"My head feels like an elephant tap danced on it ..." Harry said groggily into the inky blackness of his room. He heard someone breathing close by and tried to focus his eyes to see who it was. It took him a few minutes to realize that he needed glasses and patted around the bedside table before closing his fingers around the legendary frames that belonged to him. He slipped them gingerly upon the bridge of his nose and opened his eyes to a crystal clear room, still shrouded in darkness, but the faint light streaming from the star-filled sky outside the window provided enough to see the details that were hidden in his nearsighted, sleepy stupor.
Sitting in a chair and bent over to the side of the bed was none other than his dream girl, Hermione. Her bushy brown hair cascaded around her face like delicate silk and Harry marveled at her untroubled, serene face as she slept, blissfully unaware that he'd awoken.
Being the first, real quiet time he'd had since arriving in London some two weeks ago, Harry decided it would be best to review all that had happened since. His memories were still filled with those of Scott Walker's and whether this person truly existed was speculative at best, but it didn't explain the dream, or memory, he'd had while he was unconscious. Sitting in the chair across from him in that dream was probably the real Scott and if he was right, someone had transfigured him to look like the American. The memory transfer probably happened sometime afterwards and included everything up until his abduction.
Three years ago he remembered waking in a muggle hospital in Colorado Springs with no memory of how he had gotten there but apparently the story was a mugging along Old Colorado Boulevard. It struck him as funny when he had his wallet and money still on him. The last memory before that was loitering around the local air port waiting for his flight to Greece, boarding the plane, and landing in Athens. The branch office picked him up and everything went fuzzy after that.
Returning to the resurfaced memories, he realized that the woman in his dreams was indeed Hermione. They'd just returned from their honeymoon and he was recalled to the office by none other than Draco Malfoy. If the books were any indication of what he was supposed to have experienced then Malfoy had been a Death Eater at one point. He would have to see the journals that Tonks, a.k.a. J.K. Rowling, used to write them.
The second memory must have happened later that day or evening. Malfoy was bound and determined that there was someone still in the building and there was a bomb scare of some type associated with the investigation. The book rang out in his mind.
The RISE of the Dark Arts? The modified title echoed in his mind. "Hmm, according to the books, Voldemort was defeated ..." He said absently to himself. The sleeping form of Hermione shuddered awake at his voice and she looked up excitedly.
"Harry? You're awake?" She reached for his cheek with a trembling hand. "D-Do you remember anything else?"
Harry smiled at her and pressed his hand over hers then shook his head. "Nothing yet." He whispered quietly. "Though I have to say I could never get that image of you in that silk, black nighty out of my head."
Her eyes sparkled and the slightest smile spread across her lips. "I should hope not, Mr. Potter." She said teasingly. "It looks like we'll have to run another examination to see if Lockhart was able to do anything ..."
"That might be a good idea." He sighed as he pulled her hand from his face and clasped it between both of his. "I believe that I'm Harry Potter but I still have all of the memories of Scott Walker running rampant in my head ..."
"I'll be back with one of the healers and we'll see what we can find out." She said reassuringly as she stood from her chair. Hermione looked into his eyes and smiled softly. The contours of her face, the wrinkle between her eyebrows, the way her lip trembled, and the soft, sparkling light in her eyes told him everything he needed to know. The strongest was that he could trust her with his life because she loved him. The second was relief that they'd found each other once again.
Harry didn't have his memories of how they were able to read one another so well but it seemed as if the ability was never truly taken away. He smiled in return and let her know that his love for her had never wavered.
With the silent exchange finished, she turned to the door and called for someone. Within moments, a woman in what Harry thought could only be the wizarding world equivalent to scrubs stepped into the room. Her long red hair was tied back into a ponytail and she smiled at him as she turned on the lights.
"I understand that your memories still haven't returned so I'll introduce myself." She offered her hand and smiled brightly. "I'm Susan Boots, you would have known me as Susan Bones before you disappeared."
