Chapter 3

Harry had flown on brooms, a hippogriff, thestrals and even a dragon but nothing had prepared him for flying in an airplane. Luckily for him, Hermione knew how to get through ticketing and customs. Knowing wizards could be watching the airport the couple ducked in to an alcove where Hermione applied glamour charms to neither of them would be recognized and followed. With their trunks checked the couple enjoyed the shops Heathrow had to offer. All to soon it was time for them to board their flight. Harry was excited when boarding the plane but that was soon dampened when he realized how long he would be sitting in that chair. As the plane started to take off with the engines howling right outside his window and the entire structure shaking the dark haired wizard was genuinely scared. Hermione placed a hand on his arm, "Relax, Harry. It will smooth out once we are off the ground." Harry nodded but didn't relax his white knuckled grip on the armrests until he plane was safely in the air.

Harry smiled as he looked out the window and saw London passing below them, thinking how nice it was not to be to see the city from this vantage point without having someone's life on the line. He frowned slightly at the thought of the debacle the 'rescue mission' to the Ministry had been, the night he lost Sirius. His smile returned as he felt Hermione's hand on his back, he was so glad that the life of adventure was behind him. He had a wife who loved him and was having his child. The last part of that thought terrified him. Other than Mr. Weasley he didn't know what a father should be. He knew they had more than enough money, so there were no worries about being able to provide for his family, but what if he wasn't a good father?

"What's wrong, love?" Hermione asked, sensing his mood changing.

"Just thinking," Harry said quietly. "This is only the second time I've seen the city this way that someone's life hasn't been in danger. I'm glad those adventures are behind us. I'm glad I have you with me, but I'm worried about what happens next." Seeing Hermione getting anxious he continued, "What if I'm not a good dad? The only good example I know is Mr. Weasley."

"I think you'll be brilliant. As patient as you were with everyone in the D.A. I'm sure you'll be great with our kids." Harry didn't look convinced so Hermione tried one trick that always seemed to ease his nerves when he was worried about not knowing enough. "And I'll teach you everything you need to know."

Harry grinned sheepishly at her. "You're always pulling my arse out of the fire, aren't you? Thank you, for everything," he said before kissing her gently but pouring as much love in to it as he could.

Hermione gasped for breath as they broke the kiss, her cheeks tinged pink. "Anything for you."

Sliding his hand down and across her stomach, he smiled, "I believe you."

Finally landing in Sydney, Harry swore, "As much as I hate portkeys I think I'd take one to avoid a flight like that again."

"Welcome to the Department of Health, how may I help you today?" the young clerk identified as Judd Bender.

"Yes, I hope you can. I'm looking for information on the dental practice of Wendell and Monica Wilkins. We're thinking of using them and wanted to verify their licenses and records." Hermione said, in a calm voice though she was anything but.

The clerk made a note and turned to his computer terminal. A minute later he sat back and from his screen, "Here it is. Wilkins and Wilkins family dentistry, 37 Belgrave St, Kogarah. Opened July last year. No complaints against the practice."

Hermione wrote the name and address down in her notebook. "So they are a new practice?" she managed to sound surprised. "They may be still taking new patients then. Thank you for your help Mr. Bender."

Leaving the health care administration office Harry asked, "Now that you know where they are, how are we going to talk to them?"

"Well, we could pose as patients and go in for a visit. Get one of them alone and undo the charm. Once that is done, we can undo the other," Hermione answered, chewing on her lip nervously.

"Sounds like as good of a plan as any. Though, I still think I'd rather face Riddle again." Hermione nodded her agreement.

"We've got the name and address. Let's head back to the hotel, find the phone number then look at the map and figure out exactly where they are."

"Hi, I have a 4:00 appointment for an exam with Dr. Monica Wilkins," Hermione said, a bit nervously.

"No worries, love," the young receptionist smiled as she handed a clipboard across the desk. "Take a seat and fill this out and Dr. Monica will be with you shortly." Harry tried to calm the brown haired witch as she filled in the health questionnaire.

Hermione was trembling so badly by the time she had finished the survey she couldn't handle the forms so Harry returned the papers to the desk.

Wrapping his arm around Hermione's shoulders Harry whispered, "Relax, love. You can't do the spell as nervous as you are."

"What if I can't do it right, or make it worse. What if they are mad at me?" Hermione snapped back frantically.

"You are their daughter. Explain it to them the way you did to me and you'll have no problem and if things get bad, well, I'll be there to help," Harry answered with his lopsided grin.

