A/N: Well, here we are, kids, the last chapter of a work that's taken me more than a year to crank out. A bit pathetic for only 12 chapters, but still. I sincerely thank those of you who have stuck through it all with me and I hope this concluding chapter makes up for the long waits between updates.
Disclaimer: I own nothing of what is written here….Well, maybe a little bit.
Chapter 12~ You Say You Want a Resolution
Hermione came to by degrees, first registering a dull ache in her head and then the grasp of a clammy hand in her own. She forced her heavy eyelids open and blinked at the comparatively bright light of a room she recognized as being in St. Mungo's. To her right she noticed that Harry was resting his head on the edge of her hospital bed and he tightly held onto her right hand. She reached over with her other hand to ruffle his already unruly raven hair, hoping to clear the frown he wore, and stared up at the ceiling.
Her movement startled Harry awake and his head popped up instantly.
"Hermione, you're awake!" he exclaimed, all traces of drowsiness replaced with concern. "How are you feeling?" he asked, reaching up with his free hand to cup her cheek, his eyes worriedly scanning her face.
He held her right hand to his lips as she brought her free one to her forehead. "Like I've been thrown under a stampede of raging hippogriffs, actually," she answered with a slight attempt at humor. Despite the pain in her head, having Harry by her side somehow made her feel better.
He smiled to credit her feeble joke before his face regained the same concerned expression. "How much do you remember?" he asked with some apprehension.
Considering his question, she closed her eyes and groaned as her mind was flooded with memories of what had transpired before she'd lost consciousness-how she had discovered Persephone had been the one behind the murders and it was only because of her Mnemomagus power that Hermione hadn't been able to thwart her until the fourth victim. The deluge ceased as abruptly as it began.
Luna! she thought, sitting up sharply.
"What happened to Luna?" she demanded somewhat frantically, ignoring his question for the time being and trying to rise from the bed. She looked down and through her haze of panic she noted that she had been put into some rather plush hospital garments-the kind usually reserved for permanent patients. Fingers of dread percolated up to her throat at the notion that maybe she had been unconscious for quite a long time.
Harry restrained her from rising and set about pacifying her fear of Luna's safety. "She's okay, Ron's with her. He's been coming by every day to see you, so he should be here soon."
"And the baby?" she prodded further.
Harry nodded his head. "Both are fine. Ron and the Healers arrived not long after I did," he explained.
Hermione sank back into her pillows, expelling a sigh of relief. Suddenly a new fear plagued her, one she was much more afraid to voice. "Harry," she said in almost a whisper, "How long have I been asleep?" She looked him straight in the eye, realizing that if his green irises were so perfectly offset by the bloodshot whites, he must have been keeping vigil by her bed for quite a while.
With the most serious tone she had every heard him use, he replied, "Twenty-three days, fourteen hours, and-" he glanced down at his watch, "thirty seven minutes."
Although she had been Petrified for far longer second year, Hermione could see from the visible effects of her unconsciousness in Harry's strained jaw muscles and the fact that he had the beginnings of a beard on his face that he was more affected this time. She felt a wealth of emotion for him all of a sudden, sitting there at her bedside as she slumbered through the weeks, but more than anything she felt horrible for causing him additional pain. His must have been the arms that caught her as she was passing out.
"Oh Harry, I'm so sorry!" she cried, tears glistening in her eyes and then traveling down her face in torrents of guilt. She didn't even care that her tears combined with how frizzy her hair must have become throughout her stay in the wizarding hospital must have made her look quite a fright.
The dark-haired wizard looked startled at his girlfriend's unanticipated mood-swing. He immediately got into bed beside her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. "Don't be sorry, Hermione, this was all my fault."
"Your fault?!" Hermione raised her head from where she was leaving wet stains on his shirt and stared at him with genuine confusion. "Harry, how was any of this your fault?"
"Well, Persephone was my partner the entire time, and if I would have realized sooner who and what she was, we could have avoided this entire thing. Or if I had gotten to you at Luna's sooner, you wouldn't be here in this bed right now," Harry said with anger that Hermione was sure he was directing at himself. He had also been the one to say Persephone's name first; Hermione wasn't sure she could process it all just yet.
She laid a hand on his chest clenching the cloth of his shirt tightly. "Harry, listen to me. You couldn't have known what she was up to, and even if you did suspect, she could have easily made you forget it. You did everything you could," she told him forcefully, daring him to argue with her.
