Unique (Hermione x M! OC)

61. Not Kids Anymore

(A/N: You might have noticed that each movie up to this point has had ten chapters. I'm not sure how many Deathly Hallows will have at this point, probably more than ten. Just letting you know. Enjoy.)

The summer that ensued following my sixth year at Hogwarts was largely spent with my family. Me and Hermione finished our book - that book would be our last. It sold tremendously, I have a feeling that one passage from it truly defines me, Harry and Hermione; The moments leading up to the ship's sudden stop were, in fact, beautiful. As we rose, we saw Earth - the beautiful orb it is - shrink and shrink into nothingness, surrounded by nothing more than starry blackness.

Not for a second do I regret any choices I've ever made, but I can't help but feel like as wizardkind, we're lost. This feeling resonated with the readers, making it the best-selling book to have ever been written by a wizard by far, and it's not even close. My birthday was a small event for the four of us. It feels like Dad wants to be near us all as much as possible. He's terrified he'll lose us. He let me go over to Hermione's for the wipe and that's where I've been this last week.

Amos has been exceedingly nervous as well, preparing me for a battle that I "may very likely lose." He's been so preoccupied with the war and saving wizardkind, that it's never just us. He's always running off for meetings with Fates, Prophets and prayer loggers. Nobody's untouched, it seems.

Dad has reluctantly agreed to let Harry stay with the Dursleys over the last two weeks of Summer to throw them off of Dad's scent. It's also a faster trip to the Weasleys' from the Dursleys', Harry claimed. When Dad dropped off Harry, he told the Dursleys that if anything, anything at all happened to Harry to harm him in any way, he would ensure their painful deaths, and from the letters, we can tell that Harry's living decently. Even Dudley has changed, becoming a far more gentle soul than he was prior to Harry's departure. The hag and the blimp? Not so much.

Hermione and I are terrified of what we're about to do, though we've known it was coming. A paper just came in detailing the deaths of an entire family of muggles. We talked to Dad about it and he explained good measures to prevent losing them, trackers and such, but Hermione finds it all barbaric. She secured them both tickets on a plane to Australia, where they'll presumably be safe.

Right now, we sit in Hermione's room. She holds her wand so tightly that her knuckles are white. I take her hands in mine in an attempt to ease her a bit, "If you can't do this, I will. Nobody's gonna judge you."

"I can." she whispers. "I have to." I decide that instead of continuing to speak, actions will do better to clarify my emotions. I take her hands in mine and lift them to my lips, kissing them. She watches me carefully as I hold her hands to my forehead. She smiles a bit and rests her head on mine. "What are you doing?" She whispers.

"Showing you that I'm here. That I believe in you."

"Hermione! Sam! Tea's ready!" Hermione's mum calls.

"It's time." I whisper. She bursts into tears, and I pull her into my chest. "Shh, you're alright. I'm here for you. We'll get them back, Hermione. This isn't goodbye."

"Then why does it feel like it?" She sniffles.

"The brain works in mysterious ways, Hermione." I whisper. "Stay here." I grab for my wand, but she grabs my hand. "Darling-"

She pushes her face into mine, locking our lips in a wet, heartfelt, infinite embrace. She eyes me thoughtfully before touching my cheek and looking me in the eyes. "I'll do it." She stands up and I grab our suitcases before following her. Pictures of her are everywhere, the only child of this couple that has been a close-knit family for over eighteen years. Hermione wipes her eyes as she points her wand at her two parents. "Obliviate." I watch as she fades from the images of her family and her parents fall into a deep sleep. Hermione puts her wand away, throws the plane tickets on the table and pulls me out of the house, towards the car they'd bought her at the start of summer. I put the things in the trunk and she pushes everything back, starting the car and driving away from her home. She pulls into a McDonald's parking lot nearby before she lets everything go.