The door to the back half of the office and Dr. Monica Wilkins stood their, calling Hermione to the examination room. It took all of the young witch's self control not to break down crying in relief seeing her mother alive and safe. Standing on shaking legs, she leaned on Harry and let him guide her through the office. As the door closed behind them she asked, "Could we talk in private for a few minutes before we get started, I have a few special concerns." She cringed slightly as she noticed her mother's eyes flicked down to where her hand was resting on her lower stomach.

"Of course, we have had a few new, young mothers. Right this way please." She motioned for them to follow her down the hall and lead them in to a small office. Closing the door after her patients entered her office Monica became slightly nervous noticing Harry had remained standing near the door as Hermione stood near her desk.

"Please, Monica, we don't want to worry you. Hermione does have some valid concerns. This is a bit difficult for us." Harry tried to calm the dentist down. With a nod she sat down behind her desk.

Hermione slowly drew her wand, "Please, this shouldn't hurt." The brilliant witch began her incantation and watched as a soft glow surrounded her mother. The transformation from Dr. Monica Wilkins to Hermione Granger's mother was almost immediate as the spell ended. With a barely contained cry of joy Emma Granger ran around her desk and crushed her daughter in a hug. Both women were crying tears of joy as they broke apart. "I was so worried you were going to be mad at me or I couldn't fix you."

"I'm sure I'll be furious with you when you tell us what you've done. What about your father? And what is this about having special concerns?" Emma asked with a pointed look at her daughter's stomach.

The teens blushed. While Hermione was trying to get her mouth to form words, Harry stepped in. "It's sort of my fault ma'am but we'd like to explain to both of you at the same time. If you'd get your husband Hermione can undo the memory charm on him and we can explain what we've done and why."

The recently restored Dr. Granger stepped out of the office and called for Wendell to join her for a consultation. After he was sitting down in a chair beside his wife's behind her desk, Hermione repeated her charm on her father. His reaction to the restored memories was quite different than his wife's. While the change was visible, instead of being happy the older man seemed to be upset. "Hermione, you best have a good reason for all of this."

"Daddy, I'm sorry," the young woman sobbed. "I just wanted you two to be safe. I made you forget about me while we finished the war."

"WAR?" Dan Granger yelled, "what war?"

Harry quickly cast locking and silencing charms on the door before sitting down next to Hermione and wrapping an arm around her shoulder. "The wizarding world was at war, sir. It started during our first year at Hogwarts, but really heated up the summer after our fifth year. This last year, Hermione and I have been traveling across Britain looking for parts of Voldemort's soul so we could kill him. On May 2nd we ended the war."

Dan stared at Harry, "What does this war have to do with us, and with the two of you? You're only what? 18? Why are you fighting in this war?"

Harry looked at the floor for a moment before answering, "I've asked myself that so many times. I'm the center of it because there was a prophecy that Voldemort heard before I was born that said I would be a threat to him. Hermione is involved because she chose to stand by me, though I still can't figure out why. There have been so many times where she could have died and I wouldn't have been able to go on."

Hermione finally collected herself enough to answer, "You would have been targets of Voldemort. You are my parents and they would have tried to use you to get to me since everyone knows I am close to Harry."

"You didn't think to discuss this with us? So you just went and erased our minds. What if you messed it up? What if you died?" Dan ranted.

"I didn't think you'd agree and you would try to stop me from going with Harry. That memory charm is hard but with everything that was at stake I made sure I knew how to do it before I used it on you." Taking a deep breath and brushing tears from her eyes she answered his last question, "If I had died, well, you wouldn't remember me to miss me."

"I still don't like it all." Dan grumbled.

Emma sat behind her desk, still trying to process everything. "And what was this about 'special considerations' earlier?"

"I'm pregnant," Hermione blurted out.

"WHAT?!" Dan screamed as Emma gasped.

Hermione curled up against Harry as he explained, "I was worried about the Potter line ending with me. I was talking out loud to my parents the night before the confrontation with Voldemort and Hermione overheard me. Your daughter decided to help me, just as she always does only she got to fulfill a few of her dreams in the process. Turns out we've loved each other for years but hadn't admitted it to anyone until then."

Hermione sniffed a few times and took up the tale, "In order to produce a heir we had to be married so we hand fasted for a year and a day before we..."

