Stepping into Diagon Alley, Hermione was overwhelmed with a sense of nostalgia. Memories of eating ice cream with Harry and Ron, memories of getting Crookshanks, who was long since deceased, memories of the brawl that broke out in Flourish and Blotts between Arthur and Lucius. Shaking her head, as if to clear it of these thoughts, she and Lilith walked briskly to the gleaming white building that still dominated the Alley.
Seeing how crowded Diagon Alley was on this summer day, Hermione pulled her hat down on her head firmly and put on her pair of sunglasses.
As she walked up the steps, Hermione raised her hand in greeting to the goblin that guarded the door.
"Mom," Lilith tugged on Hermione's sleeve, "what is that thing?"
"It's a goblin, they guard Gringotts."
"Oh, it's kinda ugly."
"Shh Lilith, do not ever insult any magical being, beast, or human, you never know what kind of magic they can use against you."
Walking through the heavy brass doors, Hermione moved towards the row of counters, keeping her head down to avoid being noticed by the witches and wizards who were going about their business. Lilith moved more slowly, taking in all of the amazing things she was seeing. The goblins, writing on pads of parchment in front of them, the owls that kept swooping in and out of the windows at the top of the ceiling, the hundreds of doors that lined the walls, all leading to who knows where.
"Come on Lilith, follow me," Hermione called to her daughter, who was busy watching a wizard walk in carrying some sort of creature that looked like a cross between a bowling ball and a pillow.
Hermione and Lilith followed the goblin that was leading them, walking down a narrow passage that led to the cart. Piling in, the goblin muttered a few words and the cart shot forward, leaving Lilith holding on for dear life.
Careening madly around and between stalagmites and stalactites, the cart dashed downwards, carrying with it the goblin and two passengers. Finally coming to a stop in front of a vault, Hermione and Lilith got out.
Hermione put the key into the keyhole and pulled open the door, revealing piles upon piles of gold and silver.
"Wow," Lilith said in awe, "I never realized we were so rich."
"Well, we are, most of this was Harry's, left to him by his father, but a fair amount was from my salary. I haven't been here since I left, and the interest has really accumulated."
Hermione pulled out two money bags and filled them both with Galleons, Sickles and Knuts, hardly making a dent in the large piles of coins. She tucked both bags safely inside her purse and got back into the cart with Lilith.
~*~
Standing back outside Gringotts, Hermione looked around the changes in Diagon Alley from when she had last visited. Most of the stores were the same, Quality Quidditch Supplies remained, as did Flourish and Blott's, Madam Malkin's, Eeyops Owl Emporium and Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. From her position on the top of the Gringott's steps, Hermione could watch the various magical people as they went about their business.
She could see families eating ice cream together, laughing happily; she could see old wizards searching the top shelves of Flourish and Blott's, using self-levitation spells to reach the books. Her eyes drifted over to Knockturn Alley, expecting to see the usual collection of shady looking characters, the type that in her previous life as an Auror she wouldn't have turned her back to.
Instead, however, Knockturn Alley was gone. She vaguely remembered Minerva mentioning that at some point, but she had never told Hermione what had replaced it. Motioning to Lilith, they walked down the steps and headed towards the old Knockturn Alley. In its place was a corridor of white marble that seemed to glow in the sunlight. The ground was covered in large silver tiles. Walking through the corridor, Hermione noticed that carved into the white marble and the silver tiles were words.
"Hey Mom, what's this?" Lilith asked, running her finger over the words.
"I don't know, this is new, I've never seen this before."
Hermione squinted at the words carved into the marble. They weren't words she realized; they were names.
Maria Bones
Patrick Bones
Frank Longbottom
With a start, Hermione realized what this white corridor was.
"Lilith," Hermione said, turning towards her daughter who was looking at the names, "this is a memorial, probably in honor of all the witches and wizards who lost their lives fighting the dark forces."
"But, Mom, look how long this is, there must be hundreds or thousands of names here," Lilith said, confused. "How many people could have died?"
Hermione looked at her daughter's face.
"Now, you understand perhaps, what drove me to leave this world," Hermione was speaking very softly; Lilith had to strain to hear her.
Lilith nodded. "Mom, wouldn't Dad's name be here?"
Hermione looked down at her feet, her vision getting blurry. She noticed the words on the silver tile she was standing on.
Ronald Weasley
"The Best Son, Brother, or Friend Anyone Could Ever Wish For"
In honor of Ron, who was murdered in Hogsmeade by a Death Eater. The highest praise goes to Ron, who died to save the life of his best friend, Harry Potter. We miss you.
