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"Coming, Mum!", she said.
Hastily wiping her tears away, she finished packing and looked around her room for one last time. The only things remaining were the furnitures and walls, which to outsiders might seem like useless, lifeless things but even these lifeless things held some very meaningful memories.
She spots a little dent on the wall and starts thinking about a time when everything was so easy.
They were just unpacking the boxes after moving into their brand new house. A 4 year-old Hermione was jumping in excitement for getting her own room.
"Hermione, honey, take your books and arrange them on your bookshelf!", her mum called from the next room.
She began unboxing a box that lay on her bed, inside which were some of her favourite books.
She picked up a few books and turned to the other side, when she slipped on a piece of tape on the floor and landed forcefully on a chair next to her. The books landed on the floor with a thud and the weight of her caused the chair to move backwards and bump onto the wall.
She immediately got up and gasped when she saw a dent on the wall. On their newly painted wall.
Her dad came rushing in to see what had caused the ruckus.
"Hermione, are you alright? What happened?", he asked, his tone panicked.
She went pale as she slowly turned towards her dad. She hurriedly explained what had happened, her voice shivering slightly in fear of what her father might give her as a punishment.
But to her astonishment, her dad wasn't mad. He seemed relieved, in fact. He laughed and picked her up, twirling her around. Not a hint of anger could be seen on his face.
Hermione came back to the present when she felt tears sliding down her face. She quickly wiped them away and slung her beaded bag diagonally, ready to go.
As she was closing the door, she caught sight of a few markings on the edge of the door. Memories again took hold of her as she remembered how, years ago, her mother used to measure her height and marked the lines on the door. There were many a times when she complained about how little she had grown or how she wasn't growing anymore. But, sometimes she used to be pleasantly surprised by how much taller she had become.
Glancing at the markings once again, she saw that the last one had been marked at 4'11 feet. That had been her height just before she had gone off to Hogwarts. There had been no more markings after that.
Things were never quite the same after that.
She closed the door and hurried down the stairs, pushing back tears. She reached the living room and saw her parents sitting on the sofa with their backs to her and watching television.
Deciding that it would just become harder to do if she wasted anymore time; she pointed her wand towards her parents.
"Obliviate", she muttered softly.
She watched as her mum and dad stiffened for a moment and then relaxed, looking around confusedly.
She couldn't bear to see the look of unrecognition on their faces if they saw her. So she left the plane tickets to Australia on the table and rushed out of the door.
If things went according to plan, (which she assumed will go as she had triple-checked everything) then her parents should be on their plane to Australia in 12 hours. Going to start their new life, completely unaware that they even had a daughter.
She refused to cry as she found a secluded corner on the street to disapparate. Taking one last glance at the place she called home for years, she turned on the spot.
She landed a little roughly just outside the burrow, probably because she couldn't focus.
She knocked on the main door twice before a gruff voice called out, "Who's there?"
Ron's voice.
"It's me.", she said, trying to keep her voice from wavering.
"Hermione!", he exclaimed. She could hear him unlocking the door when Mr. Weasley yelled at him to ask her the question first.
"But I know it's her!", he sounded frustrated.
"We need to be sure Ron. We can't take any risks, especially not right now.", was Mr. Weasley's response.
Ron groaned but did what was asked.
"What happened when Malfoy insulted Hagrid in 3rd year?", he asked her quietly so that only she could hear.
Even though her tears were threatening to overwhelm her, she couldn't help but let out a small giggle. Of course that was what he would ask her out of all the things that he could've asked.
"I slapped Malfoy so hard that he practically ran away, cowering in fear.", she said.
Even before she had finished her sentence, she could hear him unlocking the door. And as soon as she had stopped speaking, he swung open the door and threw his arms around her. She returned the hug just as fiercely, while trying to keep her emotions in check.
"Let her breathe.", she could hear Ginny saying somewhere in the background.