He was quiet and kept his gaze on his lap though his arms were still embracing her. When he broke the silence it was as though he had become ten years younger. He was putting up a brave front but Hermione could tell that it was only maintained through speaking as emotionlessly as possible. "The whole time you were probably fighting for your life I was wandering around the flat not sure what I was meant to be doing. I thought I was supposed to meet Ron later that night, so I reached for the Floo powder to remind him and noticed a word written on my hand."
Hermione nodded, remembering how her foe had mentioned her interference in Harry and Ron's would-be rescue. She waited for Harry to continue.
"Then it all came rushing back, just like before. Instead of Flooing Ron's flat, I went straight here and caught Ron looking lost in the lobby. I made sure he was good to get Healers for Luna and then I went to Luna's and took the drive at a full run. When I got there…" He paused for a moment and then continued, his voice gaining strength with every word. "I threw open the door and you were there about to collapse. I didn't even hear about Persephone until later. All I could think to do was catch you and get you to the hospital as soon as possible. I couldn't even look at your face, but I could see how pale you were and your pulse was slowing even as I ran with you down the walk to the Apparition point."
He tilted his head to look deeply into her eyes. "I thought I could feel you dying, Hermione… I kept thinking that I would do anything to have you spared. I would never take you for granted again, I would tell you I loved you every day, I would buy you roses on your birthday and every time I did something stupid. I would ask you to marry me," he finished grasping one of her hands tightly.
Hermione's eyes went wide in surprised and she sucked in a breath. Of all the ways that she had envisioned Harry proposing to her, and she would be lying if she denied ever having thought of it before, sitting beside him in a hospital bed wearing striped pajamas was not one of them.
"Hermione Granger, will you be my wife?" he asked, his shining eyes reflecting her bewildered expression. He looked away from her once to dig into his jacket pocket, pulling out a simple silver ring beset with one brilliant sapphire and holding it out as though for her inspection.
Her hands flew to her mouth and she forgot all about her concern with her appearance. With a smile that truly displayed her parents' profession, she acknowledged that this time her fleeting memory was due to sheer happiness rather than mind manipulation, and answered her best friend with her characteristic engulfing embrace.
He laughed and hugged her back. "I hope that means yes," he said as she pulled away.
She lunged forward again to capture his lips in a searing kiss that she hoped sufficiently conveyed her sentiments. When she sat back she giggled at her fiance's dazed expression. "That's a hell yes, Harry."
He cracked a goofy grin and slid the ring gently onto her finger. She moved her hand so that the blue stone glimmered in the light and asked, "When did you get this?" she asked.
At this Harry blushed a little and ran his hand through his hair. "I've actually had it for years," he said. "It was my mother's, she was born in September too," he added in reference to the sapphire.
Returning his sad smile, she turned to admire the ring once more. "It's beautiful," she breathed quietly, her heart feeling as though it would burst from absolute happiness. She knew how much anything that had belonged to his parents meant to Harry and she was touched that not only did he love her enough to share it with her, but that they would be sharing every day together as well for the rest of their lives.
She looked up into his sparkling green eyes and leaned in put their lips together. He wrapped his arms around instantly but even as he deepened the kiss and her fingertips went all tingly, Hermione's thoughts invariably went back to the unresolved matter of the brunette witch responsible for putting her in the hospital.
With her face screwed up in apology, she said, "Sorry to be a mood killer, Harry, but whatever happened to Persephone?" She blinked; saying the name had been strangely liberating, as thought she were letting go of a ghost that had clung to her for years. In some sense, that was exactly what she had done.
Harry's eyes darkened and Hermione was afraid that he was again blaming himself for what happened. "That spell that you used stripped her of her Mnemomagus power temporarily, which I guess was traumatic enough to make her pass out. But then it rebounded on you since she been connected to you with her mind. I don't know, it was explained to me but I didn't really understand. When neither of you woke up after three days, the hospital called in a memory charm specialist from India to oversee your recovery.
"But then about two weeks ago, Persephone woke up and confessed to everything-not only the to the poisonings but to persuading your boss to confiscate your case files and changing the witness' testimonies as well. And we've got motive as well, which she told us too, " he explained, his expression unreadable.
"Oh," she said, utterly speechless. It was a lot to take in just one go, and she was surprised to find that she wasn't very upset about it. "Did you talk to her yourself?" she asked with some trepidation.
