Days That Shape Us

3-June-1998

Hermione smiled contently as she rolled over and hugged her pillow. Everything was completely and utterly perfect. So perfect in fact, that her dreams; that would always turn nightmarish, stayed happy and pleasant. Actually it wasn't so much a dream but memories of the night before. The Weasley's had thrown Fred a welcome home party and upon learning that her parents would be arriving back in England, they had been included in to the welcome home festivities.

It was a glorious night. For the first time they could all, finally, just relax. They hadn't, until that night dared to celebrate the end of the war. Her parents were still somewhere in Australia and it was unknown if the wall that had fallen on Fred would cause any permanent damage. That first day they were told that there was a very strong possibility Fred would never wake up. The next, they were told he had improved but might never walk again; have complete memory loss; partial memory loss and a list of other dreadful thing that could be wrong, but couldn't truly tell until, if he ever did, wake up. But Fred Weasley was never one to do the expected. A week after finding her parent's she recived an owl from Ron saying Fred would be just fine.

That has been the longest week of her life. As much as she loved her parents Hermione found she couldn't bear being away from Ron. When she was in his arms everything was right in the world, when she was away from him- Hermione couldn't explain it, but Ron eased her. His touch drain all her fear and anxiety. So with a heavy heart she decided to go back to England and wait for her parents to return home. The day after Fred was released her parents arrived.

After the details of the last year had come out; the Weasley home being the headquarters of the resistance; their youngest son's part in Harry quest; coupled with the common knowledge that Harry was practically a Weasley himself, everyone seemed to think The Weasleys were some sort of leaders in the war. When word got out that the Weasleys were celebrating everyone wanted to be apart of it. The burrow was packed to capacity and was forced to spill out into the garden. There was no fear, no need for "Constance vigilance" The war was over. Everyone they hadn't lost was safe and home. They could finally start to live.

She and Ron had escaped the flood of people to their secluded spot on a cliff that over looked the burrow. The view was one she would never forget. Every light in the house was on, a bonfire was lit and what seemed like hundreds of lamps floated over the yard making the burrow glow. Shadows and people danced; muggles and wizards, purebloods and muggel-borns all together as one. It was exactly what they had fought so had for.

She and Ron spent practically the entire night on that cliff in their own little world, they laughed and cried and talked about everything this new, better, world had to offer. Even making love for the first time under the fireworks Fred and George had set off at the party below. The only hiccup in the night was when Andromeda arrived with Teddy. Ron had mentioned in a letter written to her after Remus and Tonk's funeral that she 'scarily looked like her sister.' For some reason she had thought he was referring to Narcissa. So it was a shock when Hermione laid eyes on a less psychotic and cleaner looking Bellatrix. She had frozen, waiting to be struck down by the cruciatus curse again before being swept out of the room by Ginny .

Hermione had begun to drift back off to sleep but it seemed Crookshanks would have none of it. He leaped on to her bed at the first sigh that she was awake and began pawing at her nose until she conceded. She took a quick shower and changed hoping to catch Ron before he went off to the twins shop and convince him to help her and Harry with the restoration of Hogwarts.

"I'm off! I'll get some breakfast on my way! See you at dinner!" Hermione called running down the stairs to the door.

"Hermione! Can you come here for a moment?" She heard her mother call.

Hermione checked her watch and cursed under her breath. The shower she had taken wasn't a quick as she thought and if she wanted to catch Ron she would have to leave now. "I'm running late can't this-"

"No it can't."

Sighing Hermione took her hand off the knob of the front door and grudgingly made her way to the kitchen. Sitting across from her father, Hermione had to hold back a snigger at his obviously hung-over state. Her mother place a cup of tea in front of her and then sat down next to her father steadying herself for what she was about to say.

"Your father and I were talking, and we-we've decided not to reopen our practice."

Hermione looked between her parents lost for words.

