Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews, guys! Please be sure to read the author's note at the bottom of the chapter!)
Chapter 17
Possession
"Listen as the wind blows from across the great divide
voices trapped in yearning, memories trapped in time
the night is my companion, and solitude my guide
would I spend forever here and not be satisfied?"
(Sarah McLachlan "Possession")
"She's awake, Harry," Karen repeated.
Harry took in this news as Fred, George, Ginny, Ron and Kit got excitedly to their feet.
Hugs were exchanged and people patted each other on the back. Harry, happy as he was at the news, couldn't help but notice Karen's tear-stained face and puffy eyes.
"How is she?" he asked her, but he had a feeling what the answer was.
"She, um, didn't know me from Adam," Karen said sadly. "I'm her mother, for heaven's sake! And she didn't know who I was!"
"I'm sorry," Harry said, opening his arms and Karen willingly collapsed against him.
"Sirius told us what had happened, but I never in a million years prepared myself for how it would feel to have her look at me and not know who I was," Karen sobbed.
"I know how you feel," he said, patting her on the back. "It nearly killed me when I first saw her a few months back and she didn't have any clue as to who I was."
Karen let go of Harry and nodded. Kit went to her side and put a comforting arm around her. Karen smiled half-heartedly at her.
"She wants to remember," Harry told her. "She really does. It's just going to take some time."
"This is too much," Karen said. "It seems so surreal."
"She's back with us," Harry said. "Just concentrate on that. She's alive and she's back with us. And she wants to get her memory back. She wants that more than anything. We just have to be there for her and help her anyway we can."
Karen nodded. "Thank you, Harry. I'm glad that she's had you."
"If it wasn't for-," Harry began, but Karen cut him off.
"Don't say that," Karen said. "Sirius was right. If it wasn't for you, we wouldn't have her back with us. Don't listen to any of that Harry. My daughter loves you and always has. It's hard for Robert, but he'll come around."
"I hope so," Harry said meaningfully.
"He will," Karen said. "Don't you worry about that now, though. Go to Hermione. She needs you now."
He nodded and with a slight smile at the group, he walked back through the double doors.
When he made it down the hall to her room, he looked at her before walking into the room. She was sitting up in bed, her hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail and she was…crying. She looked lost and his heart broke just looking at her.
"Hey," he said knocking on the door. She looked up expectantly and despite her sadness she smiled broadly when she saw him. She quickly wiped away the tears from her face and tried to appear calm and collected.
"Hey," she whispered, letting him give her a warm, tight embrace. She pressed her cheek to his shoulder. "What happened, Harry? What happened with my fa-, I mean, with Simon."
"He's in Azkaban," Harry said.
She crinkled up her nose in confusion. "Azka-what?"
"Azkaban," Harry repeated. "The wizarding prison. Sirius dropped him off a few hours ago. I don't think he'll ever see the light of day again. He'll be there a long time. He'll never hurt you again."
"He did a good enough job while he had the opportunity," Hermione said sarcastically. "I still can't believe any of this is real."
Harry took her hands in his. "I know this is hard for you, but you're not alone in this, you know that, right?"
She nodded. "I feel like you're all I can count on now. You're all that I know."
"It'll come back to you," Harry said encouragingly.
"But, what if it doesn't?" she asked. "I mean, that woman who was in here when I woke up, she was my mother, right? She didn't say so, but when I woke up, she was standing over me and she was crying and I didn't know who she was. She started to cry again and I didn't know what to do or what to say. I didn't mean to hurt her feelings or make her upset, Harry. I just don't know where I fit in anymore or where I belong."
"Hey," Harry said, getting up from the chair and wrapping his arms around her. "It's okay. Your mom's a great lady. She knows this is going to be hard for you. She understands. We all do. And as to where you fit in, Miss Granger, you will always fit with me. Okay?"
She nodded and he leaned in and softly kissed her lips.
"I love you," she whispered, resting her forehead against his.
"I love you, too," he said. They stayed like that for a few moments, just enjoying the healing power of being together and enjoying the closeness.
