“Maybe?” She bites her lip and waits for his reaction. If he says that she’s just grasping at straws, she isn’t sure that she wouldn’t agree.

“It’s possible,” he finally says. “You were working with a limited time frame and anxious about the war, so you weren’t as thorough as you usually would have been.”

“Really? I mean, you don’t think I’m just desperate?”

“Really.” He shakes his head and reaches over to brush his thumb over the corner of her mouth. “You’re not desperate, Hermione. It’s a logical possibility that we should pursue before just giving up.” He pulls his hand back and ducks his head. “Sorry. There was grease.”

“It’s okay.” She reaches for a napkin and wipes her hands and face, slightly embarrassed that she thought he was touching her because he wanted to and he was really just wiping her face like she was a messy child. “So you think it’s a good idea for us to go to the other Gladstone? It’s much smaller, much, so we should be able to find them easily.”

“It’s a good idea.” He’s staring at her. She shifts slightly and takes another bite of her pizza. He looks away and pulls off a chunk of garlic bread. “We can leave tomorrow. Can we reach it by train?”

“I think so. It might take a while. It’s over two thousand kilometers from here, but the alternative is extremely expensive last minute airfare, which I’d rather avoid, even if it means hours on a train.” She finishes her slice and wipes her hands off. “That was goo--“ She doesn’t finish her sentence because Percy is kissing her. She tenses slightly in surprise before she leans into him and returns the kiss.

She holds onto him as he pushes her against her bed. Distantly, she feels something wet against her side, but Percy’s lips are distracting her. He presses into her, and she curls her tongue around his, sucking gently as she strokes his back. It’s not right to compare this with her previous kisses, even more so when it was Ron she kissed, but she can’t help but think that she’s never been kissed like this before.

When he pulls back, his spectacles are crooked, his face is flushed, and he’s breathing hard. “I’m sorry. Merlin. What must you think?”

Before he can apologize anymore, she leans up and kisses him again. She moves her fingers into his short hair and pulls him closer, deepening the kiss as he responds to her. She wants this, wants to kiss him and just forget about everything else. His hand is on her side, tugging on her shirt, then he’s touching her bare skin. She whines into the kiss, moving her leg around his thighs as she shifts beneath him.

“Hermione.” Her name is a breath against his face as he slides his hand higher. God, she loves his voice. How has she never noticed how sexy it is? Even when he’s discussing the most mundane things, it manages to arouse her. He touches her breast, hesitant at first then more confident as he kisses her neck.

“Percy. Please.” She’s not sure what she wants, but maybe he’ll know. He squeezes her breast and nips at her neck, rocking against her. Her eyes widen when she feels his erection, feels him pressed into her leg, and she isn’t sure if this isn’t going too fast. She wants him, though, so that means it can’t be.

He kisses her again, slow and thorough as he rubs her nipple through her bra. Then, he stops. He lets go and rolls off her and moves his hands over his face. “I’m sorry.”

“Stop apologizing.” She isn’t sure what to say or do, but she knows that she’s already tired of hearing apologies. She bites her lip and looks at the cracked paint on the ceiling above the bed. “Why did you stop?”

“Because this isn’t the right time,” he says softly. “You know that as well as I do, Hermione. I shouldn’t have--you were involved with my little brother. I’ve told myself that I can’t want, but I just had to--Bollocks.”

She sits up and grimaces when she realizes that the wet feeling on her side was garlic bread. She’s greasy now and frustrated and confused. Why did he kiss her and start touching her if he didn’t intend for things to progress? “My relationship with Ron has been over for nearly a year. We’re still close friends, but we haven’t been, uh, intimate since before I left for school.”

“You’re off-limits.” He stands up and rakes his fingers through his hair before he walks to the bathroom. “I need to, um, well, then I’ll clean up the mess I’ve made.”

He goes into the bathroom before she can say anything. He doesn’t remember to take his wand to cast a muffling charm, so she can hear him moving around. When she figures out he’s wanking, she gasps. She hears him curse under his breath and realizes he must have heard her. The walls are thin, after all, and she wasn’t trying to be quiet.

After considering it for a moment, she unzips her denims and lies back on the bed, listening to the mattress squeak as she gets settled. She sighs as she moves her hand over her belly, blushing even as she does it loud enough for him to hear. Shared embarrassment at being overheard masturbating is the least she can offer, even if she doesn’t understand why he refuses to accept what she’s offering. When she hears him groan her name and curse, she can’t help but moan.

She expects him to stop or to summon his wand to cast the charms to keep her from hearing. He doesn’t do either, though. Instead, he starts to talk, describing what might be a fantasy. About her. She inhales sharply as she listens to him say words that she never expected to hear him say. His tone is hesitant at first, and he stumbles over a few words. She bites her lip hard as she moves her hand into her knickers and touches herself while listening to him talk.

