If You're Not Here With Me

Chapter 4

Dear Fred,

I'm sorry it's taken me so long to write. Life has been a bit of a whirlwind since arriving in Australia. I was met by two of their ministry officials and they filled me in on all the current information they have on my parents. My spell worked as I had hoped. They go by the names Monica and Wendell Wilkins and have set up their own dental practice in Sydney. They live in a little neighborhood by Clovelly Beach and it's absolutely gorgeous! The ministry set me up in a house by theirs. The healers they've spoken to think it might help if my parents see me regularly. I'm not supposed to directly approach them but allow myself to be seen and friendly if they happen to approach me.

Their dental practice must be doing very well because this neighborhood is unbelievable! The house they put me in is massive! It's made for a family like yours, not just little old me. To be honest, the novelty of it wore off in a day. The size of the house only serves to accentuate how lonely it is here. I meet with people almost daily to discuss the plan to recover the memories but it's not the same. I want my friends here. I really want you here (with some Honeydukes chocolate. I never got to pack a stash before I left and I could use some right now). I'm so mad that I had to leave before we got the chance to see where that kiss could lead. Do you think when I get back we can pretend we froze time and pick back up where we left off?

I know your days are probably filled with fussy family members and therapy, but if you get a few moments can you write back? It'll be nice to get some comforting words from home. Most importantly, keep up with your physical therapy. I want you to be able to stay on your feet when I get back and throw myself at you. Sorry, was that too forward? Don't care, I miss you!

All my love,

Hermione

The next day Hermione woke up in a cheery mood. Being around her surrogate family had lifted her spirits and planning out her secret Santa gifts had finally put her in a Christmas state of mind.

At Scrivenshafts, Hermione found two beautiful, black swan quills. To go along with the shiny ebony feathers, she chose a cherry wood stand and had Percy Weasley engraved in it. The shop gift-wrapped it and on her way back to Flourish and Blotts, she made a quick detour into the post office and scheduled it to be delivered to the ministry at lunchtime.

When she finally made it back to her shop, she greeted Nico and Kelly and then slipped into her office to hang up her coat and purse. She was about to head back to the floor when a package on her desk caught her attention.

It was a simple red box, tied up with a gold string. The tag attached read, " On the first day of Christmas..." Undoing the string, Hermione lifted the lid and grinned at the sight of a dozen chocolate bars from Honeydukes. Her secret Santa obviously knew her taste in sweets. She had been yearning for some Honeydukes chocolate since her return but hadn't yet been able to make the trip to Hogsmead.

"Who was the package from?" Nico asked when Hermione joined them at the till. Nico was organizing the seasonal bookmark display and Kelly was finishing up the morning count. "Secret admirer?"

Bringing Nico onto the team had been the best decision she and Kelly had made. Nico was never in a bad mood, always excited to help the customers, knew how to brew a perfect cup of coffee, and had an eccentric taste in fashion. Today Nico had their ever-present 'They/Them' pin attached to an ugly Christmas sweater, decorated with angry snowmen, over leather pants that had at least fifty zippers all over them. They completed the look with a pair of red kitten heels and their jet black hair was held back with a gold headband topped with a sprig of mistletoe.

"No, secret Santa," Hermione laughed.

"My family in America does something like that but they call it Yankee Swap and you can steal each others' gifts." Nico rolled their eyes.