Accio Memory - Chapter Two
"Would you like to take a walk?"
Hermione crossed her arms over her chest and scowled at him, something Harry had gotten very used to over the past two days since she'd lost her memories. "Take a walk? I thought I had to stay here, for my own safety," she scoffed.
Reminding himself to be patient, Harry suppressed a sigh. "You have to stay at Hogwarts, Hermione, because there are people out there that you wouldn't be able to defend yourself against now that you don't know magic, and you haven't been allowed to leave the Hospital Wing alone because you would get very, very lost. I know you know I'm right, even if you don't want to admit it."
Her eyes flashed dangerously, and Harry took a step back, bracing himself. "Oh, but I can leave with you because you're my brave, noble protector and nothing could harm me with you around."
Don't snap at her, Harry. She's angry with the situation, not you.
"Do you want to get out of the Hospital Wing or not?"
Hermione eyed him warily, sitting back against the pillows of her bed. "Where would we go?"
Harry shrugged. He hadn't thought beyond convincing her to take a walk with him. "Wherever you want to go, I guess. I could show you the castle, the grounds…I could take you to the library," he suggested. Books - now that would jog her memory.
"I'd like to go outside," she said tentatively, swinging her legs over the side of the bed. "You said we used to spend a lot of time by the lake, didn't you?"
Harry nodded, fighting off a wave of nostalgia. "I did."
He watched her put on her shoes - how could she not remember those familiar Mary Janes? - and led her out of the room.
~
"Harry?"
"Yes?"
"Why can't I go home?" she asked. Harry looked at her. She stared straight ahead as the breeze sent her hair flying about.
Harry sighed, not knowing how to explain without frightening her. "You can't leave Hogwarts grounds, Hermione. For one thing, if you're ever going to get your memories back, it's probably going to require magical treatment."
"You never did tell me what happened to me."
Harry focused his eyes on the trees across the lake, tensing at the question. A part of him wanted very much to tell Hermione exactly why she was there…but he didn't want to turn her against one of her best friends before the prat had even worked up the nerve to visit her.
"It was a magical accident."
"That doesn't tell me much," Hermione said with annoyance. "What really happened to me?"
He decided to tell her the truth - most of it, anyway. "Someone wanted to give you a potion to help you relax, and it didn't work quite the way he'd anticipated."
"…Not the way he'd anticipated? Is that your way of saying that - whoever this was - buggered everything right up?"
Harry almost smiled. "Well, it did make you forget everything you were stressed about."
"And everything else," she replied darkly. They strolled on in silence for a few moments before she spoke again. "Who did it?"
Harry's step faltered and she noticed. "I'd really rather not say."
Hermione tilted her head and looked owlishly at him, her eyes sharp. "Was it you?"
"No," Harry said evenly. "If you really must know, it was Ron."
Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Ron? The supposed best friend that I have yet to meet?"
"I reckon he would have been by to see you if it wasn't for me," Harry told her, privately glad that Ron had kept his distance. Not only would Ron have made it that much more difficult to reason with Hermione, but also Harry felt that Ron didn't deserve to see her or have his conscience consoled by the knowledge that Hermione was, memories aside, perfectly fine.
"You're very angry with him, aren't you?" Hermione said, stopping and forcing Harry to cease walking and turn to face her.
"Of course I am. What kind of stupid prat slips a potion into his friend's morning coffee?" Harry ranted, relieved to finally be saying this to someone, even if Hermione probably wasn't the best person to hear it. "All because he wanted you to stop bothering him, not really out of genuine concern! And in the process he - he…"
Harry faltered and shut his mouth before he could say what he was going to - he took you away from me.
"He what, Harry?" Hermione asked gently. It amazed Harry how much it sounded like the Hermione he knew.
"He made this happen," Harry said evasively. "I'm having a hard time forgiving him."
Hermione nodded and looked down at the ground. "This has really been hurting you, hasn't it?"
Harry shrugged, though his indifference was a lie. Of course it had been hurting him. If it had been anyone else - even if it had been Ron - Harry would have been in much better shape, so long as Hermione had been there to comfort and guide him. Hermione would have known what to do. And now, thanks to Ron's poor judgment, she was gone - and the rift that this had caused between he and Ron now left him completely alone.
"I'm sorry…if we're as close as you say, I'm sure you must miss me…whoever I am now," she said, reaching to squeeze his hand in such a way that for a moment Harry thought he saw the old Hermione looking back at him…and then she took her hand away, and it was gone.
"You're not very different," he said with a slight smile that faded as soon as he continued. "You just don't remember me."
~
"So…tell me more about Hogwarts," Hermione said as they settled themselves down underneath "their tree." "What sorts of things do they teach here?"
"All sorts of things," Harry began, happy that she was becoming more interested in learning about magic. "Charms, Transfiguration, Potions, Defense Against the Dark Arts -"
"Dark Arts? What sort of things are those?"
Harry shifted uneasily. They were wandering into territory that he didn't want to get into just yet. "Well, you know. Dark magic. Mean-spirited magical creatures. Things like that."
"You mean like 'black magic?' Bringing people back from the dead and things like that?"
Harry almost laughed. "Um, no, not really a lot of necromancy going around. It's more hexes and jinxes…curses meant to injure, cause pain, control, or…kill."
Hermione's eyes widened. "All that goes on often in the wizarding world?"
Harry nodded grimly. "It's…it's like the Muggle world. A lot of times, it's peaceful, and there are a lot of good people. But there are bad ones, too. And you have to know how to protect yourself."
"That's the real reason I can't leave, isn't it?" Hermione said with her usual astuteness. "Because I won't be able to protect myself."
Harry braced himself, sensing a confrontation. "It's not that anyone thinks you're weak, Hermione. You're the most powerful witch I know. It's just that you can't remember anything to protect you from magic, and there are people out there that would love very much to take advantage of that. You need to stay here, where you're safe. There's nothing to protect you at your parents' house."
Hermione crossed her arms over her chest and stared at the castle in the distance. "I don't see why I would matter to anyone out there. I can't be that important."
Harry sighed. "You have no idea."