Tears began to fall from Hermione's eyes. Leaning against the white wall, she buried her face in her light jacket. Lilith put her arms around her mother, hugging her close.
~*~

An hour or so later, Hermione and Lilith exited the corridor, refreshed.
"So, Lilith, your choice, what do you want to get first?"
"A wand, absolutely, a wand."
"I agree, I need to buy one as well," Hermione grinned, "though I doubt Mr. Ollivander will be too thrilled with how I treated my last one."
They entered Mr. Ollivander's store, Maker of Fine Wands since 382 BC. Lilith once again was amazed by the interior, by the thousands of boxes lining the walls of the narrow and shabby shop. Hermione stood nervously, holding onto the back of the chair.
"Greetings, greetings, good afternoon, my name is Mr. Ollivander, how may I help you?" Mr. Ollivander seemed to Apparate into the middle of his shop, his silver eyes gleaming as he looked over his customers. Looking at Hermione's eyes which were hidden behind her sunglasses, a flash of recognition passed over his face.
"Ms. Granger, I believe. What a pleasure to see you again, it's been a long time since you were in these parts. I take it you and your daughter, Lilith is it?, need new wands. Well, I'll just be needing your daughter's measurements."
He gestured with his hand and his magic tape measure began measuring Lilith. Mr. Ollivander himself began scuttling around the room, selecting various boxes from the shelves.
"Hermione, we'll just be starting with you, it will be easier as you are already attuned to the use of a wand, now just try this one."
He put a wand into her hand and immediately her arm began to tingle pleasantly just as purple and silver sparks shot out of the end.
"Perfect, perfect," Mr. Ollivander clapped his hands together, "9'', unicorn hair and cherry wood, the same as your old wand."
"Thank you sir," Hermione said as she handed the money to Mr. Ollivander. "Would you mind if I tried some quick spells; I haven't done any magic in 11 years."
"Oh no, not at all, not at all, I'll just fit Lilith to a wand while you practice."
Hermione opened her purse, pulling out a pen. Mumbling a few words to herself, she levitated the pen a few feet in the air before tapping it, turning it into a white hamster. The hamster looked around itself wildly, wondering what happened to the ground, but before it had a chance to get its bearings, it was a pen again.
Lilith clapped.
"Nice work Mom, that's so cool, do you think I could do that?"
"Not yet, darling, not yet," Hermione said, laughing as she tucked her new wand into a pocket of her robes, "it'll take a while before you get to that level of Transfigurations."
Meanwhile, Mr. Ollivander was trying a large selection of various wands, none of them suiting him. Muttering to himself, he scrambled around the store, reaching to the far back of shelves to find wands he had not yet tried on Lilith.
"Ebony and unicorn, no, try this, willow and phoenix, not that one either, maple and dragon heartstring, still no."
Just then, Mr. Ollivander jumped up and ran into the back of his shop, coming back with a battered white case containing just one wand.
"Now, just try this, I think it might.."
Mr. Ollivander was cut off as a large burst of gold sparks exploded from the end of the wand.
"I though that might be the one."
"What is so special about that wand, it doesn't look unique," Hermione took the wand into her hands, examining it.
"Oh, it isn't anything special, as far as wands go, but in your family I believe it carries a fair amount of significance."
Hermione and Lilith looked at him inquisitively.
"You see, ladies, that wand is holly and phoenix."
~*~
They completed their shopping for the day, Lilith thrilled at all her new belongings, and Hermione thrilled that no one had recognized her, though she had attracted a few second glances from the older wizards and witches.
Hermione and Lilith were sitting in the Leaky Cauldron at the corner table, Hermione with her back to the crowd.
"Mom, can I ask you a question?"
"Sure, go ahead."
"What did that weird guy in the wand shop mean when he said my wand was holly and phoenix. Why should that matter?"
Hermione sighed, "Your father's wand was holly and phoenix, as was Voldemort's."
"Does that mean I have the same wand they did?"
"No, not at all, the feather in your wand comes from a different phoenix than theirs did."
"Oh, that's kinda cool that I have the same type of wand as Dad did."
"Yeah, it is kinda cool," Hermione smiled slightly.
They finished eating and Hermione went to pay the bill. She began chatting with the witch at the counter, who, it turns out, was from Norway, while Lilith sat on a chair, tapping her foot impatiently.
"Hey Mom," Lilith called. "Can I go take a walk around, it's so nice outside."
"Sure, have fun, but be back in an hour, I'll be in our room doing some work."