"How do you feel?" he asked her a few moments later.
"Like I have the worst headache in the world," she said. "Luckily, I have a pretty thick skull."
"Well, I would say hard-headed," he said cheekily.
"Well, don't think that just because I'm in this hospital bed, I can't still knock you out," Hermione said. "Just you wait until I get all that magic training back, and you'll wish you were never born, Harry Potter."
"That's my girl," Harry said, laughing. "I look forward to it."
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A few minutes later, Hermione and Harry were interrupted from their chat by a knock on the door. The healer, Sean, came into the room, followed by Hermione's parents. Sean extended a hand to his patient and smiled at her.
"Well, it's nice to meet The Hermione Granger," Sean said, shaking her hand. "I've heard loads about you, of course."
"Can you share it with me, then?" Hermione asked. "I need all the help I can get."
Sean chuckled. "Well, I think there are a few more people more qualified to help you with that. Hermione, these are your parents. This is Robert Granger."
Robert stepped forward and smiled at his daughter. Hermione looked up at him and her lower lip trembled as she looked at him.
"Hey, sweetie," Robert said, giving her a hug. Hermione looked nervously at Harry and hesitantly put her arms around her dad. She smiled half-heartedly at him. Robert stepped back and allowed his wife to come closer.
"And this," Sean said, motioning toward Karen, "is your mother, Karen Granger."
Karen didn't say anything, but went to her daughter's side and gave her a hug, too.
"I'm sorry," Hermione said, crying again. "I'm sorry about earlier."
"It's okay," Karen said, tears falling down her own cheeks again. She cupped her daughter's face in her hands. "It's not important now. You're back with us. That's all that matters."
Hermione smiled. "Thank you."
"Well, Hermione," Sean said. "I don't know how much Harry has told you, but you sustained a head injury that we were able to treat with some old medical charms and some potions that we were able to inject into your bloodstream. It was a little touch and go for a while, but I think you're going to be okay."
"Thank you," Hermione said. "Thank you for helping me."
"My pleasure," Sean said. "We need to discuss now where you'll be staying."
Harry was about to speak up when Robert beat him to the punch, so to speak.
"She'll be staying with us, of course," Robert interjected. At his words, Hermione visibly cringed.
"Dr. Granger," Harry began. "I really don't think-"
"I don't give a damn what you think, Harry," Robert said coldly. "My daughter is going to recover from this without your help."
Robert looked back at his wife. "We can rent a place here, like we talked about, Karen. We can close up the practice for awhile, until Hermione's back on her feet. Then, we'll bring her back home to Atlanta with us."
Hermione watched as this man---a man, she had no recollection of---planned out where she'd be spending her life. She stared at him in disbelief.
"Pardon me," Hermione said, looking at Robert. "You want me to stay with you?"
"Well, of course," Robert said, as if it was the most natural thing in the world. "I think that would be best."
He gave his daughter a condescending look before turning back around to talk to Sean. This only infuriated Hermione
even more.
"I'm sorry, but I am going to have to disagree with you," she said.
Robert turned back around and Hermione could see a look of shock and utter amazement on his face.
"This isn't really open for discussion," Robert said calmly.
"Yes, I believe it is open for discussion," Hermione said. "I don't mean to be blunt, here, but you act as if I'm five years old! I'm sorry, but I don't have any memory of who you are. I know you don't want to hear that, but I don't. And now you want me to live with you, but I just don't think I can."
"Hermione," Robert interrupted.
"Let me finish," she said, holding up her hand. "Four years ago, I woke up in a hospital in North Carolina, not having a clue as to how I got there or who I was. There was a man there who filled in all the blanks for me."
"Surely, you don't think I'm anything like-"
"Please, let me finish," Hermione said. "I'm not the same person I was four years ago. Things are different this time. The one person that I trust and the one person I feel safe with is Harry. And I know you might not want to hear that and you might not understand it, but that's the way it is. I love him and I believe in him just as he believes in me and loves me. And I'll be damned if you're going to take that away from me."
