Lost Pieces

CHAPTER-3

A/N: Yes, I unabashedly named her parents after Dan and Emma from the movies. Not to mention I just like how Dan and Emma Granger sounds. Sue me. Haha. Cheers!

"Oh please do come in!" Mrs. Wilkins chimed. "Dan will be right out. Dan! We have guests!"

Emma Wilkins guided them to a sofa in their small sitting room and offered them tea, Dan Wilkins appeared moments later out of the bedroom to shake their hands.

"To what do we owe the pleasure gentlemen?" Dan inquired politely.

"We're from the realtor's office." Harry answered, "We are here to ask you a few questions about your lovely home here. We aim to ensure our customers are one hundred percent satisfied with their purchase."

Dan looked puzzled for the briefest of moments before a smile leapt across his face.

"Well then! It is a bit odd, but it's nice to work with someone who genuinely cares! Emma join us please."

Emma and Dan took a seat in the loveseat opposite Harry and Ron. Now it was a simple matter of giving Hermione the time she needed.

"Alright then, has there been any major problem since you bought the condo?" Ron asked, pretending to be writing on a clipboard.

"No sir, not the slightest. We haven't even replaced a bulb since we got here!" Dan gave a hearty chuckle. Harry spared a glance to the empty space behind the couple.

~

She couldn't do it. They looked so happy. They didn't miss her at all. Well, of course they didn't, they didn't remember her after all; but it crushed Hermione to see them so well adjusted and happy in their life. She couldn't just take it away from them, plunging them into a world where their daughter broke her biggest promise to them.

She held her wand in a shaking hand behind the couple's heads, willing herself to say the incantation.

All she could do was whimper silently.

~

They had been sitting there for almost twenty minutes now. Harry was beginning to panic. Ron was clearly running out of questions to ask the Wilkins. They seemed to be enjoying themselves, but Harry was worried that they were soon to be dismissed. Then what would they do?

What could possibly be holding up Hermione? He looked again at the space behind Dan and Emma. Willing himself to somehow make eye contact with a person he couldn't see. He pictured her standing there, biting her bottom lip, unsure what to do.

Then it hit him: maybe she wasn't sure she wanted to do this. After all, her parents were quite oblivious to the life they had left behind. They were very happy and content. It seemed cruel to lift the veil on their eyes and expose the truth, but Harry knew that Hermione had to do this. She would spend her whole life regretting it if she left them here.

~

Hermione was just about to lower her wand and walk out of the condo when she looked up at Harry's face. He was no longer looking at her parents, he was looking straight at her. How he had managed to make eye contact with her when she was invisible was a riddle for another time, because the look her was giving her rooted her to the spot.

She had had these sorts of silent conversations with Harry before where each seemed to telepathically speak into the others consciousness. She could hear Harry's voice speak calmly in her mind: "You have to do this Hermione. They need to know the truth. You need them to know the truth."

Her eyes began to water. Her wand hand shook more violently than ever. Harry's eyes looked softly into hers. "It's okay. We'll be right here with you. You can do this."