~*~

Lilith sat on a bench in the middle of Diagon Alley, holding her new wand in her hands, watching the people go by. Diagon Alley, Lilith had decided, was the best place for people-watching. She had already seen an old warlock walking down the street carrying what appeared to be a mutant ostrich, as well as a fair number of boys her age who were marveling at the broomsticks in the window of one of the shops.
Although she had spent her entire day in the Alley, she was still amazed by it. The shops lined the way selling things she had never known existed. She decided to take a closer look at some of the shops she had missed before. Walking around a corner, she noticed a small shop hidden between two larger ones. She had not come down this way before with her mother; Lilith doubted that her mother even knew these shops were here. Lilith opened the door to the smaller shop. As she closed the door behind her something squawked loudly.
The walls were lined with open boxes and displays, selling such things as Dungbombs and Canary Creams.
Cool, what are these things? Mom didn't mention anything like this
"Can I help you with anything?" A girl Lilith's age stood behind her. The girl had bright red hair and freckles and looked vaguely familiar.
"Oh no, I'm just looking, what are these things?"
"Excuse me?"
"I mean, what are Canary Creams, is this a bakery?"
The girl laughed. "No, this is a joke shop, those are pastries that turn the eater into a canary for a few minutes, my dad and uncle invented them."
"Awesome, that sounds so cool. Sorry if I seem a little confused by all this magic, I was raised a Muggle, my mom was a witch, but she never told me."
"Oh, I'm sorry," the girl's eyes widened. "A Muggle? You lived as a Muggle? That's awesome, did you have a telly vizin."
"A what?"
"A telly vizin, you know, the talking Muggle box."
Lilith looked at the strange girl for a few moments before she realized what the girl was talking about. "Oh, a television. Yes, of course we did, all Muggles do."
"Cool, I like studying Muggle things. My grandpa, he used to be the Minister of Magic, and I like learning about all those electricity thingamabobs. It annoys my grandmother to no end, my grandfather is great at it though, he even made his car fly once."
"Fly? That's so cool, I wish my mom's car could fly, it would help a lot in traffic jams."
"I could show it to, if you want," the girl stuck out her hand, "my name's Celia, by the way."
"I'm Lilith," the two girls shook hands.
"Lilith, hmm, do I know you from somewhere?" Celia asked, examining Lilith's face.
"I don't think so," Lilith said. "I've lived in New York City from when I was 5 and I've been living as a Muggle."
"Oh, what about before you were 5?"
"I lived in the magical world, but my mom never really talked about it so I don't remember anything much. I barely even remember my dad."
"Why not? I can remember some thing from when I was younger than 5, that's why I think I remember you from somewhere."
"I'm not really sure, my mom said it was a really difficult time in the magical world and then my dad died. I think it's called repression or something, when someone forgets bad memories."
"Oh," Celia replied, "hey, do you want to go out for a walk? It's my cousin's turn to watch the store."
"Sure, why not?"
Celia ran to the counter, hitting the bell. An older boy, who looked to be about 20, came out of the back room holding a wand. The boy was wearing a pair of goggles to protect his eyes, when he took them off he looked like a raccoon; there was smoke all on his face except where the goggles had been. He also had red hair, but Lilith couldn't tell if he had freckles or not, there was too much smoke to see his skin.
"Hey, James, I'm going to go out for a walk." Celia reached for a cloak hanging on the wall. "This means you have to watch the store."
"Fine, I'll just clean up the workroom."
Celia laughed. "Why bother? My dad never does."
"I know, and that's why I can never find anything."
"Suit yourself."
Lilith and Celia exited the store and walked down the Alley.
"So, Celia, what's your favorite place here?" Lilith asked.
"Hmm, I like the joke shop a lot, but the Magical Menagerie is also great."
"I know, my mom and I bought an owl there this morning."
"Sweet, what kind was it?"
"A great big snowy white owl, my mom named it Hedwig Jr."
"Why Junior, who was the original?"
"I have no clue, it might have been her first owl though."
~*~

An hour later, Lilith and Celia headed back to the Leaky Cauldron so Lilith wouldn't be late.
"Hey, Celia, before I go, can I ask you one last question?"
"What is it? If I know the answer, I'll tell you."
"Okay, what is that white corridor? My mom said it was a memorial, but do you know anything more about it?"
Celia sighed. "Yes, I do. It was built after the war to honor all those who had died fighting this war and every war in the past. The Minister of Magic at the time, my grandfather, had the idea to build it after he went to America and saw something like it there."
"Yeah, I thought it looked like the Vietnam Memorial."
"Right, that's the one. Anyway, it's called the Road of Heroes."