Dan had heard more than he could take and stood up. Finding the door was locked he pulled hard enough to break the frame and stormed out of the office. The three remaining in the office could hear the doors between them and the outside slamming closed, followed a few seconds later by the receptionist peeking in to the office and seeing the two crying women. "What's going on in here?" she asked in confusion.

"Female issues," Harry stammered before either of the woman could try to explain what was really going on.

"Right," the young lady responded not convinced at all.

"Why don't you take off a little early, Gretta." Emma said.

"You're sure you are okay, Dr. Wilkins?" Gretta asked.

Emma nodded, "Yeah, we'll be fine. Just a few things to work out."

As soon as he heard the front door close he cast a repair charm on the door frame and removed his previous charms.

"I think it's been a long day for all of us," Harry tried to calm the two women. Turning to his mother-in-law he said sadly, "You should probably try to find your husband and talk to him. We're staying at the hotel next to the airport if you want to talk to us." Before the stunned woman could answer, the young wizard gathered his wife in his arms and apparited them back to their hotel room.

Emma found Dan just down the road from their office in a pub they had frequented when they had first arrived in Sydney and were looking for a home and practice. He was sitting at the bar rolling an empty beer bottle between his hands, lost in thought. Placing her hand on his shoulder as she stepped up behind him and asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yes. No. I don't know. Why would she do this to us?" he said in a rush.

"I don't know. I mean, we would probably do the same thing if our positions were reversed wouldn't we?"

"What? Wipe her memory of us and send her to the other side of the world? Not bloody likely."

Dragging her husband toward the door she waited until they were outside before answering, "No, but we'd do anything to keep her safe. She did the same thing, only in a way we never could."

"Why didn't she ask us about this before hand?"

"Let's have them over and talk about this. Find out what she was thinking." Emma said and Dan reluctantly agreed.

After a satisfying dinner the two couples relaxed with coffee in the Granger's sitting room, the sudden tension in the room was palpable. "Right, you want to know why I put the memory charm you?" Hermione finally spoke.

"That would be nice," Dan said in a clipped tone.

Hermione took a deep breath and with a reassuring nod from Harry began to explain, "Things were going badly in the wizarding world. People were disappearing daily. It didn't matter if you were Muggle-born, half-blood or pure-blood. Several people were taken right in the middle of the street. Even if I was staying at Hogwarts I wouldn't be able to protect you, and there isn't much you could have done when the Death Eaters came for you."

Dan interrupted, "You sound sure we would have been targets."

"You would have been. As close as Hermione and I have been and the fact we weren't at school, they would come for you to find out where we were and what we were up to," Harry explained.

Hermione continued, "I didn't think you would have agreed with my plan. You would have wanted to help me but there wasn't anything you could have done. Most Muggle houses were sealed and then burned with the family inside. Though, you two being my parents would probably have been publicly tortured." Emma paled and Dan looked a little nervous. "There were more Death Eaters than Aurors. With Dumbledore gone, it was only a matter of time before the Death Eaters took the Ministry and Hogwarts, though it has been due to a few good people and a lot of luck that the Ministry never fell. Once that had happened the names and addresses of every magical person would have been available to Voldemort and his followers. You two would have been right behind Harry's relatives, even though they never got along."

Emma spoke for the first time since they had finished dinner, "Wouldn't they have been able to trace us out of the country?"

The young witch shook her head. "Most Death Eaters are pure-bloods and have no knowledge of Muggle travel. Even if they could access the records, you traveled under the name Wilkins and a slight glamor charm so you wouldn't have been recognized."

Most of Dan's anger had disapated as the children explained, but he still didn't understand. "But why didn't you ask us if we wanted to go?"

"Would you have agreed if I had just asked? Hey, mum and dad, can I put a memory charm on you and ship you off to Australia so you are safe while I go fight a war? I'll come and undo it all if I live." Hermione asked, sarcasm evident in her tone.

"No, I don't suppose I would have," the older man agreed.

"What next?" Mrs. Granger asked. "Do we stay here or move back to England and see about our practice there?"

"There are other alternatives," Harry said slowly.

The other three looked at him before Dan spoke, "Such as?"

Harry blushed, "my family was pretty well off, add to that all of the Black family fortune and our great grand kids wouldn't have to work so we don't have to do anything we don't want to. I have a few properties around Britain and an island in Italy so a place to stay isn't an issue unless we want to go somewhere else. Hermione here has packed us for a month in our trunks so we are in no rush to go back."

"Only two weeks! I'm not due for another checkup for another month," the witch interjected.