"The house we bought in Australia," Her mother continued. "Is still on the market and the practice we worked for there will be more then happy to take us back, so your father and I have decided to sell this house and make Australia our permanent home."

"And you're coming with us." Her father added in a tone that clearly stated there was no room for argument.

Well, Hermione thought, as she squared her shoulders preparing for the fight. Her parents didn't know her at all if they thought she would just lower her head and walk quietly to her room and pack. She had fought in a bloody war, after that going head to head with her parents was nothing.

"No." she said simply.

"No isn't an option, in fact you have no say in this matter. You're coming with us and that's that."

"Even if I did go, which I'm not. I would just be back in November when Hogwarts re-opens. It would just be-"

"You're not going back to Hogwarts. You're not stepping one foot back into the Wizarding world!"

Hermione shot to her feet. "I'm an adult! You can't tell me what to do!"

"I'M YOUR FATHER GOD DAMN IT! I HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO TELL YOU WHAT TO DO!"

Hermione faltered at her father sudden anger but quickly recovered.

"When I was a child! But now-"

"YOU"RE STILL A CHILD! MY CHILD! IN CASE YOU'VE FORGOTTEN! I WONT HAVE A DAUGHTER OF MINE HAVING ANYTHING TO DO WITH THESE PEOPLE!"

Hermione crossed her arms defiantly. "It's a little too late for that."

"No it's not dear." Her mother said taking up the argument while her father tried to calm him self. "That's why we've leaving. We need to repair our family."

"Our family doesn't need repairing."

"Yes it does!" Her father said taking the rains again. "We lost you the moment you stepped foot in to that world and it's time we take you back!"

"Take me – What?"

"You've always chosen the Wizarding World over your family-"

"I've never!"

"We allowed it thinking it was what was best for you-"

"It was!"

"WAR AND FIGHTING! NEARLY BEING TORTURED TO DEATH! We heard the stories at your boyfriend's party! You told us that we were in danger and that we should go in to hiding so we did! You told us that you had some things to settle and that you would meet us later!

"That's what I did!"

YOU NEVER TOLD US THE THING YOU NEEDED TO SETTLE WAS A BLOODY WAR AND THAT YOU WERE THROWING YOURSELF IN TO THE MIDDLE OF IT!"

"YOU NEVER WOULD HAVE LEFT WITHOUT ME IF I TOLD YOU EVERYTHING!"

"You would rather die a witch then live in peace with your own family as a muggle! But that's how it's always been hasn't it? You love being a witch more then you love us!"

Hermione stare at her father in shock. "That's not true!"

"Yes it is! You hadn't seen us for nearly a year, Hermione! Spent a weeks in Australia then you ran right back to them, the wizards, and left us to sort everything out!"

"I wouldn't have been much help!"

"It's not a matter of how much help you could be, it was a matter of being back with your family AFTER NEARLY A YEAR! But once again you chose the Wizarding World. You always choose the Wizarding World! Christmases and summer holidays, it was always them and never us. Well not this time! You're coming with us! You're going to stay as far away from them as possible. Tortured, Hermione! Tortured! You were tortured within an inch of your life! You're daft if you think we're going to allow our daughter to continue living in that kind of world."

"You can't make me give it up."

Her father stared at her, a long piercing start he used to give her when she was a child and on the rare occasion misbehaved. "Maybe we can't but we can make you choose. "

"You can't do that!" Hermione cried tears finally spilling down her cheeks.

"The Wizarding World or your family. You can't have us both."

"THAT'S NOT FAIR!"

"Having to leave you and everything we had behind because of a war the wizards were fighting wasn't fair either."

Hermione looked at her parents as if seeing them for the first time. They had always been so welcoming and understanding of that part of her. They had raised her to always do the right thing and stand up for what she believed in and now they were punishing her for doing just that.