Harry laughed bitterly. "No, and that was probably wise. For what she did to you, and the fact that she was awake and you weren't-" He paused, gathering his composure. "Persephone's lawyer is trying to reduce her sentence by contracting her to work with St. Mungo's staff to learn more about Mnemomagi, since they're so rare."
"So she could potentially get away with all of this?" Hermione gasped in disbelief.
"Not if I can help it," said Harry darkly.
Hermione pursed her lips, her mind racing forward as she decided to change tact. "But Harry, don't you think power that potent should be properly documented, so that something like this can't happen again?"
His expression softened as he considered her point. "I suppose, but not if it means her going free," he answered with determination.
"Who said anything about her going free? I'm just saying that we should learn everything we can about it since it's so uncommon. No one should have to go through what we've been going through for the past few weeks-or year, I guess," she countered.
Harry cracked a smile, conceding the point. "Why are we arguing about this? I'm just glad that you're okay."
She returned his grin cheekily. "All thanks to you," she said, nudging his shoulder playfully.
"Thanks to me, how so?" he asked with honest curiosity.
She told him what Persephone had said about not being able to affect the deeply rooted memories of love. Harry seemed just as surprised as she did that Hermione's 'memories of love' including him went back all the way to their first year. When their laughter had died down a bit, Hermione voiced a concern that had been niggling her almost since she woke up. "What I want to know is why I forgot that I could do wandless magic. I'm guessing that since Mnemomagi operate by manipulating short-term memory, if a person is constantly put under duress, then their long-term memory will be affected as well. I imagine that that would include semantic memory too, which refers to knowledge of the outside world."
"Sure," said Harry uncertainly, his eyebrows raised in the customary way as when he had no clue what she was talking about.
There was a knock on the door that prevented Hermione from elaborating. Harry instantly sprang from the bed and dove for the chair just as a Healer walked in wearing the traditional lime green robes followed by another in decked in a brilliant shade of magenta. Hermione looked up to find Healer Augustus Pye staring at her as though on the brink of recognition and reminded herself with some relief that she had been disguised with a glamour the last time she saw him. A young Indian woman about ten years Hermione's senior smiled at her politely, though Hermione could feel her eyes assessing her. Hermione assumed that she was the specialist Harry had spoken of earlier.
"Now you don't remember me-" Pye said, chuckling at his own joke while Harry, Hermione, and the specialist glared at him, "But I am Healer Pye, chief resident of the ward here. And this is Healer Vemulakonda," he added as an afterthought.
Pye rubbed his hands together cheerfully, conjuring a clipboard with his wand. "Nice and awake I see, Miss…" he paused and flipped the top parchment, "Granger?" Without waiting for an answer, as it was inherently obvious anyway, Pye proceeded to wave his wand across Hermione's forehead. "You've sustained a fair bit of damage in your entorhinal cortex, but luckily Mr. Potter here got you to the hospital before the spell did irreversible damage." He grinned winningly at Harry, who stared blankly back unsure that he deserved praise for something that was instinct, and returned his attention to Hermione.
Hermione cleared her throat, still hoping that Pye had not recognized within her the Jane Grey counterpart, and asked, "May I inquire as to the status one of your patients here, a man by the name of Mark Bonner?"
Surprised that Hermione seemed unconcerned for her own health and caught off guard by the question, Pye responded with his chest puffed out, "Er, ordinarily that information is classified, but I am confident in my abilities as Healer that Mr. Bonner will be returned to health within a matter of days."
Hermione smiled at the good news just as the dark-haired woman stepped forward to speak. Pye threw the woman an annoyed glance. "Your memories should be restored as your brain recorded them over time, with full recovery expected within the month," she said slowly. "The system that governs your semantic memory processes is still rebuilding itself, so your short and long term memory may not operate at full capactity for at least a few weeks."
"I see," said Hermione carefully. "So what does that mean exactly?"
Healer Vemulakonda smiled at Hermione's question. "Oh, nothing significant. You may find that you misplace your keys more often or that quills wind up in the icebox. Short term memory by definition only lasts perhaps half a minute, and the reason it's so affected is because of Miss Perris' influence over your subconscious, which is connected to the same system."