"Checkup? What's wrong?" Dan looked concerned.

"Nothing that I know of. We just need to make sure your grandson is okay," Hermione said with a small smile though her eyes were bright with unshed tears.

"Right," Dan looked slightly abashed. "I should apologize for back at the office this afternoon."

His daughter cut him off, "No need, daddy. We should. It was a lot to dump on you all at once."

"We are still family, right, princess?" Dan asked softly causing relieved tears to fall from his daughter's eyes as she rushed to his side and embraced him like she hadn't done since she was little.

"Well," Emma said more to herself than anyone else, "we could sell the practice, that shouldn't be hard. I'd like to travel around Australia for a while then go back to England. I could kill for some good fish and chips."

Harry spoke to her softly not wanting to interrupt the reunion between father and daughter, "I'll pay for anything you need. In a way it is my fault you are in this situation and a proper holiday sounds wonderful."

"That's generous of you Harry, but our practice has been doing almost as well here as our one back in England was," the dentist answered with a sad smile as she remembered the couple's old office.

It had taken only a week to sell the practice. The Grangers were excited to sell to a young couple that reminded them of their own beginnings, having worked for other practices to establish their careers then deciding to start their own. While the Grangers were trying to sell their practice and arrange for the new owners to take over the Potters had taken to exploring the area around Sydney.

Hermione of course wanted to visit every book shop around and find out as much about the native magic users as possible. Walking along a magical alley Harry noticed a sign for magical tours. As his wife entered one of the knickknack shops, the wizard mentioned he wanted to check something out and would join her in a few minutes. Fifteen minutes later he rejoined his wife as she was browsing excitedly through the various odds and ends on display.

"Find what you wanted, love?" she asked as he wrapped his arms around her from behind.

Taking a deep breath he inhaled the sent of the shampoo she used and responded, "Yep. All set." She tried to get more information out of him but he refused to spill.

That night as they sat around the table playing cards, Dan brought up the fact they had the practice settled and would be ready to move on as soon as the house sold.

"Why don't you keep the place?" Harry asked. "You guys love it here and you'd be hard pressed to get such a deal so close to the harbor."

"There isn't a point of having a home here if we move back to England. We'd never use it and it we probably couldn't afford more than one house." Emma answered looking longingly around the kitchen. It was true, they had loved living there.

"I saw some signs around about vacation rentals. You could do that. Use the rental income to pay for the house and still be able to visit whenever you wanted," Hermione suggested, excited by the idea.

"I can easily cover any shortages between rental fees and loan payments," Harry added trying to sell the deal.

The Grangers had a short conversation sharing a glance the way Harry and Hermione often did and came to a quick conclusion. "That sounds like a wonderful idea. And you two are welcome here any time as well," Emma said though Dan scowled at the last bit. He knew what had happened between his daughter and the young man sitting next to her, but she would always be his little girl.

"It's good that those arrangements are made, I set up a month long magical safari around the country leaving Monday," Harry announced with a grin.

Hermione squealed and jumped from her chair in to her husbands lap while Emma's eyes lit up but Dan looked apprehensive. "You're sure it is safe for us on this tour?" he inquired a bit nervously.

"Perfectly," the younger man answered. "It's mostly magical travel, visiting Aboriginal tribes and looking for magical plants and animals. It's one of the few ways non-magical people get to experience the magical life."

"Ooh, I wonder how different their magic is from ours. It's going to be amazing to learn. I couldn't find anything in the bookstore about it." Hermione was bouncing on Harry's lap in her excitement while her parents tried not to laugh as he tried not to wince every time she came down.

The month long vacation was a welcome break for both couples. The Grangers had not had more than a week vacation from their practice in several years and the Potters, while not having been in school the previous year where happy to be able to decompress after the stress of the war. Several nights the younger couple had to stop themselves from casting wards around the tent and worrying about staying up for watch though they did keep silencing charms up to keep from disturbing anyone outside their room with their nightmares or other more vigorous night time activities.

Hermione was frustrated the first few days spent with the Australian natives. Almost all of their magic was wandless and focused on the elements more than British magic. After learning to feel their magic, most of the witches and wizards that tried were able to easily pick up on the Aboriginal ways of casting spells. While they agreed their spells felt more powerful with a wand, a wand wasn't always convenient. By their last morning in the village the young witch wasn't the only one in the group disappointed that the tribe didn't have written books on their magic but she was invited to come and live with them after their adventure was over. After a bit of discussion with the elders they made arrangements to return after their child was born and would spend time living and learning in the outback, much to the disappointment of the Grangers whose worries were short lived when they were told their grandson would be able to visit several times a year.