Harry took her hand and smiled as he remembered her name from the books. "I remember both surnames from what I've read, sorry that it's not from personal experience."
She laughed as she retrieved her wand. "It's perfectly fine, Harry. I'm sure we'll get all of that back soon enough." She raised her wand over his head and looked into his eyes intensely. "I'm going to run a diagnostic charm. It won't hurt but I need to maintain eye contact with you during the process. It will only take a few moments so please try not to blink." Harry nodded and blinked a few times to moisten his eyes before she spoke the incantation and tapped the top of his head gingerly. A few moments later she smiled and broke contact. "There we are." She looked over the image that had floated in front of him and nodded as she poked a few areas with her wand.
"That doesn't look normal." Hermione said as she watched the magical display update with each prodding.
"Susan, I don't remember the majority of my wizarding experience, but that black splotch here doesn't look healthy to me ..." Harry said as he pointed at an area of the display that was hidden from the healer.
Susan spun the display so she could examine what he'd indicated and sighed. "Well, there is good news, bad news, and troubling news. Which do you want first?"
Hermione slumped in the chair and stared at the display with wide eyes. "I can't believe anyone would do that ..." She said in disbelief.
Harry looked between the two women and rubbed his eyes. "Let's hit the troubling bit first."
Susan cleared her throat after conjuring another chair for her to sit in. "That black spot you found is a barrier charm. Usually, it's placed on convicts who are sentenced to life as muggles. It cuts off all wizarding magical abilities and essentially cuts them off from the wizarding world."
Harry nodded. "That doesn't explain why I was able to use Tom's wand to summon the Knight Bus, let alone find the Leaky Cauldron ..."
"I don't think the person who put this on you really knew the extent of your powers, Harry." Hermione said with a shaky voice. "It might only be powerful enough to keep you from casting spells ..."
"Or if it's been modified to kill me if I do, but the hex could have been sufficiently weak to allow me to sense the wizarding world." Harry finished. That explains all the feelings of being watched ... He added mentally.
"There are counter-curses for this particular spell, but it has to be analyzed and researched before we have the proper anti-charm to remove it." Susan said with a sigh. "That could take weeks ..."
"What's the bad news then?" He asked with determination in his voice.
"You see this green area here that covers the majority of the diagnostic?" She spun the display so they could see how far the colored area she indicated extended.
"That's quite a chunk of space." Harry said wide eyed. "Let me guess, the memory charm?"
"Got it in one." Susan said with a smile. "It's still in place but much more stable than when I first examined you."
"That means Lockhart didn't do a damn thing!" Hermione burst out angrily. "Just wait until I get my hands on that git!" Harry reached for her hand and as soon as he made contact she calmed.
"There's no use getting angry about it now. Ron did say that he wasn't reliable." Harry said reassuringly. "What's the good news?" He asked while still looking at Hermione.
"The good news? You won't die if you remember anything further." Susan said with a smile. "Lockhart removed that part of the curse perfectly but I believe the memory charm might just be too powerful for him to work with."
"If it's too powerful for Lockhart then we're talking someone with a lot of power." Hermione said as her face slipped into her analysis mode.
"Or a legilimency practitioner." Harry said matter-of-factly.
Hermione's head snapped up to look to him. "Why would you say that?"
Harry shrugged. "Just something I read from the books and a few theories on the Internet. Legilimency and Occlumency deal with the mind, right?" Hermione and Susan both nodded. "What if the person who put this memory charm on me used legilimency while they performed it?"
"I'm not sure how that could affect a memory charm ..." Susan said thoughtfully.
"It's possible that a sequence of memories could have been used as a key of sorts to lock his memory away." Hermione's eyes lit up at the prospect. "I'll have to research the idea, but it's possible."
"A combination lock and no telling what memories were used as the key ..." Harry sighed and looked at the display in front of him. "Or if they're even my memories ..."
"What do you mean?" Susan asked with a startled expression.
