Hermione stared out the kitchen window to the crashing waves of the ocean only a few hundred meters from the house. Something about the area where Augustus grew up calmed her down better than just about any other place. When they stayed behind in France for their first days alone, he'd rented a cottage near the ocean. They could hear the sounds of the waves crashing against the beach, the birds squawking above. It had been so peaceful. Many times in the years since she would close her eyes and try to picture every beautiful detail of those weeks.