Hermione had bought a magical camera before they left Sidney and Dan had brought his own but it turned out Harry was the shutterbug of the group, taking pictures of everything. When someone would question him when he seemed to be taking pictures of seemingly random things he would point out what he was seeing and how it was going to be framed in his picture leading to many other photos of the same object trying to capture the same essence that Harry had. Several of the pictures would have to be shown to Luna and her father when they made it back to England.

All to soon the safari was over and the quartet was headed back to their home in Sydney. Dan and Emma spent their last few days in Australia saying good bye to their friends and promising to be in touch once they were settled in back in England. Since Hermione had put most of the family's possessions in storage when the house had been sold they would be traveling only with a trunk or suitcase each containing their clothes and other personal items.

Late the night before leaving, Emma entered the kitchen to find it had been turned in to a potions lab. Her daughter had setup a cauldron on the counter and was sitting at the table preparing a few ingredients. The older woman smiled, deciding to have a little fun and waited for the younger to pause, "All this time you couldn't cook but you can make potions?"

With a small jump, Hermione pointed the small silver knife in her hand towards the source of the sound as if brandishing her wand. Blushing slightly she started preparing the next set of ingredients but frustration was evident in her actions. "I don't get it. I can brew a potion every time but I can't bake a cake to save my life," the bushy haired witch growled.

"I'm guessing a potion is brewed the exact same way every time with no variations?" Hermione nodded. "That is the issue then," Emma said as if it was obvious. "Hermione, love, you've always been good at going exactly by the book but fail when you have to feel you way through something. Remember the problems you had trying to learn from the tribes when we were on the safari?" Hermione's frown became a scowl and she let out a low growl. "Yes, well the same applies to cooking. A stove or oven isn't as precise as a magical flame so you have to adjust your time slightly."

The young witch put down her knife as she finished her preparations and sighed, "I guess. Maybe we can try again when we get home? If I'm going to have a family, I really should learn to cook. Harry can't cook all the time."

"I'd be delighted. Though you do know how to put out fires with that wand of yours?"

Hermione grabbed her wand and shot a small stream of water at her mother. "Like this?" she asked with a grin.

Spluttering, Emma wiped her face and smiled slightly. Hermione didn't like to be reminded of all the meals she burned when learning how to cook. "I suppose I deserved that. So, what are we brewing tonight?" she asked, gesturing to the ingredients laid out on the table.

"A mild sleeping potion. It helps with jet lag and keeps Harry from getting restless on the flight," Hermione answered with a small smile as she started the potion.

"I always thought you two would end up together. Though I was worried when you started talking about that boy Ron." Emma said as she crossed the kitchen for a towel.

Hermione almost dropped the chopping board. "What do you mean you always thought Harry and I would end up together?" she asked turning to face her mother. Seeing her standing their with the towel the witch flicked her wand, casting a quiet drying charm.

Placing the now unneeded towel back on its hook Emma smiled fondly at her daughter. "Since Halloween your first year your letters have talked as much about Harry as they have anything else and during summer vacation, well if I had a pound for every time I heard 'Harry would like this' or 'I wish I could show this to Harry'." She trailed off seeing her daughter's growing blush.

"That obvious was I?" Hermione asked. Seeing her mother's agreement she continued, "it's just that he's always pushed in to something dangerous and he had no one to stand by him. He was my first friend at school and I was his second. I guess we would have either fallen in love or killed each other after a few years as close as we were every day. Now, I can say I couldn't imagine a day without Harry in my life."

"I can see that you love each other very much and you have something special joining you now," the older woman said with a pointed look. Hermione looked down to where her hand had come to rest her lower abdomen as she was talking. Her cheeks flushed bright red as she turned to begin the potion.

"Can anyone brew potions or do you need magic for them?" Emma asked as she joined her daughter standing in front of the cauldron.

"I think anyone can brew them. Most of them anyway. And almost all can be used by magical and non-magical alike." Hermione added. "Want to give it a try?" she asked. Seeing the gleam in her mother's eye she waved her wand duplicating the implements on the counter and placed the book between them.

Over the next few hours the Granger women shared the experience of brewing potions caught up on everything that had been missed since Hermione had gone off to the magical school in Scotland.