When Ron finally let go of her, his grin turned into a frown as he looked at her. She knew he could tell that something was wrong even though she was trying her best not to give anything away.
He looked like he was about to ask her what was wrong but was interrupted when Ginny pushed him aside and hugged her.
"Nice to see you again, Hermione! How are you?"
"I'm alright, Ginny. Nice to see you too!"
She hugged the rest of the Weasleys and Fleur, avoiding Ron's eyes as he kept trying to question her with them.
She went upstairs with Ginny to unpack and they taked for a while. Although, she didn't tell her about her parents. She just couldn't make herself to bring it up.
She glanced at her watch to see that it was time for dinner soon and she knew she had to talk to Ron. So she excused herself from there and Ginny gave her a knowing smile.
She went up to Ron's room and knocked once.
"Come in!"
By the tone of his voice, he knew it was her. How did he always know?
She went inside and saw him sitting on his bed and staring at her. She blushed slightly under his gaze.
"Hey", she said.
"Hey", he patted the spot next to him on his bed.
She sat next to him and they were quiet for a moment, just looking at each other and taking it all in.
Ron was the first to break the silence.
"Hermione, are you alright?", he asked her with a troubled expression.
Hearing those words, she could take it no longer. She broke down completely, sobs wracking her body.
Ron was quick to wrap his arms around her as he held her. He didn't say anything but she heard him mutter a Muffliato charm so that the others don't hear her crying her heart out.
He didn't ask her why she was acting as if someone had died. He just held her, stroking her hair and whispering soft reassurances.
A few minutes later, when she had calmed down enough to form coherent sentences, she told him. Everything.
Starting from the fact that she had kept many secrets from her parents and lied to them in order to maintain a sense of normalcy. Although they were supportive, they had never particularly liked the fact that their only daughter was a witch. And if she had told them about everything that was happening in the wizarding world, she was sure they would've pulled her out from Hogwarts like many other muggleborns' parents had. This constant lying to them had put a strain on their relationship. It was like they didn't even know her anymore. But that didn't mean that she didn't love them. She still loved them with her whole heart and erasing their memories had been the hardest thing she has ever had to do.
".....now they don't know that they have a daughter and I don't have a home.", she finished.
He hadn't interrupted once. But now, he seemed to come of his trance and said, "That's not true. You do have a home. The Burrow is always here for you."
Before she could respond, he continued speaking.
"Hermione, you did this to keep your parents safe. Now, you-know-who and his cronies can't hurt them. You put them out of harm's way. And 'Mione I knew you were brave, but this is the bravest thing I've ever heard of. You have no reason to feel guilty. As soon as all this shit is over, we are gonna bring them back and reverse their memories. They love you Hermione, they are your parents. They'll always be there for you."
At that moment, she wanted to throw caution to the wind and kiss him right then and there. She knew she loved him and she knew that he atleast felt something for her. Who cares about the war? She wanted to enjoy happiness as long as she could.
But for now, she settled for just hugging him. When had he become so mature? Where had that boy with an emotional range of a teaspoon gone?
He had grown-up. She supposed they all had. They all had to grow up way too soon- all because of some noseless man who wanted to be immortal.
She pulled back and looked at him, thinking about what he had said. Yes, when all this shit is over, she's going to have her parents back and maybe they could have a future together too.
"Dinner!", Mrs. Weasley's voice rang from the kitchen.
"We should get going."
"You go ahead, I'll be there in a sec.", he said, smiling a little.
She smiled a genuine smile in what felt like ages and leaned forward to kiss his cheek.
He blushed but his grin grew wider.
"Thank you, Ron.", she said softly. She didn't know how she could ever tell him how much gratitude she felt towards him.
He squeezed her hand. "No problem, Mione."
As she was climbing down the stairs, she realized that she did have a home. But it wasn't her house back in London or the burrow or Hogwarts. Through the years, something had changed. She had found a new, true home.
He was her home.