Then, he stops. Like he’s waiting. This isn’t anything she’s ever done before, so she doesn’t know what he’s waiting for. She groans softly, wanting to hear more. If she wasn’t worried that she’d scare him or make him claim it’s the wrong time, she’d tell him to keep talking. Fortunately, she doesn’t have to take that risk. He starts to talk again, and she’s glad, even as his words continue to surprise her. He’s speaking louder now, loud enough for her to hear. He has to know it, too. She moans when he talks about how she felt when pressed against him.

She doesn’t understand what he’s doing, why he’s in the bathroom wanking and talking about a fictional scenario involving her instead of being with her, but she can’t stop listening. He talks about taking off her clothes, about using his mouth to taste her, about using his fingers to make her beg for him. She whimpers as his voice seduces her, moving her fingers faster as she reaches up to touch her breast. He sounds more confident as he tells himself the story, and she can hear the sound of flesh against flesh as he wanks.

After she comes, she lies there in a daze, unable to believe what she’s done and uncertain about why he did it. She listens to Percy come, hears him grunt her name, and she imagines what his face must look like as he trembles from his orgasm. When she hears the tap, she sits up and wipes her hand on greasy napkins. Percy leaves the bathroom, and she doesn’t look at him as she walks past him inside. She can hear him casting charms to clean up the fizzy drink that he spilled before she turns on the tap and washes her hands.

vii

It’s a rough trip to Adelaide, with more hours on a train than Hermione ever really wanted to experience. There was a train to Brisbane and then one to Melbourne and another to Adelaide. Now, they have tickets for a bus that will take them to Gladstone tomorrow. The bus only runs twice a week, so they’ve got a wait in Adelaide. It gives them a chance to explore the town, though, and Hermione enjoys that. Walking is especially nice after spending so much time sitting down lately.

She isn’t enjoying everything, though. Things with Percy are just bizarre. Since the night they both masturbated together--though not together--he hasn’t said anything about it. He hasn’t flirted or done anything to indicate that he wants to finish what they started that night. He looks at her, though, when he doesn’t think she’s paying attention, and there’s a new tension between them that she recognizes as awareness. She’s glad that they can talk and be around each other without everything being ruined, but she’s wants more.

They spend the day exploring Adelaide, talking and getting to know each other more than they do already, and she attempts to flirt, which is such a disaster that she gives up almost immediately. Still, it’s a nice break from the worries about her parents and the uncertain future awaiting her back in London. Since leaving the other Gladstone, she’s had to think about her parents, about the fact that she hasn’t found them yet, and she’s enough of a realist to know that she has to be prepared for anything when they reach Gladstone tomorrow. Having a chance to just forget all of that and spend the day with a man who is clever and attractive is lovely.

Of course, now that they’re back in their room, she can feel that familiar tension in the air. She watches him fuss with his bag before he sits down with a book that he bought earlier. When he catches her staring, she looks away and starts sorting through the things she bought for her friends back home. She has accepted that they’re near the end of this adventure, as Percy calls it, so she doesn’t want to end up going home without having got anything for her friends.

“Did you buy something for everyone you know?” Percy asks. She glances over at him and sees that he’s reading his book. His lips quirk just slightly before he turns the page.

“Not everyone. Harry, Ron, your family, Luna, Neville.” She looks back at her purchases when he chuckles, not finishing the list because there’s still a half dozen more people that she’s found small, inexpensive gifts for.

“Forgive me. Nearly everyone.” He’s looking at her now. She can feel his gaze, though she isn’t entirely sure that’s even possible. His mattress squeaks before he stands up. “I’m taking a shower.”

Taking a shower. It’s a casual statement, if not for the way he looks at her. He arches a brow and studies her face before he smiles slightly and tosses his wand on his bed in a deliberate manner. She licks her lips and waits until he’s out of the room to quickly clear off her bed. She knows what he plans, knows he’s going to try to repeat what happened in Gladstone the other night.

This time, though, is going to be different. She’s going to make it different. She hears him turn on the tap, thinks about him standing there looking in the mirror as he washes his hands, wonders if he’s thinking about her--about what he wants to do with her. Instead of just lying there listening, she decides to be brave. She wasn’t just sorted into Gryffindor to help Harry win the war, after all.

“You watch me strip,” she says quietly as she begins to unbutton her shirt. She clears her throats and speaks louder, ready to take the control of this whatever it is happening between them away from him, or at least to share it. There’s so little that she can control right now, but this she can. “You watch me unbutton my shirt and ease it off my shoulders.”