Hermione loved her parents more than they knew. They had never asked much of her. They gave her life and the freedom to live it the way she chose. Could she deny them this one request? This rather large request? She thought about everything she'd been through, everything she'd fought for. Her mind flashed to the cliff top, Her and Ron making love for the first time. It wasn't choosing between her parents and the Wizarding World, not really. It was choosing between the family she has now and the family she would one day have with Ron. If she thought of it like that the decision was scarily easy to make.

Hermione took a deep calming breath. "Lets just think about this rationally."

"We have Hermione." Her mother said.

"If you go back it'll be with out me. My choice won't be you."

The tear that slipped down her mothers face broke her heart. "We're your family."

"Ron's my heart."

"Well," Her father said. Picking up his jumper from the back of the chair. "I hope he loves you as much as you love him. It would be a shame to lose your family and your heart."

"Dad." Mr. Granger never spared her a second glance as he walked out of the room and out the front door.

"Mum?" She turned to her mother with tear filled eyes for help.

"Don't look at me. I'm not your choice."

"Mum!" But like her husband Emily Granger refused to look at the daughter she had lost to the Wizarding world and left Hermione felling cold in a house that didn't feel like home anymore.

Hermione sat cross legged surrounded by tattered and ripped books in the middle of the empty library. The ones that were beyond repair were in one pile and listed under re-order. The ones that weren't a complet loss and needed professional care were stacked in another. She was slowly fixing the ones she could on her own.

Professor McGonagall had put her on more administrative duties, while most of the people in the castle were focusing on getting the castle ready for the new school year; Professor McGonagall had enlisted her to help sort out the academic aspects of it all. Hermione felt a great deal of pride and wonder when she was shown the magic quill and the book that listed all the new born witches and wizards. She was to go through it and make the list of would be first years, who would be receiving their first Hogwarts letter. Hermione was also in charge of pulling out the most promising applications of professors along with sorting out Professor McGonagall's mail concerning Hogwarts in order of most urgent to least. Usually this was done by the deputy head master or mistress but Hogwarts didn't have one yet. Hogwarts didn't have a lot of things yet. Like a new Defense Against the Dark Arts, transfiguration or Arithmancy teacher. Their main concern was getting the destroyed castle up to par to host students from around the country, but Hogwarts was still after all a school and there were tasks pertaining to academics that needed attention. Rather then spared herself to thin McGonagall had entrusted and enlisted Hermione's help.

But all that work required thinking, and today, thinking was something Hermione did not want to do . So she occupied her mind and her time with the mundane task of repairing books.

Hermione heard the door to the library open and the head of Harry potter peak in.

"There you are."

"Here I am." She said going back to the books.

"Are you O.K.?"

"I'm fine."

"You sure? You seem distracted today." Harry said sitting down across from her taking a book off the top of one of the piles and flipping through it before tossing it back on top.

"There's still a lot to be done before Hogwarts opens."

"It'll get done."

Hermione just nodded and continued on with what she was doing.

"Are you sure you're ok?"

"Yeah."

Harry picked up the book again only this time taping the spine so the loose pages binded back with the rest secure. "Where does this one go?"

Hermione motioned to the stack to her left. They sat in silence repairing the books. Harry knew that something was trebling her but she was grateful that he didn't press the matter; he just kept her company until the work was done. They had just finished putting back the last of them when Harry finally spoke again.

"Are you going to see Ron tonight?"

Hermione just shrugged. "You two aren't fighting already are you?"

"No."

"I love the bloke and all but if he's being a prat you let me know and I'll set him straight."

"I just haven't spoken to him yet to see what his plans are."

"Why haven't you spoken to him today."

"I was running late this morning and didn't get a chance. I was going to owl him before I went…" Hermione trailed off . "Do you two have plans?"

"Not really no,"

"That's nice."

"Well it's not Ron, so what is it?"

"Nothing, I'm just a bit tired is all."

"Well I'm going to pop home then. Want me to tell Ron to owl you?"

"Yeah." Harry had taken two steps before Hermione said "Maybe I'll just come with you."