AN: If you are just coming into this story, just ignore the underlining. It's there because I had to make some significant plot changes.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

She was done with all of this. DONE. Hermione Granger was in her room, waving her wand and causing all of her belongings to fly neatly into her trunk. When she finished her belongings, she moved into Dennis' room to pack his clothes, as well. How dare he come home after midnight, again, and say that he had been "working"?! They both knew that he had been seeing Lavender Brown for two months at least, and Hermione was getting sick of it.

Hermione knew that Ron was never going to be able to stay with her while Dennis lived with them. But she had thought that Ronald would be able be more discreet about it. It was a good thing she hadn't told Ron that they were leaving. Ron had left for work less than a half hour ago without further incident, and Dennis was not up yet. But, Hermione knew that she had to go that day. Otherwise, she and Dennis would be caught in the same damn loop. She sent an owl to the Floo Office to double-check their international Floo time. It's such a hassle to have to set that up, thought Hermione. With Dennis' belongings in his trunk, she began the difficult process of waking her fifteen year old adopted son.

"Mione?" Dennis murmured blearily. His brown eyes blinked the sleep away as they beheld Hermione. She had become like an older sister to him in the months following the war and his parents' subsequent death. But her normally calm eyes had a tight edge to them, reminding Dennis of the night before.

Ron stumbled in, drunk for the first time in several months. Hermione and Dennis were watching a film on the telly, which Ron abruptly shut off.

"You need to go to bed, Dennis," Hermione said shortly. The edge in her tone and the eerie calm look in her eyes scared him a bit, but he did as she told him to. As he left the room, Ron pulled Hermione up from the couch. The last thing he saw before his door closed behind him was Hermione's wand moving to cast a Muffliato in his direction.

Hermione nudged him again, bringing him back to the present. "What's wrong?" he asked. She pursed her lips, frowning, and shook her head.

"Get dressed, Dennis," she said, the eerie calm from the night before still present in her voice. "It's time to go. Our international floo time is in about a half hour. I packed most of your things. Double check that I got everything. Colin's photos are in the secret compartment." With that, she left Dennis to look over his things. The photos of him and Hermione were gone, as were the ones that also included Neville and Luna. The one photograph that had Ron in it was conspicuously still on the dresser. All the drawers were empty, as was the closet. Under the bed, he found a few knuts and a sickle, but those he left. The sheets he had been sleeping on were staying; they had been bought by Ron. Hermione had been planning this for what seemed like ages, and Dennis was already listening for Neville and Luna's voices. When the front door opened, he grabbed his trunk and pulled it out to the one room in the flat that had a fireplace. The fire was already lit. The clock on the mantle read five minutes until eleven a.m.

Hermione was looking over her trunk, double-checking that everything she needed was in there. As Dennis came into the room, she closed her trunk and began to check his. It was two minutes to eleven when Neville bent down to light the fire. The trunks were lined up next to the fireplace, one by one. At eleven o'clock precisely, Neville threw several handfuls of Floo Powder into the fireplace. As he called out their destination, the flames turned green and Neville pushed each trunk ahead of them into the flames. Then, in pairs, the four of them stepped into the fireplace.

Across the sea, in America...

Hermione Granger, holding tightly to Dennis Creevey's hand, stepped out of the fireplace. Looking around, she absent mindedly began to dust off her shoulders. Dennis pulled away from her, eager to look around. Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood had already dusted off and were joining Dennis in exploring the lobby. In large, shimmering gold letters read, "Spes Inhibitat." Hermione, looking over her shoulder one last time, sighed with relief and followed the other three.

Down a long hallway, farther and farther into the depths of the building they walked, until they came upon a large wooden door. The name plate read "Headmaster's Office." The four stopped, unsure of what they were supposed to do, when the door mysteriously swung open.

"Well, in with you," said a surprisingly high voice. Hermione walked in first, followed by the rest of the group. "My name is Lisette Ketterridge, headmistress of the Salem Institute of Magic. I am assuming that you are the group arriving from Britain." With that, Lisette Ketterridge stood to greet the four young people.

"Hermione Granger, ma'am," Hermione said, "Thank you for having us." As Ketterridge introduced herself to Neville, Luna, and Dennis, Hermione took the opportunity to observe the director. The woman was fairly tall, with sparkling green eyes and curly chocolate-colored hair. A light dusting of freckles across her nose and rosy cheeks reminded Hermione of summer, while the woman's deep green robes brought her back to the topic at hand as Ketterridge began speaking again.

"I know that you and Mr. Longbottom are here to teach, and Mr. Creevey is here as a student, but who is this young woman, Ms. Granger?" Ketterridge said, sounding ever so slightly bemused.