"Occlumency and Legilimency allow the practitioners to view the memories of the reader or target respectively." Hermione explained in her usual encyclopedic manner that she was famous for during her attendance at Hogwarts. "If the one or ones responsible for placing these charms on Harry forced him to view their thoughts during the casting process, they could use those thoughts as the combination to unlock Harry's memories."
"This isn't going to be easy, is it?" Harry asked as the diagnostic faded from view.
"Regaining your memories, even with a memory charm of this magnitude will happen naturally." Susan explained with the practice of a medical professional relaying comforting news to her patient. "You've already proven that it's possible with the dreams you've had. Given enough time, you'll remember everything."
"How long until I can leave, or can I?" Harry asked, afraid to hear the answer. He didn't want to be cooped up in some safe house like Anne Frank described in her diary.
"There have been some changes since you disappeared, Harry." Hermione explained cautiously. "The wizarding world isn't anything like what it used to be."
"I've read the books, how much different were they from what it's really like?"
"Oh, they were spot on, really." Susan said with a smile. "Tonks did a wonderful job of transcribing your journals into them."
"How many people know about my journals and that they were used to write these books?" Harry said, looking between the two women expectantly.
"Not many." Hermione admitted. "The Weasleys, except Percy and Ginny, Susan, Dumbledore, Hagrid, and myself. We kept it to the members of the Order that could be trusted."
"The Order of the Phoenix? What happened to the other members? What about the D.A.?" Harry asked quizzically. "I read about them, I don't remember them ..."
"The old Order died when Fletcher turned on us after you disappeared." Hermione said sadly. "We still don't know why his allegiance changed but as soon as he did, Moody, Tonks, and Shacklebolt were sacked by Fudge. Malfoy filled the power void and the Auror division became the militant right hand to the Minister.
"Things degenerated from then on. Several supporters of muggle rights disappeared and were found dead months later. New laws were passed that supported pure-bloods and made anyone of less stature second-class citizens." Hermione took a deep breath and looked to the floor. "They began sending muggle-born wizards and witches to training camps ... Harry, it seemed like World War II was starting all over again ..."
His mind was reeling at the news. "Concentration camps? Don't tell me that gas chambers were employed!" He felt his anger start to rise as he processed what this could mean.
"No, nobody has died yet." Susan said with a wan smile. "There have been a few that were released, but they've changed ... Almost as if they were inducted into the Death Eaters or another type of organization."
Hermione nodded her agreement. "Justin Finch-Fletchley was one of the ones that made it out. He went into Auror training immediately afterwards and should be finishing his training in a few months if the old training schedule hasn't changed."
"You've been able to stay hidden ..." Harry said quietly as one of his dreams entered his mind. "The emergency portkey?" He asked as he looked to Hermione.
She nodded. "A week after you disappeared, a squad of the new Auror Division arrived at our flat. The only thing that went through my mind was the emergency portkey when I saw how they were acting." She smiled slightly before continuing. "I had left it in my coat pocket in case I needed it while I was away from home and when they pulled their wands on me, I activated it." She squeezed his hand and looked into his eyes. "Next time, tell me how many jumps it takes you on. I was ready to vomit after the seventh teleportation!"
Harry flinched. "I don't remember setting that charm, but I'm sorry ..." He grinned apologetically and shifted slightly in the bed. "I assume I had that set so it would be difficult to trace where the portkey ultimately exited ..."
"It was impossible to trace the path. I know, I tried." Hermione said with a laugh. "It deposited me in Hogsmeade, close enough to Hogwarts so that I could warn the others. It didn't take long after notifying Albus, Hagrid, and Minerva before the first of them showed up. It was brilliant of you to use the map as the portkey because we were able to safely exit the castle undetected. The stash of invisibility cloaks you left in the tunnel helped as well."
"Was I paranoid or something?" Harry asked with a shake of his head.
