Chapter Three
Ron watched stoically as Hermione walked through security, the complex Muggle machines proclaiming both her and her baggage safe. He couldn't help but snort to himself, even though he knew the Muggles found it reassuring after a terrible tragedy had killed thousands of people the previous year. A simple spell could undo all those safety measures, and yet they wouldn't let Hermione carry on a bottle of water anymore.
She turned and waved from the other side, and Ron thought—or hoped— she might be holding back tears. He felt them in the back of his eyes as well: tears of frustration, of loss, of heartbreak. She was moving to Australia—she was really leaving him. He had got down on bent knee and proposed, and she had rejected him. He was at such a loss to understand it all that for a moment he questioned their entire relationship.
And yet…he loved her. He would marry her. He felt it in his heart: his father was right, and this was the answer. He was more determined than ever now. Hermione was leaving because she didn't have anything keeping her in London. He hadn't offered her anything until it was too late, which meant now he needed to make up for it.
Ron was sorely tempted to simply cast a Disillusionment Charm and follow Hermione onto the plane and to Australia right then, but he knew she'd be furious to find him deceiving the Muggle transportation system with magic. He knew her that well, at least. He had to get to Australia, but he had to do it legitimately.
He couldn't purchase a ticket, since he had no Muggle money. And he knew from Hermione's experience that tickets were desperately expensive at the last minute. He also had no idea how to go about purchasing a ticket without Hermione's help, if he could somehow get enough Muggle money to do so. And if he were honest with himself, he didn't really like the idea of flying either, since the 21-hour flight to Sydney sounded excruciatingly dull. So the airplane was out; he'd have to find another way to Australia.
Hermione was gone. He could no longer see her. Turning around, he made his way through the terminal alone. His father had left with the car, no doubt assuming Ron would eventually Apparate back to the Burrow with Hermione wearing her new ring. Ron couldn't face him and the rest of his family and tell them what had happened. Taking his father's advice had only made the situation worse anyway, so he needed to figure out what to do for himself. Making his way out of the airport, Ron hurried toward a large concrete pillar, stepped behind it, and Apparated back to the flat he shared with Harry—at least until a week ago.
Harry was married now, and all his belongings were gone, waiting to be unpacked at the new place he would share with Ginny when they returned from their short honeymoon trip. The quiet emptiness of the flat only made Ron feel worse, as if not only his girlfriend but his best friend had left him as well. He knew it was a ridiculous thing to think, but it was dark and silent and he felt completely alone.
Grabbing a bag from the closet, Ron threw a few bits of clothing in it, determined to change things. He found his stash of Galleons and stuffed them in his pocket. He scribbled a quick note to his parents and whistled for Pig; tying the note to his leg, he gave him a treat, rubbed his head, and sent him to the Burrow so his family would at least know where he was. He owed them that much.
Glancing around one last time, Ron noticed a package on the table he hadn’t seen before. He unwrapped it and found a book. Not just any book—he chuckled when he saw that it was Hogwarts, A History. He didn’t even have to read the note to know it was from Hermione. For some reason, it made him feel better. He was doing the right thing.
On impulse, Ron tucked the book into his bag. Grabbing some Floo powder, he tossed it into the fireplace and stepped onto the hearth. "The Ministry of Magic!" he shouted, and found himself whisked away to his former workplace. Stepping out into the new atrium, he dusted himself off and hurried toward the security wizard, wand ready.
"Good morning, Mr. Weasley!" boomed the short, stout man who examined his wand. "Nice to see you back in these parts. May I ask your destination, or have you decided to join us again?"
"I'm heading to the Portkey office, Wynston," Ron replied, taking his wand and replacing it in his robes.
"A trip, I assume?" Wynston asked, motioning at his bag.
"Hopefully!" Ron called, moving toward the lifts. He took the nearest one to the sixth floor and walked quickly to the Portkey office. He wistfully remembered a time when his Auror status had granted him full authority for creating Portkeys when needed. Yet even if he were still an Auror, international Portkeys required multiple ministry permissions.