"If I may, ma'am," Neville began, "This is my fiance, Luna Lovegood. She interviewed with one of your school's counselors. For the Divination position." Ketterridge nodded and moved on.

"I know that Mr. Longbottom is set to teach Herbology, but I was wondering what you would like to teach, Ms. Granger?" Ketterridge asked, "You expressed a desire to teach Transfiguration, but I was hoping you would reconsider."

"I'm sorry, Ms. Ketterridge," Hermione said. "I would be willing to take the occasional Charms class if I must, but I would prefer to only teach Transfiguration."

"Fine," she responded, "Then, Ms. Granger, you will teach Transfiguration. Mr. Longbottom, you will teach Herbology. Ms. Lovegood, you will teach Divination. You may also be required to teach one or two charms classes, will that be acceptable?" Luna nodded eagerly.

Ketterridge snapped her fingers twice, and a small, floppy-eared creature appeared. "Lafy, please take our new teachers' to their quarters." At this, Hermione frowned. I had thought that the Americans, being more up to date, would have moved past house elf use, Hermione thought. Wait, she wants to see Dennis alone? I'm not sure that's a good idea.

"I am Dennis' guardian, Ms. Ketterridge," she said, raising her eyebrows. "I would like to make sure that his interests are protected. Therefore, I will stay with him until you release him to go to his dormitory." Ketterridge looked shocked, though Neville and Luna appeared to have expected Hermione's reaction. After the war, when Hermione had adopted Dennis, many people had underestimated Hermione's devotion to looking after her charge. After all, Hermione was barely eighteen and unmarried. Everyone quickly learned that she put up with no one going after Dennis, especially after Hermione had dumped Ronald Weasley over the younger Creevey. Two years later, the ministry had let them leave for America with Hermione as his sole guardian, trusting her ability to care for the fifteen year old.

Ketterridge sighed, then nodded to the house elf. Waiting until the door to the office had closed, Ketterridge pursed her lips and began to speak to Hermione and Dennis.

"In the United States, the school system is a bit different. Most students will have begun their magical training at the age of thirteen, rather than eleven," Ketterridge sighed. "I am sorry to have to ask you this, Mr. Creevey, but how much of your education was completed before the war began?"

Before Dennis could speak up, Hermione stepped in, saying, "Dennis technically finished his third year of magical education. However, the end of that year was a little rough, as Hogwart's headmaster, Professor Dumbledore, was murdered in early June. The end of the school year, including examinations, were canceled. I would like Dennis to test into his classes, as he is more proficient in some subjects than the average Hogwarts third year, just as some of his skills are not quite up to par." Ketterridge nodded her assent.

"Ms. Granger, would you like him to be tested now or later?" Ketterridge asked, "I know that you all arrived today so I thought-"

"That will not be necessary, Ms. Ketterridge," Dennis said, quietly. "I would like to be tested now. Then, I will hopefully be able to go to my dormitory and meet my roommates." Ketterridge looked surprised to hear him talk, as that was the first time he had spoken to her willingly. She had assumed him to be a shy child, but his voice revealed a sadness that surpassed his years. With a nod from Hermione, Ketterridge non-verbally summoned a short written test.

After Dennis finished the written test, Ketterridge asked him to draw his wand. "I know you were in the war, Dennis," Ketterridge said. "Heaven knows we were blessed enough to be spared from that. But, I will need to fire a few spells at you to test your spell work. You may block me or retaliate, but do not try to harm me." Hermione stood off to the side as Dennis nodded and drew his wand. Ketterridge stood and did the same.

For ten minutes, the witch tested Dennis' knowledge of charms, transfiguration, defense, and offense. Hermione was pleasantly surprised to find that Dennis had not forgotten much, and had even surpassed Ketterridge's expectations. He was placed in mostly fourth year classes, though he had to take Divination and any other new electives with the third years, as they were his age. After listening to Ketterridge, Dennis was released to go to his room, escorted by another house elf. Hermione, on the other hand, waited to talk to Lisette Ketterridge.

"Ms. Ketterridge," Hermione said quietly, "Dennis may not be my son by blood, but I am his guardian. Both of his parents were killed right in front of him, within a month of his brother's death. I technically adopted him, but we have a sibling relationship. I do need you to have me present when you meet with him, because he is prone to severe panic attacks. If you get sufficient training to deal with those, then I will feel more comfortable, but these panic attacks are why we chose to come to America. He had a lot of them when he tried to go to Hogwarts last year, so I had to pull him out and tutor him at home." Ketterridge looked absolutely shocked. She had heard of the war in America, but one had to truly experience it to understand the horrors that mere children had to deal with to survive.