"I'm not a child anymore," she continued, her cheeks flushed with anger. "You can't tell me what to do or who I can see! And you might not like the decision I have made, but I hope you'll respect it. I want you to be a part of my life, I really do! I want to know both you and my mother again, but it's going to be on my terms, not yours."
"Hermione," Robert said.
"Drop it, Robert," Karen spoke up. "Just let it go for once. If you keep this up, you're going to push her away. You can't do that when we've got her back."
"Do you even care what he's done to you?" Robert said, motioning angrily at Harry, ignoring his wife's plea.
"Yes, I do," Hermione said. "He's taken care of me. He's cared about me. He loves me. That's what he's done for me."
At these words, Harry pushed gently past her father and took Hermione's hands in his.
"If she accepts," Harry said, looking at Hermione. "I'd like her to stay with me."
"I'd like that," Hermione said, smiling up at him.
Robert opened his mouth to say something, but Karen put an arm on his shoulder. She looked pleadingly at him to not mess up the gift they'd been given---their daughter was back with them. It might not have been the reunion they'd have wanted, but it was a reunion, nevertheless. They had their daughter back and they didn't need to mess it up by pushing her away.
Robert reluctantly nodded and grasped his wife's hand tightly before turning back around to face his daughter.
"I'm not a bad person, Hermione," Robert said stoically. "Someday, I hope that you will be a parent. It'll be the most important responsibility and job you'll ever have in your life. You try and do what's best for your child and you never stop worrying about them. I lost you four years ago and it was the worst experience I've ever gone through in my life. We've been given this incredible gift---getting you back. I don't want to lose you again and I'm afraid that if you stay with this man that's exactly what's going to happen."
"I know you care about me," Hermione said. "I can't even imagine what it was like for you and I'm sorry that what happened caused you pain and grief. This is just as hard on me as it is on you. I have all these people coming in here talking to me and looking into my eyes, expecting me to know who they are and I don't. I hate the pain that causes them. I want to remember so badly, but I can't. It's the most frustrating thing that I'm not sure anyone can understand."
"But you weren't alone in your grief," she said. "Harry was hurting, too. He never meant for any of this to happen. When he found out where I was, he dropped everything to find me. You're acting as if he's done all of this on purpose, but you couldn't be further from the truth! I want to get to know you again, both of you. I want you to be part of my life. But, you have to recognize and accept that Harry is a part of my life, too. Please don't ask me to choose, because you won't be happy with my answer."
Robert stared at his daughter for a long time. Karen, in turn, was staring at her husband, silently willing him to accept their daughter's wishes.
"You're going to have to give me some time," Robert finally said.
"Take all the time you need," she said.
To her amazement, Robert extended his hand toward Harry.
"I'm sorry, Harry," Robert said.
"Me, too," Harry said, shaking his hand.
"Thank you," Hermione said softly.
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Later that day, Harry relented to go back to his own flat to get some rest. Hermione told him half-mockingly and half-seriously that he looked like death warmed over and he needed to get some sleep. He didn't want to leave her, but she begged him to get some rest.
He went back to his flat, which had been empty for months. He looked at the mound of owl post that was waiting on his coffee table and just shook his head. He walked past the letters and went into the bathroom to take a nice, long shower.
Following his shower, he pulled on a pair of pajama pants and fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.
A few hours later, he woke up and was just going through some of the post when the doorbell rang. He was surprised to see a pair of guests. The surprise being that they were the last two people he'd ever expected to see together.
"This has to be a sign of the Apocalypse," Harry said, ushering his guests inside.
(Author's note: Don't throw stones at the writer---I know it's another cliffhanger, but I had to do it!!! I'm addicted to the cliffhanger. Is there a support group for us? Hello, my name is Amy and I am addicted to cliffhangers. Can anyone help me???? To make up for this, I wanted to let you all know---those of you who enjoyed my first fan fiction "All Along"-I will be writing a one-shot Christmas companion piece to that-full of fluff and no cliffhangers! I hope to post it soon!)