"What are the silver tiles for?"
"Those are special. Only people who got special honors have their names on them."
"Special honors? What are those?"
"They were given to active soldiers or civilians who died to protect others or to people who were killed because they refused to give away classified information."
"I see."
Just then the reached the Leaky Cauldron. Celia was going to hang out for a bit with Lilith because she was waiting for her aunt, who lived in Hogsmeade, to come pick her up. Celia was going to visit her aunt, uncle and little baby cousin who was only 3 years old. Lilith and Celia sat down on some of the navy poof chairs in the lounge area.
"What's your aunt like?" Lilith asked. She had never had any relatives of her own except her mother and grandparents and she loved to hear about other people's family.
"Well, she's really cool. Her name's Virginia, but everyone calls her Ginny, she's a reporter for the Daily Prophet"
"The Daily Prophet? What's that?"
"Oh, it's the name of the wizarding newspaper. My aunt Ginny writes the weekly commentary on what the Ministry did that week."
"Sounds fascinating," Lilith said sarcastically.
"I know it sounds boring, but she gets to interview all these people and travel a lot."
"Well, I guess that makes it a little bit better. You said she was married, right? What's your uncle do?"
"Oh, well, Uncle Nev used to be an Auror, that's what we call people who fight against the Dark Forces, but I think he's going to teach at Hogwarts next year."
"What subject? I think my mom's going to teach there too"
"Probably Herbology, they have this awesome garden in the back of their house. What about your mom?"
"Charms, I think she's also going to be the head of the Gryffindor House."
"Wow, that's really cool, what did you say your mom's name was again?"
Just then, Celia was interrupted by Hermione, who had just come downstairs looking for Lilith.
"Lilith," Hermoine called, "where in the world have you been? You're half an hour late."
"Calm down Mom, geez, I'm 15 years old; I can take care of myself, there's no need to be paranoid."
Hermione glared at her daughter, her hands on her hips, but was distracted by Celia running to the door to hug her aunt who had just arrived.
"Oof, Celia, calm down" Ginny said, taking a step backwards after being hugged by Celia, "It's nice to see you too, dear."
Hermione was staring at the woman who had just walked in through the door.
"Hey, guess what?" Celia asked her aunt. "I met a new friend today, she's going to Hogwarts too."
"Oh really? What's her name?"
"Lilith."
Ginny turned to look at Lilith, but was distracted by the woman standing a little behind her. Ginny opened and closed her mouth several times, having been rendered speechless by the shock. "Hermione? Is it really you?" Ginny asked, wrapping her arms around her long lost friend.

very good!
I like it very much!
Hurry up!

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really nice~~~ Hope you can add some translations for us~~ ^_^

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Chapter 4 - OBHWF
Celia and Lilith stared at the adults, confusion written on their faces.
"Wait a minute Lilith. Your mom is Hermione Potter?" Celia asked her friend incredulously.
"Yeah, but she's always called herself Granger," Lilith answered. "Anyway, what's so special about that."
"You don't know?"
"Know what?" Lilith asked, throwing her hands up into the air, "good god, it feels that everyone knows more about everything than I do."
"Your parents were two of the most famous wizards in our entire history."
"Well, I knew they were famous, but I didn't know that." Lilith said, her forehead creasing in thought. "Wow, were they really?"
"Absolutely, they were also honorary Weasleys."
"Um¡­honorary Weasleys?"
"My grandparents gave them honorary membership into my family, since neither of them really had parents. Well, your mom has parents, but they're Muggles."
"Wait a sec, if our families are really close, wouldn't I have known you." Lilith asked, "I did live in the magical world until I was 5, I told you that earlier."
"Actually, I think I did know you earlier. I didn't recognize you because you look a lot different from when you were 5, but I remember that I was good friends with Harry's daughter."
"So why didn't you remember my name?"
"Oh, I do now, but it wasn't on the top of my mind when I first met you. We don¡¯t talk about you often, in fact, talking about your family is a kinda taboo topic at family reunions, seeing as it usually makes everyone start to cry."
"Oh, what great news," Lilith said cynically.
"Yeah, it's really annoying, there are so many things that we aren't supposed to talk about at family reunions that it gets very very hectic, more so than one would expect with 50 wizards and witches gathered in one place, even when a large part of the family runs a practical joke shop."
Lilith laughed. "Wow, 50 relatives, how are there so many?"
"Well, I have 4 uncles, one aunt, one father, one mother, two grandparents, 10 cousins¡­"
"Yeah, I get the picture."