"It gets much better." Susan said with a grin. "Nobody but Gringotts, you, and Hermione knew just how much money you had in your family vault and trust ..."
"As soon as you disappeared, there were several protocols that went into effect at the bank. All of our money transferred to a different vault along with the activation of several Fidelius Charms." Hermione continued. "Houses and flats all over the U.K. and in several other countries became unplottable and you were the only secret keeper. The only way we knew about them was a piece of parchment that Hedwig delivered to me when we arrived at Grimmauld Place."
"I would think that Grimmauld Place would have been rendered unsafe when Mundungus ... Wait, Dumbledore was the secret keeper for Sirius' house ... Fletcher couldn't have told anyone."
Hermione nodded. "They still can't find it, but we can't stay in one place for too long, the activity tends to draw Aurors to the area and they start patrolling the streets looking for anyone. The new Order rings are what keep us hidden from them when we need to."
Harry looked at the intricate, knotwork ring and smiled at its location. "I didn't notice that I put it on where my wedding ring used to be."
"That was your wedding band, Harry." Hermione said with a smile. She held up her hand and the female version of his ring was firmly in place where her wedding band should be. "I never took it off ... I refused to believe that you were dead." She smiled at him lovingly and it was all he could do to keep from pulling her into a hug.
Harry winked at Hermione and turned to Susan. "I'm starting to feel a bit tired ..." He said with a yawn then looked at Hermione.
She yawned as well and grinned at him. "Yawns are contagious!"
He laughed and smiled apologetically at Susan. "I need to get some sleep, could you make sure nobody disturbs me?"
Susan looked at the couple and smiled. "I'll leave you two to get some rest then." She stood and her chair disappeared. "I'll let the others know that you're fine, so far, and I'll get to work on that research. We need to find out how to remove that blocking charm, there's no telling what will happen if you try to cast a spell with it in place." She smiled again and left the room. Voices could be heard from the hall and Hermione made sure the door was firmly locked.
"I think the bed might need a resizing?" Harry asked with a mischievous grin.
Hermione returned the expression and with a wave of her wand, the bed doubled in size. "Are you sure about this?" She asked cautiously. "There's so much you don't remember ..."
Harry took her hand and directed her into the now empty space beside him. "What I don't remember, I'll have to relearn." He said with a smile. "I do know we are married and I know we've kissed at least once or twice ..." His eyes twinkled at her laugh. "I don't know if I'm the right man for you still, with these memories I have you only existed in a dream ... I do know that I Love you, Hermione ... I think that's why things didn't work when I was Scott ..." His face screwed up for a moment. "Was I actually born on July thirty-first?"
Hermione nodded. "In nineteen-eighty." She said quietly.
"Hold on, I'm not thirty-five?" He asked incredulously.
Hermione smiled and shook her head. "You're twenty-six."
"This is going to take some getting used to." He said with a grin. "If I've only been gone for three years, that means ... I never slept with Annie, I never really married her ..." His eyes lit up at the realization.
"I've been meaning to talk to you about that." Hermione said with a frown as she rolled to her side so she could face him. "Just what happened?"
He told her what he remembered from three years ago, his first memories after waking in the hospital and the ones before his missing time. Harry described his relationship with his ex-wife and how she'd grown distant from him after he'd been released from the hospital. There wasn't much to tell when it came to the marriage with Annie, she'd divorced him six months later and he moved to New York.
Hermione seemed relieved at what he'd told her and as he retold all that happened during the past three years of living another man's life, she had repositioned herself so her head was on his chest, her arm was around his midsection, and her top leg was resting on his thigh. Somewhere during the retelling, Harry noticed that her breathing had become slow and even and he looked down to see her sleeping face once again. He smiled to himself and kissed the top of her head, which seemed vaguely familiar along with the scent of her hair, and he pulled the blankets up over the two of them. He whispered, "Goodnight," before his own eyes betrayed him and his lead-weighted eyelids hid her angelic visage from him.