It feels weird to be talking to an empty room. Still, it excites her when she listens to him, so maybe he’ll feel the same. She talks about undressing as she removes her shirt and denims. The other time, she didn’t take off anything. She just unfastened her jeans and pushed her shirt up. This time is different. She hopes.

“I watch you unclasp your bra and slowly slide the straps off your shoulders.” His voice is low and husky, and she shudders as she looks up to find him leaning against the wall watching her. “You drop it on the floor and let me look at you.”

She is torn because this is her move, yet he’s trying to take it over. As she looks at him, standing there against the wall looking as if he might pounce on her, she realizes that he isn’t in control, either. This will change everything, but that isn’t really a concern because everything changed days ago, even if she’s no longer entirely sure when.

“Hermione, if you don’t--“ Percy trails off when she looks at him and reaches up to unclasp her bra. He makes a noise when she takes it off and stands there, a soft whimper that makes her bite her lip.

She feels self-conscious and resists the urge to cover her chest. The few times that she and Ron were intimate, it was fast and didn’t involve much foreplay. It had been stolen moments when they could find them for a few weeks before she went to school and their relationship ended, though not in that order. To stand here and let Percy stare at her while she’s only wearing knickers isn’t easy.

“Merlin, you’re beautiful,” he murmurs. She can feel heat spread over her body at the compliment. The sound of a zipper being lowered makes her look up at him. “I watch you slide your knickers down before you lie on the bed.” He’s touching himself, but she can’t see.

“I watch you take off your trousers and shorts first,” she challenges. He pushes his spectacles up the bridge of his nose before he finally nods once and pushes his trousers down. The tail of his shirt covers him, which reminds her. “And your shirt, too.”

“Anything else?” he mutters, but he smiles as he takes off his shirt. He is soon standing in his shorts, and she can see his erection pressed against the fabric. “Your turn.”

She looks down but slides her knickers off. Once she’s naked, she takes a deep breath and lies down on the bed. When she’s comfortable, she looks at Percy and finds him staring at her. “Now it’s your turn,” she says softly.

“Not yet.” He walks towards the bed, murmuring something under his breath. She feels magic coil around her wrists as her arms are pulled above her head. He tosses his wand on his bed and stares at her. “Do you trust me?”

“Yes, but I don’t like this.” She pulls on the magic binding her, but it doesn’t give.

“Just trust me. I want to touch.” He kneels on the end of the bed and crawls up her body. She curls her fingers into her palms as he touches her, lightly moving his hand along her skin. When he kisses her, she presses up against him. He touches her and kisses his way down her neck.

“Percy,” she whines, tugging on the magic as he moves his hand between her legs. He touches her confidently, stroking her without hesitation. She watches him suck her nipple as she pushes up against his hand.

“I watch you come for me,” he whispers against her damp skin. “Come for me, Hermione.”

He rubs her clit with his thumb and looks at her, talking to her, describing how he sees her, and it’s too much. She arches off the mattress as she comes, listening to him soothe her as she stops shuddering. He shifts, shoving his shorts down, and then he’s between her legs. She kisses him as he slowly slides into her, rocking his hips back and forth until her body stretches around him.

“You’re so tight.” He kisses her neck. “I’ve wanted to feel you for days.” He licks a sensitive spot beneath her ear that makes her laugh. “My baby brother’s girlfriend. I shouldn’t want you so bloody much, but I do.” He releases the magic binding her wrists, and she touches him, stroking his back and his hair as they begin to move together.

“I’m not his girlfriend,” she growls before she kisses him. She pushes up against him, scratching his back as he begins to thrust deeper. He holds her hips tightly as he grinds into her, his skin slick against hers, faster and harder until he jerks forward and buries himself inside her.

She holds him as he comes, riding it out with him until he collapses on top of her. He pants softly, breaths of air against her neck as he tries to speak. She shushes him and strokes his back, kissing his shoulder as he pulls her closer. There’s time for talking later.

viii

The hotel room in Gladstone only has one bed. It’s all they need now that things have changed. Hermione isn’t entirely sure where their relationship is going, but she likes where it is right now, so she’s trying to remember that not everything needs planned. The bus ride yesterday wasn’t pleasant at all, so she’s glad that it was only about four hours.

There’s a huge difference in this Gladstone than the one in Queensland. It doesn’t take much time at all to walk the entire town, and she finds out quickly that there are no Wendell and Monica Wilkins in town. Everyone seems to know everyone, and the people they meet are friendly. One older man flirts with her, which leads to Percy teasing and getting payback for his flirty old woman in Brisbane.