~*~

Meanwhile, Ginny had dragged Hermione off to a table in the corner, refusing to let go of her. They were talking, holding hands (actually, more like Ginny had a death grip on Hermione's arms), about where Hermione had been for the past 11 years.
"You were living in New York?" Ginny asked.
"Yes, I was resident doctor at one of the hospitals there."
"Why?"
"Well, I wanted to dedicate my life to saving others. I'd had my fair share of death."
"No, I mean, why New York?"
"Oh, I don't really know. I wanted to get out of England, and I'd never been to the U.S. so I decided to go there. I wasn't really thinking clearly at that time."
"So I noticed," Ginny said dryly. "Actually, we had a Weasley family meeting about whether or not to track you two down and drag you back home."
"I take it you decided not to."
"Actually, we still haven't decided. Fred and George figured that when you were ready to come home, you would, and they threatened to hex anyone who tried to find you."
"Well, I'm grateful to them."
"Why did you come back then? You certainly didn't tell any of us about it."
"It wasn't entirely my decision, Minvera McGonagall showed up at my house in late May offering me a job at Hogwarts teaching Charms and heading Gryffindor House. We talked for a long time about it and she convinced me to give it a try."
"Fantastic, Neville, you remember, my husband?"
"Of course I remember that you and Neville are married, I was your maid of honor. How could I forget that?"
"Just checking, anyway, he's going to be teaching Herbology. We have a house in Hogsmeade."
"Really? Lilith and I are going to go there once I find an apartment."
"Don't bother looking, Fred and George have a space above their joke shop they recently opened there, you two can stay there until school opens in 2 weeks. I take it you will be living at Hogwarts, right?"
"Of course, you think Minerva managed to run to Hogwarts that quickly from Hogsmeade to tell us to go to sleep when we were making too much noise?"
Ginny chuckled. "You've got a point there."
"I must admit though, I'm horribly nervous about all this coming home business. I still hadn't decided how to tell your family I was back. I was debating sending your parents a letter but everytime I sat down to write it, I chickened out.
"Why? What were you scared we would do?"
"I really don't know. I wasn't sure if you all would be mad at me for leaving for 11 years. I though you might think I was leaving because I was unwilling to fight and was now only coming back because it was safe."
"How could we ever think of you like that? Hermione, chicken out of a fight? Who was it who turned Malfoy into a snake and tied him around the top of the Quidditch goalpost during our 6th year when he insulted Neville? Who was it who was the one who motivated the rest of your Auror team whenever they were getting cold feet? Who was the one who didn't let Harry have a nervous breakdown after Ron's death?"
"Yeah, but you forgot one."
"What?"
"Who was it who sat still while Ron took that curse for Harry?"
Ginny stared Hermione in the eye. "I promise you that no one in my, no, our family has ever ever thought that about you. We have never resented the fact that you and Harry lived while Ron didn¡¯t."
"I know, I know," Hermione said, "but I couldn't bring myself to write that letter to Arthur, I was afraid I would die if that were the case."
"You wouldn't die, Hermione, even if that were the case, which it isn't. You are the strongest person I know of."
"No I'm not, I ran away from my problems, I ran away for 11 years."
Ginny sighed. "Hermione, my entire family supported your actions, we all thought that was the right thing for you to do if it was you wanted."
Hermione looked at Ginny quizzically. "Why?"
"You and Harry were the happiest couple I have ever seen. I never knew anyone more in love than you two. Do you remember your wedding?"
"Of course, how could I forget? It was the happiest day of my life."
"Well, do you remember what Sirius did?"
"He did a lot of things, not all of which were entirely appropriate for a man of his age."
"I'm talking about a specific incidence."
"Which one?"
"Remember when the minister asked the obligatory question requesting that if anyone had any reasons why you two shouldn't be married they should stand up now? Remember what Sirius said when he stood?"
Hermione began to grin.
"He said that you two shouldn't get married because you were too in love with each other and that anything that makes a person as deliriously happy as you two obviously were is usually a highly illegal and controlled substance."
Hermione laughed, a grin on her face. "Of course I remember that, and them Remus pulled him back down remarking that Sirius must be right, as Sirius was the expert on those sort of controlled and highly illegal substances."
Ginny starting laughing as well. After she regained her composure, she continued. "Anyway, my point was that you had just lost your most favorite thing in your life and you needed time away, time to yourself, time removed from anything that would make you unhappy." Ginny grimaced. "Now, no one in my family thought it would take 11 years, but we knew you were still alive and we didn¡¯t want to drag you back to a place you obviously didn't want to be."
~*~