As he explained his destination to the witch behind the desk, she nodded. A Quicksilver Quill wrote out his destination route – London to Berlin to Moscow with a rest stop until morning, then Hong Kong to Singapore with another rest stop, and finally Sydney. Australia was simply too far for a single Portkey, and multiple Portkeys in one day required a certain number of rest periods to allow for the witch or wizard to recover from so many compressions and decompressions.
Ron was lucky: the last Portkey to Berlin was leaving within the hour. He thought about sending a message to George through the Floo network calling cubicles across the hall, but decided against it. If he stopped to think about what he was doing, he might not be able to go through with it. Instead, he sat in the waiting room of the International Portkey Office, his leg bouncing nervously.
Ron had never left the country on his own before; he was surprised to find it was such an easy, if slightly expensive, thing to do. A few other witches and wizards waited with him, each bound for an international destination.
When it was time for his Portkey, he shared it with a portly middle-aged woman who told him she was on her way to visit her sick mother in Italy. He nodded politely, awkwardly expressing his condolences, but hoping she wouldn't ask about his own traveling plans. He was glad when the Portkey began to glow before she could. He soon felt the unmistakable pull of magic as he was sucked across Europe toward the first leg of his journey.
In Berlin, he had to wait briefly for the last Portkey of the day to Moscow, which he shared with an old Russian couple and their dog. They were obviously returning home after an extended stay on the French coast, for they were plump and tan and extremely chatty. Ron had never paid attention to what it was like when someone talked through a Portkey jump; he distantly heard the old woman prattling on about their stay at some wizarding resort, her voice garbled by magic.
It was the middle of the night in Moscow, and the next Portkey wasn't scheduled to leave until sunrise. The required rest stop in Moscow found Ron scouring the Russian Portkey office for something to eat instead of sleeping. He found a plate of stale kolachy and a several varieties of vodka, each of which he decided were far worse than anything he had ever had, even at the Hog's Head. He spit out the first, earning him a sour look from the bald wizard minding the office. He barely stomached the second, and poured the rest of it into a nearby plant instead.
After waiting an excruciating three hours, unable to even doze with so much on his mind, Ron took yet another Portkey to Hong Kong, and from there to Singapore. He was starting to feel the effects of the constant compression and a night without sleep and was glad for the rest stop in Singapore, managing a restless nap on a couch in the shabby Portkey office even though it was mid-morning there. He took the final Portkey to Sydney alone. Sixteen hours after he had left the Ministry of Magic in Britain, Ron found himself in the Australian Ministry of Magic International Portkey office.
He had beat Hermione by more than half a day.
Six international Portkeys were a lot to handle for anyone, and in spite of the break in Moscow and a brief nap in Singapore, Ron felt the effects immediately as he swayed on the spot. A young witch was there immediately and guided him to a plump chair. He put his head in his hands as a wave of nausea swept over him; when he looked up, the witch was offering him a glass of water.
"Here you go, sir. Welcome to Sydney."
"Thanks," Ron mumbled. He downed the glass and handed it back with what he hoped was a smile and not a grimace. She nodded knowingly as she went to get him a second glass.
"First time coming to Australia, Mr. Weasley?" she asked.
Ron looked up in surprise. "How did you know my name?" he asked.
"Portkey offices communicate traveler lists, of course. For security reasons." She was a pretty witch, with straight blond hair pulled back with a large flower and a nice smile. Her blue eyes were studying him through square glasses, and he vaguely wondered if everyone received such personal attention upon arriving in Sydney, or just him.
"Of course," he murmured. He was quiet as he took some deep breaths, finished his drink, and stood. He still felt a bit unsteady, but was determined to walk it off.
"May I help you with anything else, Mr. Weasley?" the witch asked. "Do you know where you are heading?"
"Actually," Ron said, grinning sheepishly at her, "I don't. I know the address, but that's about it."
"And you don't feel up to Apparating, I assume?" she asked, taking the slip of paper with the Grangers' home address on it from him. “Most people don’t after a trip like that.”
"Not at the moment, no," he confessed. "I don't suppose you have any other means of magical transportation I might take?"
The witch frowned. "But this is a Muggle neighborhood, Mr. Weasley."