It’s in the second of the two pubs in town that she finally finds someone who recognizes her parents. The bartender remembers them because of a broken tooth that her father helped fix a couple of years ago. The woman says that they didn’t stay in town long, just a week or two, and she recalls her mother mentioning Victoria or maybe it was Perth. It’s been too long ago for any memories to be solid, but Hermione’s mostly relieved to know that they made it safely, and that seemed happy.

“You okay?”

She turns to look at Percy and nods. “Oddly enough, I am.” She walks away from the window and sits on the bed by him, using his chest as a pillow. “I think I let them go on the train ride to Melbourne. It hurts, to know that I’ve lost them and they’ll never remember me, never know me, but it’s my fault, so what can I do?”

“You did it to save them,” he reminds her before he kisses her shoulder. “If you want, we can go to Victoria and then Perth to look.”

“And if we can’t find them in either of those, what? We just keep looking?” She turns her head and kisses him lightly before she rolls over so that she can look at him easier. “Thank you for offering. I know that you really mean it, that you’d search the entire country with me if I said the word. I think it’s time to stop looking, though.”

“Are you sure?” He brushes her hair back from her face. “Guilt can be really terrible. I don’t want--you don’t deserve to have to live with that every day.”

“Neither do you,” she points out gently. “My parents are alive, and I’d like to think they’re happy, wherever they are now. I do feel guilty, how could I not? But I did it to protect them. If keeping them safe means losing them, it’s a sacrifice that I’d make again.”

“You’re very wise. Did you know that?”

“I don’t know if I’d say that I’m wise. Practical, maybe.”

“I thought it was hopeful optimist? With a streak of realism.”

“Stop teasing.”

“I’m not teasing. I like it. I could use hopeful optimism in my life.” Percy kisses her forehead. “When I agreed to come with you, it was not only because Ron had asked. I felt like I was just treading water, working with George and going through life like I was sleepwalking. This little Australian adventure of ours has made me realize that I’ve spent the last year hiding from life. You were right, that night in Brisbane? Fred wouldn’t want this for me.”

“I’m right a lot,” she informs him. “I just thought that you should know that before you make any decisions about us.” She touches his lips and smiles. “What are you going to do when you get home?”

“I have no idea. Maybe I’ll see if the Ministry is hiring. I’ve heard that the Minister is a stand-up bloke,” he says. “I’ve also heard that there’re a lot of laws and regulations that are unfair and need to be changed. That might be something enjoyable to work towards.” He looks at her and frowns slightly. “For the record, I made decisions about us before we made love.”

“I think the Ministry is always hiring,” she tells him, unable to resist smiling. “What sort of decisions did you make? Did you intend to share them?”

“You’re really not in love with my baby brother?” he asks suddenly. Before she can hit him for even suggesting that she’d shag him if she fancied Ron, he catches her fist and scowls at her. “There’ll be no abusing me in this relationship. You can use sharp words, but no hitting.” He kisses her hand before he sighs. “I had to ask. You see, I find it hard to believe that Ron would be foolish enough to let you go.”

“We let each other go. We had a summer together, but I think we both realized that we want different things out of life. I don’t regret the time that I shared with him, but I don’t want him, Percy. If I did, I wouldn’t be like this with you.”

“I decided that life’s too short to not go after what I want. Or who I want, since that’s an accurate terminology in this case.” He smiles sheepishly. “All those hours on the airplanes and then the trains let me talk to you and get to know you. I think that I started to want you somewhere over the ocean between Singapore and Sydney. It just took me a few days to realize it.”

She kisses his chest. “I’m glad that you realized it. However, I’d like to remind you that I’m the one who took action in Adelaide. You were content to hide in the bathroom and wank. I’m the one who seduced you.”

“Please. I was seducing you the entire time,” he says pompously.

“Hmph. You’re fortunate that I find your voice so sexy or you’d still be wanking in bathrooms.” She sticks her tongue out at him, giggling when he tickles her. “Percy! Stop.”

He rolls them until he’s on top of her and smiles down at her. “I’ll stop if you admit that I seduced you.”

“You’re such a child,” she mutters, laughing as his fingers dug into her ribs. “Fine. You seduced me.”

“Yes, I did,” he agrees before he kisses her. She returns the kiss and moves her legs around him, glad that he can’t see her crossed fingers behind his back. She’ll let him think it was him, but she knows it was her.

Tomorrow, they’ll catch the bus back to Adelaide, since Thursday is one of the two days it runs. From there, she thinks she might suggest that they go back to Sydney, maybe spend a couple of days on holiday before arranging for Portkeys back home. She’s ready to deal with growing up and life after school, and she’s glad that he’s going to be beside her on their next adventure, whatever it might be.

End