Hermione stood, looking at the older woman. "I know that it seems like we've overcome more than you could ever imagine. And, you're right. But, please make sure that you don't treat us differently. Dennis is here to learn, and the rest of us are here to teach. You may tell the other teachers about Dennis'... issues, but try to avoid telling students. They won't understand." Ketterridge nodded, still unsure what to say to the small brunette. A third house elf was called to take Hermione to her rooms.

In England...

Ronald Weasley had been having a terrible day at work. The Auror Office had accepted Harry and him right away after the war as trainees. Harry, as usual, had thrived under pressure and was all but a senior Auror. However, Ron had had more than one issue during training. He was never fast enough, or nimble enough, or precise enough. Training next to several of his former classmates and constantly failing had taken a toll, so Ron dropped out of the program within two months. He was forced to work for George at the Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes, where he managed the store. George was inventing and expanding all over the globe, making Ron's job much more important. Ron, on the other hand, did not see it that way.

He felt unfulfilled in his job, so he quit and began working at Gringotts. There, he felt much more happy as a security officer. But, it was still never enough. The hours were terrible and Hermione was still unwilling to fully commit to their relationship, though they had moved in together August of 1998. Her adopting Dennis had put another rift in their relationship, because he was not included on the adoption papers. But the final straw happened when he tried to propose to her the night before. He supposed they had been fighting a bit in the last few months, and him seeing Lavender on the side was probably not a good way to begin their married life, but all that hardly called for her cold refusal. After all, everyone knew that they were destined for each other.

But she had refused, so he had left and flooed Lavender at her flat to…. relieve some tension. When he returned, Hermione and Dennis had been watching some stupid Muggle show on the telly. So he turned it off. If looks could kill, Ronald Weasley would be dead on the spot. After telling Dennis to leave, Hermione cast a Muffliato in the direction of his room.

"How dare you come back here after being with that, that, that whore of yours!" she began as he pulled her up from the couch. "Don't touch me," she shrieked, pulling away from him and walking towards their bedroom. He went to follow her, but she slammed the door in his face. Enraged, he went to kick the door in, but she had already put up spells to stop him. Stomping back to the couch, he grabbed the pillow and blanket from the ottoman in the den. He had been using them far too frequently, which is why he was thinking about leaving Hermione.

He was startled out of his reverie by Harry coming into the bank. The black haired young man nodded towards Ron, though Ron did not acknowledge it. The pair had had a fight when Ron left the Auror Office, and Ron had refused to have anything to do with the man since. He knew Hermione still saw him, which was another reason why they were constantly fighting. But, Lavender understood his hate. With that, he made a snap decision. He would leave Hermione, that day, and go live with Lavender. After all, the blonde had made it very clear that she wanted to be the only woman in his life. Lavender's shift did not start until noon, and it was only ten thirty, so Ron apparated to the alley by his building. The elevator was still slower than he liked it, and Ron tapped his foot quickly against the worn carpet. Merlin, I wish Hermione would have just moved in with me. I hate living in a muggle building, Ron thought to himself.

The elevator dinged at his floor, and the doors opened. It was one minute to eleven as he began a leisurely walk down the hall. He unlocked the door, expecting Hermione and Dennis to be gone, only to hear the whooshing of the floo. He stepped into the flat, moving towards their den, only to see Hermione and Dennis step through the floo. Neville and Luna, not seeing him behind them, stepped in behind his girlfriend and her adopted son. Ron hurried towards the floo, but the green flames began to die. He was almost at the fireplace when the flames returned to their natural color. He closed his eyes and sighed. This was a bad idea, wasn't it? How could he leave Hermione?

It was then that he noticed how empty the flat was. The only pictures left were the ones with him in them. He moved towards his and Hermione's room, only to see that all of her belongings were also gone. Dennis' room proved to be similarly empty. They were gone. And it looked like they weren't coming back. And with this realization, Ronald Weasley sunk to the floor and cried.

AN: Dennis is younger than canon has him. I needed him to be more dependent on Hermione. So, he's going to be fifteen (even though canon Dennis would be seventeen). I also decided to have them use the US school system, so magical Americans begin their training at twelve instead of eleven. Therefore, first years are normally twelve or thirteen, second years are normally thirteen or fourteen, third years are normally fourteen or fifteen (like Dennis), fourth years are normally fifteen or sixteen, fifth years are normally sixteen or seventeen, sixth years are normally seventeen or eighteen, and seventh years are normally eighteen or nineteen. Therefore, Dennis is generally advanced, because he was pulled out of Hogwarts after his second year. Hermione adopted him during the summer after the Final Battle.