"I know," he replied. "I'm going to visit my…" He stopped, unsure whether to refer to Hermione as his friend, girlfriend, or fiancée; he wasn't sure if she was any of them at the moment. "I'm going to visit my girlfriend's parents," he finished.
He thought the witch looked either surprised or disappointed, but then her face lit up. "Are you going to ask them if you can propose? Oh, that's lovely!" She actually clapped her hands together. "How romantic."
Ron sighed. "Well, we'll see about that. I already asked her once and it didn't go well, so I'm hoping I get a second chance."
The pretty blond witch stuck out her hand. "My name is Katherine Kelly, but you can call me Kate. I'd be happy to help you with anything you need here in Sydney. Anything." Ron tried not to react to her emphasis on the word anything; he didn't want to jump to conclusions.
"Er, thanks, Ms. Kelly," he replied. "But I just need to get to her parents’ house."
"Of course," Kate replied, nodding understandably. "Will you want flowers, chocolates, anything else? You can't go empty-handed, you know."
"Well, she's not in yet," said Ron, shrugging helplessly. "Although, I suppose it might be nice to bring her mum something."
Kate narrowed her eyes. "How is she not in yet? A later Portkey?"
"No, she's flying. On an airplane." Ron shrugged again, unsure why the Portkey witch was so interested in Hermione's travel plans.
"Oh, that's right, she's Muggle-born. Of course," Kate murmured. "Well, if you've beat her, then you have some free time. Would you like to get something to eat before you head out to Balmain? I'd be happy to show you around."
Ron swallowed, unsure what to say. On one hand, he was starving, Kate seemed perfectly nice, and he knew nothing about getting around Sydney when he didn't have the strength to Apparate. On the other, he knew how inappropriate it was to have dinner with another woman before proposing to his girlfriend again, and something was niggling at the back of his brain. He shook his head. "Thanks, but I think I should head straight there and get some rest."
"Of course," she replied, and she didn't seem bothered at all. "Let me get you a taxi, at least. It will cost a bit more, but it will be easier than trying to navigate the trains on your own."
"As long as you can change my currency," Ron said, following her from the office. "Otherwise I won't be able to pay them."
"We've got a currency exchange just down the hallway. Follow me."
After changing his Galleons for Australian dollars, Kate led him through the Australian Ministry for Magic. Unlike the British offices, which were deep underground, the Australian Ministry appeared to be in a high rise in the middle of Sydney. Either that or the windows had exceptionally strong Landscape and Weather Charms on them. Kate assured him it was the real view after catching him glancing out yet another window.
Other than that, it seemed very similar to the British Ministry, and Ron tried not to stare too much as they took a lift down and made their way out to the street. As in London, dozens of Muggles walked right by the building, blissfully uninterested thanks to a myriad of spells that convinced them there was simply nothing interesting to see. No one even seemed surprised to see them step out from the double doors of an abandoned building; he almost felt invisible.
Kate held out her hand for a taxi, and soon a white sedan pulled over. Ron gave the driver the slip of paper with the Grangers' address. He turned to thank Kate but she waved him off.
"It's no trouble, Mr. Weasley. And please call me Kate."
"Well, thanks, Kate," he said. "I really appreciate it."
To his surprise, she handed him a small square card. It had her name printed on it under International Portkey Office, though it seemed blurry in the bright sunlight. "Please call me if you need anything else, Ron. Any help whatsoever."
Again Ron noticed the odd inflection on her final words and wondered if she was hinting at something else, or if he was so tired and hungry he was imagining things. He just nodded as she closed the door and tapped the roof of the taxi. The driver pulled out into the traffic, and Ron settled back with a sigh. He closed his eyes as he thought about what he would say to Hermione's parents when he arrived. He tried not to imagine their reaction—or worse, Hermione's reaction when she realized he had followed her halfway across the world.
He did not notice the dark shape that followed the taxi out into Sydney traffic. Katherine Kelly, however, did.
* * *
The Journey Back by Gmariam
Chapter Endnotes: Thank you to Julia/theopaleye for her help with all sorts of things Australian! I really appreciate it. :)
In case you were wondering, there is no quick resolution to this story. I hope you enjoy the ride!