Harry got up and surreptitiously made his way over to Healer Pye, who was glaring at the Healer now speaking with Hermione. Hermione wondered what he was doing, but she took the opportunity to try and find out more about Persephone's case. She leaned forward toward Healer Vemulakonda, hoping the gesture would invite a confidence, and whispered, "Are you going to be working with Miss Perris then?"
With a quick glance behind her at Harry and Pye speaking in undertones, she stepped closer and replied, "I'm hoping to. I must admit that this is one of the most exciting cases to come up in my entire career." She paused as though considering whether to say more. She regarded Hermione resolutely and said, "You know, I've heard a lot about you, Miss Granger, and this case seems to be something that might interest you as well."
Hermione blushed at the compliment. "I think under different circumstances I would have jumped at the chance to work with you on this. But I don't feel that it would be entirely appropriate if I were involved with Miss Perris' case, at least not directly." She found herself to be somewhat disappointed by that thought.
It appeared that Harry's whispered conversation with Pye had concluded and the green clad Healer began his exit. Healer Vemulakonda reached into her robes and handed Hermione a card. "Just think about it and let me know if you change your mind. Happy recuperating," she joked as she turned to follow Pye out.
Hermione stared at the curly writing on the card, tucking it into the shirt pocket of her pajamas. Harry came to sit beside her again and told her before she could ask what he had discussed with Healer Pye he said, "You're free to go as soon as Pye has you sign the necessary paperwork." She beamed with pleasure at the idea of returning to their flat and rested her head on Harry's shoulder. The feeling of peace did not last as Hermione internally fought with herself on whether or not she should bring up what she had been wondering since the Healers told her about the lasting effects on her long-term memory.
She knew that it was Harry and that he would never laugh at her or belittle her for the question, so she squeezed her eyes shut and forced it out. "Harry, can I ask you something?" She felt him nod. "What really happened with Robert Henderson?"
He tensed at the name, knowing that she was especially sensitive to the events surrounding it. He looked down at her as she kept her head on his shoulder as he replied. "He was hit and you risked your life to try and save him. But he died and you were hit too…You did everything you could, Hermione," he said, inadvertently echoing her words from earlier.
Hermione was silent as she forced the information to jive with what she had stored in her brain. With minimal tears, she looked up at him and smiled, indicating her head with a finger. "I think I knew that somewhere deep down. I just have about a dozen different versions up there and it's hard to know what really went on….thanks, Harry."
He shrugged his shoulders modestly. "So what were you talking about with Healer Vemulakonda?" he asked curiously.
Hermione sat up to face him. "Harry, what do you think about me working on Persephone's case? Is it too much of a conflict of interest?" she asked carefully. One did not come across this kind of case very often and she would always wonder what might have happened if she passed up the opportunity.
Looking at her earnest expression, Harry seemed to understand all that she was feeling. "If it's something you want to do, then you should do it," he said simply, not one to over-dramatize. "But if you end up wringing her neck I will say I told you so," he added with his characteristic disarming grin.
Hermione's face broke out into another smile and she threw her arms around him once more. She wasn't sure why his approval seemed so vital but his support meant more than she could say.
Some minutes later, Hermione was properly discharged and held Harry's hand tightly as they made their way to the Apparition point, making some wordless agreement to come back and visit Ron and Luna a little later. It had been a rather eventful day and Hermione felt as though there was a large neon sign informing the world that she was engaged to the most wonderful man that she had ever met. Every now and then the pair would glance at each other at the same time, grinning like idiots. When they stepped through the doors into this lovely London afternoon, Harry turned to Hermione and waggled his eyebrows mischievously. "Ready to go home?"
"Sorry, who are you?" she asked able to keep a straight face for about two seconds before promptly bursting out laughing.
Harry shook his head in relieved amusement. "Not even a little funny, Hermione."
She pulled him closer by the collar as passers-by jostled into them from either side as they went about their shopping. "But you love me anyway," she breathed huskily.
Throwing an arm around her possessively, Harry prepared them for Appartition. "That I do, Hermione, that I do."
He leaned in to kiss her and she grinned at the sight of his ring on her finger just over his shoulder. "Harry," she said before their lips could meet.
"Yeah?" he asked, pulling away to look at her lovingly.
"Let's go home."
A/N: The end! I hope you all have enjoyed the ride, I know I did! And of course I would love to know what you think. Take care everyone!
p.s. Keep an eye for a special chapter after this with some useless information that might nonetheless prove interesting…