Lost Pieces

CHAPTER-4

A/N: This is a section I'm worried about. I feel its weaker writing on my part. Will appreciate any feedback you can give me. Thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing so far!

After all the crying had stopped, Hermione found herself in a heavy silence with her parents. The weight of what had truly happened seemed to be sinking in.

"Why?" Dan finally blurts out. "Of all the things you could have done....why this?"

She flinches at the hurt in his voice. She knows she's upset them both. She can see in both of their demeanors the disappointment.

"I...I thought it was the best thing....for everyone." She takes a deep steadying breath, "You don't know what it was like, everyone was scared. Muggleborn families were being tracked by the Ministry, to allow them to track you would have been a death sentence because of my relationship to Harry....to hide from the Ministry in the U.K. would have been no better. I had to get you out of the country, I couldn't do what I had to do without knowing that you were safe."

Hermione felt the tears start to prick at the back of her eyes again, but they faded as she filled with conviction. She had done what was best; her parents would have to understand.

"I knew you wouldn't go, that you wouldn't let me go."

"Sweetie, how could they have needed a seventeen year old to fight a war?" her mum was trying, Hermione gave her that.

"Because, Harry was the only one who could defeat Voldemort, and he needed Ron and me to do it." She registered how strange it was that her parents didn't flinch at the name.

When her parents took matching incredulous looks, she launched into explaining the truth of what had happened the past two and a half years. The Prophecy, the Death Eater attack at Hogwarts, the revelation of the Horcruxes, Dumbledore's death, the Hallows, and the final battle. Her dad took it in quietly while her mum covered her mouth and sobbed at the particularly bad parts.

When she finished it was again followed by a heavy silence.

"So...that's the truth of it. I had to be there. If I hadn't gone, we would have never finished Voldemort, Harry would be dead and..."

She abruptly stopped. The memory of Harry in Hagrid's arms swam into her mind. It was still too close and too real to her. She had to take a couple of deep breaths to steady herself.

He didn't die. You were just with him.

She sometimes had to remind herself of that truth. That Harry was indeed alive. She had caught herself numerous times over the past couple of months going to his room in the middle of the night just to ensure he really and truly was there.

"Hermione..?" Emma brought her attention back to the real world.

"I'm sorry that I've hurt you. I'm sorry that I couldn't find another way," she steeled herself to say the truth, "but I'm not sorry for what I did. I did what I thought was right and given the chance, I would do it again."

It took a moment for her words to really sink into her parents. Emma grasped it first, a knowing look entering her eyes before she joined Hermione in gazing at Dan. She could see the wheels turning in his mind; she knew he was examining all this information every which way. She was so like him in that regard. Finally, he slumped his shoulders and nodded his head.

"I hate to say it, but I can completely understand where you're coming from." Hermione loosed a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. "But that doesn't mean I like it. You promised us Hermione."

Her mind flashed back to the day before her first day at Hogwarts. She had stood in the living room with her parents and promised them that she would never use her magic on them. That she would never betray their trust by hoodwinking them with something they couldn't hope to defend themselves against.